What Prompted Biden To Order A Deeper Look Into COVID-19's Origin? President Biden has asked for a 90-day investigation into how the COVID-19 pandemic started, and whether it's possible that the virus leaked from a lab in China. Tamara Keith
Experts Warn Lag In Global Vaccinations Could Lead To Dangerous Variants Thanks to widespread vaccinations, the U.S. is reopening. Meanwhile, countries without similar access to doses are angry and fearful — amid signs the COVID-19 catastrophe in India could spread. Nurith Aizenman
Biden Asks U.S. Intel To Push For Stronger Conclusions On The Coronavirus' Origins The U.S. intelligence community is investigating the potential origins of the coronavirus, including the possibility that it emerged as a result of a lab accident in Wuhan, China. Alana Wise
The Science Behind Vaccine Incentives NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Katy Milkman, professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, about which vaccine incentives work best and why. Ari Shapiro
Stick It For A Ticket: Free Baseball Game Entry For Those Who Get Vaccine At Stadium Wednesday and Thursday, the Milwaukee Brewers are offering a COVID-19 vaccine shot outside the stadium, followed by a ticket to that days' game. Those who are anti-vaccine are upset by the promotion. Chuck Quirmbach
‘The virus spreads like cigarette smoke.’ It’s really hard to transmit coronavirus outside The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say it’s okay for the fully vaccinated to remove their masks in most settings. King County still requires masks in indoor public spaces, but outdoor public spaces are a different matter. Eilís O'Neill
Covid cases are down as students on UW's Greek Row get vaccinated Covid cases on the University of Washington’s Greek Row have slowed to a trickle as the community gets vaccinated. Eilís O'Neill
Opioid Trial In West Virginia Comes Amid National Reckoning For Big Pharma Drug distributors have faced embarrassing revelations about their internal practices. One email shared by corporate executives described rural Americans addicted to opioids as "pillbillies." Brian Mann
Controversial New Guidelines Would Allow Experiments On More Mature Human Embryos An influential scientific society has recommended scrapping a long-standing taboo on studying human embryos in lab dishes beyond 14 days and green lit a long list of other sensitive research. Rob Stein
Half Of All U.S. Adults Are Now Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 The stunning speed of the vaccines' development and rollout has helped tame COVID-19 in the U.S., which remains the worst-hit country in the world. Bill Chappell