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The shortage of workers in the U.S. has become a flywheel of doom, messing up our lives and society writ large. And many of the underlying problems that led to this breakdown are bigger than the pandemic.

The big picture: Millions of immigrants, older workers and mothers are missing from the labor force. Those labor shortages create problems like supply chain woes, school closures, and skyrocketing child care costs — and some of those problems further exacerbate the worker shortages.

In the two months since signing the $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law, President Biden has by almost every measure bombed big time on the things that matter most.

The big picture: Biden, who marks one year in office next Thursday, has never been less popular nationally, after personally lobbying his party and the public on Build Back Better and voting rights — and failing.

President Biden's plan to tap Sarah Bloom Raskin as top banking regulator at the Federal Reserve could intensify the central bank's already growing focus on climate change.

Catch up fast: The news broke Thursday night that Biden will nominate Raskin, a Duke University law professor, for the powerful role of vice chair for supervision.

Retail sales fell 1.9% in December compared to the previous month, suggesting that shoppers bought holiday gifts earlier last year as they faced rising inflation and supply chain issues.

Driving the news: The data is much lower than the 0% change predicted by economists, according to FactSet.

Companies are about to blast out a blizzard of quarterly profit and sales numbers over the next few weeks, as the carnival of Q4 corporate results kicks off.

Driving the news: Large banks will open the floodgates, issuing reports early Friday that mark the unofficial start of earnings season on Wall Street.

Interest in non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits has been soaring and is expected to far outlast "Dry January," the month when people typically swear off booze.

Why it matters: Companies big and small are doubling down on the mocktail market, which is being pitched as a healthful alternative for social drinkers who want to take a day off from their nightcap.

With regulators around the world looking at reining in Big Tech, the companies in the crosshairs are increasingly eager to point out their rivals' sins.

Why it matters: Investigations in the U.S. and around the world are targeting Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon. To make their case, regulators need to show the companies are squelching competition — a task the tech companies may be aiding with their infighting.

The Omicron variant doesn't cause as much severe illness as other variants have, but its "mild" symptoms can still be pretty unpleasant.

The big picture: The way health care professionals and doctors differentiate between "mild" and "severe" illness may not align with a layperson's understanding of those terms.

The U.S. is likely reaching the end of the road on new vaccinations, after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for large employers.

Why it matters: Cash prizes and other incentives barely moved the needle on vaccinations. So the government turned from carrots to sticks — but now it has lost its biggest stick.

Novak Djokovic faces possible deportation from Australia after his visa was revoked for a second time by officials on Friday — three days before he was due to begin the defense of his Australian Open title.

Driving the news: Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said in a statement he exercised his power to cancel the unvaccinated men's tennis world No. 1's visa "on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so." A lawyer for Djokovic has asked a court for an injunction preventing his removal from Australia.

President Biden met with Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) at the White House on Thursday night to discuss voting rights after they reaffirmed their opposition to reforming the filibuster, per the White House.

Why it matters: Biden and other Democrats want the Senate's filibuster rules changed in order to pass voting rights legislation.

The Senate on Thursday failed to pass a bill sanctioning the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, after the Biden administration aggressively lobbied Democrats to defeat Sen. Ted Cruz's effort to target the Putin-backed project.

Why it matters: The 55-44 vote is the culmination of Cruz's months-long push to force Democrats into an uncomfortable vote on Nord Stream 2, which the Ukrainian government has said is "no less an existential threat to our security" than the tens of thousands of Russian troops massing on its border. The bill needed 60 votes to pass.

1. Health: America rethinks its endgame for COVID — Deaths are climbing as cases skyrocket — Preliminary data shows COVID was leading cause of death for cops in 2021.
2. Vaccines: Puerto Rico expands booster shot requirements — Supreme Court blocks Biden's vaccine mandate for large employers — CDC backs moving Moderna booster wait time to 5 months after vaccine.
3. Politics: Focus group says Biden weak on COVID response, strong on democracy — Biden deploying military medical staff to help overwhelmed hospitals — Army disciplines nearly 3,000 soldiers for refusing vaccine.
4. Economy: Nurses across the U.S. strike against COVID working conditions — CDC COVID guidance for cruise ships to be optional starting Saturday — The cost of testing.
5. States: West Virginia governor feeling "extremely unwell" after positive test — Arkansas governor: Big businesses shouldn't comply with vaccine mandate.
6. World: Teachers in France stage mass walkout over COVID protocols.
7. Variant tracker

Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate are now explicitly campaigning against one of their potential colleagues, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) — branded by one as a "sellout" for opposing filibuster changes to enact party priorities.

Why it matters: It's an evolution of an increasingly popular strategy among Democrats: turning legislative inaction to their advantage by casting themselves as the "50th vote" for programs or the filibuster changes needed to pass President Biden's agenda.

President Biden will nominate Sarah Bloom Raskin as the Federal Reserve's top Wall Street cop, a Biden administration official said, one of three nominees being unveiled for the critical open seats on the central bank's board of governors.

Why it matters: It's Biden's biggest mark yet on the influential economic body that's center stage as the country grapples with inflation rising at the fastest pace in decades and a recovering labor market.

With speculation already swirling that members of Parliament from Boris Johnson's own party might soon force him out, the Daily Telegraph (his former employer) added Thursday to the drip, drip of doom over lockdown-defying parties in Downing Street.

Driving the news: The night before Prince Philip’s funeral last April — at which Britain's Queen Elizabeth II sat alone due to social distancing rules — Downing Street staff gathered at two parties for departing colleagues.