National News - Page 110

Minneapolis crews remove barricades at George Floyd Square as city pledges to create a permanent memorial

By Brad Parks, Sara Sidner and Eric Levenson Minneapolis city workers early Thursday removed parts of a memorial at the intersection where George Floyd took his final breaths, as the city stated its plans to create a permanent memorial and reopen the area to through-traffic. On Thursday morning, multiple workers could be seen moving cement barricades in the intersection of Chicago Avenue and 38th Street with tractors and trucks. “Barricades have been removed so that ultimately (the intersection) will be reconnected into the neighborhood and traffic will be able to resume,” city spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie told CNN. “This intersection will

Biden administration faces uphill battle to meet its July 4 vaccination goal

By Michael Nedelman and Deidre McPhillips The United States faces an uphill battle to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of vaccinating 70% of adults with at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine by July 4, according to a CNN analysis. But the administration continues to push ahead with new programs and initiatives, and key players remain hopeful that the goal will be met. Currently, 63% of adults in the US have received one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, and an average of about 371,000 adults were added to that total each day last week, according to data from the US Centers

The remains of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife are being removed from a Memphis park

By Amanda Jackson and Devon M. Sayers Crews have started to remove the remains of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife from a Memphis park where a monument of him once stood. The decision to move their remains was decided last year after the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a non-profit organization of male descendants of Confederate veterans, agreed to drop a pending lawsuit against park owners, according to CNN affiliate WREG. Forrest, who was a slave trader and early Ku Klux Klan leader, and his wife, Mary Ann, had their graves at Health Sciences Park, where a monument

White House pushes for companies to take ransomware more seriously after high-profile cyberattacks

By Alex Marquardt and Geneva Sands The White House has issued a rare open letter to companies calling on them to treat the threat of ransomware attacks with greater urgency, following back-to-back attacks by Russian hackers on key oil and food processing companies. In a memo sent out Thursday morning, the National Security Council’s top cyber official, Anne Neuberger, writes to corporate executives and business leaders that the private sector needs to better understand its critical role. “All organizations must recognize that no company is safe from being targeted by ransomware, regardless of size or location,” Neuberger writes. “We urge

Health officials turn to Black-owned barber shops and hair salons as possible Covid-19 vaccination sites

By Jacqueline Howard It’s an effort to expand access to coronavirus vaccines: provide shots at the barber shop. As part of a White House initiative, the National Association of County and City Health Officials is is planning to help train Black-owned barber shops and hair salons to provide accurate vaccination information and even provide vaccines where possible, Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive officer of NACCHO, told CNN on Wednesday. The Biden administration said Wednesday it is teaming up with several organizations — the Black Coalition Against COVID, the University of Maryland Center for Health Equity and the SheaMoisture company —

Georgia governor suspends county sheriff indicted on federal civil rights charges

By Hannah Sarisohn and Travis Caldwell A Georgia county sheriff has been suspended following a review of his indictment on federal civil rights charges, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s office announced Wednesday. Kemp suspended Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill after a commission found Hill’s indictment adversely affects the administration of the sheriff’s office, according to an executive order released from Kemp’s office. Hill was indicted in April for allegedly ordering his employees to use excessive force against four pretrial detainees, according to a release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. Staff at the Clayton County Jail,

‘Get a shot and have a beer’: Biden’s new glass-half-full strategy woos vaccine skeptics

Analysis by Stephen Collinson This Bud’s for you, and anyone else ready to roll up their sleeve to put the pandemic behind them. The White House’s new partnership with Anheuser-Busch offering free beers if the country reaches its goal of getting 70% of adults at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot by July 4 — almost Prohibition in reverse — is more than a gimmick. It’s a headline that heralds a widening, more micro-targeted approach to getting skeptical Americans vaccinated against Covid-19 and a shift from an approach that saw mass vaccination sites in stadiums earlier this year. It’s also a

Maryland to end $300-a-week pandemic unemployment benefits in July

By Paul LeBlanc, Tami Luhby and Kelsie Smith Maryland will stop paying jobless residents the $300-a-week federal boost and end two other pandemic unemployment benefits programs on July 3, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan announced Tuesday. The decision makes Maryland the 25th GOP-led state to terminate the federal supplement and the 20th to completely pull out of the historic congressional expansion of unemployment benefits. Hogan pointed to rising vaccination numbers and worker shortages as reasons to end the “important temporary relief.” “Our health and economic recovery continues to outpace the nation, and we have reached the benchmark set by President Biden

Americans are celebrating steps toward normalcy. But the real test of Covid-19 progress is 2 weeks away, expert says

By Madeline Holcombe While Memorial Day was a milestone for a return to a sense of normalcy from the Covid-19 pandemic, it could take another two weeks to determine where the US really stands, an expert said. “In some ways, this was the first big stress test,” CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen said. “We have restrictions lifted en masse, people going about their normal lives. We know that in the past after major holidays and an increase in travel that we then had a substantial uptick in the rate of infections.” The US has had a lot to celebrate

On Memorial Day, Austin reflects on strength of US military and dismisses adversaries’ criticism

By Veronica Stracqualursi US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told CNN he won’t lose any sleep over criticism of US military forces from China and Russia and dismissed accusations by some conservative politicians and media figures that the US military’s latest recruiting efforts to attract more diversity and be more inclusive are weakening America’s security. The US military will never be “soft,” Austin told CNN’s Barbara Starr in an exclusive, wide-ranging Memorial Day interview, adding that America’s adversaries, like China and Russia, “would like to capitalize on talking points like that.” “I will not lose one minute of sleep about what

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