Good morning, it's Monday, Dec. 14, and the US is expected to administer its first COVID-19 vaccine today. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

'A Pivotal Moment'

Shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and German partner BioNTech will begin arriving in cities around the US today, marking a turning point in the country's fight against the pandemic. Regulatory approval for emergency use of the treatment was granted Friday; shots in arms are expected today.

The initial batch will consist of roughly 2.9 million doses—enough for almost 1.5 million people to take the two-dose regimen—and be spread across more than 640 sites over the next three days. States will receive amounts proportional to their adult population (see totals), with front-line healthcare workers and elderly long-term care residents being prioritized.

Distribution is being overseen by the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed. The contract with Pfizer—who did not take government funding for the drug development—calls for 100 million doses by March, with an option to purchase 500 million more.

Public health officials say it may take until next fall before immunization efforts are sufficient to reach herd immunity, with the timeline to return to normalcy depending on willingness to receive the treatment. Recent polls show 60% of Americans say they are willing to receive the vaccine. 

The Food and Drug Administration will consider a similar vaccine from Moderna for emergency use approval Thursday. Separately, clinical trials of an Australian-based vaccine were halted after participants began registering false-positives on HIV tests.

The positive news comes as the virus continues to surge across the US, with Friday deaths surpassing 3,300 and many hospitals approaching full ICU capacity (use this tool to check your county). The US has reported more than 16.2 million cases and 299,177 deaths as of this morning; see rolling averages here.

Watch the first shipments roll out of a Michigan processing facility.

Electoral College Votes

Almost six weeks after voters cast ballots in the 2020 election, members of the Electoral College will meet around the country today to officially cast their ballots for president and vice president. In the US system, the popular vote doesn't determine the winning ticket. Rather, the major parties in each state select a slate of electors in the spring—typically party loyalists—with the winning party in each state convening their electors and transmitting their ballots to Washington, DC. Congress then meets Jan. 6 to formally read and record the results. The result is expected to follow the general election outcome—the country has only seen about 150 faithless electors in history (seven from 2016)—with Joe Biden winning 306 votes and President Trump winning 232. 

In related news, the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge led by Texas to throw out election results in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, alleging unconstitutional election procedures. Justices rejected the motion to file by a 7-2 vote, with Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas saying the court was obligated to at least hear disputes between states, but would not grant other relief. All three justices appointed by President Trump voted to dismiss. Read the one-page order here.

Thousands of President Trump supporters marched in Washington, DC, Saturday. More than 30 people were arrested, with police reporting four stabbings, amid clashes with counterprotesters.  

Second Zodiac Cipher Solved

After more than five decades, one of four coded messages attributed to the notorious Zodiac Killer was cracked by a team of amateur cryptologists over the weekend. Considered one of the holy grails of cryptography, the 340-character message has long-stumped professional analysts, but ultimately provided no additional clues to the killer's identity. 

Five known murders have been linked to the Zodiac (he claimed at least 37) who terrorized California's Bay Area from 1968-69 (see overview). Despite fewer victims than other high-profile serial killers, the Zodiac became infamous for his public taunting of law enforcement via letters to local newspapers, along with the fact he was never caught. 

Of the four ciphers believed to be authentic, the first was mostly cracked just days after being received by the San Francisco Chronicle in 1969, while the final two remain unsolved. Watch the team explain how they cracked the code here.

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Learn all about the experts' opinions and strategies to help your business thrive. See what Neil Patel has to say.

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

Brought to you by CanvasPeople

> Cleveland’s MLB team to drop “Indians” nickname it has used for more than 100 years; franchise will officially announce the change this week (More)

> Charley Pride, three-time Grammy-winning country music legend, dies at 86 of COVID-19 (More) | “Steel Magnolias” actress Carol Sutton dies at 76 from the coronavirus (More) | John Le Carré, bestselling spy novelist, dies at 89 (More)

> Columbus Crew tops Seattle Sounders 3-0 to win 2020 MLS Cup (More) | Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller becomes first woman to score in a Power Five conference college football game (More)

Weddings, graduations, vacations: We’ve taken some excellent photos over the years (pats own back). And now, we’ve discovered a way to bring beautiful photos from the camera roll to the living room. CanvasPeople prints your favorite images onto high-quality canvases. And today only, they’re giving 1440 readers one free 11x14 canvas print (over $80 in value), just pay S&H. Create yours now. #Ad

Science & Technology

> Imbalances in the microbiome can impact brain function and mood disorders, new study shows; research further reinforces the emerging link between the gut and brain (More) | What science says about the gut-brain axis (More)

> Study suggests mass extinction events of land-dwelling animals follows a 27-million-year cycle, possibly linked to periodic meteor showers based on Earth's trajectory in the galaxy (More)

> First-ever study reveals the nuclei in muscle fiber cells have such wide-ranging functions that a single cell effectively resembles an entire tissue; results advance understanding of muscular dystrophy and other muscle-related diseases (More)

Business & Markets

> Biopharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca to acquire rare disease pharmaceutical firm Alexion for $39B (More)

> Sources say ByteDance—Chinese tech giant and owner of TikTok—raising $2B at $180B valuation; would be world's highest-valued private financing round (More)

> Software giant Oracle joins growing list of companies moving headquarters from California's Bay Area to Austin, Texas (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> Senate passes annual defense authorization bill with veto-proof majority (More) | One-week government funding extension passed to allow for stimulus negotiations (More) | Bipartisan group offers split stimulus package (More)

> Russian hackers believed to have broken into US federal agencies, including the Treasury and Commerce Departments; news comes days after prominent cybersecurity firm FireEye revealed hackers stole its internal hacking tools (More)

> Former aide accuses New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of yearslong sexual harassment, Cuomo denies claims; Accuser Lindsey Boylan is running for Manhattan borough president (More) | Subpoena in Hunter Biden tax fraud probe reportedly includes documents from Ukrainian energy firm Burisma (More)

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ETCETERA

Travelers rank the world's best bars and restaurants.

College enrollment for low-income students has plummeted.

A viral meme listing America's deadliest days contains some errors.

Visualizing who we spend time with across our lifetime.

A fascinating look at how tree roots compete with each other underground.

Cameo's highest-earning celebrity works in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Scotland names all its snowplows—and the names are great.

The wildest ending to a football game this year (it was ultimately called back).

Clickbait: Dolly Parton saves a life.

Historybook: President George Washington dies (1799); Author Shirley Jackson born (1916); Actress Patty Duke born (1946); Eugene Cernan is last person to walk on the moon (1972); 20 children and 6 staff murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012).

"Curiosity is the essence of human existence."

- Eugene Cernan

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