A steady decline in new coronavirus cases in the United States appears to have stalled. / The Washington Post Zeynep Tufekci lays out five key fallacies and pitfalls that have affected public-health messaging. / The Atlantic Vaccine refusal is actually a portfolio of issues—dissent, deliberation, distrust—requiring a portfolio of
US intelligence concludes Prince Mohammed approved the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, but the Biden administration says penalizing him would risk American interests. / The New York Times This morning, the House passed the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package. The bill now heads to the Senate, where debate is expected to
The House of Representatives votes on the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill today. It has already lost its minimum wage provision. / CNBC, NPR Anne Helen Petersen: The future of the middle class depends on student loan forgiveness. / Vox Related: The inhumanity of America's minimum wage, as told by
US regulators find the single-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine to be safe and effective, paving the way for it to be authorized within days. / BBC News A sweeping new Covid-19 data platform offers access to more than 5 million anonymized records from 160 countries. / STAT Helen Lewis:
A federal judge has banned Biden's 100-day moratorium on deportations, but did not require them to resume at their previous pace. / Associated Press The Biden administration has reopened a Trump-era facility in Texas to hold migrant teens. / The Washington Post Related: "Biden unveils cool teen
The United States' Covid-19 death toll passes half a million people. Mourners share stories of their loved ones on an Instagram post from the White House. / BBC News, Instagram Unrelated: Four years of stories from employees at DC's Trump Hotel, where directions for pouring the former
In February 2011, frigid temperatures took down part of Texas's power infrastructure. Officials ignored the warnings, setting the state up for last week's disaster. / BuzzFeed News After the 2011 freeze, El Paso—which isn't on the same grid as most of Texas—prepared its
Dozens of Texans died during this week's winter storm, but the true death toll won't be known for weeks or months. / The Texas Tribune Last year, Texas utility regulators cut ties with a group that had been hired to monitor and enforce reliability standards—including weatherization
The Biden administration pledges $4 billion to a coronavirus vaccination program for poorer countries. Boris Johnson pledges to donate most of the UK's surplus supply. / Reuters, BBC A 90-year-old woman walks six miles through snow to get her vaccine. / The New York Times A "vaccine
Millions in Texas are now under a boil-water notice. / NPR This morning, Texas's energy authority announced all controlled outages have ended, and local utility companies may now begin restoring power as they see fit. / KXAN Republicans are trying to blame Texas's power grid failure on
