Vox Sentences - Covid-19's decline in the US

The CDC is forecasting declines in Covid-19 deaths and hospitalizations in the US for the next four weeks; Vladimir Putin denies weaponizing gas against Europe.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

Covid-19's decline in the US

Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images

• The US should see declines in Covid-19 deaths and hospitalizations over the next month, according to projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Wednesday. It's a reason to be cautiously optimistic about the state of the pandemic, but the rate of infection, particularly among youth, remains high. [CNN / Madeline Holcombe]
• After more than 18 months, the US will reopen its borders with Mexico and Canada for fully vaccinated travelers in November, marking a new phase of travel and tourism during the pandemic. [NYT / Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Emily Cochrane]
• Texas-based American Airlines and Southwest Airlines are complying with the Biden administration by requiring their employees to get vaccinated, ignoring Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order that banned vaccine mandates for private businesses. [The Hill / Karl Evers-Hillstrom]
• Parents of two elementary students who contracted Covid-19 are suing Wisconsin schools over lax rules and coronavirus protocols they say led to their children getting the virus. [Washington Post / Gina Harkins]
• The World Health Organization has named an advisory panel in what could be the “last chance” to find out the origins of Covid-19. [Reuters / Stephanie Nebehay and Pushkala Aripaka]

Vladimir Putin denies weaponizing gas against Europe

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied reports that the country is using gas as a weapon against the West. He says Russia is prepared to fulfill its contractual obligations with its European neighbors and to help with additional supply as needed. [CNBC / Holly Ellyatt]
• Putin’s comments come as wholesale gas prices in the EU have surged 250 percent since the start of the year due in part to increased demand for natural gas as the economy recovers from the pandemic. The European Commission released an “energy price toolbox” including steps member states can take to alleviate the pressure of higher prices. [BBC / Steve Rosenberg]
• Some experts think Russia, the largest source of gas for the EU, could be exerting pressure on Germany and the European Commission to approve its Nord Stream 2 pipeline by not pumping more gas into the bloc to help temper higher prices. Others think Russia could just be bulking up its own supply. [Euronews / Lauren Chadwick]
• Meanwhile, an independent researcher found Russia suffered the worst population decline of its peacetime era — nearly 1 million people between October 2020 and September 2021 — largely due to the coronavirus pandemic. [Guardian / Pjotr Sauer]

Squid Game is the most-watched series in Netflix history, drawing 111 million viewers during its first 28 days on the platform and edging out Bridgerton. [BBC / Manish Pandey]

• Supreme Court Justices could uphold the death penalty for the Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a case over whether he received a fair trial and sentence. [NPR / Nina Totenberg]
• Ninety-year-old Star Trek actor William Shatner became the latest celebrity to go into space aboard Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket on Wednesday, merging science fiction with reality. [AP / Marcia Dunn and Rick Taber]
• President Joe Biden and his administration are trying to alleviate a jammed supply chain to avoid chaos for millions of Americans this holiday season by expanding operating hours for unloading containers and moving products to warehouses. [Politico / Steven Overly]

“We believe the federal vaccine mandate supersedes any conflicting state laws, and this does not change anything for American.”

[An American Airlines spokesman explains the company’s decision to comply with the Biden administration's vaccine mandate despite Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order]

Vox’s Jamil Smith talks with attorney, author, and activist Bryan Stevenson about the  Legacy Museum’s project to connect America’s history of enslavement with the contemporary realities of voter suppression, police brutality, and mass incarceration. [Spotify]

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