U.S. and world news for Dec. 7

Warnock wins: In a very tight election, Sen. Raphael Warnok of Georgia was elected to a full six-year term, defeating Republican challenger Herchel Walker, who delivered a concession speech. Walker was Donald Trump’s hand-picked candidate to run for the Senate seat from Georgia, although Trump did not campaign in person for Walker. The election result makes Warnock the first Black elected to a full six-year term in the Senate from Georgia. It gives the Democrats 51 seats in the Senate and the Republicans 49.

Trump Org. plans appeal: Lawyers for the Trump Organization say they will appeal of the conviction of The Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corp. by a jury in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. The Trump businesses were found guilty on all 17 criminal counts that included tax fraud and falsifying business records. Sentencing had been scheduled for January 13, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Former Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg testified against the companies and admitted taking part in the scheme that paid Trump executives off the books to avoid taxes. Donald Trump was not charged personally in the case, but evidence was shown that he knew what was going on and signed off on it.

Maryland bans TikTok: Maryland’s Gov. Larry Hogan has announced that he is banning the use of TikTok on the state’s devices because the internet platform is owned by a Chinese company and the Chinese government may be using it to gather data. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts ordered TikTok removed from that state’s devices back in August.

Lawsuit dismissed: Federal Judge John Bates has dismissed a lawsuit filed in Washington against Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman because President Biden granted him immunity. The lawsuit was filed by Hatice Cengiz, who was the fiance of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In 2018, he was killed by a Saudi hit squad and there have been persistent allegations that the murder was ordered by the Crown Prince.

Live Nation questioned: The House Committee on Energy and Commerce wants to send staff members to meet with representatives of Live Nation Entertainment, owner of Ticketmaster, in the wake of the collapse of organized ticket sales for a Taylor Swift concert tour. According to a letter sent to Live Nation’s President Michael Rapino, the committee wants to know about additional fees, insider reserves, limited ticket availability, speculative ticketing, scalping and much more. According to the committee, 3.5 million people preregistered to buy tickets, which mushroomed into 3.5 billion requests jamming Ticketmaster’s computers.

Jan. 6 committee plans criminal referrals: Congressman Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attempted coup, says the committee plans to make criminal referrals to the Department of Justice. Thompson did not name those who the committee might recommend be prosecuted. He said the referrals would be separate from the committee’s final report on its investigation.

Republican leaders snubbed: The family of Brian Sicknick, a Capitol Police officer who died as a result of the Jan. 6 attempted coup, refused to shake hands with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy at a ceremony yesterday honoring police departments that fought to protect the Capitol. Sicknick’s brother Ken, who said he’s a life-long Republican, questioned the integrity of the Republican leaders.