Tuesday, December 1, 2020

'America the Beautiful' is White House theme for Christmas AOL Associated Press DARLENE SUPERVILLE November 30, 2020, 10:38 AM

'America the Beautiful' is White House theme for Christmas

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WASHINGTON (AP) — “America the Beautiful” is this year's Christmas theme at the White House.

Melania Trump says it pays tribute to and showcases the “majesty" of the United States.

Ornaments on the official Christmas tree in the Blue Room — a towering Fraser fir from Shepherdstown, West Virginia — were designed by students from across the country who were asked by the National Park Service to highlight the people, places and things that make their states beautiful.

First responders and frontline workers, coping with a pandemic that has killed more than 266,000 people in the United States and infected more than 13 million others, are recognized with a tree and other decorations in the Red Room.

The annual gingerbread White House — more than 400 pounds (181 kilograms) of dough, gum paste, chocolate and royal icing — for the first time includes the Rose Garden, recently renovated by the first lady, as well as the First Ladies' Garden.

It's the final Christmas in the White House for the Trump family, although President Donald Trump continues to insist — despite evidence to the contrary — that he won the Nov. 3 election.

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn into office on Jan. 20.

Volunteers from around the country helped decorate the executive mansion after Thanksgiving with 62 Christmas trees, 106 Christmas wreaths, more than 1,200 feet (366 meters) of garland, more than 3,200 strands of lights and 17,000 bows. The White House led the news media on a tour of the decor on Monday before a reception for the volunteers.

“Over the past four years I have had the honor to travel to some of our nation’s most beautiful landmarks and meet some of the most compassionate and patriotic American citizens," the first lady said in a written statement. “From coast to coast, the bond that all American’s share is an appreciation for our traditions, values, and history, which were the inspiration behind the decorations this year.”

Ice-T's father-in-law hospitalized for coronavirus, warns people to wear masks Yahoo Celebrity KERRY JUSTICH November 30, 2020, 4:10 PM

Ice-T's father-in-law hospitalized for coronavirus, warns people to wear masks

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Ice-T is urging fans to take the coronavirus seriously by posting a photo of his hospitalized father-in-law who contracted the virus while not wearing a protective face mask.

The rapper and actor, who is married to Coco Austin, took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon to share a photo of his father-in-law, Steve Austin, with an oxygen mask on his face.

Ice-T shares photo of hospitalized father-in-law to warn people about coronavirus. (Photo: Getty Images)

“My father-in-law ‘Coco’s dad’ was a serious ‘No Masker’ COVID hit him,” Ice-T wrote. “Pneumonia in both lungs.. 40 days in ICU close to death.. Now he’s on Oxygen indefinitely. Ohhh he’s a Believer now..”

Ice-T previously opened up about Steve’s battle with the virus and resulting pneumonia during an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The latest tweet, however, came after Ice-T retweeted a video of a maskless woman in New Jersey yelling at a bank teller saying, “I am a scientist. There is no corona,” with a sarcastic reply writing, “This Karen is a Scientist! In her mind…” One person responded to call Ice-T “crazy” and “dumb” for believing that the virus exists.

“I have 6 DEAD close friends from this virus,” he responded. “You need to shut the F*** up.”

Shortly after, Ice-T posted the photo of Steve to provide an example to his 1.8 million Twitter followers of how someone can put themselves at risk by not wearing a mask. He concluded the tweet with hashtag #COVIDisNotaGame and went on to reply to other comments.

”Some people think a Mask is a sign of weakness,” he tweeted before claiming that people who aren’t wearing masks are “listening to the President.”

Still, while some expressed that they weren’t sympathetic to those who contracted the virus by not following mask mandates or choosing not to wear one, Ice-T clarified that he didn’t wish sickness on anyone. Instead, he wrote that he felt so passionate about keeping people safe that he posted the photo of his father-in-law as a warning.

Coco didn’t share any information about her father’s illness on her own Twitter account. However, she did post photos on Monday of the birthday party that she and Ice-T threw for their daughter Chanel, who turned five on Saturday.

”So this years celebration for Chanel’s party was a tad different and we had a week to prepare and cause of the current situation (covid) we had a smaller group than normal but we still made it happen,” Coco tweeted alongside photos of partygoers not wearing masks.

When someone tweeted at Ice-T to share that people were complaining about the couple not adhering to regulations, he responded, “Everyone was safe and followed protocols.”

For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDC’s and WHO’s resource guides.

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Tuesday, December 1, 2020