US sets records for Covid deaths and hospitalizations as it nears 14m cases – live updates ed.5
More than 3,000 deaths recorded on Wednesday, data showsFauci suggests UK has not scrutinized vaccine data ‘carefully'Biden team to meet with Latino lawmakers over cabinet picksIvanka Trump was quizzed as part of inauguration fund lawsuitSign up to receive First Thing – our daily briefing by email 7.51pm GMT The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a grim forecast of an estimated 9,500 to 19,500 deaths the week of Christmas alone, contributing to a projection of tens of thousands of new Covid-19 deaths over the next four weeks. The CDC's National Ensemble Forecast, which aggregates models from 37 different groups, projects that by the end of December, the overall U.S. death toll from covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, could reach 303,000 on the low end and 329,000 on the high end. Washington Post 7.36pm GMT The Washington Post reports Republican senators Joni Ernst of Iowa and John Cornyn of Texas expressed their openness to a $908 million coronavirus relief package, which had been unveiled by a group of moderate Republican and Democratic senators Tuesday: On Thursday, Ernst and Cornyn expressed measured support for the developing talks. Ernst, a member of the Senate Republican leadership team, did not dismiss the viability of the $908 billion framework despite expressing concerns about some of its policy provisions. Cornyn also said senior Democrats' embrace of the bipartisan plan “represents progress.â€
