THE BIG STORY

Tom Hanks, the NBA, and COVID’s day of reckoning in the US: an oral history

For most people in the US, March 11, 2020 was the day COVID started to feel real. A crucial few hours in the news cycle shocked people into the realization that a pandemic that wrecked other nations was arriving here, too.

Do you remember the creeping anxiety? Dizzying headline after another? President Trump announced he’s suspending travel from Europe. The NBA halted its season. Tom Hanks tested positive. It was also the day the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

We interviewed 65 people — from Anthony Fauci to Chet Hanks, from Utah Jazz players to Broadway stars — in four countries to tell the story of that fateful day. We spoke with top scientists, politicians, and celebrities who were driving news, as well as regular people who were caught up in it.

The interviews paint an extraordinary picture of a chaotic day. Spend some time with these accounts of a historic day.

Stephen Colbert tapes The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in front of an empty studio on March 12, 2020. Scott Kowalchyk / CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images

GET ON BOARD AS WE FIGHT FOR TRANSPARENCY

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We have no plans to slow down, but pursuing that work is expensive and time consuming. When you contribute, you’ll become a BuzzFeed News member and receive special member-only emails, including an inside look when we publish the next major FOIA scoop. Help us reach our goal of $100,000 for our FOIA fund by contributing here.

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

Congress just passed another round of COVID checks and unemployment aid

On Wednesday, House Democrats passed their party’s $1.9 trillion COVID aid package, sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk. Now, the president will sign the bill into law on Friday.

Branded the “American Rescue Plan,” the bill provides checks of $1,400 per person for individuals who earn up to $75,000 per year — or households with $150,000 per year in income — and provides more support to unemployed workers. The bill also distributes hundreds of billions of dollars for vaccinations and contact tracing and aid to sectors ranging from schools to hospitals to the transportation industry to restaurants and bars.

The American Rescue Plan will also provide a historic guaranteed income for parents, about doubling the size of existing government aid to help raise children.

SNAPSHOTS

Prince William said the Royal family are “very much not racist” in response to Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview. William responded to questions about the interview, denying that the royal family is racist and revealing he has yet to speak to Prince Harry.

The Senate confirmed Merrick Garland as the next attorney general. Garland leaves behind a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals judge to take over the Justice Department in the middle of a sprawling investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.

Michael Regan will be the first Black man to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Regan has pledged to prioritize climate change after the Trump administration worsened the crisis. He said he will fight to reduce pollution’s disproportionate impact on people of color and communities living in poverty.

A reporter was found not guilty of charges over her coverage of Black Lives Matter protests. Andrea Sahouri, a Des Moines Register reporter, testified that she did not resist arrest and had repeatedly identified herself as a journalist to police.

Some Central American children will soon be able to apply to get into the US from their home countries. The program allows parents from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras who are legally in the US to seek approval for their children to also be allowed in.

A YEAR OF STAYING IN

How quarantine has affected introverts

It’s easy to assume that the social distancing and isolation of the coronavirus age are working well for introverts. One imagines that for a group of people known to relish their alone time, it might be a welcome break. But It’s not that simple.

We reached out to introverts because we wanted to ask about the last year, and the realities of lockdown. We heard a range of experiences: While a great portion of respondents said their desire for socializing has decreased during the pandemic, others realized that they do like — and even need — more human interaction.

And while introversion has proven to be a great asset for some people during the pandemic, others have wondered if they should push themselves to be more social in the future. One told us, “I’ve had more urges than ever to want to be at a club or go to a bar, which are places I would never go prior to the pandemic. It’s funny, though, because I feel like once I do have the option to go to those places again, I probably won’t.”

Read Michael Blackmon’s story on how introverts are doing in the quarantine.

SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO

27 spring books we couldn’t put down

Spring means blooming flowers, warmer weather, and new books! Here are the spring books we are so, so excited about — and we think you will be, too.

Save some of your generous thoughts for yourself today ,

Elamin