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The total number of deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. is set to top 400,000 before Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20, but rollout of coronavirus vaccines has been slow, with many describing a vexing amount of red tape standing between them and the shot. We look at the development and distribution of another vaccine during the polio epidemic in the 1950s with Dr. Peter Salk, a physician and professor of infectious diseases and microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh, whose father, Dr. Jonas Salk, developed the first polio vaccine and famously declined to patent his invention. "The rest of the world and the countries that are less able to afford vaccines need consideration, as well," says Dr. Salk. "There needs to be a creative cooperation among all of us, including the businesses, in order to find ways to satisfy the needs of these other countries."

As security is ramped up in Washington, D.C., and state capitols across the U.S., the FBI is warning of more potential violence in the lead-up to Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20. Federal authorities have arrested over 100 people who took part in last week's deadly insurrection at the Capitol, and The Washington Post reports that dozens of people on a terrorist watch list — including many white supremacists — were in Washington on the day of the insurrection. "This was something that had been coming for a long time," ProPublica reporter A.C. Thompson, who covers right-wing extremism, says of the January 6 riot. "If you looked at the rhetoric online … it was all about revolution, it was all about death to tyrants, it was all about civil war."

Joe Biden Unveils $1.9 Trillion Coronavirus and Economic Relief Package, U.S. on Pace to Top 400,000 COVID-19 Deaths by Inauguration Day as Unemployment Surges, Dozens of Capitol Rioters Were on FBI Terrorism Watch List, QAnon Insurrectionist Jacob Chansley, Who Threatened VP Pence, Seeks Trump Pardon, NY Rep. Adriano Espaillat Tests Positive for Coronavirus After Receiving 2nd Dose of Vaccine, Hospitals in Brazil's Amazonas Run Out of Oxygen as Fears of Variant Trigger Travel Bans, 2020 Was Hottest Year on Earth, Bringing Record Fires, Heat Waves and Extreme Weather, Yemen's Humanitarian Disaster Set to Worsen as U.S. Moves to Label Houthis as Terrorists, Michigan Ex-Gov. Rick Snyder, 8 Top Ex-Officials Charged over Flint Water Crisis, DOJ Inspector General Report Details How Trump and Allies Pushed to Separate Families, ICE's Acting Director Resigns After Two Weeks on Job, Caravan Departs Honduras, Fleeing Economic Crises and Hurricane Devastation, Report Says ICE Failed to Provide Basic Coronavirus Protections, Threatened Prisoners, New York Attorney General Sues NYPD for Abuses During 2020's BLM Uprising, The Intercept Co-Founder & Oscar Winner Laura Poitras Says She Was Fired by First Look Media

FEATURING EMILY MCARTHUR – On Friday President elect Joe Biden laid out an ambitious economic stimulus package during which he made a forceful case for why the federal minimum wage ought to be $15 an hour. The movement to “Fight for $15” gained traction years ago from labor groups in the face of stiff resistance....

FEATURING MIKE KONCZAL – The “free market” we are told by its proponents is the best path to prosperity for all. “Free enterprise” is a right that subsumes other rights. Freedom from regulations will unlock wealth. This is the myth that America is steeped in. Rarely if ever, do our politicians demand that we center...

President elect Joe Biden on Thursday gave a major speech outlining an ambitious economic stimulus package he calls the “American Rescue Plan.” The proposal includes a substantial amount to tackling the pandemic and also providing direct aid to Americans and to state and local governments. Here is Mr. Biden listing the highlights of a massive economic...

Mounting Evidence the Attack on the Capitol Was an Inside Job | The Merging of the Left and Right in Conspiracy and Alienation | Right Wing Funding of Politicians Who Championed Insurrection backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Is the Toxic Trump GOP Now a Captive of the Lunatic Fringe? | Polls Indicate 40% of Americans Still Think Trump is Doing a Good Job | Could the World's Most Powerful Biometric Database Be Used Against the American People? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

10 Republicans Joined Democrats in a 232 to 197 House Vote to Impeach Trump | The Sudden and Spectacular Fall of Donald Trump | De-radicalizing the Republican Party backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia