Oskaloosa News Recap For December 15th, 2020
Local News
Protecting Yourself During the Holiday Season
School Board Accepts High School Principal Resignation
United Way Of Mahaska County Playing Role In COVID-19 Help
Big Brothers And Big Sisters Closes Door In Mahaska County
Gov. Reynolds signs new proclamation modifying public health measures
City Council Declares Special Election
Supervisors Talk Landfill Commission Membership
2021 Eggs And Issues Set
2020 Oskaloosa Lighted Christmas Parade
Elvis Has Left The Building
Staff At Mahaska Health “We’re Doing Well”
Little Hawkeye Conference COVID-19 Update
Oskaloosa City Facilities COVID-19 Update
Oskaloosa Fire Chief Talks Fire Safety
Local Sports
Indians Network
Statesmen Sports Network
North Mahaska Warhawks
Statesmen Garner 11 All-Heart Honors
Defense Stands Out in Second Win Over MMU
Huge Run Helps Statesmen to Road Win
WPU Competes in Inaugural Dual, Claims Victory Via Tiebreaker
Oskaloosa Boys Swim Team Open Season
NM Girls Upset No. 8 Hawks
Central takes top honors at state dance tourney
Pender, Blaylock Lead the Way as Statesmen Beat MMU
Statesmen Fail to Upset Clarke on Road
Newman’s Big Night Helps WPU Beat Clarke
Oskaloosa News Links
Obituaries
Radar and Road Conditions
Local Traffic Cameras
National and World News
Rabbits in Utah are being affected by a highly contagious hemorrhagic disease that is spreading across the state and other parts of the US.
ABC News reports that the disease is caused by a “calicivirus that affects both wild and domesticated rabbits.” It does not affect humans.
Rescue group – House Rabbit Society – advises people to be on the look out for rabbits that appear to be bleeding from their mouths and to disinfect anything that should come into contact with an infected animal.
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Russian-backed hackers infiltrated the US Treasury department, spying on internal email communications for months, according to multiple reports.
Officials fear the hackers may have also gained access to records of other federal agencies, as well.
The FBI is investigating the breaches by a group working for the Russian Foreign intelligence service, SVR, according to Reuters.
Sources told the outlet that “the cyber break-in appeared so serious that the National Security Council met at the White House to discuss it on Saturday.”
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One of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s former aides is claiming he “sexually harassed” her for her “looks.”
Lindsay Boylan, who worked for Cuomo in different capacities over three years, tweeted about her accusation saying the harassment went on “for years.” She added that she knows she is “not alone in [her] experience.”
A spokeswoman for Cuomo said “There is simply no truth to these claims.”
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Sandra Lindsay, a critical care nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in NY, is believed to be the first person in the US to receive Pfizer’s COVID vaccine.
Lindsay, who has spent the last 10 months working the front lines, got the shot during a live press conference on Monday morning.
Following the injection, Lindsay said that she feels “hopeful that healing is coming.”
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Popeyes is launching its chocolate beignets nationwide for customers to enjoy this holiday season.
The New Orleans-style pasty is stuffed with Hershey’s chocolate and covered with powder sugar, according to a press release.
The dessert comes in three-, six- and 12-piece options.
The eatery also released a beignet hoodie to wear while enjoying the delicious dessert.
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Charcuterwreaths are this year’s latest food trend.
The adorable arrangement involves the usual charcuterie items – cured meats, cheeses, fruits and various spreads, including honey, jam or preserves. From there, the fixings are arranged in a wreath shape on a cutting board.
The trendy board was recently made popular on social media, where many credit Cynthia Baysinger with the idea, according to Food and Wine.
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Google went dark Monday morning, causing an estimated $1.7 million in lost ad revenue.
The outage affected Gmail and YouTube for approximately 37 — very costly — minutes.
That total breaks down to about $47,147 lost per minute.
The estimate is based on outage data from the Downdetector website and statistics site Statista’s fourth-quarter 2020 YouTube ad revenue projection of $6.246 billion.
No word on what caused the outage.
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The gunman who was fatally shot during a Christmas concert outside of the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine in Harlem on Sunday has been identified as Luis Vasquez, 52.
Authorities are still investigating the motive behind the incident, but did note Vasquez’s “lengthy criminal history.”
In 1990, Vasquez was charged after firing a gun at a police officer and an unidentified woman, for which he was sentenced to three-to-nine years. Following his release in 2007, he was rearrested and turned over to immigration authorities as he is a native of the Dominican Republic.
He was also hit with a drug sale charge in 1989, a marijuana charge in 2012 and turnstile-jumping in 2007. It is unclear whether he was sentenced in those crimes.
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The US hit more than 300,000 COVID deaths on Monday.
The number is the 11th-highest number of total COVID deaths per capita, according to Statista.
There have been 16 million confirmed cases throughout the US, according to John Hopkins.
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The new trading week began Monday with the Nasdaq climbing 62 points while the Dow lost 184 points and the S&P sank nearly 16 points.
Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca entered into an agreement to buy Alexion Pharmaceuticals for 39 billion dollars – a 46 percent premium over last Fridays closing price. Alexion surged 29 percent while AstraZeneca tumbled 7.8 percent.
OPEC reduced their demand forecast for 2020 on Monday. Both Chevron and Exxon Mobil fell more than 3 percent on the news.
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Democracy has prevailed in America, Joe Biden says.
During an evening speech broadcast from Delaware Monday night following his victory in the Electoral College, the President-elect declared that this result shows “the integrity of our elections remains intact” and that it’s time to “turn the page: to unite, to heal.”
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Attorney General Bill Barr is out as attorney general.
He resigned Monday, and President Trump true to form announced the news on Twitter. Their relationship has grown strained in recent weeks, following news that Barr held close to the chest information about investigations into Hunter Biden and an announcement that the Department of Justice wouldn’t aggressively investigate instances of voter fraud in last month’s election.
But both men only had positive things to say about the other.
With less than 40 days until the formal transition of power, the timing of Barr’s departure seems odd, but does point to a desire to get out of Trump’s sphere of influence. The official line is that he’s leaving to spend a stress-free holidays with his family.
The resignation is effective December 23. Jeffrey Rosen will fill the role through January 20.
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Trending
Top 5 Songs on iTunes:
1. Taylor Swift, “willow”
2. Taylor Swift, “willow (dancing witch version (Elvira remix))”
3. Mariah Carey, “All I Want For Christmas Is You”
4. Brenda Lee, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree (single)”
5. AJR, “Bang!”
Top 5 Songs on Spotify:
1. Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez, “Dakiti”
2. Mariah Carey, “All I Want for Christmas Is You”
3. Taylor Swift, “willow”
4. Wham!, “Last Christmas”
5. Ariana Grande, “Santa Tell Me”
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Tube Talk
Here’s what’s new on TV tonight:
• Play On: Celebrating The Power of Music To Make Change / CBS / 7:00 pm
• The Bachelorette / ABC / 7:00 pm
• The Voice / NBC / 7:00 pm
• Cosmos: Possible Worlds / FOX / 7:00 pm
• neXt / FOX / 8:00 pm
• Big Sky / ABC / 9:00 pm
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Showbiz News
George Clooney wants to be crowned PEOPLE’s “Sexiest Man Alive” for a third time.
During an interview with SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show,” Clooney was asked what is better, the Sexiest Man Alive title or two Oscars.
“I think you know,” he teased, adding “I’m lobbying for a third one, no one’s ever won three.”
Clooney previously won the coveted title in 1997 and 2006. The was the third actor to achieve the double honor, following Richard Gere and Brad Pitt.
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FKA Twigs has filed a lawsuit against Shia LaBeouf, accusing him of “physically, mentally and emotionally” abusing her during their relationship in 2018.
Following the news of the suit, Sia took to Twitter to share that she also had a “bad experience” with LaBeouf.
Twigs responded by tweeting: “I’m sorry @Sia this reinforces why I had to publicly share my experience. We need to support each other.”
LaBeouf has not yet responded to the accusations.
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Jerry Harris is facing seven new sex crime and child pornography charges.
The star of the popular Netflix docuseries “Cheer,” who was arrested on a federal child pornography charge nearly three months ago, now faces four counts of “enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of transmitting a live visual depiction of such conduct” and “knowingly persuading, inducing and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity.”
Additionally, Harris is charged with “knowingly receiving and attempting to receive child pornography, including the use of a computer,” as well as traveling “in interstate commerce, from Texas to Florida, for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct.”
He has not responded to the new charges.
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“The Dark Knight,” “Shrek,” “Grease,” “The Blues Brothers,” “Lillies of the Field,” “The Hurt Locker,” “A Clockwork Orange, “The Joy Luck Club” and “The Man With The Golden Arm,” are a few of this year’s additions to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
A place on the list guarantees the film will be preserved under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act.
The new films bring the total to 800.
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Olivia Cooke, EMMA D’ARCY and Matt Smith have joined the cast of “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of Dragon.”
Cooke will play Alicent Hightower, the daughter of Hand of the King Otto Hightower. D’Arcy will star as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the king’s first-born, pure Valyrian-blooded child who is a dragonrider. Smith is set to play Prince Daemon Targaryen, King Viserys’ younger brother and heir to the throne.
HBO has given “House of the Dragon” a 10-episode order.
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NBC is giving its medical drama “Transplant” a second season.
The show centers on Syrian doctor Bashir “Bash” Hamed, played by Hamza Haq, who has fled to Canada with his younger sister and is trying to rebuild his medical career.
The network reports that to date, the series has averaged 7.7 million total viewers.
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The Country Music Association is taking the heat for the passing of Charley Pride.
Pride died over the weekend of complications from COVID, which many speculated that he possibly contracted while attending the CMA Awards in-person show last month, during which he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Maren Morris tweeted about the connection writing: “I don’t want to jump to conclusions because no family statement has been made, but if this was a result of the CMAs being indoors, we should all be outraged. Rest in power, Charley.” Her tweet has since been deleted.
As speculation continued to grow, the CMA and reps for Pride released a statement. It reads:
“Everyone affiliated with the CMA Awards followed strict testing protocols outlined by the city health department and unions. Charley was tested prior to traveling to Nashville. He was tested upon landing in Nashville, and again on show day, with all tests coming back negative. After returning to Texas following the CMA Awards, Charley again tested negative multiple times.”
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The cast and creators of HBO’s iconic mob drama “The Sopranos” are reuniting for a live event to raise money for Friends of Firefighters.
The nonprofit — founded after 9/11 — provides mental health counseling, peer support and wellness services to active and retired FDNY firefighters and their families.
The two-hour event is set to air this Friday on the fundraising platform Tiltify.
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Blue Ivy Carter is officially a Grammy nominee.
When the Recording Academy announced its nominees last month, Blue’s mom Beyonce scored a nomination for best music video for “Brown Skin Girl.” Blue, who is credited as a featured artist on the track was noticeably left off the nomination, however.
The mix up has since been corrected to include the 8-year-old.
The single has already won Blue a number of awards including: two Soul Train Music Awards, a BET Award and a NAACP Image Award.
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Marvel has revealed that character Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, is bisexual.
A new comic book titled, “Guardians of the Galaxy No. 9,” includes the story “I Shall Make You a Star-Lord,” which describes the character’s background and sexual orientation, according to Screen Rant.
It is unclear if Peter Quill’s (played by Chris Pratt) sexuality will be addressed in any Marvel movies.
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Sports
After years of protests from Native American groups, the Cleveland Indians revealed that they have plans to change their name.
According to The New York Times, after 105 years, the Cleveland Indians will be no more. The team spent much of 2019 phasing out the offensive imagery of the cartoon mascot Chief Wahoo, so the name change seems the next logical step.
The Times noted that the team will keep its name for the 2021 season and change it in 2022.
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Day of the Year
National Cupcake Day
Bill of Rights Day
Cat Herders Day
National Wear Your Pearls Day
International Tea Day
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On This Date
1791 – The first 10 amendments to the Constitution are ratified by Virginia, making them the law of the land.
They’re also known as the Bill of Rights. They serve as a complement to the Constitution, ironing out some leftover wrinkles that the Founders did not initially consider.
Their creation was also a bargaining chip so that Massachusetts would approve the Constitution — the small state only agreed to the Constitution provided that Congress immediately ratify a Bill of Rights.
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1890 – Sioux chief Sitting Bull finally meets his maker.
He had been on the run from American soldiers and police for years. After fighting the Americans on-and-off, Mr. Bull made it to Canada. Following his years in exile, Sitting Bull surrendered to US troops, and was placed in a reservation in present-day South Dakota.
7 years later, Indian police tried kidnapping Sitting Bull, fearing he was trying to lead an uprising against the Americans. Mr. Bull did not go quietly, and his cronies intervened. They tried shooting his captors, but instead killed the old chief with with shots to his head and chest.
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1896 – Stephen M. Balzer is awarded a patent for a gas-powered car.
None of Balzer’s inventions were ever mass-produced. He started Balzer Motor Company in 1900, but was more interested in engineering than sales. Still, his experimental buggy is considered one of the first American automobiles.
The car submitted to win the patent is now on display at the Smithsonian.
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1973 – Sandy Hawley wins his 500th horse race of the year at Maryland’s Laurel Park race track. He was the first jockey to achieve the feat.
The winning horse was named Charlie Jr.
Hawley’s career continued into the 1990s. He won his 5,000th career race in 1986.
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1993 – “Schindler’s List” premieres.
It would be the first film for which Stephen Spielberg would win Academy Awards — which included Best Picture and Best Director.
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2001 – After being closed for 11 years, the Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens.
The Italian government spent $27 million to keep the tower in its somewhat-upright position without it falling over.
Experts now say it has another 300 years before it leans back to its old position.
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2016 – Dylann Roof is found guilty of killing nine people at a Bible study class in a South Carolina church.
The self-declared white supremacist stormed the church in 2015 with the hopes of starting a race war.
It took a 12-person jury a little over two hours to convict Roof on all 33 counts.
He would be sentenced to death the following month.
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Birthdays
Josh Norman – NFL cornerback – 33
Camilla Luddington – actress, “Grey’s Anatomy” – 37
Adam Brody – actor, “The O.C.” – 41
Nick Beggs – Kajagoogoo bassist – 59
Don Johnson – actor, “Miami Vice” – 71
Dave Clark – frontman, The Dave Clark Five – 81
Born On This Date
Kim Porter – model, mom of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ kids – 1970 (d. 2018)
J Paul Getty – oil baron – 1892 (d. 1976)
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