Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
Trump signs stimulus plan by COVID-19
U.S. President Donald Trump signed a new $900 billion stimulus plan for the economy, extending benefits for millions of citizens coping with the pandemic and the crisis it has caused.
This, after almost a week of the outgoing president refusing to sign this aid, which also prevented the depletion of funds for the Administration and hundreds of thousands of employees whose salaries were suspended.
"I am signing this omnibus and COVID-19 package with a resounding message that makes it clear to Congress that wasteful items in the bill need to be rolled back," Trump said in a statement.
The president said that although he is signing the bill into law, he still hopes Congress will approve a change in the item that calls for sending a one-time payment of $600 to millions of taxpayers to compensate for the ravages of the pandemic.
USA U.S. exceeds 19 million cases of VOCs-19
The country surpassed 19 million reported cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, according to estimates by Johns Hopkins University, with one million reported in the past week due to the holiday season.
The United States also has a total of 333,836 deaths related to the virus as of Monday, making the number of cases and deaths the highest in the world.
COVID-19 infections have been increasing at an alarming rate in recent months. In the U.S., at least one million cases per week have been added since the beginning of November.
COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign Experiencing Delays
As of Wednesday, according to Reuters, only 1 million injections of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in the U.S., suggesting a delay in the vaccination campaign's goal of 20 million people by the end of the year.
U.S. Army General Gustave Perna reported that some deliveries of the first 20 million doses will take until the first week of January, while Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed, said it could take longer.
While hospitals have begun distributing the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, to date CDC has not yet reported those data and there may be a delay in reporting vaccines administered for both vaccines.
Nashville explosion suspect identified
Authorities in Nashville have identified the suspect in a vehicle explosion in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, on Christmas Day. They also confirmed that the suspect died on the spot.
"We conclude that an individual named Anthony Warner is the bomber, was present when the bomb detonated and was killed in the explosion," U.S. Attorney Don Cochran told a news conference.
The explosion, which occurred around 6:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 25, in Nashville, the country music capital, damaged about 40 buildings and injured at least three people, at a time when the area was practically empty in the early hours of Christmas.
