World News: GOP counters on COVID relief

Sunday, January 31

President Joe Biden speaks about the coronavirus in the State Dinning Room of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, in Washington.

Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend

A powerful winter storm hammered the United States. GOP senators pen letter to Biden on COVID relief. It's the weekend's biggest news.

10 GOP senators urge bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill

Ten Republican senators issued an open letter to President Joe Biden on Sunday, citing his calls for unity and asking to discuss a COVID-19 relief package the group believes will get bipartisan support in Congress. The proposal, which does not include a price tag, comes after Biden offered up a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package of his own and as many Democrats are expressing a desire to see another round of stimulus help. "Our proposal reflects many of your stated priorities, and with your support, we believe that this plan could be approved by Congress with bipartisan support," the joint letter reads. The letter concludes with a pledge to work in good faith to "meet the health, economic, and societal challenges of the COVID crisis."

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Major winter storm blasts the Northeast

A powerful winter storm that hammered the western United States last week came roaring through the Midwest and into the East on Sunday, with meteorologists warning of blizzard conditions and up to two feet of snow in some areas. Almost 80 million people were under winter storm warnings and watches, from North Carolina all the way up the East Coast as major cities including Washington, D.C., Chicago, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City braced for the biggest snowfall of the season. State agencies and local officials warned residents to prepare for strong winds, possible flooding and power outages on top of the snow. Meteorologists expect the storm to erupt into a full-blown nor'easter, with major effects lasting at least through Tuesday.

Joel Berman uses a snowblower to clear snow from his driveway Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021 in Bayside, Wis. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for the Milwaukee metro area as well as counties along the Illinois border where 5 to 9 inches of snow was expected to fall by the time the storm moves out of the area by Monday.

Mike De Sisti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY Network

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Biden adviser says to prioritize first vaccine doses

A top epidemiologist and adviser to Biden urged the U.S. to prioritize giving the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to as many Americans as possible before focusing the second dose. Both Moderna's and Pfizer's vaccines are comprised of two shots, though just receiving the first shot has shown to provide some protection. Johnson & Johnson, which sponsors a single-dose vaccine candidate, is expected to apply for emergency use authorization within the next week and receive it sometime next month. However, new data shows that J&J's single dose will only be 66% effective. So far, 31 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered out of the nearly 50 million doses distributed across the U.S.

In addition: Travelers on airplanes and public transportation in the U.S. will be required to wear masks beginning this week, per a new rule from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

'SNL' returns with first episode of its 2021 season

"Saturday Night Live" kicked off its first episode of 2021 by reminding everyone how chaotic the first 30 days of the year have been. Kate McKinnon opened the comedy show with a segment titled "What Still Works?" — a series of interviews to recap everything going right, or rather, wrong in America right now. "The Office" and "A Quiet Place" actor John Krasinski also made his debut on the show by getting arrested for participating in the Capitol riot earlier this month and sharing a smooch with Pete Davidson . During the goodbyes at the end of the show, Davidson took a tumble off the stage with Machine Gun Kelly, who was making his first appearance on the show. The musician performed "Lonely" and "My Ex's Best Friend" from his 2020 pop-punk album "Tickets to My Downfall."

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This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Contributing: The Associated Press.