USA

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — The Trump administration Thursday carried out its ninth federal execution of the year in what has been a first series of executions during a presidential lame-duck period in 130 years, putting to death a Texas street-gang member in the slayings of a religious couple from Iowa more than two decades ago.

Four more federal executions, including one Friday, are planned in the weeks before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. One was carried out in late November.

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden’s historically challenging transition to power is suddenly becoming even more complicated.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An emerging $900 billion COVID-19 aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers has all but collapsed after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republican senators won’t support $160 billion in state and local funds as part of a potential trade-off in the deal.

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Just when the U.S. appears on the verge of rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine, the numbers have become gloomier than ever: Over 3,000 American deaths in a single day, more than on D-Day or 9/11. One million new cases in the span of five days. More than 106,000 people in the hospital.

The crisis across the country is pushing medical centers to the breaking point and leaving staff members and public health officials burned out and plagued by tears and nightmares.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine Thursday, putting the country just one step away from launching an epic vaccination campaign against the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans.

Shots could begin within days, depending on how quickly the Food and Drug Administration signs off, as expected, on the expert committee’s recommendation.

“This is a light at the end of the long tunnel of this pandemic,” declared Dr. Sally Goza, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

(Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc on Thursday sent letters to the governors of all U.S. states, asking for its ride-hail and food delivery drivers to get early access to COVID-19 vaccines as essential workers.

The company also said it will send a letter to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden.

The letters come less than a week after Uber sent a similar letter to a committee of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that there is no proof of Eritrean troops inside Ethiopia, where government forces are fighting rebels in the northernmost region of Tigray.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump, who is still seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election, moved to intervene in a lawsuit on Wednesday.

The president's attorney filed the motion with the U.S. Supreme Court after the attorney general of Texas alleged that new voting processes in several states skewed the presidential election results.

The move came as all 50 states and Washington, D.C. have reportedly certified their election results.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that he will take a COVID-19 vaccine publicly when such a vaccine becomes available to him.

Asked whether he will take a vaccine and whether he will do it publicly given wariness among people toward vaccination, Guterres said: "I, of course, intend to receive the vaccine when it becomes available for me in whatever situation that will be justified for that. And obviously, I would have no doubt in doing it publicly."

He encouraged everybody to be vaccinated.

10 Dec 2020; MEMO:  US President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the incoming administration hopes that by rejoining the 2015 nuclear deal signed between the six world powers and Iran, Tehran's nuclear program would be put "back into the box".