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Guinea's Ministry of Health on Monday declared an Ebola epidemic after three people died from the virus and four others became infected in the West African country.

Why it matters: West Africa is still struggling with COVID-19 cases. Guinea's Ebola epidemic follows fresh cases of the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo, three months after the DRC's last outbreak was declared eradicated, per the New York Times.

Over 120 million Americans are under winter storm warnings, watches or advisories, as a major coast to coast winter storm brings snow, ice and freezing temperatures to much of the U.S.

The big picture: The storm has caused hundreds of flights to be canceled. And thousands have lost power, from the Pacific Northwest to the Mid-Atlantic, the New York Times notes. President Biden approved an emergency declaration Sunday for all of Texas' 254 counties.

In an interview with "Axios on HBO," New York Stock Exchange president Stacey Cunningham rejected comparisons between stock market investing and gambling.

Between the lines: Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently said "investors big and small are treating the stock market like a casino," in response to last month's situation with GameStop, Reddit and Robinhood. Cunningham says Warren is wrong.

Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi told "Axios on HBO" that "Congress is morally obligated to respond" to the island's recent vote in support of statehood, and said he expects a bill to be introduced in the House by mid-March.

Why it matters: Although statehood has been discussed for years, advocates say it is more likely now because Democrats control the House, Senate and White House — and because President Biden has publicly supported it.

Vice President Harris told me in a backstage conversation for "Axios on HBO" that the Trump administration had "no stockpile" of vaccines upon leaving office.

The big picture: "There was no national strategy or plan for vaccinations, we were leaving it to the states and local leaders to try and figure it out," Harris told me at the White House after leading a virtual COVID event with African-American mayors.

1. Education: CDC releases guidelines on safely reopening schools — Experts say school closures are hurting teens' mental health.
2. Health: What pregnant people face — The pandemic's racial disparities extend to nursing homes — Infections are plummeting.
3. Vaccine: Patents complicate efforts to scale manufacturing.
4. Politics: Biden blasts Trump's vaccination efforts.
5. World: WHO scientists traced 13 COVID-19 strains to Wuhan — Israel study on Pfizer vaccine shows 94% drop in symptomatic cases — New Zealand imposes first lockdown since October.

Puerto Rican statehood, supported by Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, has been a long-standing goal for some Democrats and championed by progressives as a way to grant the island self-determination.

Where it stands: Puerto Rico has held six non-binding referendums on its status, including becoming a U.S. state, since 1967. Residents most recently voted in favor of statehood last November. Both of Pierluisi's predecessors, Wanda Vázquez and Ricardo Rosselló, also supported statehood.

There were 13 different strains of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China in December 2019, World Health Organization scientist Peter Ben Embarek told CNN in an exclusive interview.

Why it matters: Data gathered during the WHO scientists' first trip to investigate the origins of COVID-19 could point to an outbreak that was more widespread than previously understood.

The FBI offers some advice for the lovelorn on this Valentine's Day: The way to heartbreak is through your bank account.

Why it matters: The coronavirus pandemic has mostly left the search for love online, and the FBI says it's seen a rise in reports of scams that seem to offer romance, but are actually seeking to wrangle money or financial information from their victims.

Open-source the vaccines. That's the message being sent by the People's Vaccine Alliance, a coalition that includes Amnesty International, Oxfam, and UNAIDS.

Why it matters: Manufacturing capacity needs to be scaled up dramatically — and cutting out the need for laborious, expensive and secretive negotiations with vaccine patent holders could help.

More Black writers and artists are turning to science fiction — and an artistic movement known as Afrofuturism — to tackle issues around race and inequality and give fans an escape from the harsh realities on Earth.

The big picture: Afrofuturism was long an underground movement. Its roots date back to W.E.B. Du Bois, though its name wasn't coined til the 1990s. But it has been gaining a bigger mainstream profile in recent years with the blockbuster movie "Black Panther" and the HBO series "Lovecraft Country" and a national racial reckoning.  

A string of recent attacks on elderly Asian Americans has led to an uproar in the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

Why it matters: Violence and discrimination against Asian Americans appears to have risen dramatically since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving families nervous and afraid even in many of America’s most diverse cities.

With his words and deeds, Mitch McConnell has shown how to retain power when you no longer hold it.

Why it matters: Perhaps the most powerful Senate leader since LBJ, McConnell sets the chamber’s agenda whether in the majority or, as he is now, the minority. This reality has huge consequences as President Biden pushes for coronavirus relief, confirmation of his nominees and legislation crucial to Democrats' popularity ahead of midterms.

President Biden issued a statement late Saturday in response to the Senate acquittal of former President Trump on charges of high crimes and misdemeanors.

Why it matters: Biden had distanced himself from the trial, but he didn't hold back in his first comments on its outcome — noting seven Republicans were among 57 senators to find Trump guilty "for inciting that deadly insurrection on our very democracy."

Seven Republicans joined Democrats and Independents in finding Donald Trump "guilty" of inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, but the Senate failed to reach the two-thirds majority necessary to convict the former president.

The Republicans who voted to convict included: Sens. Richard Burr (N.C.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah), Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Pat Toomey (Pa.).

President Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Saturday that the administration is concerned by the World Health Organization's (WHO) probe into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why it matters: Sullivan said the administration fears the Chinese government may have intervened or altered the findings of the investigation.