As COVID-19 vaccine production ramps up in America, some state governors are lifting pandemic restrictions even as the CDC warns against reopening too fast. CNN looks at the tension between state and federal leaders. After the deep freeze, Vox explains how many Texans, and people in nearby states, are still dealing with damage done to water supplies. Shipping companies are using James Bond–like measures to protect COVID-19 vaccine shipments, including armed guards, panic buttons, and kill switches. Bloomberg Businessweek has the story. Germans have coined more than 1,200 new words to describe living in the pandemic. The Washington Post reviews this jawbreaking lexicon.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.