US sets new record with more than 3,000 Covid deaths . . . The United States set a new record for coronavirus deaths in a single day on Wednesday, with more than 3,000 people dying from the virus, a daunting toll as its spread only worsens. The U.S. recorded 3,054 deaths from the coronavirus on Wednesday, according to The COVID Tracking Project, beating the previous record from the spring, which was 2,769 deaths on May 7. Deaths lag behind cases and hospitalizations, which have been spiking for weeks, and now the death toll is setting records too. The Hill

 

Covid vaccines have side effects . . . Most people are unlikely to have severe allergic reactions to the Pfizer vaccine, doctors and vaccine experts say, but the shots might come with temporary side effects such as fever and muscle pain. Two of the first people to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in the U.K. had allergic reactions to the injection. While researchers haven’t found serious safety issues with the vaccines, they do come with possible side effects mostly of mild to moderate severity, including fever, fatigue, headache and arm pain. Severe allergic reactions are likely to be rare, they say. The two people had a history of allergic reactions and carried adrenaline auto-injectors to deal with their allergies. Both recovered after receiving treatment. Wall Street Journal

 

Only half of US adults want the vaccine . . . As states frantically prepare to begin months of vaccinations that could end the pandemic, a new poll finds only about half of Americans are ready to roll up their sleeves when their turn comes. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows about a quarter of U.S. adults aren’t sure if they want to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Roughly another quarter say they won’t. Associated Press

 

Trump, seventeen states join Texas SCOTUS suit to toss Biden electors . . . Seventeen states on Wednesday filed a brief with the Supreme Court siding with a Texas lawsuit against four battleground states Joe Biden won — charging that they acted unlawfully by changing their election laws. President Trump’s campaign also announced that the commander-in-chief was joining the suit, alleging that his “rights as a candidate” were affected by the states’ “failure to follow and enforce state election laws during the 2020 election.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit on Tuesday asking the Supreme Court to scrap Biden’s wins in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and delay the appointment of presidential electors in those states so allegations of fraud can be investigated. New York Post

 

 

Video || Democratic Michigan state rep threatens Trump supporters . . . This is incredible. An elected official is ordering her Brownshirts to take care of business. According to the Detroit News: The Michigan House’s Republican leaders have taken away the committee assignments of Democratic Rep. Cynthia Johnson after the Detroit lawmaker issued a “warning” to “you Trumpers” in a Tuesday night Facebook post. She pushed back on Giuliani’s unproven claims of election fraud and said his witnesses were lying. Afterward, she received death threats from Trump supporters. In a three-minute video posted to her personal Facebook page, the Detroit Democrat responded to those making threats and told her supporters to do “things right and in order” but advised Trump’s backers to “be careful” and “walk lightly.” She then said, “We ain’t playing with you.” She also told her supporters to “hit their a—s” in the pocketbook. "Enough is enough. And for those of you who are soldiers, you know how to do it. Do it right. Be in order. Make them pay.” White House Dossier

 

YouTube to remove content alleging widespread voter fraud . . . YouTube will remove videos and content that allege widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election starting Wednesday. Wednesday was the country's "safe harbor deadline," or the deadline by which state-level election audits and recounts are supposed to be completed. "Given that, we will start removing any piece of content uploaded today (or anytime after) that misleads people by alleging that widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome of the 2020 U.S. [p]residential election, YouTube wrote in a Wednesday blog post. Fox Business

 

Video || Biden doesn't seem familiar with his HHS secretary nominee . . . Introducing his health team Tuesday, he mangled Xavier Becerra’s name once, and then corrected himself, mangling it again, but differently. And he announced that “Xavier Bacheria” will be “Secretary of Health and Education Services.” Obviously some button in his brain got pushed and tried to spout out the old “Department of Health, Education and Welfare.” He then went on to talk about providing “the last 100 million Covid-19 vaccine shots,” or something. White House Dossier

 

Country music star bets journalist $10,000 Supreme Court will overturn election . . . Country singer John Rich on Tuesday bet a music journalist $10,000 that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the election results and President Trump will serve a second term.

“@goldadam VERY confident! Let's make our bet official,” The Big & Rich singer responded to Rolling Stone writer Adam Gold who tweeted the Supreme Court ruling rejecting a Trump lawsuit in Pennsylvania, asking Rich if he still felt good about the prediction he has made. “We both put 10k into an escrow account and if Biden is sworn in as POTUS, I lose my 10k, but you have to DONATE it to @FoldsOfHonor. If Trump wins, I'll donate your 10k to a charity of your choice. Fox News

 

Migrant caravan forming in Central America . . . A few hundred Hondurans formed a caravan bound for the United States on Wednesday after hurricanes battered the country, posing a fresh challenge to efforts to stem illegal immigration from Central America on the cusp of a new U.S. administration. Mostly younger migrants with backpacks and some women carrying children left the northern city of San Pedro Sula on foot for the Guatemalan border after calls went out on social media to organize a caravan to the United States. Reuters

 

Europe's last dictator clings to power . . . Months of demonstrations calling for the ouster of longtime authoritarian strongman Alexander Lukashenko had raised hopes for a democratic uprising in Belarus, a country of roughly 10 million people located in the tense geopolitical battleground between Russia and the West. Despite reports of his imminent ouster, Mr. Lukashenko clings to power in the face of ongoing popular demonstrations and in defiance of opposition leaders who say their movement won’t quit until the man known as “Europe’s last dictator” is driven from office. Washington Times

 

Facebook hit with antitrust suit . . . Facebook Inc could be forced to sell its prized assets WhatsApp and Instagram after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and nearly every U.S. state filed lawsuits against the social media company, saying it used a “buy or bury” strategy to snap up rivals and keep smaller competitors at bay. With the filing of the twin lawsuits on Wednesday, Facebook becomes the second big tech company to face a major legal challenge this year after the U.S. Justice Department sued Alphabet Inc’s Google in October, accusing the $1 trillion company of using its market power to fend off rivals. Reuters

 

France fines Google and Amazon $163M . . . France’s privacy watchdog issued more than $163 million in fines to Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Amazon for improperly collecting information about website visitors, taking a hard line as European regulators haggle over such sanctions. The French regulator, the CNIL, said Thursday that it fined Google €100 million, equivalent to $120.8 million—a record for a privacy fine in France—for storing advertising-related identifiers on millions of users’ computers before asking for individuals’ consent, and without explaining sufficiently how the identifiers, called cookies, were used. It fined Amazon €35 million for the same violations. Wall Street Journal

 

Armed protesters set up new autonomous zone in Portland . . . Armed protesters have set up a new 'autonomous zone' in Portland to protest the eviction of a black family. Demonstrators have barricaded themselves in the property, dubbed the Red House on the Mississippi, and have set up booby-traps, laid down homemade spike strips to puncture the tires of vehicles and are stock piling weapons as they prepare to defend the home. Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell issued a plea to demonstrators Wednesday to 'put down your weapons' and warned officers will use force if necessary to clear the occupation. Daily Mail

 

Virginia district to rename schools currently named for Founding Fathers . . . A Virginia school board voted Wednesday to change the names of two public schools named after one of the first presidents and another Founding Father because both men owned slaves. Falls Church City Public Schools will rename Thomas Jefferson Elementary School and George Mason High School following a unanimous vote to approve the measure Wednesday. While the majority of community members opposed renaming the schools, board chairman Greg Anderson said the change was "in the best interest" of students and "a necessary part of our equity work." "Our schools must be places where all students, staff, and community members feel safe, supported, and inspired," Anderson said. Washington Free Beacon

 

 

BDS movement using anti-cop sentiment to advance goals . . . The anti-Israel movement is capitalizing on anti-police sentiment to expand its boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign against the state of Israel. Activists—including university professors—are arguing that the "anti-Black" sentiments in the American policing system stem from lessons learned in police officer exchange programs with Israel. Such activists claim that the only way to stop the alleged "militarization" of American law enforcement is for the country to divest entirely from the state of Israel. Washington Free Beacon

 

Home explodes in update New York . . . A house in upstate New York blew up on Wednesday, igniting at least two other homes, authorities said. Videos posted on social media showed a massive fireball lighting the sky and shooting up flames and debris at around 6:10 p.m. in the town of Gates in Monroe County. “It sounded like a bomb went off,” witness Richard Pecorella said. It wasn’t immediately known whether anyone was inside the house that exploded at the time of the blast. New York Post

 

 

Get ready to hail a flying taxi . . . Flying taxis, which one day may whisk passengers around town without pilots, are getting a boost from the U.S. military. The Air Force has issued a first-of-its-kind safety endorsement of an electric-powered vehicle similar to a helicopter, opening the door to using such commercially developed equipment for military missions. This initial stamp of approval is meant to lay the groundwork for eventual civilian certification of the technology and even approval of autonomous flights crossing American cities, industry and military officials said. The current version does require a pilot. Wall Street Journal