A group of independent advisers voted 17-4, with one abstention, to endorse the first U.S. coronavirus vaccine on Thursday. The panel said the shot from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech appears safe and effective for people age 16 and up.

President Donald Trump and attorneys for 17 U.S. states filed briefs with the Supreme Court supporting Texas’ bid to keep Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin out of the upcoming Electoral College vote. The lawsuit accuses officials in those states, all of which have certified Joe Biden as winner, of making unconstitutional changes to voting procedures and undermining the integrity of the presidential election.

Lawmakers voted on Wednesday to push back their Friday funding deadline while party leaders negotiate a new economic stimulus plan. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, have said they want to include COVID-19 relief in the overall federal spending plan, which must now be approved by Friday, Dec. 18, to avoid a government shutdown.

All but one state submitted their Electoral College slates to Congress in time for Tuesday’s “safe harbor” deadline. The law precludes any congressional challenges to states’ certified election results before the official Electoral College vote on Monday. The deadline’s passing strengthens Joe Biden’s hold on at least 296 electors. A pending lawsuit held up Wisconsin’s vote submission, but Biden is expected to win that state’s 10 electors, as well.

Congress is expected to pass a short-term budget resolution to avoid a government shutdown for another week while an economic stimulus package comes together. Funds for the government are set to run out on Dec. 11. A one-week extension would allow lawmakers to nail down plans for a COVID-19 economic relief bill, which Republicans on Capitol Hill could unveil any time.

The Michigan State Board of Canvassers approved the results of the state’s election on Monday by a vote of 3-0 with one abstention. With its decision, the board rejected the request of some Republican Party officials to delay the certification, further diminishing the chances of President Donald Trump reversing his apparent loss to Joe Biden. Most Pennsylvania counties on Monday certified their results, too. Biden led in that state by more than 80,000 votes and in Michigan by about 154,000 votes.

Authorities arrested the 15-year-old boy on Saturday evening but did not announce any charges. The Friday afternoon shooting at a suburban Milwaukee mall injured seven adults and one teenager. Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber said the incident happened during a dispute with two groups.