DOMESTIC

Approximately 76 percent of people in the United States have received one dose of the vaccine against COVID- 19, 64 percent of the population have received two doses as of Jan. 25 and 40 percent of those 65 percent have received a booster. States with the highest vaccination rates include Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and Maine according to U.S. News.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring at the end of his term. The Senate will have to approve Breyer’s replacement and Vice President Harris can break a tie if needed. During Biden’s campaign, he mentioned that he would nominate a black woman to the supreme court. There is speculation that it could be Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson. 

By 2024, the SAT will transition to a completely digital exam according to the New York Times. The College Board announced this change on Tuesday where students will now be able to complete exams on tablets or laptops at monitored testing centers. 

INTERNATIONAL

Germany recently refused to join NATO in providing weapons to Ukraine, creating tension with allies and has led the head of the German Navy to resign. The controversy comes amid a mounting crisis on the Ukrainian border, where a large buildup of Russian troops has stoked fears of potential war.

A military junta has taken power in the Western African nation of Burkina Faso after a coup d’etat deposed President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré on Monday, Jan. 24. Fusillades of gunfire echoed throughout the Burkinabé capital of Ouagadougou on Sunday, followed by a rapid seizure of the capital’s military barracks and dissolution of the chambers of democratic governance.