National News - Page 102

DOJ wants three months in jail for Proud Boys leader who burned BLM flag

By Marshall Cohen The Justice Department told a judge on Friday that Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio should get three months in jail for burning a Black Lives Matter flag in December and bringing high-capacity rifle magazines to Washington, DC, days before the US Capitol riot. Prosecutors also said they want the judge to order Tarrio to stay away from DC during his probation, which could last well into 2023, in order to prevent future violence in the nation’s capital. Tarrio, who has led the far-right group since 2018, pleaded guilty in July to two misdemeanors. On January 4, two days before

House committee plans to seek phone records in probe of January 6, including from members of Congress

By Zachary Cohen, Ryan Nobles, Annie Grayer and Whitney Wild The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot is poised to send notices to various telecommunications companies requesting that they preserve the phone records of several people, including members of Congress, multiple sources tell CNN. Preserving communications records is the first step in an investigatory process that could eventually lead to witness testimony. The notices are set to go out as soon as this week and provide the first window into the kinds of information the committee plans to pursue. Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, who serves as chairman of the

FDA grants full approval to Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, opening door to more vaccine mandates

By Jacqueline Howard The US Food and Drug Administration on Monday granted full approval to the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for people age 16 and older. This is the first coronavirus vaccine approved by the FDA, and is expected to open the door to more vaccine mandates. The vaccine will be marketed as Comirnaty, the FDA said in its announcement on Monday. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been authorized for emergency use in the United States since mid-December for people age 16 and older, and in May, the authorization was extended to those 12 and older. “The vaccine also continues to be available under

How three school districts are defying state restrictions on mask mandates

By Dakin Andone The debate over masks in schools has reared its head once again with the new academic year, and a handful of states have taken steps to restrict local officials’ ability to implement their own masking requirements, either through the governor’s office or state legislatures. These restrictions — made despite guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending masks for everyone in schools regardless of vaccination status — have prompted showdowns between state officials and some local school districts, who say they’re trying to protect their communities, particularly students who are ineligible for vaccines. Perhaps most prominently,

Pentagon activates US airlines to assist with evacuation efforts from Afghanistan

By Ellie Kaufman, Oren Liebermann, Veronica Stracqualursi and Alexis Benveniste The Department of Defense is mobilizing commercial airline flights to help with the United States’ evacuation efforts in Afghanistan, which has been chaotic as thousands are desperate to leave the country after the Taliban swiftly took control. The Pentagon announced Sunday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the commander of US Transportation Command to initiate stage one of its Civil Reserve Air Fleet to assist with flying US citizens, Special Immigrant Visa applicants and other vulnerable individuals out of Afghanistan. Austin’s directive will activate 18 commercial flights to help with the evacuation efforts: three each

Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife have been hospitalized after testing positive for Covid-19

By Natalie Andes, Hollie Silverman and Alaa Elassar Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife are both hospitalized after testing positive for Covid-19. “Doctors are currently monitoring the condition of both,” the Rainbow PUSH Coalition (RPC) said in a statement Saturday. “Anyone who has been around either of them for the last five or six days should follow the CDC guidelines.” RPC is a Chicago-based international human and civil rights organization founded by Jackson, according to its website. Jackson, 79, and his wife, Jacqueline Jackson, 77, are currently at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, the statement said. Jackson received his first Covid-19

As Covid-19 hospitalizations rise, doctors hope vaccine approval and boosters can stave off the surge

By Hollie Silverman As Americans face a daunting surge of Covid-19 hospitalizations — with the rates for children and adults under 50 hitting their highest levels yet — officials are hoping full approval of the vaccines could encourage more people to get vaccinated. Full approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is “imminent,” a senior federal official told CNN last week. Once it happens, it could help allay concerns for those who are vaccine hesitant, as all three vaccines available in the US have so far been distributed under emergency use authorization. The approval could also help businesses, schools and states enforce

Congress’s hip-hop legislation is the latest symbolic gesturing that doesn’t improve Black lives

Analysis by Brandon Tensley US politicians have a fondness for endorsing easy, cultural displays of solidarity. In a recent move that seemed to go largely unnoticed, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution designating August 11, 2021, as Hip-Hop Celebration Day, August 2021 as Hip-Hop Recognition Month and November 2021 as Hip-Hop History Month. It was a peculiar moment. No, not because hip-hop doesn’t matter — for decades, the genre has been fertile ground for emcees to fold history into bars and champion a feminist vision of sexual positivity. But because the resolution served as a reminder that, since last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests, there

Education Department eliminates $5.8 billion in student loan debt for some disabled borrowers

By Paul LeBlanc The US Education Department announced Thursday it will cancel $5.8 billion in outstanding student loans for borrowers who are unable to work because of permanent disabilities. More than 320,000 “total and permanent disability” borrowers will benefit from the move, the agency said in a press release, and hurdles for relief will become automatic for those who qualify moving forward. “Today’s action removes a major barrier that prevented far too many borrowers with disabilities from receiving the total and permanent disability discharges they are entitled to under the law,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. The statement continued:

Far fewer Americans owed federal income tax in 2020 because of the pandemic

By Tami Luhby Nearly 107 million US households — about 61% — owed no federal income tax in 2020, a huge spike from pre-pandemic times. But that increase should be short-lived. The coronavirus-fueled upheaval in the economy, which cost more than 20 million jobs in April 2020, and the sweeping federal relief packages drove up the share of non-payers by roughly 40%, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. Only about 75 million households, or 44%, didn’t pay federal income tax in 2019, said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the center, who called the increase for 2020 “eye-popping, but temporary.” Many

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