Wednesday, January 5th, 2022
Chris Evans will reportedly play Gene Kelly in a movie He can do this all day — and by this, we mean tap dance. Captain America star Chris Evans is reportedly in talks to play Gene Kelly in an upcoming film. The project is reportedly based on Evans’ original idea, following a 12-year-old boy who develops an imagined friendship with the classic film star while working on the MGM lot in the 1950s. Knives Out director Rian Johnson is reuniting with Evans to produce the film, while Skyfall co-writer John Logan will write it. Weirdly enough, this will make Evans the second Avenger to line up a movie in recent weeks about a famous actor and dancer, as Spider-Man star Tom Holland is set to play Fred Astaire in a separate movie at Sony. Could a Tap Dancing Avengers spin-off be far behind? VARIETY
Nicolas Cage regretfully retired from karaoke Someone out there ruined Nicolas Cage performing karaoke for the rest of us. The National Treasure star said he used to love karaoke, but he gave it up after a video of him singing “Purple Rain” went viral a few years ago. “For me, karaoke was like therapy until someone videotaped my punk-rock version of Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ and it went everywhere and I said, ‘I’m not going to karaoke anymore,’” Cage said. The video can be seen on YouTube under the brutal title of “Nicolas Cage Ruins Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ During Bizarre Karaoke Session,” and when it went viral in 2019, TMZ suggested “the performance was fueled by his desire to annul his recent marriage of four days.” Cage reflected that “singing is therapy,” adding, “Karaoke’s supposed to be private. It’s like a prayer.” But Andrew Garfield tried to convince Cage to come out of karaoke retirement, telling him, “Don’t steal the gift from the world. You need to keep giving.” THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
Jessica Chastain’s grandmother sat on Bradley Cooper’s lap Really, can you blame her? On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jessica Chastain described her efforts to set up her grandmother on dates, which include putting pictures of her up on Match.com. But it sounds like she might not need that much help, as Chastain recalled having a party at her house where her grandmother, who is “at the age where she just really doesn’t care,” just straight up walked over to Bradley Cooper and “sat on his lap.” They had never even met prior to this, and Cooper, who didn’t know who she was, was “horrified,” Chastain explained. “I saw it kind of happening in slow motion, where it was like, ‘No!‘” she said. “And I just started going, ‘It’s my grandma, it’s my grandma, it’s my grandma, it’s my grandma!’ And then he was like, ‘Okay, okay, hi grandma!’” E! ONLINE
David Arquette is in a ‘clown period’ of his life David Arquette is in his clown era. The Scream star told Live with Kelly and Ryan he’s currently studying to be a clown, noting, “I love clowns. I’ve sort of been in a clown period of my life.” Arquette explained he’s been working with an organization called Healthy Humor, which travels to hospitals to “bring some joy and love and laughter” to patients. Kelly Ripa praised Arquette for his efforts, suggesting that even though “a lot of people have very strong opinions about clowns,” it’s “one of those unsung art forms that’s a lot more work than people realize.” After the interview aired, though, Arquette took to Twitter to offer a correction, saying he accidentally plugged the wrong website for Healthy Humor. “Sorry,” he tweeted, “I’m a clown.” PEOPLE
A nationwide state of emergency is declared in Kazakhstan. (Sky News)
Eight police officers are killed and 317 others injured in clashes between protesters and security forces. No figures on civilian casualties have been released. (Reuters)
The presidential residence and offices of Äkim of Almaty Bakhytzhan Sagintayev are set on fire by protesters. (AP)
The government of Kazakhstan resigns following the protests, with Alihan Smaiylov becoming acting Prime Minister. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also announces the reintroduction of the price cap on liquefied petroleum gas. (Deutsche Welle)
A nationwide state of emergency is declared in Kazakhstan. (Sky News)
President Tokayev dismisses former president and Security Council of Kazakhstan Chairman Nursultan Nazarbayev. Protesters also seize control of Almaty International Airport with all flights to and from the airport being cancelled. (Reuters)
President Tokayev requests military assistance from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, saying that “terrorist gangs are overrunning strategic facilities across the country.” (Trend)
It is announced that the upcoming Golden Globe Awards will be held without a live audience or celebrities due to COVID-19 concerns. (Vanity Fair)
The Grammy Awards is postponed amidst concerns of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. (CNBC)
Twelve people are killed and two others are injured in a fire at a row house converted into apartments in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. (ABC News)
Fourteen people are killed and three others are injured by a landslide at a construction site in Bijie, Guizhou, China. (Al Jazeera)
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his First Lady Michal Herzog receive their fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as Israel launched the second booster dose vaccination campaign. (I24 News)
Israel reports a record 11,978 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,423,289. (Al-Arabiya English)
South Korea signs an agreement to buy an additional 400,000 doses of Pfizer‘s Paxlovid COVID-19 drug. (CNA)
Italy reports a record for the second consecutive day of 189,109 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 6,566,947. (ANSA)
The Draghi Cabinet signs a decree that makes COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for people over the age of 50 years and also mandates that public and private sector workers of this age group need to show proof of vaccination or recovery or face fines of between €600 and €1,500 beginning on February 15. (The Guardian)
Argentina confirms their first locally transmitted cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. In response, the government implements self-testing in order to avoid queues at testing centers. (Página/12)
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorses the use of booster shots of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as 12. (CNN)
Chicago Public Schools announces that public schools in Chicago, Illinois, will cancel in-person classes amidst a rise in cases of COVID-19. (ABC News)
The Lithuanian government announces that it will not extend the state of emergency at the border with Belarus. (Reuters)
The End Saturday
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev fires former president and Security Council of Kazakhstan Chairman Nursultan Nazarbayev as the worst civil disorder in decades continues to hit the country. Protesters seize control of Almaty International Airport with all flights to and from the airport being cancelled. (Reuters)
Fourteen people are killed and three more injured by a landslide at a construction site in Guizhou, China. (Al Jazeera)
Thirteen people are killed and several others injured in a fire in a row house converted into apartments in Fairmount, Pennsylvania, United States. (ABC News)
Israel reports a records 11,978 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, surpassing the previous record of 11,344 cases in September last year. It brings the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,423,289. (Al-Arabiya English)
South Korea signs an agreement to buy additional COVID-19 pill Paxlovid made by Pfizer to cover 400,000 people. (CNA)
The Netherlands reports a record 24,590 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, surpassing the previous record set on November 24. (NL Times)
The Lithuania government announces that it will not extend the state of emergency at the border with Belarus. (Reuters)
Toyota surpasses GM as top-selling automaker in U.S. Toyota said Tuesday it sold 2.3 million vehicles in the United States in 2021, surpassing General Motors by about 114,000 and becoming the top-selling automaker in the U.S. for the first time, measured by annual sales. Toyota’s total for the year marked a 10 percent increase over 2020, despite a computer-chip shortage that has disrupted production for car makers around the world. The Japanese company benefited from a decision to stockpile chips needed to power its vehicle electronics. GM’s total for the year fell by nearly 13 percent to 2.2 million. GM had led U.S. auto sales since 1931. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Record 4.5 million workers quit jobs in November A record number of U.S. workers quit their jobs in November, according to federal data released Tuesday. More than 4.5 million people voluntarily walked away from their positions in the month, up from 4.2 million in October, the Labor Department said. November’s figure was the highest since the government started tracking the figure two decades ago. Hiring edged down in December, according to data tracked by business payroll managers Homebase and UKG, suggesting that the COVID-19 surge driven by the fast spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant was squeezing the labor supply. Both firms recorded larger seasonal dips than last year. Homebase found a 15 percent drop at small businesses in the last days of 2021, up from a 10 percent drop in 2020. REUTERS
Cal Fire says PG&E power lines started huge Dixie Fire The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Tuesday that last year’s Dixie Fire, the second-largest wildfire ever recorded in the state, started when PG&E power lines came into contact with a tree. Cal Fire has investigated the Dixie Fire, which started on July 13 in Butte County, for months. The fire burned 963,309 acres and destroyed 1,329 structures in Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta, and Tehama counties. PG&E acknowledged last year that its equipment might have been involved in starting the Dixie Fire. On Tuesday, the power company noted that it had said in July that “a large tree struck one of our normally operating lines.” PG&E plans to bury 10,000 miles of power lines over 10 years in areas at high risk for wildfires. SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Walmart expands InHome delivery service in bet on convenience Walmart announced Wednesday that it was expanding availability of its InHome delivery service from six million to 30 million households. The service involves Walmart employees wearing cameras who enter customers’ homes using a smart lock, then drop off groceries or other purchases, and pick up returns. Delivery workers put items into the refrigerator or onto a counter, according to customer requests. If the customers are not home, they can view the delivery live or recorded through the Walmart App. The expansion of the $19.95-a-month service in cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago marks the latest corporate bet on consumers’ desire for convenience as the coronavirus pandemic continues. CNBC
Biden repeats plea for vaccinations, boosters as COVID cases soar President Biden on Tuesday repeated his call for more Americans to get vaccinated and boosted, and to wear masks to increase protection against COVID-19, as the fast-spreading Omicron variant drives soaring coronavirus infections. “We have the tools to protect people from severe illness due to Omicron — if people choose to use the tools,” Biden said before meeting with the White House COVID-19 response team. “There’s a lot of reason to be hopeful in [2022], but for God’s sake, please take advantage of what’s available.” The comments came after the U.S. reported a million new cases in a single day, a figure probably inflated by holiday backlogs but still far beyond the previous record of 591,000 set on Thursday. The surge is overwhelming many hospitals. USA TODAY
Chicago schools close after teachers force return to remote instruction Chicago Public Schools canceled Wednesday classes after the Chicago Teachers Union voted late Tuesday not to show up for in-person work out of concerns that COVID-19 protections against the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant were insufficient. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D), CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, and public health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said at a news conference that children need to be back in the classroom, and they insisted that schools were safe with proper mitigation. Seventy-three percent of the teachers union’s members supported the proposal to force instruction online just two days after the return from holiday break. The union set a Jan. 18 target date for reopening schools. CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Trump cancels Jan. 6 press conference Former President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he was canceling a press conference he had scheduled for Thursday, the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a mob of his supporters aiming to prevent lawmakers from certifying President Biden’s election victory. Trump had planned to deliver a speech about the election and his false claims of voter fraud, allegations that fueled the Capitol attack. Trump said in a statement he will instead talk about the matter during a Jan. 15 rally in Arizona. Four rioters died during the assault on the Capitol, and the next day, a police officer who was at the scene also died. Four other law enforcement officers who responded to the Capitol riot later died by suicide. REUTERS
Poll: Majority in U.S. believe democracy in peril Most Americans believe U.S. democracy is in danger ahead of the one-year anniversary of the deadly attack on the Capitol by a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters, according to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Tuesday. More than 80 percent of Republicans, Democrats, and independents said they feared for the future of America’s democracy. Eighty-five percent of Democrats said the rioters were “criminals”; two-thirds of Republicans said the mob “went too far, but they had a point.” Fifty-eight percent of Republicans said President Biden wasn’t legitimately elected, despite numerous investigations disproving Trump’s allegations of voter fraud. Only about 4 in 10 Republicans remember the attack as very or extremely violent, according to a new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. USA TODAY
D.A. says Cuomo won’t be prosecuted over groping allegation The Albany County, New York, District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo won’t be prosecuted on criminal charges over allegations that he groped former aide Brittany Commisso in the Executive Mansion two years ago. David Soares, the Albany County district attorney, said that despite the decision, he was “deeply troubled by allegations” like those in this case. “While we found the complainant in this case cooperative and credible,” Soares said, “after review of all the available evidence we have concluded that we cannot meet our burden at trial.” Prosecutors in Westchester and Nassau counties also recently said they wouldn’t pursue charges over separate sexual misconduct allegations against Cuomo, who resigned in August. THE NEW YORK TIMES
I-95 reopens after snowstorm leaves motorists stranded for 24 hours Interstate 95 reopened in Northern Virginia late Tuesday after hundreds of motorists were stranded south of Washington, D.C. — many of them for more than 24 hours — after heavy snow, ice, and accidents, including jackknifed tractor-trailers, paralyzed traffic on the highway. Motorists stayed in their cars overnight Monday and much of Tuesday in sub-freezing temperatures, many without food or water. Some posted messages on social media describing their plight as they ran low on fuel to run their heaters. Many lashed out at state officials for what they saw as a weak effort to help stranded motorists. “Not one police [officer] came in the 16 hours we were stuck,” said Meera Rao, who got stuck with her husband, Raghavendra, returning from visiting their daughter in North Carolina. THE WASHINGTON POST
Prince Andrew’s attorney calls for dropping lawsuit against him by Epstein accuser Prince Andrew’s lawyer on Tuesday asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him by Virginia Roberts Giuffre because of her newly unsealed 2009 deal with the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew’s attorney, Andrew Brettler, argued that Giuffre’s settlement with Epstein shielded the prince from lawsuits over any sexual abuse connected to Epstein. Giuffre has said Epstein forced her to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was underaged. The Duke of York was not mentioned in the settlement, but Brettler said the prince was protected as an “Other Potential Defendant.” Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied molesting Giuffre. CNN
Toyota surpasses GM as top-selling automaker in U.S. Toyota said Tuesday it sold 2.3 million vehicles in the United States in 2021, surpassing General Motors by about 114,000 and becoming the top-selling automaker in the U.S. for the first time, measured by annual sales. Toyota’s total for the year marked a 10 percent increase over 2020, despite a computer-chip shortage that has disrupted production for car makers around the world. The Japanese company benefited from a decision to stockpile chips needed to power its vehicle electronics. GM’s total for the year fell by nearly 13 percent to 2.2 million. GM had led U.S. auto sales since 1931. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Record 4.5 million workers quit jobs in November A record number of U.S. workers quit their jobs in November, according to federal data released Tuesday. More than 4.5 million people voluntarily walked away from their positions in the month, up from 4.2 million in October, the Labor Department said. November’s figure was the highest since the government started tracking the figure two decades ago. Hiring edged down in December, according to data tracked by business payroll managers Homebase and UKG, suggesting that the COVID-19 surge driven by the fast spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant was squeezing the labor supply. Both firms recorded larger seasonal dips than last year. Homebase found a 15 percent drop at small businesses in the last days of 2021, up from a 10 percent drop in 2020. REUTERS
Tristan Thompson apologizes to Khloé Kardashian after having a baby with another woman Yep, Tristan, you are the father. NBA star Tristan Thompson has apologized to Khloé Kardashian after he said a paternity test confirmed he fathered a baby with another woman, Maralee Nichols. “I take full responsibility for my actions,” Thompson wrote on Instagram. Thompson and Kardashian have a 3-year-old daughter together, and they broke up again in June after allegations he cheated on her with model Sydney Chase. Nichols alleged she and Thompson had an affair over five months but that she didn’t realize he was in a relationship with Kardashian at the time, and she filed a lawsuit against him seeking child support. Thompson, who previously denied he was the father, apologized “to everyone I’ve hurt or disappointed throughout this ordeal.” He also told Kardashian, whom he previously cheated on while she was pregnant, “You don’t deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you.”
Gal Gadot admits her star-studded ‘Imagine’ video ‘was in poor taste’ Imagine thinking a bunch of celebrities singing John Lennon is what the world wanted to see as the COVID-19 pandemic began. Yet Gal Gadot released such a video in March 2020 to widespread mockery, and she reflected on the backlash in a new conversation with InStyle. “[The video] was premature,” Gadot said. “It wasn’t the right timing, and it wasn’t the right thing. It was in poor taste.” The Wonder Woman star began her infamous Instagram video by saying “we’re all in this together” amid the pandemic before a cavalcade of celebrities sang “Imagine,” though it was almost universally panned as being completely out of touch and cringe-worthy. “All pure intentions,” Gadot told InStyle, “but sometimes you don’t hit the bull’s-eye, right?” Well yeah, anyone who watched Wonder Woman 1984 could tell you that. PEOPLE
‘Morbius’ has been delayed for the umpteenth time Does Morbius actually exist? We’ll have to wait even longer to find out now, as Sony has delayed the film yet again, this time from the end of January until April 1. Starring Jared Leto as the titular vampire from the Marvel comics, Morbius is the latest in Sony’s series of Spider-Man films without Spider-Man, and it has faced repeated delays from its original summer 2020 release date. The trailer for Morbius came out in January 2020 — and to put that in perspective, ComicBook.com‘s Adam Barnhardt pointed out Spider-Man: No Way Home was filmed and released in the time since that footage came out. This latest delay was seemingly related to surging Omicron cases, though that hasn’t stopped No Way Home from becoming one of the biggest movies of all time. Don’t be surprised if Tom Holland squeezes in one or two more Spider-Man movies before Morbius actually comes out. VARIETY
CNN isn’t booting Andy Cohen for his drunk New Year’s Eve slams Who among us hasn’t gotten wasted on New Year’s Eve and ranted about Bill de Blasio and Ryan Seacrest? While hosting CNN’s New Year’s Eve broadcast, Watch What Happens Live‘s Andy Cohen ranted against outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), calling him a “horrible mayor.” He also disparaged the competing ABC broadcast by mocking Ryan Seacrest’s “group of losers that are performing behind us.” This led Radar Online to claim Cohen wouldn’t be invited back next year, but CNN is now denying that. Cohen “said something he shouldn’t have on live TV,” CNN said, but “we’ve addressed it with him and look forward to having him back again next year.” Cohen expressed regret for the Seacrest comment, saying he “felt bad about” it and was just being “stupid and drunk,” though he didn’t take back his de Blasio slams. How long before Cohen’s New Year’s Eve show just evolves into a Ricky Gervais-style roast? LOS ANGELES TIMES
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Tuesday, January 4th, 2022
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A blast hit a vehicle for the Sodicars Racing team as it left a hotel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, two days prior to the Dakar Rally, critically wounding French driver Philippe Boutron, who is in a medically-induced coma. (BBC News)
Rio de Janeiro cancels the 2022 edition of its world-famous carnival street parade, which was scheduled to be held from February 25 to March 1, amid the surging COVID-19 cases and the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. (Radio France Internationale)
The Cyberspace Administration of China announces that, beginning on February 15, all companies with at least one million users will be required to undergo cybersecurity reviews before they can be listed on foreign stock exchanges. Companies that are deemed to have an impact on national security will be barred from being listed. (Al Jazeera)
China orders 1.1 million people in Yuzhou, Henan to stay at home after three asymptomatic COVID-19 cases were reported. (BBC News)
Chief Executive Carrie Lam announces that the “vaccine bubble” will be expanded to restaurants, leisure venues and schools beginning on February 24, which will require people over the age of 12 years to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination of at least one dose in order to enter those venues. (Reuters)
The South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff says that North Korea has launched an unidentified projectile ballistic missile. No confirmation has been given. (BBC News)
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev imposes a two-week state of emergency in Almaty, the country’s largest city, and in Mangystau District due to violent protests that have been occurring in the region over an increase in the price of gasoline. (The Guardian)
The End Wednesday
Australia reports a record for the second consecutive day of 47,738 new cases of COVID-19 surpassing 500,000 cases. (9 News) (SBS News)
Greece reports a record 50,126 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,344,923. (Ekathimerini)
Sweden reports a record 11,507 new cases of COVID-19 on December 30 due to delayed records of additional cases in the previous days, surpassing the previous of 11,376 new cases set in December 2020. (The Local Sweden)
The United Kingdom reports a record 218,724 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which including backlog data from Northern Ireland for four days and Wales for two days. (The Independent)
A series of small roadblocks and fires are set up by protesters in the municipality of Sainte-Rose, Guadeloupe. (France info)
Elizabeth Holmes convicted on 4 fraud chargesA California jury on Monday found Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the failed blood-testing start-up Theranos, guilty of defrauding investors by lying about the success of the company’s devices. The jury found Holmes guilty of three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, with each count punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Jurors found Holmes not guilty on four other counts related to duping patients who received inaccurate results. The jurors couldn’t reach a verdict on three other investor fraud counts. Holmes, once a rising Silicon Valley superstar, had testified that Theranos experts had assured her the tests worked, and she accused her ex-boyfriend and former deputy at Theranos, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, of sexually abusing and manipulating her. NPRTHE NEW YORK TIMES
Apple becomes 1st company worth $3 trillion Apple shares edged up on Monday, lifting the iPhone maker’s value to briefly reach $3 trillion, making it the first publicly traded company in history to reach the milestone. Apple is now worth more than Walmart, Disney, Netflix, Nike, Exxon Mobil, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Morgan Stanley, McDonald’s, AT&T, Goldman Sachs, Boeing, IBM, and Ford, combined. Apple was launched out of a California garage in 1976. The computer and electronic gadget maker became the first U.S. company ever to be worth $1 trillion in August 2018. It hit the $2 trillion mark two years later. “When we started, we thought it would be a successful company that would go forever. But you don’t really envision this,” said engineer Steve Wozniak, who founded Apple with Steve Jobs in 1976. THE NEW YORK TIMES
White House pledges $1 billion boost for independent meat producers The White House announced Monday that it plans to devote $1 billion to help small, independent meat producers compete with the four dominant meat suppliers the Biden administration has accused of driving up prices. The White House has noted that an analysis found that large meatpackers’ profits have increased by 300 percent during the pandemic, while meat prices have spiked. Beef was up by 21 percent in November over a year earlier. The moves announced Monday include $375 million in grants to help independent meat producers, along with $275 million in capital and $100 million for the training of meat and poultry workers. “Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation,” President Biden said at a White House event to discuss meat and poultry supply chain problems. CNNTHE WASHINGTON POST
AT&T, Verizon agree to 2-week 5G rollout delay AT&T and Verizon on Monday said they would delay rolling out new 5G wireless service for two weeks after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg asked them to slow down because the new technology could interfere with cockpit safety systems on planes. Both wireless carriers had said a day earlier they would not postpone the new 5G service. AT&T on Monday night repeated a promise to lower its networks’ power around airports, saying, “We know aviation safety and 5G can co-exist.” Airlines last week filed an emergency petition with the Federal Communications Commission to stop 5G deployment near 135 airports, warning the technology could cause widespread disruption of passenger and cargo flights, including delays and cancellations. NBC NEWSTHE WALL STREET JOURNAL
U.S. new COVID cases hit single-day record of over 1 million New coronavirus infections jumped to a record of 1,082,549 on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The surge has come as the highly infectious Omicron coronavirus variant continues to tear across the country. More than 103,000 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Monday, the most since the late summer surge, according to The Washington Post. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 have risen by 27 percent in the past week as the daily average of new cases more than doubled, but deaths declined by 8 percent. The total number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. has now reached 56,189,547, with 827,748 U.S. deaths. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to meet with the White House coronavirus response team on Tuesday to discuss steps to counter the Omicron spike. USA TODAYTHE WASHINGTON POST
N.Y. attorney general subpoenas Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ office has subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump under an investigation into the business practices of their father, former President Donald Trump, according to a court document filed Monday. The inquiry focuses on whether Trump inflated the value of his properties to get better loans, and underestimated them to lower tax bills. Lawyers for the Trump Organization and Trump’s children are trying to block lawyers in James’ office from questioning Trump or his children. The subpoenas for Trump, Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump were issued on Dec. 1. James’ office questioned Eric Trump, another son of the former president, in October 2020. Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump became involved in the family business shortly after college. ABC NEWS
Schumer: Senate will vote on filibuster change if GOP blocks voting rights bill Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday that the Senate would vote by Jan. 17 on changing the chamber’s filibuster rule if Republicans continue to use it to block voting rights legislation. Democrats have been pushing federal legislation to protect voting rights as Republicans in GOP-led state legislatures enact new voting restrictions. Republicans say the laws are necessary to prevent vote fraud, and they accuse Democrats in Washington of trying to overstep their authority. But Schumer said passing federal measures to protect voting rights is necessary to “protect the foundation of our democracy: free and fair elections.” THE HILL
FDA authorizes Pfizer booster for children ages 12 to 15 The Food and Drug Administration on Monday signed off on giving Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster shots to children ages 12 to 15. The agency also said people would be eligible for the third Pfizer dose five months after getting the second shot, shortening the minimum wait time for a booster by one month. The moves came as part of an accelerating effort to increase protection for Americans as the new Omicron coronavirus variant spreads fast and pushes daily infections to the highest levels since the pandemic began just as students return to schools after the holiday break. Making more people eligible for boosters “is critical to help us ultimately defeat this pandemic,” said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla in a statement. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will consider approving the change this week. THE WASHINGTON POST
Schools face ‘chaos’ as classes resume during Omicron surge Many school systems around the country reopened on schedule Monday after the holiday break despite the COVID-19 surge driven by the quick spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant. Leaders in many of those districts stressed the importance of in-person classes and the need to avoid the learning deficits and emotional problems students experienced last year during remote learning. Some districts — including Newark, Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Cleveland — temporarily shifted to remote learning despite those concerns, affecting more than 450,000 students. Many schools also struggled with staff shortages made worse by a record spike in COVID-19 cases nationwide. Some districts delayed reopening to allow for students and staff to get coronavirus tests. “It’s chaos,” said Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union. THE WASHINGTON POST
Epstein settlement unsealed in lawsuit against Prince Andrew The 2009 settlement between Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Roberts Giuffre was unsealed Monday as part of Giuffre’s lawsuit against Prince Andrew. The settlement stipulated that Giuffre, who accused Epstein of trafficking her and forcing her to have sex with Prince Andrew and others while she was still a minor, agreed to drop her case against Epstein and any other “potential defendant[s]” in exchange for $500,000. A Florida court convicted Epstein of sex crimes in 2008, and he died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. On Dec. 29, Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty of procuring underage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse. The document was unsealed as part of Giuffre’s lawsuit against the U.K.’s Prince Andrew, who was not mentioned in the settlement deal. CNN
Flight cancellations continue due to snowstorms and staff crunch Airlines canceled another 3,000-plus flights within, to, and from the United States on Monday, as snowstorms and staff shortages blamed on the Omicron coronavirus variant surge continued to disrupt travel. More than 15,000 flights were canceled between Christmas Eve and the start of the first work week of 2022. Washington, D.C., was hit by a severe snowstorm that started early Monday, and forced the Federal Aviation Administration to order a ground stop for Reagan National and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall airports. More than half of the flights that had been scheduled to leave National were canceled by mid-day. Nearly a third of BWI’s flights were scrapped, as were about 19 percent of those that had been scheduled to depart Dulles International Airport. LOS ANGELES TIMES
Apple becomes 1st company worth $3 trillion Apple shares edged up on Monday, lifting the iPhone maker’s value to touch $3 trillion, making it the first publicly traded company in history to reach the milestone. Apple is now worth more than Walmart, Disney, Netflix, Nike, Exxon Mobil, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Morgan Stanley, McDonald’s, AT&T, Goldman Sachs, Boeing, IBM, and Ford, combined. Apple was launched out of a California garage in 1976. The computer and electronic gadget maker became the first U.S. company ever to be worth $1 trillion in August 2018. It hit the $2 trillion mark two years later. “When we started, we thought it would be a successful company that would go forever. But you don’t really envision this,” said engineer Steve Wozniak, who founded Apple with Steve Jobs in 1976. THE NEW YORK TIMES
Elizabeth Holmes convicted on 4 fraud charges A California jury on Monday found Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the failed blood-testing start-up Theranos, guilty of defrauding investors by lying about the success of the company’s devices. The jury found Holmes guilty of three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, with each count punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Jurors found Holmes not guilty on four other counts related to duping patients who received inaccurate results. The jurors couldn’t reach a verdict on three other investor fraud counts. Holmes, once a rising Silicon Valley superstar, had testified that Theranos experts had assured her the tests worked, and she accused her ex-boyfriend and former deputy at Theranos, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, of sexually abusing and manipulating her. NPR
Judge blocks Navy from punishing SEALS for declining vaccine A federal judge in Texas on Monday ruled that the Defense Department can’t punish Navy SEALs who refuse to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor issued a preliminary order blocking the Navy from taking any action against 35 members of the Navy special forces teams over their attempts to get a religious exemption from the vaccine requirement. Under the Navy’s vaccine policy, religious objectors can be considered non-deployable or disqualified from Special Operations. “The Navy servicemembers in this case seek to vindicate the very freedoms they have sacrificed so much to protect,” O’Connor wrote in his order. “The COVID-19 pandemic provides the government no license to abrogate those freedoms. There is no COVID-19 exception to the First Amendment.” CNN
Monday, January 3rd, 2022
Clashes between the revolutionary far-left armed groups ELN and FARC dissidents in Arauca Department leave 23 people dead near Colombia’s border with Venezuela. (Al Jazeera)
Five soldiers are killed and 20 more are injured during an Islamic State rocket attack on a military transport bus in the Syrian Desert. (Al Jazeera)
Houthi forces capture a United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo ship, the Rwabee, off Al Hudaydah, Yemen. The UAE government says that the vessel was carrying equipment from a closed coalition field hospital on Socotra while the Houthis say that the vessel was carrying military equipment. (MSN)
Chinese property developer Evergrande Group suspends trading of its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange ahead of a planned restructuring of the firm. (BBC News)
South Korea reports its first confirmed deaths related to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in two people in their 90s who died last week at a senior care hospital in Gwangju. (Yonhap News Agency)
The Belgian government finalizes an agreement to buy 20,000 courses of Pfizer‘s Paxlovid COVID-19 drug and Merck & Co.‘s Molnupiravir COVID-19 drug. (The Brussels Times)
France begins to require children over the age of 6 years to wear masks while indoors and also reduces the self-isolation period for fully vaccinated people to seven days and five days if a person has received a negative PCR or antigen test due to a record number of COVID-19 cases driven by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. (The Hill) (Politico.eu)
The Food and Drug Administration authorizes the use of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as a booster dose for children between the ages of 12 and 15 years, becoming the world’s first vaccine to be authorized as a booster shot for this age group. (ABC News)
The website of Israel‘s Jerusalem Post newspaper is hacked by suspected Iranian hackers. The website’s content was replaced with a threat targeting the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center and an apparent reference to Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated exactly two years earlier in Baghdad, Iraq. (Reuters)
Twitter permanently suspends Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s account Twitter said Sunday it had permanently suspended Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s personal account for violations of its policies against spreading misinformation about COVID-19. The ban came after Greene made her latest false tweet about the pandemic on Saturday, saying there had been “extremely high amounts of COVID vaccine deaths.” Twitter called the post Greene’s fifth “strike,” meaning that under its rules her account now can’t be restored. She got her fourth strike in August for falsely claiming on the site that vaccines were “failing.” Less than a month earlier, she received her third strike for tweeting that COVID-19 was not dangerous. Greene posted on the conservative social media platform Telegram that Twitter “is an enemy of America and can’t handle the truth.” THE NEW YORK TIMESREUTERS
Tesla says deliveries rose by 87 percent in 2021 Tesla delivered 87 percent more cars in 2021 than it did the year before, reaching a total of 936,000 cars with a boost from a single-quarter record of 308,600 electric vehicles in the fourth quarter. Industry analysts had expected the company to ship out just 855,000 vehicles for the year. Most of the deliveries were Tesla Model 3 sedans and Model Y hatchbacks. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in July that the electric-car maker was working to get around a global computer-chip shortage that was hampering production for other auto manufacturers by switching to more readily available types of chips. “The numbers are hard to poke holes in,” Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, wrote in a note to investors. “Tesla continues to dominate market share.” CNBCTHE NEW YORK TIMES
Airlines have canceled more than 15,000 flights since Christmas Eve Airlines canceled more than 2,100 flights into, out of, or within the United States on Sunday, bringing the total number of canceled U.S. flights since Christmas Eve to more than 15,000, USA Today reported Sunday. Staffing shortages have plagued airlines as the Omicron coronavirus strain infects some employees and leaves others afraid to go to work. According to BBC, even the offer of increased pay has been ineffective at luring flight crews back. On New Year’s Day, almost 4,400 flights were canceled worldwide, The Washington Post reports. More than 2,600 of those were flights for which the U.S. was either the origin, the destination, or both. USA TODAY
Jan. 6 panel members say they know what Trump was doing during riot Members of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack said Sunday that they had received testimony and documents providing an increasingly clear picture of what then-President Donald Trump said and did in the White House during the insurrection by a mob of his supporters. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the panel’s Republican vice chair, told ABC News that according to “firsthand testimony,” Trump’s daughter and then-senior adviser Ivanka Trump went to see her father as he watched television coverage of the riot in the dining room next to the Oval Office “at least twice to ask him to ‘please stop this violence.’” Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told CNN that “it’s highly unusual for anyone in charge of anything to watch what’s going on and do nothing.” CNN
Twitter permanently suspends Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s account Twitter said Sunday it had permanently suspended Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s personal account for violations of its policies against spreading misinformation on COVID-19. The ban came after Greene made her latest false tweet about the pandemic on Saturday, saying there had been “extremely high amounts of COVID vaccine deaths.” Twitter called the post Greene’s fifth “strike,” meaning that under its rules her account now can’t be restored. She got her fourth strike in August for falsely claiming on the site that vaccines were “failing.” Less than a month earlier, she received her third strike for tweeting that COVID-19 was not dangerous. Greene posted on the social media platform Telegram that Twitter “is an enemy of America and can’t handle the truth.” THE NEW YORK TIMESREUTERS
Schools return after holidays as Omicron fuels coronavirus surge U.S. K-12 schools begin reopening after the holiday break on Monday as COVID-19 cases soar, driven by the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant. Many school districts are scrambling to acquire enough COVID-19 tests so they will be able to impose “test-to-stay” strategies that will allow them to keep open rather than returning to remote classes, which can result in learning deficits. “The science is clear. Schools need to be open,” then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said last week. Some school districts, including Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, are extending winter break by two days to allow time to test staff and students. Chicago is urging parents to give their children rapid tests before sending them back. Some universities are starting the year with remote classes. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
CDC considers testing after isolation for asymptomatic COVID cases Biden administration health officials are considering adding a negative COVID-19 test to the recommended five-day isolation restrictions for asymptomatic people who test positive for the coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s top medical adviser, said Sunday. Fauci said the potential change came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention got significant “pushback” for announcing last week that it was shortening its recommended isolation time from 10 days to five, provided the patient has no symptoms. The new recommendations include five subsequent days of mask-wearing after the isolation ends. Many health professionals objected to the change, saying that a negative antigen test should be a requirement for ending quarantine after an infection. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
South Africa police arrest suspect in Parliament fire Police in South Africa’s capital, Cape Town, said Sunday that they had arrested a suspect believed responsible for a fire that damaged the Houses of Parliament. The man is expected to appear in court Tuesday to face charges of arson, housebreaking, and theft, a police spokesperson said. Investigators believe the fire started in offices on the third floor of the complex, and spread quickly to the lower house, the National Assembly. The fire occurred a day after Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s state funeral at nearby St. George’s Cathedral. President Cyril Ramaphosa said the “terrible and devastating” blaze marked a “terrible setback to what we were basking in yesterday” when the nation focused on remembering and honoring Tutu. BBC NEWS
Airlines have canceled more than 15,000 flights since Christmas Eve Airlines canceled more than 2,100 flights into, out of, or within the United States on Sunday, bringing the total number of canceled U.S. flights since Christmas Eve to more than 15,000, USA Today reported Sunday. Staffing shortages have plagued airlines as the Omicron coronavirus strain infects some employees and leaves others afraid to go to work. According to BBC, even the offer of increased pay has been ineffective at luring flight crews back. On New Year’s Day, almost 4,400 flights were canceled worldwide, The Washington Post reports. More than 2,600 of those were flights for which the U.S. was either the origin, the destination, or both. USA TODAY
Sudan prime minister resigns after power-sharing talks go nowhere Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who was deposed by the military in an October coup then reinstated in November under international pressure, resigned in a televised statement Sunday. The Oct. 25 coup derailed a tenuous power-sharing agreement between the military and pro-democracy civilian groups that helped unseat longtime ruler Omar al-Bashar in 2019. In his resignation announcement, Hamdok said he had been unable to bridge the divides between the ruling military council and the pro-democracy movement in weeks of negotiations on forming a new government. “I tried as much as I possibly could to prevent our country from sliding into a disaster,” he said. “Now, our nation is going through a dangerous turning point that could threaten its survival unless it is urgently rectified.” THE WASHINGTON POST
Defense secretary tests positive for COVID-19 Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday that he had tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19. Austin said he was fully vaccinated and received a booster shot in October, which he said was probably why he was only experiencing mild symptoms. Austin said he would “retain all authorities,” but isolate himself by attending all necessary meetings virtually for at least five days under new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Austin got tested after he began experiencing symptoms while at home on holiday leave. He said his last meeting with President Biden was on Dec. 21, more than a week before he started feeling sick, suggesting he would not have exposed Biden to possible infection. NBC NEWS
Sunday, January 2nd, 2022
The rebel-held city of Idlib loses its supply of water after Russian Air Force jets bombed a nearby water station. Airstrikes have increased in the past 24 hours with attacks also reported on farms near the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing, and on IDP camps near Jisr al-Shughur which killed three people. (Reuters)
Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung reports that the Mossad was responsible for three bombings of German and Swiss firms in 1981 in order to try to halt Iranian and Pakistani development of nuclear weapons. (Jerusalem Post)
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake strikes on the border between Yunnan and Sichuan, China, injuring 22 people. (Al Jazeera)
A fire breaks out in the South African parliament building in Cape Town, destroying its roof and the wing housing the National Council of Provinces. A man has been arrested in connection with the incident. (France 24)
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announces that he has tested positive for COVID-19. (Politico)
A South Korean citizen crosses the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone in a rare case of defection to North Korea from the South. (BBC News)
An Azerbaijani State Border Service guard kills three fellow servicemen at his post and escapes. A manhunt is underway. (Trend)
Interim Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigns in response to security forces killing three anti-coup protestors in Omdurman earlier that day. (CNN)
Twitter announces that they have permanently suspended U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for allegedly violating the company’s policies about COVID-19 misinformation. (The New York Times)
End Saturday The 8th
artificial stupid 