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The US passed 17m cases and recorded more than 3,600 deaths yesterday alone, but a second vaccine is on the horizon. Plus, hack may have targeted government agency responsible for nuclear weaponsGood morning.It was another devastating day for the coronavirus pandemic in the US yesterday, with the total number of coronavirus cases passing 17m, the highest in the world by far. The US recorded almost a quarter of a million new coronavirus infections and more than 3,600 deaths yesterday alone. Thursday’s unemployment report also found that new jobless claims reached 885,000 last week, the highest weekly figure since September. In Los Angeles, two people are dying of Covid-19 every hour, as the hospitals system creaks under the weight of the pandemic. Continue reading...

The 20-year-old is a symbol of a generation of footballers who may finally make the US men’s team a global forceA very strange thing happened in 2020. After years of ludicrous farce, highlighted by their inability to draw with Trinidad & Tobago to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the US men’s soccer team suddenly started to look, well, competent. And maybe a little more than competent … maybe like a team that could make a deep run when the US co-hosts the World Cup with Mexico and Canada in 2026.Frankly, Sergiño Dest’s name could have been swapped out here for any of the young talents coming through for the US – Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Chris Richards (Bayern Munich), Weston McKinnie (Juventus), Konrad De La Fuente (Barcelona B), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen) and, go on then, Christian Pulisic (Chelsea). All of those players are 22 or under and all of them will be in their prime once 2026 comes around. Of course, we’ve been told that American men’s players are about to hit the big time since the days of Freddy Adu. But the sheer volume of young US talent at Europe’s top clubs, means some of them will mature into very good players indeed. Continue reading...

The league is approaching firing season and some vacancies will be a lot more attractive than othersIt’s the most wonderful time of the NFL year. Hope is in the air for those looking for a new job – the coaching carousel is almost here.This year’s carousel brings with it plenty of intrigue. The NFL is bursting with young, innovative coaches ready for their first shot at the top job. As of now, five jobs have already opened, or are certain to open by the end of the season, with three or four other potential openings on the board (there is always a wildcard) depending on how the playoffs unfold. Continue reading...

Despite rising virus cases in the state, visitors are flocking to the Christmas village in Fredericksburg, threatening the small communityTucked away in the hills of central Texas, the small city of Fredericksburg still feels like a bustling Christmas village this year, mostly unchanged by the coronavirus pandemic.Last week, a soft pink sunset descended over Marktplatz square, soundtracked by holiday music and children laughing. Tiny tots climbed aboard gingerbread train cutouts as older kids zoomed around a makeshift ice skating rink, their required “face coverings” dangling well below their mouths like scarves. Continue reading...

Major new report describes Beijing and Moscow as ‘determined rivals’ with China presenting ‘most pressing’ strategic threatThe Pentagon has warned that US maritime forces will become more forceful in responding to acts of aggression, expansionism, and breaches of international law, citing Beijing in particular, which has been criticised for expansionist ambitions in the South China Sea.A major new report signed by the heads of the US Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard warned the “rules-based international order is once again under assault”, and the security environment had dramatically changed since 2015. Continue reading...

House committee is investigating Purdue Pharma and billionaire family’s role in epidemic that has killed almost 500,000 AmericansTwo of a group of billionaire Sackler family members that own Purdue Pharma, the US pharmaceutical manufacturer of the prescription painkiller OxyContin, refused to apologize for their role in the opioids crisis that has killed almost half a million Americans, during a hearing in Washington on Thursday. Continue reading...

US confirmed 247,403 new cases on Wednesday and 3,656 Americans died of the coronavirus in a single dayThe United States on Thursday surpassed a total of 17m coronavirus cases, with infections rising by more than a million a week during the early winter surge – while at the start of the year it took three months for the US to accumulate its first million cases.Nearly a quarter million new coronavirus infections and more than 3,600 deaths had been reported just on Wednesday, shattering previous records as the national vaccination campaign against Covid-19 began rolling out across the country this week. Continue reading...

Investors bet Covid vaccines and stimulus measures will propel economy forward in 2021

Scheme is part of review of bankers’ work-life balance after home working shiftThe Wall Street bank Citigroup will offer employees 12-week sabbaticals as part of a benefits package prompted by a review of bankers’ work-life balance after the coronavirus crisis proved staff were working productively – and happily – from home.Employees will also be allowed to volunteer with a charity for up to four weeks full-time while Citi covers 100% of their regular salary. It is understood the new work setup will be offered to the bank’s US staff first, but will eventually being extended to Citi’s 8,000 UK bankers as part of a global rollout. Continue reading...

Hazardous conditions reported in multiple states as regions in Pennsylvania and New York saw accumulations in double digitsThe first major snowstorm of the season left the north-east blanketed in snow, setting records in some areas.“Williamsport regional airport made history,” the National Weather Service in State College said, reporting 24.7in of snow. Forecasters said that was the most snow in that location from a single storm on record, breaking the previous record of 24.1in set there in January 1964. Continue reading...

Bill will include $600 to $700 stimulus checks and extended unemployment benefitsUS congressional negotiators tampered on Thursday morning the growing optimism that they are closing in on a $900bn Covid-19 aid bill, alluding to “a few final issues” that need to be addressed before an agreement is made.The stimulus bill is tied to Congress’ annual budget for most government agencies, which needs to be passed by Friday to avert a government shutdown. Continue reading...

California set daily records for newly reported cases and deaths as hospitals struggle to keep upTwo people are dying of Covid-19 every hour in Los Angeles county, as California smashed its previous daily record for deaths and hospitals struggle to keep up with the surge of coronavirus patients.Most California residents are under a stay-at-home order as California battles a deadly surge in Covid-19 cases and intensive care unit capacity across the state dwindles. Continue reading...

Top White House appointee in Department of Health and Human Services said in an email in July, ‘we want Americans infected’A top White House appointee in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urged health officials in July to double down on a “herd immunity” approach to combating the Covid-19 pandemic, writing “we want [Americans] infected”.Paul Alexander, a former aide to HHS assistant press secretary Michael Caputo and a known herd immunity advocate, wrote an email to Caputo on 4 July – right as virus cases were spiking in the Sun Belt – laying out his case for herd immunity. Continue reading...

It’s our last newsletter of an exhausting year. We’re marking it by reflecting on our biggest piecesDear Fight to Vote readers,This will be our last newsletter of 2020 and I’m feeling emotional. (By emotional, I mean completely exhausted by the wildest news cycle I’ve ever known.) So I thought the best way to cap 2020 was with a list of the most important voting rights stories we reported. These are stories about policies and politics that have stopped people from voting, and the efforts to overcome these threats to democracy. But most importantly, they are stories about the American people, and their right to the ballot box. Continue reading...

President signed 1993 agreement with town that says he cannot live at the club for more than three nonconsecutive weeks in a yearNeighbors of Donald Trump’s infamous Mar-a-Lago golf club in Palm Beach, Florida are warning the president that he cannot live at the club after he leaves the White House, following an agreement he made with the town in 1993.In a letter to the town of Palm Beach and the US Secret Service sent this week, a lawyer representing a family that lives next to Mar-a-Lago reiterated that “Mar-a-Lago is a social club, and no one may reside on the property.” Continue reading...

Manufacturer seeks pilots with instructor experience for smooth return of aircraft to skiesBoeing is hiring its own team of up to 160 pilots to work with airlines on its relaunch of its bestselling 737 Max as the plane returns to service around the world.The manufacturer is seeking pilots with instructor experience to observe and help airline pilots once flights of the 737 Max restart in the new year. The pilots will be given 35-day assignments at an equivalent annual salary that could reach $200,000 (£148,000), with a potential total cost of $32m, Reuters first reported. Continue reading...

The Guardian’s picture editors select highlights from around the world Continue reading...

As Joe Biden and Mike Pence wait for a jab there are warnings of snow, flooding and even tornadoes in the eastern US. Plus, deep state secrets could have been stolen in a recent hackGood morning.Joe Biden and Mike Pence are expected to receive the coronavirus vaccine in the coming days – and both plan to have the jab in public. Biden has said he wanted to prioritize healthcare workers and vulnerable people in the inoculation process, adding that he did not “want to get ahead of the line”, but hoped to “demonstrate to the American people that it is safe to take”. Coronavirus vaccinations began in nursing homes yesterday, where the virus has killed more than 110,000 people in the US. Continue reading...

This week’s roundup also features obstacles on the skeleton course and the delicate skills of Zinedine Zidane1) Tributes have been pouring in this week for Gérard Houllier, the former Liverpool, Lyon, Aston Villa and France manager who died on Monday aged 73. And where better to start a Houllier highlights package than that thrilling 5-4 Uefa Cup final win over Alavés, the third part of Liverpool’s cup treble in 2001, following their League Cup final win over Birmingham and the Michael Owen-inspired FA Cup triumph over Arsenal. Here’s his Lyon side securing a vital victory over Marseille en route to the 2006 Ligue 1 title. And here he is in his own words on Liverpool.2) With Donald Trump set to vacate the White House next month after four years, time to recall some other short-lived ventures of his. For two years he had a cycling race named after him. The Tour de Trump started in 1989, covering 837 miles in five eastern US states. The following year’s edition went from Wilmington, Delaware to Boston. Trump explains his motivations here, before it all went pear-shaped, Trump withdrawing his sponsorship from 1991 due to financial problems. The renamed Tour DuPont lasted until 1996. Continue reading...

21 February 1940 – 17 July 2020

Fighters and coaches in mixed martial arts have propagated the popular conspiracy theory. The sport’s outsider origins may be to blameThere was anger on the streets of Huntington Beach.At the intersection of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway near the picturesque pier, hundreds gathered on 30 November in defiance of California’s coronavirus curfew, which prohibits all “non-essential work, movement and gatherings” between 10pm and 5am until 21 December across most of the state. The so-called “curfew breakers” protest brought together a collection of coronavirus truthers, anti-maskers, and those who remain convinced that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election. Continue reading...

Talks on reducing charges on items such as Scotch whisky follow UK move to drop levy on BoeingThe UK and the United States are hoping to reach an agreement on reducing trade tariffs, according to Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative in Donald Trump’s outgoing administration.In an interview with the BBC, Lighthizer said he was in talks with the UK’s international trade secretary, Liz Truss, which could remove hefty tariffs imposed by the US on goods including Scotch whisky. Continue reading...

Sustained economic efforts rather than simple repetition of one-off measures are required in four areasAs excited as we all understandably are about the arrival of the first Covid-19 vaccines, the immediate road ahead remains treacherous. The US, in particular, could be on the verge of a horrible scenario in which slippages in each of four areas – public health, the economy, policy and household behaviour – end up making those in the other areas even worse. Over the next few weeks, they risk setting in motion a vicious cycle that, if it materialises, could shatter the lives and livelihoods of many more people, even though vaccines are in sight.Fortunately, through individual and collective action, the US has the means not only to arrest these dynamics but also to transform them into a virtuous cycle. This will require a set of sustained efforts rather than simple repetition of one-off measures. Continue reading...

A study of 31 countries shows other rightwing populists have not been ‘exposed’ by Covid-19 in the way the US president wasBy now it is almost received wisdom that “populists” (often used as a euphemism for “the far right”) have ignored the threat of Covid-19, that populists have been the electoral victims of the pandemic, and that the pandemic has exposed the political incompetence of populists in government.Most of this speculation is based on one or two individual cases, most notably the US president, Donald Trump. But he is the exception rather than the rule. In a recent comparative study of far-right parties in the European Union, we found that none of those three assumptions holds up to scrutiny. In fact, there has been significant variety in far-right responses to the pandemic. Continue reading...

Mayor says Trump ‘openly mocked’ Atlantic City and that it plans to donate the money to charityOne of Donald Trump’s former Atlantic City casinos will be blown up next month, and for the right amount of money, you could be the one to press the button that brings it down. Continue reading...

Pete Buttigieg thanked Joe Biden as he was formally announced as his nominee for transportation secretary. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana and Democratic presidential candidate, will be the first openly LGBTQ+ cabinet member in American history to be confirmed into post by the Senate, assuming he wins confirmation.

Cage is in his freaky incarnation as part of a priestly band of martial-arts superstars in this rather grim sci-fi crossoverThe entertainingly frazzled presence of Nicolas Cage provides a reason to pay some attention – but not much – to this otherwise uninspired and by-the-numbers martial-arts action-sci-fi crossover.Kickboxing star Alain Moussi plays Jake, a guy that we first see in some kind of mortal combat with a mysterious extraterrestrial figure that emerges from a temple in Burma every few years or so for a monumental showdown with humanity – or, at any rate, that element of humanity who are keen on one-on-one MMA smackdowns. Later, Jake wakes up with his memory gone, and must try to come to terms with his forgotten warrior destiny. In so doing, he makes contact with a priestly siblinghood of martial arts superstars who are also dead set on taking down this invader. They include the wacky Wylie (played by Cage himself), Carmen (taekwondo champ JuJu Chan), Kueng (Thai martial arts legend Tony Jaa) and Forbes (muay Thai enthusiast Marrese Crump). Continue reading...

If US president handled coronavirus pandemic ‘half-decently’ he would have won election, John Howard says

For the first time, there will be more focus on Tiger Woods’s partner than Tiger Woods. And his partner is only 11 years oldSawgrass, 17 March 2019. The latest snapshot of lives less ordinary arrived in an eight-word answer from Tiger Woods. “I don’t let them go on social media,” said Woods in respect of his children, Sam and Charlie, when asked whether or not they may have witnessed an amusing mid-round incident at the Players Championship.Keeping those aged 11 and 10, as was the case that spring, away from the all-consuming world of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter may seem sensible. There is a broader dynamic in this case: Woods’s global status is one thing, the abuse that can still be thrown his – or his family’s – way on account of an infamous infidelity scandal quite another. For every strand of adulation towards Tiger Woods the golfer, there is a barb about his private life. Continue reading...

The site became an outlet for rape tapes, child sexual abuse images, revenge porn and spycam videos. It acted far too late to deal with the problemLast week, on 11 December, the credit card giants Visa and Mastercard announced that they would no longer allow cardholders to make transactions on Pornhub, the online giant of user-uploaded pornography that is one of the most-visited sites on the internet. The companies’ decision came just days after the New York Times published a lengthly investigation by the opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof on 4 December, which found large numbers of videos on the platform depicting rape, the molestation and abuse of minors, violent sexual abuse of women and other nonconsensual content.Related: Pornhub removes millions of videos after investigation finds child abuse content Continue reading...

Trump’s attempt to steal an election didn’t come from nowhere – it was rooted in years of Republican contempt for democracy

The league had to contend with a Covid disrupted season but still managed to end with a fairytale finish for the Columbus CrewNobody in 2020 was as strong for as long as Alejandro Pozuelo. His dominant 2020 campaign helped drive Toronto FC in a late season Supporters’ Shield race against the Philadelphia Union, and while Toronto ultimately fell short, it was not for a lack of effort from the Spaniard. Continue reading...

Advocates for farmworkers, incarcerated people and indigenous communities are pushing for early access to Covid vaccineAs the first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine arrive in California, officials are facing intense pressure to prioritize vulnerable communities and promote equity and racial justice in the state’s distribution scheme.Historically marginalized groups that have been ravaged by the virus and their advocates are pushing for urgent vaccine access, including farm workers in the Central Valley, undocumented laborers in the meatpacking industry, incarcerated people in overcrowded prisons and indigenous communities in remote regions. Continue reading...

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell congratulated Joe Biden on his election win yesterday, but Trump and his press secretary refused to follow suit. Meanwhile, Biden rolled up his sleeves in Georgia’s Senate run-off racesGood morning.Joe Biden headed to Georgia on Tuesday to campaign for the Democrats in January’s crucial Senate run-off races, which will decide who controls the chamber during his administration. Back in Washington, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, broke his silence and finally recognised Biden as the winner of the presidential election. Speaking on the Senate floor, he congratulated “president-elect Joe Biden” and said: “All Americans can take pride that our nation has a female vice-president-elect for the very first time.” Continue reading...

In interview, the Democratic New York congressman-elect says suspicion ‘communicates the lack of trust African Americans feel towards American institutions’An emerging leader of the progressive wing of the Democratic party has argued that politicians must act as role models as part of a concerted effort to combat skepticism of the Covid-19 vaccine, particularly among some Black Americans.Congressman-elect Jamaal Bowman, the progressive New York Democrat who defeated longtime incumbent congressman and outgoing House foreign affairs committee chairman Eliot Engel, voiced his concerns in a short but expansive interview with the Guardian. Those concerns coincide with reports of suspicion in the Black community over taking coronavirus vaccines when available. Continue reading...

The execution spree was a first in US history and stands contrary to the declining trend in death penalty practices

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are reported to be moving to a super-high-security island once home to the wife of Bernie ‘Ponzi scheme’ MadoffFlorida is a great place to move to if you are a retiree or a criminal. As well as sun, sea and sand, it boasts a number of laws that may appeal to someone desperate to keep their hands on their money. These include something called a “homestead exemption”, which protects a Florida resident’s primary home (of unlimited value) from being seized by creditors.Back in 2008, for example, Bernie Madoff’s wife suddenly switched her primary residence from New York to Florida and applied for a homestead exemption to protect her $9.4m home. Weirdly, she applied for this exemption just a few months before Madoff pleaded guilty to running a massive Ponzi scheme. Continue reading...

On some occasions he lost more thoroughly than others but we’re not picky - a loss is a loss and we enjoyed them all

Healthcare advocates had warned closing Mercy hospital would leave Black Chicagoans with even fewer resources amid a deadly pandemicIn a victory for health advocates and community members in Chicago, a review board has unanimously rejected a plan to shutter a safety-net hospital that would have likely worsened the medical desert on the city’s predominantly Black South Side. Continue reading...

Former South Bend mayor says he’s ‘honored to serve our nation’, while Granholm has yet to comment publiclyJoe Biden has picked Pete Buttigieg, his former rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, to be his transportation secretary, in a move which would make the former South Bend mayor first out gay person to be confirmed by the Senate to a cabinet post.The nomination came as more picks for senior positions in Biden’s incoming administration emerged on Tuesday, including Jennifer Granholm, the former governor of Michigan, to run the energy department. Continue reading...

Kayleigh McEnany has described Monday's electoral college vote confirming Joe Biden as the nation's next president as just 'one step in the constitutional process'. The White House press secretary's assessment is the latest example of White House officials declining to accept Biden's victory, even after Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday broke his silence on the winner of the presidency, saying: 'The electoral college has spoken.'

Biden supports Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, who face Republican senators in January runoff elections