NO THANKS. Hundreds skip Mike Pompeo holiday super spreader event at White House: “Only a tiny fraction of the more than 900 guests invited to an indoor holiday party hosted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife Susan showed up on Tuesday following an outcry from public health officials and U.S. lawmakers warning that the reception bore all the hallmarks of a superspreader event, said two U.S. officials familiar with the event.”
MOSCOW MITCH. Trump turns on McConnell after Senate Majority Leader acknowledges Biden win: “Mitch, 75,000,000 VOTES, a record for a sitting President (by a lot). Too soon to give up. Republican Party must finally learn to fight. People are angry!”
NEW YORK. Trump loses legal battle against New York Attorney General: “Advancing an investigation likely to trail the outgoing Commander-in-Chief long into his post-presidency, a Manhattan judge ordered the Trump Organization and its attorney to turn over documents to New York Attorney General Letitia James about an engineer for a 212-acre Westchester estate.”
UK. Religious leaders from around the world call for ban on gay conversion therapy: “The signatories to the declaration represent all the world's major faiths and many are known LGBT advocates. They include South African cleric Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Chief Rabbi of Ireland David Rosen. Other religious figures said a ban could risk criminalising pastors.”
FLORIDA TO L.A. Man dies of COVID during airline flight, which stops and dumps him in New Orleans, wipes down, and continues on…
‘WHINY OLD BARMAID' Rupert Everett says he and Madonna are still friends.
MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY. The liberals in this country are being cannibalized by the illiberals.
BLOOD BAN. FDA announces new study on blood donation restrictions for gay men. “A change in this FDA policy would mean that more gay and bisexual men would be able to give blood in the U.S. and end what critics have called discriminatory federal guidelines.”
I DO NOT FEEL SAFE. Kansas mayor quits over threats due to mask mandate.
GEORGIA. Facebook says it will temporarily lift ban on political ads: “In recent weeks we've heard feedback from experts and advertisers across the political spectrum about the importance of expressing voice and using our tools to reach voters ahead of Georgia's runoff elections,” writes Facebook product manager Sarah Schiff, in a blog post announcing the exemption. “We agree that our ad tools are an important way for people to get information about these elections. So we have developed a process to allow advertisers to run ads with the purpose of reaching voters in Georgia about Georgia's runoff elections.”
IN THE WILD. Utah mink found to have coronavirus – the first instance in a non-captive wild animal. “This mink was trapped in the ‘immediate vicinity of one of the affected farms,' says Utah state veterinarian Dean Taylor, and was the only animal caught in the area to test positive.”
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. Arlo Parks “Caroline”.
NEW TUNE OF THE DAY. Lily Rose “Villain”.
TRAILER OF THE DAY. Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry.
TRAILER OF THE DAY 2. Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer.
HUMP DAY HATTIE. Michael.
