America’s new top diplomat took the helm of the State Department on Wednesday with a vow to rebuild the ranks of the foreign service. Source

When this high school teacher from Texas realized she’d have to teach remotely, she took that literally and went on a road trip, teaching her students from historical sites across the United States. Source

As of Wednesday, authorities had charged at least 164 people in federal court. Source

President Biden says the U.S. is buying 200 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines, but the process of vaccinating a majority of Americans will take months. CBSN’s Tanya Rivero spoke with Jeffrey Shaman, a professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University, about what the nation needs to do to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control. Source

President Biden has signed several executive orders aimed at combating climate change. But will his policies do enough? Climate scientist Michael Mann, author of “The New Climate War,” joined CBSN to discuss. Source

When Paul O’Sullivan from Baltimore, Maryland reached out to other Paul O’Sullivans on Facebook, he realized many of them were musicians. Three of his fellow Pauls agreed to form a band – and the music ended up helping them get through 2020. Source

Reddit board Wallstreetbets seems to have driven a 2,000% rise in the stock price of the troubled video game retailer. Source

“People are absolutely dying right now who didn’t have to,” said the chief medical officer of one assisted living chain. Source

The variant appears to be 50% more contagious than other strains of the virus. Source

SSC North America made a second attempt to break the record for the world’s fastest production car after doubts were raised over its first attempt in October. Source