THE BIG STORY

Congress has passed a bill that includes $600 checks and more unemployment benefits

Months after most of the previous COVID aid had expired, Congress has approved hundreds of billions of dollars in relief for businesses and individuals.

On Monday evening, Congress passed the $900 billion COVID relief package that includes short-term unemployment benefits and $600 direct payments. It’s the first coronavirus aid passed by Congress since the CARES Act in March.

The new bill is much smaller and contains less than what both Democrats and even the Trump White House had been proposing. Its passage comes at the end of a year that saw millions of people lose their jobs and fall into poverty, hundreds of thousands of businesses close, and over 300,000 Americans die.

Some details of the direct payments:

👉 Adults who earn up to $75,000 will receive $600 checks, and couples who earn up to $150,000 combined will receive $1,200.

👉 Parents will also receive $600 for each child dependent under the age of 17, but no money for older children or adult dependents.

👉 For people who earn above $75,000 the size of the checks are phased out at a rate of $5 for every $100 of income, drawing down to zero at $87,000 or $174,000 for joint filers.

Notably, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell successfully blocked mandatory paid leave for workers with COVID.

A shuttered restaurant in Hell's Kitchen in New York City in November. Noam Galai / Getty Images

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

Joe Biden received the vaccine

On a live TV special on Monday, President-elect Joe Biden and incoming first lady Jill Biden received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. The incoming president told the nation that he was doing it to show there is “nothing to worry about,” and that Americans should get vaccinated once they can.

Biden also thanked scientists and healthcare workers, adding, “We owe you big. We really do.”

Biden is now one in a growing group of public officials who have been vaccinated, including Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Joshua Roberts / Getty Images

SNAPSHOTS

Supreme Court justices can get vaccinated now. The rest of the courts are on their own. While the Supremes could get their vaccine as early as this week, other judges are settling in for a wait. Some are urging state officials to consider the federal courts for vaccine priority lists.

An American teen was sentenced to 4 months in prison for breaking COVID-19 quarantine in the Cayman Islands. Skylar Mack, an 18-year-old woman from Georgia, violated the Cayman Islands' 14-day quarantine protocol when she left her residence to watch her boyfriend compete in a Jet Ski competition.

Wedding dress designer Hayley Paige says she lost the right to her Instagram and own name in court. In a tearful announcement, the popular designer told fans she is being sued by her old parent company, which alleges it owns everything she built.

How Kelly Loeffler’s WNBA team became her most passionate opponent. Loeffler is running in Georgia’s Senate runoff. Elizabeth Williams and the Atlanta Dream — the team Loeffler co-owns — were key to her opponent Raphael Warnock’s rise. The WNBA players have no plans to step back now.

The Atlanta Dream in Florida in July. Julio Aguilar / Getty Images

THE NEXT CHAPTER

The next Tea Party is lurking inside Trump’s election results denial

In this universe, Joe Biden won the 2020 election convincingly. President Donald Trump’s legal challenges have yielded little successes, and the Electoral College already cast its ballots. On January 20, Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th president.

But as Rosie Gray writes, in a parallel universe, the idea that Biden won is not only false but impossible, and the notion that he will be sworn in next month still very much in doubt. Trump’s lawyers are not bumblers engaged in a hapless quest, but heroes fighting to save the republic.

That universe has significant power in the Republican party. Just how much power is hard to say. Surveys have shown that large numbers of Republicans don’t believe the election results — which can range from believing there were some irregularities to believing a coup is taking place.

As Gray reports, the incentives for Republican leaders and certain media organizations to keep this going are strong. Could it morph into a new incarnation of the 2010 Tea Party movement?

LET BILLIE LIVE

Billie Eilish responded to the debate about her hair and got real about why she kept it green for so long

Fans have been teasing the singer about her hair for a while now, pointing out that this is the longest Billie has kept the same style.

But responding to one of the comments, Billie said her hair was actually a positive sign for her mental health. “This is the longest I’ve had the same hair color since I was 13 & that’s on mental stability and growth leave me alone,” Eilish wrote.

Hone in on what you're grateful to have this morning,

Elamin