First Thing: Stacey Abrams slams ‘Jim Crow’ voting reforms in Georgia

Good morning.

Stacey Abrams launched a searing attack on proposals to restrict voting access in Georgia, describing them as “racist” and “a redux of Jim Crow in a suit and tie” this weekend. Abrams, a former senior state legislator who was credited with helping the Democrats win crucial senate races in the state last year, has become a key voting rights activist in recent years.

The Georgia voting bill SB241 put forward by Republicans would end the right to vote by mail without an excuse and introduce new ID requirements. Republicans say a risk of voter fraud is justification for the measures, but no evidence of any systematic voter fraud has been found. Abrams said there was a “direct correlation” between the use of mail-in ballots and an increase in the number of people of colour voting.

The secretary of state and the governor went to great pains to assure America that Georgia’s elections were secure. And so the only connection that we can find is that more people of colour voted, and it changed the outcome of elections in a direction that Republicans do not like. And so, instead of celebrating better access and more participation, their response is to try to eliminate access to voting for primarily communities of colour.

• A senator said he would have been scared if the Capitol rioters were BLM activists, saying he “never really felt threatened” by those who looted and smashed the building in January because the insurrectionists were mostly “people that love this country” and “would never do anything to break a law”. However, Republican Ron Johnson said if Black Lives Matter activists had done the same he would have been “concerned”, leading to accusations of racism. Noah Bookbinder, the president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, tweeted: “No, Senator Ron Johnson, the truth is that the January 6 insurrectionists did break the law, they hurt and killed law enforcement officers, and they were trying to overturn the elected government of the United States.”

Female artists topped the charts at last night’s Grammys

Women dominated the 2021 Grammys last night, sweeping up almost all of the top awards at a socially distanced ceremony in Los Angeles Convention Center. The awards ceremony went to extreme lengths to reduce coronavirus risks – and avoid the technical malfunctions that plagued last month’s Golden Globes – spending millions on social distancing measures, with five stages, tables set 6ft apart and widespread testing. Winners included:

• HER, who won song of the year for the Black Lives Matter anthem I Can’t Breathe.

• Meghan Thee Stallion for best new artist, and best rap performance with Beyoncé for their Savage remix.

• Beyoncé, who became the most decorated singer in Grammys history after taking home her 28th award.

• Taylor Swift, who became the first woman to win album of the year three times, taking home the prize for Folklore.

It came after weeks of controversy around the awards ceremony, with artists including the Weeknd, Zayn and Drake attacking the event for relatively anonymous nomination processes, accusations of conflicts of interests and years of appearing to overlook Black artists.

• So who took home what? Read the full list of winners here.

A ‘historic and crippling’ snowstorm has caused havoc in parts of the US

A late winter snowstorm has caused power cuts, airport closures and avalanche warnings in parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska, after intensifying over the central Rocky Mountains on Sunday. Wyoming’s National Weather Service branch warned that it would be difficult or impossible to travel until at least early Monday, describing the storm as “historic and crippling”. Denver international airport shut its runways at around noon on Sunday, an avalanche blocked a Colorado highway, and major roads across Wyoming were closed.

Ethics concerns have been raised about New York’s vaccine chief

The coronavirus vaccine tsar for New York is the subject of ethics concerns after he reportedly appealed for people to support the governor, Andrew Cuomo, amid calls for Cuomo to resign over alleged sexual misconduct. Cuomo has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by six women, predominantly former aides, prompting two investigations and numerous calls for his resignation.

According to reports on Sunday, the longtime Cuomo aide Larry Schwartz turned from discussion of vaccination policy to appeals for support for the governor in at least one phone call. He has denied any wrongdoing, amid accusations he improperly used his position to further personal and political views. Meanwhile, Cuomo has denied the allegations against him and has said he will not resign.

• AstraZeneca says it has found no evidence of a higher risk of blood clots as a result of taking its coronavirus vaccine, after a number of EU countries suspended use of the vaccine amid concerns over clotting. While it’s natural as humans to find patterns in data, there are real risks in drawing “causal links between events where none may exist”, argues David Spiegelhalter in his article on the issue.

• Dr Anthony Fauci hopes Donald Trump will urge his supporters to get vaccinated, after a poll last week showed that half of men identifying as Republican said they did not plan to get a coronavirus vaccine.

In other news …

• The sky has turned orange in Beijing as a result of hazardous levels of air pollution and a massive sandstorm. Levels of PM2.5, small air pollution particles, were above 600 micrograms in parts of the city. The World Health Organization recommends average concentrations of 25.

• The new Teen Vogue editor is under fire for anti-Asian tweets made in 2011. Alexi McCammond has apologised for the remarks, describing them as “offensive” and “idiotic”, but staffers said they were in conversation with the publisher Condé Nast about her appointment. It comes as hate crimes against Asian Americans are on the rise.

• The NFL star Drew Brees has retired from the New Orleans Saints, marking the end of one of the most successful careers in NFL history. Brees took the team to the Super Bowl in 2009, achieved NFL records for career passing yards and completions, and was named to the Pro Bowl 13 times.

Stat of the day: Covid cases in nursing homes have fallen more than 80% since December

After a swift vaccine rollout, the number of new cases of coronavirus among nursing home residents fell by 89% and 83% for staff from late December to mid-February, according to data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This is far higher than the rate of decrease in the general population, which stands at about 58%.

Don’t miss this: meet one of 130 journalists arrested last year for doing their jobs

Andrea Sahouri, a public safety reporter, was covering the protests against police brutality following the killing of George Floyd last year when she was arrested. CNN called her detainment “a scene you should not expect to see in the United States”, and she went on to be one of just 14 journalists who faced criminal charges. After her acquittal last week, she speaks to Erum Salam about press freedom, racism and police brutality.

Last thing: a multi-Grammy-winning cellist serenaded a vaccine centre

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Yo-Yo Ma plays cello in vaccine waiting room in Massachusetts – video

The cellist Yo-Yo Ma broke into an impromptu concert for people waiting in line with him for their second coronavirus vaccine in Massachusetts on Sunday. Ma, who has taken home 18 Grammy awards and sold millions of records, gave a 15-minute performance of pieces including Bach and Schubert, much to the delight of the socially distanced people around him.

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