Happy Friday! 68 years ago today, Dr. Jonas Salk announced the success of his groundbreaking polio vaccine. We hope the authors of TMD in 2089 look back on today’s COVID-19 vaccine heroes with the same amount of gratitude.

Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

• President Biden held his first press conference since taking office yesterday, answering about an hour’s worth of questions from reporters on topics ranging from immigration, to filibuster reform, to foreign policy.

• At least five people in Alabama are dead following a series of tornadoes that whipped across the state. The storms have left more than 45,000 homes without power, and could affect residents in South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee as well.

• A report from Arnold Ventures found the murder rate in a sample of 34 U.S. cities jumped nearly 30 percent from 2019 to 2020, the largest year-over-year increase on record. The country is still ahead of previous highs, though: Last year’s homicide rate in the sample cities was 11.4 deaths per 100,000 residents. In 1995 in those same cities, it was 19.4.