The UK becomes the first country to approve AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s vaccine candidate, a potential game-changer for the pandemic recovery. A Colorado man tests positive for the UK variant of the Covid virus. President-elect Joe Biden says the U.S. vaccine rollout is falling behind schedule. U.S. markets close lower following recent record highs after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stymies a vote on improved stimulus checks. In tech news, Intel shares are up after activist investor Third Point advises the chipmaker on ‘strategic investments in order to claw back market share. Spain sees the creation of its fifth-largest lender as the boards of Unicaja and Liberbank approve the merger.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.