In Case You Missed It: December Current Events

by Gabriel Dubransky

Election~~~Quarantine~~~COVID-19 ~~~Serial Killer~~~Reproductive Rights

President Elect is Elected-
Joe Biden officially became the 46th President of the United States after a month of ballot counts and recounts. The election ended with 306 electoral votes for Biden and 232 votes for Trump, who, at the time until Biden was confirmed president by the electoral college, had not conceded to his loss. Trump continually claimed fraud based in mail-in votes, but no change came from the recounts. In the end, Biden won by an over 7 million voter margin in the popular vote.

Quarantine Restrictions Heightened-
As COVID-19 rates worsen, California has reinstated stricter social distancing rules, including smaller capacities allowed in stores and a ban on meeting with people outside one’s own household. California is divided into five regions, and if a region’s ICU capacity goes below 15%, it must follow a “stay-at-home order”. There are levels to the restrictions around social distancing, and a stay-at-home order is the most intense.

COVID-19 Vaccines-
Two COVID-19 vaccines, one from Pfizer and the other from Moderna, have been approved by the CDC. On the 15th, the first vaccines were administered in Orlando. The first waves of people eligible for the vaccines are essential workers and the elderly, but the CDC hopes to be able to give them to the general public by March. While there are many uncertainties around the vaccine, the CDC hopes that things will become more clear as more vaccines are distributed.

Zodiac Code Officially Deciphered-
The Zodiac Killer’s final code was deciphered after 51 years, according to the FBI. They hoped that this message would reveal the identity of the serial killer, but it just contained more boasts intended to instill fear and mystery in the public. Though the San Francisco division of the FBI is still working on the Zodiac Killer case, cracking this code is more of a win for the decoders than the case itself.
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Abortion Before the Supreme Court-
Amy Coney Barrett, the newest addition to the Supreme Court, is now facing her first case on abortion, a topic which she has been very vocally in opposition to. Though Supreme Court leaders are not supposed to have agendas, Barrett has stated that she wants to end legal abortion in America, and this case is an opportunity for the majority Republican Supreme Court to enact that change, a scary thought for reproductive rights.

Read more about these topics with the links below.
President Elect is Elected
Quarantine Restrictions Heightened
COVID-19 Vaccines
Zodiac Code Officially Deciphered
Abortion Before the Supreme Court