Axios

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Friday that it will expand a program that detects the coronavirus in wastewater as part of an effort to better track infection trends across the U.S.

Why it matters: Roughly 40-80% of people with COVID-19 shed viral RNA in their feces, according to CDC estimates. That makes wastewater surveillance a critical tool for monitoring the virus' spread.

A sprawling winter storm that has forced schools to close, knocked out power and massively disrupted road and air travel is expected to blast the Northeast U.S. with heavy snowfall and "treacherous" ice accumulations on Friday before exiting over the Atlantic Ocean this weekend, the National Weather Service said.

Driving the news: Multiple governors declared states of emergency as heavy snow, freezing rain and ice pummeled much of the Central, Eastern and Southern U.S. On the warm side of the storm, thunderstorms spawned tornadoes in Alabama that killed one person Thursday.

The Biden administration is taking initial steps to meet a tough goal: powering the government with zero-carbon power around the clock.

Driving the news: Yesterday the General Services Administration — the government's landlord — and the Defense Department announced a formal request for information (RFI) to solicit input.

A Senate hearing on Thursday showed intense interest in the Federal Reserve's climate work as Republicans' fear of anti-oil banking policies gives a key nominee a rocky path to confirmation.

Driving the news: Senate Banking Committee Republicans pressed Sarah Bloom Raskin, President Biden's pick for the Fed's top banking cop, on whether she'd seek to limit credit to fossil fuel industries.

A massive winter storm that has slammed much of the country will enter its third day Friday and is expected to slam the Northeast U.S. before exiting over the Atlantic Ocean this weekend, the National Weather Service said.

The latest: The NWS said heavy snowfall and "treacherous" ice accumulations are expected to hit the Northeast Friday. The storm will bring with it temperatures ranging between 15 to 30 degrees below average from the Southern Plains to the Ohio Valley.

President Biden plans to maintain former President Trump's tariffs on solar cells and panels, but loosen some restrictions on importing supplies from Asia to help combat climate change, according to people familiar with the matter.

Driving the news: Biden will issue a proclamation on Friday morning to extend the so-called Section 201 tariffs, due to expire Sunday, for another four years, an administration official said.