| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Wednesday, December 22, 2021 by Hani Richter | Hello Here's what you need to know. Biden lays out plan to fight surging Omicron, jury suggests possible deadlock in trial of ex-Minnesota officer who killed Wright and Putin says Russia has 'nowhere to retreat' over Ukraine. | | | | | Today's biggest stories  Residents wait in a line extending around the block for the Christmas holiday food pantry, which includes free groceries, toys and home test kits for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at La Colaborativa, a non-profit social service organization, in Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S., December 21, 2021. REUTERS/Brian Snyder U.S. U.S. President Joe Biden announced more federal vaccination and testing sites to tackle a surge in COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant, and said 500 million free at-home rapid tests will be available to Americans starting in January.
Biden also said that he and conservative Democratic Senator Joe Manchin were "going to get something done" on the president's proposed social spending and climate legislation.
Jurors in British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell's sex abuse trial will resume deliberating on Wednesday, having reviewed testimony from women who accused her of setting them up as teenagers for sexual encounters with financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The jury asked a question that suggested a possible deadlock in the trial of Kimberly Potter, the former Minnesota police officer who mistook her handgun for her Taser and fatally shot Black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop.
The United States' population grew at a slower rate in 2021 than in any other year on record as the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the more subdued growth the country has experienced in recent years, the U.S. Census Bureau said.
Michael Flynn, a longtime adviser to former President Donald Trump, sued the congressional committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in hope of blocking it from obtaining his phone records. |  Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during an expanded meeting of the Defence Ministry Board in Moscow, Russia December 21, 2021. Sputnik/Mikhail Tereshchenko/Pool via REUTERS WORLD President Vladimir Putin said that Russia had no room to retreat in a standoff with the United States over Ukraine and would be forced into a tough response unless the West dropped its "aggressive line."
Libya's parliament said Friday's planned presidential election would not go ahead, leaving the internationally backed peace process in chaos and the fate of the interim government in doubt.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he would not be introducing new COVID-19 restrictions in England before Christmas, but the situation remained extremely difficult and the government might need to act afterwards.
The United Nations is proposing to pay nearly $6 million for protection in Afghanistan to Taliban-run Interior Ministry personnel, whose chief is under U.N. and U.S. sanctions and wanted by the FBI, according to a U.N. document and a source familiar with the matter.
West African regional bloc ECOWAS hopes Mali's transitional authorities will finalize a date for elections before the end of this year, its envoy, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, said after meeting interim leaders.
Sudan Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has told a group of national political and intellectual figures that he intends to resign in the coming hours, two sources close to Hamdok told Reuters. |  U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the country's fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the White House in Washington, U.S., December 21, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque BUSINESS President Joe Biden is convening a meeting of U.S. officials and private sector companies, including FedEx, to talk about ongoing efforts to address supply chain disruptions.
U.S auto safety regulators said they have opened a formal safety investigation into 580,000 Tesla vehicles sold since 2017 over the automaker's decision to allow games to be played on the front center touchscreen.
The European Central Bank could raise rates as soon as the end of next year, and calling an end to bond purchases would be a strong signal that the move is coming in the next two quarters, Governing Council member Robert Holzmann said.
A major outage disrupted Amazon's cloud services, temporarily knocking out streaming platforms Netflix and Disney+, Robinhood, a wide range of apps and Amazon.com's e-commerce website as consumers shopped ahead of Christmas.
The United States has enough reserves of lithium, copper and other metals to build millions of its own electric vehicles (EVs), but rising opposition to new mines may force the country to rely on imports and delay efforts to electrify the nation's automobiles.
The German government made billions of euros from debt issuance this year thanks to negative interest rates on its securities, according to a letter, seen by Reuters, from Finance Ministry State Secretary Florian Toncar to a left wing lawmaker. | | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Food running out, Philippine typhoon survivors warn Philippine officials and residents of areas that bore the brunt of Typhoon Rai pleaded for food, water, and shelter on Tuesday as damaged roads, flooding, and severed power and communication lines hampered relief efforts. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
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