Las Notis is a daily news column that gets you up to speed on the political, media + other goings-on in the United States, Latin America, and the diaspora—all in one quick digest.
Here’s your glimpse at what’s going on today:
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- Congress finally reached a deal on a new Coronavirus relief package. The new $900 billion plan will be the second-largest federal stimulus package, if it’s passed by the President, after the $2 trillion CARES Act that Congress approved in March. [Reuters]
- The distribution of the Moderna vaccine is expected to begin today after the FD approved it on Friday. More than 556,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine have been administered and 2.8 million doses have been distributed to facilities, while the first doses of the Moderna are expected to begin this morning.[CNN]
- President-elect Joe Biden and Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador held a phone call over the weekend, in which they reportedly committed to working on a “humane strategy” for addressing migration’s root causes in Central America and southern Mexico. A summary of the call from the Biden team said they “discussed working together on a new approach to regional migration that offers alternatives to undertaking the dangerous journey to the United States.” [Independent]
- Doctors report that Latino patients have expressed concerns over taking the Coronavirus vaccine, reflecting widespread misinformation and mistrust that some worry could affect the community’s response to vaccinations. Latinos have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. [NBC Latino]
- The Human Rights Watch has denounced the Peruvian national police for committing “multiple abuses” against mostly peaceful demonstrators in November, following the removal of former president Martin Vizcarra. According to their report, two protesters were killed and more than 200 injured, some seriously, between Nov. 9 and 15. [Reuters]
- A 51-year-old man from the Bahamas died in ICE custody this week, marking the first person to die this fiscal year, which began in October. He died at Adams County Detention Center in Natchez, Mississippi and the cause of death, according to a source, was a heart attack. [Buzzfeed]
- Barack Obama released his yearly lists of favorite books and music. His music list includes Bad Bunny’s “La Dificil,” and he joked that his youngest daughter Sasha helped him out a little while making his playlist this year. [Billboard]