First Thing: Senate rescinds army Covid vaccine mandate

Democrats agree to Republican demands to scrap vaccination requirement for service members to win support for $858bn defense bill. Plus, Trump’s superhero card collection

Good morning.

Joe Biden is to sign into law a bill to rescind the Covid-19 vaccine mandate for members of the US military and provide nearly $858bn for national defense after it passed in the Senate yesterday.

What else was passed? The Senate passed legislation to fund the government for an additional week as lawmakers race to finish work on a full-year spending package before they head home for the holidays and a new Congress is sworn in.

What have the news publications said? The Washington Post said in a statement that the suspension of their technology reporter, Drew Harwell, “undermines Elon Musk’s claim that he intends to run Twitter as a platform dedicated to free speech”. Meanwhile, CNN said: “Twitter’s increasing instability and volatility should be of incredible concern to everyone who uses the platform.”

Will they be reinstated? While the journalists had reported that the suspensions were permanent, in multiple tweets Musk said the suspensions would be for seven days. “Some time away from Twitter is good for the soul …” Musk tweeted.