1) From ABC News, I am Michelle Franzen. President Trump, before leaving for Florida today, vetoed the key military spending bill. ABC’s Andy Field is in Washington; “As promised, the president gave the thumbs down to the defense authorization bill because Congress did not eliminate liability protection for social media platforms that have censored him. He also won’t okay the bill. They would change the names of US bases, now named for Confederate soldiers. He also says it limits how and when he can bring home US troops. The House and Senate may have enough votes to override the veto.” President Trump also says he will not sign the new COVID relief package passed by Congress. It asks for direct checks, he says, for Americans to be raised to $2,000 up from $600.
2) This past week more than 800,000 Americans filed for first-time jobless claims. That adds to the millions of people receiving aid from programs that were set to expire the day after Christmas.
3) The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines rolling out to more areas of the US. The CDC tracking shows more than 1 million Americans have received their first dose of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccines so far.
4)
And in New York City, the nation’s largest
fire department began vaccinating its ranks today,
starting with EMTs. “The cafeteria at the FDNY Fire Academy became a vaccine ward as EMTs like Marie Mased, rolled up sleeves for a shot of the Madorna vaccine. ‘People are apprehensive, but it is important.’ Just prior to administering her shot, the FDNY announced the death of her colleague Evelyn Ford of coronavirus, ‘It’s sad to hear her passing, but it also shows how important it is to get vaccinated.’ EMTs were the front line when the virus overtook New York in the spring, and they are now among the first to get a vaccine, that is supposed to end the pandemic. Aeron Kateresky, ABC News, New York.”
5) Coronavirus cases continued to surge around the US despite health officials urging Americans not to fly. The TSA reporting reports more than a million people travelling.
6-1)
I’m Connell McShane. This is the Fox Business report.
“Stocks finishing mixed with the latest economic data mixed and President Trump unhappy about the coronavirus aid package passed by Congress. Travel stocks rebounded today from steep losses earlier this week, while tech stocks lagged. The Dow winners; Disney, Goldman Sachs and UnitedHealth group. The Dow decliners; Salesforce, Microsoft and Walmart. The Dow rising 114 points, the Nasdaq down 37, S&P 500 up 3.
6-2) And there were 803,000 applications for
jobless benefits last week, a decline from the previous week. And personal income slid 1.1% in November,
and consumer spending fell 4/10 of a percent as COVID-19 cases picked up across the
country, and shares of Pfizer rose 2%, following news that the drug maker
reached a deal with the federal government to provide 100 million additional
doses of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine.
That’s your Fox Business report. I’m Hilarie Barsky, invested in you.”
