Today is
Monday January 06, 2025
(WASHINGTON) -- Congress is gathering for a joint session to certify the results of the 2024 election, the final step before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, after some major changes to security for the ceremony and the law that dictates how it's carried out.
Before 2021, the Congress' constitutionally mandated responsibilities to count electoral certifications from the states and certify the results on Jan. 6 often passed in less than an hour with little notice from the public.
But the events of four years ago make this a more closely watched affair.
Washington, D.C., is under heightened security -- not only for the certification of the vote, but also for the state funeral of former President Jimmy Carter at the end of this week and Trump's inauguration in two weeks.
There are no known threats to the certification of the electoral votes, authorities say, but police are preparing for the possibility.
And the Washington area is forecast to get its heaviest snowfall in a few years on Monday, which could impact government operations, but it isn't expected to prevent certification.
Here's what we expect to happen on Monday:
Security
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's request to designate Washington a National Security Special Event for the counting and certification of the vote, which was approved in September. This allows for significant resources from the federal government, as well as state and local partners, to be utilized in a comprehensive security plan, with the U.S. Secret Service as the lead agency.
The Secret Service is deploying agents and specialists from field offices across the country to supplement staffing. D.C. Police will be fully activated beginning Sunday morning and are bringing in nearly 4,000 additional officers from across the country to assist with policing for the special events. Drones will be in use for both events and training preparations.
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger told reporters, "The United States Capitol Police [are] better staffed, better trained, better equipped than ever before, to protect our Capitol and protect our Congress."
"The legislative process will proceed without disruption, and our government will have a peaceful transfer of power," he said.
Capitol Police has completed more than 100 recommendations its inspector general made after the Jan. 6 attack, including increasing staffing, training, and building a new intelligence operation.
The D.C. National Guard confirmed to ABC News that it has been activated and will assist with events this month. Some 500 members of the Guard are on standby for Jan. 6 and Carter's funeral. A request for 7,800 members of the military for Trump's inauguration is pending approval.
Fencing is installed around a perimeter that goes beyond the office buildings on both sides of the Capitol, and there's an inner perimeter that surrounds the immediate Capitol complex. The fencing was implemented for the first time after the 2021 insurrection and will be similar to what was installed for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress last summer.
The fencing on Capitol Hill and near the White House is expected to remain through February, sources told ABC News.
No major groups have applied for permits or announced any protests for the election certification.
Snow day
D.C. is expected to get between 8 to 12 inches of snow through Monday but members are expected to get to the Capitol.
House Republican leaders urged members to stay in Washington over the weekend and Speaker Mike Johnson is plowing ahead with Monday's certification.
In an appearance on Fox News on Sunday, Johnson said he's hoping for full attendance.
"Whether we're in a blizzard or not, we are going to be in that chamber making sure this is done," Johnson said.
The role of the vice president
Vice President Kamala Harris will preside over the certification, putting her in the unenviable position of certifying the victory of her 2024 opponent. Congress enacted a law in 2022 to define the role of the vice president as purely ceremonial.
Harris said in a video message on Monday that she will perform the "sacred obligation" of certifying the results of the 2024 election today-- an election she lost.
"The peaceful transfer of power is one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy, as much as any other principle, it is what distinguishes our system of government from monarchy or tyranny," Harris said.
"Today, at the United States Capitol, I will perform my constitutional duty as Vice President of the United States to certify the results of the 2024 election. This duty is a sacred obligation, one I will uphold guided by love of country, loyalty to our Constitution and my unwavering faith in the American people," she added.
The Electoral Count Reform Act modified some of the provisions that Trump attempted to use to challenge the electoral count on Jan. 6, 2021.
The law also makes it harder harder for Congress to challenge a state's electoral votes. The law raised the threshold required to object to a state's electoral votes from one senator and one representative to one-fifth of each chamber and it takes one half of each chamber to sustain objections.
Though there were objections to states' electors that led to the dissolution of the joint session in 2021, none were sustained by a half-chamber vote in either the Senate or the House.
The law also cleaned up vague language about what date states must select their electors and created an expedited procedure for federal courts, or the Supreme Court when necessary, to hear cases with over state executives' duty to issue and transmit to Congress the certification of appointed electors.
Certifying the vote
Procession of the ballots: The sealed votes arrived at the Capitol addressed to the vice president in her role as president of the Senate. The votes are placed in ceremonial leather-bound boxes and processed from the Senate to the House by a group of Senate pages.
Procession of senators to the House: Senators follow the electoral boxes to the House to convene the joint session.
Members convene for joint session: Federal law stipulates that members must convene at 1 p.m. for the opening of the presidential election results. The House sergeant at arms announces the president of the Senate (Harris) and senators as in the State of the Union address, and then the president of the Senate takes the dais and becomes the presiding officer of the ceremony. The speaker of the House usually sits behind the vice president.
"Tellers" come to the dais: Two House members and two Senate members who have been selected by the speaker and Senate majority leader help shepherd the ceremony by reading out the votes alphabetically by state. This is typically the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Rules and House Administration committees.
Harris reads the votes by each state in alphabetical order: Starting with Alabama, Harris will open the certificates and hand them down to one of the tellers. After the teller announces the result, Harris will ask if there are any objections. If there are objections as there were in 2021, this would be when they're heard.
If the threshold for an objection is reached: Harris would announce that the two chambers will deliberate separately on the pending objection and report its decision back to the joint session. The Senate would withdraw from the joint session and return to its chamber. Both chambers would get up to two hours to debate whether to uphold the objection. It requires the vote of half of each chamber to sustain an objection.
Never in their history has either chamber sustained an objection.
Completing the process: The vice president will announce the whole number of electoral votes (538) and what constitutes a simple majority (217) and announce how many electoral votes each candidate got, then do the same for vice president.The vice president will declare the joint session dissolved. Usually there is applause, and the certification is complete.
How long does all this take?: There have been instances in which certification has taken less than half an hour. In 2017, the certification of President Trump's first term, presided over by then-Vice President Joe Biden, took 41 minutes.
In 2021, Congress convened at 1 p.m. in a joint session and, because of both a prolonged recess due to the breach of the Capitol and multiple state objections, did not complete its work certifying the election until 3:39 a.m. on Jan. 7.
ABC News' Beatrice Peterson and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.
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(LAS VEGAS) -- Police are poring over what they believe are letters left by Matthew Livelsberger -- the driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded on New Year's Day outside the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel -- on a phone in the destroyed vehicle, authorities said Friday.
Livelsberger shared personal and political "grievances" in the recovered messages and called the attack a "wake up call," police said.
"I know everyone is very eager to try to understand and be able to explain what happened," Las Vegas Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said during a press briefing on Friday. "We still have a large volume of data to go through, a lot of content to go through."
Livelsberger, an active-duty Army soldier, said the country was being led by the "weak" and those out to "enrich themselves," while also claiming the incident was not meant as a terrorist attack, according to excerpts of the two letters shared by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The department released the two letters to the public following the press briefing.
"You'll see that he actually calls it a stunt, in one of these documents that we're going to release to you, that he was trying to get the attention of the American people because he was upset about a number of different things," Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said during Friday's briefing when asked about the suspect's political views. "But I'll let those writings speak for themselves."
In one of the letters police say were found on his phone, Livelsberger expressed support for Donald Trump and the president-elect's allies, Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He also expressed disdain for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and income inequality and expressed a concern about homelessness, according to the letters.
Livelsberger died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound prior to the blast, the Clark County coroner confirmed Thursday evening. No one else was seriously hurt, though seven bystanders sustained minor injuries, officials said.
The evidence shows Livelsberger "thoughtfully prepared" and acted alone in the incident, Spencer Evans, special agent in charge for the FBI's Las Vegas division, said during Friday's press briefing. Livelsberger was not on the FBI's radar prior to the incident, Evans said.
"Although this incident is more public and more sensational than usual, it ultimately appears to be a tragic case of suicide involving a heavily decorated combat veteran who was struggling with PTSD and other issues," Evans said.
Authorities are also looking into a letter purportedly sent by Livelsberger and shared by the military-themed "Shawn Ryan Show" podcast on Friday. That information was sent to the FBI following the attack, Evans confirmed.
"We still have not conclusively determined that that's from the subject, but feel confident, based on evidence that we're uncovering on his devices, that that was, in fact, from Livelsberger," Evans said.
In the Cybertruck, officials found credit and identification cards in Livelsberger's name, evidence he owned the weapons found in the destroyed vehicle and identified tattoos that appeared to match Livelsberger's body, however, severe physical injuries slowed the identification process.
The Clark County coroner ultimately identified Livelsberger -- of Colorado Springs, Colorado -- as the driver on Thursday. His cause of death was a self-inflicted intraoral gunshot wound.
Livelsberger was found with a gun at his feet. Two firearms -- one handgun and one rifle -- were found in the vehicle "burnt beyond recognition," McMahill said.
Both weapons were purchased legally on Monday, he added.
Two phones were recovered from the vehicle, including one containing the two letters, Koren said. Investigators have been unable to access the other phone at this time, he said.
It is unclear why Livelsberger chose a Tesla or the route he took, authorities said Friday.
Livelsberger rented the Tesla vehicle on Saturday in Denver via the Turo app, before driving to Las Vegas through cities in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. His progress was tracked through Tesla charging stations, officials said.
The vehicle first pulled into the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel valet area just after 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, officials said. It then left the area, driving along Las Vegas Boulevard, before returning to the valet area at about 8:39 a.m., exploding 17 seconds after its arrival.
Livelsberger served as a Green Beret in the Army and was on approved leave from serving in Germany at the time of his death, a U.S. Army spokesperson said Thursday.
He received extensive decorations in combat, including the Bronze Star with a "V" device for valor, indicating heroism under fire. Livelsberger received four more standard Bronze Star medals, according to Army records. He also earned the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three stars. Each star represents service in a separate campaign in Afghanistan.
Livelsberger had been receiving mental health assistance over the last year, a U.S. official confirmed Friday.
Another U.S. official confirmed that officials thought Livelsberger was stable enough to go home for Christmas and his leave was approved.
The Department of Defense has turned over Livelsberger's medical records to local law enforcement, Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters during a briefing on Friday.
"I just don't have more details to share," she added, when asked about reporting from CNN that the suspect had been diagnosed with depression last year.
Singh noted that service members are encouraged to seek help with any mental health issues.
The Las Vegas incident is not believed to have any direct connection to the New Year's Day truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people -- as well as the suspect -- and injured 35 others, according to the FBI. The truck used in the New Orleans attack was also rented using the Turo app, officials said.
Evans reiterated Friday that there is no evidence that the two events are connected, saying there are "coincidental similarities" between them -- including that both drivers were in the military, rented vehicles through the same service and stayed in an Airbnb.
There is no evidence at this time that the two drivers had any overlap even though both served in Afghanistan, Singh also said Friday.
Livelsberger was a supporter of Trump, an official briefed on the probe told ABC News. His wife, who investigators spoke to in Colorado Springs, said he had been out of the house since around Christmas after a dispute over allegations of infidelity, the official said.
His wife told officials she did not believe Livelsberger would want to hurt anyone, the official told ABC News.
Livelsberger is believed to have told the person he rented the truck from that he was going camping at the Grand Canyon, the official told ABC News.
Investigators are still looking to determine how the items in the truck were detonated, but with the contents of the vehicle so badly burned, it may be a slow process, according to the official.
The sheriff said Musk, Tesla's CEO, helped the investigation by having the truck unlocked after it auto-locked in the blast and by giving investigators video of the suspect at charging stations along its route from Colorado to Las Vegas.
McMahill said police believe the explosion was an "isolated incident" and that "there is no further threat to the community."
Video played at Thursday's Las Vegas news conference showed a load of fireworks-style mortars, gasoline cans and camping fuel canisters in the back of the truck.
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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A deadly car-ramming attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans left 14 people deadand 35 others injured early on New Year's Day, authorities said.
The suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, drove a pickup truck onto a sidewalk and around a parked police car serving as a barricade to plow into pedestrians over a three-block stretch of the iconic street, according to police.
Jabbar exited the vehicle armed with an assault rifle and opened fire on police officers, law enforcement said. Officers returned fire, killing Jabbar. At least two officers were injured, authorities said.
Alexis Scott-Windham was among those injured in the attack. She spoke to ABC News' Whit Johnson about the intense experience on Thursday.
ABC NEWS: We are joined now by a young woman who, like so many others, was here on Bourbon Street ringing in the new year when the unthinkable happened. Alexis Scott-Windham is joining us now.
And Alexis, thank you so much for your time tonight. We truly appreciate it. I can't imagine what you've been through over the past 24 hours here. Can you first just walk us through those first moments when you knew something was going wrong?
ALEXIS SCOTT-WINDHAM: OK, so we were on a corner by a pizza place and we noticed a loud boom, boom, boom noise and we looked to the left and somebody said "Move!" And by the time they said move, the truck was coming down and he was halfway on the sidewalk, halfway down the street.
By the time he came down the side, by the time I looked to the left, he came down the sidewalk, he had hit me on the back of my right leg, because I stepped on my left, he hit me by the right leg. And I don't even know how did I get shot because I fell to the ground. I got up and tried to run once I heard the bullets. And once I got up, I tried to run, but my foot was leaking.
ABC NEWS: And describe what you were experiencing emotionally at the time. Obviously, you knew you were injured, but seeing, seeing the seriously wounded and, and people who had lost their lives all around you, what was going through your mind?
SCOTT-WINDHAM: Well, what was going through my mind? I was just thankful, I was just thanking Jesus, I was just telling the Lord, "Let me make it home to my daughter," I was just thanking God. But once I got up, I seen the bodies on the ground, I was just -- it was like a movie. I just couldn't believe this happened.
Because before all this happened, everything was just going so nice, everybody was telling everybody "Happy New Year." All the tours, like random people was telling me "Happy New Years." I even met people from Chicago that was down here. That's why it was just so crazy.
ABC NEWS: I'm, forgive me. I'm having a little trouble hearing you. But, but could you describe how your friends are doing today? What are their conditions?
SCOTT-WINDHAM: So me and my friend Brandon, we both got injured. I got shot in the foot and hit from the side.
And Brandon, I think he got hit by the car. His whole right side is just messed up; his left, his right leg is messed up. His back is messed up. His shoulder is messed up. He also has a little gash right here [indicating the right side of her forehead]. He's still in the hospital, in New Orleans. He's at Touro hospital.
ABC NEWS: And I understand that, that, forgive me. I understand that you are, you're home today and you have a young daughter as well. As you look back on this, you know, how are you going to explain what happened to her?
SCOTT-WINDHAM: Well, when I was going through that, in my mind, I was just telling the Lord, "Just let me make it home to my daughter." I don't know how I'm going to explain it to her. All I can tell her is "You can still go out and have fun, but don't be on your phone and always watch your surroundings."
ABC NEWS: All right, Alexis Scott-Windham. Well, we are, we are so thankful that you are OK today. And thank you so much for, for taking the time to share with us what happened to you and the people you were with.
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(NEW YORK) -- If youâre feeling hungover from New Yearâs Eve champagne or had one too many boozy eggnogs over the holidays, let January be a fresh start.
Taking the challenge of going dry in January, or Dry January, i.e. having no alcohol for the entire month, is one resolution that might actually make you healthier.
The Dry January campaign was started in 2013 by Alcohol Change U.K., a charity focused on reducing alcohol harm. For the past several years, the initiative has proved popular in the United States and other countries too.
What are the health benefits of Dry January?
While research on how quitting alcohol for a month affects your body is still limited, several studies have shown psychological and health benefits.
Over one dozen staff members at the magazine New Scientist teamed up with researchers at the Institute for Liver and Digestive Health at the University College London Medical School in 2013 to investigate the benefits of Dry January.
The staff members, who all considered themselves ânormalâ drinkers, underwent baseline testing with blood samples, liver ultrasound scans and questionnaires. For the next five weeks, 10 of them stopped drinking and four drank their normal amounts.
The people who stopped drinking had lower levels of liver fat (which can be a precursor to liver damage), improved blood sugars and lower cholesterol than they did at the beginning of the month. They also reported improved sleep and concentration. In contrast, the four people who kept drinking saw no benefit.
Another study out of the U.K. had nearly 100 participants abstain from drinking alcohol for a month and another nearly 50 participants continue drinking alcohol as normal.
They found that moderate-heavy drinkers who took a break from alcohol had improved insulin resistance, weight, blood pressure, and cancer-related growth factors.
The researchers do warn, however, that the study does not show that a short-term âdetoxâ period is all that is required to ârefreshâ the liver or achieve other health gains. Abstaining from alcohol for a month is only one part of addressing negative effects from longer-term alcohol consumption.
People who drink excessive amounts of alcohol are at higher risk of death and many medical conditions.
Excessive alcohol use is the third-leading cause of preventable death in the United States, according to the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
People who drink unhealthy amounts of alcohol are more likely to have high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease, nerve damage, infections including pneumonia and even certain cancers like breast cancer.
Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol may also have a negative impact on mental health, including memory loss, depression and anxiety, according to the American Psychological Association.
Who should try Dry January?
Dr. Fulton Crews, director of the Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said attempting to stop drinking for Dry January is a good opportunity for people to see if they have an actual addiction to alcohol.
âMany people are in denial about their drinking and hazardous drinking, and if they try to stop and are not able to, it really points out to them their weakness," Crews told ABC News. "If they canât stop for a month, they would realize that they have a problem.
"Either that or they do it, and they realize it's not that hard for them," said Crews, who described Dry January as a "good idea."
Experts say Dry January may be especially helpful to those who consistently drink over the recommended amount of two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.
Excessive drinking includes binge drinking, defined as consuming five or more drinks for men in a single occasion and four or more drinks for women, and heavy drinking, defined as consuming 15 or more drinks per week for men or eight drinks or more for women). A standard drink is 12 ounces of a regular beer, 8 ounces of a malt liquor, 5 ounces of a glass of wine, and 1.5 ounces of a spirit, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For those individuals who drink alcohol within the recommended limits, Crews said he is "not sure there would be any observable benefits."
"I donât see any clear potential for a moderate drinking person to stop drinking," he said.
If you do choose to participate in Dry January, Crews shared his advice for sticking to the program.
âTry to avoid temptation by maybe putting all the alcohol out of the house," he said.
Does Dry January prompt bigger change for some?
Staying dry for January may also help jump-start people to give up alcohol for longer.
Although most people who participate in Dry January return to drinking, up to 8% stay dry six months later, according to Public Health England and the British Medical Journal.
And those who go back to drinking drink less. A 2015 study conducted in the U.K. and published in the journal Health Psychology found that people who participated in Dry January drank less often, had fewer drinks when they did drink and were drunk less often six months after Dry January was completed.
Dry January participants were also better able to refuse alcoholic drinks. These benefits were even seen in people who did not complete the whole month of Dry January.
It might seem daunting to stop drinking alcohol for a whole month. But a 2020 Alcohol and Alcoholism study found that nearly 70% of people completed the Dry January Challenge in 2019.
If you are concerned about yourself or a loved one, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMSA) confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). For information and resources about alcohol-related problems and health, visit the website of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) HERE.
Editor's note: This piece was originally published on Jan. 3, 2018.
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