With the American economy on uneven footing as coronavirus cases surge nationwide, President-elect Joe Biden formally announced top members of his incoming economic team on Monday.

The nominees and appointees include former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. NPR reported last week that Biden would seek to make Yellen the nation's first female treasury secretary.

New Zealand's government has filed charges over the volcano eruption that killed 22 people on White Island last year, saying operators that brought tourists to see the country's most active volcano failed to follow health and safety rules.

Officials say 47 people were on the island when the volcano erupted in the early afternoon of Dec. 9, sending a plume of ash, toxic gas and rocks some 12,000 feet into the sky. Rescue crews rushed to find survivors, and recovery teams spent roughly two weeks trying to find the tragedy's victims.

      Lawmakers and voting rights groups have been fighting over updates to Texas’ election systems for years, but issues heightened by the coronavirus pandemic have launched a new conversation over voter access.

I consider myself to be a “good government progressive,” which I interpret to mean that I believe good government requires both parties to forge consensus when possible.

With that in mind, I am heartened to read a story in the Dallas Morning News about two freshman congressmen who have crafted a friendship along with a political relationship across the aisle. They happen to be from the Metroplex – Democrat Colin Allred from Dallas and Republican Van Taylor from Plano.

The biotech company Moderna released new data Monday morning that strengthens the case for its COVID-19 vaccine. It concludes the vaccine is 94 percent effective – and strongly protects against serious illness. Based on these latest findings, the company plans to submit an application for emergency use authorization to the Food and Drug Administration today.