1/ The White House will provide 10 million free coronavirus tests a month to U.S. schools to help keep classes in person. The expanded testing initiative comes as the country is seeing an Omicron-driven surge of cases that risks overwhelming the nation’s hospitals. At a Senate hearing, Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting commissioner of the FDA, warned that the nation needs to ensure police, hospital, and transportation services aren’t disrupted by the wave, saying “It’s hard to process what’s actually happening right now, which is, most people are going to get Covid.” Dr. Anthony Fauci, meanwhile, added that the Omicron variant will infect “just about everybody” regardless of vaccination status, adding that “If you’re vaccinated, and if you’re boosted the chances of your getting sick are very, very low.” (Washington Post / NBC News /Washington Post / New York Times / CNBC / Wall Street Journal)

2/ Inflation increased 7% in 2021 – the fastest pace in 40 years. Consumer price rise exceeded 6% year over year for third straight month. While high, on a month-to-month basis, prices rose 0.5% in December, which was lower than the 0.8% measure in November and 0.9% in October. Biden said that “demonstrates that we are making progress in slowing the rate of price increases,” but conceded that the report “underscores that we still have more work to do, with price increases still too high and squeezing family budgets.” Joe Manchin, meanwhile, called the report “very, very troubling.” Manchin has repeatedly warned “a historic expansion of social programs” like Build Back Better would only feed inflation and has cited high prices as one of the reasons he won’t back the legislation. (New York Times / Politico / Associated Press / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / CNN)

3/ The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol asked House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to voluntarily provide information about his communications with Trump and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Committee Chair Bennie Thompson said he wanted to hear about discussions McCarthy had with Meadows ahead of the attack, along with McCarthy’s communications with Trump during and after the violence. “It appears that you may also have discussed with President Trump the potential he would face a censure resolution, impeachment, or removal under the 25th Amendment,” Thompson wrote. “It also appears that you may have identified other possible options, including President Trump’s immediate resignation from office.” In particular, the panel said it was interested in a phone call that McCarthy had with Trump during the riot ...