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A new variant of the coronavirus has scientists worried about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has lifted regional stay-at home orders. But 54 counties in the state are still classified as having "widespread" coronavirus risk. So why did the state loosen the restrictions? And the CDC is reporting the highest number of overdoses in a 12-month period.

Today, the U.S. Senate will receive the article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection. But the actual trial won't start for another two weeks. Why the delay? Logistics continue to be a challenge in the fight against the coronavirus. Only about half of the vaccines that have been distributed have been administered.
And NPR's investigations team finds that 135 unarmed Black people were killed by police in the past five years.

What will happen to Fox News after President Trump leaves office? Fox News is facing Trump's anger for not being sufficiently "loyal," and it's seeing new competition as viewers head to conservative networks like Newsmax and One America News Network. In this bonus episode brought to you by NPR's It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders, NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik and Sam discuss how the feuds of cable news fuel our politics and how the whole news industry adapts to life after Trump.

Learn more about the show here.

President Biden faces major challenges, from the coronavirus to unemployment, all of which threaten to imperil the nation as well as his nascent presidency. When it comes to COVID-19, can the new administration's rhetoric translate into action? It was one year ago when Wuhan, China plunged into a 72-day lockdown to stop the spread of the virus.

President Biden wants 100 million coronavirus vaccinations in his first 100 days. But Pfizer and Moderna have fallen behind in their production. Jobs numbers show another 1.3 million Americans are out of work. So why are economists optimistic? And about half of the country's students are attending class remotely. President Biden wants to change that and open more schools.

President Biden's top priority is getting the pandemic under control. What do his first executive actions tell us about how he plans to do that? Biden also released a sweeping reform bill to overhaul the U.S. immigration system. And in 35 states, coronavirus numbers are falling. Researchers believe the U.S. has hit a peak in the pandemic, but some public health officials are skeptical.