Why the world is still arguing over face masks, 20 months into the pandemic
CNN
The science behind masks is clear. Yet debates still rage in multiple countries over their use, and some regions have recently removed mandates that people wear them in crowded spaces.
Spikes in transmission were met with lockdowns; international travel was heavily restricted; and though domestic constraints frequently proved controversial, hygiene measures like social distancing, hand-washing and mask-wearing were strongly encouraged -- if not legally mandated.
But those days are behind us. Pandemic management now differs widely from country to country -- with the face mask just one example of the world's increasingly fractured approach to Covid-19.
In the days and weeks leading up Hunter Biden’s trial on felony gun charges, President Joe Biden made little attempt to distance himself from his son. Instead, Hunter Biden was seen at the White House and in Delaware at his father’s side amid what the president’s allies acknowledge is a difficult moment for both men.