Gilead Sciences on Wednesday revealed some promising news about remdesivir, an antiviral drug that has been touted as a potential COVID-19 treatment.

The company said its own trial, as well one overseen by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, met its goals, with coronavirus patients reportedly responding well to the drug, reports CNBC. The data from the NIAID is still under wraps, though it's expected to be released at an upcoming briefing.

As for Gilead's trial, which involved 397 patients with severe COVID-19 cases, at least 50 percent of patients treated with a 5-day dosage of remdesivir improved and more than half were discharged from the hospital within two weeks. The overall mortality rate of the study was 7 percent, and relatively few patients developed bad side effects from the drug.

There are caveats, of course. The trial wasn't evaluated against a control group of patients who didn't receive the drug. It's also unclear if the high survival and improvement rates may have been natural recoveries from less severe cases. Still, the news is considered encouraging, albeit far from a "home run," as former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said after seeing the results. He also reiterated that even if remdesivir is effective, it's a treatment, not a cure.

The NIAID study is considered the most important test, Stat News reports, so the results will be watched closely. Read more at Stat News and CNBC. Tim O'Donnell

The first Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses could reach vaccination sites as early as Tuesday, White House officials said on Sunday.

About 3.9 million doses have been shipped, and 16 million more will be sent out by the end of March. With Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine receiving authorization for emergency use on Saturday, the United States now has three vaccine options, with all of them safe and effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death, a senior administration official told USA Today.

In the U.S. clinical trial, Johnson & Johnson's vaccine had a 72 percent efficacy rate, and was almost 100 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths. "Having different types of vaccines available for use, especially ones with different dosing recommendations and storage and handling requirements, can offer more options and flexibility for the public, jurisdictions, and vaccine providers," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. "Getting vaccinated with the first vaccine available to you will help protect all of us from COVID-19." Catherine Garcia

The 2021 Golden Globes didn't get started on the best note from a technical perspective, with audio difficulties almost derailing the very first acceptance speech.

Daniel Kaluuya won the Golden Globe for best supporting actor in a film for his performance as Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah. He was up against some tough competition, including Sacha Baron Cohen for The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Leslie Odom Jr. for One Night in Miami.

But after presenter Laura Dern read Kaluuya's name, the Globes cut to him, only for his audio not to be working. From there, the Golden Globes broadcast very nearly moved on without Kaluuya accepting the award at all, with Dern explaining, "As you can see, we unfortunately have a bad connection."

Fortunately, though, the issue was soon fixed, and Kaluuya was able to accept remotely after all. "Alright, we fixed it!" co-host Amy Poehler later celebrated.

Despite Kaluuya's win, Judas and the Black Messiah was one of a number of films with Black ensembles that was left out of the Golden Globes' best picture categories this year, in addition to Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods and Regina King's One Night in Miami. The group that hands out the awards, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, faced heavy criticism for this, especially after it was recently revealed the organization doesn't have a single Black member — a fact Poehler and Tina Fey repeatedly called out in their opening monologue. Brendan Morrow

Iran's foreign ministry on Sunday said the country will not participate in an informal meeting with the United States and European powers to discuss reviving the nuclear deal.

The European Union offered to hold the talks, but this is "not the time" for such a gathering, spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said. Under former President Donald Trump, the U.S. abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal, and reimposed economic sanctions. Iran refused to renegotiate and instead began ignoring its commitments under the deal.

Tehran has said in order for there to be talks, the U.S. must lift sanctions, which the U.S. has ruled out. A White House spokesperson said on Sunday the U.S. will consult with the other countries that signed the nuclear deal — the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, and Germany — to determine "the best way forward." Catherine Garcia

Just a few weeks after leaving office, former President Donald Trump was back in the spotlight on Sunday.

At the beginning of his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, he asked the enthusiastic crowd if they missed him already before telling them that he'll "continue to fight right by your side."

He then dismissed reports that he was thinking about breaking off from the Republican Party and striking out on his own. "I am not starting a new party," he said, claiming the idea was "fake news." Instead, Trump predicted the GOP will "unite and be stronger than ever before." Tim O'Donnell

Unsurprisingly, former President Donald Trump won the Conservative Political Action Conference's 2024 presidential straw poll Sunday, and he did so handily, garnering 55 percent of the vote. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was the only other potential candidate to reach double digits at 21 percent.

It's unclear if Trump will run, but many Republicans, including some of Trump's fiercest critics, think he is the overwhelming favorite for the nomination right now if he does enter the ring. So, CPAC conducted a second poll without Trump. DeSantis led the way in that one at 43 percent, followed by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) at 11 percent. Meanwhile, former Vice President Mike Pence, who declined an invitation to the conference in Orlando, didn't gain much traction.

The polls, of course, come with many caveats attached. The election is a long way away, straw polls aren't the most reliable predictive method, and the CPAC conference is not necessarily representative of the larger Republican Party, which many analysts consider to be at a Trump-inspired crossroads right now. It's also worth noting that DeSantis' strong showing may be partly tied to the conference taking place on his home turf. Read more at The New York Times. Tim O'Donnell

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Sunday defended President Biden's response to a United States intelligence report that directly linked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but questions over whether the administration went far enough seem likely to remain.

The Biden administration announced sanctions on dozens of Saudis involved in Khashoggi's killing, but did not include any direct penalties on the crown prince. Psaki said "historically" presidential administrations have not imposed sanctions on leaders of foreign governments with whom the U.S. has diplomatic relations. "We believe there are more effective ways to make sure this doesn't happen again," she told CNN's Dana Bash, adding that the White House wants to leave room to work with Riyadh on areas where the two governments agree.

Bash seemed unconvinced by Psaki's explanation, questioning if Biden's response really holds the crown prince accountable, and she wasn't alone. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that Biden deserves "credit" for the sanctions that were announced and acknowledged it's a challenging situation for the new administration, but said "there ought to be something additional" focused on Salman. Portman's fellow Ohioan Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) agreed further steps are needed to hold the Saudi royal family accountable, though he told a skeptical Chuck Todd on NBC's Meet the Press that he doesn't think Friday's sanctions represent the final say on the matter. Tim O'Donnell