| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Monday, December 20, 2021 by Farouq Suleiman | Hello Here's what you need to know. Joe Manchin delivers potential fatal blow to Biden's Build Back Better bill, Moderna says booster dose appears protective against Omicron and Dubai World Trade Center to set up specialied crypto zone. | | | | | Today's biggest stories  Senator Joe Manchin looks on as he talks to reporters as he leaves the U.S. Capitol in Washington, December 15, 2021. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat who is key to Joe Biden's hopes of passing a $1.75 trillion domestic investment bill, said he would not support the package, drawing a sharp rebuke from the White House.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate will move ahead with a vote on the Build Back Better plan early next year despite opposition from the Democratic senator, and will also take up voting rights legislation.
A bid by the White House to dramatically boost electric vehicle tax credits also hit a major roadblock when Manchin said he would not support the $1.75 trillion domestic investment bill.
U.S. health officials urged Americans to get booster shots, wear masks and be careful if they travel over the winter holidays, as the Omicron variant raged across the world and was set to take over as the dominant strain in the United States.
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker said they both tested positive for COVID-19 and were experiencing mild symptoms amid a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases.
A U.S. federal agency said it could start issuing citations to companies as soon as Jan. 10 for failure to comply with a nationwide mandate that they either vaccinate or test regularly for COVID-19, as a U.S. Supreme Court showdown over the policy looms. |  People queue at a COVID-19 vaccination centre in London, Britain, December 15, 2021. REUTERS/Hannah McKay World Twelve people in Britain have died with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said, refusing to rule out a tightening of social restrictions before Christmas. Britain has reported record levels of COVID-19 cases, with officials and ministers warning that the full effects of the latest wave are still yet to be seen.
Moderna said that a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine appeared to be protective against the fast-spreading Omicron variant in laboratory testing and that the current version of the vaccine would continue to be Moderna’s "first line of defense against Omicron."
Turkish labourer Hasan Sarikaya says he has no job, no money and no hope for a better future while President Tayyip Erdogan - the leader he supported for years - remains in power, as Turkey's crisis rattles the faithful in Erdogan's heartland.
Ten years after leading student protests demanding better education, Gabriel Boric is set to become Chile's youngest-ever president, capping a remarkable rise for the Andean nation's progressive left.
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa returned to Earth after a 12-day journey into space, ending a practice run for his planned trip around the moon with Elon Musk's SpaceX in 2023. |  Representations of cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, DogeCoin, Ripple, Litecoin are placed on PC motherboard in this illustration taken, June 29, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvi Business The Dubai World Trade Center will become a crypto zone and regulator for cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets, the Dubai Media Office said, part of efforts to attract new business as regional economic competition heats up.
Central banks, the developed world's most reliable group of bond buyers, could slash debt purchases next year by as much as $2 trillion across the four big advanced economies, implying a potentially hefty rise in many governments' borrowing costs.
Global merger and acquisition activity shattered all-time records in 2021, comfortably erasing the high-water mark that was set nearly 15 years ago, as an abundance of capital and sky-high valuations fuelled frenetic levels of dealmaking.
OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma could be years away from paying billions of dollars to address the U.S. opioid crisis after a judge blew up a deal that gave provided legal immunity to the Sackler family that owned the company, people close to the negotiations said.
The number of finance jobs shifting from Britain to the European Union due to Brexit is less than initially expected despite billions of euros in share trading moving to the bloc and London losing most of its access to EU capital markets, consultants EY said. | | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Record low turnout for Hong Kong 'patriots-only' vote Pro-Beijing candidates swept to victory in an overhauled 'patriots'-only legislative election in Hong Kong that was deemed regressive by critics, with turnout hitting a record low amid a crackdown on the city's freedoms by China. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
