Oskaloosa News Recap For December 16th, 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
A significant winter storm is heading to the Northeast today, bringing with it epic snowfall totals and possible blizzard conditions.
New York City is right on the line of rain/snow which could mean the difference between a lot of snow or only a dusting.
The heaviest amounts are forecasted for Maryland and south-central Pennsylvania, which could be hit with up to 2 feet of snow.
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A Florida man has paid overdue utility bills for 114 families who were at risk of losing service.
Michael Esmond, who also made the generous decision last year, told CNN that this year “is more meaningful” to him “with the pandemic and all the people out of work having to stay home.”
In total, Esmond, paid over $7,600.
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The FDA has deemed Moderna’s COVID vaccine to be 94 percent effective, with no safety concerns.
The news comes just days before the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is expected to recommend that emergency approval be rolled out across the country.
Moderna says it will have about 20 million vaccine doses available in the US by the end of the year, with 6 million ready to be shipped on Friday if EUA is granted.
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Uber has been slapped with a $59 million fine after refusing to turn over details about sexual assaults that occurred on its trips.
California regulators also threatened to suspend the company’s operating license if the ride-hailing giant continued to refuse to comply with the California Public Utilities Commission’s request for data.
The Commission began looking into the company after Uber released a safety report which revealed that it had received more than 3,000 reports of rape and sexual assault related trips in 2018.
Uber says the ask is a “shocking violation of privacy” to victims of sexual assault.
They now have 30 days to appeal the judge’s ruling.
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A woman in Australia was shocked to find a giant spider with eggs hiding inside the packaging of her pre-made gingerbread house.
Sydney Katie Gompetz posted about her scary find on Facebook along with a photo showing the massive huntsman spider clutching an egg sac while perched inside the box.
Sydney captioned the photo: “Only in Australia, only in 2020.”
Huntsman spiders grow nearly 1 foot in length and are generally found in Australia, Africa and other temperate climates.
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The FDA has granted emergency use authorization to the first over-the-counter COVID antigen test.
The kit can be used at home on individuals as young as 2, including those who have no symptoms of the virus.
With the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test, patients collect a “mid-turbinate nasal swab to detect virus antigens. The test uses an analyzer that is connected with a software application on a smartphone to help users perform the test and interpret results in as little as 20 minutes,” according to the FDA press release.
The test has a 96% accuracy rating in positive samples taken from symptomatic people, and 100% of negative samples in individuals with symptoms. In people without symptoms, the test correctly identified 91% of positive samples, and 96% of negative samples.
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Sandra Lindsay, the first frontline worker to receive Pfizer’s COVID vaccine, is feeling “great” a day after getting poked.
She appeared on “America’s Newsroom” on Tuesday where she told host Sandra Smith that she is “happy to be representing health care workers and nurses all across the world.”
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Giannis Antetokounmpo has signed a five-year, $228 million supermax extension with the Milwaukee Bucks, marking the largest deal in NBA history.
He revealed the news on Twitter writing: “This is my home, this is my city.”
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After a handful of days in which traders showed mixed results, Tuesday saw gains by all three major stock indexes. The Dow surged 337 points while the Nasdaq climbed 155 points and the S&P added 47 points.
Investors bet heavily on congress passing an economic stimulus package in the very near future. Lawmakers announced today that the most controversial parts of the package would be considered separately from the core objectives that both sides agreed upon.
Apple added more than 5 percent to its stock price after disclosing plans to manufacture 30 percent more iPhones next year than this past year. Consensus estimates indicate an expected revenue gain of 20 percent as smartphone demand continues to recover from the pandemic.
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Health officials in Wisconsin are urging people to cut “cannibal sandwiches” from their holiday meals this year.
The dish, consisting of raw ground beef and sliced raw onions on rye bread is a holiday tradition for many families, but the Wisconsin Department of Health Services says “eating raw meat is NEVER recommended because of the bacteria it can contain.”
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel included the dish on its 2018 list of Wisconsin’s favorite holiday culinary traditions.
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Joe Biden’s camp confirmed Tuesday that Pete Buttigieg will head up the Department of Transportation, and also picked former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm to run Energy.
FUN FACT: The Department of Energy manages the military’s nuclear weapons cache.
Biden has said that creating a clean energy economy is one of his top-four goals for the country.
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While the Biden camp encourages supporters to forego the inauguration ceremony, D.C. police say they’re going to need $45 million to safely staff the proceedings.
The federal district’s police force spent $40 million on overtime this summer amid violent riots and demonstrations.
Democrat officials say that up to 80 percent of the activities will be virtual, much like the party’s nominating convention earlier this summer.
Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are expected to be sworn in on a stage at the Capitol, despite a diminished guest list and smaller crowd turnout.
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Tube Talk
Here’s what’s new on TV tonight:
• The Amazing Race / CBS / 7:00 pm
• The Great Christmas Light Fight / ABC / 7:00 pm
• The Masked Singer / FOX / 7:00 pm
• SEAL Team / CBS / 8:00 pm
• A Saturday Night Live Christmas Special / NBC / 8:00 pm
• S.W.A.T. / CBS / 9:00 pm
• For Life / ABC / 9:00 pm
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Showbiz News
Taylor Swift has shut down rumors about a surprise third album.
Super-eyed Swifties guessed the singer may drop yet another surprise album after spotting the word “woodvale” in the trees on the cover of her “Folklore” album.
Swift explained the word away saying that she came up with a “fake codename that had the same amount of letters as ‘Folklore’ to see how it would look on the album covers…but then forgot to take the fake codename off of one of them.”
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Warner Bros has shifted release dates for three of its upcoming movies.
“Mortal Kombat” will now hit theaters in April 2021, instead of its original planned January release. The animated “Tom and Jerry” remake was moved up a week and will debut on Feb. 26, 2021 instead of March 5. Lastly, “Reminiscence” which was initially slated for a mid-April release, has been removed from the studio’s calendar.
All three films will premiere on HBO Max on the same day as their theatrical premieres.
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“The Office” is heading back to NBC.
After the series leaves Netflix at the end of 2020, it will land on NBCUniversal’s streaming site, Peacock.
Along with its New Year’s launch, there will be “Superfan Episodes,” which include never-before-seen footage and deleted scenes.
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Showtime has ordered a six-episode “Shameless” retrospective series titled, “Shameless Hall of Shame.”
According to Deadline, “the series will feature original scenes of characters from the beloved show juxtaposed with a look back at scenes from previous seasons to highlight characters’ journeys.”
The episodes will be interspersed throughout the show’s eleventh and final season.
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Kirk Cameron is sticking it to Gov. Gavin Newsom and his COVID guidelines.
The “Growing Pains” star partnered with Sing It Louder USA to help organize a massive outdoor caroling event Sunday in the parking lot of the Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks, California.
Swarms of mask-less people huddled to together and belted out Christmas carols as a show of protest against Newsom’s stay-at-home orders.
While mall security did report the group to local authorities, officers showed up, educated the group on the importance of mask-wearing and left. No one was cited or arrested.
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Mariah Carey is thanking fans for once again making her holiday song “All I Want For Christmas Is You” a No. 1 hit.
The song has become the unofficial anthem of the season in recent years, and topped the Billboard Hot 100 at the end of 2019 for the first time since its release. It now seems the single will close out the year on top again.
According to Billboard, the hit returned to the top of the charts this week, marking the fourth week as the top song since its 1994 release.
It is tied with “The Chipmunk Song” by The Chipmunks and David Seville for the most time at No. 1 for a holiday song in the chart’s 62-year history.
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NBC has renewed “The Kelly Clarkson Show” for two more seasons, extending her contact through 2023.
The critically acclaimed daytime talk show headed into its second season as the most watched new talk show in seven years. It averages 1.6 million viewers daily and has the youngest audience among the top four daytime shows.
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Netflix comedy special “Kevin Hart: No F**ks Given” is drawing record viewership for the streaming giant.
Since it’s Nov. 17 premiere, more than 21 million Netflix viewers have tuned in, making it the No. 1 comedy special on the streamer this year, according to Netflix.
In the special, Hart touches on topics such as group chats with male friends, sex after 40 and dealing with life during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Sharon Osbourne has coronavirus.
The host of “The Talk” shared her diagnosis on social media and said she is currently self-isolating away form her husband Ozzy Osbourne. She also revealed that she was briefly hospitalized for the virus and encouraged her followers to stay safe and healthy.
Osbourne’s announcement comes a week after her co-host Carrie Ann Inaba also tested positive.
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Rachael Leigh Cook has signed on to join “He’s All That.”
The actress, who played Laney Boggs in the 1999 rom-com, “She’s All That,” joins stars Addison Rae and Tanner Buchanan in the gender swapped remake.
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Sports
ESPN and Major League Baseball are working on a TV deal that would give the network exclusive rights to the first round of the playoffs.
According to The Post, the deal would reduce the amount of national games broadcast on ESPN, while increasing the number of marquee matchups.
MLB is talking to other networks to potentially pick up what ESPN discards, inside sources told the outlet.
The new deal would begin in 2022.
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Day of the Year
National Chocolate-covered Anything Day
Barbie and Barney Backlash Day
Day of Reconciliation
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On This Date
1773 – Colonial rebels dressed up like Indians to dump 342 chests of tea from British ships into the Boston Harbor.
The Boston Tea Party was in protest to the Tea Act, which gave the East India Company a monopoly on the tea market in the colonies.
In retaliation, the Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts, which essentially shut down commerce in and out of Boston harbor, and enforced military rule.
In response, the colonies convened the first Continental Congress to build a united resistance.
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1811 – The largest earthquake on record in the United States rocks New Madrid, Missouri.
There weren’t many people in the area, so the 8.6 magnitude quake caused no reported deaths.
Aftershocks were felt all the way to the East Coast, strong enough to reportedly ring church bells.
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1944 – Adolf Hitler orders three German armies into the heart of Ally-occupied territory, to kick off what was later called the Battle of the Bulge.
The surge of troops took the Allies by surprise, plunging deep into Allied territory. Given the cloudy and foggy weather, Americans were unable to launch an air campaign to defend themselves.
The Allies maintained a fierce resistance on the ground, however. By January 21, the Germans were pushed all the way back to the original battle lines.
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1973 – OJ Simpson becomes the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.
The Buffalo Bills running back racked up a total of 2,003 years that season. He would lead the league in rushing 4 times during the 1970s.
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1977 – “Saturday Night Fever” premieres. It helped launch a disco craze across the country, and propelled John Travolta to overnight superstardom. He earned a best-actor Oscar nomination for his role as Tony Manero.
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2010 – Larry King signs off his CNN talk show for the last time.
King had hosted “Larry King Live” for 25 years, beginning in June 1985.
By his own count, he conducted 50,000 interviews in his 50 years of broadcasting.
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Birthdays
Zara Larsson – pop singer – 23
Stephan James – movie actor, “21 Bridges”, “Across the Line” – 27
Anna Popplewell – movie actress, “The Little Vampire”, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” – 32
Theo James – movie actor, “Divergent”, “Insurgent” – 36
Krysten Ritter – TV actress, “Breaking Bad”, “Jessica Jones” – 39
Luke Harper – wrestler – 41
DJ D-Wrek – rapper – 51
Benjamin Bratt – movie actor, “Coco”, “Miss Congeniality” – 57
William “The Refrigerator” Perry – former NFL defensive lineman – 58
Born On This Date
Ben Cross – movie actor, “First Knight”, “Dark Shadows” – 1947 (d. 2020)
Tom Brookshier – NFL defensive back – 1931 (d. 2010)
Arthur C. Clarke – sci-fi author, “2001: A Space Odyssey” – 1917 (d. 2008)
Jane Austen – novelist – 1775 (d. 1817)
Ludwig van Beethoven – composer – 1770 (d. 1827)
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Deaths
Ann Reinking has died.
The Tony Award-winning Broadway legend, known for her starring role in “Chicago,” passed away Saturday night, according to her sister-in-law. No cause of death was revealed.
She was 71.
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