First Thing: Devastating day as US shatters coronavirus records

Good 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.

However, there is some respite on the horizon. An advisory committee for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that the agency authorise a second coronavirus vaccine, developed by Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The Moderna vaccine was found to be more than 94% effective at preventing Covid-19 in a trial of more than 30,000 participants.

• A coronavirus outbreak at a California psychiatric hospital has led to almost 700 infections, with lawyers representing patients describing the state-run facility as a “tinderbox”. The 1,527 bed facility is one of the largest psychiatric hospitals in the US, and has had at least 335 patients and 327 staff test positive for coronavirus. Ten patients have died.

• Twitter will remove tweets spreading harmful misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine, the company has announced, and will begin to label tweets that push conspiracy theories from next year.

The US government hack may have targeted the agency responsible for nuclear weapons

The hack into US government agencies, uncovered this week, targeted organisations including energy department, the treasury and commerce departments, and is said to have hit the agency responsible for the US nuclear weapons stockpile. Authorities have expressed growing concern over the hack, warning that it poses “a grave risk” to federal, state and local governments and “critical infrastructure entities”. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also said yesterday that it would be difficult to remove the malware that enabled the hack, leading to concerns that more information could be taken.

• The navy will take a “more assertive posture” against Russia and China, the Pentagon has warned. A report said the two countries were “determined rivals” of the US, and that American maritime forces would take a more forceful approach to acts of aggression, expansionism and breaches of international life.

The interior department will be led by a Native American for the first time

Joe Biden has selected Deb Haaland, a progressive Democratic congresswoman from New Mexica, as interior secretary. If confirmed, Haaland would be the first Native American interior secretary and the first Native American in a cabinet secretary role. The department covers issues over tribal lands and protection of the US wilderness, and has had a historically difficult relationship with Native Americans. Environmentalists and progressives have hailed Haaland as “the perfect choice”. Michael Regan, North Carolina’s environment chief, is also set to head up the Environmental Protection Agency.

• Amazon likely fired a warehouse worker illegally for protesting over work conditions, a National Labor Relations Board investigation has found. The investigation found merit in the complaint that Gerald Bryson had been dismissed over his protests, rather than violations of Amazon’s vulgar language policy, as the company argue.

In other news…

• More than 300 schoolboys kidnapped in Nigeria have been rescued, after they were taken by militant group Boko Haram in a raid on a rural school last Friday. They were released after a rescue operation by security forces.

• Two members of the billionaire Sackler family refused to apologise for their role in the opioids crisis that has killed almost half a million Americans. The Sacklers own the manufacturer of the prescription painkiller OxyContin, and have been accused of deceptively pushing sales of the drug while misleading prescribers and the public about the risks of addiction and death.

• The first major snowstorm this winter set records in parts of the north-east, with Williamsport regional airport reporting 24.7in of snow. Forecasters said that was the most snow in that location from a single storm on record.

Stat of the day: 20 million infants were missing basic vaccines prior to the pandemic

The coronavirus vaccine has brought the health and drug inequalities between richer and poorer countries into sharper focus, with experts warning that less wealthy countries might have to wait until 2024 for a vaccine. But even before the pandemic, about 20 million infants, often some of the most vulnerable in the world, were missing out on basic vaccines. Roughly half of unvaccinated children live in fragile or conflicted-affected countries. In this piece, David Miliband and Anuradha Gupta argue that coronavirus gives us the chance to build a world where everyone has access to vaccines.

Don’t miss this: The Christmas village where people flock to forget Covid … but may be spreading it

Texans are flocking to a Christmas village in Fredericksburg despite rising Covid-19 cases, leading to fears that the small community will have a surge in infections. In Gillespie county, where the village is based, free testing last month led to an 18% positivity rate. “It’s like ants on a sugar cube,” said Catherine Kuhlmann, infectious disease control officer for Gillespie county.

Last Thing: The man who lived as a wild turkey

Yes, you did read that correctly. In this experience piece, naturalist Joe Hutto recalls the time he was given a “dog bowl full of wild turkey eggs” and decided to raise them, making turkey-like sounds during their incubation so they’d recognise his voice. When they emerged, he spent time in their pen with them, learning their language, but said he never quite fitted in. “My aim was to become indistinguishable from the rest of the flock, but I felt they saw me as the village idiot,” he said. Wild indeed.

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