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Wednesday

Theory That COVID Came From A Chinese Lab Takes On New Life In Wake Of WHO Report

Members of the World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the coronavirus leave the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 3. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

Coronavirus Updates

Theory That COVID Came From A Chinese Lab Takes On New Life In Wake Of WHO Report

Some scientists worry the possibility the coronavirus escaped from research facilities hasn't gotten enough scrutiny. Others say it appears far more likely to have emerged naturally.

Race To Immunize Tightens As Cases Rise; Promising Vaccine News Released

Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine is shown to be extremely effective in young teenagers. Esteban Felix/AP hide caption

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Esteban Felix/AP

Consider This from NPR

Race To Immunize Tightens As Cases Rise; Promising Vaccine News Released

Scientists are growing concerned the U.S. may be headed for a fourth wave. COVID-19 cases are rising rapidly, mirroring an increase in many countries around the world.

Race To Immunize Tightens As Cases Rise; Promising Vaccine News Released

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Calls For An Open Investigation Into The Possibility COVID-19 Leaked From A Lab

The WHO's report with China concluded that COVID-19 likely started in bats, jumped into humans via another animal. But some are pushing for an investigation into the possibility it leaked from a lab.

Calls For An Open Investigation Into The Possibility COVID-19 Leaked From A Lab

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Asia

Biden Administration Considers Whether To Continue Trump's Hard Line Against Huawei

The Biden administration is weighing whether to continue former President Trump's hard line against Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. It's part of the broader review of China-related policies.

Biden Administration Considers Whether To Continue Trump's Hard Line Against Huawei

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The Americas

In Mexico, The Death Of A Woman At The Hands Of Police Has Caused An Uproar

In Mexico, an autopsy indicates a migrant woman's spine was severed by the weight of a police officer kneeling on the her back. The case is drawing comparisons to George Floyd's death.

In Mexico, The Death Of A Woman At The Hands Of Police Has Caused An Uproar

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France Imposes 3rd National Lockdown As COVID-19 Again Surges

Young people gathered Wednesday by the Seine River in Paris, largely without masks and without social distancing. French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered the country into a third lockdown because of the continued spread of COVID-19. Eleanor Beardsley/NPR hide caption

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Eleanor Beardsley/NPR

Coronavirus Updates

France Imposes 3rd National Lockdown As COVID-19 Again Surges

President Emmanuel Macron, in a televised address to the nation, said he was left with no choice as deaths approach 100,000 and the country's hospitals are overwhelmed.

India Reports Its Highest Daily Number Of COVID-19 Deaths So Far This Year

Commuters wait to board a suburban train on Tuesday at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus prior to the night curfew that has been introduced to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Mumbai. Rajanish Kakade/AP hide caption

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Rajanish Kakade/AP

Coronavirus Updates

India Reports Its Highest Daily Number Of COVID-19 Deaths So Far This Year

Wednesday's death toll was 354. Scientists are investigating what's making cases of infection rise precipitously after a decline last fall. "This race is really against time," says one immunologist.

India Reports Its Highest Daily Number Of COVID-19 Deaths So Far This Year

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Italy Expels 2 Russian Embassy Officials, Arrests Navy Captain On Spying Charges

The Russian Embassy in Rome on Wednesda. Italy has ordered two Russian Embassy officials expelled and arrested an Italian Navy captain on spying charges after police caught the Italian allegedly giving classified documents to one of the Russians in exchange for money. Alessandra Tarantino/AP hide caption

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Alessandra Tarantino/AP

Italy Expels 2 Russian Embassy Officials, Arrests Navy Captain On Spying Charges

The captain, identified by Italian media as Walter Biot, was reportedly caught Tuesday evening as he handed over allegedly top-secret documents to one of the Russian diplomats in exchange for money.

Key Part Of Voice Recorder Found From January's Crash Of Indonesian Airliner

Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) officers carry the memory unit from a cockpit voice recorder recovered from the crashed Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ 182 at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta on Wednesday. Anton Raharjo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption

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Anton Raharjo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Asia

Key Part Of Voice Recorder Found From January's Crash Of Indonesian Airliner

The memory unit from the cockpit voice recorder belonging to the Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 that crashed into the Java Sea has been recovered, investigators say. All 62 people aboard were killed.

Asia

China Urged To Withdraw Ships From Reef In South China Sea

The massing of Chinese ships around a contested reef in the South China Sea is drawing unusual attention. The Philippines fired off a diplomat protest calling on China to withdraw some 180 vessels.

China Urged To Withdraw Ships From Reef In South China Sea

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National

Texas Migrant Facility Was Severely Overcrowded, AP Reporter Says

NPR's Noel King talks to Elliot Spagat of The Associated Press, who was one of the few journalists allowed into a Texas facility housing migrants, about what he saw.

Texas Migrant Facility Was Severely Overcrowded, AP Reporter Says

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Why Are We Here?

Joyette Jagolino (second from the right) in critical-care nurse training with her class at Saint Paul University in Manila Courtesy of Joyette Jagolino via The Atlantic hide caption

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Courtesy of Joyette Jagolino via The Atlantic

Code Switch

Why Are We Here?

Filipinos make up a small fraction of the nurses in the United States, but almost a third of the nurses who have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. have been of Filipino descent. So what exactly is going on? Our friends over at The Atlantic and WNYC tried to understand more about this troubling statistic by telling the story of one woman: Rosary Castro-Olega.

Why Are We Here?

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Tuesday

U.K., U.S. Working Closely On Countering 'Almost Gangsterish' Russia, U.K. Envoy Says

U.K. Ambassador to the U.S. Karen Pierce, pictured in a previous role in 2018, talked with NPR about the country's outline of its future foreign policy. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

U.K., U.S. Working Closely On Countering 'Almost Gangsterish' Russia, U.K. Envoy Says

The two allies are "collaborating very closely" on a response to Russian-backed cyberattacks, Ambassador to the U.S. Karen Pierce says. And she says the U.K. is still powerful after Brexit.

U.K., U.S. Working Closely On Countering 'Almost Gangsterish' Russia, U.K. Envoy Says

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The Americas

Political Crisis Deepens In Brazil As 3 Military Commanders Are To Be Replaced

Brazil's Ministry of Defense has announced that the commanders of the army, navy and air force will be replaced, deepening a political crisis for President Jair Bolsonaro.

Political Crisis Deepens In Brazil As 3 Military Commanders Are To Be Replaced

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Race

The Paris Opera Ballet Is Undergoing A Racial Reckoning

The world's oldest ballet company is undergoing a racial reckoning. The Paris Opera Ballet is working to update racist stereotypes and increase diversity.

The Paris Opera Ballet Is Undergoing A Racial Reckoning

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