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Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend

Editors  |  Paste BN

COVID-19 vaccines en route

The first wave of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine doses left a manufacturing plant in Michigan on Sunday morning, kicking off the distribution process for a nation in dire need of relief from the virus. A small crowd cheered as semi-trucks transported insulated boxes full of the vaccine, which are set to arrive in every state by Monday. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said his hope is that the first inoculations take place Monday, with medical workers and long-term care facility residents first in line.

Hours after the first vaccine doses hit the road, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formally signed off on a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for Pfizer's vaccine to be used in people 16 and older. The CDC recommendation comes after the FDA's decision on Friday to grant emergency authorization for the vaccine.

President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other top federal office-holders will be offered COVID-19 vaccines over the next week-and-a-half to guard against an outbreak that could cripple the functions of government, officials said Sunday. The shots will be offered to officials across all three branches of government, including leaders at the White House, in Congress, and on the Supreme Court, officials said. One goal of the program is to build public confidence in the vaccine.

  • What are the side effects? What are the Pfizer vaccine "ingredients?" Your COVID-19 vaccine questions, answered.

US COVID-19 deaths near 300K as hospitals feel the strain

As vaccine distribution begins across the U.S., COVID-19 deaths are nearing the once-unthinkable threshold of 300,000. A weeks-long surge in coronavirus transmission, leading to an average of more than 210,000 new infections and nearly 2,500 deaths a day this month, has public health experts considering the next major round number practically inevitable. About 1 in 8 U.S. hospitals had little or no intensive care unit space available last week. According to Johns Hopkins University data, the U.S. had recorded more than 298,000 coronavirus deaths as of 4 p.m. EST on Sunday. CDC Director Robert Redfield warned the country could reach 450,000 fatalities before Feb. 1, days short of the one-year anniversary of the first known COVID-19 death in the US.

Cleveland's Major League Baseball team plans to drop its nickname

Cleveland's Major League Baseball team will be dropping the "Indians" nickname. Plans to drop the name will be announced this week, a person with knowledge of the decision told Paste BN Sports' Bob Nightengale. The New York Times was the first to report the news Sunday night. The timetable for when a new name will be selected is not entirely clear. Per the Times' reporting, the "Indians" name may remain in place for the upcoming 2021 MLB season. Cleveland assumed the "Indians" nickname in 1915. Prior names of the American League franchise include the Naps, Bronchos and Blues. 

Real quick

Trump's latest legal effort rejected

A federal judge threw out another of President Donald Trump's election lawsuits Saturday, dealing the president's team its seventh legal loss in 10 days in attempts to flip Wisconsin's results. U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig, describing the case as "extraordinary," concluded Wisconsin officials had followed state laws when they conducted the Nov. 3 election. "This court allowed the plaintiff the chance to make his case and he has lost on the merits. In his reply brief, the plaintiff 'asks that the Rule of Law be followed.' It has been." Joe Biden won Wisconsin's election by about 21,000 votes. Despite courts striking down dozens of similar cases filed around the U.S., Trump and his backers continue to recite baseless claims of organized voter fraud.

Trailblazing country singer Charley Pride dies at 86

Charley Pride's rise to fame took him from the backwoods of rural Mississippi all the way to the Grand Ole Opry – and beyond – as country music’s first Black superstar. The 86-year-old singer died Saturday due to complications from COVID-19. At the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, Pride launched his career amid skepticism and scrutiny from audiences and promoters alike, going on to become the first Black man to outright conquer country music fame as RCA Records’ best-selling artist since Elvis Presley. No song may be associated with Pride's legacy more than his No. 1 crossover hit, "Kiss An Angel Good Morning.” His remarkable career was applauded by a live, socially-distanced audience at last month’s CMA Awards, where he received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.

Master spy author John le Carré dies at 89

John le Carré, the spy turned novelist who became the pre-eminent writer of Cold War espionage fiction with works such as "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold," has died at age 89. Le Carré died in Cornwall, southwest England on Saturday from pneumonia. His family confirmed to The Guardian that the author had died at the Royal Cornwall Hospital. In a literary career that spanned fifty-eight years, le Carré's works topped global bestseller lists in each decade starting from the 1960s onwards. 

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This is a compilation of stories from across the Paste BN Network. Contributing: Associated Press

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