National News - Page 77

17 health care professionals, citing religious reasons, seek to prevent New York State from enforcing vaccine mandate

By Artemis Moshtaghian and Madeline Holcombe, Seventeen Catholic and Baptist medical professionals who say they oppose getting the Covid-19 vaccine for religious reasons are seeking to prevent New York State from enforcing its vaccine mandate, according to a federal complaint filed in New York on Monday. The professionals — nine doctors, five nurses, a nuclear medicine technologist, a physician liaison and a rehabilitation therapist — are seeking a judgment declaring the mandate “unconstitutional, unlawful, and unenforceable,” according to the lawsuit. “The Vaccine Mandate emerges in the context of an atmosphere of fear and irrationality in which the unvaccinated are threatened with being reduced

Queen Elizabeth supports Black Lives Matter movement, says senior representative

By Jack Guy, Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family support Black Lives Matter (BLM), a senior representative has told UK broadcaster Channel 4. Ken Olisa, the first black Lord-Lieutenant for London, said that the issue of race is a “hot conversation topic” in the royal household, in an interview which will be aired Friday, reports PA Media. The royal family’s attitude to race has been in the spotlight recently following allegations of racism from Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and the revelation that ethnic minority immigrants and foreigners were banned from clerical positions until at least the late 1960s. However

3 states have fully vaccinated more than 2/3 of residents. Elsewhere, hospitals are overwhelmed with unvaccinated Covid-19 patients

By Aya Elamroussi and Holly Yan, New data shows 26 states have fully vaccinated more than half their residents, and those with the highest vaccination rates have among the lowest Covid-19 cases. Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts have fully vaccinated at least two-thirds of their population, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those three states also have among the lowest new Covid-19 cases per capita over the past week, CDC data shows. But elsewhere, hospitals are filling up with unvaccinated Covid-19 patients. “We actually have the lowest ICU available rate that we’ve had since the start of this

After hitting an Obamacare record, Biden’s top health administrator eyes further expansion

By Tami Luhby, The Affordable Care Act’s upcoming open enrollment period is going to look very different this year. It will be the first since 2016 that the official in charge is actively supporting efforts to get people coverage under the landmark law, rather than trying to undermine it. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure is planning to leverage temporary subsidy enhancements provided by Democrats in Congress and $1 billion in unspent insurer user fees to carry out more of the mission of the Affordable Care Act, which she helped guide through passage and implementation in her prior government roles. Under her watch,

Joe Biden tries to push the nation past the 9/11 era as he commemorates 20th anniversary of the attacks

By Kevin Liptak and Jeff Zeleny, In the middle of chaos 20 years ago, Sen. Joe Biden wanted to get inside the US Capitol. That was the safest place to be on September 11, he argued when his daughter Ashley called him, pleading that he leave Washington as the terror attacks were unfolding. Blocked as he strode up the marble steps by Capitol Police officers, Biden milled about in a nearby park instead, resisting calls from the White House to evacuate to a “safe cave” in West Virginia. Only in the months and years afterward did it become clear the Capitol was the likely target

Children make up more than a quarter of the weekly US Covid-19 cases, pediatricians’ group says

By Jacqueline Howard, Amir Vera and Madeline Holcombe, Children now represent more than a quarter — or 26.8% — of weekly Covid-19 cases nationwide, according to data released Tuesday from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The update comes as schools across the US have been in session or are getting into full swing. Experts have encouraged adults to get vaccinated to protect young children returning to the classroom. “If we want to protect the children, particularly those who are not yet eligible for vaccination, you want to surround the children with people who are vaccinated — teachers, school personnel, everyone else,”

Biden announces new vaccine mandates that could cover 100 million Americans

By Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins, President Joe Biden on Thursday imposed stringent new vaccine rules on federal workers, large employers and health care staff in a sweeping attempt to contain the latest surge of Covid-19. The new requirements could apply to as many as 100 million Americans — close to two-thirds of the American workforce — and amount to Biden’s strongest push yet to require vaccines for much of the country. “We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us,” Biden said, his tone hardening toward Americans who still refuse to receive a

Pandemic unemployment benefits and eviction protections have expired. Here’s what federal help is still available

By Tami Luhby and Katie Lobosco, Americans are no longer protected from evictions or receiving beefed-up unemployment payments, but they are still benefiting from many other federal coronavirus rescue measures. More support may be on the way, as Democrats on Capitol Hill hammer out a 10-year, $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill that would greatly expand the nation’s safety net programs. Yet passage of that legislation isn’t guaranteed, and while the economy is in better shape than it was earlier in the pandemic, many families are still struggling to get back on their feet. These relief measures remain in effect.   Enhanced child tax credits  

Black man’s statue is the lone monument standing on historic street in former capital of the Confederacy

By Nicquel Terry Ellis and Chandelis Duster, A towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was removed in Richmond, Virginia, on Wednesday, adding to a growing list of Confederate symbols that have been taken down across the country since George Floyd’s death sparked a nationwide reckoning with police brutality and racism. The removal of Lee — the last Confederate statue to be pulled from Richmond’s historic Monument Avenue — makes Black tennis legend Arthur Ashe the lone monument still standing on the street. Ashe was born in Richmond and shattered records in the sport and championed civil rights. A statue honoring him was added to

Biden faces hard truths of the pandemic ahead of major speech

Analysis by Stephen Collinson, The thing Americans want most from Joe Biden is beyond his power to deliver: an end to the pandemic. But the President will make a new attempt on Thursday to chart a path out of a national nightmare that is beginning to feel like a dark, repeating, permanent reality — and to prove he is the leader that can reach that elusive destination. His speech will coincide with a frightening new dimension of the emergency, with children now representing about one in four new infections, with hundreds in hospitals, a surge that is terrifying parents and threatening in-person school. The raging resurgence of

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