Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The crisis has entered a critical new phase: “The United States is in a race against time to vaccinate as many people as possible before other potentially more worrisome variants of the coronavirus emerge, according to experts.”
* Reopening schools: “Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the government’s top public health experts, said Thursday that he supports re-opening schools under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic.”
* I plan to have more on this tomorrow: “President Biden, seeking to expand access to health care and strengthen the Affordable Care Act, used his executive authority Thursday to order the reopening of enrollment in the health law’s marketplaces and a re-examination of Trump administration policies that undermined protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.”
* Capitol Hill: “More money is needed to protect lawmakers from threats of violence coming from an ‘enemy’ within Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, a startling acknowledgment of how internal tensions over safety have escalated since this month’s Capitol attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump.”
* Big news from GM: “General Motors wants to end production of all diesel- and gasoline-powered cars, trucks and SUVs by 2035 and shift its entire new fleet to electric vehicles as part of a broader plan to become carbon neutral by 2040, the company said Thursday. The company plans to use 100% renewable energy to power its U.S. facilities by 2030 and global facilities by 2035 — five years ahead of a previously announced goal.” * I hadn’t thought about this, but it’s a good point: “As he entered his first week in office, President Joe Biden was handed a priceless gift: the blissful sound of former President Donald Trump’s Twitter silence. Gone are the pre-dawn tirades, the all-caps declarations, the ‘Sleepy Joe’ mocking, the Fox News-driven agitations and the general incitements.” * Good choice: “Amanda Gorman, the inauguration’s break out star, will perform an original poem before the Super Bowl to honor three heroes the NFL tapped as honorary captains for their service throughout the pandemic.” See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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