1/ The U.S. topped more than 153,000 coronavirus cases for the first time, hospitalizations hit another all-time high, and New Mexico and Oregon issued new lockdown orders. It’s the seventh time in nine days that the confirmed cases reached a new high. The death toll, meanwhile, surpassed 242,000. Biden’s coronavirus task force rejected the possibility of a national lockdown, but Biden did say he would ask governors to institute a mask mandate in their states. (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)