JUDY WOODRUFF: In the day's other news: The Pentagon announced that it will deploy more
than 1,100 active-duty troops to assist at five COVID-19 vaccination sites. Each team
will consist of 222 personnel, including 80 who can administer vaccines.
Senior White House COVID-19 Adviser Andy Slavitt said the military's support will help expedite
inoculations.
ANDY SLAVITT, Senior White House Adviser For COVID Response: Part of this group will start
to arrive in California within the next 10 days to begin operations there around February
15, with additional vaccination missions soon to follow.
The military's critical role in supporting sites will help vaccinate thousands of people
per day, and ensure that every American who wants a vaccine will receive one.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The Biden administration is also investing in six companies to boost production
of at-home COVID testing kits. They hope to make more than 60 million tests available
by the end of summer. That comes as the U.S. set another grim record overnight. Daily COVID
deaths topped 5,000 for the first time ever.
The U.S. trade deficit surged to a 12-year high in 2020 due to pandemic disruptions.
The Commerce Department reported the gap between exports and imports rose 18 percent last year
to $679 billion. That was due in part to COVID restrictions that upended key exports of U.S.
services, like tourism and education.
In Myanmar, hundreds of students and teachers protested today against the military coup
in the largest rallies to date since the takeover. They rallied at two universities in Yangon.
The protesters held up a three-finger salute as a sign of resistance, and carried signs
with images of ribbons to symbolize civil disobedience. One teacher voiced hope the
military coup would fail.
NWE THAZIN HLAING, Lecturer (through translator): We don't want this military coup, which unlawfully
seized power from our elected government. We don't want anyone who steals power and
then forms their own government. We are no longer going to work with them.
JUDY WOODRUFF: At least 30 people have been arrested for protesting against the coup.
The military says that they will hold onto power until a new election is held in a year.
Delegates from Libya's warring factions approved an interim government today to help unify
the divided country. It has had two separate governments, one in the east and one in the
West.
At a United Nations forum in Geneva, they selected four leaders to lead Libya through
the national elections in December. The North African country has been in turmoil since
Moammar Gadhafi's four-decade rule ended in 2011.
Back in this country, stocks on Wall Street notched their fifth consecutive day of gains.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 92 points to close at 31148. The Nasdaq rose
78 points, and the S&P 500 added 15.
And a passing to note tonight. Award-winning actor Christopher Plummer died today at his
home in Connecticut. During his nearly 70-year career, Plummer became known for a wide variety
of roles that won him an Oscar, two Emmys and a pair of Tony Awards along the way.
Jeffrey Brown looks back on some of Plummer's most iconic roles.
JEFFREY BROWN: He was a leading Shakespearian actor throughout his life, but it was this
role...
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER, Actor: As I sound your signals, you will step forward and give your
names.
JEFFREY BROWN: ... as Captain von Trapp opposite Julie Andrews in the beloved 1965 film "Sound
of Music" that catapulted Canadian-born actor Christopher Plummer to stardom.
He famously disparaged the part at first, but later came to terms with it and the success
it brought. Plummer went on to star in a wide range of films, from Tolstoy in "The Last
Station" to playing the voice of the villain in the cartoon film "Up."
And he had an extraordinary film renaissance late in life.
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER: I'm gay.
JEFFREY BROWN: His role in "Beginners" as a man who comes out as gay after 44 years
of marriage made him the oldest actor to win an Oscar, at 82.
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER: My mother once predicted that I would have to wait to be a very old
man before receiving recognition in our profession. She was absolutely right, of course.
JEFFREY BROWN: He continued acting in recent years, starring in the crime thriller "All
The money in the World" and in the 2019 film "Knives Out."
Christopher Plummer died at his Connecticut home this morning after a blow to his head
from a fall. He was 91 years old.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jeffrey Brown
JUDY WOODRUFF: And still to come on the "NewsHour": COVID-19 complicates Beirut's recovery from
a devastating explosion; David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart break down a packed week
of politics; we remember several more of the many remarkable lives lost to COVID-19; and
much more.