Good morning and welcome to your weekday morning roundup of the top stories you need to know.
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What's going on today:
- The feds are investigating an alleged plot by some Ukrainian officials to help Donald Trump win in 2020. Prosecutors are looking into whether officials in Ukraine sought to use Rudy Giuliani to spread disinformation ahead of the election. They are examining whether the officials passed false corruption claims involving President Joe Biden to Giuliani.
- Nike parted ways with soccer star Neymar last year after sexual assault allegation. Nike said it split with Neymar after he would not cooperate with an investigation into a sexual assault allegation made by one of its employees. Neymar denied the allegation and said he split with Nike for commercial reasons.
- California puts up $116.5 million in lottery for vaxxed residents. Ten vaccinated residents will win $1.5 million jackpots, 30 will win $50,000, and 2 million will win $50 cards. Six other states are offering cash prizes to encourage people to get the shot.
- "Unexamined intelligence" on COVID-19 origins. The New York Times reported intelligence officials alerted the White House to a mine of evidence that has not yet been examined concerning the origins of the coronavirus. The information reportedly prompted Biden to give intelligence officials 90 days to examine origin theories and produce a report.
- Most and least vaccinated counties, mapped. Vaccination rates in US counties ranges from 0.1% to 100%. Unvaccinated communities remain vulnerable to coronavirus outbreaks.
That's all for now. See you Monday.