5 things to know for December 17: Covid-19, White House, Big Tech, pollution, France

More than 60 million people are under a winter storm warning or advisory from north Georgia to Maine, and those in areas like New York City could get the most snow they’ve seen in years.

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1. Coronavirus 

Vaccine advisers to the FDA meet today to discuss emergency authorization for the Moderna vaccine, and officials expect the process to be even swifter than last week’s for the Pfizer vaccine. Ahead of the meeting, the US set record numbers for new Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, and experts say it’s part of the grim wave they expected following Thanksgiving. Vaccine plans are underway in other countries, as well: Saudi Arabia’s health minister got a dose of Covid-19 vaccine today, kicking off the kingdom’s mass vaccination drive, while Brazil will begin giving shots in February. Back in the US, President-elect Joe Biden is expected to get the vaccine next week, but President Donald Trump, who had Covid-19 in the fall, won’t be vaccinated until it’s recommended by the White House medical team. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for Covid-19 and is carrying out his duties in isolation.

2. White House 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Congress has finally made progress on a coronavirus stimulus bill, and lawmakers won’t leave town until the deal is done. The $900 billion bill on the table includes an additional $300 a week in jobless benefits and a possible new round of stimulus checks at $600 per person. Meanwhile, President Trump is making big legislative moves on his way out. His administration, which has long sought to limit abortion access on religious protection grounds, announced two abortion restriction measures, including withholding $200 million from California for imposing universal abortion coverage mandates on health insurance. Additionally, Trump’s vow to veto the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act could force the Senate to consider a veto override.

3. Big Tech

Ten states are suing Google, alleging the company has stifled competition and enjoys “monopolistic power” over digital ad marketplaces. The lawsuit claims Google’s behavior has hindered innovation and harmed publishers, advertisers and consumers. This is the second antitrust suit to hit the search giant this year, after the Justice Department levied similar allegations that Google called “deeply flawed.” This new lawsuit is also hot on the heels of a similar suit brought by more than 40 attorneys general against Facebook. Speaking of, Facebook is now waging a public relations attack on Apple ahead of new iOS data privacy changes that would make it harder for advertisers to track users. Facebook says the move could be “devastating” to millions of small businesses that advertise on its platform — revealing just how much the social media giant relies on this kind of technology.

4. Air pollution

Ella Kissi-Debrah, a 9-year-old UK girl who died after an asthma attack in 2013, is now thought to be the first person in the world to have air pollution listed as a cause of death after a landmark coroner’s ruling. A London coroner said Ella “died of asthma contributed to by exposure to excessive air pollution” and argued that her mother had not been given information about air pollution and asthma that theoretically could have helped her prevent her daughter’s death. This groundbreaking decision could set a precedent for leaders at all levels to enact stronger clean air priorities. In response to the decision, London Mayor Sadiq Khan called air pollution “a public health crisis, especially for our children.”

5. Charlie Hebdo

A French court delivered guilty verdicts to 14 accomplices of the French Islamist militants behind the January 2015 attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine and a Jewish supermarket in Paris. Three suspects were tried in absentia, including Hayat Boumeddiene, who was found guilty of financing terrorism and belonging to a criminal terrorist network. She is thought to be on the run from an international arrest warrant in Syria, where she joined Islamic State. Twelve people were killed in the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and four more in the supermarket attack, marking a dark and violent chapter in the city’s history that has continued to resonate.

BREAKFAST BROWSE

Major League Baseball will recognize the Negro Leagues as major league, adding to MLB statistics and records

A whole generation of heroes is getting its rightful place in the record books.

Hilary Duff says Lizzie McGuire reboot ‘isn’t going to happen’

The adolescent girl in all of us is devastated.

Parents charged after renting party bus for child’s birthday with 60 mask-less kids inside

This sounds like a bad idea even without a pandemic going on.

Taco Bell is bringing back Nacho Fries after trimming its menu 

Nacho cheese, like true love, just can’t be stopped.

Chicago’s O’Hare airport dubs itself a ‘place of romance’ after Pete Buttigieg recounts proposal story

Ya know, we miss the airport juuuuust enough to believe this.

TODAY’S NUMBER

€90,000

That’s the amount of a fine (about $109,000) Paris must pay because it appointed “too many women” to senior positions. Eleven women and five men were promoted in 2018 at City Hall, breaching a 2013 national rule known as the Sauvadet law, which was designed to encourage gender equality in employment. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo called the fine “absurd.”

TODAY’S QUOTE

“There are many LGBT+ people who suffer emotional hurt and physical violence to the point of death in countries across the world. For this reason, we are joining forces as faith leaders to say that we are all beloved children of God.”

Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu van Furth, daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of more than 370 religious leaders representing various faiths around the world, who are calling for a global ban on gay conversion therapies

TODAY’S WEATHER

Check your local forecast here>>>

AND FINALLY

Surreal worlds in a snow globe

There’s something so relaxing about staring into a snow globe and wondering, “What are they thinking about in there?” (Click here to view.)