Consider This from NPR Folgen

A joint session of Congress to formally affirm the results of the 2020 presidential election was just getting started on Wednesday when a group of Republicans from the House and the Senate went on record objecting to election results in swing states.The first objection triggered a debate period with each chamber having hours to deliberate. But those sessions were halted as a mob of Pro-Trump extremists stormed the Capitol grounds and sent the entire complex into a lockdown.For more on what happened in Washington, D.C., NPR's congressional correspondent Sue Davis, spoke to All Things Considered hosts Ailsa Chang and Mary Louise Kelly. The bottom line: Joe Biden will be inaugurated in 14 days. And it looks like he'll take office with a Democratic-controlled Senate.Rev. Raphael Warnock spoke with NPR's Noel King after defeating Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in one of Georgia's runoff elections, according to the Associated Press. Democrat Jon Ossoff defeated Republican Sen. David Perdue in the second Georgia Senate runoff, according to an AP race call.It looks like what helped put the Democrats over the top was Black voter turnout. LaTosha Brown is co-founder of Black Voters Matter, a Georgia group that helped lead get-out-the-vote efforts there. She spoke with NPR about where the fight goes next.In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Initially, U.S. officials predicted that as many as 20 million Americans would be fully vaccinated before the end of 2020. And while that many vaccine doses were distributed, only a fraction of them have been administered. The federal government has given states control over distribution plans which has led to different systems with differing levels of success. In one Florida county, Julie Glenn of member station WGCU reports on the haphazard vaccine rollout that has led elderly residents to camp out in tents to get their first shot.As vaccinations lag behind schedule, a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus is spreading in many countries, including the U.S. The new variant isn't thought to be more deadly, and scientists believe the vaccines currently being administered will work against it. Additional good news is that masks and social distancing will still slow the spread of the new variant.Additional reporting this episode from NPR's Allison Aubrey, who's reported on the slow start to vaccinations, and from NPR's Michaeleen Doucleff, who's reported on the new coronavirus variant. Reporting on the vaccine rollout at the state level came from Will Stone in Seattle, Nashville Public Radio's Blake Farmer, and WBUR's Martha Bebinger.In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Georgia was already going to be the center of the political universe this week. Now, leaked audio of a phone call between President Trump and Georgia election officials raises new questions about how far he's willing to go to overturn an election he lost. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly reports on how it's all playing out in Georgia, where control of the U.S. Senate hangs in the balance. She speaks to Fulton County elections director Rick Barron and Emma Hurt of member station WABE. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy