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Monday, December 21, 2020

The AM Rundown: Congress Makes A Deal On Coronavirus Relief

NY Post 12/21/20


Congressional leaders agreed late last night on a $900 billion stimulus measure that includes a $600 check to millions of Americans and extended unemployment benefits for those who lost their jobs in the pandemic.

The measure is expected to include:
  • A $600 payment to be sent directly to American adults who earn less than $75,000 a year.
  • A supplemental federal unemployment benefit for out-of-work Americans of $300 per week for 11 weeks. That's half the amount that was earmarked in the previous coronavirus relief bill.
  • Unemployment benefit coverage for gig workers and freelancers.
  • More than $284 billion in aid to small businesses and another round of "paycheck protection" to help business owners pay their workers.
  • $13 billion in increased food assistance.
  • Funding for vaccine distribution.

The bill is roughly half the size of the first coronavirus relief package, enacted last March. The final votes are expected today.

➤A DARK START TO CHRISTMAS WEEK: Christmas week starts this year on a dark note, with the news that coronavirus cases are raging at record levels in the U.S. The worst number of COVID-19 infections in a single day, a total 249,709, was recorded Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University. Government scientists say that we are still in a spike of infections caused by Thanksgiving holiday gatherings. More than 316,000 have died of coronavirus in the U.S. since the pandemic began.

➤WHEN THE VACCINE WILL BE AVAILABLE: A vaccine against COVID-19 is on its way to certain people, including vulnerable residents of nursing homes, frontline health workers and a few high-profile people like Vice President Mike Pence. But you can't just drop by a CVS or Walgreens this week to get a shot. Admiral Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health, said on ABC This Week yesterday that he is confident all Americans will have access to the vaccine by June.


🎅DOCTOR FAUCI GIVES SANTA THE ALL-CLEAR: Dr. Anthony Fauci has assured children everywhere that he personally traveled to the North Pole to administer a COVID-19 vaccine to Santa Claus, who clearly qualifies as an essential worker. The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease assured the audience at a Sesame Street town hall on CNN that he has pronounced Santa Claus healthy and good to go.

🍎SOME APPLE STORES GO DARK: All 53 Apple stores in California, and a few in other states, have been temporarily closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. The company also is shuttering some stores in Alaska, Minnesota, Tennessee, Utah, New Mexico and Oklahoma.


➤SECRETARY OF STATE CONFIRMS RUSSIAN HACK: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a radio interview, has confirmed that Russia was the instigator of a massive cyberattack on U.S. federal government agencies. On the Mark Levin Show, Pompeo said that "now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity." Federal investigators are still trying to determine how much information was stolen in the hack into the files of at least six federal agencies and some private companies.

In his first public comments on the breach, President Donald Trump suggested that China rather than Russia might have been behind the attack. White House sources told CNN that an official statement assigning blame to Russia was pulled back before its planned release on Friday.



🏈COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S TOP 4 (STILL): The top four teams in College Football stayed the same through the entire season. Next stop is the 2020 semifinals for Alabama's Crimson Tide, the Clemson Tigers, the Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame's Fighting Irish. Number 4 Notre Dame will play Number 1 Alabama at the Rose Bowl, and Number 2 Clemson faces Number 3 Ohio State at the Sugar Bowl.

The remaining two matchups in the New Year's games will be the Number 6 Oklahoma Sooners versus the Number 7 Florida Gators at the Cotton Bowl, and the Number 8 Cincinnati Bearcats versus the Number 9 Georgia Bulldogs at the Peach Bowl.

The Rose Bowl game won't actually happen at the Rose Bowl. Due to coronavirus restrictions in California, the game will be held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

🏈KYLE PITTS ON THE MOVE: Florida tight end Kyle Pitts announced yesterday morning that he will skip his senior year and enter the 2021 NFL draft. He will not be playing in the bowl game. The six-foot-six, 246-pound Pitts is called "a surefire first-round pick" by Yahoo! Sportswriter Sam Cooper.

🏌TINY TIGER: Tiger Woods and his 11-year-old son, Charlie, wowed the crowd at the father-son PNC Championship, even though they came in seventh. Friends and rivals liked Charlie's style. "The best way you can describe it is he has great fundamentals," said David Duval, who competed with his son, Braden. Mike Thomas and his son Justin Thomas won the match in Orlando. 



🏈TEXAS A&M GOES TO ORANGE BOWL: Fifth-ranked Texas A&M was left out of the College Football Playoff but the team will get to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels on January 2nd in the Capital One Orange Bowl at Miami Gardens.

🏈NFL SCORES -- WEEK 15:
  • Buffalo Bills 48, Denver Broncos 19
  • Green Bay Packers 24, Carolina Panthers 16
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, Atlanta Falcons 27
  • Dallas Cowboys 41, San Francisco 49ers 33
  • Tennessee Titans 46, Detroit Lions 25
  • Indianapolis Colts 27, Houston Texans 20
  • Miami Dolphins 22, New England Patriots 12
  • Chicago Bears 33, Minnesota Vikings 27
  • Seattle Seahawks 20, Washington Football Team 15
  • Baltimore Ravens 40, Jacksonville Jaguars 14
  • New York Jets 23, Los Angeles Rams 20
  • Arizona Cardinals 33, Philadelphia Eagles 26
  • Kansas City Chiefs 32, New Orleans Saints 29
  • Cleveland Browns 20, New York Giants 6
Tonight's Monday Night Football game on ESPN:
  • Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals (8:15 PM ET)

🏈PATRIOTS' HISTORIC RUN ENDS: The New England Patriots' 11-year NFL postseason streak ended yesterday with their defeat by the Miami Dolphins 22-12. The loss puts the Patriots at 6-8, ending any playoff hopes for this year.
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