National News - Page 122

It may be time to relax indoor face mask mandates, Fauci says

By Lauren Mascarenhas and Christina Maxouris Dr. Anthony Fauci says federal guidance on wearing face coverings indoors may change soon. Sunday on ABC News, Fauci was asked whether it’s time to start relaxing indoor masks requirements. Fauci replied, “I think so, and I think you’re going to probably be seeing that as we go along, and as more people get vaccinated.” The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be updating its guidance almost in real time, as more Americans get vaccinated, said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The CDC relaxed its guidance

There were at least 9 mass shootings across the US this weekend

By Hollie Silverman A gunman opened fire at a family birthday party in Colorado Springs, leaving six people dead and a community in mourning. “Words fall short to describe the tragedy that took place this morning,” Colorado Springs Police Chief Vince Niski said in a statement. “From the officers who responded to the shooting to the investigators still on scene, we are all left incredibly shaken.” The suspected shooter — believed to be a boyfriend of one of the victims — is also dead, according to Colorado Springs Police. The tragedy was one of at least nine mass shootings that

American factories are desperate for workers. It’s a $1 trillion problem

By Matt Egan Demand for goods is skyrocketing as the US economy reopens from the pandemic. But there’s a big problem: American factories can’t find enough people to do the work. Even though US manufacturing activity surged to a 37-year high in March, the industry has more than half a million job openings. Factories are struggling to find skilled workers for specialized roles such as welders and machinists. Manufacturers are even having trouble hiring entry-level positions that do not require expertise. The talent shortage is not new — but it’s getting worse and could have far-reaching consequences beyond the manufacturing

Biden strikes a blow for fairness in sharing vaccine knowledge

Opinion by Meenakshi Narula Ahamed This week, the Biden administration took the unprecedented step of supporting a waiver of intellectual property protections on Covid-19 vaccines to help end the pandemic. Katherine Tai, the United States Trade Representative (USTR), said in a statement: “This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures. The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines.” More than 4,000 people in the US died of Covid-19 on January 20, the day Biden

One year after the worst jobs loss on record, millions of Americans remain out of work

By Anneken Tappe The US labor market collapsed a year ago when more than 20 million jobs vanished in a single month. Now the economy is healing, but millions of Americans remain out of work. And despite months of record jobs growth last summer, and with the pace of improvement picking up again this spring, the nation is still far from healed. The pandemic has distorted a previously strong labor market, leaving predominantly lower income workers, women, Hispanic and Black workers unemployed. Now the vaccine rollout, warmer weather and the reopening of the economy are bearing fruit, helping the jobs

3 states have already reached Biden’s new vaccination goal, but vaccine hesitancy may make it challenging for others

By Deidre McPhillips, Madeline Holcombe and Jason Hanna In three states, more than 70% of adults have already received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, federal data showed Wednesday — meaning they’ve reached the Biden administration’s new vaccination goal months ahead of the July 4 target. Those three states are New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showed. Three others are very close, with more than two-thirds of adults vaccinated with at least one dose: Connecticut, Maine and Hawaii. President Joe Biden announced a plan Tuesday to get at least one dose of

Judge says CDC doesn’t have authority to issue an eviction moratorium. It’s unclear what happens next

By Dan Berman, Katie Lobosco, Tami Luhby and Anna Bahney A federal judge in Washington on Wednesday declared that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s moratorium on eviction — a key element of the federal government’s efforts to aid those hit hardest by the Covid pandemic and its economic effects — must be set aside. The ruling from Judge Dabney Friedrich says the Public Health Service Act does not give CDC the legal authority to impose the moratorium, which was first issued last year. The current federal eviction moratorium was scheduled to end on June 30. It is

Covid-19 herd immunity is a difficult target, experts warn, but vaccinating teens could be key to protecting us this fall

By Madeline Holcombe Vaccinations could soon open up for children 12 to 15 years old, a development that could be key to protecting the United States against Covid-19 as overall vaccination rates slow. “High school kids, in particular, are known to be just about as susceptible and just about as good at passing along this virus as other young adults,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said on ABC’s Good Morning AmericaWednesday. “It will be really great to be able then to get that immunization schedule going well in advance of September.” The FDA will likely

White House tells governors they will redistribute unordered vaccine doses

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By Kaitlan Collins and Maegan Vazquez President Joe Biden’s coronavirus advisers told governors during a call Tuesday that they plan to redistribute vaccine doses should states not order all the vaccines allocated to them each week, the White House confirmed. States will still get allocations based on their population, but the change means if a certain state does not order all of the doses available to them, the White House will redistribute them and likely give them to a state that has higher demand than their allocation. The Washington Post was first to report on the new plan. White House

Fauci to adolescents on the fence about the Covid-19 vaccine: ‘Be part of the solution’

By Christina Maxouris, Ray Sanchez and Theresa Waldrop Dr. Anthony Fauci said he hopes children and teens won’t hesitate when the US Food and Drug Administration authorizes a coronavirus vaccine for them. A federal government official told CNN on Monday that the FDA is poised to authorize Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine in children and teens 12 to 15 years old by early next week, and administration of the vaccine to them could start almost immediately, said Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “You have the capability of protecting yourself as a young person, 12 to

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