HealthThe WeekFauci: Americans without underlying conditions could get COVID-19 vaccine by late March, early April
A COVID-19 vaccine is officially being administered in the United States, and Dr. Anthony Fauci is predicting the "vast majority" of Americans could receive theirs by early summer. Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, spoke to MSNBC on Monday after the first American health-care workers began to receive Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine will first be available to those at the highest risk, including health-care workers and then those with underlying health conditions, but Fauci told MSNBC that "the normal, healthy man and woman in the street, who has no underlying conditions" will "likely" be able to get it by "the end of March, the beginning of April."
BusinessBusiness InsiderThe Trump administration turned down more vaccine doses 'as recently as November,' former FDA commissioner says
The Trump administration once again rejected an offer from Pfizer for more COVID-19 vaccines "as recently as November," according to former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb. "There were multiple conversations with the U.S. government about taking more supply in the second quarter," Gottlieb, who is a Pfizer board member, told CNBC on Monday. This comes on the heels of the Trump administration reportedly rejecting 100 million doses of Pfizer's recently approved COVID-19 vaccine over the summer, according to The New York Times.
WorldBBCJapan 'Twitter killer' sentenced to death
A man who murdered nine people after contacting them on Twitter has been sentenced to death, in a high-profile case that has shocked Japan. Takahiro Shiraishi, dubbed the "Twitter killer", was arrested in 2017 after body parts were found in his flat. The 30-year-old had used Twitter to lure suicidal women to his home, saying he could help them die and in some cases claimed he would kill himself alongside them.
PoliticsAssociated PressBiden's challenge: Building Cabinet that meets all his goals
Those nominations highlight the competing priorities Biden is facing as he fills out the top ranks of his administration. He's pledged to nominate the most diverse Cabinet in history and restore experience at beleaguered federal agencies. He's seeking to reward loyalists who have stood with him throughout his lengthy career and give opportunities to new voices in the Democratic Party.
PoliticsThe WeekIran's president says country would rejoin nuclear deal within an hour of U.S. signing on
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday said if the United States returns to the Iran nuclear deal, his country will follow within an hour. The deal was made during the Obama administration in 2015, lifting sanctions on Tehran in exchange for Iran reducing its uranium stockpile and dismantling its centrifuges. Rouhani said he will not discuss any changes to the accord or restrictions on Iran's ballistic missile program, The Guardian reports.
HealthBusiness InsiderHead of White House security office has his right foot amputated because of severe COVID-19 and is facing 'staggering medical bills,' new report says
The head of the White House security office, Crede Bailey, had a part of his lower right leg and the big toe of his left foot amputated because of COVID-19, Bloomberg reported on Monday. Bailey has been hospitalized with a severe case of COVID-19 for three months but is said to be recovering. Friends of Bailey's have raised over $35,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for his rehabilitation and "staggering" healthcare costs.
PoliticsThe IndependentJoseph Epstein wiped from university website after backlash over ‘sexist drivel’ Jill Biden column
Northwestern University has distanced itself from its former lecturer Joseph Epstein who, in an article published by the Wall Street Journal, criticised the incoming first lady for using the title Dr when she is not a medical professional. Epstein's article has met with a backlash after he said the use of the title by Dr Jill Biden, who has a doctorate in education, “sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic”. Northwestern has now scrubbed Epstein's page from its website, where he was previously listed as an emeritus lecturer of English.
U.S.CBS NewsBiggest snowstorm in years set to target Northeast
It has been nearly five years since New York City has seen more than a foot of snow in one storm, when Central Park recorded its biggest snowstorm on record with 27.5 inches in January 2016. Much of the densely populated parts of the Northeast stand to see a walloping of heavy snow as a major nor'easter takes aim. For cities like Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York, a major nor'easter seems long overdue.
PoliticsUSA TODAYFake electors try to deliver Arizona's 11 votes for Trump
In another sign of the lingering unrest over President Donald Trump's election loss, an Arizona group sent the National Archives in Washington, D.C., notarized documents last week intended to deliver, wrongly, the state's 11 electoral votes for him. Copies of the documents obtained by The Arizona Republic show a group that claimed to represent the "sovereign citizens of the Great State of Arizona" submitted signed papers casting votes for what they want: a second term for Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Mesa resident Lori Osiecki, 62, helped created a facsimile of the "certificate of ascertainment" that is submitted to formally cast each state's electoral votes as part of an effort to prevent what she views as the fraudulent theft of the election.
WorldINSIDEROver 70 people test positive for COVID-19 at a nursing home in Belgium after a visit from a man dressed up as Santa Claus
More than 70 people were infected with coronavirus at a nursing home in Belgium after a recent visit from a man dressed up as Santa Claus, CNN reported. "It was made with the best intent, but it went wrong," Wim Caeyers, Mayor of Mol, told VRT News. More than 70 people tested positive for the coronavirus after a recent visit from Santa Claus at a nursing home in Belgium, according to multiple reports.
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Indonesia arrests suspect linked to Bali bombings
Indonesian police arrested one of the senior members of the Al Qaeda-linked militant group, Jemaah Islamiah, last Thursday(December 10) , who police say was behind the 2002 bombings that killed over 200 people in Bali. The group's stated aim is to build an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia. The arrested man, named Zulkarnaen, was one of the commanders of the Bali attack, according to an anti-terrorism police spokesman on Saturday.
WorldReutersItaly eyes new COVID-19 curbs as Christmas crowds raise alarm
Italy is considering more stringent nationwide coronavirus restrictions during the Christmas holidays, the health minister said on Monday, after scenes of big gatherings in many cities over the weekend raised worries of a new spike in infections. Italy, the first Western country hit by the pandemic, on Saturday passed Britain as the European nation with the worst official death toll, with more than 65,000 dying since the start of the outbreak in February. With pressure on hospitals easing and daily cases falling, the government relaxed some restrictions put in place last month.
HealthMiami HeraldWhat are your chances of dying from COVID? This calculator gives you a hint
Studies and statistics alike have shown that people over 65 and those with underlying health conditions face the highest risks of dying from COVID-19 compared to the rest of the population. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health developed an online calculator that can answer these questions. The tool, which is updated on a weekly basis, incorporates information on mortality risks and statistics from several data sets on the community and state level.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump signs executive order making Christmas Eve a federal holiday in 2020
Christmas Eve will be considered a federal holiday in the United States this year, according to a new executive order signed by President Trump. Under the executive order, signed Friday, “all executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Thursday, 24 December 2020, the day before Christmas Day”. The executive order does make an exception, however, for the heads of executive departments and agencies, who may determine that “certain offices and installations of their organisations, or parts thereof, must remain open,” as well as for employees who may be needed to work for “reasons of national security, defense, or other public need”.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderPete Buttigieg has emerged as the frontrunner to become Biden's secretary of transportation, new report says
Pete Buttigieg has emerged as a leading candidate to become President-elect Joe Biden's secretary of transportation, according to a CNN report. Buttigieg's nomination would elevate the profile of the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful. Buttigieg is widely expected to run for president again.
HealthINSIDERFamily was kicked off United Airlines flight because their 2-year-old refused to keep her mask on
Eliz Orban says she and her family were kicked off a United Airlines flight after being unable to get her 2-year-old daughter to keep her mask on. United Airlines has a policy that states all passengers over the age of 2 must wear a "face covering" during flights. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children over the age of 2 should wear a mask, the World Health Organization says that children under the age of 5 should be exempt.
PoliticsThe IndependentSarah Palin hits campaign trail in Georgia, denying Trump lost alongside QAnon-supporting Republican
Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, joined the GOP campaign trail in Georgia, urging supporters to “crush” the vote for senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler to avoid “another rigged election. Georgia, we need you to not just show up 5 January, not just to win, but to crush it,” said Ms Palin, who was addressing a crowd of supporters in Marietta on Friday. We need you to crush it and to send that message, the loudest message that we can, that no, we will not implement at all socialism in America,” she said.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderAttorney General Barr reportedly instructed prosecutors not to reveal the Hunter Biden tax probes before the election to keep the DOJ out of politics
Attorney General William Barr went to great lengths to prevent prosecutors and senior Justice Department officials from revealing the existence of federal tax investigations into Hunter Biden before the election, The Wall Street Journal reported. The report includes new details of Barr's efforts to keep the investigations under wraps. Monday's report adds to a growing list of frustrations President Donald Trump has with Barr and may catalyze the president's efforts to fire the attorney general weeks before he leaves office.
U.S.USA TODAYMississippi police identify 2-year-old boy abandoned at Goodwill donation outlet, arrest suspect
Police in Mississippi police say a 2-year-old boy left abandoned at a Goodwill donation outlet on Monday has been identified and is in the custody of Mississippi Child Protective Services. "Southaven Police received numerous tips, and with the assistance of F.B.I. offices in both Mississippi, and Tennessee, along with the Shelby County Sheriff's Department a suspect related to this case was taken into custody in Memphis," the department said. Officers responded to the Goodwill outlet around 9:30 a.m., where they learned the boy was left with a plastic bag that contained a note and a change of clothes.
CelebrityINSIDERThe mother of the Houston influencer found dead says she didn't know of any marital problems her daughter might have been having
Stacey Robinault, the mother of Alexis Sharkey, the Houston-based influencer found dead on November, 28, told Fox News that she wasn't aware of any marital problems between Sharkey and her husband. Several of Sharkey's friends, some speaking anonymously, previously told The Daily Beast that Sharkey's relationship with her husband Tom was troubled. Tom Sharkey told ABC 13 that he and Alexis had a happy marriage and denied that they were filing for divorce.
WorldBusiness InsiderHours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, US Marines took on the Japanese in what became the Alamo of the Pacific
On December 8, 1941, the US garrison on Wake Island awoke to news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan's destruction of the US Pacific Fleet meant Wake Island was on its own against Japan's advance across the Pacific. The garrison surrendered after a 16-day battle, but their resistance gave the US Navy breathing room and became a rallying cry for Americans.
PoliticsThe IndependentThree things Trump could do after Electoral College votes for Biden
Donald Trump is vowing to continue his fight to overturn the results of last month's election even after an Electoral College vote declares Joe Biden his replacement – but his options are running out. Electors are voting across the country on Monday, with Mr Biden ahead by around 40 votes as of 1:30 p.m. ET.
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Fauci: 'Something very strange' about COVID
"I have not seen anything where you have a virus that in 40% of the people has no symptoms, and those who have symptoms, 80% of them have very mild to moderate symptoms that don't require any significant medical intervention. And then you have 20-25% of people who are devastated," Fauci told The Center for Strategic and International Studies' (CSIS) Senior Vice President Stephen Morrison on Monday. "There's something very strange about a virus that in most people barely bothers them, and in others it kills them.
PoliticsThe IndependentBill Barr: Attorney general’s resignation letter in full
I am greatly honoured that you called on me to serve your administration and the American people once again as Attorney General. I am proud to have played a role in the many successes and unprecedented achievements you have delivered for the American people. Your 2016 victory speech in which you reached out to your opponents and called for working together for the benefit of the American people was immediately met by a partisan onslaught against you in which no tactic, no matter how abusive and deceitful, was out of bounds.
EntertainmentBusiness InsiderFollowing the messy launch of 'Cyberpunk 2077,' the development studio's stock value has fallen off a cliff
The most hyped game of the year, "Cyberpunk 2077," launched last week on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Players are reporting a range of bugs in the game, from characters appearing to float through space to being suddenly teleported, among a variety of other issues. On Monday morning, the game's developer CD Projekt apologized to buyers and said it would honor refunds.
“The prospect of a 2024 run is politically significant. It’s also a complete fiction.”
“His flirtation with a 2024 bid ensures he’ll remain the dominant force in the Republican Party.”
“He shouldn’t run for president again. There’s a better job and life for him on the horizon.”
“Trump is in for years of scandals and humiliations…He’ll have to devote much of his energy to trying to stay out of prison.”
“If Trump himself passes on the opportunity, his two very political children could also potentially pick up the mantle.”