February 10, 2022

COVID-19 | New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that statewide mask-or-vaccine requirements for indoor businesses are being lifted effective today. New York mask mandates will remain in place for now in schools, hospitals, child care centers, nursing homes, and on public transit. New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Oregon have also announced new easing of some COVID-19-related restrictions. [more]

UKRAINE | The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. officials have approved a plan for troops currently in Poland to assist American citizens in Ukraine to evacuate in the event of a Russian invasion. [more]

BELARUS | Joint military exercises involving Russian and Belarusian troops begin today in Belarus. U.S. and NATO officials have expressed concern that the exercises could be related to Russia’s plans to invade neighboring Ukraine. [more]

UGANDA | Officials in Uganda today criticized a ruling from the International Court of Justice that it must pay $325 million to Congo over violence in the late 1990s. [more]

CANADA PROTESTS | Automakers Ford and Toyota have announced production and work reductions at multiple factories in Canada due to an inability to deliver goods to Detroit. Travel between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan has been obstructed by the ongoing trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions in Canada. [more]

CAPITOL HILL | House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said yesterday that proposals to ban lawmakers from trading stocks while in office are being considered by House Democrats. Pelosi has previously signaled her opposition to such measures. [more]

INDIA ELECTIONS | Voting in local elections begins today in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh. The elections are seen as a key early measure of the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). [more]

ELECTRIC VEHICLES | Biden administration officials yesterday announced a proposal under which $5 billion would be allocated to states to help build a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations along major U.S. highways. [more]

US ECONOMY | Government economists are scheduled to release January inflation data later this morning. Analysts expect consumer prices in the U.S. to have increased by an annual rate of 7.2% — the largest such monthly increase since 1982. [more]

NUCLEAR ENERGY | Scientists at UK-based Joint European Torus (JET) laboratory have announced progress in experiments to make the production of electricity using nuclear fusion practical. In recent experiments, the  laboratory was able to produce about 11 megawatts of power over a period of five seconds — more than double the level achieved in similar efforts in 1997. [more]

OLYMPICS | Medals from Monday’s team figure skating Olympic event have yet to be awarded due to ongoing investigations into reported use of banned performance-enhancing substances by at least one member of the Russian Olympic Committee team, which received the competition's top score.  [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | A six-round chess match between world champion Garry Kasparov and IBM’s Deep Blue computer began on this date in 1996. Kasparov won the event 4-2, but was defeated by Deep Blue in a rematch a year later. [more]