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A Trump administration official tells Axios that the cyberattack on the U.S. government and corporate America, apparently by Russia, is looking worse by the day — and secrets may still be being stolen in ways not yet discovered.

The big picture: "We still don't know the bottom of the well," the official said. Stunningly, the breach goes back to at least March, and continued all through the election. The U.S. government didn't sound the alarm until this Sunday. Damage assessment could take months.

Hospitals around the country have been thrown into confusion after the administration informed state after state that they'll be getting 25%-40% fewer COVID vaccine doses next week than they'd been expecting.

Why it matters: The snafu reveals communication gaps between the Trump administration and Pfizer, and between the administration and the states.

Historically, America has emitted the most greenhouse gases of any country in the world. But over the next 80 years, the U.S. may account for as little as 5% of such emissions.

Why it matters: Installing technologies to address climate change will, therefore, be most critical in places other than America where emissions’ growth is expected to be higher, according to physicist Varun Sivaram.

The new normal for air travel in 2021 could include two, three or even more COVID-19 tests per trip until vaccines are widely available.

The big picture: Global travel could begin to see a comeback later in 2021 as people get vaccinated and international borders reopen. But the healthiest people — those most likely to travel — will be vaccinated last. In a partially vaccinated world, passengers will still need to wear masks and get tested before, during and after their journey.

Facebook stands to lose the most, but Google is more likely to lose: That's the consensus of experts Axios asked to rank the threats the two tech giants face as five separate major antitrust lawsuits bear down on them.

Why it matters: A loss for Facebook or Google in any of the cases could force deep changes in how Silicon Valley does business — and even lead to a court-ordered breakup.

Seven out of 10 college students have experienced anxiety, 53% have experienced depression and 29% have considered dropping out since the pandemic began, according to a new Generation Lab/Axios poll.

The big picture: The end is in sight, but students are still in for a cold, isolated second semester.

In the last week alone, nearly 1 out of every 200 Americans was diagnosed with the coronavirus — an astronomically large portion of the population to be sick at the same time.

Why it matters: This will translate into large numbers of hospitalizations — and eventually deaths — in the coming weeks. It also means the rest of us have a decent chance of interacting with someone who is infected, anywhere we go.

President Trump’s astounding record of judicial appointments will not only reshape the judiciary for a generation, but it will likely deny President-elect Joe Biden the chance to put much of his own stamp on the courts.

Ben Carson, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has told confidants he wants to start a think tank after President Trump leaves office next month.

Why it matters: Carson's planning signals his private recognition of what many Trump loyalists won't say publicly: Donald Trump will not serve a second term — at least not consecutively. The secretary has not publicly acknowledged Joe Biden's election win but is preparing for a future outside the federal government.

If Joe Biden picks Merrick Garland to be his attorney general, he could cost his party control of one of the most important judicial appointments in America — and many Democrats do not want the president-elect to take that chance.

How it works: Biden still hasn't named his choice to lead the Justice Department, and if he taps Garland, it would open up his seat on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. If Democrats don’t win both Georgia Senate runoff seats next month, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would almost surely prevent the president-elect from filling it.

President Trump's now infamous "infrastructure week" may finally get a shovel in the ground ... during the Biden administration.

Why it matters: If Majority Leader Mitch McConnell keeps control of the Senate, a bill to finance all sorts of public construction projects may be one of the few big pieces of legislation President-elect Joe Biden can realistically achieve within a divided government, given its broad, bipartisan support.

Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a blog post on Thursday that the suspected Russian cyberattack on multiple government agencies and U.S. companies is effectively "an attack on the United States and its government and other critical institutions, including security firms."

Why it matters: Smith said that the attack "unfortunately represents a broad and successful espionage-based assault on both the confidential information of the U.S. Government and the tech tools used by firms to protect them."

1. Vaccine: FDA advisory panel endorses Moderna vaccine for emergency use — The brewing workplace debate over vaccinations — America's rural, underserved communities close in on coronavirus vaccine.
2. Health: CDC: Drug overdose deaths accelerated during pandemic — Study finds nearly 12,000 excess deaths among young adults between March and July — Coronavirus cases hold steady but remain dangerously high.
3. Politics: Inauguration to be limited to State of the Union-sized audience — Incoming White House senior adviser Cedric Richmond tests positive — Biden set to take vaccine in public next week.
4. States: Governors say federal government cutting vaccine allocations — Supreme Court denies religious school challenge to Kentucky's restrictions.
5. Cities: San Francisco to mandate 10-day quarantine for travelers from outside Bay Area — NYC restaurants fight to stay alive amid COVID-19 restrictions.
6. World: U.K. says it vaccinated more than 130,000 people in first week of program.

Officials in several states have said the federal government told them to expect fewer doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine next week than originally anticipated.

The big picture: Some 2.9 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were shipped this week as the U.S. started it's largest vaccination campaign in the nation's history. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Wednesday that 2 million more doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 5.9 million doses of the Moderna vaccine could be allocated next week, per CNBC.