New York health provider may have fraudulently obtained COVID-19 vaccine
The vaccine was then given to members of the public not yet eligible.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 80.2 million people worldwide and killed over 1.7 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Latest headlines:
US death toll could reach 419,000 by Jan. 16: CDC
Another 16,400 to 27,600 Americans are expected to die from COVID-19 by Jan. 16, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, citing its national ensemble forecast from 36 modeling groups.
That would bring the total COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. to between 378,000 and 419,000.
At least 326,495 Americans have died so far, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
TSA sees busiest travel day of pandemic
The TSA screened 1,191,123 people at airport checkpoints nationwide on Wednesday, the highest single day total since the pandemic started, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising Americans against traveling for the holidays.
More than 6.3 million passengers have been screened since Dec. 18 .
ABC News’ Sam Sweeney and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
California surpasses 2 million cases
California now has more than 2 million confirmed cases of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic -- the first state to report the grim milestone.
The state has at least 2,010,004 diagnosed cases and 23,651 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
UK halts flights from South Africa
Grant Shapps, the United Kingdom's transportation secretary tweeted that all flights to and from South Africa will be halted starting 9 a.m. Thursday, after a new coronavirus mutation was discovered in that country.
"British & Irish Nationals, visa holders and permanent residents arriving from South Africa will be able to enter but are required to self-isolate for ten days along with their household," he tweeted.
South African nationals won't be allowed to enter the U.K. until the ban is lifted, Shapps said.
Duke women's basketball calls off season due to COVID-19
The Duke women's basketball team has decided to end its season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"The student-athletes on the Duke women's basketball team have made the difficult decision to conclude their current season due to safety concerns," Michael Schoenfeld, Duke's vice president for public affairs and government relations and chief communications officer, said in a statement. "We support their decision, as we have supported the choices made by all student-athletes at Duke during this unprecedented time."
The team suspended activities on Dec. 16 after two members of the program's "travel party" tested positive for COVID-19. It's unclear if they were players or staff, but contact tracing didn't allow for the team to field enough players.
The Blue Devils had gone 3-1 in the first four games under newly hired head coach Kara Lawson. The former Tennessee star and ESPN commentator said earlier this season she did not believe that college basketball games should proceed during the pandemic.
Duke men's coach, Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski, made similar comments this month as well. The men's team, currently ranked No. 20 in the AP poll, has continued to play.
The Duke women's team is the first major program to end their season.