World News: Winter is coming (and so are vaccines)

USA TODAY: Winter is coming (and so are vaccines)

Monday, November 30

In this Nov. 16, 2020, file photo, a runner passes by a window displaying portraits of people wearing face coverings to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Lewiston, Maine. An executive order by Gov. Janet Mills' requires Maine citizens to wear face coverings in public settings, regardless of the ability to maintain physical distance.

A snowstorm is targeting the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Appalachians. Jared Kushner heads to Middle East amid tensions. It's Monday's news.

A second COVID-19 vaccine awaits emergency use authorization. There was a mysterious monolith in Utah. And there's no place like your own home for the holidays.

It's Alex. Heat up some Thanksgiving leftovers, and let's get to the news.

But first, how to possibly describe 2020? "Pandemic" is Merriam-Webster's word of the year. Figures.

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That makes two (vaccines!)

Biotech company Moderna is the second vaccine maker to request emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration . The Moderna vaccine, called mRNA-1273, has been shown to be safe (and caused side effects in the majority of recipients, usually fever and aches lasting a day or two), according to a news release. Of 196 people in the clinical trial who caught COVID-19, 185 of them received the placebo while 11 received the active vaccine. That works out to an effectiveness rate above 94%.

Moderna trails Pfizer and its German collaborator BioNTech's candidate vaccine, which is anticipated to be authorized by mid-December. Charter flights bringing Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to the USA from Belgium began Friday.

•	In Anthony Fauci's words: Why Americans shouldn't fear a COVID-19 vaccine authorized by the FDA.
•	Who can get the vaccine? A CDC panel is scheduled to meet Tuesday to vote on who will have access to the first doses.

Who run the world?

President-elect Joe Biden named his White House senior communication staff Sunday, a team of all women. Jen Psaki, a veteran of President Barack Obama's administration, will serve as his first press secretary. Biden continues to build his Cabinet and White House staff, led by Ron Klain, though President Donald Trump refuses to concede the election.

And Monday, Biden unveiled his economic team with Janet Yellen as his choice for Treasury secretary. She previously led the Federal Reserve. The incoming administration is preparing to navigate a recession resulting from the coronavirus pandemic when congressional Republicans have become more reluctant to fuel record deficit spending.

•	Joe and Jill Biden say they want to unite America. They'll start by adding a cat to their family, which has German shepherds Champ and Major.
•	Hopefully, this administration gets off on a better foot: Biden suffered hairline fractures after twisting his ankle playing with his dog, his doctor says.

What everyone's talking about

•	Hello, winter: A snowstorm is targeting the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and the Appalachians. As much as a foot of snow is possible in some areas.
•	After controversial Christmas comments, Melania Trump unveiled the White House holiday decor.
•	McRib returns Wednesday: McDonald's is giving away 10,000 free barbecue sandwiches for fans who shave.
•	A Pennsylvania lawmaker learned of his positive COVID-19 test while meeting with Trump, The Associated Press reported.
•	Ryan Reynolds says "hard pass" to a petition calling to name a Vancouver street after him.
•	FBI posts a nearly 8% decline in Black Friday gun checks. It's still the fourth-largest one-day total.

Jared Kushner heads to Middle East amid tensions

President Donald Trump's senior adviser Jared Kushner will travel to the Middle East amid heightened tensions over the assassination of a top Iranian scientist . Kushner will head to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, a source familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to comment publicly, told USA TODAY. The official said Kushner's trip will be focused on healing a long-standing rift between the two nations. Kushner's visit comes days after the targeted killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a nuclear scientist whom Israeli officials referred to as the "father" of Iran's nuclear program. Iran blamed Israel for Fakhrizadeh's murder and vowed to exact revenge. The United Arab Emirates, which just reached a historic normalization deal with Israel, condemned "the heinous assassination" of Fakhrizadeh in a statement Monday.

Senior adviser Jared Kushner speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, Aug. 13, 2020.

Tasos Katopodis, Getty Images

Real quick

•	Felicity Huffman has landed a new TV pilot, a baseball comedy, on ABC after serving time for her role in the "Varsity Blues" college cheating scandal.
•	A Florida mother was shot by an unknown gunman during the funeral for her teen son, who was shot by police.
•	Censorship or conspiracy theory? Trump supporters say Facebook and Twitter censor them, but conservatives rule social media.
•	"Truly incredible": A missing Florida boater was found alive, clinging to his capsized vessel 86 miles offshore.
•	Jennifer Lawrence and her family mourn the loss of their Kentucky family farm and summer camp after it burned down in a "horrible fire."
•	The Supreme Court may give President Trump time to test census policy against undocumented immigrants.

Read the room, folks

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention didn't want Americans to travel over the holiday weekend, but that didn't stop them . A record number of flyers traveled for Thanksgiving, according to the Transportation Security Administration – 1.2 million travelers that day. More than 1 million travelers passed through checkpoints Friday, Sunday and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Since the coronavirus pandemic began more than eight months ago, the TSA has hit that milestone only one other time – Oct. 18.

The USA has reported more than 13.4 million cases and more than 267,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: 63 million cases and 1.46 million deaths.

Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but...

I'm not saying aliens exist. I'm also not saying they don't exist. Decide for yourself: A gleaming, 10-foot, three-sided metal column was discovered embedded in Utah's remote Red Rock Country last week. It has since disappeared. The government (or at least the Bureau of Land Management) says it does not know why it was there, where it went or who put it there.

Sketchy, right? People have taken to social media to share their conspiracy theories, which range from a tourism ploy to aliens. My favorite, non-alien based idea: "My working conspiracy theory is all the American media organizations pooled their money and put a monolith in Utah and then removed it, thus creating two clickbait pieces in one week," Twitter user @SeamusHughes wrote.

•	In case you forgot: The Pentagon declassified three leaked U.S. Navy UFO videos in April.

Monolith discovered in Utah's Red Rock Country.

Courtesy of Utah Department of Public Safety

Stay in, we're going shopping!

•	Massive savings ahead: All the best Cyber Monday deals to shop.
•	Time to get cozy: The best weighted blanket deals this Cyber Monday.
•	For the tech junkie in your life: The 25 best (and coolest) tech gifts of 2020.

This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for The Short List newsletter here.