First Thing: The White House turned down 100m extra Pfizer vaccine doses
Pfizer #Pfizer
Good morning.
The White House refused an offer to buy 100m additional doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, a decision which could cause delays in distribution. The Trump administration ordered an initial 100m doses, enough for 50m Americans, from the US multinational but passing up the opportunity to buy a second batch could mean the US has to wait until Pfizer has supplied other countries before it can get further doses.
Melania Trump also faced a backlash yesterday over her decision to announce a new White House tennis pavilion in the midst of a pandemic which has killed more than 280,000 Americans. “Oh good, those people in their ICU beds will feel so much better knowing that [Trump] has finished her tennis pavilion,” one critic tweeted.
Senate Republicans were criticised over their decision to introduce a doctor who opposes government involvement in medicine as a key witness at a US Senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee hearing on Tuesday. The Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, described Jane Orient as a “conspiracy theorist” and said she should not be given a platform “at such a crucial time”.
Trump says Rudy Giuliani ‘is doing well’, but won’t give any details
The president has said that his personal attorney and former New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani, who was admitted to hospital with coronavirus on Sunday, is “doing well”. Trump said he had spoken to 76-year-old Giuliani on the phone on Monday morning, and that he didn’t have a fever. However, neither the White House nor Giuliani’s doctors gave any information about his condition, and there have been few details since he went to hospital.
Armed police raided the home of a scientist who has been embroiled in a dispute with Florida’s Republican governor over coronavirus data after she was fired by the state’s health department in May. Rebekah Jones claimed the governor was behind the raid, comparing it to the “gestapo”. Law enforcement said it was related to a recent health department computer hack. Jones has denied she was behind the hack.
Georgia certifies a Biden win, again 
Following a third count of its election votes at Trump’s request, Georgia has re-certified a Joe Biden win. “We have now counted legally cast ballots three times, and the results remain unchanged,” Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, said. “Continuing to make debunked claims about a stolen election is hurting our state.” The results make Biden the first Democrat to carry the state since Bill Clinton.
As he steps closer to the White House, Biden is continuing to announce his cabinet picks, Last night, it emerged that retired four-star army general Lloyd Austin would be nominated as secretary of defence. If confirmed by the Senate, Austin would become the first Black leader of the Pentagon.
Congress is set to avert a funding disaster 
Congress is preparing to pass a stopgap funding measure to avert a government shutdown, and give more time to lawmakers negotiating a coronavirus stimulus package. Yesterday, the Democratic House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, said that the House would vote on Wednesday on a one-week spending bill. Government funding for federal agencies is due to expire on Friday.
The supreme court will decide whether property stolen by Nazis from Jews in Germany and Hungary can be recovered or recouped through the US courts. Yesterday, the justices heard oral arguments in two cases from claimants and defences from the German and Hungarian governments.
In other news… 
Pandas will remain in the US despite fraught relations with China. The furry diplomats have been a key touchstone in the relationship between the two countries since the 70s. The current panda loan deal was due to expire this month, but Smithsonian’s national zoo announced that the animals will remain there for another three years.
The American pilot who first broke the sound barrier has died aged 97. Chuck Yeager was a second world war fighter ace who found fame as a test pilot in the years after the war, and was immortalised in The Right Stuff.
Stat of the day: Less than 10% of ICU beds are free in parts of California
California is now under its strictest lockdown measures yet, which take effect when a region’s available intensive care unit beds drop to below 15%. But many locations have already passed that point. In Los Angeles, hospitals are expected to overflow by Christmas, and in southern California, just one in eight (12.5%) intensive care beds remain free. In the San Joaquin Valley, this drops to 8.6% of beds. “We’re seeing the healthcare system become overwhelmed right now,” said Marta Induni, the director of research at the Oakland-based non-profit Public Health Institute.
Don’t miss this: An elderly black couple were targeted in a police raid, and no one knows why
In March, Nelda Price and her husband John were in their pyjamas, chatting in their dining room, when armed police broke their gate and stormed the front door. The police refused to answer questions, even as officers pointed out that they may have got the wrong people, and refused pleas for John’s medication until his blood pressure spiked so high they were forced to call an ambulance. John died two months later of unknown causes.
Last thing: Breakdancing breaks into the Olympics 
Breakdancing is set to become an unlikely Olympic sport, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirming it will be the newest attraction at the 2024 Games in Paris. Thomas Bach, president of the committee, said it would make the Games “more gender balanced, more youthful and more urban”. To make space for new events, the IOC is cutting the number of weightlifting and boxing categories. The overall number of athletes will also be reduced to 10,500, down around 500 from the figure expected in Tokyo.
Sign up
First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.