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Grapevine closed as snow hits higher elevations and Central California braces for mudslides -- The L.A. area remains dry for now, but a few showers may arrive Wednesday afternoon that will grow heavier Thursday into Friday, forecasters say. Erin B. Logan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

I-5 closed: 'To see this much snow in Redding is unusual' -- Snow fell overnight in Redding, Calif., at 495-feet elevation, with the National Weather Service reporting several inches of accumulation. The downtown and neighborhoods were blanketed in fresh powder, turning the Northern California town into a scene worthy of a Currier and Ives calendar. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/27/21

Powerful storm hits California with rain, winds and snow -- Mudslides near Salinas south of the Bay Area caused “mild to moderate” damage to about two dozen rural ranch homes beneath hillsides scorched by the River Fire last August, said Dorothy Priolo with the Monterey County Regional Fire Protection District. One woman was treated for broken bones after mud went “completely through the house” in the early morning hours, Priolo said. John Antczak and Olga R. Rodriguez Associated Press -- 1/27/21

Some classes canceled due to power outages: Here’s which Sacramento-area schools are closed -- Several school districts in the Sacramento region have canceled online learning classes Wednesday after sites reported power outages due to the extreme winter storm pummeling Northern California. Sawsan Morrar in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/27/21

PG&E outage map: More than 25,000 without power in Bay Area -- Most of those affected were in the South Bay and East Bay. The most widespread outages were in San Jose neighborhoods near Almaden Lake, Reid-Hillview Airport and Valley Christian School. The item is in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/27/21

These dramatic satellite images show storm hammering the Bay Area -- Satellite images and videos captured the scope of the “atmospheric river” that drenched the Bay Area and brought heavy snowfall to the Lake Tahoe area on Tuesday and into Wednesday. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/27/21

Virus  

How the Bay Area coronavirus variant differs from those in U.K., South Africa and Brazil -- The new coronavirus variant linked to some recent Bay Area outbreaks is one of several circulating in the U.S. and around the world that are worrying experts amid the race to vaccinate enough people to stem the pandemic. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/27/21

Near-record deaths in California, but cases keep going down -- As California begins to turn the corner in the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer Californians are testing positive or hospitalized with the virus — but deaths, which can lag cases by up to four weeks, continue to come at a record pace. Evan Webeck in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/27/21

How to prevent virus spread as L.A. reopens outdoor restaurant dining, allows more gatherings -- Here is what you can do — and what you should not do — as COVID-19 restrictions are eased in Los Angeles County. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

Vaccine  

A plan to use L.A. schools as COVID vaccine centers gains momentum -- L.A. County supervisors have endorsed the use of schools as vaccine centers. The campuses are trusted neighborhood hubs in communities hit hard by the coronavirus. Jaclyn Cosgrove in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

Growing racial inequities in L.A. County vaccine rollout raise alarms -- L.A. County officials said they are concerned about low COVID-19 vaccination numbers among healthcare workers in South L.A. and other communities of color. Jaclyn Cosgrove, Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II, Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

When will Bay Area counties give shots to teachers? -- We reached out to three of the largest school districts in the Bay Area — San Francisco Unified School District, Oakland Unified School District and San Jose Unified School District — for information on their vaccine plans. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/27/21

Staying Afloat  

The underground COVID economy: Businesses say they sidestepped rules to survive -- With strict limits on indoor commerce, some businesses bent or broke public health rules to serve their customers. Owners say they had little choice. Andrea Chang in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

Audit: Millions may have to repay California jobless aid -- Millions of people might have to repay some or all of the jobless benefits they got during the coronavirus pandemic because California’s unemployment agency stopped enforcing some eligibility rules so it could process claims quicker, according to an audit released Tuesday. Adam Beam Associated Press -- 1/27/21

Policy & Politics 

Gavin Newsom recall closes in on signature count with 7 weeks to go. Is it enough? -- On a blustery Saturday afternoon, opponents of Gov. Gavin Newsom set up shop in the parking lot of a Rancho Cordova sporting goods store. Sophia Bollag, Lara Korte in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/27/21

Recalling a California governor, explained -- “Recall Gavin Newsom” signs are popping up around California. At shopping centers and street protests, people fed up with the Democratic governor are asking voters to sign petitions. What began as a far-fetched effort by Republican activists has turned into a credible campaign attempting to throw Newsom out of office. Laurel Rosenhall CalMatters -- 1/27/21

Closing 5 California prisons would free up money to house former inmates, Democrat says -- Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, said he plans to unveil legislation Wednesday that would require allocating a portion of the savings to house formerly incarcerated Californians who might otherwise slip into homelessness upon release. Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/27/21

California bill would require corporations to report and cut down carbon emissions -- The bill, Senate Bill 260, would apply to any business that reports more than $1 billion in gross annual revenue. It would give the California Air Resources Board power to track and enforce compliance, including instituting penalties. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/27/21

Immigration courts director transferred — oversaw judges who stayed on bench despite misconduct -- The director of the nation’s immigration courts is leaving his post a week into the Biden administration, a move that follows reporting by The Chronicle on misconduct among immigration judges he oversees and criticism from immigration advocates. Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/27/21

GOP to stay neutral should Trump run again -- The head of the Republican National Committee on Wednesday declined to encourage former President Donald Trump to run for the White House in 2024, saying the GOP would stay “neutral” in its next presidential primary. In an interview, RNC Chairman Ronna McDaniel also described the pro-Trump conspiracy theory group known as QAnon as “dangerous.” Steve Peoples Associated Press -- 1/27/21

Capitol Siege  

Jailed for alleged threats to Congressman, journalist, defendant refuses to tell the court his name -- Earlier this week, federal authorities say they arrested 35-year-old Robert Lemke, of Bay Point — and plan to extradite him to New York to face federal charges — for allegedly texting threats to the family members of a Congressman and a journalist. But so far, the person that authorities identified as Lemke is refusing to confirm that Robert Lemke is his name. Nate Gartrell in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/27/21

Street  

Victims behind bars: Trafficking survivors still struggle despite state laws -- California has evolved in how it treats victims of sex trafficking. But many victims, most of them Black women, are still sitting behind bars for crimes they committed while being trafficked. Byrhonda Lyons CalMatters -- 1/27/21

'Manna from heaven': L.A. officials say Biden funding could get thousands of homeless off streets -- An executive order signed by President Biden last week changed federal funding rules in a way that could potentially lift thousands of homeless Angelenos off the streets as the coronavirus continues to rage. Benjamin Oreskes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

‘We can attack Twitter or the democrats you pick’: Napa man allegedly caught with pipe bombs plotted attacks, had right wing militia ties, feds say -- Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a Napa man who was allegedly caught with pipe bombs, and authorities say he is being investigated for possible ties to a far-right militia known as the Three Percenters. Nate Gartrell in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/27/21

Immigration  

'They Didn't Listen to Us': ICE Detainee Who Waged Hunger Strikes for COVID-19 Protections Gets Virus -- At the beginning of January, Juan Jose Erazo Herrera found himself coughing up blood and having difficulty breathing. The 20-year-old asylum seeker, held by immigration authorities at a jail north of Sacramento, tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 7, a few days after his symptoms began. Farida Jhabvala Romero KQED -- 1/27/21

Week 1 and counting in the Biden-Harris era as Latinos wait on immigration promises -- Trump separated families. But Obama broke his promise to pass immigration reform. Biden's opening immigration moves are strong, but will he disappoint too? Daniel Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

Education 

Amid new COVID rules, Roseville school district tries to salvage 5-day in-person instruction -- After nearly four hours of deliberation, Roseville Joint Union High School District voted late Tuesday to rush a survey to parents of more than 10,000 students to determine how to move forward with its school schedule. Sawsan Morrar in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/27/21

UC Berkeley removes Kroeber Hall name, citing namesake's 'immoral' work with Native Americans -- UC Berkeley will strip Kroeber Hall, home of the anthropology department, of its namesake after a unanimous committee vote. Melissa Gomez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

School Sports  

Santa Clara County deals potential crushing blow to high school sports -- The new measures, which were unveiled at a meeting of school superintendents Tuesday afternoon, prohibit any practice or competition between two “stable groups,” which would be defined as individual teams. Evan Webeck, Darren Sabedra in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/27/21

Water  

1.6 million California households face water shutoffs -- The first thing Deborah Bell-Holt does each morning is check whether water still flows from her bathroom faucet. It always does, thanks to an April executive order from Gov. Gavin Newsom banning water disconnections during the pandemic. But that didn’t stop her utility debt from snowballing to nearly $15,000. Jackie Botts Calmatters via the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/27/21

California Policy and P  olitics Wednesday Morning  

Atmospheric river storm delivers heavy rain, high winds, power outages, flash floods -- A fierce atmospheric river storm rolled into Northern California on Tuesday, carrying strong winds and a firehose of water that could deliver more rain than any storm to strike the region in possibly three years, as thousands of residents in the Santa Cruz Mountains evacuated to avoid potentially deadly mudslides on hillsides that burned last fall during historic wildfires. Paul Rogers, Rick Hurd, Jason Green in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/27/21

Vaccine  

Educators, food workers join California’s priority list for vaccines -- Educators, childcare workers, food and farm workers and first responders will join Californians age 65 and over who have priority to qualify for the coronavirus vaccine, state officials announced today. Barbara Feder Ostrov CalMatters -- 1/27/21

Essential workers, disability advocates fear being left out as California shifts to age-based COVID-19 vaccine priority -- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement Monday that the state would shift vaccine priority to an age-based eligibility structure has sparked concerns from groups representing some essential workers and disabled people who may now have to wait longer to get vaccinated. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

Rumors are flying that California restaurant workers won’t be prioritized for vaccines. They’re false -- Restaurant workers, even young ones, are among the group considered essential workers that will be prioritized for vaccines, the state has confirmed, despite rumors to the contrary. Janelle Bitker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/27/21

State takes control of California’s sluggish vaccine roll-out as Biden boosts federal supply -- Frustrated by the sluggish pace of California’s COVID-19 vaccine program, state officials are taking charge with a streamlined new system they say will deliver shots to residents more quickly than the fractured and localized model they have now. Nico Savidge in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/27/21

OC officials ask for fixes to $1.2 million vaccine app they say is ‘a mess’ -- Some Orange County residents have been complaining for weeks about problems with the county’s new COVID-19 vaccine app, Othena, and the county’s vaccination program – and their concerns seem to have now made it to the highest levels. Alicia Robinson, Ian Wheeler in the Orange County Register -- 1/27/21

Why are people from out of town able to get vaccinated in San Francisco? -- But city officials say that they have little choice over the matter, as regional health care providers that operate in San Francisco — which receive two-thirds of the city’s entire supply from the state — care for patients from all over Northern California. Trisha Thadani and Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/27/21

Vaccine Safety  

Questions over death of COVID-19 vaccine recipient in Placer County -- The death of a person last week in Placer County has raised questions about a possible connection to a COVID-19 vaccine, and multiple agencies are investigating the fatality. Faith E. Pinho in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

Health care worker dies after second dose of COVID vaccine, investigations underway -- ‘The message is, be safe, take the vaccine — but the officials need to do more research. We need to know the cause,’ said the wife of Tim Zook of Orange. Teri Sforza in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 1/27/21

Virus  

UK variant, UCSD researcher warns, looks like a COVID-19 time bomb -- An increase in social contact, modeler warns, would be just the thing to cause infection rates to explode as strain achieves dominance. Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/27/21

Orange County’s coronavirus case rate dives after new year highs -- The county, however, is still deep in the most-restrictive purple tier of the state’s four-tier pandemic tracking system, which has been used since August to determine which business and public sectors can safely reopen, and at what capacity, as the coronavirus continues to spread. Ian Wheeler in the Orange County Register -- 1/27/21

Physician known as ‘E.R. Dad’ of Orange Coast Medical Center dies of COVID -- For much of the past year, as the pandemic brought in patient after patient with COVID-19 and the odds of catching the disease remained high, emergency room physician Dr. Shawki Zuabi continued tending to the sick. “He worked tirelessly, without complaints,” said his daughter, Vanessa Zuabi. Roxana Kopetman in the Orange County Register -- 1/27/21

Long Haul  

Long-haul COVID cases shed new light on chronic fatigue sufferers -- Four weeks after San Diego pediatric nurse Jennifer Minhas fell ill with COVID-19 last March, her cough and fever had resolved, but new symptoms had emerged: chest pain, an elevated heart rate and crushing fatigue. Kevin Cool California Healthline via in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/27/21

Reopen  

California reopens, looking to Biden’s promise of more vaccines -- As concerns about the rocky vaccine rollout continue, President Biden on Tuesday said states can expect to receive 17% more vaccine next week and get three weeks advance notice from the federal government about how much vaccine they will be getting. Michael Williams, Aidin Vaziri and Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/27/21

New COVID rules now in effect for U.S. travelers to Baja and beyond -- Dozens of the Mexican peninsula’s resorts reopened in summer, courting Americans despite legions of U.S. experts and officials urging people to stay home because of COVID-19. Thousands came. And kept coming throughout the holidays. Christopher Reynolds in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

8 places reopening after California’s stay-home order lifted -- Some — such as the Inn at Death Valley — will restart within days. For others, including the campgrounds at Joshua Tree National Park, it’s likely to be a few weeks. Christopher Reynolds, Mary Forgione in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

Policy & Politics 

Washington and Lincoln are out. S.F. school board tosses 44 school names in controversial move -- The names of presidents, conquistadors, authors and even a current U.S. senator will be removed from 44 San Francisco school sites after the city’s school board Tuesday deemed the iconic figures unworthy of the honor. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/27/21

An L.A. councilman struggles with the Pledge of Allegiance, and viewers pick sides -- Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León had been asked by City Council President Nury Martinez to lead his colleagues in the Pledge of Allegiance, which is recited by council members each Tuesday during their Zoom meetings. The delivery was far from smooth. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

LA County formally outlines ways supervisors could remove sheriff -- Los Angeles County’s supervisors heard a report Tuesday, Jan. 26, on four possible legal strategies for removing Sheriff Alex Villaneuva from his elected post. But it was not clear, however, if the board would pursue any of them. Ryan Carter in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 1/27/21

California man charged with sending threatening texts to Hakeem Jeffries' family -- Robert Lemke was arrested in Northern California after reportedly sending menacing text messages about the 2020 presidential election to the congressman’s brother and sister-in-law, according to a federal criminal complaint filed in New York. The complaint, which did not name Jeffries, said Lemke included a picture of a house in their neighborhood. Matthew Choi Politico -- 1/27/21

Bank of America says it lost ‘hundreds of millions’ on California’s unemployment fiasco -- California unemployment debit card contractor Bank of America lost “hundreds of millions” of dollars last year as it scrambled to address record jobless claims, rampant fraud and a flood of consumer complaints, a senior bank executive told lawmakers today. Lauren Hepler CalMatters -- 1/27/21

Waters: California’s unemployment insurance mess laid bare -- The juxtaposition of events this week regarding California’s woebegone Employment Development Department (EDD) could not be more ironic. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 1/27/21

California would ban bear hunting under new legislation, even as wild population rebounds -- A San Francisco Democrat has introduced a bill that would ban black bear hunting in California, despite a bear population at its highest levels in decades and repeated conflicts with the wild animals in Lake Tahoe and other high-tourist areas. On Monday, state Sen. Scott Wiener introduced Senate Bill 252, “The Bear Protection Act” sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States. Ryan Sabalow in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/27/21

Biden’s action to address racial equity welcomed by Southern California groups -- A quartet of executive orders signed by President Joe Biden to promote racial equity in the U.S. were welcomed Tuesday, Jan. 26, by Southern California activists, academics and community leaders who see the orders as first steps toward Biden keeping a promise he made at the height of last summer’s protests over racial justice. Deepa Bharath in the Orange County Register -- 1/27/21

Pillow fight: Marin conservatives stage protest at Bed Bath & Beyond to support My Pillow CEO -- A group of politically conservative shoppers organized an unconventional protest Tuesday meant to decry “cancel culture” and support Mike Lindell, a pillow pitch man and CEO best known for his television commercials and, more recently, his ardent support of former President Donald Trump. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/27/21

Anti-masker says he’s pro-police. Fresno chief says he’s wasting officers’ time -- During his news conference, Balderrama said anyone entering a store without a mask can be asked to leave by employees. Refusing to leave could then lead to a trespassing citation and then to an arrest. Joshua Tehee and Thaddeus Miller in the Fresno Bee -- 1/27/21

New Normal  

Yolo courts push February jury trials deeper into year on continued COVID-19 concerns -- Yolo Superior Court Presiding Judge Daniel P. Maguire cited the county’s current virus transmission rates in announcing the decision Tuesday, calling it “the right thing to do.” Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/27/21

Street  

‘I’m sick of it’: Sacramento mayor upset over warming centers being closed during storm -- The lack of warming centers upset Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who spoke out during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. “There’s a huge storm out here. People are gonna die tonight,” he said by video. “We can’t get a goddamn warming center open for more than one night because the county has rules? I’m sick of it.” Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/27/21

After victim testimony, police panel calls on City Council to bolster LAPD anti-trafficking work -- After hearing powerful first-hand accounts of Los Angeles police officers rescuing children from sex traffickers, the Police Commission on Tuesday called on the City Council to protect the LAPD’s anti-trafficking efforts against budget cuts. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

Newsom honors CHP officer who risked his life to recover Sacramento’s Tara O’Sullivan -- Gunshots rained down on the law enforcement officers who tried to recover fallen Sacramento Police Officer Tara O’Sullivan a year and a half ago. They didn’t stop California Highway Patrol Officer Michael Panlilio and Sacramento Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Nielsen from leaving the protection of an armored car that day in June 2019 in their bid to retrieve O’Sullivan. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/27/21

Sacramento Mayor Steinberg wants council to reject city manager’s plan to add cops -- Under immense pressure to reduce police funding, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg is rallying the City Council to reject City Manager Howard Chan’s proposal to add new police positions to the city budget. Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/27/21

Surveillance video shows deadly shooting of fleeing escapee near San Diego jail -- Video footage shown in court Tuesday depicts the moment a sheriff’s deputy fatally shot an arrestee who escaped from a park ranger’s patrol car outside the downtown jail in San Diego last spring. Teri Figueroa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/27/21

San Diego Supervisors approve needle exchange for drug users -- Presentation to board showed such harm reduction programs can be cost-effective and reduce addiction. Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/27/21

Workplace  

Firefighter sues S.F. Fire Department, claiming racist, homophobic treatment -- A longtime San Francisco firefighter, who says he faced years of harassment and discrimination for being Black and gay, filed a lawsuit against the city last week seeking damages. Nora Mishanec in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/27/21

Education 

California data show substantial learning loss, inequity -- The closure of most California public school campuses since last March has been widely acknowledged to have hurt student learning, but a study this week brings that into sharper focus, finding significant loss in both language arts and math, and more in lower grades and disadvantaged kids. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ John Fensterwald EdSource -- 1/27/21

CSU promises to keep tuition flat for 2021 school year -- California State University students will not see their tuition rise for the upcoming 2021-22 academic year, promising rare good news for the system’s nearly 500,000 students battered by a year like no other. Mikhail Zinshteyn CalMatters Nina Agrawal in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

Boasting low out-of-state tuition, California State University examines non-resident costs -- Compared to some other public universities nationally, California State University offers some of the lowest tuition and fees to out-of-state undergraduate students, according to an annual report by the 23-campus system. Ashley A. Smith EdSource -- 1/27/21

San Diego groups call for open superintendent search more transparent than last one -- In 2013 the San Diego Unified School Board chose Cindy Marten as the new superintendent behind closed doors, hours after then-superintendent Bill Kowba told the board he would retire and before the general public knew the board needed a new superintendent. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/27/21

California schools report fewer homeless students, alarming advocates -- After years of steadily rising numbers of homeless youth in California, schools saw a significant drop during the last school year in the official tally of homeless students — leading some advocates to warn that thousands of students may have gone uncounted during the pandemic and are not receiving services they need. Carolyn Jones EdSource -- 1/27/21

Immigration  

Immigration reform to test Biden, Harris and Bay Area lawmakers -- resident Biden and congressional Democrats say they want to use their one-party control of Washington to enact new immigration policy. But whether Biden succeeds where past efforts have failed will be a key test of strategy for him, Vice President Kamala Harris and Bay Area lawmakers. Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/27/21

Housing   

S.F. officials say regional plan for hundreds of thousands of homes could hurt working-class neighborhoods -- A new regional plan meant as a blueprint for Bay Area housing development over the next 30 years is sparking strong objections among San Francisco officials who say the proposal could lead to demolition of thousands of existing apartments and could drive out working-class families in traditionally Black neighborhoods like the Bayview district. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/27/21

Environment   

Something was killing baby salmon. Scientists traced it to a food-web mystery -- The biologists working in a fish hatchery near Shasta Dam grew increasingly concerned last year when newly hatched salmon fry began to act strangely — swimming around and around, in tight, corkscrewing motions, before spiraling to their deaths at the bottom of the tanks. Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

Also . . .   

L.A. pays tribute on anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s death -- One year ago today, Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others boarded a helicopter at John Wayne Airport in Orange County to travel to a youth basketball tournament at the Sports Academy (then named the Mamba Sports Academy, after Bryant) in Thousand Oaks. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/27/21

Raising the dead from Lake Tahoe: One man’s mission to recover bodies from watery depths -- The email about a man who drowned while boating on Lake Tahoe arrived in August, when Keith Cormican was in the Canadian Rockies searching for another drowning victim. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/27/21

POTUS 46  

Biden says he’s ‘bringing back the pros’ for virus briefings -- For nearly a year it was the Trump show. Now President Joe Biden is calling up the nation’s top scientists and public health experts to regularly brief the American public about the pandemic that has claimed more than 425,000 U.S. lives. Zeke Miller Associated Press -- 1/27/21

Beltway  

‘Dead on arrival’: Trump conviction unlikely after GOP votes to nix trial -- Nearly every Senate Republican declared Tuesday that putting a former president on trial for impeachment is unconstitutional, indicating that the House’s case against Donald Trump is almost certain to fail. Andrew Desiderio, Burgess Everett and Marianne Levine Politico -- 1/27/21