For the 70th year in a row, people of all ages will be able to get updates on Santa's journey around the world from the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado.

Still, health officials in the nation's capital are hoping that Smith and other Black religious leaders will serve as community influencers to overcome what officials say is a persistent vaccine reluctance in the Black community. The latest numbers show the gap is narrowing, but the southeastern core of the city's Black community is still getting vaccinated at the slowest rate. “The church, and particularly the Black church, is essential. In an interview, McDuffie, who represents southeastern Ward 5, called the city's vaccine rollout “overwhelmingly inequitable” and said talk of vaccine reluctance was obscuring a reality of vaccine frustration, made worse by the digital divide. Given the community reluctance, city health officials say they cannot afford to frustrate or discourage those seeking vaccination.