Global National: Dec. 18, 2020 | Canadians told to stay home for Christmas, lockdowns extended

In our top story: We are one week from Christmas and while this will be a holiday season unlike any other, one message is consistent across the country: officials from coast to coast are urging Canadians to stay home. There are more than 75,000 active COVID-19 cases in Canada and huge parts of the country are under lockdowns. On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced hundreds of vaccine doses are expected to arrive in the new year, but he said this is not the time to be complacent. In Ontario, more than 2,000 new cases were reported for the third day in a row and 40 deaths, and there are new measures being announced in the province on Monday. Mike Le Couteur reports on the concerns officials have across the country.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given emergency use authorization to a second COVID-19 vaccine. Millions of doses of the Moderna vaccine are on track to be delivered across the country immediately. Approximately 42,000 Americans died due to COVID-19 this month alone. On Friday, Vice-President Mike Pence became the highest-ranking U.S. official to receive the vaccine and is encouraging others to follow suit. Jennifer Johnson reports.

While some top officials in the U.S. get vaccinated, Canada’s prime minister says he plans to wait his turn and get vaccinated when other healthy people in their 40s are eligible. While there is a debate on when world leaders should get vaccinated, as Abigail Bimman tells us, experts say Trudeau's decision is the right call.

They’re known as small modular reactors, or SMRs, and are seen as a relatively new kind of nuclear power plant that can be used in ships in remote Northern communities, or to power resource development like mines. The federal government wants Canada to be a world leader in developing SMRs. As David Akin reports, the technology could help Canada cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

There is some good news from Nigeria, after a week of desperation and worry. More than 300 school boys who were kidnapped last week have been freed. The government says their release was secured through negotiations. It comes more than six years after nearly 300 girls were taken in another part of Nigeria – many of whom are still missing. Redmond Shannon reports.

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