5 things you need to know before December 24: pardon, veto, coronavirus, Brexit, police brutality

In other White House news, Trump has vetoed a sweeping defense bill recently passed by both chambers of Congress with a veto-right majority. The move provides what could be the first veto of his presidency. Trump has been threatening to veto the bill for a while because it doesn’t include a repeal of Section 230, a law that protects Internet companies from liability for what is posted on his websites – including companies Trump believes are biased against him. GOP lawmakers will now have to choose between their loyalty to the president and legislation governing defense policy for the nation. The House is expected to take action Monday, and all eyes will be on how many Republicans cling to their previous support for the bill.

Here’s a bright spot in what was otherwise a pandemic full of bleak numbers: More than a million people in the US have gotten their first injection of the Covid-19 vaccine – and that’s an under number, as the CDC still has to count some doses administered in the past few days. Still, US officials promised there will be enough doses to vaccinate 20 million people by the end of the year. So far, things have been slower than that. The Trump administration announced yesterday that it will purchase an additional 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. At least 70 million doses would have been delivered by June 30, and the remainder would be delivered by July 31. But while we wait, the pandemic is raging. California has surpassed more than 2 million infections, which is more than nearly all countries except a handful.

The UK and the European Union are getting close to a post-Brexit trade deal after months of tense negotiations. A deal is expected to be announced sometime today. For months, talks have come to a deadlock after both sides could not agree on such things as fishing quotas, how the UK would use state aid to support UK businesses after Brexit, and legal oversight of a closed deal. This deal would be a big break in the saga that began when the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016. But despite the importance of this development, the toxic political debate over the UK’s relationship with Europe is likely to continue.

The mayor of Columbus, Ohio, called for a city police officer to be fired immediately after that officer shot and murdered Andre Maurice Hill, a 47-year-old black man, earlier this week. Hill was an expected guest at the house where he was shot and had not committed a crime, the mayor said. Police responded to a non-emergency call nearby. The officer, identified as Adam Coy, only turned on the body camera after the shooting. Coy has been suspended pending an investigation. Columbus Director of Public Safety Ned Pettus said Coy is a civil servant by law and entitled to a fair trial. Hill’s shooting comes after another black man was shot by a Columbus law enforcement officer earlier this month.

Let’s hope you all finish shopping early.

At the time of writing, the current conditions at the North Pole indicate good flying weather.

Feast your eyes on these adorable photos of wombats, snails and ferrets.

Do you have 4,264 hours left?

Because no one should have to choose between gaming and hot snacks.

That’s how many more Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week. It’s down from the week before, but nearly four times the number of claims filed last year during this time.

Bella, a high school sophomore in Mombasa, Kenya, who became pregnant after being unable to continue her studies remotely during the pandemic. She is one of the millions of girls who do not want to return to class.