As we start a new month, the final month of the year, here are some of the stories making headlines today.
Analysis: A leaderless America slips deep into a grim pandemic winter
America is sliding into a winter limbo of alarming spikes in Covid-19 cases and deepening economic pain while an apathetic lame duck White House and a deadlocked Congress provide no political leadership.
‘Firehose of falsehood:’ How Trump is trying to confuse the public about the election outcome
Trump is Trump. There’s nothing new to say about the man. But there is still lots to learn about his enablers.
Assassinated Iranian nuclear scientist shot with remote-controlled machine gun, news agency says
The Iranian nuclear scientist assassinated east of Tehran was shot by a remote-controlled machine gun operating out of another car, the semi-official Fars News Agency said Sunday.
Moderna to apply today for FDA authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine
Pharmaceutical company Moderna intends to apply Monday to the US Food and Drug Administration for authorization of its Covid-19 vaccine.
Biden’s doctor says he has hairline fractures in his foot after slipping while playing with his dog
President-elect Joe Biden has hairline fractures in his “mid-foot” and will “likely require a walking boot for several weeks,” his doctor said in a statement Sunday, after Biden slipped while playing with his dog, Major, Saturday.
New Zealand media giant Stuff apologizes for racism toward Māori
New Zealand’s largest media publisher, Stuff, has publicly apologized for the way it has portrayed Māori people, after an internal investigation uncovered evidence of “racism and marginalisation” in its representation of the country’s Indigenous people.
Now there’s another problem for aviation: wasps
Brisbane, Australia (CNN) – A tiny insect that evaded Australia’s strict biosecurity controls is multiplying and threatening plane safety at Brisbane Airport. Native to Central and South America and the Caribbean, the keyhole wasp first caused problems at the airport in 2013, when it forced an Etihad Airways A330 bound for Singapore to turn back minutes into the flight.
Bitcoin hits an all-time high of just under $20,000
Bitcoin just hit another milestone in its impressive 2020 run. The cryptocurrency surged 9% to a new all-time high of about $19,860 on Monday, topping the previous peak of $19,783 from December 2017.
Covid vaccine: Moderna files for approval in US
Dr Alexander Edwards, associate professor in biomedical technology at the University of Reading, said: “This is great news indeed – the more trial data that we have, the greater confidence we have that vaccines can be used to blunt the human cost of Covid-19.
Viewpoint: How Ethiopia is undermining the African Union
Ethiopia took the lead in creating Africa’s continental organisation, the African Union (AU), but Ethiopia analyst Alex de Waal argues that its actions are now jeopardising the body’s founding principles.
Australia demands China apologise for posting ‘repugnant’ fake image
These included Australia’s decision to block Chinese investment projects, ban Chinese tech firm Huawei from its 5G tender, and “incessant wanton interference in China’s Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan affairs”.
Will online degrees become more ‘legitimate’?
This feature uses a computer-generated synthetic voice. There may be some errors, for example in pronunciation, sentiment and tone. When Blair Currey, 32, embarked on a bachelor’s degree in computer science at the University of London last year, he had no plans to travel to London.
Rita Ora ‘sorry’ for breaking lockdown rules to attend birthday party
The singer says her actions were ‘irresponsible’ and she takes ‘full responsibility’ for the event.
Amazon spends $500m on bonuses for Christmas staff
However, the company said in a statement that it “provides some of the most advanced workplaces of their kind in the world, with industry-leading pay, processes and systems to ensure the wellbeing and safety of all employees”.
Is It Possible To Get COVID-19 And The Flu At The Same Time?
As the , the flu has a solid footing in the Northern Hemisphere, but right now we’re only seeing a handful of scattered influenza outbreaks. Experts predicted ― and hoped ― this may happen thanks to the measures many are taking to fight coronavirus pandemic surges to record highs across the country, flu season is off to an unusually slow start.
Joe Biden Scheduled To Get First Intelligence Briefing Monday
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are scheduled to have their first daily presidential intelligence briefing Monday after a nearly four-week delay triggered by Donald Trump ‘s challenges to the election results. After the briefing Biden, plans to meet with his advisers, Reuters reported.
Spotify now has Stories and can this please stop
Spotify – the music streaming app – is publicly testing Snapchat-style stories. The new feature recently started showing on some users’ phone apps. When you search for certain terms, such as “Christmas Hits,” and tap one of the featured playlists, you’ll get an option to “Tap to see the story,” which will take you a collage of short videos with celebrities talking about their favorite Christmas songs.
Melania Trump unveils her final White House Christmas decorations and they’re fine
Well, they’re not blood red Christmas trees this year, folks. It’s the very last year of Melania Trump’s Christmas decorations in the White House, before the Bidens take the reins to the sleigh, and that means it’s the last time we’ll be gifted a weird, cheesy trailer with Melania thoughtfully, earnestly, pensively wandering through the newly bedazzled halls of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (despite reportedly giving zero fucks “about the Christmas stuff”).
Here’s what Trump paid for each new Biden vote in Wisconsin
In one of his last-ditch efforts to wrest the electoral college away from President-elect Joe Biden, Donald Trump spent big on a partial recount in Wisconsin. The effort focused on two of the largest blue counties in the state. Spoiler alert: it didn’t go as intended.
Facebook’s Libra might launch in January, but there’s a catch
Facebook’s cryptocurrency Libra, announced in June last year and then delayed after running into a seemingly endless set of obstacles, might finally launch as early as Jan. 2021. This is according to a report by the Financial Times , which cites three unnamed people involved with the project.
