Trump turns on his own supporters as he tries to evade blame for Capitol riot

Latest updates and essential advice from The Independent [View in browser]( [Alternate text] Daily briefing January 08, 2021 Today’s essential news from the source you trust This morning’s headlines Donald Trump says his supporters who stormed the Capitol Building on Wednesday [“defiled the seat of democracy”]( in a new Twitter video. The outgoing president condemned the violence unleashed by the rioters that left four people dead and promised a “seamless transition of power”. Earlier, Joe Biden branded the Trump rioters as “domestic terrorists” as the identities of the four people killed during the violence in Washington, DC, were revealed. Metro City police confirmed that Benjamin Phillips, 50, of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, died of a medical emergency along with Kevin Greeson, 55, of Alabama and Rosanne Boylan, 34, of Georgia, while Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, 35, of San Diego, California, was shot and killed at the US Capitol building. The attack at the heart of US democracy by far-right groups including the Proud Boys, who boasted of causing “absolute terror” on Telegram, has received international condemnation, while former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have directly blamed Mr Trump’s incendiary and baseless claims of election fraud for the violent scenes. You can follow [the latest on the situation]( in our dedicated liveblog. In the UK, two drugs typically used to treat rheumatoid arthritis have been shown to [“significantly” reduce the risk of mortality]( in Covid-19 patients admitted to intensive care. Under new NHS guidance to be issued by the government, critically ill patients hospitalised with the disease will be given access to tocilizumab and sarilumab, both of which are immunosuppressant drugs and can improve the chances of survival and recovery. The government-funded Remap-Cap clinical trial found that the treatments reduced the risk of mortality to a quarter when administered to patients within a day of entering intensive care alongside a corticosteroid, such as dexamethasone - the first drug proven to reduce mortality. Patients receiving this treatment also left intensive care between seven to 10 days earlier on average, the study added. Matt Hancock described the news as “another landmark development in finding a way out of this pandemic”, while professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s deputy chief medical officer, said it marked a “significant step forward for increasing survival of patients in intensive care”. After days of promises by ministers, the government has finally announced that [travellers to the UK will have to take a Covid test](before departure. But it has not said what sort of testing will be required, nor when exactly the scheme will start. While airlines and airports broadly welcomed the initiative, one travel industry figure criticised the plan as “not joined up”. From some time next week, most international arrivals, including UK nationals, will be required to present a negative Covid-19 test taken up to 72 hours prior to departure to the UK. The procedure will be at the passenger’s expense. It will not apply to arrivals from the republic of Ireland. Children under 11, lorry drivers and flight, sea and rail crew will be exempt. Passengers travelling from countries deemed to lack “the infrastructure available to deliver the tests” will also avoid the requirement. . We need your support The Independent employs over 100 journalists around the world to bring you news you can trust. Please consider showing your support with a contribution. [Contribute]( . Top stories [Watchdog chief calls for honesty over pandemic impact on patient care]( [Trump ‘wrong’ to encourage storming of Capitol, Johnson says]( [Elon Musk overtakes Jeff Bezos to become world’s richest person]( . New Year. New perspective Save 40% when you subscribe to The Independent this January for unrivalled clarity on the issues that matter most. [Subscribe now]( . More news - [Leave.eu moves to Ireland to keep EU domain as hauliers ‘overwhelmed’ by paperwork - follow live]( - [Unison boss calls for pandemic ‘day of reckoning’]( - [Taiwan welcomes controversial visit by US Ambassador Craft]( - [Seoul court orders Japan to compensate 12 Korean sex slaves]( - [Conservative media decry Capitol riot, but grievances remain]( . News you can trust The Independent has a 100% NewsGuard trust rating [NewsGuard] [Find out more]( . 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