US News Roundup: FDA says extra doses from vials of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine can be used; Pence, Biden to get COVID vaccine in bid to build public support

Stat News reported earlier that hospital pharmacists found themselves in the position of throwing away one in every six doses of the first Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines distributed this week in the United States because of the confusion over labeling.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden's expected Energy Department pick, Granholm, could lead charge on electric cars

When Jennifer Granholm was governor of auto-manufacturing Michigan, she led a charge that secured a whopping $1.35 billion in federal funding for companies to make electric cars and batteries in her state. As President-elect Joe Biden's expected energy secretary, Granholm now faces a bigger task: making good on his campaign promise to help the United States compete with China on electric vehicles (EVs) as part of a $2 trillion plan to fight climate change.

U.S. says recent hacking campaign hit government networks

The U.S. government confirmed on Wednesday that a recent hacking campaign affected its networks and said the attack was "significant and ongoing." Hackers believed to be working for Russia have been monitoring internal email traffic at the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments, Reuters reported earlier this week, citing people who said they feared the hacks uncovered so far may be the tip of the iceberg.

Special Report-As more women fill America's jails, medical tragedies mount

By the time anyone at the Milwaukee County Jail noticed Shade Swayzer had given birth alone in a filthy cell, her baby was dead. Swayzer had arrived a week earlier, on July 6, 2016, picked up after a dispute with a hotel clerk and charged with disorderly conduct and a parole violation from an old burglary conviction. She was clearly pregnant, just a few weeks from her due date, and police had her evaluated at a hospital before bringing her to jail. The fetus was deemed active and healthy, and Swayzer cleared for detention.

Moderna's coronavirus vaccine faces U.S. FDA expert panel review

A panel of outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to endorse emergency use of Moderna Inc's coronavirus vaccine during a meeting on Thursday, as the nation prepares to roll out a second vaccine. The panel vote on whether the vaccine's benefits outweigh its risks is likely to come some time after 3 pm ET (2000 GMT), with an FDA authorization expected as soon as Friday.

U.S. Congress wrangles over details of coronavirus economic aid as deadline approaches

After months of feuding and with a weekend deadline fast approaching, U.S. congressional negotiators were wrangling over details of a $900 billion COVID-19 aid bill that leaders have vowed to pass before going home this year. The legislation is expected to include $600 to $700 stimulus checks, extend unemployment benefits, help pay for vaccine distribution and assist small businesses struggling in a crisis that has killed more than 304,000 Americans and thrown millions out of work.

FDA says extra doses from vials of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine can be used

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday that extra doses from vials of Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine can be used after reports of vaccine doses being thrown away by pharmacists due to labeling confusion. Stat News reported earlier that hospital pharmacists found themselves in the position of throwing away one in every six doses of the first Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines distributed this week in the United States because of the confusion over labeling.

Jean-Luc Brunel, who knew Jeffrey Epstein, in custody in Paris - BFM TV

Frenchman Jean-Luc Brunel - who knew deceased sex offender and U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein - has been placed in custody in Paris, reported BFM TV, citing the Paris prosecutor's department. Brunel, who has denied any wrongdoing, had in 2015 sued Epstein, claiming Epstein's high-profile legal troubles had unfairly embroiled him and damaged his modelling agency's reputation.

Chicago mayor 'appalled' by 2019 raid on Black woman after video is aired

The mayor of Chicago said on Wednesday she was appalled by a 2019 police raid on the home of a Black woman, that was caught on video and aired this week, showing police handcuffing the naked woman. Mayor Lori Lightfoot also criticized the police for trying to stop the CBS Chicago network from broadcasting the video of the raid on the home of the woman, Anjanette Young.

Pence, Biden to get COVID vaccine in bid to build public support

Vice President Mike Pence will publicly receive the coronavirus vaccine on Friday as the Trump administration scrambles to build public support for an inoculation that promises to stanch the deadly pandemic. Pence will be the most high-profile recipient to date of a vaccine that was rolled out in the United States this week with high hopes of curbing a virus that has killed more than 300,000 Americans.

From Navajo Nation to New Orleans, challenges arise in vaccine roll out

From the wide-open spaces of a U.S. tribal nation to urban hospital emergency rooms, doctors, nurses and delivery people are wrestling with challenges in the roll-out of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine - including delays, anxiety and keeping the drug at just the right level of cold. U.S. Public Health Service Lieutenant Commander Erica Harker on Monday delivered a red, portable cooler with 165 doses of the vaccine to a hospital in tiny Ganado, Arizona, one of three drop-offs on a roughly 200-mile (322 km) round trip through the Navajo Nation, accompanied by tribal police.