US News Roundup: Texas doctors in rural hotspots left out in cold on vaccine; Los Angeles mayor says turned down job in Biden administration and more

Los Angeles mayor says turned down job in Biden administration Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Thursday that he turned down an offer to work in the administration of President-elect Joe Biden so he can focus on the city as it grapples with record-breaking surges in the coronavirus pandemic.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Texas doctors in rural hotspots left out in cold on vaccine

Running in between patients, Dr. Eileen Sprys pauses to catch her breath, tries to gather herself, but cannot mask her frustration: The health care workers in her COVID-besieged West Texas hospital were left out of the first shipment of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, and they have no idea when they may get it. Not a single rural hospital in this state that prides itself on its country roots received any doses of the vaccine this week, despite such medical outposts serving around 20% of the state's population, or 3 million people.

More than 1.1 million ballots cast in early voting for Georgia U.S. Senate runoffs

More than 1.1 million Georgians have voted in twin U.S. Senate runoff elections that will determine which party controls that chamber of Congress, and with it the fate of much of Democratic President-elect Joe Biden's agenda, state data showed on Friday. The surge in turnout after four days of early in-person voting and about four weeks of mail-in voting showed that voter participation in the two races is on pace to rival the records set in the November contest in which Biden defeated Republican President Donald Trump.

U.S. FDA advisory panel sets stage for Moderna vaccine authorization

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will "rapidly" work towards granting emergency approval of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine candidate, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said on Thursday. A panel of outside advisers to the FDA overwhelmingly endorsed the emergency use of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, virtually assuring a second option for protecting against COVID-19 for a pandemic ravaged nation.

Los Angeles mayor says turned down job in Biden administration

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Thursday that he turned down an offer to work in the administration of President-elect Joe Biden so he can focus on the city as it grapples with record-breaking surges in the coronavirus pandemic. Garcetti, a Democrat who has been mentioned as a possible candidate for Secretary of Transportation in a Biden administration, said that with infections, hospitalizations and deaths spiraling in America's second-largest city he felt he needed to stay on as mayor.

Exclusive: For years, the Pentagon sits on racial discrimination survey data

Army Sergeant Major Das'Chara Champ couldn't have known that the answer to her question about racial discrimination survey data was sitting in an office somewhere in the vast Defense Department bureaucracy. Few people do.

Biden says he is not concerned about accusations against son Hunter

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden said on Thursday he is not concerned about accusations against his son Hunter Biden, who is under investigation by federal prosecutors over his taxes. "We have great confidence in our son. I'm not concerned about any accusations been made against him. It's used to get to me. I think it's kind of foul play," Biden said in an interview on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

U.S. Congress scrambles to agree on COVID-19 relief deal as shutdown deadline looms

The U.S. Congress faced a deadline on Friday to agree to a fresh round of COVID-19 aid as part of a sweeping government funding bill, pass a third stopgap spending bill so negotiations can continue, or let the government shut down at midnight. After months of partisan finger-pointing and inaction, Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating intensely this week on what is expected to be a $900 billion piece of legislation to provide relief to a country struggling with a pandemic that has killed nearly 309,000 Americans.

West Virginia lawmakers push jail reform in response to Reuters data on inmate deaths

West Virginia lawmakers plan to introduce several pieces of jail reform legislation after a Reuters investigation revealed an outsize death rate in the state's local lockups. Reuters, examining deaths at more than 500 U.S. jails, found the death rate in West Virginia jails was the highest of any state among the facilities surveyed, and more than 50% above the national average. In all, 111 inmates died in the state's 10 regional jails from 2009 to 2019, Reuters found.

U.S. high court rejects religious school challenge to Kentucky coronavirus shutdown order

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a religious school in Kentucky that is challenging the state's decision to limit in-school instruction as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The action by the justices is a loss for Danville Christian Academy. The school said the order violated its religious rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the free exercise of religion.

With climate change focus, Biden filling environmental, interior posts

President-elect Joe Biden tapped North Carolina's top environmental regulator, Michael Regan, as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief and Democratic congresswoman Deb Haaland as interior secretary as he builds his team to combat climate change and safeguard the environment. If confirmed by the Senate, Regan would become the first Black person to run the EPA and Haaland would become the first Native American Cabinet secretary, adding to a historically diverse incoming Democratic administration.