usatoday--2020-12-29--Fate of $2,000 coronavirus aid checks in doubt as Senate leader McConnell blocks immediate action

The fate of President Donald Trump 's call to increase pandemic aid checks to $ 2,000 was in doubt Tuesday as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked Democrats ' initial attempt to approve increased payments .
All eyes are on McConnell and whether he will allow a bill increasing the one-time payments from $ 600 to $ 2,000 .
After blocking quick passage of a measure that would increase the payments , the Kentucky Republican introduced a bill Tuesday that includes demands by the president – on contentious issues that Democrats are not likely to support and thus would kill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The bill would increase checks to $ 2,000 but includes a repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act , which grants certain legal protections for big tech companies , and would establish a commission to study election fraud .
The commission would examine many of the concerns Trump has raised since losing the election and would `` make recommendations to Congress to improve the security , integrity , and administration of Federal elections , '' the bill says .
The president has n't provided proof to back his claims , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ widespread fraud in last month 's election .
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y. , circulated copies of the bill , noting there was no way Democrats would support the legislation and it stood no chance of reaching Trump 's desk .
`` If Sen. McConnell tries loading up the bipartisan House-passed CASH ( Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help ) Act with unrelated , partisan provisions that will do absolutely nothing to help struggling families across the country , it will not pass the House and can not become law – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would a blatant attempt to deprive Americans of a $ 2,000 survival check , '' Schumer said in a statement .
`` Will Senate Republicans go along with Sen. McConnell ’ s cynical gambit or will they push him to give a vote on the standalone House-passed CASH Act ? ''
The measure McConnell introduced has n't been scheduled for a vote , and it 's unclear whether it will receive the backing of his conference , some of whom have voiced support for increasing aid payments to struggling Americans .
On the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the prospect of linking aid payments , the Section 230 repeal and the election study , noting the president 's demands .
`` Those are the three important subjects the president has linked together .
This week , the Senate will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus , '' McConnell said on the Senate floor .
McConnell 's proposal could hinder any chances of passing increased aid checks as Democrats and Republicans differ on the issues of big tech immunity and election integrity .
Democrats called on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on raising aid checks .
Trump threatened Republicans on Twitter after McConnell blocked the effort to raise relief payments , telling conservatives to `` get tough '' and immediately approve more funds for Americans .
`` Unless Republicans have a death wish , and it is also the right thing to do , they must approve the $ 2000 payments ASAP .
$ 600 IS NOT ENOUGH ! ''
Trump wrote .
`` Also , get rid of Section 230 – Don ’ t let Big Tech steal our Country , and don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Presidential Election .
Get tough ! ''
The Senate majority leader did not give a timeline for when or if the chamber might take up increased relief payments or Trump 's other demands .
The House passed a measure Monday that would raise the payments to $ 2,000 with bipartisan support .
Forty-four House Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the measure as 130 rejected it .
Schumer attempted to put more pressure on McConnell over the matter before the GOP leader blocked his unanimous consent request to pass increased aid payments .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ key to unlocking this dilemma '' and could simply allow his request to pass and give Americans more financial help .
`` $ 600 ?
Nope , it 's not enough , '' Schumer said on the Senate floor .
`` $ 2,000 stimulus checks could mean the difference between American families having groceries for a few extra weeks or going hungry .
The difference between paying the rent or being kicked out of your home that you 've lived in for years .
It could buy precious time for tens of millions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ makes its way across the country . ''
The proposal has put the GOP in a precarious position .
For months , Senate Republicans have urged limiting the size of the aid payments , citing concerns about the national debt .
But after his own administration negotiated a $ 900 billion coronavirus relief package , Trump demanded that Congress increase the payments from $ 600 to $ 2,000 .
More : House approves increasing coronavirus aid checks to $ 2,000 for Americans , sends bill to Senate Though a handful of Senate Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relief checks , most are opposed .
Holding a vote on the measure would put senators on the spot to either reject Trump 's demands for increased checks or relent on long-held objections to adding to the debt .
Further complicating matters , both of Georgia 's GOP senators – Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue – announced Tuesday they favor increasing checks from $ 600 to $ 2,000 .
Both face close runoff elections next week that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate , and their Democratic opponents have ramped up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Their support ramped up pressure on McConnell , who is keen on helping Loeffler and Perdue win their races Jan. 5 .
The Senate faces another difficult vote on overriding Trump 's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act .
The House voted Monday to override the president 's veto , shifting the measure to the Senate .
McConnell scheduled a vote to override Trump 's veto Wednesday , but Sen. Bernie Sanders , I-Vt. , objected in hopes of holding up Senate business until the majority leader scheduled a vote on increasing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump 's National Defense Authorization Act veto – the first of his presidency The NDAA , a $ 741 billion national security package , would raise troops ' pay , direct the purchase of weapons and set military policies .
It passed the House and Senate with overwhelming support by both parties but drew Trump 's ire largely over two policies .
The bill addresses stripping names , symbols , displays , monuments and other paraphernalia that honor the Confederacy .
It would establish a commission to study and develop a plan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bases such as the Army 's Forts Benning , Bragg , Hood and others .
Trump has said he is against changing the names of bases named for Confederate military leaders .
Trump criticized the legislation for not including language that would strip social media companies from the protections they enjoy under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act .
The measure , adopted in 1996 , prevents companies such as Twitter and Facebook from being sued by anyone claiming to be harmed by a post .
The Senate is likely to consider @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passed , it would mark the first time Congress has overridden a Trump veto since the start of his presidency .

Fate of $2,000 coronavirus aid checks in doubt as Senate leader McConnell blocks immediate action
Show Caption Hide Caption House approves $2,000 COVID-19 stimulus checks President Donald Trump has also called for the $2,000 stimulus checks. Staff Video, USA TODAY
The fate of President Donald Trump's call to increase pandemic aid checks to $2,000 was in doubt Tuesday as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked Democrats' initial attempt to approve increased payments.
All eyes are on McConnell and whether he will allow a bill increasing the one-time payments from $600 to $2,000. After blocking quick passage of a measure that would increase the payments, the Kentucky Republican introduced a bill Tuesday that includes demands by the president – on contentious issues that Democrats are not likely to support and thus would kill any chances of increasing aid payments.
The bill would increase checks to $2,000 but includes a repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which grants certain legal protections for big tech companies, and would establish a commission to study election fraud. The commission would examine many of the concerns Trump has raised since losing the election and would "make recommendations to Congress to improve the security, integrity, and administration of Federal elections," the bill says. The president hasn't provided proof to back his claims, and the Justice Department found no evidence of widespread fraud in last month's election.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., circulated copies of the bill, noting there was no way Democrats would support the legislation and it stood no chance of reaching Trump's desk.
"If Sen. McConnell tries loading up the bipartisan House-passed CASH (Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help) Act with unrelated, partisan provisions that will do absolutely nothing to help struggling families across the country, it will not pass the House and cannot become law – any move like this by Sen. McConnell would a blatant attempt to deprive Americans of a $2,000 survival check," Schumer said in a statement. "Will Senate Republicans go along with Sen. McConnell’s cynical gambit or will they push him to give a vote on the standalone House-passed CASH Act?"
The measure McConnell introduced hasn't been scheduled for a vote, and it's unclear whether it will receive the backing of his conference, some of whom have voiced support for increasing aid payments to struggling Americans.
On the Senate floor earlier Tuesday, McConnell hinted at the prospect of linking aid payments, the Section 230 repeal and the election study, noting the president's demands.
"Those are the three important subjects the president has linked together. This week, the Senate will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus," McConnell said on the Senate floor.
McConnell's proposal could hinder any chances of passing increased aid checks as Democrats and Republicans differ on the issues of big tech immunity and election integrity. Democrats called on the Kentucky Republican to pass a standalone proposal on raising aid checks.
Trump threatened Republicans on Twitter after McConnell blocked the effort to raise relief payments, telling conservatives to "get tough" and immediately approve more funds for Americans.
"Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP. $600 IS NOT ENOUGH!" Trump wrote. "Also, get rid of Section 230 – Don’t let Big Tech steal our Country, and don’t let the Democrats steal the Presidential Election. Get tough!"
The Senate majority leader did not give a timeline for when or if the chamber might take up increased relief payments or Trump's other demands. The House passed a measure Monday that would raise the payments to $2,000 with bipartisan support. Forty-four House Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the measure as 130 rejected it.
Schumer attempted to put more pressure on McConnell over the matter before the GOP leader blocked his unanimous consent request to pass increased aid payments. Schumer noted, "McConnell holds the key to unlocking this dilemma" and could simply allow his request to pass and give Americans more financial help.
"$600? Nope, it's not enough," Schumer said on the Senate floor. "$2,000 stimulus checks could mean the difference between American families having groceries for a few extra weeks or going hungry. The difference between paying the rent or being kicked out of your home that you've lived in for years. It could buy precious time for tens of millions of people, as the vaccine thankfully makes its way across the country."
The proposal has put the GOP in a precarious position. For months, Senate Republicans have urged limiting the size of the aid payments, citing concerns about the national debt. But after his own administration negotiated a $900 billion coronavirus relief package, Trump demanded that Congress increase the payments from $600 to $2,000.
More: House approves increasing coronavirus aid checks to $2,000 for Americans, sends bill to Senate
Though a handful of Senate Republicans have come out in favor of increasing relief checks, most are opposed. Holding a vote on the measure would put senators on the spot to either reject Trump's demands for increased checks or relent on long-held objections to adding to the debt.
Further complicating matters, both of Georgia's GOP senators – Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue – announced Tuesday they favor increasing checks from $600 to $2,000. Both face close runoff elections next week that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate, and their Democratic opponents have ramped up attacks over the coronavirus aid debacle.
Their support ramped up pressure on McConnell, who is keen on helping Loeffler and Perdue win their races Jan. 5.
The Senate faces another difficult vote on overriding Trump's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act. The House voted Monday to override the president's veto, shifting the measure to the Senate.
McConnell scheduled a vote to override Trump's veto Wednesday, but Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., objected in hopes of holding up Senate business until the majority leader scheduled a vote on increasing relief payments.
More: House overrides Trump's National Defense Authorization Act veto – the first of his presidency
The NDAA, a $741 billion national security package, would raise troops' pay, direct the purchase of weapons and set military policies. It passed the House and Senate with overwhelming support by both parties but drew Trump's ire largely over two policies.
The bill addresses stripping names, symbols, displays, monuments and other paraphernalia that honor the Confederacy. It would establish a commission to study and develop a plan, its cost and the criteria for renaming bases such as the Army's Forts Benning, Bragg, Hood and others. Trump has said he is against changing the names of bases named for Confederate military leaders.
Trump criticized the legislation for not including language that would strip social media companies from the protections they enjoy under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The measure, adopted in 1996, prevents companies such as Twitter and Facebook from being sued by anyone claiming to be harmed by a post.
The Senate is likely to consider the veto override this week. If passed, it would mark the first time Congress has overridden a Trump veto since the start of his presidency.
Contributing: Rebecca Morin


usatoday--2020-12-29--You can get Victoria's Secret bras from $10 right now

— Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed ’ s editors .
Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission .
Victoria ’ s Secret 's Semi-Annual Sale is one of the most exciting shopping events of the year .
The retailer best-known for its large stock of bras , underwear , pajamas and athleisure is currently offering discounts of up to 70 % on a ton of intimates and loungewear , and they ’ re all yours for the taking !
The most exciting of the bunch ?
The bras that are currently marked down as low @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is click `` add to cart . ''
Get expert shopping advice delivered to your phone .
Sign up for text message alerts from the deal-hunting nerds at Reviewed .
For an instant upgrade to your collection of undergarments , check out this lightly lined cotton bralette , for instance , which is discounted down to just $ 9.99 , falling 60 % from its retail price of $ 24.50 .
Sizes range from extra-small to large , though they 're selling out fast in select colors .
This bralette has a solid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Secret shoppers who were obsessed with its super comfy feel .
Designed for optimal relaxation , this piec eis wireless and features adjustable straps with a flattering v-neck back .
If you 're in the market for something more supportive , you can check out other options from the site 's Body by Victoria or Very Sexy line , which start from $ 14.99 .
This Body by Victoria unlined demi bra , for example , once $ 44.50 , starts at $ 14.99 , in Champagne , but there 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dark violet , VS white and peach/black dot , which are on sale for $ 19.99 .
While this three-part demi undergarment is unlined , it features supportive underwire cups and a beautiful all-over scalloped lace .
Complete with a 4.4-star rating from nearly 300 buyers , this piece had Victoria 's Secret buyers stoked with its top-quality construction and true-to-size fit .
Need more inclusive sizing ?
Check out the site 's $ 25 bra collection , which includes this Very Sexy push-up Perfect Shape bra in select colors for $ 24.99 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its original price of $ 59.50 .
This piece provides a lift with cushioned padding while simultaneously prioritizing full coverage , since the underwire cups are double-lined .
The Perfect Shape bra also has adjustable straps that can be worn four different ways to ensure it fits as comfortably as possible , and you can grab it in cup sizes B to DDD .
It has garnered a 4.3-star rating from more than 500 customers for its super soft feel .
The retailer has a ton of options , ranging from more lightweight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bras , but these bad boys are selling out lightning fast .
Better yet , when you spend more than $ 100 , your order ships free , too !
Shop Bras from $ 9.99 at the Victoria 's Secret Semi-Annual Sale Need help finding products ?
Sign up for our weekly newsletter .
It ’ s free and you can unsubscribe at any time .
The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered .
Follow Reviewed on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram for the latest deals , reviews @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the time this article was published but may change over time .

You can get Victoria's Secret bras from $10 right now
— Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed’s editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission.
Victoria’s Secret's Semi-Annual Sale is one of the most exciting shopping events of the year. The retailer best-known for its large stock of bras, underwear, pajamas and athleisure is currently offering discounts of up to 70% on a ton of intimates and loungewear, and they’re all yours for the taking! The most exciting of the bunch? The bras that are currently marked down as low as $9.99—all you have to do is click "add to cart."
Get expert shopping advice delivered to your phone. Sign up for text message alerts from the deal-hunting nerds at Reviewed.
For an instant upgrade to your collection of undergarments, check out this lightly lined cotton bralette, for instance, which is discounted down to just $9.99, falling 60% from its retail price of $24.50. Sizes range from extra-small to large, though they're selling out fast in select colors. This bralette has a solid 4-star rating from more than 100 Victoria’s Secret shoppers who were obsessed with its super comfy feel. Designed for optimal relaxation, this piec eis wireless and features adjustable straps with a flattering v-neck back.
If you're in the market for something more supportive, you can check out other options from the site's Body by Victoria or Very Sexy line, which start from $14.99. This Body by Victoria unlined demi bra, for example, once $44.50, starts at $14.99, in Champagne, but there's more size availability in hues black, dark violet, VS white and peach/black dot, which are on sale for $19.99. While this three-part demi undergarment is unlined, it features supportive underwire cups and a beautiful all-over scalloped lace. Complete with a 4.4-star rating from nearly 300 buyers, this piece had Victoria's Secret buyers stoked with its top-quality construction and true-to-size fit.
Need more inclusive sizing? Check out the site's $25 bra collection, which includes this Very Sexy push-up Perfect Shape bra in select colors for $24.99. That's down 58% from its original price of $59.50. This piece provides a lift with cushioned padding while simultaneously prioritizing full coverage, since the underwire cups are double-lined. The Perfect Shape bra also has adjustable straps that can be worn four different ways to ensure it fits as comfortably as possible, and you can grab it in cup sizes B to DDD. It has garnered a 4.3-star rating from more than 500 customers for its super soft feel.
The retailer has a ton of options, ranging from more lightweight, conservative pieces to beautiful lace-lined push-up bras, but these bad boys are selling out lightning fast. Better yet, when you spend more than $100, your order ships free, too!
Need help finding products? Sign up for our weekly newsletter. It’s free and you can unsubscribe at any time.
The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest deals, reviews, and more.
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.


usatoday--2020-12-30--Justice Department declines to charge Cleveland officers in fatal 2014 shooting of Tamir Rice

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced on Tuesday that it will not bring criminal charges in the 2014 death of Tamir Rice , saying there was not enough evidence to prove that Cleveland police officers used excessive force against the 12-year-old .
`` The evidence in this case fails to definitively establish what happened at the time of the shooting , '' according to a lengthy statement from the Justice Department , adding that a key evidence – a video of the shooting – was too grainy to clearly show what had happened .
Rice 's death is one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police that ignited nationwide protests and helped fuel the Black Lives Matter movement .
The boy 's death was , for years , part of the national conversation on use of force against people of color .
The Justice Department 's announcement attributes much of the decision-making to the agency 's career prosecutors or non-politically appointed officials who independently reviewed the evidence .
But the New York Times reported in October that career prosecutors had asked in 2017 to convene a grand jury , but department supervisors denied the request two years later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ department cited the difficulty to successfully bring federal civil rights charges against police officers .
`` The government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers acted willfully .
This high legal standard – one of the highest standards of intent imposed by law – requires proof that the officer acted with the specific intent to do something the law forbids , '' the department said .
`` It is not enough to show that the officer made a mistake , acted negligently , acted by accident or mistake , or even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's case , the department said all the pieces of evidence were insufficient .
Rice was shot and killed by Officer Timothy Loehmann , who is white , on Nov. 22 , 2014 .
Police had received a call about a `` guy with a pistol '' who was pointing a weapon at people outside a recreation center in Cleveland .
Rice at the time had spent the day outside the center playing with a pellet gun .
Officers did not know that the gun might be a toy or that Rice might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shots , striking Rice in the abdomen .
Loehmann and another officer , Frank Garmback , both said that Rice was asked repeatedly to show his hands and that they saw him reach for his gun before the shooting .
The video evidence did not provide much clarity because it was shot from a distance and did not show portions of the incident , the Justice Department said .
It was also unclear from the video whether Rice was , in fact , reaching for the gun before he was shot .
Use-of-force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Loehmann 's use of force was reasonable , while experts retained by Rice 's family found the officer 's actions were not justified .
`` Because the experts relied heavily on the poor-quality video of the incident and reached different conclusions about what it showed , their conflicting opinions added little to the case , '' the Justice Department said .
‘ You don ’ t get over nothing like this ’ : Mother of Tamir Rice says moving on has been painful Prosecutors also did not find enough evidence to prove that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statements to officials after the shooting , the department said , adding that the officers ' statements have been generally consistent .
A state grand jury declined to charge Loehmann in 2015 .
He was fired two years later for lying on his application to the Cleveland Division of Police .
In 2016 , the Rice family won a $ 6 million settlement in a lawsuit against Cleveland .
The city admitted no wrongdoing .
`` Justice would have been officers never killing Tamir Rice in the first place .
But the choice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legal system 's indifference to Black life , '' the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted shortly after the Justice Department announcement .
Last year , the Justice Department announced it will not bring federal charges against a New York City police officer over the death of Eric Garner during a chaotic arrest that ignited nationwide protests .
Like in Rice 's case , prosecutors cited the difficulty of successfully bringing charges against police officers and said the evidence did not show that the officers acted willfully .

Justice Department declines to charge Cleveland officers in fatal 2014 shooting of Tamir Rice
Show Caption Hide Caption Black teens reflect on growing up in Tamir Rice's America Tamir Rice would have celebrated his 18th birthday this week. The USA TODAY Network spoke with 31 Black teenagers about growing up in Tamir's America. Jarrad Henderson, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced on Tuesday that it will not bring criminal charges in the 2014 death of Tamir Rice, saying there was not enough evidence to prove that Cleveland police officers used excessive force against the 12-year-old.
"The evidence in this case fails to definitively establish what happened at the time of the shooting," according to a lengthy statement from the Justice Department, adding that a key evidence – a video of the shooting – was too grainy to clearly show what had happened.
Rice's death is one of several high-profile deaths at the hands of police that ignited nationwide protests and helped fuel the Black Lives Matter movement. The boy's death was, for years, part of the national conversation on use of force against people of color.
The Justice Department's announcement attributes much of the decision-making to the agency's career prosecutors or non-politically appointed officials who independently reviewed the evidence. But the New York Times reported in October that career prosecutors had asked in 2017 to convene a grand jury, but department supervisors denied the request two years later, effectively ending the investigation.
The department cited the difficulty to successfully bring federal civil rights charges against police officers.
"The government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers acted willfully. This high legal standard – one of the highest standards of intent imposed by law – requires proof that the officer acted with the specific intent to do something the law forbids," the department said. "It is not enough to show that the officer made a mistake, acted negligently, acted by accident or mistake, or even exercised bad judgment."
In Rice's case, the department said all the pieces of evidence were insufficient.
Rice was shot and killed by Officer Timothy Loehmann, who is white, on Nov. 22, 2014. Police had received a call about a "guy with a pistol" who was pointing a weapon at people outside a recreation center in Cleveland. Rice at the time had spent the day outside the center playing with a pellet gun. Officers did not know that the gun might be a toy or that Rice might be a juvenile.
Loehmann fired two shots, striking Rice in the abdomen. Loehmann and another officer, Frank Garmback, both said that Rice was asked repeatedly to show his hands and that they saw him reach for his gun before the shooting.
The video evidence did not provide much clarity because it was shot from a distance and did not show portions of the incident, the Justice Department said. It was also unclear from the video whether Rice was, in fact, reaching for the gun before he was shot.
Use-of-force experts hired by county prosecutors found that Loehmann's use of force was reasonable, while experts retained by Rice's family found the officer's actions were not justified.
"Because the experts relied heavily on the poor-quality video of the incident and reached different conclusions about what it showed, their conflicting opinions added little to the case," the Justice Department said.
‘You don’t get over nothing like this’: Mother of Tamir Rice says moving on has been painful
Prosecutors also did not find enough evidence to prove that Loehmann and Garmback obstructed justice in their statements to officials after the shooting, the department said, adding that the officers' statements have been generally consistent.
A state grand jury declined to charge Loehmann in 2015. He was fired two years later for lying on his application to the Cleveland Division of Police.
In 2016, the Rice family won a $6 million settlement in a lawsuit against Cleveland. The city admitted no wrongdoing.
"Justice would have been officers never killing Tamir Rice in the first place. But the choice to close this case only reinforces our legal system's indifference to Black life," the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted shortly after the Justice Department announcement.
Last year, the Justice Department announced it will not bring federal charges against a New York City police officer over the death of Eric Garner during a chaotic arrest that ignited nationwide protests. Like in Rice's case, prosecutors cited the difficulty of successfully bringing charges against police officers and said the evidence did not show that the officers acted willfully.
Contributing: Associated Press


usatoday--2020-12-30--Barstool Sports founder donates money to help New Jersey restaurant

People have strong feelings about Dave Portnoy , the opinionated founder of Barstool Sports who is famous for his man-on-the-street pizza reviews .
But since the middle of December , the creator of One Bite Pizza Reviews has raised more than $ 8 million to help small business who are hurting because of the pandemic .
On Dec. 24 , Portnoy shared his phone call with Mark Marandola , who opened Marandola 's in Bradley Beach , New Jersey , in 2017 , on Barstool Sports ' Facebook page .
He was calling to tell the owner of the Italian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recipient of The Barstool Fund .
Portnoy launched the fundraising effort with Marcus Lemonis , host of CNBC television show `` The Profit '' and founder of The Lemon-AID Foundation , which invests in small businesses and organizations .
The men each donated $ 500,000 to seed the fund .
Making a difference : Rochester , New York company AeroSafe playing pivotal role in 'last mile ' of COVID vaccine delivery More : American manufacturers pine for home as COVID disruptions , Trump tariffs shake up supplies The amount of the Marandola 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – `` I 'm glad we can do a little something for you , '' Portnoy said – but in his application video , the restaurant owner shared that he just needed `` a little help ... to stretch things out a little bit . ''
`` We 've been having issues with just getting the number of people into the restaurant , '' Marandola said while walking through the dining room , where one couple was dining on a Sunday evening .
`` Even though they 're allowing us to sit 25 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so scared , they wo n't even come in .
`` We 're in a seasonal business down here , so we do n't have as many people in this particular area all winter long to do the numbers , '' he said .
`` Anything that you guys can help us out with would be great . ''
Marandola told Portnoy that if there was money leftover that he did not need , he would return it .
'Fatal for small businesses ' : Big firms delay payments to smaller suppliers during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , small businesses must be paying their employees , Portnoy shared when announcing the fund on Twitter .
Once chosen , a business will receive a monthly check as long as it is needed .
`` How much do you need to get to the next month ?
What can we do to make sure you stay in business until this pandemic is over ? ''
he said .
`` We 're going to try and save as many businesses , small business , as we can : Keep the employees getting paid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until this thing is over . ''
You can reach Sarah Griesemer at sgriesemer @ gannettnj.com .

Barstool Sports founder donates money to help New Jersey restaurant
Show Caption Hide Caption COVID-19: Who is unemployed? The unemployment rate explained Job loss numbers skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but not everyone was counted as unemployed. Here's how the unemployment rate is measured. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
People have strong feelings about Dave Portnoy, the opinionated founder of Barstool Sports who is famous for his man-on-the-street pizza reviews.
But since the middle of December, the creator of One Bite Pizza Reviews has raised more than $8 million to help small business who are hurting because of the pandemic.
On Dec. 24, Portnoy shared his phone call with Mark Marandola, who opened Marandola's in Bradley Beach, New Jersey, in 2017, on Barstool Sports' Facebook page. He was calling to tell the owner of the Italian restaurant he had been selected as a recipient of The Barstool Fund.
Portnoy launched the fundraising effort with Marcus Lemonis, host of CNBC television show "The Profit" and founder of The Lemon-AID Foundation, which invests in small businesses and organizations. The men each donated $500,000 to seed the fund.
Making a difference: Rochester, New York company AeroSafe playing pivotal role in 'last mile ' of COVID vaccine delivery
More: American manufacturers pine for home as COVID disruptions, Trump tariffs shake up supplies
The amount of the Marandola's donation wasn't shared during the call – "I'm glad we can do a little something for you," Portnoy said – but in his application video, the restaurant owner shared that he just needed "a little help ... to stretch things out a little bit."
"We've been having issues with just getting the number of people into the restaurant," Marandola said while walking through the dining room, where one couple was dining on a Sunday evening. "Even though they're allowing us to sit 25% of our restaurant, people are so scared, they won't even come in.
"We're in a seasonal business down here, so we don't have as many people in this particular area all winter long to do the numbers," he said. "Anything that you guys can help us out with would be great."
Marandola told Portnoy that if there was money leftover that he did not need, he would return it.
'Fatal for small businesses': Big firms delay payments to smaller suppliers during COVID-19
To qualify as Barstool Fund recipients, small businesses must be paying their employees, Portnoy shared when announcing the fund on Twitter. Once chosen, a business will receive a monthly check as long as it is needed.
"How much do you need to get to the next month? What can we do to make sure you stay in business until this pandemic is over?" he said. "We're going to try and save as many businesses, small business, as we can: Keep the employees getting paid, keep the owners in business, until this thing is over."
You can reach Sarah Griesemer at sgriesemer@gannettnj.com.


usatoday--2020-12-29--Long lines, crashing websites, conflicting information confound COVID-19 vaccine rollout to Florida

ESTERO , Fla. – Senior citizens spent a chilly night outside in a line that stretched for blocks as they waited to get into a park and rec center where COVID-19 vaccinations were offered on a first-come , first-served basis Monday .
At the front of the line were Marc and Mary Ravis of nearby Cape Coral .
They arrived around 7 p.m. Sunday , two hours after the immunization clinic was announced by the Lee County Health Department .
`` I really need this vaccine , '' Mary Ravis said .
She and her husband , 69 and 72 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health conditions .
`` We figured it would fill up fast . ''
Saturday , Gov .
Ron DeSantis issued an executive order that ignored Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance for COVID-19 vaccine priority and allowed people 65 and older to jump ahead of essential workers , even as many health care employees in Florida wait for their shot .
“ We are not going to put young healthy workers ahead of our elderly , ” said DeSantis , whose state has seen more than 21,000 deaths from the virus .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the southwest Florida village .
By noon – two hours before the clinic was scheduled to begin vaccinations – the county Health Department tweeted the site had reached capacity .
Only those already in line could be accommodated .
Tuesday , lines at the county 's three first-come , first-served vaccination sites reached full capacity by 7 a.m .
The sheriff 's office had to send out a traffic alert for the sites because of crowding .
Similar scenes of waiting , confusion and frustration played out across the state Monday , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ create distribution systems for groups they had n't expected to vaccinate for at least a week or two .
More : How will you be told when it 's your turn for a COVID-19 vaccine ?
It 's complicated '' If you 're opening it up to everyone in Florida 65 and older , then you 'd better have a plan , '' said Dr. William Schaffner , an infectious disease expert at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville , Tennessee .
That has n't necessarily been the case in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine rollout for people 65 and older may be a lesson for the rest of the nation , as a decentralized , county-based public health system copes with overwhelming demand .
Florida 's latest vaccination data showed 122,881 people received the first dose of a two-part vaccine as of Monday morning ; Johns Hopkins University data showed Florida had been allocated 546,400 doses as of Dec. 16 .
Immunizing the general population involves much more than most people imagine , said Glen Nowak , director of the University of Georgia 's Center for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communication director for the CDC 's National Immunization Program .
`` We know thereare broad-stroke ideas of how this is supposed to work , '' he said , `` but as the vaccine gets distributed deeper and deeper into the system , it ’ s going to get more complicated . ''
That complexity resulted in busy signals and hours of redialing in Miami , where people tried to get through to make vaccination appointments at hospitals in the face of sometimes contradictory information .
At Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is not available to the community . ''
The switchboard told callers vaccine was not being distributed .
However , callers to the hospital 's COVID-19 line who could get through Monday were allowed to book vaccination appointments for people 65 and older until midday .
Then a recording declared appointments for the vaccine were no longer being taken .
A call to the hospital 's media relations department Monday was not returned .
More : Operation Warp Speed is living up to its name , but COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , officials say Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami began offering vaccine to seniors last week , though getting through to the appointment desk proved difficult for many .
Monday , multiple attempts by USA TODAY resulted in busy signals .
When the line was answered , staff said vaccine was available only to medical center patients .
That is n't the case , CEO Steven Sonenreich clarified .
The medical center offers vaccine to anyone 75 and older and will drop the age limit to 65 when demand eases .
The initial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progress , '' he acknowledged .
`` What occurred has been that the vaccine was not here one day , and then all of the sudden , it was here , '' Sonenreich said , adding that the system vaccinated its physicians and as many other medical workers as wanted it , then opened to others .
The hospital hired additional staff members to answer phones and deal with the increase in activity .
Though Mount Sinai has always offered immunizations , `` no one has a vaccine department , '' Sonenreich said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took the lead in distributing vaccine to the public , the process has been bumpy at best .
In Seminole County , the Health Department began administering shots to people 65 and older at a mall Monday .
An immunization appointment system crashed repeatedly throughout the day , then immediately filled up through Jan. 9 .
The county asked for patience as it worked through the issues .
The county level is where such efforts need to be organized , said Dr. Walter Orenstein , associate director of the Emory University Vaccine Center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Program .
`` It 's the states and counties that know where to send the vaccine and what systems to have in place , '' he said .
Nowak , the former CDC immunization official , said they need money and time .
`` This is one of the reasons you 've seen so many of the state and county health departments say how important it is that they get additional resources , '' he said .
`` The complexity is going to do nothing but increase . ''
The coronavirus relief and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ includes more than $ 8 billion for states for vaccine distribution .
The money should have come much earlier , and with federal support for the effort , Dr. Ashish Jha , dean of the Brown University School of Public Health , tweeted in frustration late Monday .
`` There appears to be no investment or plan in the last mile , '' Jha wrote .
`` No effort from Feds to help states launch a real vaccination infrastructure .
Did the Feds not know vaccines were coming ?
Should n't planning around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in October or November ? ''
Orlando 's Orange County announced Monday it would begin vaccinating seniors Tuesday at the county convention center .
At a news conference earlier in the day , county health officer Dr. Raul Pino warned the process would n't go smoothly .
`` Should you expect mistakes ?
Yes !
We 're going to have issues , '' he said .
`` We 'll work on those issues as they come . ''
They came almost immediately .
A website to take appointments went up Monday afternoon but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ refreshing their screens to try to get it to work .
Wayne Frongello , 69 , a retired teacher , spent a fruitless hour trying to make an appointment for himself and his 95-year-old father .
`` This rollout has been out of control in terms of any kind of consistency , '' Frongello said .
He said it was `` horrible '' that people his age were allowed to be vaccinated before doctors and nurses but decided the immunizations available at the convention centers would n't go to health care workers anyway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his dad Tuesday after the website crashed on him multiple times .
`` Every time I get partway through the process , I could see the number of open appointments dwindling , '' the Orlando resident said Monday just before midnight .
`` And now when I try to register , all the slots are filled .
I never got to the final booking page at all . ''

Elizabeth Weise and Michael Braun, USA TODAY

Long lines, crashing websites, conflicting information confound COVID-19 vaccine rollout to Florida seniors
Show Caption Hide Caption Florida prepares to distribute 1st vaccine doses Florida will receive 179,400 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 within a week and use them to inoculate nursing home patients and health care workers most exposed to the virus, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday. (Dec. 10) AP
ESTERO, Fla. – Senior citizens spent a chilly night outside in a line that stretched for blocks as they waited to get into a park and rec center where COVID-19 vaccinations were offered on a first-come, first-served basis Monday.
At the front of the line were Marc and Mary Ravis of nearby Cape Coral. They arrived around 7 p.m. Sunday, two hours after the immunization clinic was announced by the Lee County Health Department.
"I really need this vaccine," Mary Ravis said. She and her husband, 69 and 72 years old, respectively, have underlying health conditions. "We figured it would fill up fast."
Saturday, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order that ignored Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance for COVID-19 vaccine priority and allowed people 65 and older to jump ahead of essential workers, even as many health care employees in Florida wait for their shot.
“We are not going to put young healthy workers ahead of our elderly,” said DeSantis, whose state has seen more than 21,000 deaths from the virus.
The Ravises were among the lucky ones in the southwest Florida village. By noon – two hours before the clinic was scheduled to begin vaccinations – the county Health Department tweeted the site had reached capacity. Only those already in line could be accommodated.
Tuesday, lines at the county's three first-come, first-served vaccination sites reached full capacity by 7 a.m. The sheriff's office had to send out a traffic alert for the sites because of crowding.
Similar scenes of waiting, confusion and frustration played out across the state Monday, as medical systems and counties scrambled to create distribution systems for groups they hadn't expected to vaccinate for at least a week or two.
More: How will you be told when it's your turn for a COVID-19 vaccine? It's complicated
"If you're opening it up to everyone in Florida 65 and older, then you'd better have a plan," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee.
That hasn't necessarily been the case in the Sunshine State, where the chaotic coronavirus vaccine rollout for people 65 and older may be a lesson for the rest of the nation, as a decentralized, county-based public health system copes with overwhelming demand.
Florida's latest vaccination data showed 122,881 people received the first dose of a two-part vaccine as of Monday morning; Johns Hopkins University data showed Florida had been allocated 546,400 doses as of Dec. 16.
Immunizing the general population involves much more than most people imagine, said Glen Nowak, director of the University of Georgia's Center for Health and Risk Communications and a former communication director for the CDC's National Immunization Program.
"We know there are broad-stroke ideas of how this is supposed to work," he said, "but as the vaccine gets distributed deeper and deeper into the system, it’s going to get more complicated."
We got my 82 year old mother a COVID vaccine appointment! Orange County Florida website took hours of refreshing to get it but we finally got through! She goes Wednesday and follow up shot in January. 👏👏👏 — Claudine Hellmuth (@claudinetweets) December 29, 2020
That complexity resulted in busy signals and hours of redialing in Miami, where people tried to get through to make vaccination appointments at hospitals in the face of sometimes contradictory information.
At Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, the website read, "At this time, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is not available to the community." The switchboard told callers vaccine was not being distributed.
However, callers to the hospital's COVID-19 line who could get through Monday were allowed to book vaccination appointments for people 65 and older until midday. Then a recording declared appointments for the vaccine were no longer being taken. A call to the hospital's media relations department Monday was not returned.
More: Operation Warp Speed is living up to its name, but COVID-19 immunizations are going 'slower' than expected, officials say
Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami began offering vaccine to seniors last week, though getting through to the appointment desk proved difficult for many. Monday, multiple attempts by USA TODAY resulted in busy signals. When the line was answered, staff said vaccine was available only to medical center patients.
That isn't the case, CEO Steven Sonenreich clarified. The medical center offers vaccine to anyone 75 and older and will drop the age limit to 65 when demand eases. The initial rollout has been "a work in progress," he acknowledged.
"What occurred has been that the vaccine was not here one day, and then all of the sudden, it was here," Sonenreich said, adding that the system vaccinated its physicians and as many other medical workers as wanted it, then opened to others.
The hospital hired additional staff members to answer phones and deal with the increase in activity. Though Mount Sinai has always offered immunizations, "no one has a vaccine department," Sonenreich said.
In counties where public health departments took the lead in distributing vaccine to the public, the process has been bumpy at best.
In Seminole County, the Health Department began administering shots to people 65 and older at a mall Monday. An immunization appointment system crashed repeatedly throughout the day, then immediately filled up through Jan. 9. The county asked for patience as it worked through the issues.
The county level is where such efforts need to be organized, said Dr. Walter Orenstein, associate director of the Emory University Vaccine Center and former director of the U.S. Immunization Program. "It's the states and counties that know where to send the vaccine and what systems to have in place," he said.
Nowak, the former CDC immunization official, said they need money and time. "This is one of the reasons you've seen so many of the state and county health departments say how important it is that they get additional resources," he said. "The complexity is going to do nothing but increase."
The coronavirus relief and spending package President Donald Trump signed Sunday includes more than $8 billion for states for vaccine distribution. The money should have come much earlier, and with federal support for the effort, Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, tweeted in frustration late Monday.
"There appears to be no investment or plan in the last mile," Jha wrote. "No effort from Feds to help states launch a real vaccination infrastructure. Did the Feds not know vaccines were coming? Shouldn't planning around vaccination sites, etc not have happened in October or November?"
Orlando's Orange County announced Monday it would begin vaccinating seniors Tuesday at the county convention center. At a news conference earlier in the day, county health officer Dr. Raul Pino warned the process wouldn't go smoothly.
"Should you expect mistakes? Yes! We're going to have issues," he said. "We'll work on those issues as they come."
They came almost immediately. A website to take appointments went up Monday afternoon but quickly faltered as county residents spent hours refreshing their screens to try to get it to work.
Wayne Frongello, 69, a retired teacher, spent a fruitless hour trying to make an appointment for himself and his 95-year-old father.
"This rollout has been out of control in terms of any kind of consistency," Frongello said.
He said it was "horrible" that people his age were allowed to be vaccinated before doctors and nurses but decided the immunizations available at the convention centers wouldn't go to health care workers anyway.
Nor did they go to Frongello and his dad Tuesday after the website crashed on him multiple times.
"Every time I get partway through the process, I could see the number of open appointments dwindling," the Orlando resident said Monday just before midnight. "And now when I try to register, all the slots are filled. I never got to the final booking page at all."
Contact Elizabeth Weise at ewseise@usatoday.com.
Contributing: Mike Stuka


usatoday--2020-12-30--Record number of travelers passed through US airports after Christmas

Record number of travelers passed through US airports after Christmas Nearly 1.3 million people passed through U.S. airports the Sunday @ @ @ @ @ new COVID-19 travel record .

Air travel hits COVID-19 high despite CDC urging to stay home
Nearly 1.3 million people passed through U.S. airports the Sunday after Christmas, marking a new COVID-19 travel record.
Staff video, USA TODAY


usatoday--2020-12-30--Trump asks Supreme Court to set aside Wisconsin's election

MADISON - President Donald Trump on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse Wisconsin 's high court , set aside the state 's presidential election and allow Republicans who control the Legislature to decide how to cast the state 's 10 electoral votes .
It 's the latest in a string of dozens of challenges by the Republican president and his allies to overturn the Nov. 3 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden .
Trump and his supporters have failed to make headway in the courts .
`` This Court is likely the only institution of our government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this election , '' Trump 's legal team told the Supreme Court in its filing .
Trump 's lawyers asked the nation 's highest court to put the case on a fast track so it can be decided before Congress counts electoral votes on Jan. 6 .
The .
Supreme Court has already considered a challenge to the results in Wisconsin and other swing states .
The high court this month rejected that challenge , which was brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and backed by more than 100 Republicans in Congress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chance in front of a conservative Supreme Court .
Here 's why .
In the latest case , Trump is asking the justices to decide whether more than 50,000 absentee ballots in Milwaukee and Dane counties were wrongly counted .
Biden carried Wisconsin by about 21,000 votes .
Some of the ballots were cast by voters who did not have to provide a copy of their photo ID because they said they were confined to their homes because of age or disability .
Trump said there were n't enough checks to determine whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also wants to throw out ballots in cases where clerks filled in the addresses of witnesses on absentee ballot envelopes , as well as absentee ballots returned during events held in Madison parks .
The Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit 4-3 this month , finding that Trump had waited too long to file his lawsuit .
The practices he questioned have long been in effect and Trump should have challenged them before the election , the majority ruled .
With his appeal , Trump dropped his most far-reaching argument — that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voting for more than a decade is illegal .
Even the dissenters on Wisconsin 's Supreme Court did n't latch onto that claim .
Earlier : Supreme Court denies effort to block election results in 4 key states that sealed Trump 's fate But Trump is asking for more with his appeal than he did in his initial lawsuit .
At first , Trump sought to have 220,000 ballots thrown out in the state 's two most Democratic counties .
Now , he 's asking the Supreme Court to reject the state 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decide how to cast Wisconsin 's electoral votes .
Wisconsin 's slate of electors has already cast its votes for Biden .
It took that vote about an hour after the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued its ruling .
More : The ways Donald Trump and Republicans have tried to overturn Joe Biden 's 2020 win Contact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley @ jrn.com .
Follow him on Twitter at @ patrickdmarley .

Patrick Marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Trump asks Supreme Court to set aside Wisconsin's election
Show Caption Hide Caption Joe Biden calls out 'irresponsibility,' 'roadblocks' in transition President-elect Joe Biden called the lack of cooperation from the Trump administration irresponsible. Staff video, USA TODAY
MADISON - President Donald Trump on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse Wisconsin's high court, set aside the state's presidential election and allow Republicans who control the Legislature to decide how to cast the state's 10 electoral votes.
It's the latest in a string of dozens of challenges by the Republican president and his allies to overturn the Nov. 3 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump and his supporters have failed to make headway in the courts.
"This Court is likely the only institution of our government capable of credibly resolving the controversy over this election," Trump's legal team told the Supreme Court in its filing.
Trump's lawyers asked the nation's highest court to put the case on a fast track so it can be decided before Congress counts electoral votes on Jan. 6.
More: Trump wants Supreme Court to overturn Pennsylvania election results
The. Supreme Court has already considered a challenge to the results in Wisconsin and other swing states. The high court this month rejected that challenge, which was brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and backed by more than 100 Republicans in Congress.
Earlier: Donald Trump stood no chance in front of a conservative Supreme Court. Here's why.
In the latest case, Trump is asking the justices to decide whether more than 50,000 absentee ballots in Milwaukee and Dane counties were wrongly counted. Biden carried Wisconsin by about 21,000 votes.
Some of the ballots were cast by voters who did not have to provide a copy of their photo ID because they said they were confined to their homes because of age or disability. Trump said there weren't enough checks to determine whether the voters met that criteria.
He also wants to throw out ballots in cases where clerks filled in the addresses of witnesses on absentee ballot envelopes, as well as absentee ballots returned during events held in Madison parks.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit 4-3 this month, finding that Trump had waited too long to file his lawsuit. The practices he questioned have long been in effect and Trump should have challenged them before the election, the majority ruled.
With his appeal, Trump dropped his most far-reaching argument — that the way Wisconsin officials have conducted early in-person voting for more than a decade is illegal. Even the dissenters on Wisconsin's Supreme Court didn't latch onto that claim.
Earlier: Supreme Court denies effort to block election results in 4 key states that sealed Trump's fate
But Trump is asking for more with his appeal than he did in his initial lawsuit.
At first, Trump sought to have 220,000 ballots thrown out in the state's two most Democratic counties. Now, he's asking the Supreme Court to reject the state's election entirely and have the Republican-led Legislature decide how to cast Wisconsin's electoral votes.
Earlier: Supreme Court dismisses Trump allies' challenge to Pennsylvania election
Wisconsin's slate of electors has already cast its votes for Biden. It took that vote about an hour after the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued its ruling.
More: The ways Donald Trump and Republicans have tried to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 win
Contact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @patrickdmarley.


usatoday--2020-12-29--Biden says Trump Administration's COVID-19 vaccine distribution effort is 'falling behind'

Biden says Trump Administration 's COVID-19 vaccine distribution effort is 'falling behind' The President-elect said the COVID-19 vaccine distribution is @ @ @ @ @ `` not progressing as it should . ''

Biden criticizes Trump Administration's vaccine distribution effort
The President-elect said the COVID-19 vaccine distribution is "falling behind" and "not progressing as it should."
USA TODAY


usatoday--2020-12-30--2021 has to be better for Hollywood, because it can't get any worse

The temptation is to write off 2020 as the worst year ever – goodbye and good riddance .
Historians or people with long memories might quibble , but it does seem this has been a year to endure an unusual pile-on of calamities – and with precious little entertainment to help deflect the misery .
It was a year of death and dark tidings , broken only by occasional , accidental tomfoolery , like the late-breaking news that unknown persons were leaving metal `` monoliths '' propped up in various hard-to-reach spots on public land in the U.S. and elsewhere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Were they would-be Banksy imitators , master of the art-and-run ?
Worshippers at the shrine of the late director Stanley Kubrick and his monolith-starring `` 2001 : A Space Odyssey '' ?
Who knows , but it was a welcome thought diversion taken up by millions reeling from a truly terrible year .
Above all there is the coronavirus pandemic stalking us .
It has killed more than 335,000 Americans , sickened millions and left many of the survivors with permanent , debilitating aftereffects from COVID-19 .
Two new vaccines are now being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way , which is welcome news , but there 's still no effective therapeutic for those already sick , and meanwhile , the nation 's hospitals are reaching a critical point .
So the pandemic is not over .
True , we have endured pandemics , economic depression , unemployment for millions , racial protests and a toxic presidential election before , but all in the same year ?
No wonder Americans feel aggrieved about 2020 .
The pandemic canceled , postponed or radically changed the nature of almost all entertainment events , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theater and other live entertainment , the Met gala and fashion shows , awards shows like the Oscars and the Emmys , red carpet openings for movies , opera and dance performances , comedy and nightclubs , and family-focused amusement parks .
Congress passed and President Donald Trump has signed a $ 900 billion COVID-19 relief package containing the Save Our Stages Act , which aims an estimated $ 15 billion toward grant programs for live venues , independent movie theaters and other cultural institutions .
But the aid has yet to begin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 or its complications .
Some of those included playwright Terence McNally , 81 ( March ) ; singer/songwriter John Prine , 73 ( April ) ; Emmy-winning songwriter Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne , 52 ( April ) ; Las Vegas performer Roy Horn , 75 ( May ) ; jazz patriarch Ellis Marsalis , 85 ( April ) ; and country music star Charley Pride , 86 ( December ) .
Perhaps the most sorrowful story : Broadway actor Nick Cordero died in July at age 41 after 13 weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including a leg amputation , infections in his lungs and the insertion of a pacemaker .
All of it was chronicled in agonizing social media posts by his heartbroken wife , Amanda Kloots .
Some consolation : Most of the entertainment and media figures who tested positive and got sick survived , including Tom Hanks , Ellen DeGeneres , Gloria Estefan , Idris Elba , Antonio Banderas , Daniel Dae Kim , Andy Cohen , Sara Bareilles , Pink , George Stephanopoulos , Tony Shalhoub , D.L .
Hughley , Bryan Cranston @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Neil Patrick Harris , Kanye West , Khloe Kardashian , Mel Gibson , Dwayne Johnson and Chris Cuomo .
It does n't help that 2020 has been a singular year for deaths in the entertainment world from causes other than COVID-19 .
Some were expected , some not , but that did n't make either less of a blow to those already mourning too much tragedy .
For many Americans , it was like losing close friends .
`` Black Panther '' star Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer at 43 in August @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of heart disease at 88 in July .
James Bond icon Sean Connery died in October at 90 after suffering from dementia .
`` Jeopardy ! ''
host Alex Trebek died in November at 80 after a long , valiant struggle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer .
The toll did n't stop there : Eddie Van Halen , 65 ; Charlie Daniels , 83 ; Kenny Rogers , 81 ; Little Richard , 87 ; Helen Reddy , 78 ; Olivia de Havilland , 104 ; Kirk Douglas , 103 ; Ian Holm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; Carl Reiner , 98 ; Larry Kramer , 84 ; and John le Carré , 89 .
In fact , few parts of the national culture and economy have been affected more by pandemic despair , fear and fury than the entertainment industry .
Just when we needed it most – to make us laugh , make us think or just to ward off creeping anxiety – it largely disappeared .
As COVID-19 began its inexorable spread across the continent , tens of thousands of movie theaters closed , either by government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theaters shuttered ; the Great White Way went dark .
Music concerts and live festival events were postponed , then canceled altogether .
The popular Coachella festival in the desert of Southern California was postponed three times and now is set for October 2021 , according to Rolling Stone .
Maybe .
In the spring , people were shocked when SXSW , the massive tech and entertainment festival in Austin , Texas , was canceled .
Like dominoes , music festivals announced `` See you in 2021 '' one after the other .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as the Smash Mouth-headlined Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota – were labeled superspreader events and blamed for tens of thousands of coronavirus cases .
More : Ticketmaster may require vaccinations , negative COVID-19 tests when concerts return More : 'The precipice of a mass collapse ' : Independent music venues fear they 'll be forced to close forever More : # SaveOurStages : How the new COVID-19 relief package will help entertainment venues Live music is expected to be among the last facets of the entertainment industry to reopen .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to see mitigation measures like vaccine tracking , mask requirements and social distancing .
The list of music tours and concerts canceled or postponed is lengthy and covers every genre from the Rolling Stones , whose “ No Filter Tour '' was set to start in May , to BTS , whose world tour was suspended in April .
Others included Billie Eilish , Lady Gaga , Foo Fighters , Justin Bieber , Harry Styles , Elton John and Chris Stapleton .
Taylor Swift canceled her 2020 `` Lover Tour '' and instead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , `` Taylor Swift City of Lover Concert , '' in May .
She was one of the bright notes from a year of entertainment darkness , proving she had n't lost her creative impulse by dropping two new albums at the end of the year .
America 's amusement and theme parks , large and small , had to stop the rides and shut their gates , at least temporarily , and now are trying to cope with the economic fallout as the virus surges again with winter .
Disney World in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shutdown , but Disneyland in California remains closed .
It could be months before California 's coronavirus guidelines will allow the park to reopen .
Meanwhile , the Walt Disney Company revealed in a November Securities and Exchange Commission filing that about 32,000 workers , primarily from its parks division , would lose their jobs in the first half of the 2021 fiscal year ; 37,000 employees were on furlough as of October , according to the filing .
Movie and TV sets in Hollywood and elsewhere across the nation shut down as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went into quarantine and lockdowns .
That sent movies meant for now-darkened theaters to streaming services , delayed the start of the traditional TV season and left late-night talk show hosts and briefly , `` Saturday Night Live , '' scurrying to tape shows remotely and Zooming in guests .
It was awkward at times , and everyone , including audiences , had to adjust .
The biggest movies sent to streaming included `` Wonder Woman 1984 '' and `` Mulan . ''
Those bumped out of 2020 altogether included `` No Time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' `` F9 , '' and `` Top Gun : Maverick . ''
And `` SNL , '' like the news media in general , was in a constant state of scurrying to keep up with the relentless news cycle of a presidential election year like no other in the nation 's history .
How tense did all this make people ?
In December , Tom Cruise was heard on leaked audio ( published in Britain 's The Sun tabloid ) ranting on the London-area set of his `` Mission : Impossible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crew members for allegedly breaking COVID-19 safety protocols .
According to the audio , Cruise suggested he is personally responsible for maintaining safety protocols ( actually , there are industry officials for that role on any set ) , but he voiced the underlying point : that Hollywood is relying on would-be blockbusters like `` M : I7 '' to save the industry in a pandemic of stalled productions and theater closures .
`` We want the gold standard .
They ’ re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and what we ’ re doing , '' Cruise said , according to the recording .
Although Cruise has his critics ( `` A stunt , '' sniffed longtime foe Leah Remini ) , others such as George Clooney and Josh Gad said Cruise was right , if volcanic .
`` Tom Cruise is correct here FYI .
Sorry/Not sorry , '' Gad tweeted as the leaked audio went viral .
The future of the movie theater business in a post-pandemic world was further thrown in doubt by the news Dec. 3 that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , would release every one of its first-run theatrical films next year in theaters and on its HBO Max streaming service – simultaneously .
That was greeted with alarm by AMC , the world 's largest theater chain , whose CEO , Adam Aron , vowed to “ aggressively pursue economic terms that preserve our business.
” Some filmmakers were seeing red , too : Count `` Tenet '' director , producer and writer Christopher Nolan among the prominent industry players sounding off about a game-changing move about which they were n't consulted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a business point of view is fundamentally irrational , '' Nolan , whose long relationship with Warner Bros. dates back to 2002 's `` Insomnia , '' told USA TODAY .
`` With the 2021 movies , they made a bit of mess and upset a lot of people .
Because the great filmmakers , and movie stars , in these movies , none of them were consulted .
The studio , in its arrogance , let them read about it in the trades . ''
At the same time , industry employees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , most of them not stars , are directly employed by the film and TV industries alone , according to a February report by the Motion Picture Association of America .
By one estimate , up to one-third of those workers – stagehands , camera operators , ticket takers , ushers , food service workers and scores of other behind-scenes employees – were laid off or furloughed by the end of March .
Their futures are still in some doubt despite the COVID-19 relief bill .
But there was a bright spot amid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ industry had good news thanks to books being readily available and plenty of readers with little to do .
The number of physical books sold dropped 10 % in March , an early negative sign , according to The Associated Press , but publishing finished up the year on a high note .
As of Dec. 12 , U.S. print book sales rose 8.2 % , with 679 million books sold in the U.S. during that time worth $ 11.8 billion in retail-price value , according to NPD data .
On its website @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 35-44 age group , spending on books was up 74 % over 2019 , the largest overall spending increase across entertainment .
Compelling new books from beloved authors helped , such as the celebrated Zadie Smith , who brought out her first collection of 11 never-before-published short stories , `` Grand Union , '' to rave reviews about her powers of observation and literary prowess .
And do n't forget former President Barack Obama 's memoir `` A Promised Land , '' which was already a blockbuster even before it was published @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michelle Obama 's record-smashing memoir , `` Becoming , '' in 2019 .
When they were n't in mourning or in quarantine , entertainment leaders were speaking out on the Black Lives Matter movement , on the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , and on the most toxic presidential election year in living memory .
Speaking out itself was n't new ; what was new was the pandemic had idled so many and the power of social media allowed celebrity voices to crank up their volume , which in turn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In a year when it seemed everyone was arguing about everything , so were entertainers and celebrities .
Scores reacted to the death of George Floyd with calls to act , urging people to organize protests , sign petitions and donate to bail funds for arrested protesters .
Black stars spoke candidly about how their own fears of police stemmed from scary interactions with them .
White stars and studios reconsidered their past forays into blackface for comedic purposes , apologizing , walking back , attempting to explain and editing or deleting scenes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a few stars pleaded , as Jimmy Fallon did , that , `` I 'm not a racist , '' or `` I 've evolved . ''
The entertainment industry canceled shows and fired stars from series after racist comments and tweets resurfaced .
`` Cancel culture '' became another thing entertainers and Americans in general could argue about .
Hollywood has always leaned Democratic and liberal ; for this presidential election the trend was an even more lopsided lean-in ( with some exceptions ) : Vote out President Donald Trump .
More @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and weighed in – even Taylor Swift .
The few celebs who supported Trump spent time attacking fellow entertainers for their politics or bemoaning the sorry fate of conservatives in Hollywood .
Criticism of the president by entertainers and talk show hosts , in comedy or music or lengthy tweets , was a regular feature this year ; what was new was the seemingly sudden embrace of Trump , by varying degrees , of rap stars including Kanye West , Ice Cube , 50 Cent , Lil Wayne , Lil Pump and 6ix9ine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it became clear ( eventually ) that Trump had lost to Joe Biden , the division and chaos ramped up again as Trump disputed the results .
It 's not really over , and wo n't be until Jan. 20 , when Biden is inaugurated .
The rest of us have to get through New Year 's .
Cue coronavirus Christmas cards !
America 's entrepreneurs are second to none when it comes to making a joke ( and some money ) to cheer us up when we 're most down .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cards sporting messages like `` Sending love from our quaranteam to yours '' and `` Dear Santa , how about a do-over ? ''
Illustrator Sara Showalter , who sells her holiday designs from her Etsy shop , told USA TODAY about her most popular : A design with a Christmas tree assembled out of toilet paper that says , `` What a year but we rolled with it . ''
• None Best books of 2020 : These 13 titles scored perfect 4-star reviews from USA TODAY ’ s critics • None @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Including Taylor Swift , Phoebe Bridgers and Chloe x Halle

The temptation is to write off 2020 as the worst year ever – goodbye and good riddance. Historians or people with long memories might quibble, but it does seem this has been a year to endure an unusual pile-on of calamities – and with precious little entertainment to help deflect the misery.
It was a year of death and dark tidings, broken only by occasional, accidental tomfoolery, like the late-breaking news that unknown persons were leaving metal "monoliths" propped up in various hard-to-reach spots on public land in the U.S. and elsewhere and ... well, walking away.
Were they would-be Banksy imitators, master of the art-and-run? Worshippers at the shrine of the late director Stanley Kubrick and his monolith-starring "2001: A Space Odyssey"? Who knows, but it was a welcome thought diversion taken up by millions reeling from a truly terrible year.
Above all there is the coronavirus pandemic stalking us. It has killed more than 335,000 Americans, sickened millions and left many of the survivors with permanent, debilitating aftereffects from COVID-19.
Two new vaccines are now being distributed, and more are on the way, which is welcome news, but there's still no effective therapeutic for those already sick, and meanwhile, the nation's hospitals are reaching a critical point. So the pandemic is not over.
True, we have endured pandemics, economic depression, unemployment for millions, racial protests and a toxic presidential election before, but all in the same year? No wonder Americans feel aggrieved about 2020.
The pandemic canceled, postponed or radically changed the nature of almost all entertainment events, large and small: film festivals, theater and other live entertainment, the Met gala and fashion shows, awards shows like the Oscars and the Emmys, red carpet openings for movies, opera and dance performances, comedy and nightclubs, and family-focused amusement parks.
Congress passed and President Donald Trump has signed a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package containing the Save Our Stages Act, which aims an estimated $15 billion toward grant programs for live venues, independent movie theaters and other cultural institutions. But the aid has yet to begin flowing.
Entertainers were not spared from COVID-19 or its complications. Some of those included playwright Terence McNally, 81 (March); singer/songwriter John Prine, 73 (April); Emmy-winning songwriter Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, 52 (April); Las Vegas performer Roy Horn, 75 (May); jazz patriarch Ellis Marsalis, 85 (April); country music star Charley Pride, 86 (December); and "Gilligan's Island" star Dawn Wells, 82 (December).
Perhaps the most sorrowful story: Broadway actor Nick Cordero died in July at age 41 after 13 weeks battling the virus and multiple serious complications, including a leg amputation, infections in his lungs and the insertion of a pacemaker. All of it was chronicled in agonizing social media posts by his heartbroken wife, Amanda Kloots.
Some consolation: Most of the entertainment and media figures who tested positive and got sick survived, including Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres, Gloria Estefan, Idris Elba, Antonio Banderas, Daniel Dae Kim, Andy Cohen, Sara Bareilles, Pink, George Stephanopoulos, Tony Shalhoub, D.L. Hughley, Bryan Cranston, Alyssa Milano, Tiffany Haddish, Neil Patrick Harris, Kanye West, Khloe Kardashian, Mel Gibson, Dwayne Johnson and Chris Cuomo.
The icons, newsmakers and stars we lost this year Read the story
It doesn't help that 2020 has been a singular year for deaths in the entertainment world from causes other than COVID-19. Some were expected, some not, but that didn't make either less of a blow to those already mourning too much tragedy. For many Americans, it was like losing close friends.
"Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer at 43 in August. Beloved TV host Regis Philbin died of heart disease at 88 in July. James Bond icon Sean Connery died in October at 90 after suffering from dementia. "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek died in November at 80 after a long, valiant struggle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
The toll didn't stop there: Eddie Van Halen, 65; Charlie Daniels, 83; Kenny Rogers, 81; Little Richard, 87; Helen Reddy, 78; Olivia de Havilland, 104; Kirk Douglas, 103; Ian Holm, 88; Jerry Stiller, 92; Carl Reiner, 98; Larry Kramer, 84; and John le Carré, 89.
In fact, few parts of the national culture and economy have been affected more by pandemic despair, fear and fury than the entertainment industry. Just when we needed it most – to make us laugh, make us think or just to ward off creeping anxiety – it largely disappeared.
As COVID-19 began its inexorable spread across the continent, tens of thousands of movie theaters closed, either by government order or by corporate decision. Broadway theaters shuttered; the Great White Way went dark.
Music concerts and live festival events were postponed, then canceled altogether. The popular Coachella festival in the desert of Southern California was postponed three times and now is set for October 2021, according to Rolling Stone. Maybe.
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In the spring, people were shocked when SXSW, the massive tech and entertainment festival in Austin, Texas, was canceled. Like dominoes, music festivals announced "See you in 2021" one after the other. The ones that didn’t – such as the Smash Mouth-headlined Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota – were labeled superspreader events and blamed for tens of thousands of coronavirus cases.
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Live music is expected to be among the last facets of the entertainment industry to reopen. And when concerts restart, fans can expect to see mitigation measures like vaccine tracking, mask requirements and social distancing.
The list of music tours and concerts canceled or postponed is lengthy and covers every genre from the Rolling Stones, whose “No Filter Tour" was set to start in May, to BTS, whose world tour was suspended in April. Others included Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Foo Fighters, Justin Bieber, Harry Styles, Elton John and Chris Stapleton.
Taylor Swift canceled her 2020 "Lover Tour" and instead went on ABC in a concert special, "Taylor Swift City of Lover Concert," in May. She was one of the bright notes from a year of entertainment darkness, proving she hadn't lost her creative impulse by dropping two new albums at the end of the year.
America's amusement and theme parks, large and small, had to stop the rides and shut their gates, at least temporarily, and now are trying to cope with the economic fallout as the virus surges again with winter.
Disney World in Orlando reopened in July after a three-month shutdown, but Disneyland in California remains closed. It could be months before California's coronavirus guidelines will allow the park to reopen.
Meanwhile, the Walt Disney Company revealed in a November Securities and Exchange Commission filing that about 32,000 workers, primarily from its parks division, would lose their jobs in the first half of the 2021 fiscal year; 37,000 employees were on furlough as of October, according to the filing.
Amanda Kloots chronicled husband Nick Cordero's fatal struggle with COVID-19 complications, which kept the 41-year-old Broadway star hospitalized for more than 90 days. "I am in disbelief and hurting everywhere. My heart is broken as I cannot imagine our lives without him," Kloots, 38, wrote on July 5, 2020. "Nick was such a bright light." Noam Galai/Getty Images for Beyond Yoga
Movie and TV sets in Hollywood and elsewhere across the nation shut down as productions packed up and casts and crews went into quarantine and lockdowns.
That sent movies meant for now-darkened theaters to streaming services, delayed the start of the traditional TV season and left late-night talk show hosts and briefly, "Saturday Night Live," scurrying to tape shows remotely and Zooming in guests. It was awkward at times, and everyone, including audiences, had to adjust.
The biggest movies sent to streaming included "Wonder Woman 1984" and "Mulan." Those bumped out of 2020 altogether included "No Time to Die," "Black Widow," "F9," and "Top Gun: Maverick."
And "SNL," like the news media in general, was in a constant state of scurrying to keep up with the relentless news cycle of a presidential election year like no other in the nation's history.
How tense did all this make people? In December, Tom Cruise was heard on leaked audio (published in Britain's The Sun tabloid) ranting on the London-area set of his "Mission: Impossible 7" in an expletive-filled tirade at crew members for allegedly breaking COVID-19 safety protocols.
According to the audio, Cruise suggested he is personally responsible for maintaining safety protocols (actually, there are industry officials for that role on any set), but he voiced the underlying point: that Hollywood is relying on would-be blockbusters like "M:I7" to save the industry in a pandemic of stalled productions and theater closures.
"We want the gold standard. They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us, because they believe in us and what we’re doing," Cruise said, according to the recording.
Although Cruise has his critics ("A stunt," sniffed longtime foe Leah Remini), others such as George Clooney and Josh Gad said Cruise was right, if volcanic. "Tom Cruise is correct here FYI. Sorry/Not sorry," Gad tweeted as the leaked audio went viral.
The future of the movie theater business in a post-pandemic world was further thrown in doubt by the news Dec. 3 that a major movie studio, Warner Bros., would release every one of its first-run theatrical films next year in theaters and on its HBO Max streaming service – simultaneously.
A pedestrian in a facemask walks past empty cases where upcoming movies were once displayed at Regal Cinemas on Oct. 5, 2020 in Los Angeles. The second-largest operator of theaters in the U.S., Regal plans to close 500 theaters, affecting some 40,000 employees, due to the coronavirus pandemic. FREDERIC J. BROWN, AFP via Getty Images
That was greeted with alarm by AMC, the world's largest theater chain, whose CEO, Adam Aron, vowed to “aggressively pursue economic terms that preserve our business.”
Some filmmakers were seeing red, too: Count "Tenet" director, producer and writer Christopher Nolan among the prominent industry players sounding off about a game-changing move about which they weren't consulted.
"The decision they made from a business point of view is fundamentally irrational," Nolan, whose long relationship with Warner Bros. dates back to 2002's "Insomnia," told USA TODAY. "With the 2021 movies, they made a bit of mess and upset a lot of people. Because the great filmmakers, and movie stars, in these movies, none of them were consulted. The studio, in its arrogance, let them read about it in the trades."
At the same time, industry employees were still hurting. Nearly 900,000 people, most of them not stars, are directly employed by the film and TV industries alone, according to a February report by the Motion Picture Association of America.
By one estimate, up to one-third of those workers – stagehands, camera operators, ticket takers, ushers, food service workers and scores of other behind-scenes employees – were laid off or furloughed by the end of March. Their futures are still in some doubt despite the COVID-19 relief bill.
But there was a bright spot amid the general pandemic gloom: The publishing industry had good news thanks to books being readily available and plenty of readers with little to do. The number of physical books sold dropped 10% in March, an early negative sign, according to The Associated Press, but publishing finished up the year on a high note.
As of Dec. 12, U.S. print book sales rose 8.2%, with 679 million books sold in the U.S. during that time worth $11.8 billion in retail-price value, according to NPD data. On its website, the data-crunching analyst reported that in the 35-44 age group, spending on books was up 74% over 2019, the largest overall spending increase across entertainment.
Celebrities protesting racial injustice View photo gallery
Compelling new books from beloved authors helped, such as the celebrated Zadie Smith, who brought out her first collection of 11 never-before-published short stories, "Grand Union," to rave reviews about her powers of observation and literary prowess.
And don't forget former President Barack Obama's memoir "A Promised Land," which was already a blockbuster even before it was published in November to huzzahs rivaling that of Michelle Obama's record-smashing memoir, "Becoming," in 2019.
When they weren't in mourning or in quarantine, entertainment leaders were speaking out on the Black Lives Matter movement, on the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and on the most toxic presidential election year in living memory.
Speaking out itself wasn't new; what was new was the pandemic had idled so many and the power of social media allowed celebrity voices to crank up their volume, which in turn made the media pay more attention. In a year when it seemed everyone was arguing about everything, so were entertainers and celebrities.
Scores reacted to the death of George Floyd with calls to act, urging people to organize protests, sign petitions and donate to bail funds for arrested protesters. Black stars spoke candidly about how their own fears of police stemmed from scary interactions with them.
White stars and studios reconsidered their past forays into blackface for comedic purposes, apologizing, walking back, attempting to explain and editing or deleting scenes and episodes from rotation. More than a few stars pleaded, as Jimmy Fallon did, that, "I'm not a racist," or "I've evolved."
× Think 2020 was a dumpster fire? Share this story
The entertainment industry canceled shows and fired stars from series after racist comments and tweets resurfaced. "Cancel culture" became another thing entertainers and Americans in general could argue about.
Hollywood has always leaned Democratic and liberal; for this presidential election the trend was an even more lopsided lean-in (with some exceptions): Vote out President Donald Trump. More stars came off the sidelines of politics and weighed in – even Taylor Swift.
Stars show support for 2020 presidential candidates View photo gallery
The few celebs who supported Trump spent time attacking fellow entertainers for their politics or bemoaning the sorry fate of conservatives in Hollywood.
Criticism of the president by entertainers and talk show hosts, in comedy or music or lengthy tweets, was a regular feature this year; what was new was the seemingly sudden embrace of Trump, by varying degrees, of rap stars including Kanye West, Ice Cube, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, Lil Pump and 6ix9ine.
Once the election was over and it became clear (eventually) that Trump had lost to Joe Biden, the division and chaos ramped up again as Trump disputed the results. It's not really over, and won't be until Jan. 20, when Biden is inaugurated.
Illustrator Sara Showalter makes a playful reference to the toilet paper shortage/stockpiling in one of her holiday designs. Courtesy Sara Showalter
The rest of us have to get through New Year's. Cue coronavirus Christmas cards! America's entrepreneurs are second to none when it comes to making a joke (and some money) to cheer us up when we're most down.
So Americans looked in the mail for holiday cards sporting messages like "Sending love from our quaranteam to yours" and "Dear Santa, how about a do-over?" Illustrator Sara Showalter, who sells her holiday designs from her Etsy shop, told USA TODAY about her most popular:
A design with a Christmas tree assembled out of toilet paper that says, "What a year but we rolled with it."
That's the spirit.
Best Christmas movies ever, ranked View photo gallery