*** REGIONAL NEWS FROM WEDNESDAY ***

+ The Olympian: United Way seeks volunteers for mass vaccination event this weekend and beyond

+ The Seattle Times: COVID-19 even affects apples: Washington farm exports crimped by cargo-container shortage

+ JOLT News: Steve Tilley for Justice not Jails to commissioners on resolution declaring racism a crisis in Thurston County

*** CORONAVIRUS NEWS FROM WEDNESDAY ***

McClatchy News: Fauci marks COVID anniversary with hope and a warning: Don’t ‘underestimate’ virus

Politico: CDC finds Covid-19 drove 15 percent spike in death rate

*** NATIONAL NEWS FROM WEDNESDAY ***

NBC: Congress passes $1.9T Covid relief bill, with $1,400 checks, in major win for Biden, with no Republican votes

Truthout: “Pro-Life” Texas Lawmaker Introduces Bill Imposing Death Penalty for Abortion [Ed. note: Now where IS the logic is this?]

Common Dreams: Calls Grow for Biden to Remove Trump Holdovers Who Want to Gut Social Security

Truthout: Zero Republicans Vote for Stimulus Projected to Raise 16 Million Out of Poverty

Truthout: Rep. Katie Porter Refutes Claim That Oil Industry Doesn’t Get Special Tax Breaks [Ed. note: A must see exchange!]

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco: COVID-19 Makes Matters Worse for Already Fragile Child Care Sector

NBC News: Senate confirms Merrick Garland as Biden’s attorney general – almost five years to the day after Garland was nominated for the Supreme Court — a nomination the Senate refused to consider

NBC News: Texas AG threatens to sue city of Austin for defying governor on mask mandate

The Washington Post: Want to borrow that e-book from the library? Sorry, Amazon won’t let you.

*** SELECT TRUMP NEWS FROM WEDNESDAY ***

The Hill: Trump told Ga. investigator he won the state: ‘You’ll be praised’ for ‘the right answer’ [Ed. note: Yes, there IS audio!]

The New York Times: Donald Trump Loses Libel Suit Against N.Y. Times

The Washington Post: Ex-State Department employee appointed by Trump ‘switched sides’ in joining Capitol mob, judge says [scroll down]

NBC News: Michael Cohen has seventh meeting with Manhattan DA as Trump investigation ramps up

CNN: Whistleblowers say a Trump ally made a questionable hire days before resigning from DOJ

MSNBC: Trump card for NY feds?: Growing probe of citizen Trump’s money trail

MSN: Donald Trump Is Now Requesting Donations That Could Pay For Jared & Ivanka’s Consulting Fees