January 1, White House Advisor: It’s “Scary to Go to Work”

This Day in History | 1981

Reggae legend Bob Marley dies of complications from skin cancer at the age of 36 years old. 

Good morning Middle Americans, 

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told CBS’s Face the Nation that its “scary to go to work” these days. 

“I think that I’d be a lot safer if I was sitting at home than I would be going to the West Wing. But, you know, it’s the time when people have to step up and serve their country.”

Hassett is just one of many White House staffers doing things differently in these very different times. Mike Pence is also heading to work, but facing new questions about his safety and the safety of the president after more aides tested positive for the coronavirus. 

Also today, Georgia’s Attorney General is calling for help from William Barr’s Justice Department as the nation continues to come to grips with the racially charged killing of Ahmaud Arbery. Despite pleas from all sides to not politicize the tragic killing of the 25 year old, we’ve seen a few gross tweets from media trolls aimed at stirring the pot to the point of racial frenzy. We’ll let you fill in the blanks on those tweets, but if you use the platform, you probably know who we are talking about. It doesn’t help that there’s now a video released of Arbery entering a home that was under construction in the area, technically trespassing. But ask any “patio man” who’s ever walked by a home under construction with time on his hands, and he’s probably committed the same trespass. 

We hope everyone had a good mothers day yesterday. Mother’s day can also be stressful for families in crisis. That appears to be the case with one woman who went on a wild ride through a Houston Cemetery. 

We have video and info from the police below. 

Finally, we say goodbye to Little Richard and now Jerry Stiller, the beloved Seinfeld actor and comedian who brought us the tradition of Festivus and so much more. 

Read all about it

-Fraser Dixon

Mike Pence Denies He’ll Self-Isolate, Will Be at White House Monday

(USA Today) – Vice President Mike Pence will be back to work at the White House on Monday after Trump administration officials denied a report Sunday that he was self-isolating.

Meanwhile, in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is scheduled to release more details Monday about reopening, a day after revealing new rules for nursing homes, a hot spot for coronavirus deaths in the state.

There were nearly 80,000 deaths and had more than 1.3 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. early Monday, according to the John Hopkins University data dashboard. Worldwide, the virus has killed more than 282,000 people and surpassed 4.1 million infections.

Learn more here

Ga. Attorney General Requests U.S. Dept. of Justice to Investigate Handling of Ahmaud Arbery Case

(WTOC) – Attorney General Chris Carr has formally requested that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate the handling of the Ahmaud Arbrery case.

A press release from the Office of the Attorney General says that the request for the investigation includes but is not limited to the communications and discussions by and between the Office of the District Attorney of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit and the Office of the District Attorney of the Waycross Judicial Circuit related to this case. Both of these District Attorney’s recused themselves from the case for different reasons, citing prior professional relationships with Gregory McMichael.

Glynn County says they choose to not make arrests in the case based on the advice of those two district attorneys.

Find out more about the case here

VIDEO: Woman Driving Over Headstones at Houston National Cemetery on Mother’s Day

(ABC 13 Houston) – Amanda Hill and her family went to the Houston National Cemetery on Sunday to watch the Lone Star Flight Museum flyover.

For them, and the other people at the cemetery, it was a tribute to the veterans and a chance to visit the graves of loved ones. 

Instead, some people were witness to a bizarre incident that outraged the Hill family.

Amanda said a woman driving a red minivan was in a hurry to leave as soon as the flyover ended.”She tried to back up, and then went up on the curb of the section where my grandparents are buried,” she explained. “The (woman) couldn’t get around some cars, and then she started running over the graves.”

Hill said in all, the driver tried to get around the traffic jam three times.

“She went over dozens of graves by the time she finished,” said Amanda.

Watch the Video here

Jerry Stiller, ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Hairspray’ Actor and Comedian, Dies at 92

(Variety) – Jerry Stiller, actor and comedian and father to Ben Stiller, has died of nature causes. He was 92.

Ben Stiller confirmed his father’s death in the early hours of Monday morning, writing on Twitter: “I’m sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes. He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years. He will be greatly missed. Love you Dad.”

After a long career performing in comedy routines with his wife Anne Meara, appearing on Broadway and guest-starring on TV series, Stiller became known for his role on “Seinfeld” as Frank Constanza, as Leah Remini’s father on “The King of Queens,” and as Zoolander’s manager in the comedy directed by Ben Stiller.

He appeared in 26 episodes of “Seinfeld” as Constanza, the father of George (Jason Alexander), from 1993-98, with Estelle Harris playing his wife, Estelle. Stiller received an Emmy nomination for his work on the show in 1997.

Learn more here