Good morning everyone, and welcome to a new year.

1. The US Congress has been evacuated after armed Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol amid ongoing unrest over President Donald Trump’s loss in the recent US election. Photos and videos show the chaos that has been erupting from there, with police drawing guns in the standoff.

2. It comes as US lawmakers gathered overnight to certify the election results. While Trump took 40 minutes to tell supporters to “remain peaceful”, he also lashed Mike Pence for not having the courage “to protect our Country and our Constitution”. Pence has reacted by stating that “the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not”, refusing to overturn the election result.

3. Trump followed up with an odd video telling the protestors to “go home” while also doubling down on his claims of election fraud. “So go home, we love you, you’re very special, you’ve seen what happens … But go home, and go home in peace,” he said.

4. The events unfolding this morning on Capitol Hill are being compared to a coup, as more National Guard troops are deployed to Washington. One woman has been shot and injured police are being evacuated.

5. Reports are also emerging that a small number of supporters also made an attempt to storm the Capitol in Georgia, a tight battleground state in the last election. One Republican Congressman told Trump, “You are not protecting the country… you are done and your legacy will be a disaster.”

6. Away from the so-called United States, there is news as well. Australians look set to receive a COVID-19 vaccine two weeks earlier than planned, after the federal government brought its timeline forward. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be used for the first jabs, with 80,000 doses of the 10 million secured by the Australian government set to arrive each week from later this month. Those in aged care homes, as well as health, quarantine and border workers will be the first to get the jab. Those on the other side of the aisle aren’t convinced.

7. Google has upped the ante as it fights proposals that would force the tech giant to pay Australian publishers. Australian managing director Mel Silva said that the media bargaining code would “break” the company’s search engine by pathing the way to non-media businesses demanding payment for link outs. With the code looking to be passed early this month, expect escalating rhetoric from both sides.

8. In one of his final moves as US President, Trump has signed an executive order banning Alipay, WeChat Pay, and 6 other Chinese apps. Becoming effective once he’s left office, the ban claims the apps are a threat to “the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”

9. The FBI may have tracked Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell using a dummy mobile phone. Newly unsealed documents show how investigators discovered Maxwell hiding in her mansion, with literal tin foil wrapped around her phone.

10. With more money than god, Silicon Valley elites are choosing to poison themselves with frog mucus. Tech executives have been experimenting with kambo, a type of frog mucus indigenous Amazonian people have used for centuries to detox themselves mentally and physically. With kambo being potentially lethal, this isn’t a remedy to try at home, folks.

Bonus item.

It’s hard to look away from this.

Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.