Brazil's Bolsonaro is as bad as he promised

White nationalist who ran for Senate arrested. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 

By Holly Thomas TOP STORIES ‌ Thursday, January 2 ‌ WHITE NATIONALIST WHO RAN FOR U.S. SENATE ARRESTED A white nationalist who ran for the U.S. Senate in Florida and was a featured speaker during the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was arrested on charges of kidnapping, domestic violence and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. [AP] ‌ TRUMP WINERY FIRED UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS -- AFTER HARVEST Trump Winery, a vineyard in rural Virginia run by President Donald Trump’s son, Eric Trump, reportedly fired a group of undocumented workers on Monday. The employees, at least some of whom had worked at the winery for more than a decade, claimed the firings came at a strategic time for the vineyard — right after the labor-intensive annual harvesting and processing of grapes. [HuffPost] ‌ TAIWAN MILITARY CHIEF AMONG 8 KILLED IN CRASH Taiwan's top military official was among eight people killed on Thursday when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed in mountains in the north of the island. Gen. Shen Yi-ming, 62, the Taiwan military's chief of general staff, was en route to visit troops when the UH-60M helicopter disappeared from radar near New Taipei City while carrying 13 people, including the crew. [CNN] ‌ BUTTIGIEG STEPS DOWN AS MAYOR After eight years on the job, Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg carried out his last official act as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, on New Year’s Day. Buttigieg — who was just 29 when he was elected mayor of the city, population 100,000 — had said at the end of 2018 that he wouldn’t be seeking a third term in office. [HuffPost] ‌ BRAZIL'S BOLSONARO IS THE FAR-RIGHT AUTHORITARIAN HE PROMISED HE'D BE Since taking office a year ago, Jair Bolsonaro has followed through (or attempted to) on nearly all of his ugliest promises, with troubling and disastrous consequences for Brazil’s environment and the Amazon rainforest, its already-marginalized Black, LGBTQ, Indigenous and poor communities, and the institutions that form the backbone of any democratic society. [HuffPost] ‌ NEARLY HALF A BILLION ANIMALS FEARED DEAD IN AUSTRALIAN WILDFIRES  Ecologists at the University of Sydney estimated that 480 million mammals, birds and reptiles have died in the blazes that have swept Australia since September, including a third of the koala population in their main habitat in the state of New South Wales. [HuffPost] WHAT'S BREWING ‌ SHAMELESS: BIBI PUSHES FOR IMMUNITY Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would seek immunity from corruption charges, likely delaying any trial until after March elections, when he hopes to have a majority coalition that will shield him from prosecution. [AP] ‌ TRUMP DEPLOYS MORE TROOPS TO MIDDLE EAST Charging that Iran was “fully responsible” for an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, Trump ordered about 750 U.S. soldiers deployed to the Middle East as about 3,000 more prepared for possible deployment in the next several days. [AP] ‌ MILITIAMEN WITHDRAW FROM U.S. EMBASSY Iran-backed militiamen withdrew from the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Wednesday after two days of clashes with American security forces, but U.S.-Iran tensions remain high and could cascade into further violence. The withdrawal ended a two-day crisis marked by the breach of the largest and one of the most heavily fortified U.S. diplomatic missions in the world. [AP] ‌ BUTTIGIEG'S CAMPAIGN RAISES NEARLY $25 MILLION IN 4TH QUARTER Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s latest fundraising figure of $24.7 million, just short of his campaign’s second-quarter haul of $24.9 million, comes amid criticism from his Democratic rivals, particularly Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), around his high-dollar fundraising events. [HuffPost] ‌ TAIWAN REJECTS CHINA'S UNIFICATION OFFER Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said the island would not accept a “one country, two systems” political formula Beijing has suggested could be used to unify the democratic island, saying such an arrangement had failed in Hong Kong. [Reuters] ‌ THESE MAJOR NEW LAWS TOOK EFFECT YESTERDAY Some major changes are coming to states across the country, with New York ending cash bail for many offenses, recreational weed now legal in Illinois, minimum wage hikes for workers in dozens of jurisdictions, as well as new laws at the state level data privacy, gun purchases and more. [HuffPost] BEFORE YOU GO Suspected home intruder turns out to be a vacuum cleaner.  Prince Harry and Meghan Markle start the new year with a sweet new photo of Archie.  "A Quiet Place: Part II" suggests that humans are the real monsters.  6 New Year's resolutions to improve your relationship. This is your body on intermittent fasting. 20 of the 2010s' very best trends. The best Instagram recipes from 2019.  Breakfast soup: It actually makes sense.  Is my child spoiled or just acting their age? Mariah Carey hacked on Twitter in the middle of her "freaking nap." Lindsay Lohan says she's returning to the U.S. for a Hollywood comeback in 2020.   I quit dating for 2019, and it was the most productive and successful year of my life.  This comic is the encouragement you need to start therapy. The 11 most interesting findings about love and sex in the last decade. Pope Francis apologizes for "bad example" over pilgrim arm slap.  Love this newsletter? Share it with a friend! 👋 You may have noticed that our website is now www.huffpost.com. Don't worry, it'll still be the same HuffPost you know and love, just with a new URL. Make sure to update your bookmarks! HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media Group. On May 25, 2018 we introduced a new Privacy Policy which will explain how your data is used and shared. 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