The continuing saga of George Santos – How a craving for attention led to an arrest – Falling influenza and RSV rates – Evening statistics
One might not have thought that George Santos could have made matters worse for himself than he has already done; and yet that it is what this unlucky young man did. According to Richard Osthoff, a homeless veteran who lives in a tent, Santos set up a GoFundMe page on behalf of Osthoff’s service dog Sapphire, who had developed a large tumor and needed life-saving surgery, and then proceeded to retain every penny of the money that was raised for himself. Michael Boll, founder of New Jersey Veterans Network, was eventually asked to intervene in the matter after the dog died. His account confirms Osthoff’s version of this episode, At first Boll tried to give Santos the benefit of the doubt, but as time went on and Santos continued to evade his suggestions of either reimbursing all who contributed or give the money to veterinarian in Osthoff’s area for the purpose of saving future dogs needing treatment, he concluded that Santos “was not going to help out at all.” Osthoff has since obtained an interview on CNN, during which he made the dramatic gesture of bringing the dog’s ashes for display. GoFundMe has already banned Santos from using the website again, and the matter is under investigation by federal law enforcement officials. It is unclear whether his colleagues in the GOP are coming to realize that Santos is an unmitigated embarrassment who cannot be jettisoned too quickly or whether they will recommend that Donald Trump take Santos under his wing as an adoptive son.
Connoisseurs of Italian cuisine in St. Etienne, France, were in agreement that the Caffe Rossini restaurant produced pizza to die for – that is, if the chef didn’t decide to kill you first. Edgardo Greco was working under the alias Paolo Dimitrio as a pizzaiolo, having been on the run for 16 years after the brutal slaughter of two rivals with iron bars. He was apprehended by Italian police as a prominent figure in the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, Italy’s most powerful crime group. He probably would have eluded capture, however, if he had kept a low profile and took refuge in anonymity. Instead, he was unable to resist the temptation to appear in an article in the French newspaper Le Progres, which praised his cookery and which the restaurant proudly posted on its official Facebook page. The restaurant owners, understandably embarrassed to discover afterwards that its master pizza chef was in fact a well-known Mafioso member, has since disconnected its telephone number.
Not only are COVID rates are falling across the country, but flu rates are as well. According to the CDC, most states experienced “minimal” or “low” flu activity in the past week, with only New Mexico and Oklahoma experiencing “high” rates. Flu-related hospitalizations this week are lower this week than they were last week by nearly one-third. There was a flurry of activity both with flu and RSV during the holiday season, which is earlier than usual, but this activity appears to have peaked, as the downward trend has continued for several weeks. The total amount of deaths for the season from flu so far is approximately 17,000. The total amount of deaths from COVID, sadly, is still between 4 and 5 times that number. COVID is less of a threat than it once was, but it remains a threat nonetheless.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 675,978,628; # of deaths worldwide: 6,769,631; # of cases U.S.: 104,450,115; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,135,888.