• The U.S. Covid-19 Surge 
• The Big Lie 
• Louis DeJoy and XPO Logistics

The Big Story

It's been a busy news week, from the fast-growing U.S. surge in Covid-19 cases and the new "code red" report on global warming to news about efforts past and present to undermine the 2020 presidential election. 

U.N. Climate Report 
The report released Monday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that many of the devastating effects of global warming — the human-created origins of which are "unequivocal" — are now irreversible and happening rapidly, but aggressive action could prevent things from becoming even worse. 

The U.S. Covid-19 Surge 
As intensive care units overflow in Texas and as hospitalization records are broken in Florida, the U.S. is in a race between vaccinating the unvaccinated and the fast-spreading and "Goldilocks virus" Delta variant. But as the death toll mounts in a surge that didn't have to happen, some state officials and members of their anti-restriction base are engaged in a battle against public health measures, notably the issue of mask mandates in schools. 

• Multiple states, primarily in the South, have requested federal help in dealing with hospital staffing shortages. 

• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has asked for out-of-state help, and Florida is receiving hundreds of ventilators from the federal government as it responds to its record numbers.  

• As the new schoolyear begins, some school districts in those two states — including Dallas and Austin in Texas and Broward County in Florida — are defying their governors' prohibitions of mask mandates. 

• The Washington Post reported that the Biden administration is even looking for ways to pay Florida educators who require masks, following Gov. Ron DeSantis' threat to withhold salaries of school officials who institute mask mandates. 

• Of course the politicization of such basic health measures meant to protect children isn't limited to those two states. More headlines about the relentless crisis are below. 

The Big Lie 
Former President Trump's final months in office were devoted to increasingly desperate attempts to cling to power, including working to enlist the Justice Department to carry out his election-overturning mission. Here are a couple of new things we learned this past week, as top officials spoke to congressional investigators about those attempts. 

• Former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen told senators and the Justice Department's internal watchdog that former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark tried to help Trump subvert the election results. Clark's efforts have been previously reported. 

• Rosen also said that Trump had asked him in late December about a farfetched lawsuit, similar to the failed suit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, aimed at having the Supreme Court call for a "special election" in six swing states that Trump lost. 

• Byung J. Pak, the former U.S. attorney in Atlanta, told senators that he had resigned in early January because he'd been warned that Trump planned to fire him for refusing to falsely say that there had been widespread voter fraud in Georgia. 

• Politico obtained emails in which Justice Department officials discussed how the FBI should deal with a voter fraud claim that centered on a viral video from Georgia, which Trump supporters said showed election workers committing fraud — a claim that was easily debunked. 

False claims about fraud led to the (still) ongoing "audit" in Arizona's Maricopa County. Our lawsuit for related records continues, with the Arizona Senate still fighting against transparency and refusing to comply with two court orders to begin producing the records. 

• This week, the Arizona Court of Appeals granted a limited stay of the litigation, but set oral arguments for next week — an affirmation of the urgency of the case, as the Senate gears up to release its compromised findings. 

Late last week, Wisconsin Rep. Janel Brandtjen issued subpoenas to election clerks in Brown and Milwaukee counties in preparation for an Arizona-style "audit." But the effort has faced resistance from some Wisconsin Republicans who cite two other ongoing investigations, and attorneys for the state Legislature have said the subpoenas are not valid. 

• One of those two other investigations was ordered by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, and is led by Michael Gableman, a former state Supreme Court justice. Last year, Gableman told a group of Trump supporters that "bureaucrats" had stolen the election. 

• This week, Gableman appeared at conspiracy-fueled "symposium" on election fraud that was headed by Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO who has been promoting lies about the election. 

• Arizona legislators were at the same symposium, reportedly encouraging other states to follow Arizona's lead. Last week, Gableman visited Arizona to see the "audit." 

• Lindell's "lead cyber expert" told the Washington Times this week that the data used by Lindell (to back up his claim that China hacked the election) is illegitimate. 

• Also this week, a federal judge ruled that Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuits against Lindell and Trump attorneys Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani can proceed. 

Other Stories We're Following

The Coronavirus Pandemic 

• Covid surge prompts one Florida county to ask residents to use 911 sparingly (NBC News) 

• Teachers in California must have proof of vaccination or face regular testing, governor says (New York Times) 

• Washington state employees, health care workers must be vaccinated against Covid (Seattle Times) 

• Biden administration to require Covid-19 vaccine for 25,000 federal health care workers (Axios) 

• Fauci says Covid-19 booster shots are needed for those who are immunocompromised (NPR) 

• CDC urges Covid vaccines during pregnancy as Delta surges (Associated Press) 

• FDA authorizes additional Covid-19 vaccine doses for certain immunocompromised people (CNN) 

• Children's hospitals are swamped with Covid patients — and it may only get worse (Politico) 

National News 

• Census data: U.S. is diversifying, white population shrinking (Associated Press) 

• Rand Paul discloses 16 months late that his wife bought stock in company behind Covid treatment (Washington Post) 

• Secret IRS files reveal how much the ultrawealthy gained by shaping Trump's 'big, beautiful tax cut' (ProPublica) 

• 'They rake in profits — everyone else suffers': U.S. workers lose out as big chicken gets bigger (Guardian) 

• NSA quietly awards $10 billion cloud contract to Amazon, drawing protest from Microsoft (Washington Post) 

• Giuliani told agents it was OK to 'throw a fake' during political campaign (Washington Post) 

• Biden extends Covid relief for student debt through January 2021 (Axios) 

• Biden, in a push to phase out gas cars, tightens pollution rules (New York Times) 

• An obstacle to Amtrak expansion that money won't solve (New York Times) 

In the States 

• Florida chief justice could face thorny issues if wife wins House race (South Florida Sun Sentinel) 

• Wisconsin governor vetoes GOP bills to restrict absentees (Associated Press) 

The Big Lie 

• 'We are in harm's way': Election officials fear for their personal safety amid torrent of false claims about voting (Washington Post) 

• Milwaukee official is bombarded with threats and noxious emails for election comment (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) 

• U.S. Capitol Police aware of revisionist insurrection protest, planned for the Capitol next month (WUSA Washington, DC) 

• Homeland Security warns of 'increasing but modest' threat of violence from Trump conspiracy (ABC News) 

• Colorado secretary of state begins inspecting Mesa County voting equipment (Colorado Newsline) 

• Cyber Ninjas misses deadline to send information about its procedures to Congress (Arizona Republic)