Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Historic U.S. vaccine campaign begins with first shipments 'delivering hope' to millions

The first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine left on trucks and planes early on Sunday, kicking off a historic effort to stop a surging pandemic that is claiming more than 2,400 lives a day in the United States. Mask-wearing workers at a Pfizer Inc factory in Michigan began packing the first shipments of the vaccine developed with German partner BioNTech SE in dry ice shortly after 6:30 a.m. ET (1130 GMT) on Sunday. U.S. expects to have immunized 100 million against COVID-19 by end of March -Slaoui

The United States expects to have immunized 100 million people with the coronavirus vaccine by the end of March, the chief adviser for the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine program said on Sunday. The first vaccine was authorized for emergency use by U.S. regulators on Friday night and began shipping on Sunday. Suspected Russian hackers spied on U.S. Treasury emails - sources

Hackers believed to be working for Russia have been monitoring internal email traffic at the U.S. Treasury Department and an agency that decides internet and telecommunications policy, according to people familiar with the matter. There is concern within the U.S. intelligence community that the hackers who targeted Treasury and the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration used a similar tool to break into other government agencies, according to four people briefed on the matter. Pro-Trump protests decry president's election loss, opposing groups clash in Washington

Conservative groups claiming without evidence that the Nov. 3 election was stolen from President Donald Trump staged protests across the country on Saturday, with one in Washington turning violent at times as police broke up sporadic clashes after dark. Organizers of Stop The Steal, linked to pro-Trump operative Roger Stone, and church groups urged supporters to participate in "Jericho Marches" and prayer rallies. U.S. CDC director 'proud' to sign advisory panel recommendation of COVID vaccine

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield said on Sunday that he had signed a CDC advisory panel's recommendation of Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Saturday voted 11 to 0 to recommend the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech SE as appropriate for Americans 16 and older. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued an emergency use authorization for the vaccine. Gunman shot and wounded by police outside NYC church after outdoor concert

A gunman opened fire from the steps of New York City's Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine just after an outdoor choir performance there on Sunday, and was himself shot and wounded by police, according to police and a Reuters photographer at the scene. New York City Police Department spokesman Sergeant Edward Riley said the gunman had fired on police, but no officers or bystanders were believed to have been injured in Manhattan's Upper West Side. First U.S. shots in COVID-19 vaccine campaign coming Monday, Army general says

The first shots in a massive U.S. COVID-19 vaccine campaign will be administered as early as Monday, with Pfizer Inc and partners aiming to start shipments across the hard-hit country on Sunday, an Army general organizing the rollout said. Healthcare workers and elderly people in long-term care facilities are expected to be the main recipients of the first wave of 2.9 million shots this month, with healthcare worker inoculations as soon as Monday and nursing home residents by the end of next week, U.S. Army General Gustave Perna said on a Saturday press call.

U.S. lawmakers set to release $908 billion COVID-19 plan The text of a $908 billion bipartisan COVID-19 relief plan is set to be released as early as Monday and will be split into two packages in a bid to win approval, a person briefed on the matter said. The plan's highlights were made public on Dec. 1, but the authors now plan to divide the measure into two separate proposals, the source said.

Trump castigates Supreme Court, Barr as election challenges sputter President Donald Trump lambasted the Supreme Court on Saturday for declining to take a case he hoped would overturn President-elect Joe Biden's election victory and called Attorney General William Barr a "disappointment." The nation's high court late on Friday rejected an unprecedented lawsuit by Texas seeking to throw out voting results from four states.

U.S. CDC reports 296,818 deaths from coronavirus The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported 15,932,116 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 213,305 from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 2,283 to 296,818. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Dec. 12 versus its previous report a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/3m662x4)