Linkee-poo walk right in, it's around the back, just a half a mile from the railroad track

"Alice Brock is a living legend —an icon of the 60s, an artist, a writer, a cook, and a daydreamer. She has outlived her savings, and no, she never even got a royalty from the song or the movie! Alice has always been a generous and supportive friend, especially kind to the lost, the weird, and the wild. Whether asked for a place to stay, a job, or a twenty, she never turned anyone away. She nurtured people’s creative ideas and dreams, and she always encouraged them to take the leap. Alice will soon be 80. She’s not in good health and just trying to stay alive. Will you help Alice?"

"But a lack of clarity surrounding several aspects of the data from the AstraZeneca vaccine trials have raised some eyebrows in the scientific community, potentially setting back the timing for the vaccine to be authorized in Europe and the US."

I don't know. Can I just tell you that COVID-19 continues to ravage the country and set new records for infections and deaths? Or do you need the actual articles?

"America’s coronavirus surge showed no sign of abating over the Thanksgiving holiday, which saw over 100,000 new cases and hospitalizations continue to break records… Thursday marked the 24th consecutive day that the US reported more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases and the 17th day straight that the number of patients in hospital with the virus has hit a new record."

"Far more people in the U.S. are hospitalized for COVID-19 now than at any other moment of the coronavirus pandemic — more than twice as many as just a month ago… Hospitals in some of the hardest-hit states are exhausting every health care worker, hospital room and piece of equipment to evade the worst-case scenario, when crisis plans have to be set in motion and care may have to be rationed."

"Firefighters in Silicon Valley were sent out to enforce statewide business restrictions as the state faced a Thanksgiving shadowed by an out-of-control coronavirus surge and health officials begged people to avoid large family gatherings that could become 'superspreader' events."

"Drugmaker AstraZeneca said Monday that late-stage trials showed its COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective, buoying the prospects of a relatively cheap, easy-to-store product that may become the vaccine of choice for the developing world."

It's a local story, but… "The Champion Fire Department recently posted on its Facebook page recommending people not be taken to the emergency room, depending on their symptoms." And while the situation may be unique, IMHO this is what should be happening anyway. I'm sure in this case the bar will be raised as to whom gets transported, but there are many cases of "you really could have seen your doctor about this." Or "Wait until the urgent care is open and go there." The problem with this are those cases that start off looking "this is minor" could be masking major, acute health problems. And that's where this all falls down. EMS techs are highly skilled, but they're still not ER doctors.

"For over a decade, her Yuko Kitchen has fed Los Angeles Japanese comfort food — something like your friend's mom might cook for you after the school, Watanabe says. But this pandemic spring, when streets emptied and her phones grew quiet, a mini-jungle took over the chairs and tables, her cafes pivoting to sell nourishment both for the body and the soul."

"The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily barred New York from enforcing strict attendance limits on places of worship in areas designated coronavirus hot spots, in a decision released just before midnight on Wednesday." Your right to be parted from your money and your life shall not be abridged.

"A top Iranian scientist believed to be responsible for developing the country's military nuclear program has been killed, Iranian state television said Friday."

"Social network Parler has allegedly hidden posts on its website that are tagged as #WriteInTrumpForGA. The hashtag is encouraging disgruntled supporters of President Donald Trump to write the president in rather than any candidate for the upcoming Senate Runoff elections." It's a "glitch" they say. (Grokked from John)

"A firearms-toting congresswoman-elect who owns a gun-themed restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, has already asked Capitol Police about carrying her weapon on Capitol grounds, her office has acknowledged. If she does so, she apparently won’t be alone."

"It’s been two weeks since Trump lost the election to Biden. But he and his followers are still claiming victory. Jeff Sharlet… credits two Christian-adjacent ideas for these claims. The first is the so-called 'prosperity gospel'… As prosperity thinking loses its edge for Trump, another strain of fringe Christianity — dating back nearly two millennia — is flourishing. Jeff Sharlet says an ancient heresy, Gnosticism, can help us understand the unifying force of pseudo-intellectualism on the right. Sharlet explains how a gnostic emphasis on 'hidden' truths has animated QAnon conspiracies and Trump’s base."

"President Trump has pardoned his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who spent years enmeshed in an often bizarre legal war with the government that sprang from the Russia investigation." Just a reminder that Flynn's treasons are multiple and wide ranging. He was acting as a foreign agent (of Turkey, for whom he prepared a plan to kidnap a Turkish national living in the US for rendition) and forgot to tell anyone (including the agency in charge of registering foreign agents), and he had contact with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak (who also doubled as a high end controller of spy assets) which he lied about to the FBI. The only good part of this is if Flynn is subpoenaed by Congress (or the court), he can not plead the 5th Amendment to hide his crimes and the crimes of others.

"Sidney Powell, the lawyer recently distanced from the Trump campaign, on Wednesday filed typo-filled lawsuits in both Michigan and Georgia alleging election fraud." And then there's this… "A GOP county chairman who is listed as a plaintiff on ex-Trump attorney Sidney Powell's typo-filled fraud lawsuit says he never agreed to take part in the legal action." This is the caliber of lawyer Trump attracts.