National News - Page 88

Expert hopes the rise in Covid-19 vaccinations means the US is waking up to the dangers of the Delta variant

By Madeline Holcombe The Delta variant is wreaking havoc through much of the United States, but the “silver lining” is that more Americans appear to be at the tipping point of understanding the importance of Covid-19 vaccinations, one expert said. “People are waking up to this,” Director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins told CNN Sunday. “That’s what desperately needs to happen if we are going to get this Delta variant put back in its place, because right now it is having a pretty big party in the middle of the country.” In the past two weeks, daily case

Lawmakers consider withholding housing funds from tribes that discriminate against descendants of enslaved people

By Harmeet Kaur House lawmakers are considering legislation that would withhold federal funds from tribal nations who discriminate against Freedmen, the descendants of people they once enslaved. The House Committee on Financial Services held a subcommittee hearing on Tuesday to discuss reauthorizing the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA), a federal government program that provides assistance to tribal governments to support affordable housing and infrastructure. Included in the draft bill is a provision that would require tribes to uphold their ends of agreements made with the US government and ensure full tribal citizenship rights to Freedmen before they can receive federal housing assistance. “This

New science leads to another CDC update on masks. Even for the vaccinated.

Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf You could almost hear the collective groan of frustration around the country Tuesday when the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention again updated its guidance, encouraging more Americans and all schoolkids and teachers to wear face masks to stop the spread of Covid-19. But the health community’s understanding of the coronavirus, its variants and vaccine efficacy has evolved with the virus itself, and this new guidance is based on new information. The country missed President Joe Biden’s goal of vaccinating 70% of adults with at least one dose by July Fourth, what he’d wanted to frame as a

American workers are facing increasing pressure to get vaccinated against Covid-19

By Jason Hanna and Madeline Holcombe Unvaccinated American workers are facing increasing pressure to get Covid-19 shots, as the country sees a dramatic rise in the number of government and private sector employers pushing inoculations for those who want to come to work. The moves, which picked up pace this week, came as the highly contagious Delta variant helped send daily Covid-19 case rates higher and spurred the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue new masking guidance. Employers’ emerging vaccine policies take many forms, including those requiring shots for being on site, and those that provide alternatives such as strict testing and masking

FDA says it’s working as fast as possible to fully approve vaccines, as urgency rises amid Covid surge

By Kristen Holmes, Jen Christensen, Jeff Zeleny and Tara Subramaniam The US Food and Drug Administration insists it is working as quickly as possible to review applications for full approval of the Covid-19 vaccines as the number of cases continues to rise and vaccination rates decline across the country. Though the FDA has yet to disclose a time line for when its work will be done, medical experts and sources familiar with the process tell CNN that full approval could come within the next couple of months. While that would amount to a record fast pace, the urgency is rising for a fully approved

Sacramento police release report showing racial inequities in pull-overs, use of force

By Brittany Hope The Sacramento Police Department released a new report Tuesday, breaking down vehicle stops, pedestrian stops and use-of-force instances in the capital city based on race and equity. The report, compiled by the Center for Policing Equity, also breaks down the racial demographics of the department compared to the City of Sacramento. Data from 2014 to 2019 is used. Here are some highlights Non-traffic stops Black people experienced non-traffic stops 5.7 times as often as white people per year on average, and Latinos experienced non-traffic stops 1.3 times as often as white people per year on average (taking

Biden shifts onus for pandemic onto the unvaccinated as he readies federal worker vaccine requirement

By Kevin Liptak President Joe Biden, who for months used techniques like public service announcements and grassroots campaigns to persuade Americans to get vaccinated, is adopting a tougher approach as caseloads surge: vaccine requirements and blame. The shift toward placing the onus for the current situation on those who have refused to get vaccinated reflects Biden’s growing impatience that still-hesitant Americans are prolonging a crisis he said earlier this month was no longer paralyzing the nation. Instead of merely asking Americans to get vaccinated, the President on Thursday is set to take his first step toward requiring it. In afternoon remarks, Biden is planning

Bob Moses’s heroic fight for voting rights should inspire today’s movement, civil rights leaders say

By Nicquel Terry Ellis and John Blake  He spoke in a Boston-accented monotone that barely rose above a whisper, hated personal attention, and was a brilliant Harvard-trained mathematician who quoted Albert Camus. Bob Moses, who died this week at age 86, was an unconventional civil rights leader. He didn’t energize crowds with fiery speeches, and wasn’t known for leading marches, yet few leaders have inspired such veneration. Moses helped put the Black struggle for voting rights on the national radar at a time when many judges, politicians, and ordinary Americans were indifferent to the issue. He was beaten numerous times and

Two men charged for allegedly vandalizing a Black Lives Matter mural in California

By Amanda Jackson Two men are facing charges after a Black Lives Matter street mural in Santa Cruz, California, was vandalized, officials said. A picture of the damage provided by the Santa Cruz Police Department showed black tire marks across yellow “Black Lives Matter” lettering on a street. Santa Cruz police said during a news conference Sunday that they arrested and charged two men, 20-year-old Brandon Bochat and 19-year-old Hagan Warner, in connection with the vandalism. “This wasn’t just a couple kids fooling around doing a burnout on the street. This was an intentional act of vandalism on something that our community

Disputes among Chicago public officials over driving factors of violence

By Omar Jimenez and Brad Parks Chicago’s police superintendent on Monday blamed the state court system for another spate of deadly weekend shootings in the city, singling out judges for releasing on bail too many people charged with violent crimes. But in a year where the number of shootings in Chicago have been up roughly 11% compared to 2020 and 63% compared to the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, there are disputes among city public officials over the significant driving factors of violence. “What we can do different is challenge the courts to render Chicago safe by holding violent offenders in

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