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MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY
2018: American playwright, screenwriter, and TV writer Neil Simon—who was one of the most popular playwrights in the history of American theatre, known for such plays as The Odd Couple and Biloxi Blues—died at age 91. [Test your knowledge of the theatre.]
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SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAYSoaring COVID cases across
the U.S. are perpetuating a preventable wave of suffering that's
already straining hospitals And an average of 1,000 Americans are dying
per day, Axios' Sam Baker writes. - The U.S. is now averaging over 150,000 new coronavirus cases per day — a 22% increase over the past two weeks.
- Infections are rising in 46 states — all but Maine + the triad of Missouri, Louisiana and Arkansas, where summer cases flew off the charts.
Photo: Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/U.S. Air Force via AP U.S. Air Force pilots help
board people being evacuated from Afghanistan on an Air Force C-17
Globemaster III, at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on
Tuesday. Photo: Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/U.S. Air Force via AP  | 1 big thing — COVID's new reality: Risk forever
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
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Vaccinated Americans are facing a disheartening reality:
Even after getting the shot, we'll have to live with some level of
COVID risk for the foreseeable future, Axios' Caitlin Owens writes. - A glut of data released
over the past few weeks supports the idea that coronavirus vaccine
effectiveness against infection begins to wane over time, although it
remains effective against severe disease.
Most of the data suggest effectiveness is on the decline within six months post-vaccination. - But the Biden administration plans to recommend a booster after eight months — which appears to still be well before effectiveness significantly wanes.
Between the lines:
The U.S. vaccination campaign began in December. So millions of
vaccinated Americans are likely significantly less protected than they
were when they completed their shots. - That's not even accounting for the possibility that the vaccines are less effective against Delta.
 Caitlin's thought bubble: I'm also trying to figure out what is a sustainable and ethical level of risk to incorporate into my life.
- As a low-risk person
(young, healthy), my main fear isn't getting the virus. It's
contributing to its spread among the unvaccinated and the vulnerable.
- That means I'm
back to wondering whether I should dine indoors, struggling to make
travel plans and taking coronavirus tests after being in what I perceive
to be high-risk situations. These are all things I had hoped were
behind me after I became fully vaccinated.
Share this story.
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2. Mapped: COVID cases rise in 46 sates
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 | A protest against vaccine mandates and passports at City Hall in New York yesterday. Photo: Andrew Kelly/Reuters Between the lines: The
biggest increases are happening primarily in a cluster of states where
vaccination rates are low and safety measures like masks are spotty. - Tennessee had
the biggest spikes in the number of new cases, followed closely by a
cluster of nearby Southeastern states as well as Alaska, South Dakota
and Wyoming.
Share this map.
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3. Rising arms race: Cyberdefense
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Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
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President Biden is enlisting Big Tech in defending against a growing wave of cyberattacks, which have become too big a problem for government alone. - A White House summit yesterday
included CEOs of Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and IBM, and
concluded with a raft of announcements of new cybersecurity projects and
spending plans.
Between the lines: That's
awkward! The White House wants to partner with the tech companies —
while also pursuing them with antitrust lawsuits and investigations,
Axios' Scott Rosenberg and Ina Fried note. - Biden's meeting
can be seen as a signal from Washington to industry that it needs to
take strong voluntary action — or face a new wave of regulatory or
legislative mandates.
A flurry of administration and business announcements followed the summit: - Microsoft
said it would spend an additional $20 billion over five years on
"security by design," and offer $150 million in technical services to
federal, state and local governments.
- Google
plans to spend $10 billion over five years on zero-trust programs and
other measures to bolster software supply chains and open-source
security.
- Amazon said it would offer the public free access to the same "security awareness training" it provides its employees.
- IBM
said it would train 150,000 people in cybersecurity skills over three
years and partner with 20 historically Black colleges and universities
to create cybersecurity leadership centers.
- Apple said it was starting a new program to enhance supply chain security.
The catch: Many
in industry believe that baked-in government rules could hamstring
companies trying to adapt to a rapidly changing cybersecurity
environment. What we're watching: The summit also covered ways to protect supply chains and critical infrastructure and cyber insurance for businesses. - There's a pressing shortage of
workers in the sector, where "nearly half a million public and private
cybersecurity jobs remain unfilled," according to a White House
statement.
Go deeper: List of private-sector announcements after White House summit.
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A message from Amazon
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“Amazon has allowed me to live a comfortable life”
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When Luv-Luv joined Amazon, she was just looking for a job — any job — with health care. What she found was so much more.
Thanks to Amazon’s starting wage of at least $15 an hour and comprehensive benefits, she is able to live life on her own terms.
Watch her story.
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4. Pics du jour: Leaving Afghanistan
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| Photo: Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/U.S. Air Force via AP
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5. Path to America
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 | Data: Defense Department, Axios research. Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios The U.S. has evacuated 80,000+ people from Kabul since Aug. 14, most of them Afghans. Axios World editor Dave Lawler maps the journey: - Most U.S. military flights
out of Kabul go to one of three hubs — in Qatar, Bahrain or Germany.
Secondary sites are in the UAE and Kuwait, and at U.S. military
installations in Germany, Italy and Spain.
Those who hold U.S. visas or have completed the Special Immigrant Visa application process can be quickly cleared to come to the U.S. - It remains unclear
how long others might wait. The administration is dispatching diplomats
as well as intelligence, law enforcement and counterterrorism officials
to expedite the process.
Those who are cleared to travel to the U.S.
are being flown to Dulles, then on to one of four U.S. military bases —
in New Jersey, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. Additional U.S. bases are
expected to be added.
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6. Tracking Trump
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Jan. 6 committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
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The Jan. 6 select committee made a sweeping records request to the National Archives and federal agencies: - Lawmakers demanded detailed records about former President Trump's every movement and meeting on the day of insurrection.
The requests "show
that as they ramp up their inquiry, investigators are looking closely
at ... any connections [Trump] or his administration had to the
rioters," writes The New York Times' Luke Broadwater (subscription). - "They are also looking
into the potential involvement of at least one top aide to a Republican
member of Congress who helped publicize the 'Stop the Steal' rallies,"
The Times reports.
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7. Nixon body man plans tell-all
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Cover: William Morrow
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On Feb. 15, one of Nixon’s closest aides will break his silence: - Dwight Chapin, who went to prison as a result of Watergate, was Nixon’s body man and traveling companion in the 1960s ... a protégé
of Bob Haldeman ... and as a White House aide was responsible for the
logistics of events ranging from Nixon's meeting with Elvis to the
opening to China with Henry Kissinger.
The publisher, William Morrow, says Chapin's upcoming memoir, "The President's Man,"
will take reader behind the scenes with history makers including
Coretta Scott King, LBJ, Hubert Humphrey, Sen. Ted Kennedy, Leonid
Brezhnev, Chairman Mao, Frank Sinatra, and Roger Ailes.
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8.  Coming attractions: Steve Coll on losing Afghanistan
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Steve Coll plans a final volume in his panoramic and investigative series on the U.S. misadventure in Central Asia, Penguin Press says: - The trilogy began with "Ghost Wars,"
the Pulitzer-Prize winning account that traced the CIA's covert war
against Soviet occupation during the 1980s, through the rise of the
Taliban and Osama bin Laden, to the eve of the 9/11 attacks.
- "Directorate S," winner
of the National Book Critics Circle Award, opened on 9/11 and carried
the history through 2016, to the eve of Donald Trump's election to the
White House.
- The new work (no date set) will follow from there to the fall of Kabul and beyond.
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9. ESPN sidelines Rachel Nichols from NBA
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Photo: Michael J. LeBrecht II/NBA via Getty Images
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ESPN is removing longtime basketball reporter Rachel Nichols from all NBA coverage, and canceling her daily show "The Jump," reports Sports Business Journal (subscription). - The drama comes a month after The New York Times posted leaked audio
of Nichols, who is white, suggesting that her Black colleague Maria
Taylor was chosen to lead ESPN's NBA finals coverage instead of her
because the network was "feeling pressure" on diversity.
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10. 1 smile to go
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| Photo: Ben Jackson via AP Ben Jackson, a
sheep farmer stuck in lockdown in New South Wales, Australia, was
unable to attend his aunt Deb's funeral. So he honored her with sheep
herded into the shape of a heart. - This shot is from drone video of pregnant ewes munching barley in his paddock.
Jackson started experimenting with
making shapes with sheep to relieve the monotonous stress of
hand-feeding livestock during a devastating drought across most of
Australia, AP reports. - He discovered
that if he spelled the names of his favorite musical bands with grain
dropped from the back of a truck, the flock would roughly adopt the same
shape for several minutes.
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A message from Amazon
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Amazon ranked as the No. 1 U.S. company investing in America
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The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) ranked Amazon as the No. 1 U.S. company investing in America.
Why it’s important: PPI estimates Amazon invested $34 billion in U.S. infrastructure in 2020. Every Amazon job comes with a starting wage of $15/hr and comprehensive benefits. Learn more.
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