Ten Republican senators are proposing a $600 million plan as an alternative to President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. The Wall Street Journal explains the debate over stimulus checks. And the Washington Post cites research that says wealthier families barely spent the money they got from the earlier stimulus. The Biden administration is running into early obstacles as it pursues its vaccine-rollout goals. Politico breaks down how those challenges may set back the pandemic response. Myanmar’s military has seized power and detained the country’s democratically elected leader, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Bloomberg News reports on the first foreign-policy crisis of the new Biden administration. Scientists are tracking the synchronized rotation of a group of faraway planets. And it turns out their movements make interesting music. Forbes explains.

Ask this episode

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