What's in the COVID aid package? Jobless benefits, direct payments to Americans and more

Good morning and welcome to Christmas week!

Sunday's light snow and rain showers may linger today in parts of northeastern Minnesota. Highs today will be in the 30s in most areas, but it'll feel much colder with strong wind gusts that will bring the wind chill to the 20s in southern and central Minnesota and the teens up north. Find the latest on Updraft.

Waiting for white Christmas? You may be in luck . There is a snow chance this week. Some forecast models show snow for northern and central Minnesota Tuesday night into Wednesday. We’ll have the latest snow forecast on the Updraft weather blog today.

After months of delay, Congress finally has a deal on a COVID-19 aid package.

The relief bill, which the House and the Senate are expected to sign Monday, would total almost $900 billion. “There will be another major rescue package for the American people,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in announcing the agreement for the bill last night.

Here's what the package would provide:

Next in line for a COVID-19 vaccine: Adults over 75, essential workers.

With the first Moderna shots set to go into arms today, a federal advisory panel has recommended that people 75 and older and essential workers like firefighters, teachers and grocery store workers should be next in line for COVID-19 vaccinations.

So far, 556,000 Americans has been given shots of a COVID-19 vaccine, and the chief science adviser to the federal government’s vaccine distribution effort, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, said nearly 8 million doses will be distributed Monday, about 5.9 million of the Moderna vaccine and 2 million of Pfizer's.

Cases, positivity rate trend downward in Minnesota as deadly December continues.

Minnesota's COVID-19 statistics passed several encouraging milestones over the weekend. Averaged over the past seven days, the number of new cases and hospital admissions each day are at their lowest level in at least six weeks. The test positivity rate also continues to fall.

But the positive signs come amid a mounting December death toll. The state Health Department reported 127 more deaths over the weekend, making December the deadliest month of the pandemic so far — with 10 days left to go.

Tonight is the night! Jupiter and Saturn will appear closer than they have in the last 800 years on the winter solstice.

Will you be able to see the great conjunction of 2020? Northeastern Minnesota and much of Wisconsin look very cloudy at 5 p.m. this afternoon, with patchy clouds and breaks in the cloud cover elsewhere. The cloud forecast may change, so check for forecast updates today on our Updraft weather blog.

For some kids with disabilities, pushing buttons to make toys talk and sing is harder than for some other children. So these students at NDSU are hacking toys so any kids can play.

Last year, director of disability services at North Dakota State University Mark Coppin proposed a collaboration with the school's electrical engineering honor society, whose members are now spending their evenings hacking into toys off the shelf, so kids with disabilities can enjoy them.