| The House is expected to pass major defense policy bill despite Trump's veto threat; the UK launches a mass vaccination campaign. Tonight's Sentences was written by Cameron Peters. | | | | | | | Congress confronts three big priorities and a veto threat | | | | | Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images | | - It's crunch time on Capitol Hill this week as Congress confronts three major priorities before the holidays: a government funding bill, the National Defense Authorization Act, and a potential Covid-19 relief package. [Vox / Li Zhou]
- First up is the NDAA, an annual must-pass defense policy bill. It is expected the House Tuesday by a comfortable margin, and the Senate is likely to vote later this week. [Washington Post / Karoun Demirjian]
- But President Donald Trump complicated matters Tuesday by reiterating an earlier veto threat. "I hope House Republicans will vote against the very weak National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which I will VETO," he tweeted. [Twitter / Donald J. Trump]
- Trump has said that he wants the bill to include a repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, despite the fact that the NDAA governs defense policy. He also wants Congress to drop an amendment that would rename bases named for Confederate leaders. [Defense News / Joe Gould and Leo Shane III]
- Even leading Republicans, though, have indicated that a Section 230 repeal in the NDAA is a nonstarter — and Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jim Inhofe, a Republican, told Politico that he would push to override a veto. [Politico / Andrew Desiderio and Connor O'Brien]
- The House is also set to vote on a one-week stopgap funding measure Wednesday to head off a December 11 government shutdown and give negotiations on government funding and Covid-19 relief more time. [Twitter / Jake Sherman]
- One topic under negotiation: the possible inclusion of another round of direct stimulus checks. The policy has bipartisan support, but still faces opposition from GOP leadership. [NPR / Kelsey Snell]
- The current plan includes expanded unemployment insurance, more money for small businesses, and aid for state and local governments. If a deal is struck, Covid-19 relief is likely to be attached to the upcoming government funding bill. [NBC News / Sahil Kapur and Leigh Ann Caldwell]
| | | UK vaccination push begins with William Shakespeare | | - The United Kingdom officially began its Covid-19 vaccination campaign on Tuesday, with health care workers and Britons over the age of 80 taking first priority for the recently approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. [BBC]
- Its first two recipients were a 90-year-old woman, Margaret Keenan, and William Shakespeare, who is 81. Pfizer will deliver 800,000 doses of the vaccine to the UK this month, with 4 million more expected soon after. [Washington Post / William Booth and Karla Adam]
- Logistics, however, could prove a challenge as the UK prepares for a mass vaccination effort. Among other difficulties, the Pfizer vaccine must be kept extremely cold — at about -94 degrees Fahrenheit. [NYT / Stephen Castle and Elian Peltier]
- Public health experts have also warned that the vaccine does not mean an immediate end to Covid-19 restrictions. "It is a marathon, not a sprint," NHS medical director Stephen Powis said Sunday, "and it will take many months to vaccinate everybody who needs vaccination." [NBC News / Alexander Smith]
- The US is expected to follow the UK in issuing an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine as early as this week, and vaccinations could start later this month. [Vox / Jen Kirby]
| | | | | | | Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis has Covid-19 — and White House officials are worried they may have hosted another superspreader event. | | | [Axios / Jonathan Swan] - "They pointed a gun in my face. They pointed guns at my kids": Florida police raided the home of former state data scientist Rebekah Jones, who runs an independent Covid-19 dashboard, on Monday. [Tallahassee Democrat / Jeffrey Schweers]
- Lloyd Austin, Joe Biden's nominee for defense secretary, would be the first Black person to lead the Pentagon, if he's confirmed. [Vox / Alex Ward]
- "This ship has sailed": Tuesday's "safe harbor" deadline is just the latest sign that Trump's flailing legal strategy to overturn the election has failed. [Politico / Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney]
- The pandemic has left service workers more vulnerable than ever to sexual harassment. [The Lily / Caroline Kitchener]
| | | | | "Why is there never any acknowledgment? Why isn't there urgency? At least 10 people are probably going to die in here, and it might be a lot more. What qualifies as an emergency? It feels like I'm on the Titanic, and we're sinking, and I'm trying to make contact with the outside world." | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | This email was sent to edwardlorilla1986.paxforex@blogger.com. Manage your email preferences, or unsubscribe to stop receiving all emails from Vox. If you value Vox's unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring contribution. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036.
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