People
Pence announces that Space Force personnel will be called guardians
Sc-fi fans were quick to point out the name " Guardians , ' evokes the Marvel Comics" Guardians of the Galaxy film franchise, about a group of superheroes in space. The move marks another foundational element of the Space Force, as it was designated last December , making it the newest military service and the first new service since the US Air Force came into being in 1947. [Full Article...]
Record death toll as Germany enters partial lockdown
Once again, Germany has reached grim new heights in the coronavirus pandemic, as the country eases into a weeks-long lockdown created to bring down persistently high infection numbers. "I want to say this: if we have too much contact over Christmas , and afterwards it turns out that that was the last Christmas with the grandparents, then we will have really messed up and we should not mes... [Full Article...]
Strong wind gusts in the forecast Friday through Sunday
SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy. Some rain is possible during the morning. Morning temperatures in the low 20s with afternoon highs only in the 30s to low 40s. Rain changes over to mix/snow Thursday night with a light accumulation possible into Christmas morning. And next Friday, Christmas Day , is looking quite cold, according to long-range forecasts. [Full Article...]
South Africa's 2nd COVID-19 wave driven by a new variant: Minister
The new variant emerged in Nelson Mandela Bay and then spread to the Garden Route and KwaZulu-Natal. Some of the mutations are likely to be irrelevant, but one, the N501Y mutation - found in the new South African lineage, as well as a recent new variant discovered in the United Kingdom - means the novel virus has a different spike protein. [Full Article...]
U.S. Supreme Court rules for Trump over census immigrant plan
SCOTUS remanded the case with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. The lawsuit argued California, which is home to more than 2 million undocumented immigrants, was subject to lose political influence and federal funding tied to the census . [Full Article...]
Melania Trump flouts children's hospital policy by taking her mask off
Melania Trump reads a Christmas book to children who are patients at Children's National Hospital, in Washington , U.S. She continued, "In the case of today's visit which was broadcast to our 325 patients, while the First Lady did remove her mask while she read a story, she was more than 12 feet away from others in our large atrium". [Full Article...]
State Trooper Finds Tioga Driver Stranded in Snow for Ten Hours
He spotted a row of mailboxes on the side of the road, stopped and "waded through the snow to check the addresses". However, despite several attempts to find the auto, no one could locate it. Inside the vehicle was the driver who had been making 911 call, Kevin Kresen, 58, of Candor. The man had hypothermia and frostbite when he was removed from the vehicle. [Full Article...]
Biden team says Defence Department officials halted cooperation
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After the report came out, Miller issued a statement saying it was just a "mutually-agreed upon holiday pause" and that "our key focus in the next two weeks is supporting essential requests for information on OWS and COVID-19 information to guarantee a flawless transition". [Full Article...]