Author: J.P. Knowles

During a press conference, President-elect Joe Biden said that his son’s business dealings had not come up while discussing his pick for attorney general.

A reporter asked Biden, “Has the issue of investigations with your son come up with your team and with candidates about (sic) attorney general?”

“No, no I guarantee you I’m going to do what I said,” Biden responded.

“The attorney general of the United States of America is not the president’s lawyer,” he explained. “I will appoint someone I expect to enforce the law as the law is written, not guided by me.”

Later, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked the President-elect whether he believed previous stories regarding his son’s alleged laptop were the work of “Russian disinformation.”

“Yes, yes, yes. God love ya, man. You are a one-horse pony.  I tell ya. Thank you. thank you,” Biden said. “I promise you my justice department will be totally on its own making its judgments about how to proceed.”

The laptop supposedly belonging to Hunter Biden containing emails revealing his foreign business dealings with Ukraine and China is now in the hands of the FBI.

John Ratcliffe, acting-Director of National Intelligence, has concurred with the FBI and Justice Department that the laptop is not part of a Russian disinformation campaign targeting Hunter Biden.

The New York Post was the first to obtain the emails in question and revealed that Hunter Biden introduced his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, to a top executive at Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings shortly before he pressured government officials in Ukraine to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was conducting an investigation into the company’s founder.

In a rare address, President-elect Joe Biden spoke frankly on the bleak reality of the COVID-19 crisis in the United States telling Americans, “Our darkest days… are ahead of us, not behind us.”

“One thing I promise you about my leadership during this crisis: I’m going to tell it to you straight. I’m going to tell you the truth. And here’s the simple truth: Our darkest days in the battle against COVID are ahead of us, not behind us,” warned Biden.

According to the president-elect, even though the first round of vaccines have been distributed, the virus is still very much a thread and the death rate will not be decreasing any time soon.

Biden stressed the importance of taking the virus seriously and urged people to continue wearing their masks, remain socially distant, and avoid crowded indoor gatherings.

“We need to prepare ourselves, to steel our spines. As frustrating as it is to hear, it’s going to take patience, persistence, and determination to beat this virus,” said Biden.

“There will be no time to waste in taking the steps we need to turn this crisis around,” he added.

Biden’s pleas to Americans to address the virus in a bipartisan manner come one day after Congress finally passed a stimulus package to aid people and small businesses struggling in the crippled economy.

The $900 billion relief package has been met with mixed reviews. Some believe Congress didn’t do enough to help the American people.

President Trump heavily criticized the bill calling it a “disgrace” that billions of dollars’ worth of spending included in the huge 5,000-page package is not even affiliated with coronavirus relief.

Trump made a speech from the White House calling out Congress for finding “plenty of money for foreign countries, lobbyist, and special interest while sending the bare minimum to the American people, who need.”

“It wasn’t their fault,” he added, “it was China’s fault.”

A very well-known scientist in Russia who was working on a COVID-19 vaccine was found dead with a stab wound after plunging from his window in St. Petersburg.

According to the Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets, Alexander “Sasha” Kagansky, just 45, was dressed only in his underwear when he plummeted to his death from the 14th-floor of his apartment building.

Police believe there was some sort of a struggle before Kagansky fell from the building because of the apparent stab wound.

Russian police say they are looking into the scientist’s suspicious death as a possible homicide and have already questioned another man as a possible suspect.

Kagansky was found by a neighbor on the street outside of his building.

Kagansky was best known for his extensive work on cancer research and also worked as an assistant professor in Vladivostok and spent over a decade working in Edinburgh, Scotland, until several years ago.

Recently he had been working as a director at the Center for Genomic and Regenerative Medicine at Russia’s Far Eastern Federal University developing a vaccine against the coronavirus.

Attorney General Bill Barr says he has “no plan” to appoint a special counsel to look into allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election or one to take over investigating Hunter Biden’s “tax affairs” before he resigns from his post on December 23.

Republicans have voiced their demands for a special counsel to be appointed to continue the federal investigation into the President-elect’s son to ensure that it will continue through the incoming Biden administration.

There have been rumors that President Trump discussed selecting a special counsel for that investigation.

But Barr, who announced he would be resigning before the end of the Trump administration, has no plans on appointing a special counsel for that investigation before he leaves the Justice Department.

“I think to the extent that there’s an investigation, I think that it’s being handled responsibly and professionally,” Barr said about the investigation. “To this point, I have not seen a reason to appoint a special counsel and I have no plan to do so before I leave.”

Before Barr announced his upcoming resignation, President Trump criticized the attorney general, saying it was a “big disappointment” that he had previous knowledge about the federal investigation into his opponent’s son and did not disclose it before Election Day.

Trump expressed his disappointment in a tweet last week, “Why didn’t Bill Barr reveal the truth to the public, before the Election, about Hunter Biden. Joe was lying on the debate stage that nothing was wrong, or going on – Press confirmed. Big disadvantage for Republicans at the polls!”

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin just announced that $600 stimulus checks could start going out to Americans as soon as next week. That’s much faster than the first batch of checks Congress approved many months ago.

Congress was finally able to reach an agreement on a $900 billion COVID relief deal over the weekend, the first federal aid package with a stimulus check since lawmakers passed the CARES Act in March.

This legislation will extend aid to millions of Americans who are suffering from the side effects of the pandemic by providing a round of stimulus checks, extended unemployment benefits, and funding for small businesses, as well as funding for struggling industries, tax breaks, vaccine distribution, education, and health care.

“People are going to see this money [at] the beginning of next week,” he said during an interview with CNBC Monday morning. “Much needed relief — and just in time for the holidays.”

Lawmakers have not yet released the text of the legislation, but the stimulus checks are expected to follow the same eligibility formula as the first round –although they’ll be half the size of the $1,200 payments sent out earlier this year.

“The good news is this is a very, very fast way of getting money into the economy. Let me emphasize: People are going to see this money at the beginning of next week,” Mnuchin said, adding: “People go out and spend this money, and that helps small business and that helps getting more people back to work. So it’s very fast, it’s money that gets recirculated in the economy.”

American adults who earn less than $75,000 will receive the full $600 check, while couples who earn less than $150,000 will receive $1,200. The payments will be tapered for higher earners (5% of the amount by which their adjusted gross incomes exceeded the initial threshold) and phased out completely for individuals who earn more than $99,000 and couples who earn more than $198,000. Dependents under the age of 17 are also eligible for $600 payments.

This means that a family of four could receive as much as $2,400.

Most Americans will not have to take any action in order to receive money. The IRS will use 2019 or 2018 tax returns to determine who will receive a check.

Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar criticized her fellow lawmakers for putting themselves before frontline workers and at-risk members of the public who she says should be first in line to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

Several members of congress have already received doses and Omar called them out on Twitter saying it was “shameful” for lawmakers to be prioritized for the vaccine.

“We are not more important [than] frontline workers, teachers, etc. who are making sacrifices [every day],” Omar tweeted. “Which is why I won’t take it. People who need it most, should get it.”

.@NancyMace and @IlhanMN will probably rarely agree on anything but both say members of Congress shouldn't be getting the vaccine in front of others. pic.twitter.com/BgN8p01NSp

— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) December 21, 2020

Last week the congresswoman made similar comments during an interview with CNN, where she said prioritizing White House staff was “disturbing.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are among those who have already received their vaccines as part of a campaign to encourage Americans to go out and get the shot themselves.

Omar’s fellow squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got her first dose over the weekend and later answered questions about her experience on social media.

If you have any questions or unease about the COVID vaccine, I got you!

I’d *never* ask you to do something I wasn’t willing to do myself.

Yday per national security policy (PPD40), Congress began getting vaccinated.

I took the jab & am here to answer your questions. Ask away! pic.twitter.com/ZyBgXi7kRl

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 19, 2020

Other lawmakers are reluctant to be among the first to be vaccinated so they’re not seen as cutting in line. But others couldn’t wait to make appointments.

Virginia Representative Don Beyer was one of the first to receive a shot and tweeted, “Millions of Americans are waiting for shots, many of whom are workers on the front lines of this pandemic. I am not more important than they are, but national leaders must lead by example.”

Each state is responsible for developing plans to make the vaccine available to citizens over the next couple of months. Many have agreed on the importance of prioritizing vulnerable populations, like nursing home residents and essential frontline workers, until enough doses become available for every American.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says that leaders of the country like President Trump and President-elect Joe Biden should receive the vaccine as soon as possible for security and safety reasons.

On Friday Vice President Mike Pence publicly received the vaccine at the White House along with his wife and Surgeon General Jerome Adams.

Fauci is scheduled to receive his shot on Tuesday.

President-elect Joe Biden publicly received the newly approved coronavirus vaccine in a nationally televised event. Biden got the first shot of the two-part Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at ChristianaCare Hospital, which is a short drive from his home in Wilmington, Delaware.

After receiving the shot Biden said, “I’m doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared, when it’s available, to take the vaccine. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Accompanying Biden was his wife Jill who had received her vaccination earlier the same day.

It’s been over a week now since the first doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccine were administered to front line health care workers who have fought against a pandemic that’s taken nearly 320,000 American lives since the virus first swept the nation earlier this year.

The vaccine had been approved just days earlier for emergency use, and all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico soon received their first doses.

Late last week, the Moderna vaccine was approved for emergency use by the FDA.

President-elect Biden gave President Trump and his administration credit saying, “I think the administration deserves some credit for getting us off the ground with Operation Warp Speed.”

The operation is a federal program implemented by the White House to work with major drug manufacturers to produce a coronavirus vaccine.

Biden added that “this is just the beginning… It’s going to take time.” And that “in the meantime, I know I don’t want to sound like a sour note here but I hope people listen to all the experts.”

The president-elect again urged Americans to wear their masks in public and stay socially distanced during this holiday season.

“If you don’t have to travel, don’t travel,” he said. “Because we’re still in the thick of this.”

While several promising coronavirus vaccine candidates could bring the pandemic to a grinding halt, doctors recommended to federal health officials that those who receive the shot should be wary of the side effects, which could include minor body aches and headaches, so they will return for the second half of the dose.

These recommendations from medical experts were given to advisors with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during an online meeting this week.

From Fox News:

Dr. Sandra Fryhofer of the American Medical Association said on Monday during the meeting with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group of medical experts that advise the CDC, that the side effects “won’t be a walk in the park.” 

“We really need to make patients aware that this is not going to be a walk in the park,” Fryhofer said, CNBC reported. “They are going to know they had a vaccine. They are probably not going to feel wonderful. But they’ve got to come back for that second dose.”

Two promising coronavirus vaccine candidates, created by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and the biotechnology company Moderna, respectively, both require two doses. Participants from both clinical trials have reported side effects after receiving the vaccine candidate, neither of which have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at this time. (That said, Pfizer, which was the first to announce the results of its vaccine, recently applied for emergency approval for its vaccine from FDA.) 

Earlier this month, one Pfizer vaccine candidate told Fox News that the side effects of the shot were “were a little more severe than I thought.”

“I had some side effects,” Glenn Deshields, a volunteer from Austin, Texas, told “Fox and Friends” at the time. “Basically, I had a headache and a lot of fatigue, injection site pain … maybe three to four days.”

“The second one, it was similar but it was much more muted. It wasn’t as strong. I think I took some Advil and they basically cleared up,” he said. 

As for the Moderna vaccine, CEO Stephane Bancel last week, following news that the company’s candidate was more than 90% effective in late-stage clinical trials, discussed the shot’s side effects during an appearance on Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria” with host Maria Bartiromo. 

“The second dose, you have a bit of side effect locally, a bit of pain, a bit of redness, but it goes away by itself,” he said. 

“Some people have a bit of a headache,” he continued. “It’s nice to note that less than 2% of people get a fever, actually 1.4%, so very, very low.”

He said the side effects will self-resolve without taking medication. 

“It’s actually a good thing in my immunologist always reminds me that having a bit of immune reaction is a good signal that your immune system is working because the vaccine is being activated,” Bancel said at the time.

Meanwhile, during the meeting with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Patsy Stinchfield, a nurse practitioner, pointed out that officials change the wording used when warning the public about side effects. She suggested using the word “response” rather than “adverse reaction.”

“These are immune responses,” she said. “And so if you feel something after vaccination, you should expect to feel that. When you do, it’s normal to have some arm soreness or fatigue, some body aches and maybe even a fever. It sounds like in some of these trials, maybe even having to stay home from work.”

When the Chinese doctor who warned the world about the COVID-19 suddenly succumbed to the deadly virus a massive censorship effort was launched to help the Chinese government maintain control of the narrative about the crisis within the country.

Dr. Li Wenliang died on February 7 and news of his death along with other events during the very early days of the virus outbreak were recently leaked to the public in an article from ProPublica and the New York Times.

The Chinese government appeared to be making the impact of the virus seem less severe by creating the illusion that government officials had a tighter grip on controlling the outbreak than they actually did.

At first Chinese officials may have been trying to prevent widespread panic but they failed to act during the six days between learning they had a pandemic on their hands and informing the public about it, even though hundreds of infected people were already showing up at hospitals during that time frame.

In the article jointly produced by ProPublica and the Times, a University of California at Berkeley professor claims that China’s propaganda and censorship operation is beyond any other nation in the world.

“This is a huge thing,” said Xiao Qiang, at UC Berkeley’s School of Information. “No other country has that.”

China was worried that news about the doctor’s death would set off a chain reaction of ensuing news stories that would damage the government, so they ordered news outlets not to promote stories about Wenliang and ordered social media sites to remove his name from trending topics.

Chinese censors also hired people to act as internet trolls to create “distracting chatter” to help influence the public’s opinion as the coronavirus became a bigger news story. Security personnel was also ordered to silence commentators whose views did not agree with those of the government.

According to the leaked documents a massive deployment of both people and technology and “presumably, lots of money” were spent to control the narrative.

The United States Embassy in Baghdad confirmed in a tweet that they were the target of a rocket attack that caused some “minor damage” on the compound. There were no injuries or casualties reported.

The U.S. Embassy confirms rockets targeting the International Zone resulted in the engagement of Embassy defensive systems. There was some minor damage on the Embassy compound but no injuries or casualties. 1/

— U.S. Embassy Baghdad (@USEmbBaghdad) December 20, 2020

A statement from the Iraqi military said “an outlawed group” fired eight rockets targeting the Green Zone, one Iraqi security person stationed at a checkpoint was injured and some damage was caused to a residential complex and several cars. Thankfully the residential complex is usually empty.

A U.S. official in Baghdad said the American military quickly responded by deploying its counter rocket, artillery, and mortar defense system to intercept the imminent rocket attack.

The embassy said, “As we have said many times, these sorts of attacks on diplomatic facilities are a violation of international law and are a direct assault on the sovereignty of the Iraqi government. We call on all Iraqi political and governmental leaders to take steps to prevent such attacks and hold accountable those responsible.”

BREAKING : US Embassy in Baghdad #Iraq targeted with barrage of Katyusha Rockets and mortar shells.

Video shows some getting intercepted. It’s 9 pm in Baghdad now: pic.twitter.com/QjrN29Yp9m

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) December 20, 2020

A correspondent for ‘The National’ shared a video of the rockets being intercepted on Twitter adding that the embassy was “targeted with barrage of Katyusha Rockets and mortar shells.”

The Trump administration is becoming frustrated with the frequency of the rocket attacks and is placing the blame on Iran-backed militia groups.

Washington warned Iraq a few months ago that it would close the embassy in Baghdad if the government did not take action to end these attacks by Iranian-backed militias on American and allied interests in the country.

The United States plans on reducing the number of troops in Iraq before President Trump leaves office.

The attacks come nearly one year after the U.S. killed Iran’s most powerful general, Qasem Soleimani after the U.S. Embassy was attacked on New Year’s Eve 2019. The violence came to an end only after U.S. Marines came from Kuwait to bolster security.

Soleimani would be assassinated days later in Baghdad.