10 things you need to know today: December 18, 2020

1. Biden taps Rep. Deb Haaland as 1st Native American interior secretary

President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday picked Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) to be his interior secretary. If confirmed, Haaland will be the first Native American to run the department, which oversees U.S. natural resources, parks, and tribal lands. Haaland is expected to shift the Interior Department from supporting fossil fuel development to promoting renewable energy. "I come from New Mexico. It's a big gas and oil state. And I care about every single job," the first-term member of Congress told The Washington Post recently. But, she added, change is needed "because that economy wasn't working for a lot of people." In another first for an increasingly diverse Cabinet, Biden also reportedly plans to nominate Michael Regan, North Carolina's top environmental regulator. He would be the first African American to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Washington Post

2. FDA panel recommends emergency approval of Moderna vaccine

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Thursday recommended authorizing emergency use of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine. The 20-0 vote, with one abstention, cleared the way for FDA approval, which is expected on Friday. Moderna's late-phase trials concluded that the two-dose vaccine was 94 percent effective. "The evidence for the vaccine highly outweighs any issues that we have seen," said panel member Hayley Gans, a Stanford University pediatrics professor. Moderna's vaccine will be the second to receive emergency approval. A campaign to administer the vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, began this week. Moderna expects this month to deliver 20 million doses of its vaccine, which doesn't require special freezers like Pfizer's.

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The Wall Street Journal

3. Report: Suspected Russian hackers breached nuclear weapons agency

The suspected Russian hackers that targeted numerous federal agencies appear to have accessed the networks of the Energy Department and the National Nuclear Security Administration, which is in charge of America's nuclear weapons stockpile, Politico reported Thursday, citing officials directly familiar with the matter. The cyberattack used malware distributed through SolarWinds' Orion network management program — a flaw the cybersecurity company FireEye discovered and publicized last week. Dozens of federal departments and agencies were infiltrated in the attack. DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency acknowledged the incident in a Thursday threat announcement, saying it will take months to uncover the extent of the attack, and that the perpetrators may be able to access government systems in other ways.

Politico Department of Homeland Security CISA

4. California hospitals overwhelmed by record coronavirus surge

California hospitals have nearly run out of intensive-care beds, with capacity at just 1 percent in many counties on Thursday as the state reported a record 379 coronavirus deaths. "I've seen more deaths in the last nine months in my ICU than I have in my entire 20-year career," said Amy Arlund, a nurse at Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center. California had 52,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day, about what the whole United States averaged in mid-October. The state had more than 16,000 people hospitalized with COVID-19, more than three times the number it had a month ago. Nationwide, hospitalizations are at an all-time high of more than 113,000. The total U.S. death toll has surpassed 310,000.

The Associated Press

5. Nigerian forces rescue 344 boys abducted by Boko Haram

Security forces in Nigeria rescued more than 300 schoolboys on Thursday, nearly a week after they were abducted from the Government Science Secondary School by suspected gunmen from the Islamist group Boko Haram. The governor of northern Nigeria's Katsina state, Aminu Bello Masari, said that 344 of the boys who had been held in Rugu Forest had been rescued. "We have recovered most of the boys. It's not all of them," he said. The security forces reportedly surrounded the area where the militants were holding the boys and secured their release without firing a shot, Masari said. The mass abduction came six years after Boko Haram kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls in the northeastern town of Chibok.

Reuters

6. 885,000 Americans file new jobless claims, exceeding expectations

The number of Americans making initial jobless claims rose to 885,000 last week from 862,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The latest figure was the highest weekly total since September, and far higher than the 800,000 economists had forecast. The increases have come as coronavirus infections, hospitalizations, and deaths surge to record levels, threatening to derail the economic recovery from last spring's collapse. The total number of people receiving traditional state unemployment benefits fell to 5.5 million from 5.8 million, but that was partly because many unemployed people have exhausted their benefits, which typically last six months. Layoffs remain high and new state and local anti-coronavirus restrictions are forcing many businesses to reduce hours and capacity, or close temporarily.

The Associated Press

7. Cyclone Yasa hits Fiji with 160 mph winds

Tropical Cyclone Yasa slammed into Fiji on Thursday with top sustained winds of 160 miles per hour, destroying scores of homes and killing at least two people. The storm, which reached Category 5 strength the day before it hit shore, was one of the most powerful to ever strike the low-lying Pacific island nation of 900,000. The storm made landfall on Vanua Levu, threatening the island's 140,000 residents with high winds and torrential rains. The Fiji Meteorological Agency also warned of flooding from up to 10 feet of storm surge, and pleaded as the storm neared for people to "please move upland." Fiji is a small target for storms, and has only been hit by one storm of Category 3 or higher intensity. That storm, 2016's Category 5 Cyclone Winston, killed at least 40 people and left thousands homeless.

CNN The Washington Post

8. More than 30 states sue Google over 'search-related monopolies'

More than 30 states on Thursday filed an antitrust lawsuit accusing Google of trying to expand its "search-related monopolies" by illegally squelching competition. The lawsuit, led by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, said that Google's anti-competitive tactics have "harmed consumers, advertisers, and the competitive process itself," including by undermining search rivals. New York Attorney General Letitia James' office said the states want to "counter any advantages that Google gained as a result of its anticompetitive conduct." The latest suit came one day after Texas led a coalition of states filing a separate antitrust lawsuit against Google that focused on advertising. In October, the Department of Justice also sued Google for alleged antitrust violations.

The New York Times The Verge

9. Winter storm hits parts of Northeast with record snowfall

A major winter storm dumped record snowfall on at least two cities in New York and Pennsylvania through Thursday. Greater Binghamton Airport northwest of Binghamton, New York, got 40 inches of snow, beating the previous record of 35.3 inches set in 2017. Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was hit with more than two feet of snow, also a record. New York City's Central Park got 6.5 inches of snow and sleet, exceeding the 4.8 inches it got in the entire 2019-2020 winter season, according to the National Weather Service. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a state of emergency covering 18 counties. At least four people were killed in vehicle crashes related to the weather.

The Weather Channel USA Today

10. Russia doping ban shortened to 2 years

The Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday reduced Russia's doping ban from four years to two. Russia will not be allowed to use its name, flag, or anthem at the next two Olympics or at world championship competitions for the next two years. The World Anti-Doping Agency last year proposed the four-year ban over Russia's state-ordered tampering with a Moscow testing laboratory database. Russian athletes and teams will be barred from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, as well as global championships including the 2022 World Cup. Despite some concessions, the court's three judges imposed what amounted to the most severe penalties Russia has faced since doping and cover-up allegations emerged following the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

The Associated Press