Today’s Headlines: Life in a post-vaccine world

The pervasive fear is gone for some of those who’ve received the COVID-19 vaccine, but not everyone is ready to resume pre-pandemic habits.

TOP STORIES

Life in a Post-Vaccine World

In California, more than 5.5 million people have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. They’re entering the pandemic’s post-inoculation world, where some among the vaccinated are making plans to travel by air, eat inside restaurants, hug family members and enjoy a sex life with other vaccinated people.

But don’t call it a complete return to normal.

None of those interviewed by The Times are planning to throw their masks in the air or book a tour on a cruise ship. Some don’t even plan to relax their habits.

Many have become accustomed to the scary surges, the twists and turns of every new variant, and the caution ingrained from a year of warnings and rising death tolls. They want to see cases drop and more people vaccinated before truly lowering their guard.

Experts say their caution is warranted.

More Top Coronavirus Headlines

— California has surpassed 50,000 COVID-19 deaths, a tally that came as Los Angeles County reported a backlog of more than 800 deaths during the autumn-and-winter surge. Daily coronavirus cases and COVID-19 deaths have dropped considerably in recent weeks, although some scientists remain concerned about the potential spread of variants.

— Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine protects against COVID-19, according to an analysis by U.S. regulators. The findings set the stage for a final decision on an easier-to-use shot.

— L.A. is the latest municipality to support so-called hero pay for grocery store workers. The ordinance would require larger stores and drugstores to boost workers’ pay by $5 an hour for about four months.

— Preschool and day-care workers in California say they have spent months managing ad hoc classrooms of older students while simultaneously caring for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

For more, sign up for Coronavirus Today, a special edition of The Times’ Health and Science newsletter.

The Supply Chain Question

Supply chains have long been a topic of concern within businesses and think tanks, but the issue exploded into public view last year with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, President Biden has announced that his administration will review supply chains for key components in computers, electric cars, pharmaceuticals and military hardware, pledging to address a dependence on overseas sources — especially for semiconductor chips, rare-earth metals, large-capacity batteries and pharmaceutical ingredients.

Biden didn’t mention China by name, but his initiative could increase tensions between Washington and Beijing as they compete for international influence, should the United States take steps to be more economically independent and encourage allies to do so as well.

More Politics

— Biden lifted a freeze on green cards issued by his predecessor during the pandemic that lawyers said was blocking most legal immigration to the United States.

— The House is preparing to approve a one-year move to fight child poverty as part of Biden’s COVID-19 relief package, and leading Democrats and advocacy groups have already begun jockeying to make the policy permanent.

— William Burns, Biden’s nominee to run the CIA, told lawmakers that he would keep politics out of the job and deliver “unvarnished” intelligence to politicians and policymakers even if they didn’t want to hear it.

‘An Unstoppable Force’

Before Cielo Echegoyén was accepted to Harvard University last fall, only three Santa Ana High School students ever had been admitted there.

For Cielo, the mileposts along her arduous journey from Orange County to Cambridge, Mass., included countless nights poring over books at the public library until closing time — and three operations to correct a disorder called funnel chest that caused her breastbone to press against her heart and lungs.

The daughter of Mexican and Salvadoran immigrants has been held up as an inspirational figure in the predominantly Latino Santa Ana Unified School District, where 87% of students come from low-income families.

But to hear the 18-year-old tell it, her struggles paled in comparison with the travails of two men being held at an immigration detention center. She came to know the men because her father had been held there too.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Marni Nixon’s voice is perhaps more famous than she is.

For decades, studios paid big money to film Broadway shows, casting big-name actors. But many of them couldn’t sing as well as the scores required. Enter “ghost singers” like Nixon, who was particularly skilled at not only singing but also mimicking voices, according to a profile that ran in The Times on Feb. 25, 1962.

She sang some of Audrey Hepburn’s songs in 1964’s “My Fair Lady,” and at least a few notes for Marilyn Monroe in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” In “West Side Story,” she sang as both Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno, including both parts of a duet. Despite her skill, she went uncredited for years before becoming a successful performer in her own right. She died in 2016 at 86.

Feb. 13, 1962: Marni Nixon is a singing ghost whose voice is used for stars in movies. This photo was published in the Feb. 25, 1962, Los Angeles Times.

(Frank Q. Brown / Los Angeles Times)

CALIFORNIA

— Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the rollover crash that badly injured Tiger Woods was an accident, and no criminal charges were being contemplated. Meanwhile, officials will conduct a safety review of the road where Woods crashed. It’s been a notorious stretch for decades.

— Los Angeles City Ethics Commission staff were threatened by a City Council member with budget cuts unless they softened their advice on gift rules governing how much free food, entertainment and other gratuities a politician can legally accept, a whistleblower says.

— A new report finds that, while California’s Black students are succeeding in higher education at higher rates than before, there is a long way to go before they achieve parity with their white peers and state goals.

— California’s Constitution bans slavery and involuntary servitude — “except to punish crime.” Meet the man who’s trying to change that exception.

NATION-WORLD

— The Supreme Court heard an appeal from a Northern California man who was followed home and then into his garage by a Highway Patrol officer. The case could establish an important precedent on the powers of the police.

— A federal judge has indefinitely banned the Biden administration from enforcing a 100-day moratorium on most deportations. Texas had sought the preliminary injunction, arguing that the moratorium violated federal law and risked imposing additional costs on the state.

— A former member of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s secret police was convicted by a German court of facilitating the torture of prisoners — a landmark ruling that human rights activists hope will set a precedent for other cases.

— Iraq’s Christian communities hope their struggle to endure will get a boost from a historic visit by Pope Francis planned in March, his first foreign trip since the COVID-19 pandemic began and the first ever by a pope to Iraq.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

— Netflix’s new docuseries “Canine Intervention” features Bay Area dog trainer Jas Leverette helping clients with their pets. He says it’s more about training humans than animals.

— Plenty of films this awards season have focused tightly on the dynamic between fathers and daughters, from comedy “On the Rocks” to drama “The Father.”

— John Lee Hancock wrote “The Little Things” 28 years before he finally made the film. Three decades changed his relationship with the story, he writes.

— Tiger Woods’ car crash has cast a spotlight on a low-budget documentary TV series he was shooting for GolfTV and the Discovery+ streaming service.

BUSINESS

— Fry’s Electronics, the go-to chain for tech tinkerers looking for an obscure part, is closing for good.

— Internet providers are putting their hypocrisy on full display in challenging California’s net neutrality rules, which a federal judge just said could proceed, columnist David Lazarus writes.

SPORTS

— Megan Rapinoe and the U.S. women’s national soccer team dominated Argentina to win the SheBelieves Cup.

— The league-leading Utah Jazz handed the Lakers their worst loss of the season.

OPINION

— We need to tighten up regulations on deadly “ghost guns,” writes The Times’ editorial board.

— Brent Giannotta spent five years as a political analyst at the CIA. Studying Islamic State fighters has helped him to understand QAnon’s hold, he writes.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

— Texas’ deregulated energy market promised reliable power at a more affordable cost. Instead, Texans ended up paying $28 billion more. (Wall Street Journal)

— The damage inflicted by QAnon runs deep, and some families are struggling as relationships with relatives under its spell fray. (Washington Post)

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

When Anthony Parnther, bassoonist and music director of the San Bernardino Symphony, had his car burglarized in March, the most prized possession stolen was the Schreiber bassoon his mother had bought for him — after the family’s house had burned down and they were strapped for cash. All seemed lost, until one day he was sitting in traffic on the 405.

Comments or ideas? Email us at headlines@latimes.com.