US president-elect Donald Trump’s victory certified by defeated rival Kamala Harris
US president-elect Donald Trump has had his victory certified by his defeated rival, Kamala Harris.
Under the tightest national security level, Ms Harris, who lost to Mr Trump following November’s election, presided over the certification of the 78-year-old Republican’s victory in Congress.
After Congress went through all the certificates for the 50 US states and Washington DC, it certified the election of Mr Trump and his running mate JD Vance.
Cheers broke out in the chamber as Ms Harris announced the tally of the electoral votes, with Mr Trump receiving 312, while her candidacy, launched following outgoing President Joe Biden’s decision in July to withdraw from the race, got 226.
Ms Harris and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson in Congress to certify her loss. Pic: Reuters
It stood in stark contrast to the shocking scenes from the certification of Mr Trump’s defeat against Mr Biden four years ago, when the Republican’s supporters tried to block the democratic process by violently storming Capitol Hill.
Ms Harris smiled tightly as she announced her rival’s victory – and as Republicans gave a standing ovation.
She ended the process, which lasted less than 30 minutes, saying: “The chair declares this joint session dissolved.”
Ms Harris and Mr Johnson during the certification of Mr Trump’s election. Pic: Reuters
Ahead of senators and representatives gathering for the event, the outgoing vice president described her role in the certification as a “sacred obligation” to ensure the peaceful transfer of power.
Five people died in the hours and days following the riots on 6 January 2021, including a Trump supporter who was shot by Capitol police and one officer, Brian Sicknick, who was attacked as he responded.
His death was later attributed to the natural causes.
A further four police officers who responded to the riots took their own lives in the following months.
Ms Harris joined a short list of other vice presidents to oversee the ceremonial confirmation of their election loss as part of their role of presiding over the Senate.
In a video message earlier today, Ms Harris said: “As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile.
“And it is up to each of us to stand up for our most cherished principles.”
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The president-elect, who will be sworn in for his second term in the Oval Office on 20 January, posted on his social media platform Truth Social earlier in the day: “Congress certifies our great election victory today – a big moment in history. MAGA!”
Mr Trump has said he plans to pardon some of the more than 1,500 people charged with taking part in the 6 January 2021 assault on the Capitol.
US
Man who died after being pulled into MRI machine was wearing 9kg weight-training chain, wife reveals
A man who died after being pulled into an MRI machine in New York was wearing a large weight-training chain around his neck, his wife has said.
Keith McAllister, 61, entered a room at the Nassau Open MRI clinic while a scan of his wife’s knee was under way.
The machine’s strong magnetic force drew him in by the 9kg metal chain around his neck, according to Nassau County Police.
His wife, Adrienne Jones-McAllister, said she had called out to her husband to help her off the table.
“I yelled out Keith’s name, [shouting] Keith, come help me up,” she said in an interview with News 12 Long Island.
She said her husband entered the room wearing the chain, which he uses for weight training.
“I saw the machine snatch him around and pull him into the machine,” Ms Jones-McAllister said as tears streamed down her face. “He died, he lost, he went limp in my arms.”
Police said that the accident last Wednesday “resulted in a medical episode” and left Mr McAllister in a critical condition in hospital.
Ms Jones-McAllister said her husband had suffered a series of heart attacks after he was freed from the MRI machine. He was later pronounced dead.
A file picture of an MRI scanner
MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The machines use strong magnetic fields and radio waves to create detailed images of the inside of the body.
Due to the magnetic fields, “very powerful forces” are exerted on objects made of iron, some steels, and other magnetic materials, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering says.
It says the forces are “strong enough to fling a wheelchair across the room”.
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Sky News’ US partner network NBC New York reported that MRI accidents are rare but can be fatal.
It is not the first time someone has been killed by an MRI machine in New York.
In 2001, six-year-old Michael Colombini died at the Westchester Medical Centre when an oxygen tank flew into the chamber, drawn in by the MRI’s 10-ton electromagnet.
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