First Thing: Mutant strain of coronavirus reaches the US

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The US has reported its first case of the new strain of coronavirus spreading in the UK. A man in Colorado was identified as having the mutant form of the virus, known as B.1.1.7, which is thought to be more contagious than other strains. The circulation of the strain in the UK has triggered even stricter lockdown measures, and prompted other countries to restrict travel from the UK.

The man, in his 20s, had no travel history, and authorities are conducting an investigation into how he contracted the virus. Some scientists have suggested that the new strain is linked to higher loads of the virus in the blood, strengthening theories that it is more transmissible. Recent research put it at about 56% more transmissible than the other mutations.

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Biden criticises Trump over slow Covid-19 vaccine rollout – video

President-elect Joe Biden attacked Donald Trump yesterday over alleged failings in his rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. Biden said the distribution was “falling behind, far behind”, pledging that he would “move heaven and earth” to ramp up vaccination efforts. Meanwhile, the vice president-elect, Kamala Harris, received her first coronavirus vaccine yesterday, describing the process as “relatively painless”, as she urged Americans to follow suit.

• California has extended its stay-at-home orders in areas where intensive care units are close to being overwhelmed, or have run out of capacity entirely, with the state’s governor warning residents to brace for a “surge on top of a surge” following travel during the holiday season. The state is in the throes of its deadliest phase of the pandemic thus far, with daily case numbers breaking records and intensive care units running out of beds.

• Louisiana’s incoming Republican congressman has died from complications related to Covid-19, at the age of 41. Louisiana’s eight-member congressional delegation called Luke Letlow’s death devastating.

Republicans are in turmoil over stimulus payments in Congress’s aid package

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Mitch McConnell blocks Senate Democrats’ move to fast track $2000 Covid payments – video

The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, blocked Democratic efforts to increase the amount of money given in stimulus payments to Americans in Congress’s coronavirus aid package from $600 to $2,000 yesterday, an increase that Donald Trump demanded. The move came despite a growing number of Republicans supporting the increase, which has plunged the party into chaos. Trump tweeted that Republicans must hike up the stimulus payment “unless they have a death wish”. This has created a rare situation in which the Democrats and Donald Trump are supporting the same cause.

The US has agreed to sell $290m in bombs to Saudi Arabia

The state department has approved the sale of $290m-worth of bombs to Saudi Arabia, the latest in a series of arms deals with Middle Eastern dictatorship that have been pushed through in the last weeks of Trump’s presidency. Critics say the sales are being rushed through despite public and congressional opposition, with concerns over the human rights records of the regimes the US is selling to. The state department also announced $4bn in helicopter sales to Kuwait, $104m in defensive equipment against a missile attack for the Egyptian president, and $65.6m in precision targeting equipment for Egyptian warplanes.

• The US and EU have demanded China release a citizen journalist who was jailed for her reports into the early outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan. The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said he strongly condemned the jailing of Zhang Zhan, who was sentenced to four years in prison on Monday.

• A former US Navy analyst who served 30 years in prison for spying for Israel has arrived in Tel Aviv after a travel ban as part of his parole terms ended. Jonathan Pollard and his wife had long voiced their desire to move to Israel, and were welcomed by the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on their arrival.

The Tamir Rice shooting investigation has ended with no charges

The justice department has closed its civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old Black child, by Cleveland police, without filing any federal criminal charges. It comes five years after two white officers in the force were cleared of state charges. Rice was shot in a playground while holding a toy gun, and the event fuelled protests and helped give rise to the Black Lives Matter movement.

• Louisville police may fire the officer who sought the no-knock search warrant involved in Breonna Taylor’s death, after a professional standards unit investigation found he had violated procedures for preparation of a search warrant and truthfulness. Taylor was fatally shot in her home after officers broke in on a narcotics warrant, though no drugs or cash were found.

In other news …

• Russian authorities are set to investigate prominent critic Alexei Navalny for fraud, as they ramp up pressure against him. The opposition activist was poisoned with novichok earlier this year, with Russia widely considered to be behind the attack.

• Argentina has legalised abortion in a landmark moment for women’s rights, becoming only the third South American country to allow elective procedures. The country’s leftwing president, Alberto Fernández, said that since the return of democracy in 1983, more than 3,000 women had died as a result of underground abortions.

Don’t miss this: Democrats in existential crisis?

Although they swept to victory in the presidential election, the Democratic party’s loss of congressional seats and failure to take the Senate caused alarm. A fierce debate has been raging in the party ever since, with centrists arguing that slogans like “Defund the police” lost them moderate votes, and progressives arguing the party had not offered a convincing vision. Tom McCarthy speaks to strategists and political leaders about the feud, and what the future of the Democrats might look like.

Stat of the day: Five of the six largest fires in California’s history were recorded this year

This year brought California’s worst wildfire season on record, with 31 people killed, 10,000 buildings damaged or destroyed, and 4.1m acres burnt – double the previous annual record. Five of the six largest blazes ever in the state were recorded in 2020. “There’s almost no statistic or dimension of this fire season 2020 in California that wasn’t astonishing or horrifying,” one expert said.

Last Thing: Baby royal Archie makes his podcast debut

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge featured their son, Archie, on their first podcast, alongside a cast of stars including Sir Elton John and the comedian James Corden. The 19-month-old royal made a surprise cameo at the end of the episode, and revealed a slight American accent as he wished everyone a happy new year.

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