1. House Approves $2,000 Stimulus Checks, Overrides Trump Defense Bill Veto — the House of Representatives passed legislation Monday night to increase stimulus payments to Americans earning $75,000 or less from the current $600 per person included in the latest relief aid package to $2,000, as requested by President Donald Trump. The increased payments would cost the U.S. $464 billion, up from $160 billion, according to a Congressional estimate—a key concern of those opposed to the higher payments. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on the president to get Senate Republicans to support the $2,000 payments. Schumer is expected to attempt to pass the bill by unanimous consent on Tuesday. If all 100 Senators do not approve it, a roll call vote will need 60 votes in the Republican-controlled chamber. The House also voted 322 to 87 to override the president’s veto of a $740.5 billion defense bill that includes 3% pay raises for U.S. troops. Trump criticized the bill for proposing to rename military bases that honor Confederate officers and failing to include “critical national security measures.”
2. Three More Coronavirus Vaccines Expected by Early 2021 — Pfizer and Moderna were first out of the gate with approved vaccines for Covid-19, but three other drugmakers are following close on their heels. Novavax is launching a 30,000-person trial in the U.S. and Mexico for its vaccine, which could be approved as soon as spring 2021. The Novavax vaccine uses proteins to trigger an immune response after it is injected, as well as a substance derived from Chilean evergreen trees to enhance that response. Vaccines in development from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson use viral-vector technology, in which a modified virus triggers an immune response. AstraZeneca’s drug is expected to be approved in the United Kingdom this week, and the company has said its vaccine “should remain effective” on the variant first discovered there.
3. Covid Second Wave Deadlier in France Than the First, With No Sign of Abating — Covid Second Wave Deadlier in France Than the First, With No Sign of Abating. According to French official numbers, the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has claimed nearly 32,500 deaths in the last five months, versus 30,300 in the February-to-July period. The number of daily new infections in France has jumped up to around 15,000, three times the goal set by French president Emmanuel Macron when he enacted a new national lockdown in November. The government is mulling new restrictions, on top of the closure of bars and restaurants and public spaces, a ban of non-essential travel, and a nightly curfew.
In the U.K., where a new, aggressive variant of the coronavirus was first detected a few weeks ago, the government is publicly debating whether or not to re-open schools on Jan. 4 at the end of the Christmas recess. The mass vaccination campaign that started throughout the EU over the weekend, two weeks after the UK, is lagging behind the rapid progression of the virus, increasing the likelihood of another major economic shock in Europe in the first half of 2021.
4. AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid Vaccine Gains First Clearance From U.K — AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford’s Covid-19 vaccine won U.K. clearance, marking the first approval worldwide for a shot that will be key to mass immunizations despite continuing questions over its efficacy. The vaccine will be prioritized for the country’s most vulnerable groups, with shots starting Monday, according to the government. It’s the second coronavirus injection to be cleared for emergency use in the U.K., after one from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE was authorized in early December.
5. The Boeing 737 Max Is Finally Back in the U.S. — after being grounded in March 2019 following two deadly crashes killing a total of 346 people, the Boeing 737 Max has taken flight again in the United States. American Airlines used the jet to fly from Miami to New York and back Tuesday without incident. The single aisle plane has better fuel efficiency than its predecessors and is used mostly on domestic or short international flights. While Boeing has received new orders for the Max, demand may be affected by the dearth of air travelers during the pandemic. American Airlines said Tuesday it plans to fly less than half the number of flights between now and February than it did during the same period in 2019.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

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