Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020

Good morning, NBC News readers. 

 

A worrying new record in Covid-19 deaths, some expected good news about vaccines, and controversy over President-elect Joe Biden's pick for secretary of defense.

 

Here is what's happening this Thursday morning. 

More than 3,000 Covid deaths confirmed in a day, as FDA vaccine decision looms

In a year of unwelcome records, here is another: Wednesday marked the first time the U.S. recorded more than 3,000 Covid-related deaths in a 24-hour period. 

 

The previous high, set in the pandemic's first wave in April, was 2,861. But infections are now increasing at an alarming rate: In the seven days to Wednesday, the U.S. averaged more than 205,000 cases per day and 2,260 deaths.

 

Just four weeks ago the average was just over 158,000 cases and 2,260 deaths per day. So far, more than 290,000 people have died in the U.S. as a result of Covid.

 

There cause for hope, however: The experimental vaccine from Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech could be one step closer to being offered in the U.S. after a panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration gives its verdict on Thursday.

 

The panel is expected to recommend its use, NBC News reports, meaning the FDA could green light its use in the coming days. The United Kingdom has been giving elderly, vulnerable people and frontline health care workers the vaccine since Tuesday.

 

And anyone who gets the vaccine sometime soon is unlikely to be able to prove it with a so-called vaccine passport stored digitally. It's more likely the confirmation will be written on old-fashioned paper. 

 

Follow our live blog for all the latest Covid-19 developments.

Nursing home worker Pillay Jagambrun, 61, receives the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday in London. (Dan Charity / Getty)

Lawmakers divided over whether to back Biden's historic secretary of defense pick

Congress faces quite a choice: confirm the first Black secretary of defense, or enforce a 73-year-old law designed to stop recently-retired military leaders from running the Pentagon.

 

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are divided over whether to back retired four-star general Lloyd Austin, President-elect Joe Biden's choice for defense secretary.

 

Some harbor concerns that under the Trump administration, high-level decisions were left to military to brass, rather than civilian leaders, and there are calls for the post to go to a non-military candidate.

 

The 1947 law requires a seven-year cooling off period before military leaders can take office. It has been waived just twice: for Harry Truman's pick of George Marshall in 1950, and President Donald Trump's choice of James Mattis in 2017.

 

Read more here.

Lloyd Austin, 67, a retired four-star general, needs a Congress waiver to become defense secretary. (Brendan Smialowski)

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Plus 

• Black residents in Ohio are angry and upset after the recent fatal shooting of a Black man and worry about what might happen next.

• Johns Hopkins, founder of the prestigious university in Baltimore that shares his name, was long thought to have been an early abolitionist but in fact owned slaves.

• A SpaceX prototype ship exploded as it returned to Earth during a test launch Wednesday. Company founder Elon Musk still declared it a success.

• Hunter Biden, President-elect Joe Biden's son, said Wednesday that federal officials in Delaware are investigating his taxes.

• The Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal court to force Facebook to sell assets such as Instagram and WhatsApp.

THINK about it 

When older men become fathers they are praised — but older mothers can face a vicious backlash from people who accuse them of being "selfish," writes author Amy Klein.  

Live BETTER 

Need a lift? We asked happiness experts, psychologists and our readers to share small ways to boost your mood right now.

Shopping

If you enjoy sipping wine from a veritable piece of art, this is the one glass to get.

Quote of the day 

"Her laugh was so contagious. It was so loud. It was so funny,"

 — Oralia Smith, the mother of Stephanie Lynn Smith, who died from Covid-19 five days after she was due to get married.

One fun thing 

The pandemic has not been kind to Santa Claus. Men who portray him in the shopping malls of America have seen business drop dramatically.

 

But many Santas have adapted and now offer virtual meetings where children can ask questions about Rudolph and make sure Christmas wishes are received.

 

Read more here.

Virtual Santa visits may offer some things traditional retail visits can't. (Anjali Nair / NBC News; Getty Images)

I’m filling in for Petra Cahill while she has a few days off.  If you have any comments — likes, dislikes — send me an email at: patrick.smith@nbcuni.com.

 

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Thanks, Patrick Smith

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