COVID-19: MASK GUIDANCE
The CDC has put out updated guidance on mask wearing: fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks outdoors unless they’re in a large crowd of strangers. Unvaccinated people can stop wearing masks when they’re walking or exercising outdoors alone, or while attending outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated friends or family. Everyone should still wear masks in crowded outdoor settings or anytime they’re doing something indoors that involves contact with people outside their household. The relaxed rules come as cases in the U.S. have dropped more than 20 percent in the last two weeks and more than half of adults are at least partially vaccinated. YAHOO NEWS
INDIA'S COVID CATASTROPHE
Just a couple of months ago, public health officials in India were marveling at their luck as the country seemed to have avoided a massive second wave of Covid cases. Now, more than 300,000 people a day are testing positive and the death toll just passed 200,000. One well-regarded epidemiology institute estimates the daily case number is closer to 14 million. India is suffering from a perfect storm of factors, according to the WHO: mass gatherings, low vaccination rates, and more contagious variants. GUARDIAN
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
President Biden will make his first address to Congress tonight (it’s technically not a State of the Union in a president’s first year), in which he is expected to call for major spending initiatives for domestic priorities. As part of his infrastructure proposal, Biden will pitch free preschool for all three- and four-year old children in America, at a cost of $200 billion. The Capitol is on high alert for the speech, coming after the Jan. 6 riot. AP
ANDREW BROWN SHOOTING
A judge in North Carolina will decide today whether to release the complete body cam footage from the police shooting of Andrew Brown, Jr., who was killed by sheriff’s deputies serving an arrest warrant a week ago. A private autopsy commissioned by Brown’s family found that he was shot five times, including in the back of the head. The sheriff’s office in Elizabeth City says they required a heavily armed SWAT team to arrest Brown because he was a convicted felon with a history of resisting arrest. NBC NEWS
GAS SHORTAGE
If you’ve filled up your tank lately, you’ve probably winced at those numbers ticking up on the little screen. The national average for a gallon of gas is already flirting with $3 as summer approaches, and now there are concerns that a shortage is coming. Not because there’s not enough crude oil -- there’s plenty -- but because there aren’t enough drivers to haul the refined product to gas stations. A shortage of tanker drivers was exacerbated during the pandemic as demand fell and workers were laid off or retired. Now with demand way up, as many as a quarter of tanker trucks are sitting idle due to the difficulties in finding qualified drivers, who require special certification and training. CNN
SPACE RACE
Two of the richest men in the world are feuding over who gets first dibs to take the next astronauts to the moon. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket company filed an official complaint with the government after NASA awarded a $3 billion contract to Elon Musk’s SpaceX to build the next-generation lunar lander. Bezos claims NASA moved the goalposts for the bidding at the last minute. Musk hit back on Twitter, saying Bezos “couldn’t get it up (to orbit.)” REUTERS
DERBY DAYS
The Kentucky Derby is coming up, believe it or not. Churchill Downs will welcome a limited number of fans to watch the first leg of the Triple Crown on Saturday. For the first time in 25 years, a gray horse is the early favorite to win: Essential Quality, an undefeated 2-year-old colt, is going into the race with 2-1 odds. The last gray horse to win the Derby was Giacomo in 2005, and just seven others have won since 1930.AP
NEW COLDPLAY MUSIC
Coldplay has been dropping cryptic hints about a new project called Alien Radio, amid rumors that the band is getting close to releasing its long-awaited ninth album. In a brief clip shared to Coldplay’s social channels, a series of purple symbols flash over the sound of a static radio signal. Fans on social media noticed the symbols are identical to ones seen on mysterious billboards that have been popping up in cities like New York, London, and Seoul: SEE IT
SPOTTED...
...Tony Blair, the former UK prime minister, rocking a mullet on television: SEE PIC...Adele, at an Oscars after-party in L.A. celebrating Daniel Kaluuya’s Supporting Actor win, the first time the singer’s been seen out in public in months: SEE PICS
LEFTOVERS: VAX BREAKTHROUGH
The biggest public health breakthrough of the decade may end up having nothing to do with coronavirus. Researchers at the University of Oxford -- the same team that helped develop AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine -- reported last week that their malaria vaccine appears to be 77 percent effective in African children. If late-stage trials confirm that level, it would be the first malaria vaccine to ever reach the WHO’s goal of 75 percent efficacy. Malaria kills 500,000 people a year, the vast majority of whom are young children in sub-Saharan Africa. BBC
