Yahoo News Today's news: Latest headlines for the UK on Thursday 7 January
If you would like today’s top stories straight to your inbox every day, sign up to our daily ‘Catch-up’ newsletter. You can also visit our Today’s News section, which gets updated daily.
— Today's top story in 60 seconds —
Trump promises orderly transition of power after siege of US Capitol
What happened?
Donald Trump has committed to an "orderly transition" of power to Joe Biden after a mob of pro-Trump supporters stormed the the US Capitol on Wednesday and clashed with police in an attempt to overturn the election result. Four people were killed in the chaos, including one woman who was shot dead by police.
Was Trump to blame?
Calls are growing for Trump to be removed from office less than two weeks before the end of his presidency for his role in inciting the chaos and violence. A number of administration officials have resigned in the aftermath. Trump was banned from Twitter and Facebook over his incendiary posts encouraging his supporters, which followed weeks of false claims from the president that the election result was not legitimate.
PM: Trump was 'completely wrong'
Boris Johnson said it was “completely wrong” for Trump to both “encourage people to storm the Capitol” and cast doubt on the result of the election. The PM said: "I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol." Earlier in the day, home secretary Priti Patel said Trump's words "directly led" to violence.
Read more from our partners
Trump blocked from Facebook and Instagram 'indefinitely' (HuffPost)
Proud Boys boast they caused 'absolute terror' during Capitol riot (The Independent)
PM 'unreservedly condemns' Trump for encouraging supporters to storm Capitol (Yahoo News UK)
—The big coronavirus stories today—
Arthritis drugs 'can reduce virus deaths'
Two drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis have been found to save the lives of intensive care patients with severe COVID-19 in an international study. NHS patients in the UK will have will have access to tocilizumab and sarilumab from tomorrow. Read the full story here. (Guardian)
This will be last lockdown - Hancock
Matt Hancock has said the current lockdown in England will be the last. The health secretary pledged the ongoing rollout of COVID-19 vaccines will remove the need for the government to place such draconian restrictions on people’s freedoms in the future. Read the full story here (Yahoo News UK)
GPs start mass vaccine rollout
GPs in England are starting the mass rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The government has committed to offering a vaccine to more than 13 million people in the top four priority groups by mid-February. Some 1,112,866 people have received the jab so far. Read the full story here (Telegraph)
Death toll tops 1,000 for second day
A further 1,162 people in the UK have died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19, the second day in a row the death toll has exceeded 1,000. The figure is the highest daily reported total since 21 April when 1,224 were recorded. It brings the UK total to 78,508. Read the full story here (HuffPost UK)
— Have your say —
— What else happened today? —
Teens face murder trial over boy's death
Three teenagers appeared in court today charged with murder over the death of an autistic 13-year-old in Reading. Oliver Lucas Stephens, who was known as Olly, died after being stabbed on Sunday. A 13-year-old girl, a 13-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy face trial this summer. Read the full story here (PA)
Elon Musk becomes world's richest man
Tesla chief Elon Musk has become the richest person in the world, with a net worth of more than £136bn. He overtook Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, who had been the world’s wealthiest person since 2017. Tesla’s share price has increased more than nine-fold over the past year. Read the full story here (Yahoo Finance UK)
Snow and freezing fog set to hit UK
Snow showers and freezing fog are forecast to sweep the UK over the next few days. The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for snow and ice covering almost all of the UK throughout Thursday and Friday. The Environment Agency has also issued four flood warnings. Read the full story here (PA)
Man guilty of murdering schoolboy
A farmer’s son has been found guilty of murdering a schoolboy after paying more than £2,000 to stop him revealing their sexual relationship. Matthew Mason, 19, admitted bludgeoning 15-year-old Alex Rodda to death with a wrench in woods in Ashley, Cheshire, on 12 December 2019. Read the full story here (Telegraph)
