The Mystery Of The Pandemic’s Origin

Biden is giving the intelligence community 90 days to find more answers. [View this email online]( [NPR]( [A laboratory building at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China.]( A laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images) The Big Picture: Wondering About Wuhan President Biden this week released [a statement]( that refocused attention on the possibility that the origin of the coronavirus pandemic came from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. “As of today, the U.S. Intelligence Community has ‘coalesced around two likely scenarios’ but has not reached a definitive conclusion on this question,” Biden said, “... including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident.” He added that the majority of elements within the intelligence community “do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.” Biden has asked for a report that comes closer to a conclusion in 90 days. It was a blockbuster development, especially since most scientists, like Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, have been saying it’s unlikely the virus came from a lab leak. The idea was largely dismissed as a conspiracy theory. Fauci now [says]( he’s “not convinced about that” and supports an investigation. Republicans [are calling]( for Fauci’s termination over what they say is his shifting position. The Wuhan Institute of Virology deals with the study of bats and the coronavirus, and for that reason, members of the Trump administration, like then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, have argued the virus started in the lab. There was no hard evidence to prove their hunches, however. And there still isn’t. The scientific community still largely feels natural transmission from animals to humans is the most likely origin of COVID-19. “This is really, 99% of the time, the source of emerging infectious diseases,” Dr. Céline Gounder, an infectious disease expert who served on the Biden transition team's COVID-19 advisory board, [told NPR’s Morning Edition this week](. “Whether you talk about HIV or Zika or Ebola, the original SARS, MERS, I mean, you keep going and going.” Gounder still thinks natural transmission is the most likely cause, but “no one knows, not even I, 100% at this point, which is the reason why we are in favor of further investigation." In the end, proving the pandemic's origin one way or the other will be difficult, because U.S. scientists were not allowed into China early on to investigate, and at this point, it all depends on the Chinese government’s level of transparency. Beijing doesn’t have a good track record of that. And that could mean, in this era of confirmation bias -- looking for things to prove your original theory -- no one may really ever know. — Domenico Montanaro, NPR’s senior political editor/correspondent [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- [image DOJ]( Mandel Ngan/Pool/AFP via Getty Images ICYMI: Top Stories DOJ memo on Trump obstruction: The Justice Department this week released part of an internal memo cited by former leaders as part of their decision concluding that former President Donald Trump did not obstruct justice. But in a court filing, DOJ lawyers said [they would seek to block release of the full document](. Biden meets Floyd family: [President Biden met with George Floyd's family]( at the White House on Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer. Rodney Floyd, one of George Floyd's brothers, said that Biden and Vice President Harris "showed great concern" for the family. The meeting came as negotiations on a police reform bill continue on Capitol Hill. GOP counteroffer on infrastructure: Senate Republicans this week released their [$928 billion counteroffer to President Biden's infrastructure plan](. The proposal includes new money for roads, bridges, water, rail and airports, but the majority of proposed spending is part of an existing plan for investments. Harris on Northern Triangle: Vice President Harris announced a new initiative Thursday [to bring business and economic investment to Central America's Northern Triangle countries](. Harris said the Biden administration is issuing a "call to action" to companies, banks and social enterprises to invest in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador as part of an effort to address the root causes of migration. Republicans block Jan. 6 commission: Senate Republicans blocked bipartisan legislation Friday to establish an independent commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Just six GOP senators joined Democrats in voting for the bill, making this [the first Republican filibuster since President Biden took office](. — Brandon Carter, NPR Politics social media producer --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northwest Montana.]( David Goldman/AP Going Deeper Montana's new ballot law: As in other GOP-led states across the country, Republicans in Montana have recently enacted sweeping voting restrictions. [A new law in the state]( prohibits the collection and delivery of sealed absentee ballots by anyone who “receives a monetary benefit for doing so.” Supporters have framed the law as a way to ensure election security, but voting rights advocates warn it threatens to limit voting accessibility -- perhaps most notably for Indigenous communities living on reservations with little to no access to voting in person. Traffic stops and the Supreme Court: Traffic stops are a routine police practice, but with the rise in body cams and cell phone footage, people have begun to witness how they can escalate to violence and even death. In the latest installment of [“The Docket” on the NPR Politics Podcast]( congressional correspondent Susan Davis and national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson explored the Supreme Court’s rulings surrounding traffic stops, and spoke with Fourth Amendment expert Orin Kerr about why he worries “the deck is stacked too much in the officer's favor.” — Claire Oby, NPR Politics intern --------------------------------------------------------------- [Karine Jean-Pierre ]( Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images The Shot: A New Face In The Briefing Room Karine Jean-Pierre this week became the first Black woman to host a White House press conference since 1991. Jean-Pierre [was in the briefing room]( on Wednesday to announce another woman making history, [Kristen Clarke]( who was confirmed as the first woman and first woman of color to lead the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. "It's a real honor just to be standing here today," Jean-Pierre said. "I appreciate the historic nature, I really do. But I believe being behind this podium, being in this room, being in this building, is not about one person. It's about what we do on behalf of the American people." — Claire Oby, NPR Politics intern [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. --------------------------------------------------------------- What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [nprpolitics@npr.org](mailto:nprpolitics@npr.org?subject=Saturday%20Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Daily News, Code Switch, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Politics emails. 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