Stimulus money could be coming to your bank account on Wednesday . Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin tweeted on Tuesday evening the department "has delivered a payment file to the Federal Reserve for Americans' Economic Impact Payments." His tweet continued: "These payments may begin to arrive in some accounts by direct deposit as early as tonight and will continue into next week." Americans who have direct deposit set up through the Internal Revenue Service could be receiving their stimulus payment as early as Tuesday night. Paper checks will begin to be mailed Wednesday, according to a news release from the Treasury Department. Mnuchin also tweeted that you can check your payment's status later this week at http://IRS.gov/GetMyPayment. [USA Today]
The Senate continues to negotiate on a COVID-19 stimulus bill Wednesday, after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked Democrats' initial attempt to approve increased payments of $2,000 on Tuesday. The Kentucky Republican then introduced a bill that includes demands by President Donald Trump. McConnell's proposal could hinder any chances of passing increased aid checks as Democrats and Republicans differ on the issues of big tech immunity and election integrity. The measure McConnell introduced hasn't been scheduled for a vote. [USA Today]
Britain on Wednesday authorized emergency use of a second COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first country to greenlight an easy-to-handle shot that its developers hope will become the “vaccine for the world.” The Department of Health said it had accepted a recommendation from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to authorize the vaccine developed by Oxford University and U.K.-based drugmaker AstraZeneca. Britain has bought 100 million doses of the vaccine, and plans to begin injections within days. Hundreds of thousands of people in the U.K. have already received a different vaccine, made by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and German firm BioNTech. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to be relied on in many countries because of its low cost, availability and ease of use. It can be kept in refrigerators rather than the ultra-cold storage some other vaccines require. The company has said it will sell it for $2.50 a dose and plans to make up to 3 billion doses by the end of 2021. [USA Today]
Health officials are concerned over the slow rollout of tens of millions of vaccine doses. The federal government’s Operation Warp Speed promised that 20 million doses would be administered before January 1, but only 11 million have been distributed, and just over 2 million have actually been given to people. [CNN]
Argentina has become the largest Latin American country to legalise abortion after its senate approved the historic law change by 38 votes in favour to 29 against, with one abstention.
Elated pro-choice campaigners who had been keeping vigil outside Buenos Aires’s neoclassical congressional palace erupted in celebration as the result was announced at just after 4am on Wednesday.
Women screamed with delight, sweeping their friends into tight hugs and jumping in ecstasy. Many wept tears of joy. Victory music kicked in and green smoke filled the air. A triumphant message flashed up on a big screen above the joyful crowd: “We did it!” it said. “ES LEY!” (IT’S LAW!).
“I’m very emotional,” said 25-year-old Melany Marcati, who was among the celebrators. “There are no words to describe what your body feels after fighting for something for so long. I cried a lot, which I wasn’t expecting.”
The campaigner Ingrid Beck said: “The struggle for women’s rights is always arduous, and this time we even had to contend with a pandemic, so I am overjoyed with this result.”
The bill, which legalises terminations in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, was approved by Argentina’s lower house earlier this month after being put to congress by the country’s leftwing president, Alberto Fernández.
“Safe, legal and free abortion is now law … Today we are a better society,” Fernández celebrated on Twitter after the result was confirmed.
Fernández has previously said that more than 3,000 women had died as a result of unsafe, underground abortions in Argentina since the return of democracy in 1983.
The landmark decision means Argentina becomes only the third South American country to permit elective abortions, alongside Uruguay, which decriminalised the practice in 2012, and Guyana, where it has been legal since 1995.
Cuba legalised the practice in 1965 while Mexico City and the Mexican state of Oaxaca also allow terminations.
Giselle Carino, an Argentinian feminist activist, said she believed the achievement in the home country of Pope Francis would reverberate across a region that is home to powerful Catholic and evangelical churches and some of the harshest abortion laws in the world.
Pro-choice demonstrators celebrate. Photograph: Ricardo Ceppi/Getty Images
In most countries, such as Brazil, abortions are only permitted in extremely limited circumstances such as rape or risk to the mother’s life, while in some, such as the Dominican Republic and El Salvador, they are banned altogether.
“I feel incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to achieve. This is a historic moment for the country, without a doubt,” said Carino, head of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Western Hemisphere Region.
“It shows how, in spite of all the obstacles, change and progress are possible. Argentinian women and what’s happening right now will have an enormous impact on the region and the world,” Carino added, pointing to parallel struggles in Brazil, Chile and Colombia.
Colombian activists recently petitioned the constitutional court to remove abortion from the country’s criminal code while campaigners in Chile hope a new constitution might lead to expanded women’s rights.
In the region’s most populous nation, Brazil, activists are waiting for the supreme court to rule on a 2018 legal challenge that would decriminalise abortion in the first weeks of pregnancy.
Mariela Belski, Amnesty International’s executive director in Argentina, called the result “an inspiration to the Americas”.
“Argentina has sent a strong message of hope to our entire continent: that we can change course against the criminalisation of abortion and against clandestine abortions, which pose serious risks to the health and lives of millions of people.” Read it at The Guardian
Wednesday is the deadline for two top health officials in the Trump administration to produce a full set of records as part of a probe by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Director Robert Redfield and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar were subpoenaed Dec. 21 after a congressional investigation found political meddling at the CDC over the coronavirus crisis was "far more extensive and dangerous than previously known." Documents revealed that over a four-month period, HHS and White House officials tried to block or water down at least 13 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWRs), altering at least two. Changes included removing mentions of schools and colleges from an abstract about virus transmission and downplaying evidence of early spread in January in the title of another paper. [USA Today]
President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team is clashing with the current administration, adding more mistrust and conflict to what is supposed to be a smooth exchange of power. Earlier this week, Biden said his transition team has "encountered roadblocks" from political leadership at the Defense Department and the Office of Management and Budget and isn't getting all the information it needs to prepare. The Trump administration says Biden was overstating things. At the same time, people close to the transition efforts say critical information about budgets, US force posture, recently announced troop withdrawal plans and the recent cyberattack attributed to Russia are being withheld. Trump officials have also openly admitted to being wary of transition activity that could give the Biden administration a head start on dismantling Trump-era policies, like border wall construction. [CNN]
Public officials in Colorado on Wednesday will provide updates to their investigation into the first-known case in the U.S. of a new coronavirus strain . The patient is a man in his 20s who is recovering in isolation in Elbert County, outside Denver. He has no travel history and no close contacts. "Today we discovered Colorado’s first case of the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7, the same variant discovered in the U.K.," Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon. "The health and safety of Coloradans is our top priority and we will monitor this case, as well as all COVID-19 indicators, very closely." The Colorado state laboratory confirmed the case and notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the governor's office said in a statement. Scientists in the United Kingdom believe the variant strain to be more contagious than previously identified strains but not more severe. According to models, it has an increased transmission rate of 70% compared with other variants in the U.K. [USA Today]
The company, a state-controlled firm called Sinopharm, said that a vaccine candidate had proved to be 79 percent effective in interim Phase 3 trials. Sinopharm said it filed an application with Chinese regulators to allow the vaccine to be used broadly. [New York Times]
The US justice department has closed its civil rights investigation into the fatal 2014 shooting by Cleveland police of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old Black youth, and said that no federal criminal charges would be brought in the case.
The announcement came five years after an Ohio grand jury cleared two Cleveland officers, Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback, of state charges of wrongdoing in the death of Rice, who was shot in a playground while holding a toy gun capable of shooting pellets.
The slaying occurred when Loehmann fired his gun twice at the youth within seconds, killing him. Both men are white.
The incident was one of several high-profile killings of African-American people at the hands of US law enforcement in recent years that have fueled protests giving rise to the Black Lives Matter movement against racial injustice. Read it at The Guardian
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville Metro Police Department is moving to fire two officers connected to the police shooting of Breonna Taylor — one who sought the no-knock search warrant for her apartment and a second who fired the fatal bullet.
Detective Joshua Jaynes received a pretermination letter Tuesday from interim Chief Yvette Gentry after a Professional Standards Unit investigation found he had violated department procedures for preparation for a search warrant execution and truthfulness, his attorney, Thomas Clay, said.
Detective Myles Cosgrove, who the FBI concluded fired the shot that killed Taylor, also received a pretermination letter, his attorney, Jarrod Beck, confirmed Tuesday evening.
It's possible more officers involved in the raid or the connected narcotics investigation could face additional discipline. LMPD has not released its Professional Standards Unit investigation, which The Courier Journal previously reported included at least six officers. Read it at USA Today
NASHVILLE — Sixteen months before Anthony Quinn Warner's RV exploded in downtown Nashville on Christmas morning, officers visited his Tennessee home after his girlfriend reported he was making bombs in the vehicle, according to documents obtained by The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network.
It doesn't appear, however, that actions were taken to stop Warner, who, on Friday, blew up a city block, killing himself, injuring three others, causing massive destruction to 41 downtown buildings and crippling telecommunication systems throughout the Southeast over the weekend.
In the aftermath of the explosion, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Warner was "not on our radar" prior to the bombing. But a Metro Nashville Police Department report from August 2019 shows that local and federal authorities were aware of alleged threats he had made. Read it at USA Today
For the first time, the highly influential dietary guidelines from the federal government feature recommendations for babies and toddlers, Axios' Oriana Gonzalez reports.
Why it matters: "The dietary guidelines, which are updated every five years ... shape school lunch programs, mold state and local health-promotion efforts, and influence what food companies produce," the Wall Street Journal notes.
The big picture: Babies should be fed exclusively breast milk for their first six months and receive a supplement of vitamin D.
Children under two should avoid added sugars and high levels of sodium at all costs.
No cake, ice cream candy, or chips should be given before their second birthday.
Between the lines: The latest guidelines declined to follow recommendations for cuts on sugar and alcohol intake, the Journal notes.
The advisory committee of researchers and doctors recommended cutting added sugars from 10% to 6% of daily calories. That was rejected.
They also advised lowering the recommendation for alcoholic drinks for men from 2 to 1 per day. That was rejected.
The other side: “[T}he new evidence is not substantial enough to support changes to quantitative recommendations for either added sugars or alcohol,” USDA deputy undersecretary Brandon Lipps said. [Axios]
140 — The estimated number of graduate programs across dozens of schools that won’t admit new doctoral students for fall 2021. Ph.D. programs in seven of eight Ivy League schools are pressing pause on admissions, and so are others at the University of Chicago, the University of Minnesota and the University of Washington. Instead of taking on a new class of aspiring Ph.D.s, scores of programs are extending funding to current students whose studies or job searches the pandemic disrupted. Read it at Wall Street Journal
An earthquake struck Croatia Tuesday, killing at least six people. [NPR / Reese Oxner]
Rep.-elect Luke Letlow (R-La.) has died from coronavirus, multiple sources confirmed Tuesday evening. He was 41.
Letlow, who announced on Dec. 18 that he tested positive for Covid-19, had been in the intensive care unit at Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport.
"The family appreciates the numerous prayers and support over the past days but asks for privacy during this difficult and unexpected time," the family said in a statement to the Monroe News-Star. Read it at Politco
Legendary French Fashion Designer Pierre Cardin Dies at 98 The legendary French fashion designer Pierre Cardin—whose edgy Space Age designs revolutionized the industry in the 1960s and ’70s—has died at the age of 98, according to reports from France. His work will be best remembered for geometric designs and bubble dresses, as well as the iconic collarless suits favored by The Beatles in their early days. Cardin was also one of the first designers to roll out high fashion to the masses by selling his collections in department stores from the late 1950s onward—a move that horrified his highbrow colleagues at the time. Cardin’s family told AFP that he died in hospital in Neuilly, near Paris, on Tuesday. Read it at BBC News
Capitol Hill Staffers Pushed to Front of Line for Vaccine
Stand aside, elderly people and frontline workers—congressional staffers are next in line for the coronavirus vaccine. According to Politico, Congress’ attending physician Brian Monahan emailed all lawmakers Monday night to ask them each to put forward two staffers from their personal offices to get their shots. On top of that, four staffers of every committee chair and every ranking committee member will also reportedly be offered the vaccine. In total, the first round of shots will cover more than 1,000 Capitol Hill staffers, according to the email obtained by Politico. House members and senators began receiving vaccines this month—though some, such as Rep. Ilhan Omar, refused, saying that it was “shameful” for lawmakers jump ahead of those “making sacrifices every day.” Read it at Politico
South Africa Bans Booze Sales as COVID-19 Variant Runs Riot
South Africa is banning all alcohol sales and making it illegal to go into a public place without wearing a mask as it tries to fight back against a surge of coronavirus cases with some of the world’s strictest measures. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered an emotional address Monday night to inform the population about the harsh new rules. On top of the alcohol ban and mask mandate, all bars, beaches, and public swimming pools in infection hot spots are to close, and there will be an extended nighttime curfew when everyone must stay at home. Ramaphosa explained that cases were rising at an “unprecedented rate,” with more than 50,000 new cases reported since last Thursday. As is the case in Britain, South Africa is struggling to contain a variant of COVID-19 that medical experts believe may be more infectious than the original. Read it at AP
The Trump campaign settled out of court with a man who said he was thrown “head first into a table” after attempting to ask him a question at a 2015 campaign event. Rod Webber, a New England-based peace activist known as the “Flower Man,” was paid out $20,000 to settle the claim, according to court records obtained by The New York Times. Earlier this year, the Times reported that Trump’s campaign had paid out over $100,000 to the New Hampshire law firm handling the case. Read it at The New York Times
Scientists Reporting Severe Psychosis in COVID-19 Patients
A small number of COVID-19 patients worldwide are experiencing severe psychotic symptoms, The New York Times reported on Monday. While COVID-19 has been linked to psychological effects, most notably “brain fog,” researchers have begun to publish papers on more severe cases of psychosis, even in patients with no prior history of mental illness. One paper, published by the NIH’s National Library of Medicine, describes a 52-year-old man who developed suicidal paranoia after contracting the virus. As with much of the lesser-known symptoms of the coronavirus, medical researches do not yet know much about what causes these effects. Read it at The New York Times
Lori Loughlin Leaves Prison After Two Months for USC Scandal
Actress Lori Loughlin was released from a federal prison in Dublin, California, early Monday after spending two months behind bars for her role in the 2019 college-admissions cheating scandal that saw some 50 people hit with federal bribery charges. The 56-year-old Loughlin, who was best known as Aunt Becky on the sitcom Full House until she came under scrutiny and admitted to paying $500,000 to get her two daughters into the University of Southern California on rowing scholarships (even though the pair had never participated in the sport), was set free Monday, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons website. Loughlin served her sentence at FCI Dublin, a low-security federal prison housing 865 women. Last year, Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman was sentenced to a 14-day stretch there for her own part in the scandal, after being accused of spending $15,000 to inflate her daughter’s SAT scores. Loughlin’s husband, the designer Mossimo Giannulli, is partway through a five-month sentence over the USC bribe, at a federal lockup in Lompoc, California. He is scheduled to be released in April. Read it at Bureau of Prisons
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Joe Louis Clark, the baseball bat and bullhorn-wielding principal whose unwavering commitment to his students and uncompromising disciplinary methods inspired the 1989 film “Lean on Me,” died at his Florida home on Tuesday after a long battle with an unspecified illness, his family said in statement. He was 82. Read it at USA Today
House of Commons vote on Brexit deal. The British Parliament is today likely to rush through approval of the Brexit trade deal agreed on Dec. 24 before the transition period ends on Jan. 31. Hardline MPs in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party have given their backing to the measure amid a flurry of positive reviews from the country’s conservative press, and many members of the opposition Labour party have also indicated their support. The deal is expected to become law as soon as tonight and Johnson is expected to tell lawmakers that the United Kingdom will be “the best friend and ally the EU could have.” [Foreign Policy]
Hong King activists jailed. Ten Hong Kong activists who attempted to flee to Taiwan by boat in August have been sentenced to prison terms of up to three years after being found guilty of making an illegal border crossing by a court in Shenzhen. The activists had been denied access to lawyers and only notified of their court date three days in advance, their families said. “Their so-called ‘crime’ was to flee tyranny,” a U.S. embassy spokesperson in Beijing told AFP. [Foreign Policy]
Hindu-Muslim tensions. The state of Madhya Pradesh is set to become the second Indian state to pass a law targeting intermarriage between Hindus and Muslims. Without naming a specific faith, the law would make a husband pressuring his wife to convert to his religion a crime punishable by prison time.
A similar law was passed last month in Uttar Pradesh, and 30 Muslim men have since been arrested under the new rules. The legislatures of both states are controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The states of Haryana, Karnataka, and Assam have also said they are considering enacting the same legislation. [Foreign Policy]
Kushner’s dodgy dealings? The family business of White House adviser Jared Kushner, Kushner Companies, is to raise at least $100 million by way of a bond sale in Israel, the Wall Street Journalreports, raising concerns about the independence of a senior aide who has been the public face of the Trump administration’s recently brokered peace deals between Israel and Arab states.
The news comes after the New York Times reported that Kushner Companies received $30 million from an Israeli investor shortly before Jared Kushner and U.S. President Donald Trump visited Israel in May. [Foreign Policy]
Ghana election contested. Ghana’s main opposition party is to formally challenge the results of last month’s presidential contest, a rarity in a country normally free of such turmoil. Former President John Mahama lost out to incumbent Nana Akufo-Addo by roughly four percentage points. Mahama’s party said the vote was the product of a “rigged election” and that it will take the case to the country’s Supreme Court. Ironically, Akufo-Addo was the last candidate to contest the results of a presidential election when Mahama won the race in 2012. [Foreign Policy]
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