Up to 30% of all new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are now thought to be the result of the B.1.1.7 variant, a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 that is more transmissible and possibly more deadly. This comes from testimony from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who is expected to testify later today in the House about the nation's vaccine rollout. The CDC previously said that it expects B.1.1.7, which was first detected in the U.K., to be the most dominant form of the virus in the U.S. by the end of March. Walensky also said in her testimony that the U.S. is sequencing about 4% of the roughly 400,000 new cases reported each week. Using genomic sequencing on virus samples is the only way to identify the new variants of concern.
Barry Diller's InterActiveCorp (IAC) is near a US$2 billion deal to buy search engine ''Ask Jeeves'', according to a report in Monday's ''Wall Street Journal''. 

The corporate boards from  both companies were in talks all weekend negotiating what appears to be an all-stock deal. If approved, the price tag would be a substantial premium over ''Ask Jeeves'' valuation of $1.4 billion as of Friday's stock market close.

The acquisition of Oakland, California-based ''Ask Jeeves'' by IAC would mean they own a known brand name and get a foothold in revenues from search engine advertising. The company also would become a direct competitor with companies such as Google, Yahoo!, Amazon.com and Microsoft who also have launched their own high-profile internet search engines. ''Ask Jeeves'' also owns other brands, including Excite.com and iWon.com.

Diller has built InterActiveCorp on the backbone of the cash generated by Home Shopping Network, a company he used to bankroll the purchases of a large portfolio of internet and electronic commerce companies. These include Expedia, Ticketmaster, Match.com, CitySearch and the LendingTree. 

He also bought and grew cable networks USA Network and Sci Fi Channel before selling them off to NBC Universal, of which he is the largest individual shareholder.