In the news today: Many of the nation’s most prominent voices are now quite sure that school closures during a pandemic are a political stance—and that’s as good an example of the stakes-free nihilism of our political punditry as you might find.

Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who died Dec. 28 at the age of 82, is lying in state at the Capitol today. As his former colleagues honor his singular career, we’re taking a look back at his long electoral history—a path that dealt Reid several setbacks on his way toward the pinnacle of American politics.

Reid famously grew up in the tiny southern Nevada town of Searchlight.

Did you know that for years farmworkers have not been entitled to overtime pay unless they’ve been working at least ten hours? That’s set to change for many farm laborers in California as of this month, when state law that requires farmers with more than 26 employees to pay overtime after eight hours goes into effect, The Fresno Bee reports.

The law has been phased in since its 2016 passage, finally going into full effect on Jan. 1.

Students have an absolutely enormous amount on their plates no matter how they’re attending school during a global pandemic. Whether it’s virtual, in-person, a hybrid option, public or private, we know that young people are facing pandemic-related stress, uncertainty, and confusion, just like the rest of us.

As the novel coronavirus continues to spread across the country, anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers fail to realize the strain their decisions are having on the health care system. Nationwide, hospitals have been not only forced to cancel surgeries due to COVID-19 hospitalizations but also because they lack an adequate blood supply.

In Illinois especially, donors are desperately needed.