Here’s what you need to know at the end of the day.
(Want to get this newsletter in your inbox? Here’s the sign-up.) Good evening. Here’s the latest.1. President Biden signed a series of executive orders that will fight climate change at every level of the federal government. “We’ve already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis,” Mr. Biden said. “We can’t wait any longer.” Looking to counteract Republican claims that his climate policies would hurt an economy already weakened by the coronavirus pandemic, the president cast many of his orders as an economic boon that would create millions of jobs. The orders include a pause on new oil and natural gas leases on public lands and offshore waters, and eliminating fossil fuel subsidies. Mr. Biden also pledged to announce specific targets detailing how the U.S. would lower its carbon dioxide emissions under the Paris accord. The orders also specified that climate change, for the first time, will be a core part of all foreign policy and national security decisions. That will most likely bring big changes for America’s role in the world. Here’s what to watch for in the coming months.2. The U.S. faces heightened threats from violent domestic extremists emboldened by the Capitol riot, according to a rare national terrorism warning. The Jan.6 breach may have encouraged domestic extremists to target elected officials and government facilities, according to the Department of Homeland Security bulletin. The extremists are motivated by issues including coronavirus restrictions, the results of the 2020 election, police use of force and a strong opposition to immigration, according to the agency. Many of the Capitol rioters who believe former President Donald Trump won the November election were led there by a pathway of conspiratorial steppingstones. Separately, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a QAnon promoter, reportedly endorsed executing Democrats and F.B.I. agents on Facebook before she was elected to Congress last year.3. The Biden administration warned that the U.S. would remain vulnerable to the coronavirus without quick passage of a relief bill by Congress. Jeffrey Zients, Mr. Biden’s Covid-19 response coordinator, said that the federal government still faced shortages of personal protective gear and other essential supplies that it will not be able to buy if Congress does not pass President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue plan, as well as funds to investigate contagious variants now spreading around the world. “We are 43rd in the world in genomic sequencing — totally unacceptable,” Mr. Zients said. Average daily reports of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. have decreased 33 percent over the last two weeks, but reported deaths in the same period have remained near record highs. Here’s why. In a majority of U.S. counties, residents are at an extremely high risk for contracting Covid-19 right now.
