The spree of federal executions is breaking me. I have worked as a mitigation specialist in death penalty cases for 16 years. My role is to learn as much as I can about my client and to provide that information to courts or juries so that they have a complete picture of the person whose fate they are deciding.

Every country that is imposing varying degrees of lockdowns because of rising coronavirus infection rates — such as the U.K. did on Monday — is trying to reduce the burden of the disease on its population, health care systems and economy. The best solution, of course, is vaccines, and three shots have proved in trials to offer protection against disease. That’s assuming they are administered based on data generated from clinical trials. But what happens when the protocols aren’t followed?

Whenever a hurricane nears our shores, the government implements a system to track the disaster, including assigning a score on a scale of one to five to assess its severity and to guide disaster preparedness efforts. A storm reaching a magnitude of 3 or higher has the potential for devastating damage and loss of life.

One of the many lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic is the need for improved vaccine financing. This is not a new issue, but 2021 may be the year it is solved.(2)

As a nurse practitioner for over 13 years, I have cared for and loved numerous patients throughout my career. Never would I have imagined a world where loved ones were hospitalized alone, without a loved one or advocate.

Since the presidential election on Nov. 3, the rule of law has held.

What does it mean to be grateful?

During the Democratic presidential primary, nothing seemed to haunt Joe Biden more than the charge of how totally, completely racist it was for him as a senator in the 1970s to negotiate with Southern, white supremacist segregationists. Why in the world would he even talk to such other senators as James O. Eastland of Mississippi or Herman E. Talmadge of Georgia?

Amid raging wildfires, rolling blackouts and a worsening coronavirus outbreak, it has not been a great year for California. Unfortunately, the state is also reeling from a manmade disaster: an exodus of thriving companies to other states.

When President Donald Trump took office in 2017, the war in Afghanistan was 16 years old. The original mission, meant to punish the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks and their Taliban enablers, was long since completed, but the Taliban held or contested 45% of Afghan territory. There were about 8,400 U.S. forces on the ground, far below the peak of 100,000 in 2010 (excluding contractors, who often equal or exceed the military presence proper). That deployment had been led by 17 commanders — turnover is high in the “graveyard of empires.”

At last, Congress has undone disastrous Federal Aviation Administration policy that abetted Boeing’s lapses in pushing the unsafe 737 MAX to market. The restoration of trusted FAA oversight is a necessary step to set Boeing back on course as aviation’s longtime leader.

The scale and scope of the recently revealed computer hack of scores of federal government agencies, U.S. corporations and perhaps other targets appears to be unprecedented.

Ever since a U.S. missile killed Iran’s most important general almost a year ago, the regime has been vowing revenge, with the latest threat coming just last week. Yet aside from a barrage of missile strikes on an Iraqi base last January, causing traumatic brain injuries for U.S. soldiers stationed there, Iran’s response has been relatively muted.

Monarch butterfly, get in line.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen remarkable and rapid research in vaccines and therapeutics, but disappointingly little research to shed light on the interventions we currently use to reduce SARS-CoV2 transmission. That is a problem because even with vaccines on the way, we will be stuck with COVID-19 for a considerable time. We urgently need more research to identify and disseminate the most effective and least disruptive interventions and practices to reduce virus transmission, for this pandemic and the ones that will inevitably follow.

Joe Biden is going to have a lot of complicated issues competing for his attention when he takes office next month. Among the thorniest is Iran.

With more than 100,000 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized, cases still rising in most states, and health-care workers overwhelmed, the U.S. is once again facing a crisis. In the weeks ahead, before vaccines can be widely distributed, health officials must manage their resources — medicines, beds, protective equipment and, above all, staff — prudently to keep up with the surge.

What would happen if Facebook disappeared tomorrow? Would people suddenly be unable to communicate online? Would the economy screech to a halt? Would anyone be deprived of a good, service or piece of information that was somehow crucial to their existence?

Here’s a question we’re sure to see in the courts before long: What if your employer mandates a Covid-19 vaccination and you’d rather not take it?

For all its unilateral tendencies, the U.S. typically isn’t known as a rogue state. But in one area it has come close: By failing to share information with other countries, it has thwarted global efforts to track down tax cheats, money launderers and terrorists — efforts that it once led.