VIRUS TODAY: Some states cautiously ease virus restrictions

Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.:

THREE THINGS TO KNOW TODAY

— Several states are loosening their coronavirus restrictions on restaurants and other businesses because of improved infection and hospitalization numbers. Most are moving cautiously, in part because of the more contagious variant taking hold. While the easing could cause case rates to rise, health experts say it can work if done in a measured way and if the public remains vigilant by wearing masks and taking other precautions. The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. has climbed past 425,000, with the number of dead running at close to all-time highs at nearly 3,350 a day on average. But newly confirmed cases have dropped over the past two weeks.

— President Joe Biden is dispatching the nation’s top scientists and public health experts to regularly brief the American public about the pandemic, which has claimed more than 425,000 U.S. lives. Beginning Wednesday, the experts will host briefings three times a week on the state of the outbreak and efforts to control it. Americans can expect a sharp contrast from the Trump administration’s briefings, when public health officials were repeatedly undermined by a president who shared his unproven ideas without hesitation. Wednesday’s briefing will feature the Biden administration’s coordinator for pandemic response, as well as government scientists and public health officials.

— Oklahoma is attempting to return $2 million worth of an anti-malaria drug once touted by former President Donald Trump as an effective treatment for the coronavirus. A spokesman for Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter confirmed Wednesday that Hunter is attempting to negotiate the return of the drug. Oklahoma acquired 1.2 million pills in April from California-based FFF...