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| Good morning, Daily Briefing readers. Today is Presidents Day. How are you marking it? It's Jane, with Monday's news. |
| President Joe Biden is getting back to business after his predecessor Donald Trump's acquittal at his Senate impeachment trial. Obamacare enrollment is reopening, while COVID-19 deaths drop in the U.S. , though the number of known variant cases is surging. Fans of Cicely Tyson will be able to pay their respects at the New York City church where she worshiped. And the unrelenting winter storms continue, leaving thousands without power – with more brutal weather on the way. |
| Here's today's news: |
Many Democrats are furious over Trump's acquittal, but Biden just wants to move on |
| President Joe Biden kept his head down during the impeachment trial of his predecessor, which ended Saturday afternoon with Donald Trump's acquittal. And now he can't move on fast enough. Biden is traveling to Wisconsin and Michigan this week as he presses ahead on the challenges that will make or break his own presidency: defeating the coronavirus pandemic and reviving the battered economy. Changing not just the topic of conversation but also the tone could be just as difficult as tackling COVID-19. It was also a central promise of his campaign. As he did throughout the proceedings, Biden will spend this week focused on passing a pandemic relief bill through Congress. He'll talk to Americans about the health and economic crises facing the nation at a CNN town hall in Milwaukee on Tuesday. On Thursday, Biden is scheduled to visit a Pfizer facility in west Michigan that is pumping out COVID-19 vaccines. |
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Obamacare enrollment reopens amid COVID-19 pandemic |
| The Department of Health and Human Services will reopen insurance enrollment on HealthCare.gov beginning Monday through May 15, giving a new coverage opportunity to Americans who lost their jobs and employer-based insurance during the pandemic. The annual open enrollment for the plans ended in December in most states. Nearly 9 million uninsured Americans could get free or subsidized health insurance through the special enrollment period, according to the nonpartisan health research organization Kaiser Family Foundation. Former President Donald Trump had resisted calls for a special enrollment period for people who became uninsured during the pandemic and repeatedly sought to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration's signature health care reform law. |
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Millions brace for more brutal weather |
| Near-record cold temperatures will continue to cause brutal weather conditions for millions of Americans Monday. More than 1.3 million customers were without power in Texas as of 3 a.m. local time, according to poweroutage.us, a utility tracking site. The winter storms blanketing the country can be blamed in part on the polar vortex, a large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both of the Earth's poles that has sagged down into the U.S. The National Weather Service said early Monday that snow was falling across much of the Central and Southern Plains and in parts of the Mississippi Valley, with heavy snow and freezing rain forecast to spread northeastward through Monday. Snow and ice blanketed large swaths of the U.S. on Sunday, prompting canceled flights, making driving perilous and reaching into areas as far south as Texas' Gulf Coast, where snow and sleet were expected overnight. Winter weather conditions are affecting large portions of the U.S., but it is rare for them to extend so far south, said Marc Chenard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. |
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Cicely Tyson to lie in repose at her church in Harlem |
| Admirers of Hollywood icon Cicely Tyson, who died Jan. 28 at the age of 96, will get a chance to say goodbye to her on Monday at the church where she worshiped in New York City. The public is invited by Tyson's family to a public viewing of the award-winning actress and trailblazing role model at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, where she will lie in repose. For those planning to take part in the walk-by event, COVID-19 protocols will be in place, with masks and social distancing required. Tyson's long and illustrious acting career included three Emmys, a Tony award, an Oscar nomination for 1972's "Sounder" and an honorary Academy Award bestowed 45 years later. Her memoir, "Just As I Am," was released days before her death. |
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More news you need to know: |
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Stock market closed in recognition of Presidents Day |
| U.S. financial markets are closed Monday in observance of Presidents Day, which is a federal bank holiday. The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq will resume normal trading hours Tuesday after a three-day holiday weekend to celebrate George Washington's birthday. The U.S. bond market also will be closed Monday, as recommended by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. All three major stock averages had notched all-time highs Friday, buoyed by solid corporate earnings and optimism that Congress will pass more stimulus aid for the U.S. economy. |
And finally: This surfer looks like a speck on a massive wave in Hawaii |
| Surfer Francisco Porcella looks positively tiny as he rides a 50-foot wave in Maui. Check out his death-defying stunt in this thrilling Sportskind video. |
| Contributing: The Associated Press |
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