Month: December 2020

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump issued 20 pardons and commutations as his term in the White House comes to an end.

George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, was pardoned after pleading guilty to making false statements to federal officials as part of the Mueller investigation. Trump also pardoned Alex van der Zwaan, a lawyer who pleaded guilty to the same charge in 2018.

Former California Rep. Duncan Hunter received a pardon after he and his wife, Margaret Hunter, pleaded guilty last year to misusing more than $250,000 of his campaign re-election funds for personal expenses between 2009 and 2016. Former New York Rep. Chris Collins was pardoned after pleading guilty in October 2019 to insider trading.

Also pardoned were Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, Dustin Heard and Nicholas Slaten, four former employees of the military contracting firm Blackwater Worldwide who were sentenced for their roles in a massacre in Iraq in 2007 that resulted in the deaths of 14 unarmed Iraqis.

Trump pardons former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, ex-GOP congressmen, and others

Via www.nbcnews.com

Trump also pardoned four ex-Blackwater contractors convicted of killing Iraqi civilians.

12/22/2020 8:58 PM

 

Editorial credit: Michael Candelori / Shutterstock.com

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 slid on Tuesday amid growing COVID-19 concerns. The Dow ended the day down 200.94 points, or 0.67%, and the S&P 500 dropped 0.21% as Tesla stock dropped 1.46% in its second day on the index, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.51% with Apple stock rising 2.85%.

Travel-related stocks struggled as the United States surpassed 18 million cases, and news of a new strain of the virus having already arrived in the country. American Airlines dropped 3.85% and United Airlines slid 2.46%, while Norwegian Cruise Line fell 6.86%, Carnival declined 5.94% and Royal Caribbean dipped 2.83%.

Tuesday’s losses came despite Congress passing a $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill including direct stimulus payments of $600 to individuals.

S&P 500, Nasdaq open higher on Apple boost, stimulus optimism

Via www.reuters.com

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq opened higher on Tuesday, propped up by Apple on an exclusive…

12/22/2020 1:43 PM

 

Editorial credit: Pavel Ignatov / Shutterstock.com

The state of Virginia has taken back the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that it contributed to the National Statuary Hall Collection at the U.S. Capitol over 100 years ago. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced in a statement Monday that workers removed the statue of the Confederate commander of the Army of Northern Virginia overnight. The statue of Lee had stood in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the U.S. Capitol, as one of two statues each state is entitled to display since 1909. Lee’s statue stood with Virginia’s other contribution to the collection, a statute of America’s first president George Washington. 

Earlier this month, the state’s Commission for Historical Statues in the United States Capitol selected Barbara Rose Johns to replace the statue of Lee. Johns played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement, according to historians. “I look forward to seeing a trailblazing young woman of color represent Virginia in the U.S. Capitol, where visitors will learn about Barbara Johns’ contributions to America and be empowered to create positive change in their communities like she did,” Gov. Northam said.

Robert E. Lee statue removed from U.S. Capitol

Via www.nbcnews.com

Confederate general’s image to be replaced by civil rights icon Barbara Johns, whose 1951…

12/21/2020 1:51 PM

 

Editorial credit: Artem Avetisyan / Shutterstock.com

President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill got vaccinated Monday against COVID-19.  The couple each received shots at ChristianaCare Hospital in Newark, Delaware, and will need another round of the vaccinations developed by Pfizer-BioNTech in about 21 days.

The President-elect had said he wanted to receive the shot publicly to boost confidence in it.  After rolling up the left sleeve of his shirt and receiving the shot, Biden said, “I’m doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it’s available to take the vaccine. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m looking forward to the second shot. So is Jill.” However, Biden added that he didn’t want to cut in line ahead of health care professionals who are the first to receive it. “The administration deserves some credit, getting us off the ground with Operation Warp Speed,” Biden said.

Vice President Mike Pence; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., each got their shots Friday. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is expected to receive her vaccination next week, the transition announced.

President-elect Joe Biden, Jill Biden receive COVID-19 vaccine

Via www.upi.com

President-elect Joe Biden and his wife received Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Monday during an…

12/21/2020 3:48 PM

 

Editorial credit: vasilis asvestas / Shutterstock.com

On Sunday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel recommended that frontline essential workers and persons 75 years and older should be next in line to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 13 to 1 to recommend 30 million frontline essential workers, which include first responders, teachers, food and agriculture, manufacturing, U.S. Postal Service, public transit, and grocery store workers, be the next priority for the vaccines. However, it wasn’t immediately clear when the next round of vaccinations would begin.

About 200 million people including non-frontline workers, persons in the 65-74 age group, and those aged 16-64 years with high-risk conditions should be in the ensuing round, the panel recommended. The group had already recommended that frontline healthcare workers and nursing home residents be the first priority groups. Mortality rates are highest in older adults who contract COVID-19, with the 75-years-and-older population accounting for 25% of COVID-19 associated hospitalizations.

Federal authorities have said that vaccine production will ramp up in the coming months. Officials for U.S. Operation Warp Speed have said that they will distribute enough doses for 100 million Americans to be vaccinated by the end of February. The first 2.9 million doses of Pfizer Inc’s vaccine were shipped on Dec. 13. They expect to distribute an additional 2 million doses this week as well as 5.9 million doses of Moderna Inc’s vaccine.

CDC advisory group: Older adults, front-line essential workers to get Covid vaccine next

Via www.nbcnews.com

Vaccines are expected to start going out to these groups in the coming weeks.

12/20/2020 3:38 PM