Monthly Archives: December 2021

Scientists: COVID Is Moving From Pandemic To Endemic

NBC News reports: “Everyone has stopped talking about getting rid of Covid,” Dr. Elizabeth Halloran, an epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said of her fellow researchers. “It’s not going away, and that means it’s going to be endemic.” Most scientists now expect the virus to circulate indefinitely with lower and more predictable case numbers — …

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GA Election Workers Sue Giuliani, OAN For Defamation

Newsweek reports: Two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, filed a defamation lawsuit Thursday against One America News Network and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, saying they were defamed by false claims that they committed ballot fraud in connection to the 2020 election. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., says One America …

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White House “Grateful” Trump Is Finally Promoting Vax

Reuters reports: The White House is grateful that former U.S. President Donald Trump received and promoted getting the COVID-19 vaccine booster shot, press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday. “The ones that get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don’t take the vaccine,” Trump said in an interview with conservative commentator Candace Owens. “If you …

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200+ Xmas Eve Flights Canceled Due To Omicron Surge

The Hill reports: More than 100 flights that were scheduled for Christmas Eve have been canceled by United Airlines as the company grapples with the spread of the omicron variant, the airline confirmed on Thursday. A spokesperson for United said that “we’re seeing about 120 cancellations planned for Friday.” Delta Air Lines also announced on Thursday that it would be …

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Riot Panel Focuses On Trump’s Inaction During Attack

The Washington Post reports: The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is focusing intently on Donald Trump’s actions that day as it begins to discuss whether to recommend that the Justice Department open a criminal investigation into the former president. Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) said in an interview that of particular interest is why …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Variety reports: Attorneys for the members of Nirvana have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed in August by the man who was the “naked baby” on the cover of the 1991 “Nevermind” album, on the basis that the legal arguments that the image constitutes child pornography are decades too late as well as too silly. The filing says …

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Astronomers Discover Dozens Of “Rogue” Planets

The Verge reports: Astronomers just discovered a treasure trove of “rogue planets” — free-floating planets that don’t orbit a star but exist all by their lonesome in the depths of space. With masses comparable to that of Jupiter, the 70 or more rogue planets spotted throughout the Milky Way galaxy are the largest such group of cosmic nomads ever found. …

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TX Gov Taking Hands-Off Approach To COVID Surge

The Texas Tribune reports: In March, Abbott ended the statewide mask mandate, marking the beginning of a sharp shift toward preaching “personal responsibility” and an outright rejection of any government mandate — whether state or local — to curb the pandemic. That philosophy carried the state through the delta variant this fall, even as hospitals were overrun and deaths climbed. …

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Court Rejects Challenge To NV School Mask Mandate

The Hill reports: A federal judge on Wednesday rejected a lawsuit from two Nevada parents seeking to challenge the state’s public school mask mandate, saying in her ruling that parents did not have the constitutional right to dictate school policies. In their lawsuit filed in August, two Nevada parents claimed that the mask mandate, as well as their exclusion from …

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Owens Rages Over Blowback: I Will Always Be Anti-Vax

Mediaite reports: Candace Owens found herself on the defensive regarding her opposition to Covid-19 vaccines Thursday after former President Donald Trump told her in a new interview he views them as both safe and effective. Thursday, Owens reacted to reporting from the interview from The Daily Beast, which had keyed in on her exchange with Trump over vaccines. Owens took …

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New Yorkers Line Up For Free At-Home COVID Test Kits

Gothamist reports: Thousands of New Yorkers lined up at sites in each borough hoping to score one of the coveted at-home COVID-19 test kits the city distributed ahead of the holidays. Five pop-up locations opened Thursday and another five are scheduled to open Friday morning. Vince Mola cackled with happiness after receiving a free kit. “It’s glee, it’s relief and …

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Shady Chinese Outfit Is Behind Trump’s Media Company

The Washington Post reports: A Chinese firm helping former president Donald Trump take his new media company public has been the target of investigations by federal securities regulators, who say the firm misrepresented shell companies with no products and few employees as ambitious, growing enterprises, documents and interviews show. Arc Capital, an investment advisory firm based in Shanghai, has repeatedly …

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New Restrictions Announced For NYE In Times Square

The New York Daily News reports: The ball drop must go on. The New Year’s Eve bash in Times Square will take place as scheduled — but attendees must wear face masks and maintain social distancing in addition to being fully vaccinated as COVID-19 continues to batter the city, Mayor de Blasio announced Thursday. Some 58,000 revelers are usually allowed …

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Florida Reports Near-Record 26K+ New COVID Cases

Miami’s ABC News affiliate reports: With the omicron variant rapidly spreading and lines of people swarming testing sites before Christmas, Florida nearly set a new record for daily COVID-19 infections. The state reported 26,811 new cases to the federal government from Wednesday, the CDC’s latest data shows Thursday. Florida’s highest single-day case increase was 27,669 from Aug. 26, according to …

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Foreign Investors Pour $3B+ Into New Kushner Outfit

Reuters reports: Jared Kushner’s global investment firm, Affinity Partners, has raised more than $3 billion in committed funding from international investors, a person familiar with the fund-raising effort told Reuters on Thursday. Kushner plans to invest in American and Israeli companies that are looking for international expansion opportunities in India, Africa, the Middle East and other parts of Asia. He …

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Cop Found Guilty In Taser/Gun Shooting Of Black Man

CNN reports: Kim Potter has been found guilty of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree manslaughter charges for fatally shooting Daunte Wright during a traffic-stop-turned-arrest on April 11, 2021. Jurors deliberated for about 27 hours over the course of four days. Potter, 49, had pleaded not guilty to the charges. She took the stand and testified before the jury, breaking down in …

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Report: NC Police Chief Directed Cops To Fake Vax Clinic

Charlotte’s CBS News affiliate reports: A town administrator has placed a North Carolina police chief on unpaid leave because he reportedly was telling officers about a “clinic” to get vaccination cards without actually being vaccinated against COVID-19. TJ Smith, the police chief of Oakboro, a town in Stanly County, is being disciplined for his actions. Oakboro Town Administrator Doug Burgess …

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Reminder: Trump Gave Big Donation To Candace Owens

Raw Story reports: It was just a few years ago that conservative Candace Owens was the CEO of a website that mocked the penis size of Donald Trump and now she’s taking $350,000 from him, and helping to promote him, recalled New York Times reporter Ken Vogel. Owens did an interview with Trump on Tuesday, but the interview came after …

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New US COVID Cases Surpass Summer’s Delta Surge

The Washington Post reports: The United States logged a seven-day average coronavirus case count of 168,981 on Wednesday, amid a nationwide spike driven partly by the omicron variant, Washington Post figures show, surpassing a summer peak of just over 165,000 infections on Sept. 1. Even before omicron was detected, coronavirus-related hospitalizations were rising in the United States. About 46,000 people …

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Anti-Vax Leader Claims He Will “Arrest” Louisiana Gov

The Daily Beast reports: Christopher Key, the leader of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine group “Vaccine Police,” said Wednesday he’s going to take the law into his own hands, pledging to conduct a citizen’s arrest of Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards. “I am the vaccine police,” Key said on Clay Clark’s daily show. “We have shut down pharmacists. We have shut down …

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