The 7: Vaccine mandates and the Supreme Court; this weekend’s NFL schedule; Biden’s plan to mail Americans at-home tests; and more
Catch up in minutes. | Presented By American Express Business |
 |
| | | |  | | Presented By American Express Business | | | | | | | Good morning. It's Friday, Jan. 7, and my weekend menu is going to be bowl dinners and couch meals. Now here's what's going on: | | |  | The Supreme Court will review two federal vaccine rules today. | - What are they? A vaccinate-or-test mandate for businesses with more than 100 employees, and a vaccine requirement for health-care workers at places that get federal funding.
- What the justices will decide: Whether to put the requirements on hold while legal battles work their way through courts. It's not clear how soon the justices will give their ruling.
- What have justices said about mandates? They've generally been supportive of rules by local governments but skeptical when it comes to the power of federal agencies.
| | |  | The U.S. is preparing to ship coronavirus tests to households. | - The plan: To deliver 500 million rapid, at-home kits, starting as soon as next week.
- How it will work: People will be able to request the tests through a new website.
- In other testing news: Some experts say you should swab your throat as well as your nose now when you use at-home kits. Here's why.
| | |  | Hospitals across the U.S. are facing a staffing crisis. | - The numbers: Nearly 1 in 4 medical centers reported "critical" shortages this week, the highest of the pandemic.
- What that means: Some are being forced to turn away ambulances, cancel procedures and warn people to stay away.
- Why is this happening? Workers are calling out sick because of covid, and burnout is causing people to quit.
| | | | ADVERTISEMENT | | Presented By American Express Business | | Get the American Express Business Platinum Card® | The American Express Business Platinum Card® has features like 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on big purchases and in select business categories, over $1,000 in statement credits per year with select business partners, and 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com. Get the Card built for business. By American Express. Terms and point cap apply. | |  | | | | | | |  | The men who killed Ahmaud Arbery will be sentenced today. | - The minimum they face: Life in prison. What a judge will decide is whether the three White men should have the possibility of parole.
- What they were convicted of: Chasing and fatally shooting 25-year-old Arbery, an unarmed Black man, in Georgia in 2020.
- This isn't the end: Two of the men go on trial next month on federal hate-crime charges.
| | |  | Kazakhstan's president ordered troops to "shoot to kill" protesters. | - The biggest clashes this morning were in Almaty, the Central Asian country's biggest city, where Russian troops were helping put down large protests happening all week.
- Why Russia? Kazakhstan was in the Soviet Union before independence, and Moscow wants to maintain its influence.
| | |  | There's another snowstorm hitting the East Coast. | - It already dropped snow in the Mid-Atlantic and is heading up through New York and Boston.
- What this means: Forecasters are warning about dangerous roads, especially after the chaos caused by a storm earlier this week.
| | |  | This weekend will decide the NFL's final playoff lineup. | - 11 teams are already in, which leaves seven fighting for three remaining spots.
- Who to watch: The San Francisco 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, L.A. Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders can each get in by winning on Sunday. One catch: The Chargers and Raiders play each other.
- The schedule: There are two games tomorrow and 14 Sunday. The playoffs start Jan. 15.
You're all caught up. See you Monday. But before you go … what to watch this weekend: A new show about Emmett Till. What to do: Reach out to that friend you haven't talked to in a while.  (Jordan Robertson for The Post) | Do you know someone who would like this newsletter? Share it with them. Prefer push notifications? Download The Post's app to get one when The 7 publishes. | | | | | | | | | |
| |
| |  | | You received this email because you signed up for The 7 or because it is included in your subscription. | | | | | | |
Email 