Stunt riding in Iraq, downhill skiing in Switzerland, a giant stuffed penguin in New York, drones over Dublin, a huge sand portrait in England, an unfinished border wall in Texas, green slime in California, a green river in Chicago, and much more.
Good news: You’ve made it through another day. Here’s some of what you might have missed.
• Declassified report shows that Republican claims about election interference by China were lies
• Texas man arrested on weapons charge near vice president’s mansion in Washington, D.C.
The DKonversation: Something to talk about
Today’s questions:
Have you been vaccinated?
If not, what’s your plan?
Last weekend the U.S. crossed an important threshold: 100 million doses of vaccine administered. As a sign of hope, media captions and chyrons were switched from showing the death rate to the vaccination rate.
If you’re like me, you were continually frustrated by Donald Trump’s baffling ability to avoid real consequences for his serial perfidy over the past four (erm, 74) years, and you responded to this outrage by curling up into the fetal position, crawling into a giant bag of Kirkland Signature Rice Crackers, and treating it like some sort of artificial space placenta. If you’re not like me, you still probably hated all that unpunished lawbreaking.
Confession time.
I … [[deep breath]] am a hoarder.
I hoard web browser tabs.
I open something I mean to read or use for research, and four times out of five it just … sits. Unused. Unread.
In the Chrome window I’m using to write this week’s missive, I have 38 tabs open.
I’m not proud.
It’s time to admit that I have a problem.
So I’ve decided: Out with them.
The House Republican went on a rant against Chinese communism during a hearing about surging violence against Asian Americans.
The number of people hospitalized with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States has been plummeting since early January. Until about three weeks ago, hospitalizations in Michigan were following the same pattern: More people with COVID-19 were leaving the hospital than were being admitted. But in the past few weeks, data from the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services have shown that hospitalizations have risen by 45 percent from the state’s recent low on February 25.
Is it sinking in for Republicans yet just how much they’ve fucked up? In the eyes of millions of Americans, they’re now the party of COVID-19, election theft, voter suppression, sedition, and smaller checks for fewer people.
“Masks are protective,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said before informing the senator that COVID-19 can still pose threats to those already infected or vaccinated.
The announcement comes after the Supreme Court agreed to review the legality of the Trump policy change.
“I didn’t have any hesitation signing up to get it, but I had extreme hesitation telling anybody about it.
Twitter users were quick to correct Rep. Chip Roy, who uttered the disturbing line during a hearing about violence against Asian Americans.
“I don’t think that would make sense for Floridians,” the Florida governor says.
This week marks one year since Murphy ordered the shuttering of all school buildings in New Jersey due to the spread of the coronavirus.
The Democratic governor has two things going for him: A decline in the infection rate and an increase in vaccinations.
“Dear Sarah,” read the note left on the makeshift memorial, “we are so sorry. You did nothing wrong.” It was just after 5 p.m., an hour from sunset, on March 13 and women were already beginning to gather at the park in Clapham, South London, to remember Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman kidnapped from the capital’s streets on March 3. Her body was found a week later in a woodland 50 miles away, in a builder’s bag, and had to be identified from dental records.
If certain corners of the French internet are anything to go by, COVID-19 vaccines are unsafe, those who refuse them risk becoming “second-class citizens,” and the country has turned into a “health dictatorship.” That such claims have gained currency in France—home to Louis Pasteur, a robust welfare state, and a universal-health-care system—would have been far-fetched 25 years ago.
This has been a year of terrible loss. People have lost loved ones to the pandemic. Many have gotten sick, and some are still suffering. Children have lost a year of school. Millions have lost a steady paycheck. Some have lost small businesses that they’d built for decades. Almost all of us have lost hugs and visits and travel and the joy of gathering together at a favorite restaurant and more.And yet, this year has also taught us much.
The Texas Republican also praised lynching.
They’re considering restoring a tax deduction that once benefited the upper-middle class and rich. Bad idea.
Jen Psaki said the administration is “assessing how we can loan” doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is not yet approved for use in the U.S.
Sen. Pat Toomey voted against Democrats’ measure, blaming them for passing a bill that lacked protections and had no GOP support in Congress.
We spent most of our trip on the plane!
The United States and the United Kingdom are facing international criticism for moving to expand their nuclear arsenals, defying a growing global movement in support of nuclear disarmament. The U.S.
Martial law has been declared in more parts of Burma as the military junta intensifies its crackdown following the February 1 coup. At least 217 protesters have been killed and over 2,000 have been arrested or detained since the coup began, according to one Burmese group. Protests are continuing across the country amid a crackdown on communications, in which much of Burma is under an internet blackout and independent newspapers have stopped publishing.
Deadly shootings at three Atlanta-area massage parlors that left eight people dead have stoked outrage and renewed fears about rising anti-Asian racism in the United States, which has already seen a rise in violence directed at Asian Americans during the pandemic.
Emily Oster on how families should think about risk in the final act of the pandemic.
She won’t break up with her.
Shouldn’t my son get to enjoy his time off?
Going back to in-person learning—with a twist.