President Biden announced that he expects all Americans will have access to the Covid vaccine by May

This comes after the approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and an announcement that J&J would partner with its competitor Merck to produce more shots

Before, Biden had said he expected total shot availability by July

"Today’s announcements are a huge step in our effort to beat this pandemic," he said

Governor Abbott of Texas announced the end to all state-wide Covid restrictions beginning March 10

Texas has had a mask mandate since July, and businesses have had to operate at limited occupancy

With a population of 27M people, Texas has recorded 44k deaths and 2.7M cases, although real case numbers are far higher. 13.4% of the state has received a shot

“It is now the time to open Texas 100%...State mandates are no longer needed," Governor Abbott said

Senate Democrats removed a proposal to hike the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15/hour in the next stimulus

The House had included the minimum wage hike in the stimulus they passed, with progressive Democrats leading the push

Last week, a Senate official ruled that the minimum wage increase was not allowed in the stimulus, given the special rules under which it is being passed

The Democrat party is now split between some progressive Democrats, who want the Senate to try to pass the bill anyways, and centrist Democrats, who oppose doing so

Almost exactly 1 year after lockdowns began, Lyft announced that the last week of February was their best since then

Ridesharing companies like Lyft and Uber have been crushed by the pandemic, as social events and office work came to a halt

While Uber has benefited from its role in the food delivery space with Uber Eats, Lyft hasn't had the same cushion

Even so, Uber's stock is up 60% over the last year, and Lyft's is up 50%

Yesterday, Instagram announced a new group-streaming feature called "live rooms," which will allow groups of up to 4 to live-stream together

The move is seen as a response to Clubhouse's growing popularity. On Clubhouse, groups of users can hold public conversations, which their followers can join

Beyond Clubhouse, celebrities and politicians have taken to group streaming on YouTube and Twitch during the pandemic

"We hope that doubling up on Live will open up more creative opportunities - start a talk show, host a jam session or co-create with other artists," Insta said in a statement

Last week, stocks dropped as investors moved to safer assets

That trend was reversed yesterday, with US markets having their best day in about 9 months

With an economic rebound on the horizon, investors are facing uncertainty about how to respond

Many stocks have benefited from low interest rates over the last year. With low interest rates, stocks are relatively more attractive than leaving money in bonds or banks

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak announced a new plan to have companies create cities and run them on cryptocurrencies

Sisolak has dubbed these cities “Innovation Zones," where companies would use the newest tech to run everything from the schools to the government

The zones would require companies to invest $1B over 10 years and acquire 50,000 acres of connected uninhabited land

“Companies can collaborate on a future together that would make Nevada not just a national but global leader in Blockchain technology," Sisolak said

Last week was Bitcoin's worst since March, with It dropping over 9% after hitting an all-time high of $58k last Sunday

The crypto continued to fall over the weekend, bottoming out at $43.2k last night

Appearing to drive the dip was a broader sell-off of assets, including stocks and bonds

Elon Musk's statement last week that the price of Bitcoin seemed "high" may have also played a role

ByteDance has settled for $92M over allegations that TikTok illegally collected teenage users' data

The accusers alleged that TikTok wrongly took personal information from minors, including face scans

There were 21 class action law suits filed against TikTok representing teens across the United States

The attorneys had alleged that TikTok collected children's data to target advertising and content in a way that was illegal

The GameStop saga isn't quite over, with the stock jumping over 100% yesterday

Driving the jump was a shake-up at the company. On Tuesday, GameStop announced that the company's CFO was resigning

Trading of the stock was stopped yesterday after it jumped 103.9%. After the market closed, it jumped another 83%

GameStop is reportedly replacing its CFO with someone with a tech background in an attempt to boost the struggling company's online sales

At the company's annual shareholder meeting, Apple CEO Tim Cook said they have acquired about 100 companies over the last 6 years

At that rate, Apple has been acquiring companies every 3 to 4 weeks on average since 2014

Cook said the acquisitions are generally to acquire talent and tech, which it often then incorporates into Apple products

Apple's notable acquisitions include companies like Beats Headphones and Shazam, the music identification app

Tesla stock fell 8.6% on Monday in its worst day since September, wiping over $15B off Elon Musk's net worth. The stock fell from $781 to $652 between Friday and Tuesday morning

Tesla stock surged over 700% last year and an additional 25% to start 2021, but lost nearly all of this year's gains on Monday

Musk's net worth peaked at $210B in January, at which point he surpassed Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person

Since then, Musk and Bezos have been trading spots at the top of the rich list

Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr, head of the Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation, has said that Jeep "does not honor us by having our name plastered on a car"

“I think we’re in a day and age in this country where it’s time for both corporations and team sports to retire the use of Native American names, images, and mascots," Hoskin said

This is the first time the tribe has asked for Jeep to change the name since the vehicle launched in the 1970s

A Jeep spokesperson said that the car celebrates "Native American people for their nobility, prowess and pride”, and didn't comment on if they company would change the name

On Saturday, a Honolulu-bound United Airlines Boeing 777 experienced engine failure after taking off from Denver, forcing the plane to make an emergency return to the airport

Both Japan and the FAA have ordered inspections of all Boeing 777's equipped with a specific kind of engine

Engine failures are rare, but can send debris ripping through an airplane's exterior. This is the third time the 777 with this specific engine has had this happen in the last few years

In total, over 100 Boeing jets will be suspended just months after the Boeing 737-Max 8 returned after a nearly 2-year suspension

Walmart announced that it is raising its wages to bring its national average pay to over $15/hour

This comes amid a push by Joe Biden and other Democrats to raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour

As online shopping has boomed during the pandemic, Walmart has found itself competing for workers with Amazon, which has a starting wage of $15/hr

Walmart is the country's largest employer outside of the government. Its average wage nationally was $14/hour as of last January

How do you win 7 Super Bowls? Only one player in history claims 7 rings (nobody has even 6), and it's Tom Brady. We just got another glimpse into his mentality that has taken him to 7

Brady reportedly called the Bucs QBs coach just hours after leaving the Bucs postgame party on Super Bowl Monday to talk about next season

The coach, Clyde Christensen, recalls Brady saying, "I was just sitting here thinking, and I think we can really be better next year. I think we’re going to be a better team"

Brady was already thinking about his eighth ring just hours after winning his seventh. He thinks the Bucs will have the horses to do so

Alabama's athletic director Greg Byrne announced the Crimson Tide's plan to have full-capacity home football games this fall

The SEC paved the way for all major football conferences to compete this past fall during the Covid-stricken season

Bama's home stadium, Bryant-Denny, has a capacity of 101,821. They plan to fill every seat this year

Their biggest home game is against the LSU Tigers on November 6. Good luck finding an empty seat for that one!

JJ Watt had enough with the Texans after their lackluster year and demanded to be released in the offseason. Houston granted his request earlier this month and the bidding began

The Arizona Cardinals won the sweepstakes for the five-time First Team All-Pro defensive end who turns 32 later this month

Watt announced his move today with a Tweet in an Arizona Cardinals shirt that he captioned, "source: me"

The Cardinals now have two decorated, veteran pass rushers in Watt and Chandler Jones. The Milk Man is ready to win again!

The mayor of Paris has clashed with the French government over a tightening of Covid restrictions in the French capital

The French government wants to implement a stay-at-home lockdown across the city and its suburbs from Friday nights through Monday mornings

The mayor of Paris has called the plan "inhumane," saying residents should have the right to spend their weekends outside

Last weekend, over 64 French towns were put under lockdown from 6 PM on Friday to 6 AM on Monday. Paris has been subject to curfews throughout the pandemic

President Biden announced that the US was sanctioning various Russian officials and organizations implicated in the August poisoning of Alexei Navalny

Navalny is the country's most notable Putin critic. In August, he fell ill on a flight after being poisoned with a chemical weapon

Navalny returned to Russia in January and was quickly thrown in jail. “Russia’s attempt to kill Mr. Navalny follows an alarming pattern of chemical weapons use by Russia," a US diplomat said

Working with the US, the EU announced sanctions of their own on Russian officials close to Putin

On February 1, Myanmar's military took over the government, shut off the internet, and jailed elected leaders, sparking weeks of protests

Yesterday, after weeks of protests , the military reportedly opened fire on protesters, killing at least 18 of them

For decades, Myanmar (formerly Burma) was controlled by a military dictatorship. In recent years, though, the country was seen as making strides toward democracy

The US and other countries have condemned the military takeover and ensuing crackdown, although it's not clear what steps they will take in response

The world's largest LSD microdosing study has shown that the supposed positive effects may be nothing more than placebo

Imperial College London conducted the trial. It looked at whether consuming small LSD doses brought actual mental and physical benefits

It found that while study participants experienced a boost to mood and creativity, there was not a notable difference between those who consumed LSD and those who consumed a placebo

191 participants micro-dosed LSD or a placebo over a 4 week period, and recorded the effects. Microdosing has exploded in popularity after becoming trendy in Silicon Valley

The FDA has signed off on the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine, the first approved in the US that is administered in 1 shot

The J&J vaccine will be distributed immediately. Beyond requiring just a single shot, it can be refrigerated at normal temperatures, unlike the others, which are kept at extremely cold ones

J&J will provide 100M doses to the US by June, 500M to the international Covax plan, and additional doses to the UK, Canada, and EU

The vaccine appeared 66% effective at preventing moderate Covid, and 85% effective at preventing serious Covid. In the trial, it was 100% effective at preventing death from Covid

Miami Beach announced that it wants 25% of the existing level of palm trees by 2050

The city's wants to lower temperatures and improve air quality. The palms provide relatively less shade and have fewer environmental benefits than alternative trees

The city currently has about 49,000 trees, half of which are Arecaceae palms, the tree that will be removed

The plan will take effect immediately, with thousands of trees slated for removal in the coming weeks.