Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) was hospitalized with the coronavirus earlier this month, and on Thursday, he encouraged Americans to take the virus "very seriously. The ramifications are wildly random and potentially deadly."

Christie was one of several people who attended a Rose Garden ceremony in late September honoring President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who later tested positive for coronavirus — the list includes Trump, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), and former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.

Christie also visited the White House to help Trump prepare for his debate against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, and he told The New York Times he mistakenly believed he was entering "a safe zone, due to the testing that I and many others underwent every day. I was wrong. I was wrong not to wear a mask at the Amy Coney Barrett announcement and I was wrong not to wear a mask at my multiple debate prep sessions with the president and the rest of the team."

After testing positive, Christie's doctor urged him to check into the hospital, and he spent several days in the intensive care unit before being released on Oct. 10. Christie said he was treated with blood thinners, the Ebola drug remdesivir, and an experimental antibody cocktail. While he is tired, Christie said he's not nearly as fatigued as when he was first sick.

Christie told the Times the White House said that everyone sitting around him at the Rose Garden event had been tested, and he "shouldn't have relied on that." He is encouraging people to wear masks and practice social distancing, but also thinks Americans need to find a middle ground, telling the Times responses to the virus follow "two dominant political and media extremes: those who believe there is nothing to this virus and those alarmists who would continue to close down our country and not trust the common sense of the Americana people. Both are wrong." Catherine Garcia

Fifteen years ago, as Victoria Johnson read a used book she had just purchased, a photograph that had been tucked inside fell out. This was the beginning of a mystery that she finally was able to solve last month, thanks to internet sleuths.

The picture was of a Black family, and Johnson, a professor in New York City, estimated by their clothes that the shot was taken in the 1960s. She would look at the photo often, wondering who they were and if they were still living. In February, Johnson asked for help on Twitter, and the picture was retweeted thousands of times.

The great-niece of the man in the photo messaged Johnson, to let her know it was a photo of Sheldon and Margaret Sudduth and their daughters, Valerie and Sharon. The picture was taken in 1964 at their home in Topeka, and mailed to relatives in New York City. While Sheldon and Margaret have died, Valerie and Sharon are both alive and reside in Texas.

During a phone call, Valerie Sudduth told Johnson that her mother, a nurse, was a widow, and met Sheldon at church. Sudduth explained to Johnson that in the picture, she "looks so happy because she was thrilled about her new dad. Sheldon was kind, funny, and gentle. He made her feel she could handle anything she set her mind to." The photo is now on its way to Sudduth. Catherine Garcia

An abandoned lot in southeast Atlanta is now a vibrant free food forest, where neighborhood residents can learn about healthy eating while enjoying fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

The food forest spans 7.1 acres, with 2,500 edible and medicinal plants. The land was originally used by pecan farmers, and then rezoned for townhouses. When the property entered foreclosure, the Conservation Fund bought it, and with grant money and help from other organizations, it was transformed into the Urban Food Forest at Browns Mill, the nation's largest free food forest.

The forest has nut trees, fruit trees, berry bushes, vegetables, and herbs, grown in a way that mimics nature, certified arborist Michael McCord said. McCord helps manage the forest, and told CNN everything in the space is "a teachable moment, whether it be trees, trails, bees or vegetables. That's what's most important to me — that we're raising awareness about sustainability and agriculture."

The city-owned and managed forest is in the Browns Mill neighborhood, a food desert where the closest grocery store is 30 minutes away by bus and 1 in 3 residents lives below the poverty line. More than 1,000 volunteers help keep the forest up and running by planting, watering, and harvesting crops. People are asked to only take as much food as needed, to ensure no one goes without. "It's really a park for everyone," Atlanta councilwoman Carla Smith told CNN. "Every time I go, there's a community there who respects and appreciates the fresh healthy foods." Watch the video below to get a look at the forest, pre-pandemic. Catherine Garcia

With a vote of 220-210, the House on Wednesday night passed House Resolution 1, a sweeping election reform bill that would eliminate partisan gerrymandering, expand early and mail-in voting, make voter registration automatic, and weaken voter ID laws.

Studies show that taking these steps would get more voters, especially those of color, to the polls. At Republican-controlled statehouses across the country, lawmakers are attempting to roll back voting access, citing former President Donald Trump's false claims that there was widespread election fraud in November. Trump lost Georgia, a state that saw record turnout, and on Monday the state House approved a bill that limits weekend early voting days, requires a photo ID for absentee voting, and restricts ballot drop box locations.

"You can win on the basis of your ideas and the programs you put forward, which is what we choose to do," Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), an author of H.R. 1, said. "Or you can try to win by suppressing the vote, drawing unfair districts across the country, and using big money to spread disinformation."

The bill needs 60 votes in the Senate, where it faces Republican opposition, and some believe this might be the measure that ends the filibuster. "Voting rights is preservation of all other rights, and we have to do everything we can to preserve the voices of the people in our democracy," Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) said. "I think the issues are urgent enough to leave all options on the table." Catherine Garcia

In a vote mostly along party lines, the House on Wednesday night passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would ban chokeholds and certain no-knock warrants, create a national database to track police misconduct cases, make it easier to hold officers accountable for misconduct in civil and criminal court, and end racial and religious profiling.

Last May, Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed Black man, died after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into his neck for more than nine minutes, and his death sparked worldwide protests against police brutality.

Two Democrats, Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Ron Kind of Wisconsin, voted against the bill, while Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) said he accidentally voted for it, and will submit a correction. The measure passed in the House last summer, and was reintroduced in February by Democrats eager to see it made into law, now that the White House and Senate are also controlled by Democrats.

During the House floor debate, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) said a "profession where you have the power to kill should be a profession that requires highly-trained officers who are accountable to the public." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) pushed back at Republicans who argue that this measure takes money away from police departments and puts officers in danger, saying, "It would be an irresponsible policy to defund the police, and we are not for that. You can say it, over and over and over again. It will be a lie, no matter how well it serves your political purposes." Catherine Garcia

The Department of Transportation's inspector general found that former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao used her office to benefit her family, primarily her father and sister, and in December referred the case to the Justice Department.

Chao, the wife of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), served in the Trump administration, and resigned on Jan. 7, following the Capitol riot. The report was sent to lawmakers on Tuesday, and includes more than a dozen instances of the office promoting the interests of Chao's father, who founded a shipping company in the 1960s, and her sister, who now runs the company.

The report states that in 2017, Chao had her staff plan an official trip to China. Her father, sister, and brother-in-law were set to join Chao, and she wanted the itinerary to include stops at locations that were only important to her family, such as two universities that receive funding from their charitable foundation. The trip was canceled after it raised ethics concerns among other government officials, The New York Times reports.

Investigators also learned that Chao asked staffers to help promote a book written by her father, edit his Wikipedia page, and check on the status of a work permit application for a foreign student who won a scholarship from Chao's family foundation. The report states that none of the Transportation Department employees who spoke with investigators said they ever felt "coerced" into performing "personal or inappropriate tasks for the secretary."

In December, the findings were referred to the Justice Department for a possible criminal investigation, but the DOJ decided not to take up the case. The inspector general ended the investigation due to a lack of "prosecutorial interest," but did refer the matter to the Transportation Department's general counsel "for any action it deems appropriate." Read more at The New York Times. Catherine Garcia

Disney will shutter at least 20 percent of its Disney Stores in the United States and Canada by the end of 2021, as the company focuses more on its online shopping business.

At least 60 stores will close, Disney said. There are about 300 Disney Stores worldwide, and the company is also considering making changes to operations in Europe. Disney did not say how many employees will lose their jobs, or which locations are slated to close. Disney Parks stores, Disney Stores inside Target, and outlets will not be affected, CNBC reports.

Disney said it will make improvements to the ShopDisney website; while the brick-and-mortar stores tend to cater to children, the e-commerce business will soon have more adult clothing options, home goods, and collectibles. Catherine Garcia