Sunny and (relatively) warm

It's exactly 0°C in Chicago this afternoon, which is a bog-standard temperature for February 3rd. And it's sunny, which isn't typical. So, with the forecast for a week of bitter cold starting Friday evening, I'm about to take a 30-minute walk to take advantage of today's weather. First, though:

• Trump political appointees who knew or should have known they would lose their jobs on January 20th are throwing tantrums because they lost their parental leave benefits at noon that day, despite other Trump appointees telling them previously that they wouldn't.
• David Leonhardt investigates why Democratic presidents typically oversee better economies than Republican ones. (Hint: which party repeatedly tanks the government, and which party typically puts it back together?
• An aluminum can shortage has given local breweries headaches and local beer distributors backaches, with no respite in sight.
• The second Covid-19 shot "is a rude awakening for immune cells," which means it won't feel great but it will confer live-saving benefits.

Early February is also the time of year when we start imagining spring. Tomorrow's sunrise is at 7am for the first time since December 1st, and we had 10 hours of daylight last week for the first time since mid-November. Yes, Chicago typically has an Arctic blast sometime during February. But Spring begins in 25 days. We can make it.