January 1, Fauci Backs Trump on Woodward Tapes

This Day in History | 1991

Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is released as a single

Good morning Middle Americans, 

Well well well. Anthony Fauci is now defending President Donald Trump  after audio recordings released by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward., ahead of his new book revealed that the president wanted to downplay the severity of the coronavirus early in the pandemic.

According to Politico, “Speaking with Fox News’ John Roberts, Fauci denied that he ever heard the president “distort” the threat of the coronavirus and maintained that Trump’s presentations to the public were largely in line with discussions he’d had with medical experts. When asked whether he ever felt Trump was downplaying the severity of the coronavirus, Fauci said no.

Also today, the Pennsylvania high school Jamain Stephens attended has issued a correction after initially saying the 20-year-old football player died from COVID-19 complications. And, Black Friday as you know it is gone this year at Home Depot.

But don’t fret. The home improvement retailer said it’s just taking a different approach to the annual one-day deep discounts bonanza that occurs the day after Thanksgiving.

Read all about it.

-Fraser Dixon

Fauci Says He Did Not Hear Trump Distort Conversations They Had About COVID

(Just the News) – National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said that he does not believe the president “distorted things that I spoke to him about.”

Fauci made the comment on Wednesday when fielding questions pertaining to journalist Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book about President Donald Trump. 

Reporting on Woodward’s book, “Rage,” the Washington Post wrote: “Fauci at one point tells others that the president ‘is on a separate channel’ and unfocused in meetings, with ‘rudderless’ leadership, according to Woodward. ‘His attention span is like a minus number,’ Fauci said, according to Woodward. ‘His sole purpose is to get reelected.'”

College Football Player’s Death No Longer Attributed to COVID-19

(NY Post) – The Pennsylvania high school Jamain Stephens attended has issued a correction after initially saying the 20-year-old football player died from COVID-19 complications.

In a Tuesday Facebook post, Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, where Stephens graduated from in 2017, said that “Jamain went to his eternal reward after suffering from complications of COVID-19.”

On Wednesday, the school updated the post, saying it did not have the cause of death.

“When we heard the news of Jamain Stephens’ death, we as a community were devastated,” Brother Tony Baginski, FSC, Principal of Central Catholic, said in the Wednesday statement. “He was well loved by everyone in our community, and in an effort to get the news out about his death in a timely manner, we mistakenly attributed his death without official confirmation on cause of death. We had obtained the information about his passing from close friends of Jamain, who reached out to us with the news. We apologize for this error, and this information has since been removed from our Facebook announcement dated 9/8/2020. At this time, we do not have official confirmation on his cause of death.”

Read more here

Home Depot Cancels Black Friday

(CNN) – Black Friday as you know it is gone this year at Home Depot.

But don’t fret. The home improvement retailer said it’s just taking a different approach to the annual one-day deep discounts bonanza that occurs the day after Thanksgiving.

Instead of a single day, Home Depot (HD) said it will offer Black Friday discounts for two months, beginning in early November through December.

The retailer, in a statement on its website, said it decided to “reinvent” Black Friday this year in order to reduce stress for consumers who typically rush to stores in droves to grab the best deals. Given the pandemic, the company indicated that maintaining safety was also a factor in its decision.

Find out more here