Britain reported that the new COVID-19 variant found in the U.K. last month could be 30-40% more deadly than previous variants. The variant also spreads 30-70% faster than previous variants, but vaccines appear to be able to neutralize it.

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• The U.K.’s current population is about 67 million, and around 5.4 million people have been given the first dose of a vaccine. With the new variant appearing more deadly, the government is planning to prioritize administering the first dose to more people rather than the second dose for eligible people. 
• Another variant that started to spread from South Africa has been found to be 50% more contagious, and vaccines could be less effective against this new strain.

In other news:

The New York Times reported that many hospitals in the U.S. are running out of vaccines, and thousands of vaccine appointments have been canceled as a result. At the same time, only 19 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been administered so far, while about 40 million doses have been distributed. Dr. Grant Colfax, head of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, said that the lack of coordinated federal response has led to a distribution problem.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced yesterday that former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial will begin on the week of Feb. 8. On Monday, the House will send the articles of impeachment to the Senate.

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• Earlier this week, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell proposed delaying the impeachment trial to mid-February to respect Trump's rights and ensure a "full and fair process." Doug Andres, the spokesperson for Mitch McConnell, said the minority leader is glad that the Republicans’ request to postpone the trial has been granted. Typically, an impeachment trial begins within a day of delivering the articles of impeachment. 
• The House impeached Trump for the second time on Jan. 13. The impeachment was for his role in provoking the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
• Trump has until Feb. 2 to respond to the article. When he was first impeached in 2019, the Senate acquitted him of all charges. Conviction in the Senate will require a two-thirds vote, i.e. at least 17 Republicans, against Trump.
• If convicted in the Senate, a second vote will decide whether Trump should be barred from holding federal office again. The success of the second vote will require only a majority and not a two-thirds vote.

Google's parent company Alphabet is shutting down Loon, which used a fleet of AI-powered balloons to provide wireless internet connectivity to remote parts of the world. Loon's internet balloons, which began as an Alphabet X moonshot project, have been piloted by a novel, machine-designed deep reinforcement learning system.

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• Last year, Loon said its AI-powered flight control system was navigating the stratospheric helium balloons over Kenya, where Loon launched its initial commercial internet service this past summer.
• After pitting the AI against the human-created system in a 39-day test over the Pacific Ocean, the AI model could keep balloons aloft for longer periods and even devised its own novel navigational moves, prompting Loon to deploy the AI system across its entire fleet.
• However, X leader Astro Teller said in a blog post today that the project's commercial viability has taken longer and been much riskier than they hoped, prompting Alphabet to wind down operations over the next few months.
• A small group of Loon employees will wrap up operations and pilot service in Kenya, where Loon has pledged $10M to help support Internet connectivity, he said.
• Loon first launched as a moonshot in 2013 and was spun-off as a separate company in 2018; it has raised funds from investors including SoftBank.

This story first appeared in Inside AI. You can read the full issue here.

AdWeek shared some key insights from meditation apps Calm and Headspace following both companies' frenetic and successful 2020s.

Calm

• Calm reached 100 million total downloads and 4 million paying subscribers in 2020.
• Calm saw its Election Night ad spend on CNN as a major risk, but one worth taking due to the amount of anxiety and stress caused by the election.
• According to iSpot, Calm had 241.7 million TV ad impressions from the beginning of September through Election Night, worth about $1.4 million.

Headspace

• Headspace says downloads doubled in mid-March and five times as many companies as usual reached out about support for employee mental health.
• The company emphasized brand partnerships and free offerings for those suffering during the pandemic. This included a partnership with Hinge, and free premium accounts for the unemployed and those living in New York.

This story first appeared in Inside Meditation. You can read the full issue here.

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* This is sponsored content.