LAST UPDATE | 14 Dec 2020

EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you all the news you need to know as you start the day.

1. #CASES: Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tony Holohan has said he was concerned that the incidence of Covid-19 is beginning to rise after 429 new cases were confirmed yesterday.

2. #BREXIT: The EU’s negotiator Michel Barnier will update diplomats from the 27 member states today as talks continued on a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK.

3. #TREATMENT: Patients who are prescribed medical cannabis will no longer need to travel to the Netherlands to collect medication, according to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.

4. #TESTING: Private providers have been reporting an upsurge in demand for Covid-19 testing ahead of the Christmas season.

5. #VACCINES: Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn has said the country was on the cusp of deploying two vaccines if they are authorised by the European Medicines Agency.

6. #ON THE ROAD: Bus Éireann has announced that it will create 120 new jobs and provide an increase in services across Ireland.

7. #NEW YORK: A man was shot by police after an incident involving a gun at the end of a Christmas choral concert on the steps of a Manhattan cathedral in New York.

8. #RIP: John le Carré, best known for Cold War novels like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, has died aged 89. 

9. #JOE SHOW: The electors of the US electoral college will officially meet today to cast their vote for the presidency, essentially locking in Joe Biden’s inauguration next month.