FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP (Gage Skidmore/Flickr).

Former President Donald Trump tried to persuade top officials of the U.S. Department of Justice to call the 2020 presidential election “corrupt” in an effort to derail the election victory of Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

The Associated Press reports that the House Oversight Committee on Friday released notes taken in a December phone call from Trump to DOJ leaders that indicated he would continue to try to block Biden’s victory.

“Just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the R. Congressmen,” Trump said to Jeffery Rosen, who was serving as acting attorney general.

Rosen’s predecessor, William Barr, has said there was no evidence of widespread fraud and three dozen lawsuits seeking to overturn election results were rejected by judges, including those who had been appointed to their posts by Trump.

Biden and vice presidential running mate Kamala Harris polled over seven million more votes than the ticket of Trump and Mike Pence.  The Democratic pair won states worth 306 electoral votes to 232 for the Republican duo.

CDC: Even vaccinated can spread virus

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday announced that it was possible that even some people who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus could still transmit the disease.

THE CORONAVIRUS (Shutterstock).

According to The New York Times, vaccinated people who have contracted the Delta variant  – still rare – can sometimes give the COVID-19 to others. The Delta variant is considered more contagious than the original variety.

However, the vaccines are still considered effective against severe illness and death.

New research on how the virus spreads is behind much of the push for a return to wearing face coverings in enclosed areas.

U.S. still leads medal count in Tokyo

The United States Olympic team still holds the lead in the overall medal count in the Tokyo Olympics. As of 6:30 p.m. local time, the Americans have 42 medals, followed by China with 40, the Russian Olympic Committee with 34 and Japan with 28.
However, in terms of gold medals, China leads with 19, followed by Japan with 17 and the U.S. with 14.

Lakers land a third big star

RUSSELL WESTBROOK while at UCLA (Wikipedia).

Continuing a tradition of luring stars from other teams, the Los Angeles Lakers have landed Russell Westbrook, a former NBA Most Valuable Player with strong Southern California connections.

He attended Leuzinger High in Lawndale and played at UCLA. He also owns the Hyundai auto dealership in Garden Grove. Westbrook averaged 23.2 points last season, along with 11.5 rebounds and 11.7 assists. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers are the favorites to get yet another NBA crown, provided they are not ambushed by injuries as they were last season.