Zac Efron welcomed in the New Year with this quiet moment captured by photographer Jake Cloobeck
Posted on by Randy Slovacek

News Round-Up: January 6, 2022

Catching up on some of the day’s headlines:

• Instagram: Zac Efron celebrated the new year by sharing a shirtless thirst trap featuring the muscular Efron in a watery oasis. In 2021, the Baywatch actor picked up a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Daytime Program for his Netflix series “Down To Earth with Zac Efron.” He’s currently filming Season 2 of the docu-series.

• The Advocate: The U.K. has announced that more people will be able to receive a pardon for now-defunct criminal convictions related to consensual same-sex sexual relations.

• JoeMyGod: Staunch anti-vaxxer Candace Owens responded defensively to reports she recently attended an event at Madison Square Garden, which requires proof of vaccination to enter. Owens mocked the questions – “I am not getting this vaccine. Ever!” But – did she provide a fake vax card?

• The Daily Beast: Far-right podcast host Douglas Kuzma, an outspoken critic of the COVID-19 vaccine, has died while battling the coronavirus, which he contracted after attending a QAnon-friendly gathering in Texas.

• AP News: Just two weeks before it was to be held in Park City, Utah, the Sundance Film Festival is canceling its in-person festival and reverting to an entirely virtual edition due to the current coronavirus surge.

• Twitter: Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, speaking to CNN, after talking to Jan. 6 committee, says Trump was “gleefully” watching the Capitol attack from the WH dining room, hitting rewind and saying: “Look at all those people fighting for me.”