Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Biden Says Omicron Cause For Concern


The World Health Organziation said Monday that there is a, quote, "very high" global risk from the new omicron variant of Covid-19 based on the early evidence. While saying there are "considerable uncertainties," WHO said preliminary evidence raises the possibility the variant could both evade an immune-system response, and increase its ability to spread from person to person. President Biden told Americans, however, that while the variant is a cause for concern it is, quote, "not a cause for panic." While he continued to urge getting vaccinated, including with boosters, and wearing masks, Biden said he's not considering any widespread lockdowns. He also said that while it's inevitable that omicron will reach the U.S., the country has the tools necessary to protect Americans. Meanwhile, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Rochelle Walensky strengthened the recommendation that vaccinated people get boosters, urging everyone 18 and older to get them. Earlier this month, U.S. regulators extended availability of boosters to all adults, but only recommended them for those 50 and older or in long-term care.
 

➤JUDGE BLOCKS ADMINISTRATION VACCINE MANDATE FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS: A federal judge yesterday blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a Covid vaccine mandate on thousands of health care workers in 10 states that had challenged it. U.S. District Judge Matthew Schlep said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid had no clear authority from Congress to enact the mandate for providers participating in the two government health care programs. The states affected, which all have Republican governors or attorneys general, are: Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

➤JAN. 6 COMMITTEE SETS CONTEMPT VOTE FOR EX-JUSTICE DEPT. OFFICIAL: The House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol scheduled a contempt vote yesterday for Wednesday for Jeffrey Clark, a Justice Depatment lawyer during the Trump administration who, according to AP, aligned with then-President Donald Trump as he tried to overturn the election results. Clark appeared for a deposition earlier this month, but told lawmakers he wouldn't answer questions, based in part on Trump's efforts to block the committee from getting documents and interviews, suing as he tries to assert executive privilege, even though he's no longer president.

NY Post Front Page 11/30/21

➤GHISLAINE MAXWELL TRIAL GETS UNDERWAY: The federal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of late financier Jeffrey Epstein, on charges related to sex trafficking got underway in New York yesterday. Prosecutor Lara Pomerantz called Maxwell and Epstein "partners in crime" in the sexual abuse of girls as young as 14, calling the 59-year-old central to Epstein's sex abuse scheme. She said Maxwell, quote, "helped normalize abusive sexual conduct" by making the teens feel safe. Maxwell's attorneys countered that she was being made a, quote, "scapegoat for a man who behaved badly," stating, "She’s not Jeffrey Epstein. She’s not like Jeffrey Epstein . . . " Maxwell is accused of recruiting and grooming young girls for Epstein to abuse.

 
Jussie Smollett
➤JUSSIE SMOLLETT'S LAWYER SAYS ACTOR WAS 'REAL VICTIM': The Jussie Smollett trial began yesterday in Chicago and during the opening statements, Smollett's lawyer Nenye Uche maintained the actor's innocence. According to AP News, Uche said, “Jussie Smollett is a real victim." Uche also argued that the Osundairo brothers who allegedly Smollett didn't like him and the $3,500 check they received from Smollett was payment to train him for an upcoming music video. Uche added, “At the end of the day they want you to believe Jussie was stupid enough to pay for a hoax with a check but was smart enough to pay (for supplies) with a $100 bill." Uche also suggested a third person was involved in Smollett’s attack, pointing to an eyewitness account in a police report which identifies a white man with “reddish brown hair.” The eyewitness alleged that when the man turned away, she “could see hanging out from underneath his jacket what appeared to be a rope.” If convicted, Smollett faces up to three years in prison.

Bill Cosby
➤PROSECUTOR PETITIONS THE SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW BILL COSBY'S OVERTURNED CONVICTION: Pennsylvania prosecutors asked the Supreme Court to review Bill Cosby’s overturned conviction in an attempt to resurrect the case against the disgraced comedian.  The New York Post reports that Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele wrote in a petition made available to the public on Monday that Cosby should not have lifetime immunity against prosecution because of a behind-the-scenes agreement that was only documented in a press release.The 84-year-old former star of The Cosby Show was convicted in 2018 on assault charges related to the drugging and molesting of Andrea Constand in 2004. He was sentenced to three to 10 years behind bars.

🎄FIRST LADY UNVEILS WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS: First Lady Jill Biden unveiled this year's White House Christmas decorations Monday, which have a theme of "Gifts from the Heart" and honor frontline workers for all they've done working through the pandemic. As part of that, they are recognized in the traditional Gingerbread White House, which added a school, police, fire and gas stations, a hospital, a post office a grocery store and a warehouse. The first lady said, "For all of our differences, we are united by what really matters. Like points on a star, we come together at the heart. That is what I wanted to reflect in our White House this year. In each room, we tell a story of gifts from the heart." The official White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room is trimmed with white doves and ribbon bearing the names of all U.S. states and territories to celebrate peace and unity.


➤DR. OZ IS REPORTEDLY RUNNING FOR SENATE: It looks the rumors are true, with the Philadelphia Inquirer citing sources as saying TV's Dr. Mehmet Oz will for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania. The 61-year-old is expected to join the race for the Republican nomination for the seat currently held by Reupblican Senator Pat Toomey, who's not seeking reelection. The report said Oz has already hired campaign aides and started talking to Republican leaders in Pennsylvania, and could announce his candidacy this week. Additionally, TMZ said he's already made a multimillion-dollar media buy in the state.

🧒STUDY..DIGITAL MULTITASKING CAN BE DETRIMENTAL TO A CHILD’S MENTAL HEALTH: Children are exposed to a lot of digital information each day from various sources, and a new study finds this might not be good for their mental health. Swiss researchers surveyed kids ages eight to 12 and found using multiple devices at the same time (for example texting while watching TV) “is associated with more frequent ADHD-like behavior as rated by their teachers, when controlling for total media time, gender, and age.” The study did have some limitations, however, such as only looking at a small number of children, and that the findings could not prove unequivocally that kids who use multiple devices at once developed more problematic behaviors.
 
🎅SURVEY..SECRET SANTA, WRAPPING PRESENTS WORST PART OF THE CHRISTMAS SEASON: While the Christmas season can be a happy time of family, togetherness, festive decorations and more, there are also downsides that many people don't like, and new survey found that Secret Santa is at the top of the least-liked list. The OnePoll survey for Slickdeals found that 79 percent hate being part of a Secret Santa gift exchange because they never know what to get for their gift recipient. They don't much like what they get either, with 87 percent admitting they've re-gifted items they've gotten in a Secret Santa. Just behind that among the worst parts of the holiday season is wrapping presents, named by 52 percent, with half saying they'll go out of their way to buy presents that are easier to wrap. 

➤THESE AMERICANS ARE TWICE AS LIKELY TO BLOW PAST THEIR BUDGET THIS HOLIDAY SEASON:  It seems people in certain age groups are more likely to blow their holiday shopping budgets than others. MarketWatch reports Americans are planning to spend more than $1,200 on average this year on holiday shopping, and in a new survey from Experian, nearly half of people who said they find staying within their holiday shopping budget challenging were members of Gen Z. And overall, members of Gen Z were found to be twice as likely as other age groups to face some sort of financial struggle or another during their holiday shopping. Also, 32 percent of US adults said they’re facing a COVID-caused financial barrier that will prevent them from holiday shopping as planned, and more than half said they spend too much on holiday shopping.

📺VH1 ROLLING OUT 'RAUNCHY' CHRISTMAS MOVIES:  It's the time of year for made-for-cable Christmas movies that proliferate on channels like Lifetime, Hallmark, BET+, and more that are wholesome, family-friendly stories about the magic of love and tradition at Christmas. But VH1 thinks it's time for something different, launching its new "Naughty or Nice" holiday films, with the "naughty" ones presenting raunchy versions of Christmas movies. Nina L. Diaz, president of content for MTV Entertainment Group, which is producing the films, told the L.A. Times, "[C]hristmas films that are disruptive, edgy and more diverse are long overdue. We wanted to have a modern, naughty-or-nice take on the classic genre." Part of the effort is about being more inclusive, as Hallmark and Lifetime have been criticized for their movies featuring mostly white couples, something they've made an effort to change. But part of it is also bringing the raunch. As an example, one of the "Naughty or Nice" movies, The B*tch Who Stole Christmas, features RuPaul and 20 drag queens from RuPaul's Drag Race in a story that takes place in small town and is chock-full of double entendres. Another is Let's Get Married, in which a heartbroken women who hates Christmas vows to get married during a bachelorette party at Santa's Hamlet, where she and her friends talk about graphic sex and get high. In another, a young girl spies on a department store Santa having sex with one of his "elves."

💲A FULL ’12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS’ WILL COST MORE THIS YEAR:  If you were to buy all of the gifts mentioned in the song The 12 Days of Christmas you’d be spending quite a lot this year—over $41,000. PNC released their annual Christmas Price Index, which has been measuring the current cost of getting all the items mentioned in a full verse of the Christmas carol since 1984. Overall, the index is up 5.7 percent this season, the largest jump since 2013. For comparison, this year everything would run you $41,206, up from just $16,168 last year, and $38,994 in 2019. This year, the two turtle doves would run you around $450, 50 percent higher than last year. Meanwhile, the cost of seven swans held steady at $13,125, as did the cost of eight maids-a-milking ($58), which is also the cheapest item on the list. PNC Chief Investment Officer Amanda Agati says, “Inflation this year has certainly been surprising to the upside. This very specialty gift basket is largely mirroring what we’re seeing in the larger economy.”


🏈WASHINGTON TOPS SEATTLE 17-15: The Washington Football Team topped the Seattle Seahawks 17-15 in Monday Night Football last night (November 29th) at home, holding off a comeback attempt by Seattle just before the end of the game. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson led a 96-yard touchdown drive in just over two minutes, scoring with only 15 seconds left on a 32-yard touchdown pass. But a two-point conversation attempt was intercepted by Washington's Kendall Fuller, allowing them to hold on for the win. Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke threw for 223 yards and a touchdown.

 
\🏈LSU HIRES FOOTBALL COACH KELLY FROM NOTRE DAME: In the second bombshell college head football coach move in as many days, Yahoo! Sports first reported yesterday that Brian Kelly is leaving Notre Dame for LSU. Kelly is leaving Notre Dame after becoming the winningest coach in the storied franchise's history earlier this season, passing the legendary Knute Rockne. He was 113-40 in 12 seasons with Notre Dame. LSU reached an agreement with head coach Ed Orgeron in October to part ways at the end of the season.

🏌TIGER WOODS: NOT 'REALISTIC' HE'LL REACH TOP OF GOLF AGAIN: Tiger Woods said in a video interview with Golf Digest published yesterday that while he expects to play golf again, it won't be a full-time schedule, and he doesn't expect to make it back to the top of the sport again, stating, "I don’t think that’s a realistic expectation of me." The 15-time major champion, who has had five back operations, is still recovering after his right leg was badly damaged in a February car crash. He said of the recovery process, "I have so far to go. I'm not even at the halfway point." Woods earned his 82nd career PGA Tour victory in 2019, tying Sam Snead for the all-time record.


⚾PITCHER SCHERZER AGREES TO THREE-YEAR, $130 MILLION DEAL WITH METS: Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer has agreed to a $130 million, three-year contract with the New York Mets. He's leaving the L.A. Dodgers for the record-setting deal, which tops New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole's average in his $324 million, nine-year contract.

⚾SHORTSTOP SEAGER REACHES $325 MILLION, 10-YEAR DEAL WITH RANGERS: Shortstop Corey Seager reached a $325 million, 10-year deal with the Texas Rangers Monday. Seagar was a two-time All-Star in his seven seasons with the L.A. Dodgers and the 2020 World Series MVP. The total of his deal ties Giancarlo Stanton for the fifth-highest in baseball.

🏌LEE ELDER, FIRST BLACK GOLFER TO PLAY IN MASTERS, DEAD AT AGE 87: Lee Elder, who was the first Black golfer to play at the Masters in 1975, died on Sunday, the PGA Tour announced Monday. He was 87. Elder was given the honor at this year's Masters in April of hitting the ceremonial opening tee shot alongside golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. He was in poor health and wore an oxygen tube and wasn't well enough to take a swing at the ball, but stood briefly to acknowledge the cheers from fans in the gallery. He said at the time, "For me and my family, I think it was one of the most emotional experiences that I have ever witnessed or been involved in."

➤HURRICANE SEASON OFFICIALY ENDS TODAY: The intense 2021 Atlantic hurricane season comes to its official end Tuesday, a season that saw 21 named tropical storms and hurricanes. This was the third-most for any hurricane season, behind only 2020's record 30 storms and the 28 storms that formed in 2005. A typical season sees 14 storms.  And for the second year in a row, the entire list of names for the season was used up, from Tropical Storm Ana in May to Tropical Storm Wanda in November. It was also a record sixth consecutive year of above-normal activity.



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