Another action-packed year has come and gone for this here website thingy, which in a few months will mark its 18th anniversary. In this post last year, I wrote, “I want to sincerely thank all of you, longtime JMG flying monkeys and newbies alike, for being here during what for many of us will be the most memorable year of …

Deadline reports: The official Times Square New Year’s Eve lineup includes live performances by Journey, Ashanti and Ja Rule, among other appearances throughout the evening Friday, highlighting a slew of options to help ring in 2022 while Omicron continues to surge. Co-organizers the Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment’s annual and official Times Square event, which shares the NYC stage …

Via email from convicted homocon rioter Brandon Straka: Dear Patriots, I’m not sad to see 2021 go. The year started for me with the FBI coming into my apartment, taking my things, putting me in handcuffs and throwing me in a cell for days. That was the beginning of what has been a year long nightmare. Most of you still …

The New York Daily News reports: As New York continues to ride a relentless COVID wave into the new year, Gov. Hochul on Friday extended a statewide mask mandate for businesses through at least the end of January and reported another day of record-breaking positivity numbers. At the close of a year of vaccine jabs and squashed dreams of post-pandemic …

The Hill reports: President Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Friday offered tributes to Betty White after being asked about the legendary television star’s death. “That’s a shame. She was a lovely lady,” Biden told reporters. Jill Biden also shared her condolences, citing an expression her own mother used to say. “99 years old— as my mother would say, …

The Dallas Morning News reports: Gov. Greg Abbott is asking the federal government for help adding COVID-19 testing sites in some of Texas’ largest counties, including Dallas and Tarrant. His request came Friday as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads throughout the state and tests are in high demand. “Detecting COVID-19 and preventing COVID-related hospitalizations are critical to our fight …

Stupid lying is their defining characteristic: The Twitter account belonging to Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee posted and deleted a tweet that read, “If the booster shots work, why don’t they work?” The tweet was posted on Thursday and deleted on Friday after it was widely ridiculed. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is the leading Republican on the Judiciary …

So this story is making the rounds in Jesus land: Controversial Nigerian Pastor Odumeje Bahose said he won a belt in the “International Spiritual Wrestling Championship” after defeating Satan in a closed door match. Pastor Odumeje went for the said wrestling match in hell alone and emerged victoriously and according to him, the said match had no referee or spectators, …

TMZ reports: Beloved actress, comedian and American icon Betty White has died, just weeks before a milestone birthday … TMZ has learned. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ … Betty passed away at her home just before 9:30 AM Friday. A trailblazer and pioneer in media, Betty had the longest running career for any woman in TV prior to her death …

Mediaite reports: A campaign group seeking to unseat Florida governor Ron DeSantis has joined in the row over his recent absence from public view by flying a plane with a mocking banner over his state. Launched by Remove Ron, which is led by an activist who has stalked Florida beaches during the pandemic dressed as the grim reaper, the plane’s …

ABC News reports: Over 1,400 flights going into, out of and within the U.S. were canceled on Friday as the year comes to a close with snarled travel due to the impact of COVID-19 and the omicron variant on airlines and their crews. According to FlightAware’s live delay and cancellation statistic, just over 1,400 flights in the U.S. were canceled …

The Washington Post reports: Amtrak said Thursday that it will reduce its schedule between New Year’s Eve and Jan. 6 as it battles bad weather in some parts of the country and a surge in coronavirus cases among its employees. “Amtrak regrets any inconvenience,” the railroad said in a statement. “We are continuing to monitor changing conditions and will make …

The Independent reports: Customers rushed to evacuate a Costco retail store and a Chuck E Cheese restaurant in Superior, Colorado, on Thursday after a wildfire started spreading rapidly across the area due to gusty winds. Thousands of people in Colorado have been evacuated as hundreds of homes were destroyed by wildfires that tore through parts of the state. A video …

The Daily Beast reports: On his Thursday evening live stream, Lindell railed against “bots” and “trolls” that have been posing questions and statements on his Facebook page, such as: “Mike, you keep making promises. I don’t see Donald Trump.” Then, referring to his own fans growing impatient with his own fruitless promises, Lindell fired back: “Those are bots and trolls. …

The Associated Press reports: The omicron-fueled surge that is sending COVID-19 cases rocketing in the U.S. is putting children in the hospital in record numbers, and experts lament that most of the youngsters are not vaccinated. “It’s just so heartbreaking,” said Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious-disease expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “It was hard enough last year, but now …

Reuters reports: Australians bade farewell to 2021 with a traditional fireworks display over Sydney harbour as good news from South Africa – the first country to pronounce itself past its Omicron wave – brought hope for a joyous New Year. Thanks to Omicron, the New Year began its annual roll from East to West quietly – with no official firework …

The Washington Post reports: The rapid surge of omicron infections in the United States may be relatively brief, measured in weeks rather than months, according to infectious-disease experts who have been astonished by the speed of the coronavirus variant’s spread — and who are hoping this wave ebbs just as quickly. The idea of a rapid peak and swift decline …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis canceled his New Year’s Eve tradition of visiting the life-sized Nativity scene set up in St. Peter’s Square to discourage large crowds from forming. Meanwhile, major Italian cities scrapped their traditional Dec. 31 open-air concerts as Italy battles a record-setting surge in coronavirus cases. The Vatican has largely followed Italy’s lead in imposing restrictions …

Mediaite reports: Lisa Boothe returned to the Fox News airwaves as guest host of The Ingraham Angle on Thursday after an absence of more than two weeks. Her appearance came three days after she suggested on Twitter that she had contracted Covid-19. After the handoff from Pete Hegseth who had guest-hosted Hannity, Boothe said, “Let’s go, Brandon,” a euphemism for …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Orange County officials said Wednesday the state has balked at opening testing sites amid a tidal wave of demand and denied a request this week for flashing signs to help provide information to people in miles-long lines. A state testing site, like one that was operated at the Orange County Convention Center in 2020, would alleviate …