Alan Greenblatt, David Kidd, Carl Smith, Governing

State lawmakers face a terrible hangover of problems from 2020. First and foremost is the pandemic, which is at its worst even as vaccinations are rolled out across the country. Caseloads and death tolls are adding uncertainty to the economy, which in turn is hampering state budgets.

Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News

As congratulatory messages for President-elect Joe Biden poured in from around the world Saturday, an overarching theme began to emerge: climate change.

Matt Egan, CNN

President Donald Trump is a fierce backer of the fossil fuels industry. And that support is paying off big time in the money race.