--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Good morning. It's Monday, December 21st. I'm Duarte Giraldino. And I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. Each morning, hear about some of the most fascinating stories in the news and how the world's best journalists are covering them.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We can finally report what our nation has needed to hear for a very long time. More help is on the way. That's Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaking right after Congress agreed to a $900 billion pandemic relief package.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Here's House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Our purpose has always been to crush the virus, to put money in the pockets of the American people, which we do in this legislation.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Votes could happen today. And if it passes, Uncle Sam could be sending a typical family of four $2,400 in stimulus money. And if you lost your job, you may be getting extra relief.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Let's jump right into what we know is in this bill. The Washington Post has a good roundup of the details.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, last week, we talked about some of the bigger economic relief measures that were already agreed upon, including stimulus checks up to $600 per person, also an extension of federal unemployment benefits of up to $300 a week.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The stimulus package also sets aside money for schools, food stamps and transportation. Some $325 billion is there for small businesses. And this is an interesting one. Protection from surprise medical billing. That's when you go to the ER, for example, and you end up with some astronomical bill that you just weren't expecting.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The deal is also said to include $25 billion in emergency assistance for renters. Although it's not so clear how that money will be dispersed. Democrats wanted states and cities who are right now in a lot of debt to get some extra money, but Republicans said no to that.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Instead, municipalities scored a small win. Lawmakers agreed to extend the deadline for states and cities to use money that they got from the CARES Act, but had not yet spent. Originally, if states didn't spend that money by the end of the year, they had to give it back to the federal government. Now that deadline is extended by a full year.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Although this deal represents a rare bipartisan agreement, keep in mind this aid package is about half the size of the CARES Act passed in March. Democrats had pushed for an aid package about three times larger. Even the White House offered a trillion plan back in October.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Today, President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, plan to get their first doses of coronavirus vaccine. Healthcare workers and nursing home residents got early priority. A CDC panel voted to give the next round of shots to seniors over 75 and people who are essential workers.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, this group includes police, firefighters, food and public transportation workers, teachers, and a lot of others. As this process rolls out, you might still have some questions like, what's the difference between the two vaccines? And what do you make of the new strain of the virus that's emerging in Britain?
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: So today, we're going to tell you as much as we know right now to answer those questions. First up, is there a difference between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines? And if so, which one should you get? The medical publication stat has some answers.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And just to be clear, the chances of you actually getting to pick which vaccine you get is almost zero. In the initial rollout, if you want to be vaccinated, whichever vaccine you're offered is the one you're going to get.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Now, there is good news. Both vaccines are extremely similar, roughly the same in terms of safety and efficacy.
--:-- Shamita Basu: OK, next question. Both of these vaccines require two shots. Why is that? Stat has this explainer. The first shot is a priming dose and the second one is a booster.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Now, you might receive some amount of protection from the first dose alone, but there still isn't enough data to know exactly how much. So it's really important that you get that second shot.
--:-- Shamita Basu: OK, so let's say you get the vaccine. Afterward, why then are public health experts saying you still need to wear a mask and socially distance? NPR has an answer to this question.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Basically, you can get the vaccine and possibly still get infected, just not enough to make you sick. But, and this is critical, enough to transmit the virus to others, which means at least until there's more data, you should act like it's possible for you to be a carrier of COVID even though you're vaccinated.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And finally, you might have seen reports this weekend that there's a new strain of the virus that put the UK on lockdown. CNBC explains a new variant of the coronavirus has been identified in London and nearby areas.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: It appears to spread more quickly than other strains, but there's no evidence that it leads to a more severe infection or that it's resistant to current treatments or vaccines. Several countries have halted travel from the UK just until we understand what's going on here.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There are so many questions about this new viral strain and what it all means. We'll keep surfacing solid reporting on this as we learn more.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Tonight is the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. And with freezing cold temperatures in a lot of the United States, that means it's also going to be one of the most difficult nights for people who don't have shelter.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We're on track to see the number of people who don't have stable housing rise this year compared to last. Donald Whitehead is the executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. He tells NBC shelters are having to drastically change their operations to meet COVID-19 guidelines and that there just aren't enough beds.
--:-- Donald Whitehead: According to Whitehead, right now, not a single city in the U.S. has enough shelter space. He says he hasn't seen anything like this in his life.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Some cities, including Los Angeles and Denver, have bought hotels to house unsheltered people. But, you know, it's not just a space issue. It's a staffing issue, too.
--:-- Donald Whitehead: Whitehead points out many people who volunteer or work at homeless shelters are older, retired folks who may have pre-existing conditions. And many of them have chosen to stay home right now to reduce their risk.
--:-- Shamita Basu: NBC also added some nuance to its reporting on the growing number of people in the U.S. who are technically homeless, but who are not considered as such by the government. People like Christy Filipello.
--:-- Christy Filipello: She has three kids. She lost her job and moved in with relatives. HUD does not consider people like Christy homeless, even though she and her kids are sleeping on the floor of a relative's apartment in a little section of the living room cordoned off by a hanging sheet.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, because she is not in a shelter or in the streets, she doesn't qualify for programs like rapid housing assistance. According to the Eviction Lab which is a research center run out of Princeton before the pandemic many people facing eviction owed their landlords a relatively small amount of money maybe one or two months rent.
--:-- Donald Whitehead: Now, a growing number of people owe so much more. Many of them are falling behind three, four months, maybe even more.
--:-- Shamita Basu: As part of the stimulus package we mentioned earlier, the national pause on evictions that was set to expire this month has been extended until the end of January.
--:-- Donald Whitehead: But the eviction lab's analysts say without more substantial federal aid, that's just prolonging the inevitable by 30 days.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: If you can tonight, try to take a minute to go outside and look up. You might catch a glimpse of something that nobody has seen in centuries. Jupiter and Saturn will be closer together than they've been since the year 1226.
--:-- Shamita Basu: They're going to be so close that they'll look like one giant, brilliant star. Astronomers call this lining up of planets a conjunction. CNN has some tips on how to see this rare phenomenon.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Wait until about an hour after sunset, then look up for the conjunction low in the western sky. Weather permitting, it might be bright enough to see with your own eyes.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, this heavenly event is getting extra attention because it's happening just in time for Christmas. And it brings up an old question. Was there really a star of Bethlehem?
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Now, astronomers and religious scholars have been debating this for centuries. You know, it's possible a conjunction like this happened around the time Jesus was born. This may have been the type of stellar event that led the three kings to Jesus, or some theories go.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, there's no consensus on this yet, but regardless of what you believe, what's happening tonight with Jupiter and Saturn is real and rare. It won't happen again until 2080.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And while you're there, check out some of our audio stories. We'll talk with you again tomorrow. Thank you.
