Tipsheet: The Memo: COVID surge multiplies dangers for Biden

View in your browser     The Memo: COVID surge multiplies dangers for Biden By NIALL STANAGE   Francis Collins, the outgoing director of the National Institutes of Health, has suggested daily infections could ultimately reach one million. In the United Kingdom, where COVID trends have often presaged those seen in the U.S., daily infections are now over 120,000 in a nation roughly one-fifth as populous. Biden is desperate to avoid any public perception that he is failing to meet the challenge. Read the full story here     Washington grapples with how to expand crypto oversight By SYLVAN LANE   The cryptocurrency explosion has forced Washington to adapt federal financial rules to a quickly growing and changing industry. Read the full story here     Congress zooms in on cybersecurity after banner year of attacks By MAGGIE MILLER   The past 12 months stand as a banner year in the severity of cyberattacks that wreaked havoc on organizations large and small.  Read the full story here     CDC shortens isolation time for asymptomatic COVID-19 to five days By NATHANIEL WEIXEL   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is cutting its recommended isolation time for people infected with COVID-19 from 10 to five days, as long as they are asymptomatic.  Read the full story here       Experts say COVID-19 cases don't tell whole story By ALEX GANGITANO AND BRETT SAMUELS    For nearly two years, Americans have looked carefully at coronavirus case numbers in the country and in their local states and towns to judge the risk of the disease. Read the full story here     Biden says 'more work to do' amid testing scramble By ALEX GANGITANO   President Biden acknowledged Monday there is "more work to do" on COVID-19 testing in the U.S. after many scrambled to get tests over Christmas and ahead of New Year's Day amid a sharp rise in cases. Read the full story here     Founding SEAL Team 6 head Richard Marcinko dead at 81 By JORDAN WILLIAMS   Richard Marcinko, founding commander of U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6, died on Saturday at the age of 81, his son announced on Sunday. Read the full story here     Man who told Biden 'let's go Brandon' goes on Bannon's podcast, touts Trump By JOSEPH CHOI   The Oregon man who called President Biden and first lady Jill Biden and said the anti-Biden phrase "Let's Go Brandon" pushed the baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Trump while speaking on a podcast with Steve Bannon. Read the full story here     Shutterfly hit by ransomware attack By MAGGIE MILLER   Photography company Shutterfly announced this week that it had been hit by a ransomware attack that had impacted some services, making it the latest in a string of companies to be targeted by hackers looking for a payout.  Read the full story here     De Blasio to decide 'very soon' on possible gubernatorial bid By TAL AXELROD   New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said he would decide soon whether to run for governor after his second term as mayor ends.  Read the full story here     Beyond sanctions and strikes: A new Iran strategy By KHOSROW B. SEMNANI   OPINION | With the Iran nuclear deal on the verge of collapse, it is lethal for diplomats gathering in Vienna to entertain illusions about Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s worldview. Rather than assume that the only alternative to diplomacy is the military option—with strikes against Iran’s nuclear program raising the risk of an Iran war—it is time for a new Iran policy that reframes the nature of the strategic threat posed by the Ayatollah.   Read the full story here     Air travel under attack by omicron By SHELDON H. JACOBSON   Omicron has changed the risk calculus of air travel. Does this mean that air travel should be avoided?  Read the full story here     Reuters: Fauci suggests air travel vaccine mandate as Omicron grounds US flights By LINDSEY WASSON and GABRIELLA BORTER   Skyrocketing COVID-19 cases hobbled U.S. airline staff on Monday, causing hundreds of flight cancellations, and prompted the country's top infectious disease expert to suggest the government consider a vaccine mandate for domestic air travel. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: Inside Disney’s handling of the ABC News sexual-assault allegations By JOE FLINT   When writer Jay Carson was doing research in the fall of 2017 to develop “The Morning Show,” an Apple TV+ drama about a scandal at a morning newscast, he spoke to ABC News producer Kirstyn Crawford. Read the full story here     Bloomberg: World hits record daily COVID cases as omicron mars Christmas By JINSHAN SHONG   Global Covid-19 cases hit a daily record on Monday, disrupting the holiday season a year after vaccines first started rolling out and two years after the emergence of the virus that many hoped would be fleeting.  Read the full story here     The Washington Post: US hospitals brace for continuing surge in covid cases fueled by the omicron variant By DAN DIAMOND, TIM CRAIG and SEAN SULLIVAN   U.S. hospitals continue to reel from surging volumes of coronavirus patients as the omicron variant drives a record-breaking flurry of infections in some regions — with medical workers bracing for more misery in the weeks ahead. Read the full story here     USA Today: Record cold and massive snow plague the West as Southern US By JOHN BACON and CELINA TEBOR   Snow and rain pummeled a swath of the West on Monday while a holiday heat wave swept parts of the Southern Plains as the wild run of weather continued across the nation. Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet   You Might Like       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©1998 - 2021 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

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