newyorkpost--2020-12-29--Rushed start to season taking a toll on Knicks, NBA

The virus is at the forefront of everyone ’ s attention no matter what : life , school , work .
For all the cynicism and skepticism that has accompanied sports ’ reintegration into our lives the past couple of months , one thing is certain : the leagues take their COVID-19 protocols seriously .
They enforce them fervently .
And should .
In the same way the presence of the coronavirus hasn ’ t eliminated all the other things that litter our lives — the common head cold hasn ’ t vanished , after all , and neither have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or bronchitis ; they ’ re all with us — sports isn ’ t solely reliant on its athletes remaining virus-free to stay viable .
Sports are still so often prone to knees and ankles and hamstrings and quads .
And the fact is , a week into the NBA season , it is clear that the shortened preseason has probably helped stack injured lists like wood , has kept a lot of players in street clothes .
There ’ s a reason why NBA camps usually last for at least a month @ @ @ @ @ @ @ athletes need that long , at least , to prepare for the grind .
It isn ’ t only the Knicks , of course , though they went into Tuesday night ’ s opener of a four-game road trip at Cleveland missing both of their first-round draft picks , Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley ; their most impactful newcomer , Alec Burks ; and two members of their point-guard club , Austin Rivers and Dennis Smith Jr .
The Cavs were also missing their first-round pick ( Isaac Okoro ) .
And , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ necessarily are related to the shortened camps , but on the same day the Nets found out they lost Spencer Dinwiddie for the year with a torn-up knee , Memphis lost prized point guard Ja Morant when he went down with an ugly ankle injury .
There are others .
Many others .
“ Usually at the start of the season you look at the entire month as a training camp , ” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said 90 minutes before game time .
“ It ’ s shortened coming in and you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ react when there ’ s been such a long layoff .
Even if you ’ re diligent staying in condition it ’ s a lot different than playing , there ’ s so much contact , so much physicality.
” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff agreed , saying that while it ’ s especially hard for rookies to make the adjustment no matter how much they think they ’ re prepared for the grind that awaits them at the next level , even vets are susceptible to such a profound change in routine .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ rookies , ” Bickerstaff said .
“ Even the vets who were out a long time .
The injury bug is there .
The small injuries of rolling an ankle or stepping on someone ’ s foot , nobody can control .
But I would say it ’ s how much you were able to play ?
Some of those draft kids didn ’ t get a chance to play a lot of basketball .
They did a lot of individual workouts .
But they didn ’ t get a chance to play @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot of banging .
How many of those guys were playing defense over the last nine months ?
Have they been in a defensive stance those last nine months ?
Those are the things your body has to get used to .
It ’ s going to have an impact for sure.
” And Thibodeau says that even the subtle difference between those who were able to stay in prime shape and those a slight step below is noticeable .
“ In some ways it doesn ’ t surprise me , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great shape have an advantage .
Guys who came in in good shape and not great shape are at a disadvantage.
” As with the COVID protocols , of course , teams have little choice but to keep their heads down and embrace the grind , because the schedule pauses for none of them , especially for things as mundane and routine as a sprain or a strain .
In the time of the virus , those are almost besides the point .

The virus is at the forefront of everyone’s attention no matter what: life, school, work. For all the cynicism and skepticism that has accompanied sports’ reintegration into our lives the past couple of months, one thing is certain: the leagues take their COVID-19 protocols seriously. They enforce them fervently. And should.
But it’s a funny thing, too.
In the same way the presence of the coronavirus hasn’t eliminated all the other things that litter our lives — the common head cold hasn’t vanished, after all, and neither have sinus infections, or stomach bugs, or bronchitis; they’re all with us — sports isn’t solely reliant on its athletes remaining virus-free to stay viable.
Sports are still so often prone to knees and ankles and hamstrings and quads. And the fact is, a week into the NBA season, it is clear that the shortened preseason has probably helped stack injured lists like wood, has kept a lot of players in street clothes. There’s a reason why NBA camps usually last for at least a month: even the world’s greatest athletes need that long, at least, to prepare for the grind.
It isn’t only the Knicks, of course, though they went into Tuesday night’s opener of a four-game road trip at Cleveland missing both of their first-round draft picks, Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley; their most impactful newcomer, Alec Burks; and two members of their point-guard club, Austin Rivers and Dennis Smith Jr.
The Cavs were also missing their first-round pick (Isaac Okoro). And, of course, neither of these things necessarily are related to the shortened camps, but on the same day the Nets found out they lost Spencer Dinwiddie for the year with a torn-up knee, Memphis lost prized point guard Ja Morant when he went down with an ugly ankle injury.
There are others. Many others.
Immanuel Quickley, Alec Burks, Obi Toppin NBAE via Getty Images (3)
“Usually at the start of the season you look at the entire month as a training camp,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said 90 minutes before game time. “It’s shortened coming in and you don’t know how guys will react when there’s been such a long layoff. Even if you’re diligent staying in condition it’s a lot different than playing, there’s so much contact, so much physicality.”
Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff agreed, saying that while it’s especially hard for rookies to make the adjustment no matter how much they think they’re prepared for the grind that awaits them at the next level, even vets are susceptible to such a profound change in routine.
“It’s not just the rookies,” Bickerstaff said. “Even the vets who were out a long time. The injury bug is there. The small injuries of rolling an ankle or stepping on someone’s foot, nobody can control. But I would say it’s how much you were able to play? Some of those draft kids didn’t get a chance to play a lot of basketball. They did a lot of individual workouts. But they didn’t get a chance to play much.
“There’s a lot of banging. How many of those guys were playing defense over the last nine months? Have they been in a defensive stance those last nine months? Those are the things your body has to get used to. It’s going to have an impact for sure.”
And Thibodeau says that even the subtle difference between those who were able to stay in prime shape and those a slight step below is noticeable.
“In some ways it doesn’t surprise me,” he said, “Guys who stayed in great shape have an advantage. Guys who came in in good shape and not great shape are at a disadvantage.”
As with the COVID protocols, of course, teams have little choice but to keep their heads down and embrace the grind, because the schedule pauses for none of them, especially for things as mundane and routine as a sprain or a strain. In the time of the virus, those are almost besides the point.


newyorkpost--2020-12-29--Move cancer patients to front of COVID-19 vaccine line

More than a thousand “ critical ” Capitol Hill staffers will get ...

As COVID vaccines are being rolled out, an extremely vulnerable group is being overlooked: millions of cancer patients. Doctors are sounding the alarm that many state governments and the federal advisory committee charged with prioritizing who gets vaccinated should move cancer patients up to the front of the line, right after nursing-home residents and frontline health workers. Right now, they’re deemed a lower priority than “essential workers,” such as firefighters, mass-transit employees, possibly even supermarket clerks.
Yet cancer patients are getting decimated by COVID-19. New data from 360 US hospitals show that cancer patients are more at risk of catching the disease than the rest of the population. Once infected, they are nearly twice as likely to need hospitalization.
Even worse, they are three times as likely to die as other hospitalized COVID-19 patients, according to the new findings in the journal JAMA Oncology.
New York pulmonologist Daniel Libby explains that cancer patients probably get infected frequently because they tend to visit doctors’ offices. Also, their “defenses are low,” meaning their immune systems are weaker.
This week, the COVID Lung Cancer Consortium, a group of oncologists, is calling on the feds to reexamine priorities and pay “specific attention to this vulnerable population.”
Gov. Cuomo should do the same. Last week, Cuomo launched the “Vaccine Equity Task Force,” including immigrant advocates, civil-rights leaders, tenant associations, labor groups and churches, most of which are political allies of the governor. But not one cancer organization made the list.
“We’re now talking about who’s getting vaccinated, and let me be clear, there is no politics in the vaccination process,” Cuomo says. That’s hard to believe, governor, considering who’s on the task force and who’s missing.
In New York and most states, cancer patients are getting ignored. The American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Cancer Society urged the federal advisory committee to make vaccinating cancer patients a top priority, but the committee’s recommendation, announced Dec. 20, prioritized essential workers and people ages 75 and over to be next in line. That means most cancer patients have to wait months longer.
Fred Hirsch, a renowned lung-cancer specialist at Mount Sinai Medical Center, is investigating whether cancer patients’ weakened immune systems will cause them to produce fewer antibodies when vaccinated.
They may need more vaccinations — three shots or even four, instead of the two shots currently prescribed for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. All the more reason to get them started.
Meanwhile, in New York, politically connected unions representing transit workers and supermarket employees are calling state officials and pushing to be considered “essential workers.”
But cancer doctors complain they’re in the dark about whom to call or when they’ll have vaccines. Ditto for doctors treating patients with other illnesses. A Westchester woman tells me she’s worried about her husband. He’s 71, with type one diabetes and two heart stents, and he commutes to Gotham on Metro North. His doctors don’t know when they will get vaccines. She says, “I can’t believe 20-year-old supermarket workers will get it before him.”
Both the federal vaccine committee and Cuomo defend prioritizing “essential workers,” because it will mean vaccinating more minorities. Cuomo claims that “black, Hispanic, Asian and low-income communities paid the highest price during COVID-19.” That’s a politically convenient exaggeration.
Minorities have been only slightly more impacted by COVID than other people, according to the data. In New York state, excluding the Big Apple, Hispanics constitute 12 percent of the population and 12 percent of COVID deaths, while blacks make up 9 percent of the population and 15 percent of the deaths. In New York City, blacks and Hispanic minorities have suffered more fatalities proportionally than whites, but only by a few percentage points. Asians experienced fewer deaths (7 percent) than their 14 percent share of the population.
COVID is an equal-opportunity killer. It is slaughtering cancer patients, no matter their skin color.
Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York.


newyorkpost--2020-12-29--Celebs hit St. Barts in spite of COVID-19 warning

Click to email this to a friend ( Opens in new window ) Click to share on Twitter ( Opens in new window ) Click to share on Facebook ( Opens in new window ) COVID can ’ t keep celebs from their holiday vacations — so , as in any normal years , A-listers have descended on St. Barts .
The CDC has warned travelers to “ avoid all nonessential travel to [ the island ] , ” and ranked the COVID-19 level “ high.
” Regardless , Sir Paul McCartney , who just landed his first No .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ been pictured on the tropical isle with wife Nancy Shevell , while Chrissy Teigen and John Legend have been spotted frolicking on a yacht in the area .
Legend was pictured taking a turn on a slide off the side of the boat , kayaking and snorkeling .
Teigen , who just announced she ’ s four weeks sober , was spotted Jet Skiing with daughter Luna .
New mom Amy Schumer , hubby Chris Fischer and their son Gene were also seen taking a dip in the water .
Lionel Richie and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier this week , where Sofia posted an Instagram of herself snorkeling .
Others on the island include Kimora Lee Simmons and influencer Danielle Bernstein .

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COVID can’t keep celebs from their holiday vacations — so, as in any normal years, A-listers have descended on St. Barts.
The CDC has warned travelers to “avoid all nonessential travel to [the island],” and ranked the COVID-19 level “high.”
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend in St. Barts BACKGRID
Regardless, Sir Paul McCartney, who just landed his first No. 1 album in 31 years, has been pictured on the tropical isle with wife Nancy Shevell, while Chrissy Teigen and John Legend have been spotted frolicking on a yacht in the area. Legend was pictured taking a turn on a slide off the side of the boat, kayaking and snorkeling. Teigen, who just announced she’s four weeks sober, was spotted Jet Skiing with daughter Luna.
New mom Amy Schumer, hubby Chris Fischer and their son Gene were also seen taking a dip in the water.
Lionel Richie and daughter Sofia were also on the island earlier this week, where Sofia posted an Instagram of herself snorkeling.
Others on the island include Kimora Lee Simmons and influencer Danielle Bernstein.


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--Joe Biden and Kamala Harris heading to Georgia ahead of Senate runoffs

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will campaign in Georgia this weekend ahead of the two Georgia runoffs that will decide which party controls the Senate , the transition team announced Wednesday .
Harris will head out to the Peach State Sunday , stumping for the Rev .
Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in Savannah .
Biden will then return to Georgia on Monday — the second time since his November victory — holding a rally in Atlanta .
Representatives for the transition did not provide further details on the plans .
All eyes have focused on two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GOP incumbents .
The current balance of the Senate is 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats , meaning that whichever way these two seats go will decide which party controls the upper chamber of Congress .
If Democrats were to win both seats and keep the body evenly split , tie votes would be broken by Harris in her capacity as vice president .
The first race pits Sen. Kelly Loeffler ( R-Ga. ) against Warnock , the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church , where civil rights icon Rev .
Martin Luther King @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elected to her seat ; she was appointed by Gov .
Brian Kemp to fill the vacancy left by Sen. Johnny Isakson , who resigned in December due to health concerns .
The second race pits Democrat Ossoff against Sen. David Perdue ( R-Ga. ) .
When the two went head to head during the Nov. 3 election , Perdue was unable to reach the 50 percent threshold required by the state in order to declare a winner .
Perdue led Ossoff 49.7 percent to 48 percent .
As a result , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @

President Trump and President-elect Joe Biden will hold dueling rallies Monday ahead of the two Georgia runoffs that will decide which party controls the Senate.
Biden will hold a rally Monday in the capital, Atlanta — marking his second time in the Peach State since his November victory.
That same day, Trump will hold a rally alongside Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in Dalton, Ga.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will also head to Georgia, stumping for the Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in Savannah on Sunday.
Representatives for the Biden transition team did not provide further details on the plans.
All eyes have focused on the two Senate battles in Georgia. The current balance of the Senate is 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats, meaning that whichever way these two seats go will decide which party controls the upper chamber of Congress.
If Democrats were to win both seats and split the body evenly, tie votes would be broken by Harris in her capacity as vice president.
The first race pits Loeffler against Warnock, the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where civil rights icon Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached.
Loeffler was not elected to her seat; she was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp to fill the vacancy left by Sen. Johnny Isakson, who resigned a year ago due to health concerns.
President-elect Joe Biden (center) campaigns in Georgia with Democratic Senate candidates Rev. Raphael Warnock (left) and Jon Ossoff earlier this month. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
The second race pits Democrat Ossoff against Perdue.
When the two went head to head during the Nov. 3 election, Perdue was unable to reach the 50 percent threshold required by the state in order to declare a winner. Perdue led Ossoff 49.7 percent to 48 percent.
As a result, the race was sent to a runoff.
Biden narrowly carried Georgia over Trump, marking the first time a Democrat carried the Southern state since Bill Clinton defeated President George H.W. Bush in 1992.
Democratic strategists have said once-red Georgia is within reach for their party, but GOP analysts have argued it will be harder for the left to convince their voters to come out in an election without Trump on the ballot.


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--Swiss nursing home resident reportedly dies after getting COVID-19 vaccine

A 75-year-old man was lucky enough to get a COVID-19 ...

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A nursing home resident in Switzerland who was among the first in the country to be vaccinated against COVID-19 later died — but officials did not indicate whether the death was related to the jab, according to reports.
“We are aware of the case,” an official in the canton of Lucerne told Reuters, adding that the matter has been referred to Swiss drugs regulator Swissmedic.
Lucerne was the site of the first shot by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech being administered in Switzerland primarily to the elderly.
A doctor at the nursing home had not been contacted by the vaccination team, according to local news outlet zeitpunkt.ch.
The resident, who received the coronavirus vaccine on Christmas Eve, had previously reacted negatively to the flu shot, according to the report.
The person, who had dementia, complained of urethral and abdominal pain on Saturday, the Swiss outlet reported. Later, the resident’s blood pressure dropped and their pulse spiked.
On Monday, the facility did not report the patient’s worsening condition, zeitpunkt.ch reported.
The following day, the doctor was informed but the patient died soon after, according to the outlet.
Switzerland has so far received 107,000 vaccine doses, and expects to get 250,000 per month starting next year, according to Reuters.
The country has documented five cases of a coronavirus variant from the UK and two cases of a South African variant, a Swiss health ministry official said, adding that he anticipates more cases of these faster-spreading mutations will emerge.
In Israel, a 75-year-old man also died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination — but his death was said to be from a heart attack believed to be unrelated to the jab.
The unidentified man got the Pfizer shot at 8:30 a.m. Monday, and within hours had lost consciousness and died at home in Beit She’an, the Jerusalem Post said.


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--Dr. Drew Pinsky tests positive for COVID-19

Click to email this to a friend ( Opens in new window ) Click to share on Twitter ( Opens in new window ) Click to share on Facebook ( Opens in new window ) Dr. Drew Pinsky has tested positive for COVID-19 and is recuperating at home .
According to an Instagram post shared to his account on Tuesday , Pinsky ’ s wife , Susan , tested negative .
“ Cheers to the New Year with some Hydralyte for Covid-19 .
Drew tested positve day 4 and @ firstladyoflove is negative , ” the message read .
Pinsky @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the post .
“ Drew is home , under survelliance and fever is down .
… Drew is feeling better and will hppefully get well soon , ” the message concluded .
In a separate video posted Tuesday to his Instagram page , Pinsky also addressed a previous tweet that drew ire on social media over the line , “ Wishing for Covid.
” “ I put out on Twitter that I was … wishing for a COVID positive test because I had this terrible acute febrile illness and was testing negative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I had acute lymphocytic leukemia , which I did not want to have because that ’ s the only thing that would do what was happening to me , ” Pinsky said .
“ And so COVID would explain the whole thing nicely and we have so many good treatments now for COVID , I was hoping for that , and I look forward to the immunity on the other side of this , ” he continued .
On Monday , Pinsky originally tweeted : “ After three days of fever and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better and getting another test for flu and Covid !
Goodtimes .
Wishing for Covid since this virus is not fun .
Stay well , wear a mask !
” The radio personality also captured the moment he took his COVID-19 test .
Earlier this year , Pinsky came under fire after he compared the coronavirus to the flu .
“ My early comments about equating coronavirus with influenza were wrong .
They were incorrect , ” Pinsky said in April .
There have been 19.4 million coronavirus cases in the United States @ @ @ @

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Dr. Drew Pinsky has tested positive for COVID-19 and is recuperating at home.
According to an Instagram post shared to his account on Tuesday, Pinsky’s wife, Susan, tested negative.
“Cheers to the New Year with some Hydralyte for Covid-19. Drew tested positve day 4 and @firstladyoflove is negative,” the message read.
Pinsky is “feeling better,” according to the post.
“Drew is home, under survelliance and fever is down. … Drew is feeling better and will hppefully get well soon,” the message concluded.
In a separate video posted Tuesday to his Instagram page, Pinsky also addressed a previous tweet that drew ire on social media over the line, “Wishing for Covid.”
Dr. Drew Pinsky Getty Images
“I put out on Twitter that I was … wishing for a COVID positive test because I had this terrible acute febrile illness and was testing negative and if I did not have COVID, I had acute lymphocytic leukemia, which I did not want to have because that’s the only thing that would do what was happening to me,” Pinsky said.
“And so COVID would explain the whole thing nicely and we have so many good treatments now for COVID, I was hoping for that, and I look forward to the immunity on the other side of this,” he continued.
On Monday, Pinsky originally tweeted: “After three days of fever and the Zelenko protocol plus steroids, feeling better and getting another test for flu and Covid! Goodtimes. Wishing for Covid since this virus is not fun. Stay well, wear a mask!”
The radio personality also captured the moment he took his COVID-19 test.
Earlier this year, Pinsky came under fire after he compared the coronavirus to the flu.
“My early comments about equating coronavirus with influenza were wrong. They were incorrect,” Pinsky said in April.
There have been 19.4 million coronavirus cases in the United States and 336,000 deaths.


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--Billie Eilish calls out ‘babies’ who unfollowed her for posting breasts

Unlike most of her pop-star peers , Billie Eilish is known ...

For a hot recording artist who’s notorious for concealing her young body in intentionally unsexy baggy clothes, Billie Eilish sure does create a lot of hubbub about boobs.
As the latest A-lister to take part in the viral “Post a Photo Of” Instagram challenge, the “Bad Guy” singer appears to have lost 100,000 followers in one hour on Tuesday — after sharing a series of images of female breasts.
As one fan documented on Twitter, Eilish’s follower count rapidly dropped from 73 million on the platform to 72.9 million.
But the entire episode seems to have cracked up the 19-year-old Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, who just happens to be one of the most-followed individuals on the ‘Gram.
“LMFAOOO y’all babies smh,” she posted along with a screenshot on her Instagram Story.
Prompted by a fan’s ask of “Post a Picture Of: a drawing you’re really proud of,” Eilish responded “probably these,” and shared a series of artsy paintings and sketches of the breasts, nipples and butts, some featuring a huge snake enveloping the nude female bodies of various shapes and sizes. The now-expired artwork was captured and shared for posterity by Cosmopolitan and Consequence of Sound.
Although the dip could be blamed on any number of social-media fluctuations, her watchdog fanbase quickly blamed the deficit in captive fandom on her mammary share.
“Bye not her losing 100K cuz of boobs,” one fan tweeted with screenshots of the slightly reduced follower count.
Reps for Eilish did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment, but never fear — her Instagram follower count was back up to 73 million as of Wednesday morning.
However, #breastgate is hardly the first time the female form has stoked online controversy for Eilish. In early March — just before the coronavirus pandemic killed her tour — she dropped a now-viral video of herself in a revealing (for her, anyway) black tank top.
The footage featured Eilish intoning, “If I wear what is comfortable, I am not a woman. If I shed the layers, I’m a slut. Though you’ve never seen my body, you still judge it and judge me for it. Why? We make assumptions about people based on their size. We decide who they are, we decide what they’re worth. If I wear more, if I wear less, who decides what that makes me? What that means? Is my value based only on your perception? Or is your opinion of me not my responsibility?”
Next up: In December, she responded to body-shamer backlash over supposedly unflattering paparazzi photos: “Everyone’s like, ‘Damn, Billie got fat!’” she said, mocking her haters. “And I’m like, ‘Nope, this is just how I look! You’ve just never seen it before!’”
She also sparked a fan frenzy last week when she posted, “I am making you a f–king album. I will not put it out if you keep making fun of my hair.”
It appears that she has much less superficial stuff on her mind: “I’m gonna give you a new era,” she continued. “I have announcements to make, I’ve got some s–t to put out.”


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--Leader of BLM-inspired group calls for creation of ‘race offenders’ registry

A UK activist who calls herself the “ Black Panther of Oxford ” wants to create a “ race offenders ” registry that would bar alleged racists from getting work or living near communities of color .
Sasha Johnson , 26 , divulged the agenda for the Taking the Initiative Party , a political group in the UK that ’ s inspired by Black Lives Matter .
The registry of racists is similar to the sex offenders registry , Johnson told the Daily Mail .
“ If you were to be racially abusive to someone , [ the register ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hold a particular job where their bias could influence another person ’ s life , ” said Johnson , who serves as an executive committee member of TTIP and oversees activism .
“ A lot of racism happens at work and places of education in a micro-aggressive way , ” she added .
“ If you exhibit an element of bias at work , you should probably receive a warning first [ before later being added to the register ] so people know in future that you hold these views.
” The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from living near ethnic minority groups and include anyone “ accused ” or “ charged ” with a race crime .
“ If you live in a majority-colored neighborhood , you shouldn ’ t reside there because you ’ re a risk to those people , just like if a sex offender lived next to a school he would be a risk to those children , ” Johnson explained .
She said BLM first hatched the idea of the registry and presented it to the TTIP at a conference .
TTIP was formed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inequality swept the globe following the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota in late May .
The group is also calling for reparations in the form of tax breaks for black communities .
“ Reparations can take the form of tax-free periods , which would give time to build back up economic stability in black communities , ” said Johnson .
“ We have to remember that the Jewish community received reparations for the Holocaust , and no one speaks about forgetting the Holocaust .
”

A UK activist who calls herself the “Black Panther of Oxford” wants to create a “race offenders” registry that would bar alleged racists from getting work or living near communities of color.
Sasha Johnson, 26, divulged the agenda for the Taking the Initiative Party, a political group in the UK that’s inspired by Black Lives Matter.
The registry of racists is similar to the sex offenders registry, Johnson told the Daily Mail.
“If you were to be racially abusive to someone, [the register] would question whether someone is fit enough to hold a particular job where their bias could influence another person’s life,” said Johnson, who serves as an executive committee member of TTIP and oversees activism.
“A lot of racism happens at work and places of education in a micro-aggressive way,” she added. “If you exhibit an element of bias at work, you should probably receive a warning first [before later being added to the register] so people know in future that you hold these views.”
The national registry would also bar alleged offenders from living near ethnic minority groups and include anyone “accused” or “charged” with a race crime.
“If you live in a majority-colored neighborhood, you shouldn’t reside there because you’re a risk to those people, just like if a sex offender lived next to a school, he would be a risk to those children,” Johnson explained.
She said BLM first hatched the idea of the registry and presented it to the TTIP at a conference.
TTIP was formed over the summer as protests against racial inequality swept the globe following the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota in late May.
The group is also calling for reparations in the form of tax breaks for black communities.
“Reparations can take the form of tax-free periods, which would give time to build back up economic stability in black communities,” said Johnson. “We have to remember that the Jewish community received reparations for the Holocaust, and no one speaks about forgetting the Holocaust.”


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--Tennis prodigy Angelina Graovac trying to save career with OnlyFans account

Australian tennis player Angelina Graovac has asked for positivity after it was reported she is selling nude photos to help support her playing career .
The 19-year-old Australian has stripped her social media of several revealing images after Swiss outlets Blick and Nau revealed she has opened an OnlyFans page to supplement her career tour earnings of just over $ 3,500 .
But she has posted twice to Instagram , first declaring “ there is too much negativity in the world , do your best to make sure you aren ’ t contributing to it ” before adding “ be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no time to criticize others ” .
Graovac was a talented junior from the Illawarra region but has struggled to break onto the grand slam scene since her pro debut in 2018 .
A regular on the ITF Tour , she has won just nine of her 37 career singles matches and is ranked 1,171 in the world .
More than 24 million users are said to be on the web subscription service , which has made a name for itself as a hotbed of adult content .
And the Aussie , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , is not the first tennis player to dip into the platform .
Former world No .
17 Bernard Tomic has starred in a number of X-rated OnlyFans clips with his girlfriend Vanessa Sierra .
Former Supercars driver Renee Gracie also turned to OnlyFans after her motorsport career , while surfer Ellie-Jean Coffey is also selling adult content on her own personal website .

Australian tennis player Angelina Graovac has asked for positivity after it was reported she is selling nude photos to help support her playing career.
The 19-year-old Australian has stripped her social media of several revealing images after Swiss outlets Blick and Nau revealed she has opened an OnlyFans page to supplement her career tour earnings of just over $3,500.
But she has posted twice to Instagram, first declaring “there is too much negativity in the world, do your best to make sure you aren’t contributing to it” before adding “be so busy improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.”
Graovac was a talented junior from the Illawarra region but has struggled to break onto the Grand Slam scene since her pro debut in 2018.
A regular on the ITF Tour, she has won just nine of her 37 career singles matches and is ranked 1,171st in the world.
More than 24 million users are said to be on the web subscription service, which has made a name for itself as a hotbed of adult content.
And the Aussie is not the first tennis player to dip into the platform.
Former world No. 17 Bernard Tomic has starred in a number of X-rated OnlyFans clips with his girlfriend Vanessa Sierra.
Former Supercars driver Renee Gracie also turned to OnlyFans after her motorsport career, while surfer Ellie-Jean Coffey is also selling adult content on her own personal website.


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--NY Post’s Best Photos of 2020

NY Post’s Best Photos of 2020

This is what 2020 looked like in the Big Apple .
Even as many New Yorkers hunkered down inside amid the COVID-19 pandemic , wild protests and strict curfews , the Post ’ s photographers were out on the streets capturing an unprecedented year .
Here are some of their best snaps — and the stories behind them : Fans flocked to Madison Square Garden to pay tribute to basketball legend Kobe Bryant , after he died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26 .
The arena was lit up with purple and gold — Bryant ’ s team colors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a moment of silence was held before the Knicks took on the Nets that night .
A few months after snapping this photo , longtime Post sports photographer Anthony Causi tragically passed away after a battle with COVID-19 at age 48 .
He was honored by many local sports teams , including the Yankees , Mets , Jets and Giants .
In an attempt to ease anxieties about the then-emerging coronavirus in mid-February , Mayor de Blasio chowed down on Chinese food at the New World Mall in Flushing , Queens .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ food-related gaffes — struggled to use chopsticks , dropping chunks of food before grabbing a fork .
At one point , he picked up a piece of dim sum and ate it with his hands .
After the office for an embattled homeless outreach program was quietly shuttered inside Penn Station in February , dozens of vagrants were spotted milling around the transit hub .
A city contract with the pricey Bowery Residents Committee was nevertheless renewed in June .
On March 11 , disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criminal sex act .
The Post exclusively snapped the 67-year-old — who suffered from back problems during the trial — being wheeled out of Manhattan Supreme Court in a wheelchair and off to the slammer .
As the COVID-19 crisis raged in mid-April , The Post spent a full day shadowing Elizabeth “ Liz ” Moyano — a nurse at St. Mary ’ s General Hospital in Passaic , New Jersey — in her fight to save lives .
“ [ I ’ ve ] never experienced anything so devastating , ” the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic hit New York City so hard in late March that there was no room in some funeral homes to store bodies — forcing workers to load corpses into refrigerated trucks with forklifts .
Grim footage showed medical officials transporting bodies outside Brooklyn Hospital Center in Fort Greene .
Dozens of city firefighters gathered to cheer for front-line medical workers at a hospital in Manhattan om early April — as New York ’ s COVID-19 death toll surpassed that of the 9/11 terror attacks .
New York ’ s bravest gave nurses a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bay .
“ We love you !
” one of them shouted .
The City that Never Sleeps became the city that never commutes , as transit hubs sat nearly empty in April .
Citing fears over the coronavirus , many New Yorkers avoided subways and terminals , including Grand Central .
“ Nobody wants to go out and be in a crowded place because they think they will get infected , ” a worker in Times Square told the Post .
Senior citizens used everything from music to religion to cope in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they told the Post .
Jane Varkell , 81 , started self-isolating in her Greenwich Village apartment on March 6 because she has a breathing condition .
“ [ It ’ s ] a challenge to get through , ” she said of being away from family .
On April 30 , the floating hospital President Trump sent to help New York cope with the coronavirus crisis sailed away from the city after a month .
The USNS Comfort docked in the Big Apple to support hospitals flooded with coronavirus patients — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , much to the frustration of medical workers .
The Post ’ s exclusive look inside one Brooklyn hospital in April revealed more than twice the normal number of patients in a packed Intensive Care Unit .
In a rare calm moment , a nurse was seen taking a break outside Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park .
Pandemic-weary New Yorkers escaping to greenspaces as the weather got warmer in May were kept apart by social distancing circles painted on a turf field at Domino Park in Brooklyn .
Dubbed “ human parking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they looked fit for a “ near-future Hollywood dystopian television show.
” A protest over the police killing of George Floyd became violent in Brooklyn as demonstrators set fire to an empty police vehicle and threw glass bottles at cops on May 30 .
An hour-long standoff with 100 police officers in riot-gear erupted into a cloud of mace in East Flatbush as protesters chanted , “ Black lives matter !
” On June 4 , cops faced off against protesters in the Bronx while enforcing an 8 p.m. curfew — and making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had previously defied the curfew during the eighth day of citywide protests against police brutality .
Fresh out of jail and supposedly on home confinement , President Trump ’ s former lawyer Michael Cohen was spotted eating out at a French restaurant in Manhattan in July .
Cohen and his wife , Laura , chowed down at a sidewalk table outside Le Bilboquet in Midtown .
A lawyer for Cohen — who was allowed home from his three-year prison sentence due to coronavirus concerns — claimed he hadn ’ t violated any conditions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in July — equipped with hand-sanitizing stations — exactly 113 days after the coronavirus outbreak shut down spring training in March .
Mets catcher Rene Rivera helped himself to a squirt on the first day of the team ’ s long-awaited return .
The Fourth of July weekend turned bloody in the Big Apple , with at least five people fatally shot over a span of just a few hours .
One of the shootings , on Pitkin Avenue and Atkins Avenue in East New York , was followed by a burst of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Davell Gardner — who was killed in a gang-related shooting during a cookout in Broooklyn — wept over the tragedy on her stoop in July .
Her son was shot in the stomach near a playground in Bedford-Stuyvesant during a surge in gun violence citywide .
Occupy City Hall demonstrators spent a month camped outside the municipal building to protest the police killing of George Floyd .
One of them — former jailbird Luis de Jesus — said he joined the movement because he lost his job .
“ I got laid off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he told The Post .
As the Occupy camp continued in late June , vandals targeted Lower Manhattan courthouse with anti-cop spray paint , forcing workers to remove it .
“ Euthanize Swine , ” the graffiti on Surrogate ’ s Courthouse read .
Scores of Manhattan shops and restaurants went out of business amid the coronavirus pandemic , leaving storefronts empty and boarded up .
A September report found there were at least 335 vacant storefronts on Broadway .
City teachers protested “ unsafe ” classrooms , camping out in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if Mayor Bill de Blasio resumed in-class learning .
During one demonstration in September , teachers worked on laptops outside Public School 139 in Ditmas Park , Brooklyn .
Hundreds of members of an Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn took to the streets in October to protest coronavirus-related restrictions on synagogues , schools and non-essential businesses .
The furious Borough Park residents defied orders to disperse , and and lit a small fire to protest the state-mandated measures .
Hundreds of thousands of New York City residents flocked to the polls to cast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , causing long lines in early November .
One queue outside the Kaufman Studios in Queens stretched around the block in the rain .
Many New Yorkers took to the streets to celebrate after media outlets called the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden on Nov. 7 .
In Manhattan , revelers danced and waved flags from Times Square to Washington Square Park .

This is what 2020 looked like in the Big Apple.
Even as many New Yorkers hunkered down inside amid the COVID-19 pandemic, wild protests and strict curfews, the Post’s photographers were out on the streets capturing an unprecedented year.
Here are some of their best snaps — and the stories behind them:
Anthony J. Causi for NY Post
Fans flocked to Madison Square Garden to pay tribute to basketball legend Kobe Bryant, after he died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26. The arena was lit up with purple and gold — Bryant’s team colors for the Los Angeles Lakers — and a moment of silence was held before the Knicks took on the Nets that night.
A few months after snapping this photo, longtime Post sports photographer Anthony Causi tragically passed away after a battle with COVID-19 at age 48. He was honored by many local sports teams, including the Yankees, Mets, Jets and Giants.
Gabriella Bass for NY Post
In an attempt to ease anxieties about the then-emerging coronavirus in mid-February, Mayor de Blasio chowed down on Chinese food at the New World Mall in Flushing, Queens. But Hizzoner — who has a history of food-related gaffes — struggled to use chopsticks, dropping chunks of food before grabbing a fork. At one point, he picked up a piece of dim sum and ate it with his hands.
Stephen Yang for NY Post
After the office for an embattled homeless outreach program was quietly shuttered inside Penn Station in February, dozens of vagrants were spotted milling around the transit hub. A city contract with the pricey Bowery Residents Committee was nevertheless renewed in June.
Matthew McDermott for NY Post
On March 11, disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years behind bars for rape and a criminal sex act. The Post exclusively snapped the 67-year-old — who suffered from back problems during the trial — being wheeled out of Manhattan Supreme Court in a wheelchair and off to the slammer.
Matthew McDermott for NY Post
As the COVID-19 crisis raged in mid-April, The Post spent a full day shadowing Elizabeth “Liz” Moyano — a nurse at St. Mary’s General Hospital in Passaic, New Jersey — in her fight to save lives. “[I’ve] never experienced anything so devastating,” the 47-year-old health care veteran said.
Paul Martinka for NY Post
The pandemic hit New York City so hard in late March that there was no room in some funeral homes to store bodies — forcing workers to load corpses into refrigerated trucks with forklifts. Grim footage showed medical officials transporting bodies outside Brooklyn Hospital Center in Fort Greene.
James Keivom for NY Post
Dozens of city firefighters gathered to cheer for front-line medical workers at a hospital in Manhattan in early April — as New York’s COVID-19 death toll surpassed that of the 9/11 terror attacks. New York’s bravest gave nurses a standing ovation outside NYU Langone in Kips Bay. “We love you!” one of them shouted.
Stefan Jeremiah for NY Post
The City that Never Sleeps became the city that never commutes, as transit hubs sat nearly empty in April. Citing fears over the coronavirus, many New Yorkers avoided subways and terminals, including Grand Central. “Nobody wants to go out and be in a crowded place because they think they will get infected,” a worker in Times Square told the Post.
Tamara Beckwith/NY Post
Senior citizens used everything from music to religion to cope in the frightening early months of the pandemic, they told the Post. Jane Varkell, 81, started self-isolating in her Greenwich Village apartment on March 6 because she has a breathing condition. “[It’s] a challenge to get through,” she said of being away from family.
Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post
On April 30, the floating hospital President Trump sent to help New York cope with the coronavirus crisis sailed away from the city after a month. The USNS Comfort docked in the Big Apple to support hospitals flooded with coronavirus patients — though ultimately very few were sent there, much to the frustration of medical workers.
Paul Martinka for NY Post
The Post’s exclusive look inside one Brooklyn hospital in April revealed more than twice the normal number of patients in a packed Intensive Care Unit. In a rare calm moment, a nurse was seen taking a break outside Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park.
Paul Martinka for NY Post
Pandemic-weary New Yorkers escaping to greenspaces as the weather got warmer in May were kept apart by social distancing circles painted on a turf field at Domino Park in Brooklyn. Dubbed “human parking spots,” one park-goer griped that they looked fit for a “near-future Hollywood dystopian television show.”
Stephen Yang for NY Post
A protest over the police killing of George Floyd became violent in Brooklyn as demonstrators set fire to an empty police vehicle and threw glass bottles at cops on May 30. An hour-long standoff with 100 police officers in riot-gear erupted into a cloud of mace in East Flatbush as protesters chanted, “Black lives matter!”
Stephen Yang for NY Post
On June 4, cops faced off against protesters in the Bronx while enforcing an 8 p.m. curfew — and making dozens of arrests. Thousands of protesters had previously defied the curfew during the eighth day of citywide protests against police brutality.
Christopher Sadowski for NY Post
Fresh out of jail and supposedly on home confinement, President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen was spotted eating out at a French restaurant in Manhattan in July. Cohen and his wife, Laura, chowed down at a sidewalk table outside Le Bilboquet in Midtown. A lawyer for Cohen — who was allowed home from his three-year prison sentence due to coronavirus concerns — claimed he hadn’t violated any conditions of his release.
Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post
Citi Field re-opened in July — equipped with hand-sanitizing stations — exactly 113 days after the coronavirus outbreak shut down spring training in March. Mets catcher Rene Rivera helped himself to a squirt on the first day of the team’s long-awaited return.
Seth Gottfried for NY Post
The Fourth of July weekend turned bloody in the Big Apple, with at least five people fatally shot over a span of just a few hours. One of the shootings, on Pitkin Avenue and Atkins Avenue in East New York, was followed by a burst of illegal fireworks.
G.N. Miller/NY Post
The mother of 1-year-old Davell Gardner — who was killed in a gang-related shooting during a cookout in Broooklyn — wept over the tragedy on her stoop in July. Her son was shot in the stomach near a playground in Bedford-Stuyvesant during a surge in gun violence citywide.
Stephen Yang for NY Post
Occupy City Hall demonstrators spent a month camped outside the municipal building to protest the police killing of George Floyd. One of them — former jailbird Luis de Jesus — said he joined the movement because he lost his job. “I got laid off, so I’m here now,” he told The Post.
William Farrington for NY Post
As the Occupy camp continued in late June, vandals targeted Lower Manhattan courthouse with anti-cop spray paint, forcing workers to remove it. “Euthanize Swine,” the graffiti on Surrogate’s Courthouse read.
Matthew McDermott for NY Post
Scores of Manhattan shops and restaurants went out of business amid the coronavirus pandemic, leaving storefronts empty and boarded up. A September report found there were at least 335 vacant storefronts on Broadway.
Stefan Jeremiah for NY Post
City teachers protested “unsafe” classrooms, camping out in front of buildings and vowing to walk-out if Mayor Bill de Blasio resumed in-class learning. During one demonstration in September, teachers worked on laptops outside Public School 139 in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.
James Keivom for NY Post
Hundreds of members of an Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn took to the streets in October to protest coronavirus-related restrictions on synagogues, schools and non-essential businesses. The furious Borough Park residents defied orders to disperse, and and lit a small fire to protest the state-mandated measures.
Matthew McDermott for NY Post
Hundreds of thousands of New York City residents flocked to the polls to cast early ballots for the next US president, causing long lines in early November. One queue outside the Kaufman Studios in Queens stretched around the block in the rain.
Robert Miller for NY Post
Many New Yorkers took to the streets to celebrate after media outlets called the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden on Nov. 7. In Manhattan, revelers danced and waved flags from Times Square to Washington Square Park.


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--‘Yearly Departed’ on Amazon: Head Writer Bess Kalb Explains How An All-Female Crew Pulled Off The 20

‘Yearly Departed’ on Amazon: Head Writer Bess Kalb Explains How An All-Female Crew Pulled Off The 2020 Sendoff Comedy Special

It ’ s no surprise that many of the countries that have handled the current pandemic the best are run by women , and so it should also come as no surprise that the hilarious 2020 sendoff comedy special , Yearly Departed , now streaming on Prime Video , was also exclusively run by women .
I spoke to one of those women , head writer Bess Kalb , about the entire experience : the writers ’ room Zoom , the COVID-conscious filming of the special , and the group text that is still going — and with quite the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , despite all that 2020 had to offer , clocks in at under an hour long and is hosted by Phoebe Robinson , featuring eulogies on topics ranging from casual sex to pants to TV cops , delivered by some of our finest living comedians including Tiffany Haddish , Sarah Silverman , Natasha Rothwell , Natasha Leggero , Patti Harrison , 2020 Queen Ziwe , and Rachel Brosnahan who also serves as an executive producer on the project with Paige Simpson , her producing partner at Scrap Paper Pictures .
“ Something that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was that this would not just be women in front of the camera , but a group of women behind the camera in every aspect of production , to give positions of power to a broad and diverse coalition of women , ” Kalb explained .
“ We had a female director , female cinematographer , female composer , female editors , female DP , female assistant director .
There just weren ’ t men involved in Yearly Departed.
” No men at all ?
“ There was a couple of gaffers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Some sound .
Our prompter was a guy .
There were a few , but it was a female set .
The entire executive production and directors , writers , producers — that was all women , ” she stated , with only the exception of the “ lovely ” David Jammy at Done+Dusted .
Kalb , who spent eight years writing at Jimmy Kimmel Live and is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Nobody Will Tell You This But Me , said , “ I have never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve worked in , in a room that is completely run by women with just women .
It was astounding .
And to be on a set with just women was just such a normal , great thing .
Everyone was just really capable , really considerate .
We pulled off something impossible , I think because it was a group of all women .
I hope that the way that Yearly Departed looked , behind the camera and in front of the camera , just becomes more and more normal .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ thing to do.
” Kalb likely knew she was onto something great very early in the process , as when she looks back on it now , she admits , “ The writers ’ room was the best part of the show for me.
” She ’ s quick to make sure she hasn ’ t hurt any feelings with that statement , adding , “ Everything about the show was great , there were also incredible moments with the production .
This was a uniquely warm and gratifying experience as a comedy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ writer .
But for me , the writers ’ room was the highlight of my day every day , ” and one that continues in the form of a group chat , likely one of the most coveted text chains to be a part of .
Since many of the women had previously known each other , worked together and considered themselves friends before embarking on this project , Kalb says the writers ’ room Zoom sessions served as “ group therapy about the year , where we would naturally be having these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to come together with people who I really admire and respect both as people and for their comedic perspectives .
It was a way to complain and air our grievances , and in doing so , maybe give voice to other people ’ s grievances and make them laugh.
” And while 2020 has generally given us way more WTF , FML , and FFS vibes than LMFAO , ROTFL and LOLs , Yearly Departed had no shortage of material to work with when it came to singling out the topics that would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unfortunately , an embarrassment of riches with this one , ” Kalb said .
“ 2020 gave a lot of material .
Not necessarily a lot of comedic material , but certainly a lot to bury , a lot to say goodbye to .
There was a Google Doc at one point that , I think , was 10 pages long with potential eulogy topics for this .
This could have been a 10-hour special .
But thanks to our brilliant director Linda Mendoza , it was just under an hour.
” Part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t going for Weekend Update or late night monologue-style jokes .
“ This is an opportunity to laugh at what we have collectively shared .
This was an opportunity to find something that one of these women said that might be relatable .
See yourself in them , and realize that you weren ’ t so alone in this experience.
” As head writer , that meant Kalb was responsible for deciding what made the cut and had a pretty good idea of what would be included once she presented the project to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came to Amazon with the pitch of these eulogy topics .
There were a few jokes for each eulogy that are actually in the special .
We had it pretty mapped out .
I think that the selection of topics was done in an effort to make sure that everybody felt represented , and a diversity of opinions were represented.
” And even with the break-neck pace of news this year , Kalb feels pretty great about what they settled on , though if she had to add one last topic ?
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I might do a eulogy for conceding gracefully.
” A comprehensive list of topics is touched upon , if not via full eulogy , then certainly in a scrolling list at the end , or mentioned by the special ’ s host .
“ Phoebe Robinson ’ s such an incredible comedian and host of the show , there ’ s no one who could preside over this with the kind of authority and wit that she has , ” Kalb said .
“ In her opening monologue , she has a run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this year .
I was panicking after we had shot it , going , ‘ No , Megxit didn ’ t happen this year .
That was like , what — 2018 ?
’ No , that was this goddamn year .
I would say it ’ s a year that too much happened , and hopefully we can get back to uneventful years where there ’ ll be an occasional reboot that no one likes .
That ’ s what we can complain about.
” Until we have those uneventful years to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ special to hold us over , one that may look simple and sleek , but proved to be incredibly complicated to shoot within COVID-conscious guidelines .
One of the best parts of the whole special is the behind-the-scenes look at how it was all put together that plays during the closing credits ( including one super funny outtake of Haddish dancing that Kalb admits provided them a solid half-hour of laughter ) .
“ We filmed this in a COVID safe , COVID compliant way with this incredible physical production company , Done+Dusted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ productions , ” Kalb said , pointing to their previous productions this year which include the Emmy awards and the # GraduateTogether special with the Obamas .
“ We were so lucky to be able to work with them on this .
We had three separate stages , so all of the women were never together at the same time .
We had one stage for somebody delivering a eulogy , another stage for the audience , and another green screen soundstage of these pods where people would sit behind a green screen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a monitor .
This was a shoot that took place in a dingy funeral home set that could have been Avatar with the amount of VFX shots that were used to composite it together.
” Kalb has been in strict quarantine since March , noting that she has a young child and parents whose health she has to take into consideration , and said of the shoot , “ This was the only place that I have been in a non-medical setting .
I felt completely safe .
I was initially really nervous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saw just how masked , tested , shielded , and distant everyone was , it quickly became a place where I was able to get creative and start doing punch-ups , to do my job and not have to worry about COVID .
It was really exciting to be on a set , working with my friends and working with people I admire , and having this normal bubble that existed over the course of a few days .
Then we all just went back to lockdown.
” One of the truly impressive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surprise cameos , especially that of award-winning actor Sterling K. Brown who appears ( on the ground , no less ! )
for literally seconds , to help punctuate a joke .
It ’ s a brilliant move , but not one that was easily executed .
“ If we wanted to have cookies in a shot , that was three meetings about COVID compliance , ” Kalb said , explaining that every frame was shot very specifically .
“ So for that cameo , this is somebody who is just a saint @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing this .
We were so nervous going out to him , because we were like , ‘ This joke is written for him.
’ It is a blink and you miss it cameo that requires two weeks of quarantine , a COVID test , another COVID test , this whole process to do it .
He read it and he was like , yep , I ’ m in .
He showed up , he was in his own suit .
He did a great job .
It was a service to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the people.
” The other noteworthy cameo is one you ’ ll have to discover on your own , but one that Kalb said serves as “ an act of god .
There ’ s no way to explain it .
If you had told 15-year-old me that I would be in a room with her , I would pass out .
When I was in a room with her , I almost passed out .
This was somebody who is so talented and can do whatever she wants , whenever she wants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the project .
We were so fortunate that she was so on board and so game to do what we had written .
And delivered in the way that only she iconically can .
I feel very lucky that every single person who was in the special was in the special , and she is no exception.
” That sentiment also extends to Brosnahan , who Kalb worked closely with throughout the process and describes as “ not only the most talented person I know — including my son , who is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he identifies colors — but Rachel is so talented , so unfailingly kind and empathetic and compassionate .
She knows what it ’ s like to be in front of the camera .
She knows what it ’ s like to be written for .
To bring that perspective to her producorial world , it just makes her this all-knowing being .
She was able to come from a place of deep understanding of the entire process to be such a maestro .
She was also involved in every single aspect of production @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is this famous actress , could lend her hand to a project and show up on the shoot day , and that would be plenty .
Rachel was somebody who was designing fonts for the logo and [ figuring out where ] a music queue should come in in the edit.
” Not only was she involved in the whole entire process , even spending time in the edit bay with Kalb , but she also packed up an RV with her husband and dogs to drive across the country ( and back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angeles to work on this special .
That ’ s some true dedication !
“ In terms of a production partner who sacrificed and brought it and delivered , and did it with such grace ?
She ’ s unmatched .
May we all work for somebody and with somebody as dedicated and professional as Rachel Brosnahan someday , ” Kalb stated .
Though everyone involved made their own unique contributions to the project , really , which comes through loud and clear when you watch it — just as loud and clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the word “ fuckpod ” during her eulogy .
“ That is a word that I had said zero times before Yearly Departed “ , Kalb said .
“ Now , the name of the writers ’ text group includes the word ‘ fuckpod ’ in it .
As a manager , I was not the one who came up with that name , ” she clarified with a laugh .
And now that Yearly Departed has premiered and 2020 is coming to a close , Kalb is busy working on writing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ book and feeling hopeful for what 2021 has to offer .
“ I am looking forward to having these kinds of conversations in person .
Just sitting next to anybody in person .
Hugs from my friends .
The end of Zoom is what I ’ m looking forward to .
Although I ’ m not looking forward to pants .
I will keep in quarantine from the waist-down , even when we ’ re all vaccinated .
”

It’s no surprise that many of the countries that have handled the current pandemic the best are run by women, and so it should also come as no surprise that the hilarious 2020 sendoff comedy special, Yearly Departed, now streaming on Prime Video, was also exclusively run by women. I spoke to one of those women, head writer Bess Kalb, about the entire experience: the writers’ room Zoom, the COVID-conscious filming of the special, and the group text that is still going — and with quite the name, at that.
Yearly Departed, despite all that 2020 had to offer, clocks in at under an hour long and is hosted by Phoebe Robinson, featuring eulogies on topics ranging from casual sex to pants to TV cops, delivered by some of our finest living comedians including Tiffany Haddish, Sarah Silverman, Natasha Rothwell, Natasha Leggero, Patti Harrison, 2020 Queen Ziwe, and Rachel Brosnahan who also serves as an executive producer on the project with Paige Simpson, her producing partner at Scrap Paper Pictures. “Something that was very important to all of us was that this would not just be women in front of the camera, but a group of women behind the camera in every aspect of production, to give positions of power to a broad and diverse coalition of women,” Kalb explained. “We had a female director, female cinematographer, female composer, female editors, female DP, female assistant director. There just weren’t men involved in Yearly Departed.” No men at all? “There was a couple of gaffers,” she explained of the on-set crew. “Some sound. Our prompter was a guy. There were a few, but it was a female set. The entire executive production and directors, writers, producers — that was all women,” she stated, with only the exception of the “lovely” David Jammy at Done+Dusted.
Kalb, who spent eight years writing at Jimmy Kimmel Live and is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Nobody Will Tell You This But Me, said, “I have never been, in any industry that I’ve worked in, in a room that is completely run by women with just women. It was astounding. And to be on a set with just women was just such a normal, great thing. Everyone was just really capable, really considerate. We pulled off something impossible, I think because it was a group of all women. I hope that the way that Yearly Departed looked, behind the camera and in front of the camera, just becomes more and more normal. That it’s not a radical thing to do.”
Kalb likely knew she was onto something great very early in the process, as when she looks back on it now, she admits, “The writers’ room was the best part of the show for me.” She’s quick to make sure she hasn’t hurt any feelings with that statement, adding, “Everything about the show was great, there were also incredible moments with the production. This was a uniquely warm and gratifying experience as a comedy writer, especially as a female comedy writer. But for me, the writers’ room was the highlight of my day every day,” and one that continues in the form of a group chat, likely one of the most coveted text chains to be a part of. Since many of the women had previously known each other, worked together and considered themselves friends before embarking on this project, Kalb says the writers’ room Zoom sessions served as “group therapy about the year, where we would naturally be having these conversations anyway. This was a way to come together with people who I really admire and respect both as people and for their comedic perspectives. It was a way to complain and air our grievances, and in doing so, maybe give voice to other people’s grievances and make them laugh.”
And while 2020 has generally given us way more WTF, FML, and FFS vibes than LMFAO, ROTFL and LOLs, Yearly Departed had no shortage of material to work with when it came to singling out the topics that would earn eulogies. “There was, unfortunately, an embarrassment of riches with this one,” Kalb said. “2020 gave a lot of material. Not necessarily a lot of comedic material, but certainly a lot to bury, a lot to say goodbye to. There was a Google Doc at one point that, I think, was 10 pages long with potential eulogy topics for this. This could have been a 10-hour special. But thanks to our brilliant director Linda Mendoza, it was just under an hour.” Part of that was because they weren’t going for Weekend Update or late night monologue-style jokes. “This is an opportunity to laugh at what we have collectively shared. This was an opportunity to find something that one of these women said that might be relatable. See yourself in them, and realize that you weren’t so alone in this experience.” As head writer, that meant Kalb was responsible for deciding what made the cut and had a pretty good idea of what would be included once she presented the project to the streaming service. “We actually came to Amazon with the pitch of these eulogy topics. There were a few jokes for each eulogy that are actually in the special. We had it pretty mapped out. I think that the selection of topics was done in an effort to make sure that everybody felt represented, and a diversity of opinions were represented.” And even with the break-neck pace of news this year, Kalb feels pretty great about what they settled on, though if she had to add one last topic? “If we were shooting this now, I might do a eulogy for conceding gracefully.”
A comprehensive list of topics is touched upon, if not via full eulogy, then certainly in a scrolling list at the end, or mentioned by the special’s host. “Phoebe Robinson’s such an incredible comedian and host of the show, there’s no one who could preside over this with the kind of authority and wit that she has,” Kalb said. “In her opening monologue, she has a run of this list of things that happened this year. I was panicking after we had shot it, going, ‘No, Megxit didn’t happen this year. That was like, what — 2018?’ No, that was this goddamn year. I would say it’s a year that too much happened, and hopefully we can get back to uneventful years where there’ll be an occasional reboot that no one likes. That’s what we can complain about.”
Until we have those uneventful years to look forward to, we have this special to hold us over, one that may look simple and sleek, but proved to be incredibly complicated to shoot within COVID-conscious guidelines. One of the best parts of the whole special is the behind-the-scenes look at how it was all put together that plays during the closing credits (including one super funny outtake of Haddish dancing that Kalb admits provided them a solid half-hour of laughter). “We filmed this in a COVID safe, COVID compliant way with this incredible physical production company, Done+Dusted. They are the maestros of COVID productions,” Kalb said, pointing to their previous productions this year which include the Emmy awards and the #GraduateTogether special with the Obamas. “We were so lucky to be able to work with them on this. We had three separate stages, so all of the women were never together at the same time. We had one stage for somebody delivering a eulogy, another stage for the audience, and another green screen soundstage of these pods where people would sit behind a green screen backdrop and react to a eulogy on a monitor. This was a shoot that took place in a dingy funeral home set that could have been Avatar with the amount of VFX shots that were used to composite it together.”
Kalb has been in strict quarantine since March, noting that she has a young child and parents whose health she has to take into consideration, and said of the shoot, “This was the only place that I have been in a non-medical setting. I felt completely safe. I was initially really nervous to go anywhere and then when I saw just how masked, tested, shielded, and distant everyone was, it quickly became a place where I was able to get creative and start doing punch-ups, to do my job and not have to worry about COVID. It was really exciting to be on a set, working with my friends and working with people I admire, and having this normal bubble that existed over the course of a few days. Then we all just went back to lockdown.”
One of the truly impressive feats Yearly Departed pulls off are the surprise cameos, especially that of award-winning actor Sterling K. Brown who appears (on the ground, no less!) for literally seconds, to help punctuate a joke. It’s a brilliant move, but not one that was easily executed. “If we wanted to have cookies in a shot, that was three meetings about COVID compliance,” Kalb said, explaining that every frame was shot very specifically. “So for that cameo, this is somebody who is just a saint and a gentleman and an angel for doing this. We were so nervous going out to him, because we were like, ‘This joke is written for him.’ It is a blink and you miss it cameo that requires two weeks of quarantine, a COVID test, another COVID test, this whole process to do it. He read it and he was like, yep, I’m in. He showed up, he was in his own suit. He did a great job. It was a service to humanity. He did something good for the people.”
The other noteworthy cameo is one you’ll have to discover on your own, but one that Kalb said serves as “an act of god. There’s no way to explain it. If you had told 15-year-old me that I would be in a room with her, I would pass out. When I was in a room with her, I almost passed out. This was somebody who is so talented and can do whatever she wants, whenever she wants, and she just liked the idea of the project. We were so fortunate that she was so on board and so game to do what we had written. And delivered in the way that only she iconically can. I feel very lucky that every single person who was in the special was in the special, and she is no exception.”
That sentiment also extends to Brosnahan, who Kalb worked closely with throughout the process and describes as “not only the most talented person I know — including my son, who is a genius at 15 months old, he identifies colors — but Rachel is so talented, so unfailingly kind and empathetic and compassionate. She knows what it’s like to be in front of the camera. She knows what it’s like to be written for. To bring that perspective to her producorial world, it just makes her this all-knowing being. She was able to come from a place of deep understanding of the entire process to be such a maestro. She was also involved in every single aspect of production. Someone like Rachel Brosnahan, who is this famous actress, could lend her hand to a project and show up on the shoot day, and that would be plenty. Rachel was somebody who was designing fonts for the logo and [figuring out where] a music queue should come in in the edit.” Not only was she involved in the whole entire process, even spending time in the edit bay with Kalb, but she also packed up an RV with her husband and dogs to drive across the country (and back!) from New York to Los Angeles to work on this special. That’s some true dedication! “In terms of a production partner who sacrificed and brought it and delivered, and did it with such grace? She’s unmatched. May we all work for somebody and with somebody as dedicated and professional as Rachel Brosnahan someday,” Kalb stated.
Though everyone involved made their own unique contributions to the project, really, which comes through loud and clear when you watch it — just as loud and clear as it is to hear Haddish repeat the word “fuckpod” during her eulogy. “That is a word that I had said zero times before Yearly Departed“, Kalb said. “Now, the name of the writers’ text group includes the word ‘fuckpod’ in it. As a manager, I was not the one who came up with that name,” she clarified with a laugh.
And now that Yearly Departed has premiered and 2020 is coming to a close, Kalb is busy working on writing the screenplay for the film adaptation of her book and feeling hopeful for what 2021 has to offer. “I am looking forward to having these kinds of conversations in person. Just sitting next to anybody in person. Hugs from my friends. The end of Zoom is what I’m looking forward to. Although I’m not looking forward to pants. I will keep in quarantine from the waist-down, even when we’re all vaccinated.”
Where to stream Yearly Departed


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--Nursing home workers accidentally injected with five COVID-19 vaccine doses

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Eight workers at a German nursing home were accidentally injected with five doses each of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine , according to reports .
The seven women and one man — ranging in age from 38 to 54 — work in the facility in the northeastern town of Stralsund , where they received the jabs as part of a priority group , Agence France-Presse reported .
But as they were being inoculated Sunday , they each received five doses at once , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vorpommern-Ruegen district where the home is located .
Four were admitted to a hospital for observation after developing mild flu-like symptoms , while the others were sent home .
“ I deeply regret this incident , ” said Kerth , who blamed the incident on human error .
“ I hope all those affected suffer no serious side effects.
” The incident occurred after some German districts refused to use vaccines received over the weekend on suspicion that cold conditions were interrupted during delivery , Reuters reported .
Ahead of the launch of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weekend , German drugmaker BioNTech said larger-than- normal doses had been injected during trials without serious side effects .
The vaccine , which is designed to be administered in two injections , is being delivered in vials that each contain five doses once diluted .
On Monday , a Health Ministry spokeswoman said the vials could each be used to give up to six doses .

Sign up for our special edition newsletter to get a daily update on the coronavirus pandemic.
Eight workers at a German nursing home were accidentally injected with five doses each of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, according to reports.
The seven women and one man — ranging in age from 38 to 54 — work in the facility in the northeastern town of Stralsund, where they received the jabs as part of a priority group, Agence France-Presse reported.
But as they were being inoculated Sunday, they each received five doses at once, said Stefan Kerth, the administrator of the Vorpommern-Ruegen district where the home is located.
Four were admitted to a hospital for observation after developing mild flu-like symptoms, while the others were sent home.
“I deeply regret this incident,” said Kerth, who blamed the incident on human error. “I hope all those affected suffer no serious side effects.”
The incident occurred after some German districts refused to use vaccines received over the weekend on suspicion that cold conditions were interrupted during delivery, Reuters reported.
Ahead of the launch of vaccination campaigns in several European countries this weekend, German drugmaker BioNTech said larger-than-normal doses had been injected during trials without serious side effects.
The vaccine, which is designed to be administered in two injections, is being delivered in vials that each contain five doses once diluted.
On Monday, a Health Ministry spokeswoman said the vials could each be used to give up to six doses.


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--Bitcoin hits new high, edges closer to $30,000

Bitcoin hit a new all-time high on Wednesday , with the cryptocurrency creeping ever closer to the $ 30,000 mark @ @ @ @ @ bitcoin hit a record $ 28,599.99 Wednesday morning , exactly two weeks after breaking through @ @ @ @ @ the first time ever .
The value of the digital token has increased just under @ @ @ @ @ of the year .
Bitcoin started 2020 trading at roughly $ 7,000 per coin .
@ @ @ @ @ cryptocurrency has attracted investors hungry for fast gains and resistance to inflation .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ hopes that it will become a more widely used payment method , with mainstream digital @ @ @ @ @ and Square allowing Bitcoin on their platforms .
Cryptocurrency backers contend this rally is different @ @ @ @ @ pushed Bitcoin near the $ 20,000 mark because it ’ s been driven by interest @ @ @ @ @ was most recently trading at $ 27,693.66 per coin .

Bitcoin hit a new all-time high on Wednesday, with the cryptocurrency creeping ever closer to the $30,000 mark.
The value of one bitcoin hit a record $28,599.99 Wednesday morning, exactly two weeks after breaking through the $20,000 barrier for the first time ever.
The value of the digital token has increased just under 300 percent since the beginning of the year. Bitcoin started 2020 trading at roughly $7,000 per coin.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency has attracted investors hungry for fast gains and resistance to inflation.
It’s also been boosted by hopes that it will become a more widely used payment method, with mainstream digital payments firms such as PayPal and Square allowing Bitcoin on their platforms.
Cryptocurrency backers contend this rally is different from the 2017 surge that pushed Bitcoin near the $20,000 mark because it’s been driven by interest from institutional investors.
Bitcoin was most recently trading at $27,693.66 per coin.


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--Americans begin to receive $600 COVID-19 stimulus checks

Some Americans already received their economic stimulus checks Tuesday night , with more set to see a $ 600 direct deposit on Wednesday , Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said .
Mnuchin said in a Tuesday night tweet that the government was in the process of delivering the much-needed economic aid to Americans , even as lawmakers battle over whether to up the relief amount to $ 2,000 .
“ @ USTreasury has delivered a payment file to the @ FederalReserve for Americans ’ Economic Impact Payments , ” Mnuchin tweeted .
“ These payments may begin to arrive in some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tonight and will continue into next week.
” People who have government-registered bank accounts will receive the payments first .
The Treasury will begin mailing out physical checks on Wednesday for individuals who do not have direct-deposit set up with the IRS .
The delivery of the funds comes as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blocked unanimous passage of the $ 2,000 COVID-19 stimulus checks requested by President Trump .
Trump requested the $ 2,000 checks last week , saying the $ 600 checks approved as part of a $ 2.3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was too small .
McConnell has scheduled a Wednesday vote to override Trump ’ s veto of a $ 740 billion defense bill .
It ’ s unclear if enough Senate Democrats will rally behind an attempted filibuster , or if the override vote will proceed without McConnell agreeing to a deal on $ 2,000 checks .

Some Americans already received their economic stimulus checks Tuesday night, with more to see a $600 direct deposit on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said.
Mnuchin said in a Tuesday night tweet that the government was in the process of delivering the much-needed economic aid to Americans, even as lawmakers battle over whether to up the relief amount to $2,000.
“@USTreasury has delivered a payment file to the @FederalReserve for Americans’ Economic Impact Payments,” Mnuchin tweeted. “These payments may begin to arrive in some accounts by direct deposit as early as tonight and will continue into next week.”
People who have government-registered bank accounts will receive the payments first. The Treasury will begin mailing out physical checks on Wednesday for individuals who do not have direct deposit set up with the IRS.
The delivery of the funds comes as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday blocked unanimous passage of the $2,000 COVID-19 stimulus checks requested by President Trump.
Christopher Sadowski
Trump requested the $2,000 checks last week, saying the $600 checks approved as part of a $2.3 trillion pandemic relief and government funding bill were too small.
McConnell has scheduled a Wednesday vote to override Trump’s veto of a $740 billion defense bill.
It’s unclear if enough Senate Democrats will rally behind an attempted filibuster, or if the override vote will proceed without McConnell agreeing to a deal on $2,000 checks.


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--Hilaria Baldwin blames Spanish heritage scandal on everyone but herself

She claimed to be from Spain , only to be outed ...

Hillary “Hilaria” Baldwin has opened up about being accused of faking her background — insisting it was everyone else’s fault for assuming she was Spanish.
Alec Baldwin’s wife told the New York Times in an interview posted early Wednesday that she had always hidden her parents’ true background as bourgeois Bostonians purely in an innocent attempt to protect their privacy.
And she claimed she was raised by a father with such “deep, deep, deep bonds” with the European nation that “When we weren’t in Spain, we called it ‘we brought Spain into our home.’”
The world then misrepresented her innocent pronouncement about “going home” to Spain, because they did not realize that “home is where my parents are going to be,” Baldwin claimed to the outlet.
“If my parents move to China, I am going to go to China and say, ‘I’m going home,’” claimed Baldwin, who was born Hillary Hayward-Thomas.
People were also far too literal about her statements about family roots in Spain, she claimed, saying she was merely speaking colloquially about family friends there.
“These people who I call my family, I am learning in this particular situation, I have to say, ‘People who we have considered to be our family,'” she claimed.
Alec and Hilaria Baldwin in April 2019 Broadimage/Shutterstock
The problem was compounded by her reps at Creative Artists Agency using unverified information from the internet to write a sloppy bio about her, which she was unaware of until the scandal blew up, she claimed.
“It was very disappointing,” she griped.
Similar mistakes led to magazines like ¡Hola! and Latina repeatedly calling her a Spaniard, including in cover stories.
Yet despite twice posing for the cover of ¡Hola! — which has written some 20 items about her on its English-language website so far this year — she simply never realized the error because she never reads about herself, the Instagram-loving, selfie-obsessed former yoga teacher claimed.
Even the most viral video of her — seemingly forgetting the English word “cucumber” while speaking with a heavy Spanish accent on the “Today” show — can innocently be explained as a “brain fart” as she nervously made one of her first major TV appearances, she said.
Hilaria Baldwin in Spain as a child Instagram
“Today we have an opportunity to clarify for people who have been confused — and have been confused in some ways by people misrepresenting me,” she claimed to the Times.
“There is not something I’m doing wrong, and I think there is a difference between hiding and creating a boundary.”
The growing scandal has been “very surreal” because she has been “very clear” about her background, she insisted of errors only made by others.
“I was born in Boston. I spent time in Boston and in Spain. My family now lives in Spain. I moved to New York when I was 19 years old and I have lived here ever since,” she told the Times.
“For me, I feel like I have spent 10 years sharing that story over and over again. And now it seems like it’s not enough.”
In fact, her pride in her Boston roots was one of the first things she mentioned the first time she met her now-husband, Alec, who once told David Letterman that “my wife is from Spain” and also regularly mimicked a heavy Spanish accent when pretending to be her.
“‘Who are you? I must know you, I must know you,’” she recalled him saying when they met as she was speaking Spanish in a New York vegan restaurant in 2011.
“He said, ‘Where are you from?’ And I said, ‘I’m from Boston.’
“That was the first thing I said, that has always been my narrative,” she claimed to the Times.
Baldwin said she first visited Spain as a baby, and went back at least once a year, without discussing exactly how regularly or for how long.
Alec Baldwin and Hilaria in June 2011 Joe Kohen/WireImage
Her family also spoke in Spanish in Boston and immersed her so deeply in the European culture that her heavy accent and reliance on Spanish culture is not cultural appropriation, she insisted.
“Who is to say what you’re allowed to absorb and not absorb growing up?” she mused.
“This has been a part of my whole life,” she claimed, “and I can’t make it go away just because some people don’t understand it.”
She called it “extremely important” for people to be “able to come out as different parts of themselves and how they identify and have people listen.”
She said, “My intentions are I’m living my life and my life is created by my parents, my different experiences, my languages, my culture and, yeah, my kids do have very Spanish-influenced names.”
David Thomas and Dr. Kathryn Hayward Facebook
Baldwin — who regularly posts intimate family photos on Instagram, and has worked in TV since her marriage — insisted she is “entitled to my privacy.”
“People say, ‘No, you’re not entitled to your privacy because you married a famous person and you have Instagram.’ Well, that’s not really true,” she complained.
Despite her claims of innocence, old friends admit they are baffled at her transformation — especially changing her name from Hillary.
“The whole ‘Hilaria’ thing is hilarious to me,” her competitive dance partner from 2006 to 2009, Alexander Rechits, told the Times.
“It was always her desire to be considered Spanish,” he said.
“But Hillary is a very good, strong name, so why would you change that when you were born here and you weren’t born in Spain?”
The mysterious online Twitter user who started the analysis of Baldwin’s background also spoke to the Times — but only after being granted anonymity as she fears famously hotheaded actor Alec, who has previously been ordered to take anger management classes.
“It’s just seemed so strange to me that no one had ever come out and said it, especially for someone who gets so much media attention,” @Lenibriscoe said of Hillary’s faltering Spanish accent.
Neither C.A.A. nor ¡Hola! responded to the Times about the claims that the errors were made by them.


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--136 years ago today: ‘The Servant Girl Annihilator’ first attacked

On Dec. 30 , 1884 , the killer known as “ The Servant Girl Annihilator ” is believed to have @ @ @ @ @ Molly Smith , in this unsolved murder story from the New York Post archives .

On Dec. 30, 1884, the killer known as "The Servant Girl Annihilator" is believed to have claimed his first victim, Molly Smith, in this unsolved murder story from the New York Post archives.


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--Nurse suspended after stripping off PPE to have sex with COVID-19 patient

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A male nurse in Indonesia has been suspended after admitting that he stripped off his personal protective equipment to have sex in a toilet with a man infected with COVID-19 , according to reports .
“ It is true that there has been a suspected incident of a same-sex relationship between a health worker and a COVID-19 patient at the Wisma Atlet Emergency Hospital , ” said Asep Gunawan of the National Nurses Association .
He said the nurse “ must follow legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The incident in Jakarta came to light when the patient boasted about the romp on his Twitter account on Friday , according to the UK ’ s Sun .
He uploaded a screenshot of WhatsApp messages between the horny couple – including details about lubricants and the size of their genitals , the news outlet reported .
The patient also posted an image of the nurse ’ s PPE lying on the floor as the pair got it on .
“ This case has been transferred to the Central Jakarta Police .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ become a witness and asked for further information , ” said Lt. Col. Arh Herwin of the Regional Military Command .
“ Meanwhile , the patient continues to undergo isolation at the Athlete ’ s House , ” he added , referring to a former Olympic athletes accommodation village that was transformed into a coronavirus hospital .
The two men were later administered coronavirus tests .
The patient was found to still be positive while the nurse tested negative , officials said .
If convicted , the men face prison sentences of up @ @ @ @

Sign up for our special edition newsletter to get a daily update on the coronavirus pandemic.
A male nurse in Indonesia has been suspended after admitting that he stripped off his personal protective equipment to have sex in a toilet with a man infected with COVID-19, according to reports.
“It is true that there has been a suspected incident of a same-sex relationship between a health worker and a COVID-19 patient at the Wisma Atlet Emergency Hospital,” said Asep Gunawan of the National Nurses Association.
He said the nurse “must follow legal processing,” the Indonesia Expat reported.
The incident in Jakarta came to light when the patient boasted about the romp on his Twitter account Friday, according to the UK’s Sun.
He uploaded a screenshot of WhatsApp messages between the horny couple — including details about lubricants and the size of their genitals, the news outlet reported.
The patient also posted an image of the nurse’s PPE lying on the floor as the pair got it on.
“This case has been transferred to the Central Jakarta Police. We have secured the health worker to become a witness and asked for further information,” said Lt. Col. Arh Herwin of the Regional Military Command.
“Meanwhile, the patient continues to undergo isolation at the Athlete’s House,” he added, referring to a former Olympic athletes accommodation village that was transformed into a coronavirus hospital.
The two men were later administered coronavirus tests. The patient was found to still be positive while the nurse tested negative, officials said.
If convicted, the men face prison sentences of up to 10 years.


newyorkpost--2020-12-30--UK becomes first to approve AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine

LONDON — Britain on Wednesday became the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca as it battles a major winter surge driven by a new , highly contagious variant of the virus .
AstraZeneca said the authorization was for a two dose regime , and that the vaccine had been approved for use for emergency supply .
Britain has ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine .
“ The government has today accepted the recommendation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ( MHRA ) to authorize Oxford University/AstraZeneca ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the health ministry said .
The pandemic has already killed 1.7 million people around the world , sown chaos through the global economy and upended normal life for billions since it began in Wuhan , China , a year ago .
Britain and South Africa in particular are grappling with new variants of the coronavirus , which the government and scientists say are more contagious ; many countries have responded by banning passenger flights and blocking trade .
AstraZeneca and other developers have said they are studying the impact of the new variant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effective against it .
Regulatory endorsement is a welcome boost for AstraZeneca and the Oxford team , which have been accused of a lack of clarity about the results from late-stage trials .
Pooled results from those trials show it had overall efficacy was 70.4 % .
Efficacy was 62 % for trial participants given two full doses , but 90 % for a smaller sub-group given a half , then a full dose .
Researchers said that the finding of 90 % efficacy for the low-dose/high-dose regime needed more investigation .
AstraZeneca @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been approved .
“ Today is an important day for millions of people in the UK who will get access to this new vaccine , ” AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said .
“ It has been shown to be effective , well-tolerated , simple to administer and is supplied by AstraZeneca at no profit .
”

LONDON — Britain on Wednesday became the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca as it battles a major winter surge driven by a new, highly contagious variant of the virus.
AstraZeneca said the authorization was for a two dose regime, and that the vaccine had been approved for use for emergency supply. Britain has ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine.
“The government has today accepted the recommendation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to authorize Oxford University/AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for use,” the health ministry said.
The pandemic has already killed 1.7 million people around the world, sown chaos through the global economy and upended normal life for billions since it began in Wuhan, China, a year ago.
Britain and South Africa in particular are grappling with new variants of the coronavirus, which the government and scientists say are more contagious; many countries have responded by banning passenger flights and blocking trade.
AstraZeneca and other developers have said they are studying the impact of the new variant but expect that their shots will be effective against it.
Regulatory endorsement is a welcome boost for AstraZeneca and the Oxford team, which have been accused of a lack of clarity about the results from late-stage trials.
Pooled results from those trials show it had overall efficacy was 70.4%. Efficacy was 62% for trial participants given two full doses, but 90% for a smaller sub-group given a half, then a full dose.
Researchers said that the finding of 90% efficacy for the low-dose/high-dose regime needed more investigation. AstraZeneca did not specify which dose regime had been approved.
“Today is an important day for millions of people in the UK who will get access to this new vaccine,” AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said.
“It has been shown to be effective, well-tolerated, simple to administer and is supplied by AstraZeneca at no profit.”