First Edition: Jan. 7, 2021

KHN: In Los Angeles And Beyond, Oxygen Is The Latest Covid Bottleneck 
As Los Angeles hospitals give record numbers of covid patients oxygen, the systems and equipment needed to deliver the life-sustaining gas are faltering. It’s gotten so bad that Los Angeles County officials are warning paramedics to conserve it. Some hospitals are having to delay releasing patients as they don’t have enough oxygen equipment to send home with them. (Bichell and Weber, 1/7)

KHN: Illinois Is First In The Nation To Extend Health Coverage To Undocumented Seniors 
As a nurse manager for one of Chicago’s busiest safety-net hospitals, Raquel Prendkowski has witnessed covid-19’s devastating toll on many of the city’s most vulnerable residents — including people who lack health insurance because of their immigration status. Some come in so sick they go right to intensive care. Some don’t survive. “We’re in a bad dream all the time,” she said during a recent day treating coronavirus patients at Mount Sinai Hospital, which was founded in the early 20th century to care for the city’s poorest immigrants. “I can’t wait to wake up from this.” (Bruce, 1/7)

KHN: San Francisco Wrestles With Drug Approach As Death And Chaos Engulf Tenderloin
In early 2019, Tom Wolf posted a thank-you on Twitter to the cop who had arrested him the previous spring, when he was homeless and strung out in a doorway with 103 tiny bindles of heroin and cocaine in a plastic baggie at his feet. “You saved my life,” wrote Wolf, who had finally gotten clean after that bust and 90 days in jail, ending six months of sleeping on scraps of cardboard on the sidewalk. (Scheier, 1/7)

KHN: Listen: How Operation Warp Speed Became A Slow Walk 
KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal appeared on Diane Rehm’s “On My Mind” podcast on NPR to discuss the bottlenecks that have prevented doses of precious covid-19 vaccine from making it from drugmakers’ factories into patients’ arms. It didn’t have to be this way, she explains. (Zuraw, 1/7)

AP: Biden Win Confirmed After Pro-Trump Mob Storms US Capitol
Congress confirmed Democrat Joe Biden as the presidential election winner early Thursday after a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in a stunning attempt to overturn America’s presidential election. Before dawn Thursday, lawmakers finished their work, confirming Biden won the election. (Mascaro, Jalonick and Taylor, 1/7)

Politico: Democrats Retake The Senate With Georgia Sweep 
Democrats have won the Senate majority after a remarkable pair of runoff victories in Georgia, giving the party control of Congress and smoothing the path for President-elect Joe Biden to enact the agenda he ran on in 2020. ... The results of the Senate flip could be felt immediately. [Jon] Ossoff and [Raphael] Warnock campaigned vigorously on additional Covid-19 relief measures, while Senate GOP leaders had declined to commit to additional stimulus funding after recently approving a $900 billion package. (Arkin, Desiderio and Forgey, 1/6)

The New York Times: Democrats Win Both Georgia Races to Gain Control of Senate
The results of the Georgia Senate races will reshape the balance of power in government. Though the Democrats will have the thinnest of advantages in the House and the Senate, ... they will control the committees as well as the legislation and nominations brought to the floor. That advantage will pave the way for at least some elements of Mr. Biden’s agenda. “For the first time in six years, Democrats will operate a majority in the United States Senate — and that will be very good for the American people,” Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, who will become the new majority leader, said at a celebratory news conference in the Capitol before the violence erupted. (Fausset, Martin and Saul, 1/6)

The New York Times: With New Majority, Here’s What Democrats Can (And Can’t) Do On Health Care 
The Democrats’ new congressional majority puts a variety of health policy ideas suddenly into reach, even if big structural changes remain unlikely. A series of tweaks bolstering the Affordable Care Act stands the best chance of passage. Legislators could make insurance subsidies more generous, get coverage to low-income Americans in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid, and render moot a pending Supreme Court lawsuit that aims to overturn the entire law. (Kliff and Sanger-Katz, 1/7)

USA Today: Georgia Senate: How Democratic Control Could Advance Biden’s Agenda
The Senate sweep in Georgia gives the party control of the upper chamber for the first time since the 2014 elections and boost President-elect Joe Biden’s ability to carry out his early legislative agenda. ... Biden has said he would rejoin the World Health Organization, which President Donald Trump began to withdraw from in July, and reestablish the White House National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense, which was eliminated by the Trump administration in 2018. ... Biden [also] hopes to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, which provides health care for millions of Americans. (1/6)

USA Today: With Jon Ossoff And Raphael Warnock Wins, Biden Poised To Cut Taxes And Boost Health Care
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule in the middle of this year on whether the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. ... Biden has said he has a plan for not only salvaging the law but making it stronger. "What I’m going to do is pass Obamacare with a public option,'' Biden said in the final presidential debate against Donald Trump. "It becomes Bidencare." He says Americans can maintain private insurance, but a public option will also be available, particularly benefiting Americans who couldn't access Medicaid because they live in the dozen states that didn't allow them to do so under the ACA. (Jones, 1/7)

Politico: Biden’s Health Agenda Is About To Get Bigger 
President-elect Joe Biden’s health agenda is about to get more ambitious. ... Adding Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to the Senate means that suddenly Republicans’ threats to block HHS nominee Xavier Becerra from confirmation over his abortion rights record don’t mean much of anything. (Cancryn, Diamond and Roubein, 1/6)

The New York Times: As House Was Breached, A Fear ‘We’d Have To Fight’ To Get Out
Two explosive devices were found around noon near the headquarters of the Republican National Committee, then destroyed by a bomb squad. And the federal authorities arrested a 70-year-old man from Alabama near the Capitol in possession of a firearm and materials to make several Molotov cocktails. (Kanno-Youngs, Tavernise and Cochrane, 1/7)

CBS News: Video: Congresswoman Describes Holding Location As 'Super-Spreader Event'
Representative Susan Wild said Wednesday that lawmakers evacuated from the Capitol building were placed in a secure location with 300 to 400 people. Holding members of Congress in the same location is a "super-spreader event," the Pennsylvania Democrat said, and some lawmakers are not wearing masks. Listen to the congresswoman's remarks. (1/6)

CNN: Congressman Announces He's Positive For Covid-19 Four Hours After Voting On House Floor
GOP Rep. Jake LaTurner of Kansas has announced via Twitter that he has Covid-19. He is not experiencing any symptoms, according to the tweet. He voted in person four hours ago on the House floor per this vote tally. (Wilson and Diaz, 1/7)

CBS Los Angeles: Rep. Michelle Steel Tests Positive For COVID-19, Condemns Violence At Capitol 
Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Huntington Beach, who was sworn into office on Sunday, announced Wednesday that she has tested positive for COVID-19. ... Steel’s announcement was released shortly before supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress prepared to certify the results of the Nov. 3 election. (1/6)

The Washington Post: Capitol Breach Prompts Urgent Questions About Security Failures 
The Capitol Police was short some officers Wednesday, because they had been infected with the coronavirus or exposed to someone in a way that required quarantine, according to people familiar with the situation. However, law enforcement officials said, the Capitol Police and other federal agencies also seemed to underestimate the potential threat posed by Trump’s supporters — even as the D.C. police grew more alarmed. (Leonig, Davis, Lamothe and Fahrenthold, 1/7)

The Washington Post: Kid Gloves For Pro-Trump Mob As Black Lives Matter Face Strongarm Tactics
When Chanelle Helm helped organize protests after the March 13 killing of Breonna Taylor, Louisville police responded with batons, stun grenades and tear gas. The 40-year-old Black Lives Matter activist still bears scars from rubber bullets fired at close range. So Helm was startled and frustrated Wednesday to see a White, pro-Trump mob storm the U.S. Capitol — breaking down barricades, smashing windows and striking police officers — without obvious consequence. “Our activists are still to this day met with hyper-police violence,” Helm said. “And today you see this full-on riot — literally a coup — with people toting guns, which the police knew was coming and they just let it happen. I don’t understand where the ‘law and order’ is. This is what white supremacy looks like.” (Klemko, Kindy, Bellware and hawkins, 1/6)

USA Today: 'Double Standard': Black Lawmakers And Activists Decry Police Response To Attack On US Capitol
Civil rights leaders blasted law enforcement agencies for their slow response to rioters at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, noting the massive show of police force in place for Black Lives Matter demonstrations last year over police killings of unarmed Black men and women. "When Black folks are protesting and progressives are protesting peacefully they were tear-gassed, they were arrested, they were shot with rubber bullets. They were shot with real bullets," said Derrick Johnson, president of the national NAACP. "We watched it take place all summer long when people were peacefully demonstrating." (Hauck and Barfield Berry, 1/7)

Houston Chronicle: How Trump Ruined Americans' Mental Health
The aftermath of the 2020 election has been chaotic and unprecedented, with President Donald Trump refusing to concede to President-elect Joe Biden and launching a nationwide legal battle challenging the election results. Psychiatrist and Yale University professor Bandy X. Lee believes what's truly at stake now is the mental health of Americans who have witnessed Trump's erratic behavior for four years. Lee is the editor of "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President." (Medley, 1/7)

Politico: Biden To Phase Out Operation Warp Speed Co-Leader 
The leaders of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed will continue working on the vaccine rollout during the Biden administration, a transition official confirmed on Wednesday. But Moncef Slaoui, the chief scientific adviser to the government’s vaccine accelerator, won’t stay on for long. Slaoui will take on a reduced role as a consultant for four to six weeks before departing, according to a Biden transition official. Gen. Gustave Perna, Operation Warp Speed’s chief operating officer, will continue to control the logistics of vaccine distribution, the transition official said. (Roubein, 1/6)

The New York Times: U.S. Is Blind To Contagious New Virus Variant, Scientists Warn 
With no robust system to identify genetic variations of the coronavirus, experts warn that the United States is woefully ill-equipped to track a dangerous new mutant, leaving health officials blind as they try to combat the grave threat. The variant, which is now surging in Britain and burdening its hospitals with new cases, is rare for now in the United States. But it has the potential to explode in the next few weeks, putting new pressures on American hospitals, some of which are already near the breaking point. (Zimmer, 1/6)

The Washington Post: CDC Foresees Spread In U.S. Of Highly Contagious Coronavirus Variant 
The mutant variant of the novel coronavirus first seen in Britain is likely to be present in much of the United States. Although the variant has so far been detected in a very small fraction of infections, it shows signs of spreading and may become significantly more common in coming weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and infectious-disease experts. (Achenbach and Guarino, 1/6)

The Hill: New Strain, Family Visits Raise Fears Deadliest Months Of Pandemic Now Ahead 
The bright lights of the winter holidays are giving way to a dark winter of death and disease across the United States as a new variant of the coronavirus that has already killed more than 350,000 Americans begins to worry public health experts and officials. Millions of Americans who traveled to see family over the Christmas and New Year's holidays once again threaten to contribute to an already unprecedented spike in cases caused by family gatherings over the Thanksgiving holidays. (Wilson, 1/6)

AP: Official: New Coronavirus Strain Likely In Nebraska
A new, more contagious strain of the coronavirus that has been discovered in five states is probably in Nebraska as well, but officials haven’t yet confirmed its presence, the state’s chief medical officer said Wednesday. Dr. Gary Anthone said the new strain is concerning because it could lead to an increase in hospitalizations in Nebraska. Anthone said the state’s public health lab is purchasing its own equipment to test for the mutated virus. The new strain has led to a national lockdown in England, and the virus has been detected in California, Florida, New York, Georgia, and neighboring Colorado. (Schulte, 1/6)

Stat: Scientists Monitor A Coronavirus Mutation That Could Affect Vaccine Strength
As scientists try to track the spread of a new, more infectious coronavirus variant around the world — finding more cases in the United States and elsewhere this week — they are also keeping an eye on a different mutation with potentially greater implications for how well Covid-19 vaccines work. The mutation, identified in a variant first seen in South Africa and separately seen in another variant in Brazil, changes a part of the virus that your immune system’s antibodies get trained to recognize after you’ve been infected or vaccinated. (Joseph, 1/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Vaccines Expected To Work On South Africa Coronavirus Strain 
A new variant of the coronavirus that is surging across South Africa may make the existing Covid-19 vaccines less effective, but is unlikely to be totally resistant to the shots, according to leading researchers who have studied the mutations and the vaccines. The variant, which has already shown up in patients in Europe and other African countries, has quickly become the predominant one in South Africa, exacerbating a second wave of infections that is overwhelming hospitals and has driven daily deaths to record highs. (Steinhauser, 1/6)

AP: Arizona Deemed 'Hot Spot Of The World' Amid Virus Surge
Five months after President Donald Trump hailed Arizona as a model for how it dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts warned Wednesday that the state has become “the hot spot of the world” and that health restrictions the governor has been hesitant to impose could have tamped down the crisis. “It’s way worse than July already, and it’s going to continue to get worse. We’re probably two weeks behind LA in terms of our situation,” Will Humble, head of the Arizona Public Health Association, said referring to Los Angeles County, where a COVID-19 surge has created a shortage of oxygen and led ambulance crews to stop transporting patients they can’t revive in the field. (Tang, 1/6)

The New York Times: Study Says Blood Plasma Reduces Risk Of Severe Covid-19 If Given Early
A small but rigorous clinical trial in Argentina has found that blood plasma from recovered Covid-19 patients can keep older adults from getting seriously sick with the coronavirus — if they get the therapy within days of the onset of the illness. The results, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, are some of the first to conclusively point toward the oft-discussed treatment’s beneficial effects. (Wu, 1/6)

NPR: Antibody Treatments For COVID-19 Are Worth The Effort, Doctors Say
Many doses of the monoclonal antibody drugs that treat mild to moderate COVID-19 are sitting unused around the country. There are logistical problems with providing these drugs and skepticism over whether they work. But two major health systems have had good success in deploying these medications, and they're reporting hopeful results. Monoclonal antibodies, manufactured by Regeneron and Eli Lilly, have been available since just before Thanksgiving. The Food and Drug Administration authorized them for emergency use after studies suggested that they reduced the risk of hospitalization among people at elevated risk. That includes people over 65 and those with underlying health conditions such as obesity. (Harris, 1/6)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Vaccines Have Triggered Severe Allergic Reactions In 29 People In U.S. To Date 
At least 29 people in the U.S. have developed severe allergic reactions to Covid-19 vaccines, federal health authorities said Wednesday. The rate is far higher than for the seasonal flu vaccine, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said. But the severe reactions were rare and didn’t result in any deaths, and they encouraged use of the shots. (McKay, 1/6)

Stat: More Allergic Reactions To Covid-19 Vaccines Seen, But Cases Remain Few
Twenty-nine people in the United States have developed anaphylaxis after being vaccinated against Covid-19 since the vaccine rollout began, health officials reported Wednesday, with cases occurring after vaccination using both the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna vaccines. (Branswell, 1/6)

The Hill: CDC Reports Severe Allergic Reactions From COVID-19 Vaccinations Rare 
Of nearly 2 million people who were vaccinated against COVID-19 during a 10-day period in December, only 21 people experienced severe allergic reactions, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday. Most of those people had a history of allergies or allergic reactions, and for the 20 people the CDC followed up with, all had recovered and been sent home. (Hellmann, 1/6)

The Washington Post: Allergic Reactions To The Coronavirus Vaccine Are Rare And Outweighed By The Benefit Of Protection, CDC Finds 
Allergic reactions to coronavirus vaccinations remain rare and should not dissuade Americans from being vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. Of the 1.9 million people who received a shot during the first two weeks of vaccination, 21 experienced severe allergic reactions, according to a CDC study released Wednesday. Most of those people had a history of allergic reactions, and 20 of them have fully recovered. (Wan and Achenbach, 1/6)

USA Today: Death Of Florida Doctor Following COVID-19 Vaccine Under Investigation
A Florida doctor has died several weeks after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, although it's not yet clear whether his death Monday was related to the shot he received on Dec. 18. Dr. Gregory Michael, 56, an OB-GYN at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, died after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke apparently resulting from a lack of platelets. Miami medical examiners are investigating his death, the Florida Department of Health said in a statement. (Weintraub, 1/6)

ABC News: Doctors Encourage COVID Vaccination Despite Reports Of Cosmetic Facial Filler Swelling 
A recent update from the Food and Drug Administration has many people concerned that the COVID-19 vaccination may have an unexpected side effect among people who had previously received cosmetic facial fillers. Many people who have received cosmetic injections to smooth wrinkles, plump lips or otherwise rejuvenate their facial appearance are wondering if they should delay their COVID-19 vaccination. But experts caution that side effects from these cosmetic fillers are so rare and so mild that they should not dissuade people from getting the vaccine. (Farber, 1/5)

The Hill: CVS Aims To Finish First Round Of Nursing Home COVID-19 Vaccinations By Jan. 25 
CVS is on track to finish giving the first of three rounds of COVID-19 shots in nursing homes across the country by Jan. 25, the company said Wednesday. The Trump administration is partnering with CVS and Walgreens to inoculate nursing home residents and staff against the coronavirus. The campaign launched Dec. 21, and is now underway in 49 states and the District of Columbia. (Weixel, 1/6)

AP: Coronavirus Vaccine Preregistration Now Open In Oklahoma
Registration began Wednesday in Oklahoma for residents to be notified when they are eligible for a coronavirus vaccination, according to the State Health Department, which later reported a one-day record increase in deaths due to COVID-19.The department’s registration portal, https://vaccinate.oklahoma.gov, had about 125,000 visits and more than 79,000 registrations as of Wednesday afternoon, according to deputy health commissioner Keith Reed. (Miller, 1/6)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout At Nursing Homes Encounters Fewer Residents, Reluctant Staff 
Hesitancy on the part of long-term-care-facility staffers to receive Covid-19 vaccinations is slowing the rollout of the shots to the nation’s nursing homes and assisted-living centers, CVS Health Corp. said Wednesday. Another factor driving lower-than-anticipated rollout numbers: Initial estimates by the facilities overstated the number of people living in them by about 20% to 30%, CVS said. During the pandemic, families have been reluctant to send relatives to nursing homes, which have been linked to more than 115,000 deaths. (Terlep, 1/6)

CNBC: What People Might Not Be Allowed To Do If They Don't Get Vaccinated
A perfect storm is brewing as Covid-19 vaccines start to roll out more widely in countries around the world. While many people can’t wait to protect themselves from the virus, some are adamant that they won’t get the jab, leaving populations divided into those that have been vaccinated and those that haven’t. ... As a result of the differing views, a debate could start to emerge in 2021. Should any restrictions be imposed on people who choose not to get vaccinated given they can catch and spread the virus? (Shead, 1/6)

The Washington Post: Virginia Deploys National Guard On Vaccines; Covid-19 Hospitalizations Spike
Coronavirus hospitalizations reached record highs in the District, Maryland and Virginia on Wednesday, as Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam joined the chorus of public officials saying the pace of vaccinations must move faster. Northam (D) threatened to reallocate doses of vaccine if hospitals and local vaccination clinics could not administer them, and deployed the National Guard to help with inoculations, echoing actions announced Tuesday by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R). (Portnoy and Schneider, 1/6)

AP: Florida Company Accused Of Steering Vaccines To Rich Donors
Florida launched an investigation Wednesday into an upscale nursing home amid reports that it administered coronavirus vaccines to wealthy donors and members of a country club along with its residents and employees. The Washington Post and New York Post both reported that MorseLife Health System, a nonprofit that operates a nursing home and assisted living facility in West Palm Beach, has given vaccinations to donors and members of the Palm Beach Country Club, whose foundation has donated at least $75,000 to MorseLife since 2015, tax records show. (Spencer, 1/6)

The Wall Street Journal: Finally, A Use For The Old Sears: Covid-19 Vaccine Center 
Americans are heading back to Sears, but not to shop. Public-health agencies and health-care organizations from Iowa to Florida are using some of the hundreds of closed Sears department stores to help with the nationwide effort to administer Covid-19 vaccines to millions of people. (Krouse, 1/6)

Modern Healthcare: Half A Million Fewer Women Remain In Healthcare Workforce Amid Pandemic, Study Finds
The number of healthcare jobs held by women has not yet recovered from the massive losses the industry took in the beginning of the pandemic, a recent study finds. As many as 530,000, or 3.8%, fewer healthcare jobs were held by women in October compared to February, according to a study by Altarum, a not-for-profit health research and consulting organization. There were about 36,000, or 1.2%, fewer healthcare jobs for men, who typically make up a significantly smaller segment of the healthcare workforce. (Christ, 1/6)

AP: Walgreens To Sell Drug Wholesale Business For $6.5B
Walgreens Boots Alliance will sell its pharmaceutical wholesale business to AmerisourceBergen in a $6.5 billion cash and stock deal. Pharmaceutical wholesalers essentially act as middlemen, purchasing drugs from manufacturers and then distributing them to customers like drugstore chains, hospitals and doctor’s offices. (Murphy, 1/6)

The Wall Street Journal: Walgreens Boots To Sell Pharmacy Wholesale Unit To AmerisourceBergen 
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. WBA 4.54% said it agreed to sell the majority of its pharmacy wholesale unit to AmerisourceBergen Corp. ABC 8.60% to focus on its retail pharmacies and health initiatives as it faces fresh competition from Amazon.com Inc. and longtime rival CVS Health Corp. AmerisourceBergen, a distributor of health-care products, will pay $6.5 billion for most of Walgreens’s Alliance Healthcare unit, which sells medicines and other products to pharmacies, hospitals and other facilities, mainly in Europe. The deal calls for AmerisourceBergen to pay about $6.3 billion in cash for the assets and two million of its shares, the companies said Wednesday. (Maidenberg, 1/6)

Stat: Generic Drug Makers Fear A 'Skinny Labeling' Court Ruling Will Pose A Huge Threat 
An arcane regulatory term known as skinny labeling may have a funny ring to it, but to generic drug makers, it is no laughing matter. What has the generic industry upset is a recent court ruling that, legal experts say, could effectively negate a key aspect of a decades-old law which makes it possible to supply Americans with many of cheaper generic alternatives to pricey brand-name medicines. (Silverman, 1/7)

Crain's Detroit Business: Beaumont's New Anesthesia Model In Place At Additional Hospitals
Irving, Texas-based NorthStar Anesthesia has taken over anesthesia services at Beaumont Health's three northern hospitals in Royal Oak, Troy and Grosse Pointe and associated ambulatory surgery centers and pain clinics, a move that angered some anesthesia nurses, surgeons and physicians when the contract was announced last summer. With the consolidated contract, which began Jan. 1, NorthStar now offers comprehensive anesthesia services to seven of Beaumont's eight hospitals. Last August, NorthStar started managing anesthesia services at Beaumont's Dearborn, Taylor, Trenton and Wayne hospitals and their associated ambulatory surgery centers and pain clinics. (Greene, 1/6)

Stat: CRISPR Cures Progeria In Mice, Raising Hope For One-Time Therapy 
Biologists tend not to discuss experimental results on a handful of cells and a single solitary mouse — too preliminary, too sketchy. David Liu of the Broad Institute therefore had no plans to present such findings, which he’d peeked at over his graduate student’s shoulder, when he gave a high-profile talk in 2018 at the National Institutes of Health on a form of the CRISPR genome-editing system that he’d invented. (Begley, 1/6)

Stat: Siddhartha Mukherjee Forms A Second Cell Therapy Company
Almost five years after debuting his first biotech company, noted writer and oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee has officially unveiled his second: Myeloid Therapeutics. The new company, based in Cambridge, Mass., launched Wednesday with a $50 million Series A. (Sheridan, 1/6)

The Washington Post: Dr. Dre Says He’s ‘Doing Great’ After Suffering A Reported Brain Aneurysm 
Following reports that he had suffered a possible brain aneurysm, rapper and producer Dr. Dre said late Tuesday he was “doing great” and recovering at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “I’m doing great and getting excellent care from my medical team,” the 55-year-old said in a statement posted to his Instagram account. “I will be out of the hospital and back home soon. Shout out to all the great medical professionals at Cedars. One Love!!” (Bella, 1/6)

Rolling Stone: Gov. Cuomo Announces Proposal To Legalize Marijuana In New York 
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that he will introduce a proposal that would finally legalize marijuana in New York state. “I’m announcing a proposal to legalize cannabis and create an equitable adult-use cannabis program in NYS,” Cuomo tweeted Wednesday. “This program will generate much-needed revenue, while allowing us to support those that have been most harmed by decades of failed cannabis prohibition.” (Kreps, 1/6)

The New York Times: Legalized Marijuana In New York: This Could Be The Year 
The pledge marks Mr. Cuomo’s third attempt at legalizing marijuana; similar efforts have unraveled each year since Democrats took control of the Legislature in 2019, mostly as a result of disagreements over how to distribute the lucrative tax dollars from marijuana sales and the licenses to sell the drug. (Ferre-Sadurni and McKinley, 1/6)

AP: Community College To Offer Course In Mental Health First Aid
College of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City says it will offer a course in first aid for mental health amid the surge of mental health challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The Virginian-Pilot reported Wednesday that the community college will conduct the eight-hour course this spring. It will be for students in the school’s human services technology program, which is for entry-level positions in mental health fields. (1/6)

The New York Times: Japan Declares State Of Emergency In Tokyo Area After Days Of Hesitation 
After days of record coronavirus counts and a rapidly rising death toll, Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures on Thursday, the country’s first such declaration since April. The announcement by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga came five days after governors from the affected prefectures had pleaded with the central government to act, and after his own coronavirus expert panel had recommended the emergency declaration, citing explosive growth in infections in the vast capital region. (Rich and Inoue, 1/7)

AP: Australia Moves Up Vaccination Start To February
Australia is advancing the start of its coronavirus vaccination program to mid-February, with plans to inoculate 15% of the population by late March. The government had argued there was no reason for an emergency rollout that cut short usual regulatory processes as has occurred in the United States and elsewhere because local transmission rates in Australia are much lower. It had planned to start vaccinating in March. (1/7)

AP: EU Commission Greenlights Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine
The European Union’s executive commission gave the green light Wednesday to Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine, providing the 27-nation bloc with a second vaccine to use in the desperate battle to tame the virus rampaging across the continent. The European Commission granted conditional marketing authorization for the vaccine. The decision came against a backdrop of high infection rates in many EU countries and strong criticism of the slow pace of vaccinations across the region of some 450 million people. (Furtula and Corder, 1/6)

The New York Times: Court In Pakistan Bans ‘Virginity Tests’ In Sexual Violence Cases 
A court in the northern city of Lahore in Pakistan has abolished so-called virginity tests, which women are subjected to in sexual assault cases, setting a precedent for the practice to be potentially outlawed nationwide. The practice — banned in neighboring Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh — continues to take place in Pakistan and more than a dozen other countries where it is seen as a measure of virtue and of whether a woman is trustworthy. (Schmall and ur-Rehman, 1/6)