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The Biden administration is poised to reshape the way the government tracks undocumented immigrants awaiting court proceedings, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: There are nearly 180,000 undocumented immigrants in the U.S. already being monitored with ankle bracelets and other traceable devices. The administration is planning an expanded home confinement and curfew pilot program — with the aim of curbing for-profit detention spaces.

Biden science adviser Eric Lander resigned from his position on Monday after an investigation found that he violated the Biden administration's workplace policy, the White House confirmed.

Why it matters: An investigation found that Lander violated the White House's workplace policy and "corrective action" was taken, according to an Office of Science and Technology Policy spokesperson. Investigation recordings and documents obtained by Politico show that Lander bullied his former general counsel, among others.

1. Health: Pharmacies feel stiffed on pill payments — Long COVID is contributing to America's labor shortage — U.S. death toll hits 900,000.
2. Vaccines: The kids' vaccine dilemma — Pfizer asks FDA to authorize vaccine for kids under 5 — Pentagon tells governors National Guard must be vaccinated.
3. Politics: Blue states move to drop mask mandates — Virginia Supreme Court dismisses parents' lawsuit against Youngkin's school mask order — Delaware to end to mask mandates for schools, indoor settings.
4. Business: COVID pushes teachers to pivot careers
5. World: Australia to reopen to double-vaccinated travelers — Protests against restrictions spread across Canada — 3 European countries ending restrictions.
6. Variant tracker

America's blue states are increasingly chasing normalcy, especially when it comes to face mask rules meant to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The big picture: "We are not going to manage COVID to zero," tweeted Gov. Phil Murphy. The New Jersey Democrat announced today that his state is unwinding school mask mandates that have been in place for the entire pandemic.

As bipartisan negotiations to update the Electoral Count Act of 1887 grow in breadth and intensity, senators from both parties are starting to draw their red lines.

Why it matters: Democrats once fixated on sweeping election reform packages. Republicans were equally committed to opposing wide-ranging federal election changes. New drop-dead conditions can still poison the new negotiations but also indicate movement from these opening positions.

Nvidia is set to pull the plug on its planned purchase of Arm from SoftBank amid significant concerns from both regulators and a number of Arm's current customers, the Financial Times reports.

Why it matters: While it doesn't manufacture processors, or even design entire chips, Arm's processor cores are widely used in everything from smartphones to cars to networking gear.

GoFundMe is facing blowback for a decision that has ensnared companies way bigger in size.

Why it matters: New controversy engulfing the crowdfunding platform highlights an increasingly thorny issue for organizations in America: free speech.

Zombies-and-parkour game Dying Light 2 had a huge launch last week, and one big number shows how big it was: 274,983.

Why it matters: That was the new game’s peak concurrent player count on the PC gaming service Steam over the weekend — and the kind of gargantuan audience figures that attest to a gaming market that isn’t slowing down.

Teachers are leaving the education workforce at a rapid clip, according to new LinkedIn data.

Staggering stat: Rates of attrition among educators is 66% above pre-pandemic levels.

President Biden repeatedly and vigorously defended Germany's reliability as an ally at a press conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday, insisting that "there is no need to win back trust" when it comes to Berlin's approach to NATO and Ukraine.

Why it matters: Scholz's first visit to the White House since he succeeded Angela Merkel in December has been overshadowed by accusations that Germany is unwilling to stand up for Ukraine as it faces the threat of a large-scale invasion by Russia.

Peter Thiel plans to step down from the board of Facebook parent company Meta, where he's served since shortly after the company's founding.

Why it matters: Thiel has been the board's only representative in former President Trump's orbit, and also one of its most iconoclastic thinkers.

Go deeper: Full Axios coverage

The IRS will abandon a push to have some taxpayers use facial recognition software to identify themselves, the agency confirmed on Monday.

Why it matters: The initial decision to use facial recognition software sparked significant backlash and a debate about how the government should use such technology, with critics warning of the risk that information collected could be used for other purposes.

The president of George Washington University in D.C. has reversed his earlier decision to remove campus posters protesting the Beijing Olympics, which Chinese student groups had said "incited racial hatred and ethnic tensions."

The big picture: Universities in the U.S., Australia and elsewhere are navigating how to protect Chinese students from rising anti-Asian hate crimes, while protecting speech and art that criticizes Chinese government oppression from censorship by some Chinese students on campus who view that criticism as racist.

Las Vegas made history this weekend, becoming the first city to ever host two All-Star Games at the same time.

The big picture: For decades, Vegas was as attractive to gamblers as it was unattractive to sports leagues. But as sports betting becomes legal state by state, leagues are embracing the city they once shunned.

The three white men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man shot while jogging down a coastal Georgia street, are going to trial again.

What’s happening: Father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael and their former neighbor, William Roddie Bryan, were found guilty of Arbery’s murder in state court in November and sentenced to life in prison.

Former President Trump incited the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 "to intimidate" former Vice President Mike Pence into overturning the 2020 election, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday.

What he's saying: "January 6 was a riot that was incited by Donald Trump in an effort to intimidate Mike Pence and the Congress into doing exactly what he said in his own words last week — overturn the election," he told Hewitt.

Some pharmacies are getting paid as little as $1 to dispense the COVID antiviral pills made by Pfizer and Merck.

Why it matters: Most pharmacies want to offer the drugs, especially the one from Pfizer that drastically cuts the odds of hospitalization and death. But low payments could hurt Americans' ability to access the pills in some areas if pharmacies decide they can't afford to stock them.

The U.S. SPAC boom has become a SPAC bust, with dozens of post-merger companies trading below their sale prices. But that hasn't stopped foreign stock exchanges from enthusiastically grasping for the falling knife.

Driving the news: Singapore last month hosted its first SPAC listings, and Hong Kong got its first SPAC filing. London's debut SPAC came in December, around the same time that Brazil approved its own inaugural SPAC.

Free community college will no longer be included in Democrats' social spending package, which has so far failed to pass in the Senate, first lady Jill Biden announced Monday.

Why it matters: Democrats have abandoned the provision that would give eligible students two years of free education at community colleges — the first lady's signature legislative initiative. She is a professor at a community college in Virginia.

Eric Lander, President Biden's science adviser, has apologized for speaking to White House Office of Science and Technology Policy staff in "a disrespectful or demeaning way," according to a note he sent to OSTP staff this weekend.

The big picture: An investigation found that Lander violated the White House's workplace policy and "corrective action" was taken, according to a OSTP spokesperson.

The startlingly rapid pace of job creation in January captured all the headlines Friday. But other details contain the biggest implications for markets in the months ahead: namely, wage growth.

Why it matters: Wages soared last month, great news for workers seeking bigger raises that help keep up with inflation. But that could fuel higher inflation in the future and prompt a more aggressive response from the Federal Reserve.

The National Archives and Records Administration last month retrieved boxes containing information from former President Trump's time at the White House that he took to Mar-a-Lago instead of handing over to the agency.

Details: The boxes contained correspondence between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which he once referred to as "love letters," and a letter from former President Obama, per the Washington Post, which first reported the story.

📸 In photos: U.S. figure skating medal among Day 3 highlights

🦠 U.S. Olympic figure skating medal hope tests positive for COVID

🎾 Peng Shuai announces retirement from tennis after meeting IOC chief

📺 NBC serves up Beijing Olympics in VR

🔥 U.S. ambassador calls Uyghur Olympic torchbearer an effort by China to "distract us"

America is obsessed with football — a love affair that has allowed the NFL to tighten its already-firm grip on our culture despite mounting scandals.

The big picture: From brain injuries to toxic workplaces to racism allegations, the NFL is no stranger to outrage. Then Sunday arrives, and all is seemingly forgiven.

As the pandemic has coaxed older people to get more nimble with technology— even trolling TikTok to check out their grandkids' posts — tech companies are increasingly catering to their needs.

Why it matters: For seniors, learning to shop online, enjoy social media and use VR headsets can beat back isolation and loneliness — particularly during COVID-19. And to marketers, wealthy retirees look like an attractive sales niche, so they're tailoring products and services accordingly.

Federal health regulators will soon face their next controversial vaccine decision: whether to authorize Pfizer's vaccine for children younger than 5, despite ongoing questions around dosing and effectiveness.

Why it matters: Once again, the pandemic is forcing health officials to choose between unconventional vaccine approval methods and the human costs of abiding by more traditional — yet time-consuming — regulatory processes.

Peng Shuai announced she's retiring from tennis and called sexual abuse allegations she'd made against a former Chinese government official a "huge misunderstanding," in an interview with French sports news outlet L'Équipe published Monday.

Why it matters: Peng's interview denying her earlier allegations against former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli was arranged by the Chinese Olympic Committee and conducted at its hotel in Beijing's Olympics "closed loop" in the presence of a COC official, the Washington Post notes.

Australia will reopen its borders from Feb. 21 to foreign travelers who have received two COVID-19 vaccine doses, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Monday.

Why it matters: Australia's borders have been shut to most non-residents since March 2020. Its tough pandemic policies made headlines last month when world men's tennis no. 1 Novak Djokovic was deported from the country for being unvaccinated.

Most viewers will still get their Olympics fix from traditional broadcasting, but NBC is betting that a cadre of early adopters equipped with Meta's Quest 2 headset will flock to consume 150 hours of live and on-demand content from the Games in VR.

The big picture: With today's headsets becoming more capable and the tech industry pushing new metaverse schemes, VR is gaining new momentum as a platform for mass-media content.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek told employees Sunday that while he strongly condemns past racial slurs used by Joe Rogan, he won't cut ties with the platform's most popular podcaster, according to an internal memo obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: Spotify has come under fire in recent weeks for anti-vaccination comments made by Rogan — which prompted boycotts from several musicians.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency Sunday in response to 10 days of massive demonstrations in Canada's capital protesting pandemic restrictions, which have since spread to other provinces.

Driving the news: "Declaring a state of emergency reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government," per a statement from the mayor's office.

President Biden and Israeli counterpart Naftali Bennett discussed nuclear talks with Iran and the Russia-Ukraine crisis during a phone call on Sunday, the two leaders' offices said.

Why it matters: The call during which Biden accepted an invitation to visit Israel later this year came as the nuclear talks have entered a crucial crunch period.

President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed in a phone call Sunday "ongoing diplomatic and deterrence efforts" in response to Russia's military buildup along Ukraine's border, according to a White House statement.

Why it matters: Macron is due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday and with Ukraine's President Volodymyr in Kyiv a day later in an attempt to de-escalate tensions, per AFP.