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| Oregon puff, puff passes on the criminalization of drugs. The U.S. is buying millions of fast, at-home COVID-19 tests. And Myanmar's military has taken over the country in a coup. |
| It's Ashley, with the news everyone is talking about. While you read, I'll be watching pandas slide in the snow on repeat. |
| But first, a moment of silence for Screech: "Saved by the Bell" star Dustin Diamond has died three weeks after being diagnosed with cancer. He was 44. |
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Oregon decriminalizes all drugs, offers addicts rehab over prison |
| A first-of-its-kind law that decriminalizes all drugs goes into effect today in Oregon. Nope, it's not just marijuana: The law decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of all illegal drugs in the state, including heroin, cocaine, meth and oxycodone. Instead, those found in possession would face a $100 fine or a health assessment that could lead to addiction counseling. You may be raising your eyebrows, but advocates say the pivot will be life-changing for thousands of Oregonians. Some are hopeful this move will start a wave of measures that undo years of damage caused by drug criminalization, which disproportionately imprisoned people of color across the U.S. |
 | | Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-NJ., holds up a button that members of the Congressional Black Caucus are planning to wear to Tuesday night's State of the Union speech. It honors the late Recy Taylor, a black Alabama woman who was raped by six white men in 1944. Her rapists were never brought to justice. | | Deborah Barfield Berry, USA TODAY | |
At-home COVID-19 tests with results in 15 minutes! |
| Federal health officials announced Monday a $230 million deal to expand the use of a rapid at-home COVID-19 test to provide about 8.5 million tests a month in the United States. The tests, made by Australia-based Ellume, are non-prescription and can detect COVID-19 with 90% accuracy. They can be used on people who have symptoms, and perhaps more importantly, those who do not have symptoms. The swabbing for this test is also less invasive than the nasopharyngeal swabs of other COVID-19 tests (that very long swab that basically touches your brain). Once you take the test, results are sent to users' smartphones within 15 minutes. |
| Other important COVID-19 updates: |
| • | Only 38% of nursing home workers have accepted COVID-19 vaccinations, new data shows, in contrast to 78% of residents. | | • | New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio acknowledged that Black and Latino New Yorkers are receiving COVID-19 vaccines at far lower rates than white residents. | | • | A second U.S. state reported a case of the coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan confirmed a case of the B.1.351 variant in his state Saturday. | | • | The U.S. has more than 26.1 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 441,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. | |
 | | Australian manufacturer Ellume developed a kit for a self-administered, at-home, rapid coronavirus test. | | AP | |
What everyone's talking about |
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Myanmar's military takes power in coup |
| Myanmar's military seized control of the country in a coup on Monday, detaining the country's civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and declared a state of emergency for one year. Myanmar President U Win Myint – who has a largely ceremonial role – and other senior politicians were also detained. |
| • | Why is this happening? Claims of election fraud. The military said Suu Kyi, widely hailed as democracy hero and Nobel Peace Prize winner, was detained for alleged voting irregularities in November's election. The main opposition party, the army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, claimed the vote was marred by fraud. | | • | What will President Joe Biden do? The military's actions were already receiving widespread international condemnation. Biden called the coup a "direct assault on the country's transition to democracy and rule of law" and warned Myanmar it would "necessitate an immediate review of our sanction laws and authorities, followed by appropriate action." | |
 | | Myanmar migrants hold up portraits of Aung San Suu Kyi as they take part in a demonstration outside the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok on Feb. 1, 2021, after Myanmar's military detained the country's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her top deputies in a coup. | | LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA, AFP via Getty Images | |
Readers in the Northeast: Winter has come |
| Is everyone OK out there? The Northeast remained in the thick of a winter storm on Monday as Philadelphia, New York City and Boston dealt with heavy snowfall that was forecast to pile up over 2 feet in some areas. Phones buzzed with an emergency alert Monday warning drivers to stay off New York City's roads until Tuesday morning as Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a state of emergency. The National Weather Service warned that travel in the city, where 20 inches of snow was expected, was expected to become "very difficult to impossible" and that the storm would cause travel problems for days. As of Monday afternoon, some areas in New Jersey had already picked up nearly 20 inches of snow, and 13 inches was reported in New York City, the weather service said. |
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 | | A woman holds an umbrella in Times Square during a winter storm on Feb. 1, 2021 in New York City. | | ANGELA WEISS, AFP via Getty Images | |
Real quick |
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Why Black History Month feels a little different in 2021 |
| The U.S. is grappling with crises that disproportionately affect Black Americans: COVID-19, economic instability, racism. In a nation already devastated by a deadly coronavirus with no cure, the racial unrest felt like "a match dropped into a powder keg of grief," said Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League. How do we progress from here? The short answer: "Forward. Through still-difficult times to the other, better side," writes Nichelle Smith, USA TODAY's enterprise editor for racism and history. "We need to first examine how we got here. How do we dismantle ideas and systems that keep racism alive? We also need to hold our leaders as accountable for progress as we do ourselves. The only way forward is through." |
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 | | Former NFL player Tyrone Carter passionately speaks at the George Floyd memorial site at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue on Wednesday, June 3, 2020. George Floyd died at this location in Minneapolis police custody on May 25, 2020. | | Jack Gruber, USA TODAY | |
A break from the news |
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