WTF Just Happened Today

Monday, January 3, 2022

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1/ The U.S. reported a pandemic record 403,385 Covid-19 cases over the past week – about 60% higher than the previous U.S. peak in Jan. 2021. The seven-day PCR test positive rate in the U.S. hit 17% – the highest since April 2020. The number of tests reported by states, however, are running below the 2021 highs, which suggests that cases are significantly undercounted. Hospitalizations and deaths, meanwhile, remain below previous peaks. Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician for Congress, warned of an “unprecedented” number of cases among members and staff, saying the seven-day coronavirus positivity rate within the Capitol has gone from less than 1% to greater than 13%, with Omicron making up a majority of those cases. (Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / Politico)

2/ The FDA authorized booster shots of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds. The agency also shortened the timeframe between the second and third shots to at least five months, down from six months. The agency will also allow some immunocompromised children ages 5 to 11 to get a third dose. (NPR / Politico / New York Times / Washington Post / CBS News)

3/ Twitter “permanently suspended” the personal account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for “repeated violations” of its Covid-19 misinformation policies. The suspension came after she published a tweet falsely suggesting “extremely high amounts of Covid vaccine deaths.” Facebook, meanwhile, suspended Greene 24 hours for spreading similar misinformation about the coronavirus. (NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / New York Times)

4/ New York Attorney General Letitia James subpoenaed Ivanka Trump and Trump Jr. as part of her civil tax fraud investigation into the Trump Organization. Ivanka and Trump Jr., however, have refused to comply with subpoenas. The attorney general’s office previously subpoenaed Trump for testimony and set a Jan. 7 deadline. Eric Trump was previously subpoenaed and provided testimony in Oct. 2020. (NBC News /