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VOA NEWSDecember 24, 2020This is VOA news. Via remote, I'm Jim Bertel.U.S. President Donald Trump has vetoed the annual defense policy bill, demanding that lawmakers add a provision against social media companies. AP's Jackie Quinn reports.The defense bill, which includes pay raises for troops and $740 billion in military programs and construction, passed with broad bipartisan support.Now with the president's veto, Oklahoma Republican Senator Jim Inhofe says the bill is absolutely vital to national security, saying our men and women in uniform shouldn't be denied what they need.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump's action "an act of staggering recklessness."President Trump has offered a series of rationales for his veto, including a demand for limits on social media companies which he claims are biased against him.His veto sets the stage for the first override vote of his presidency in its final weeks.Jackie Quinn, Washington.Meanwhile, the president is threatening a government shutdown as well as not signing a coronavirus aid package. Reuters Freddie Joyner has more.The U.S. on Wednesday faced the prospect of a year-end government shutdown on top of a raging pandemic after outgoing President Donald Trump threatened not to sign a $2.3 trillion package that includes government funding in coronavirus aid for Americans.In a video posted to social media on Tuesday evening, Trump surprised some of his closest officials by demanding that the bill be revised to include $2,000 payments to each eligible American, more than triple the $600 per person included in the bill.Current federal funding is also due to expire this Monday if Trump does not sign the bill into law.That is Reuters Freddie Joyner, and you're listening to VOA news.Britain is introducing new restrictions on travel from South Africa over the spread of another new variant of coronavirus. Britain's Health Minister Matt Hancock is urging anyone who has traveled to Britain from South Africa in the past two weeks to self-isolate."Just as we got a tiered system in place that was able to control this virus, we've discovered a new, more contagious virus, a variant that is spreading at a dangerous rate."Freight from Britain and passengers with a negative virus test have begun arriving on French shores after France relaxed a two-day blockade over a new virus variant that had isolated Britain, [stan...] stranding thousands of drivers and raised fears of shortages. AP's Zaria Shaklee reports.The company that runs the Eurotunnel said that truck drivers lined up on the highway leading to the English port of Dover are being tested for the new UK variant of the coronavirus, but that it may take some time to for traffic to resume as normal after massive backup.Calais is a major conduit for trade and travel between Britain and the continent, and France had argued that the blockade was necessary in order to work out safety measures to protect European citizens.That is AP's Zaria Shaklee reporting.President-elect Joe Biden introduced Miguel Cardona as his pick for education secretary. The AP's Ed Donahue reports.Cardona has the top education job in Connecticut and, if approved, will start his new job during a pandemic."He is a secretary of education for this moment."It's been a struggle to educate students."Reopening schools safely will be a national priority for the Biden-Harris administration."Cardona is a supporter of public education, a sharp contrast to the current secretary, Betsy DeVos."It shouldn't take a pandemic for us to realize how important teachers are for this country."Biden has pledged to have a majority of schools reopen within his first 100 days in office.Ed Donahue, Washington.The United States is calling for transparency and an end to violence after Russia said it had dispatched 300 military instructors to the Central African Republic ahead of elections.The State Department said it "deplores" the rising violence ahead of weekend elections.Russia says it is dispatching the military [instruction] instructors on the request of the government following a purported coup attempt.The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission says more than 100 people have been killed in the latest massacre along ethnic lines in the western part of the country.The attack occurred a day after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited the region and spoke about the need to bring those responsible for recent attacks to justice. Ethnic tensions are a major challenge as the prime minister tries to promote national unity in a country with more than 80 ethnic groups.For more on any of today's story, go to . From Washington, via remote, I'm Jim Bertel, VOA news. ................
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