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Congressional Democrats weighed impeaching President Donald Trump for a second time, two days after his false claims of election fraud helped encourage a mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol.

A U.S. Capitol Police officer, Brian Sicknick, has died of injuries suffered when supporters of Trump assaulted the legislative building, the force said, bringing to five the number dead from the riot.

The violent assault on the Capitol by the president's supporters and his long refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election have jeopardized Trump’s political future and tainted prospects for his top lieutenants and family members, current and former administration officials said.

The United States will find it harder to advocate for democracy and rule of law abroad unless it grapples with Trump’s role in the violence, current and former U.S. diplomats said.

Trump has increasingly isolated himself in the White House, relying on a small group of diehard loyalists and lashing out at those who dare to cross him, including Vice President Mike Pence, sources said.

'That was when it really started to get scary': Pennsylvania Congresswoman Susan Wild describes Wednesday’s dramatic siege of the complex that houses the U.S. Congress as supporters of Trump banged on the doors.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos resigned, joining a growing list of aides leaving Trump’s administration in protest.

In two dozen interviews with Trump backers across deeply conservative slices of Texas and Georgia, they condemned Wednesday’s violence, but at the same time did not hold the president responsible.

Some of the rioters were fired from their jobs after internet sleuths publicized their identities. The FBI also asked the public to help it identify rioters. The Bureau is also offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information on who placed pipe bombs in the committee headquarters of political parties in Washington.

Trump has discussed the possibility of pardoning himself in recent weeks, a source familiar with the situation said. Such a pardon would be an extraordinary use of presidential power by Trump. The White House declined comment.

What you need to know about the coronavirus today

Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine appears effective against mutation
Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine appeared to work against a key mutation in the highly transmissible new variants of the coronavirus discovered in Britain and South Africa, according to a laboratory study conducted by the U.S. drugmaker.

The study by Pfizer and scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, indicated the vaccine was effective in neutralizing virus with the so-called N501Y mutation of the spike protein.

Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine appears effective against mutation Germany reports record deaths
Germany reported a record 1,188 daily COVID-19 deaths on Friday, only days after further tightening a national lockdown. Europe’s largest and most populous economy hopes to be able to limit the spread of the virus until enough of its population has been vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.

Iran bans import of U.S., UK vaccines
Iran’s Supreme Leader on Friday banned the government from importing COVID-19 vaccines from the United States and Britain, labeling the Western powers “untrustworthy”, as the infection spreads in the Middle East’s hardest-hit country. In a live televised speech, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei raised the prospect of the two Western countries, long-time adversaries of the Islamic Republic, possibly seeking to spread the infection to other countries.

Indonesian clerics declare Sinovac’s vaccine halal
A COVID-19 vaccine produced by Sinovac Biotech is deemed halal, or permissible under Islam, the Indonesian Ulema Council said, days before the country is scheduled to start its inoculation program using the Chinese vaccine. Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, has 3 million doses of CoronaVac and plans to use it when it starts its vaccination program, with President Joko Widodo due to receive the first shot.

Israel tightens lockdown
Israel tightened a national lockdown on Friday in a bid to curb a sharp rise in new cases, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising that all Israeli adults could be vaccinated by the end of March. With a population of 9 million, Israel is leading the world in a swift rollout of vaccinations, but the number of new infections has climbed to about 8,000 a day, the highest in months.

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World

Power struggle leaves U.N. rights body without leader. Russia and China are opposed to a candidate from Fiji seen as a staunch human rights defender to lead the top U.N. rights body, diplomats and observers say, creating a deadlock just as the United States may seek to rejoin the forum it quit in 2018.

Many Scottish fishermen have halted exports to European Union markets after post-Brexit bureaucracy shattered the system that used to put fresh langoustines and scallops in French shops just over a day after they were harvested.

'Never again': Ukraine called on Iran to deliver justice and pay full compensation to the families of those who died when a Ukrainian airliner was shot down by Iranian Revolutionary Guards one year ago. Iran last week allocated $150,000 for the families of each of the victims of the plane shot down in Iranian airspace on Jan 8, 2020. Describing Iran’s handling of the situation as “unacceptable”, Ukraine had earlier said the amount of compensation should be negotiated.