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Dr. Anthony Fauci is “strongly” warning against hugging and kissing your friends and loved ones on New Year’s Eve this year. Fauci also told people to avoid large gatherings during the White House COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday. “If your plans are to go to a 40- to 50-person New Year’s Eve party with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing and wishing each other a happy new year, I would strongly recommend that this year we do not do that,” Fauci said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN on Monday Americans should stay away from large gatherings for New Year's Eve even if people are fully vaccinated with boosters because they would not know if others are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. "I do wonder we are approaching New Year’s Eve at the end of this week, a lot of people have got events and gatherings planned, and I know you said it’s OK to be with friends and family if you’re vaccinated and boosted, but what is your advice to people about larger settings for New Year’s parties?" CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked. "Kaitlan,...

Top White House coronavirus adviser Anthony Fauci said on CNN Monday morning that Americans should cancel their New Year's Eve parties due to the increasing spread of the omicron coronavirus variant, as Americans struggle to find some normalcy as the pandemic wraps up its second year. "I would stay away from that," Fauci said when asked about the annual parties on CNN's "New Day." "I have been telling people consistently that if you're vaccinated and boosted and you have a family setting, in the home with family and relatives," it's okay to gather, Fauci continued. "But when you're talking about...

London’s famed New Year’s Eve celebration in Trafalgar Square has been canceled over Omicron. The planned massive party was called off by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who feared a major live event could be a super-spreader of the highly transmissible COVID-19 variant capable of overwhelming the UK’s National Health Service hospital system

Los Angeles' New Year’s Eve celebration is moving mostly online as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in L.A. County, The Associated Press reported. Organizers said on Monday that the planned New Year’s Eve party at Los Angeles’ Grand Park will not have an in-person audience and will be streamed online instead. The invite-only audience was going to include frontline workers and first responders.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will announce this week whether or not the famed New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square will be held, or if revelers will be permitted to gather publicly in the area, the Associated Press reported. The mayor has said that he will make a decision on the fate of the event by Christmas Day, as the omicron variant has sent case rates surging in the city.

Officials in Paris have canceled New Year’s Eve firework festivities due to the growing concern about the fast spreading omicron COVID-19 variant, France24.com reported. A scientific panel suggested on Friday that authorities “should impose significant restrictions” due to increasing caseloads.

Rio de Janeiro on Saturday canceled its New Year’s Eve party due to renewed COVID-19 fears. Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes announced the decision on social media. Paes had previously promised the biggest New Year’s Eve party ever, with multiple firework displays and artists performing on a dozen stages across the city.

If you and your family members are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, it's OK for you to ditch the masks this holiday season when you're around each other, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN Sunday. "That's what I'm going to do with my family," Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union." However, the nation's top infectious disease expert also noted if you are traveling or are unaware of the vaccination status of the people around you, then you should wear a mask "Get vaccinated and you can enjoy...

Are they serious? The holiday season is rapidly approaching and being that we are still battling COVID across the country, the CDC has announced a few recommendations for Thanksgiving. Like in 2020, the CDC is recommending that if you are hosting family or friends at your house, you should encourage social distancing, wear masks, or even consider celebrating the holiday virtually. However, the CDC has also added another recommendation to the list. They say that if you're hosting family in your house, you should consider putting a BOX FAN in your window to circulate fresh air in your home. We've...

By this time, you might have broken your New Year’s resolution. But fear not, tomorrow is Monday when the new year really begins, and you can recommit. In addition to whatever behavior you have committed yourself to do or not do, this study suggests an all-encompassing, life-changing resolution of thought and attitude. We begin with the backstory; that is the lesson. About 10 days ago, and without any warm-up, husband David announced, “I must decrease, while He increases” was his new guiding-life principle. (Not your typical Adams family Tuesday night dinner conversation.) Since David is a godly man, I knew...

The current president of Planned Parenthood is unafraid to use the word "abortion." In a Christmas-season interview with The Washington Post, Alexis McGill Johnson scolded those who would downplay the importance of abortion in her organization's work. She says it is "stigmatizing" to do so. For those who oppose abortion, this is a cause for gratitude. For decades, abortion has been subject to euphemisms from its advocates. "Choice," "freedom," "health," are all used to avoid saying the actual word "abortion." Which makes sense: Polls consistently suggest Americans don't like abortion. And why should we? We know in our hearts that...

William Cohen, a former Republican senator from Maine and Defense secretary under former President Clinton, blasted GOP lawmakers challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election in a Thursday interview in which he suggested the formation of a new political party. Cohen made the comments on CNN's "The Situation Room" while discussing Sen. Josh Hawley's (R-Mo.) plans to object during Congress's counting of the Electoral College vote on Wednesday. Cohen called Hawley's actions "shameful" but warned that Republicans are just following President Trump's lead, calling him the party's "ringmaster." "We have to remember that the current occupant of the White...

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio danced with his wife in Times Square before midnight on New Year’s Eve while keeping the rest of New York out of the famed plaza for the first time history as he enforced coronavirus restrictions.

Troops, Veterans, Families, Allies, and FRiends.....The FReeper Canteen Presents.....Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. “May Light always surround you; Hope kindle and rebound you. May your Hurts turn to Healing; Your Heart embrace Feeling. May Wounds become Wisdom; Every Kindness a Prism. May Laughter infect you; Your Passion resurrect you. May Goodness inspire your Deepest Desires. Through all that you Reach For, May your arms Never Tire.”-D. Simone Please remember that The Canteen is here to support and entertain our troops and veterans and...

I don't like making predictions for a new year because they are just guesses and like palm readers, fortune-tellers and "experts," guesses are often wrong. The point was proved last year when I predicted Donald Trump's re-election and could not foresee the COVID-19 virus, as few did, or its impact on the economy and our optimistic spirit. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, author Bob Greene recalled the 75th anniversary of the film "Meet Me in St. Louis" in which Judy Garland sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." The lyric contains the optimistic lines, "someday soon we all...

The more years you get behind you, the less happy you are to see one pass. But 2020? To hell with it: good riddance. There really wasn’t anything good about 2020, the whole thing was a joke at our expense. Even though it feels like 10 years ago, and was a complete joke, the year started off with impeachment. Remember that? Democrats manufactured charges against President Donald Trump, knowing full-well there was nothing to it, just so they could stain his record. Calling the bluff of Democrats, and in an extremely rare move, President Trump released the classified transcript of...

The crystal orb that normally draws millions of visitors to Midtown will still make its famous descent down the flagpole — but don’t bother trying to sneak a peek in person, says the NYPD. “Next year we will all gather and fill Times Square,” Chief of Department Terence Monahan told reporters Wednesday. “This year, don’t even attempt to come and watch it.”... [BUT] ...First responders and other essential workers will be allowed to watch the ball drop from a private spot...

New Year's Day is approaching, which means we need to have a little talk about Hoppin' John. A savory blend of rice and black-eyed peas, it's served alongside collard greens as the traditional New Year's Day meal in the South and, increasingly, in other parts of the country. Eating those two dishes will ensure prosperity in the new year, and the collards represent greenbacks and the black-eyed peas coins. Or so they say. For a long time, if offered a plate of collards and Hoppin' John on New Years, I would have been inclined to say, "keep the change," for...

All true conservatives hold hope-upon-hope that 2021 will be better in every way that 2020. The fact that the Republican Party snatched defeat from the jaws of electoral victory has left most of us disconsolate heading into the new year. Being an empiricist academic, now retired, I offer you ten resolutions that will allow each of us to do our part to make 2021 a better year in myriad ways.Support any policy that restrains China from continuing its infiltration and influence in America while working against their efforts and supporters, especially politicians like Eric Swalwell, who would do China’s bidding...