Good morning.
Joe Biden has accused Donald Trump of blocking his access to national security information, saying his security team has been taken in by Pentagon political leaders. The president-elect warned that he and his team “just don’t get all the information we need” in key national security areas, describing it as “nothing short of … irresponsibility”. Earlier this month, the Pentagon unexpectedly suspended briefings with the Biden transition team.
Trump was humiliated yesterday when more than 100 Republicans joined Democrats in the House of Representatives to override his veto of a $ 741 billion defense bill. If the Senate follows next week, which is expected to happen, it will be the first time Congress has rebuked his presidency.
-
Stock markets around the world made gains after Trump signed a $ 900 billion aid package to boost the U.S. economy during the coronavirus pandemic, following its threats to turn it down. On the first day of trading since Christmas, and after the UK Brexit deal 24 hours earlier, US stock indices hit intraday peaks.
-
What does the coronavirus help package offer? From $ 600 incentive vouchers for individuals to funds for schools, Amanda Holpuch explains what the package has to offer.
Why has California been hit so hard? coronavirus?
All 35 prisons in California are now fighting coronavirus cases, with nearly 9,500 inmates statewide having the virus. In Los Angeles, companies are under fire for organizing New Year’s Eve events, despite one of the 95 residents believed to be contagious with the corona virus. In all, California has lost more than 24,000 lives, with ICU capacity dropping to 0% in southern parts of the state this month. But the Golden State was the first to shut down and failed to overwhelm its hospitals during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. From the inactivity of leaders to institutional inequalities, Maanvi Singh looks at California’s battle with Covid and asks why it seems to be losing.
What can we learn from countries that have done better to deal with the pandemic as the US death toll rises? Laura Spinney argues that Vietnam learned from the 2003 Sars pandemic and Senegal from the fight against Ebola to produce far more competent responses than the US and UK. Here she analyzes what the country did right and where the US and UK went wrong.
-
Public health experts have warned the US to brace itself for another wave of coronavirus after traveling during the holidays. The Transportation Security Administration said more than 1.28 million travelers at US airports across the country had been screened on Sunday, the highest number since mid-March.
-
The World Health Organization has warned that a bigger pandemic could come, saying that while the coronavirus has been “very serious,” it is “not necessarily the big one.” Officials also said that instead of being eliminated, the coronavirus is likely to become an endemic virus that poses a constant low-level threat managed by vaccines.
There is still no known motive for the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville
Federal authorities are teaming up to uncover the motive behind the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville, which damaged dozens of buildings and injured three people. Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, was blamed for the attack, in which he died. Officials said hundreds of tips and directions had been submitted to law enforcement. David Rausch, the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said that while authorities hoped to get an answer as to why Warner decided to detonate the explosion, “sometimes it just isn’t possible.”
-
Ghislaine MaxwellThe latest bail request has been denied, new court files revealed yesterday. Maxwell, a socialite arrested in July on allegations that she was helping disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein obtain sex from underage girls, has filed a number of unsuccessful bail requests.
In other news …
-
The actor Lori Loughlin was released from prison yesterday after spending two months behind bars after admitting to paying half a million dollars in bribes to get her two daughters off to college as part of a high-profile bribery scheme.
-
The jazz trumpet player Keyon Harrold Has claimed a woman attacked his son after falsely accusing him of theft. In a much-watched video posted online by Harrold, a white woman appears to be getting aggressive after accusing his son of theft of her phone, which Harrold says was later returned by an Uber driver.
-
White Ohio police officer fired after bodycam footage showed him fatally shot Andre Hill, a black man who was holding a cellphone and refused to help him. Adam Coy remains under criminal investigation for last week’s incident.
Stat of the day: Only 9% of all plastic ever produced is recycled
New international rules are being introduced to reduce world plastic trade, with waste often being dumped by richer countries into poorer countries. Only 9% of all plastic ever produced has been recycled and about 12% has been incinerated. The remainder, an astonishing 79%, have gathered in landfills, landfills and the natural environment. The UN hopes that the rules will lead to cleaner oceans within five years.
Don’t Miss This: Newt Gingrich Accuses Democrats of “brainwashing” the next generation
Former Republican House speaker Newt Gingrich has long been accused of sowing the seeds of division responsible for Trump’s rise. In this interview with our Washington DC bureau chief David Smith, he accuses Democrats of using culture wars to brainwash people, describes the presidential election as an anomaly, and makes his bet that Trump will be there for years to come.
Last thing: Roman relics came back in hasty repentance
Italian museum curators have noted a trend where tourists returned artifacts they had stolen from cultural sites in Rome years later, with heartfelt letters of confession. So many relics have been returned that a museum has been set up to display them. Angela Giuffrida looks at some of the most memorable stories.
Register
Sign up for the morning US briefing.
First Thing is delivered in thousands of inboxes every weekday. Register now if you are not logged in yet.