Axios reports: Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that the U.S. is “taking a very close look” at the possibility of requiring vaccine passports for international travel. While vaccine passports could be seen as helpful to reopening international travel, there is no one central international vaccine passport system, making them a target for …

The New York Times reports: For five years, the plan to build a second pair of rail tunnels between New York City and New Jersey has been deemed one of the most critical infrastructure projects in the country. But it needed a green light from federal officials. On Friday, after years of delays during the Trump administration, that approval officially …

San Francisco’s NBC News affiliate reports: NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit has learned that the gunman who shot and killed nine VTA co-workers before taking his own life Wednesday was under investigation for allegedly making racist remarks to coworkers and was scheduled to attend a disciplinary hearing on the day of the attack. According to law enforcement sources, Samuel Cassidy, …

Newsweek reports: A sheriff’s deputy in Denver, Colorado, who shared anti-vaccine content on Facebook has died of COVID. Daniel “Duke” Trujillo, 33, died on Wednesday evening from COVID complications, the Denver Sheriff Department said on Thursday. Trujillo was a former Marine who served as a deputy sheriff for 7 years and had recently been appointed vice-president of the Denver Sheriff …

The Hill reports: Seventy percent of Americans favor vaccine verification while traveling by plane or staying in a hotel, a new PwC survey found. Over half of respondents to a survey released on Friday said they support policies that would prevent people who don’t show proof of vaccination from traveling. Only 14 percent said they would be upset if they …

Click Orlando reports: Two technology organizations have joined together to sue Florida over the legislation targeting social media companies Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law this week. NetChoice, a nonprofit, along with the Computer and Communications Industry Association filed suit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Tallahassee. Under the new law that takes …

ABC News reports: A concert promoter in Florida came up with a creative way to encourage his community to get vaccinated by offering $18 discounted tickets to an upcoming show for those who have been vaccinated — and charging $999.99 per ticket for those who have not. Paul Williams of Leadfoot Promotions in Tampa Bay said he came up with …

Reuters reports: Ireland plans to adopt a COVID-19 certificate to help citizens move more freely across the European Union from mid-July, but is not yet in a position to allow unencumbered travel from neighbouring Britain, senior ministers said on Friday. Ireland now has the strictest travel curbs in the EU. It advises citizens against non-essential travel, imposes fines on people …

“The internet’s hall monitors out in Silicon Valley, they think they can suppress us, discourage us — maybe if you’re just a little less patriotic, maybe if you just conform to their way of thinking a little more, you’ll be allowed to participate in the digital world. “Well, you know what? Silicon Valley can’t cancel this movement or this rally …

The New York Daily News reports: Four GOP lawmakers from the Empire State were included on a “no shame” list that President Biden pulled out during a speech Thursday to ridicule Republicans who have touted the benefits of his $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue plan even though they voted against it. Biden did not call out any of the 13 Republicans …

USA Today reports: Bill Cosby will not be released from prison anytime soon. The 83-year-old actor, who is currently serving three to 10 years in Pennsylvania state prison after being convicted of sexual assault in 2018, has been denied parole nearly three years into his sentence. The Pennsylvania State Parole Board declined Cosby’s parole request on May 11 partly over …

CNN reports: The mother of fallen US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick met with more than a dozen Republican senators Thursday, urging them to vote to establish a commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection. But even after those meetings, which two sources familiar said were cordial, most of the senators told her they wouldn’t be changing their minds, likely …

ABC News reports: With the governor out of the state, Idaho’s lieutenant governor issued an executive order Thursday banning mask mandates in schools and public buildings, saying the face-covering directives threatened people’s freedom. Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin is acting governor while Gov. Brad Little is at the Republican Governors Association conference in Nashville, Tennessee. He was expected to return …

NBC News reports: Former House Speaker Paul Ryan delivered a thinly veiled warning Thursday about the Republican Party’s reliance on former President Donald Trump, calling on the GOP to re-embrace traditional conservative principles. “Once again, we conservatives find ourselves at a crossroads,” Ryan, R-Wis., said in an outdoor speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., which …

The New York Times reports: Hackers linked to Russia’s main intelligence agency surreptitiously seized an email system used by the State Department’s international aid agency to burrow into the computer networks of human rights groups and other organizations of the sort that have been critical of President Vladimir V. Putin, Microsoft Corporation disclosed on Thursday. Discovery of the breach comes …

Deadline reports: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti appears to be in line to be nominated by President Joe Biden for a post as ambassador to India, and although the White House has made no announcements as of yet, it raises the question: Who would be the next mayor? According to the city charter, the City Council could then appoint a …

The Washington Post reports: As the U.S. reopens a debate into the origins of the novel coronavirus, Facebook reversed course Thursday and said that it would no longer remove posts that claim the virus is man-made. The decision is notable because it shows, once again, how social media giants struggle to strike the right balance between protecting the public from …

USA Today reports: After video surfaced showing a woman walking toward a grizzly bear at Yellowstone National Park who then charged her, the National Park Service launched an investigation. The woman appeared to disregard the park rule to stay at least 100 feet from bears at all times. In footage captured by tourist Darcie Addington, who filmed the scene from …

SFGate reports: California is hoping cash prizes will lure more people to roll up their sleeves and get COVID-19 shots. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a $116.5 million vaccine incentive program Thursday to motivate more people to get inoculated leading up to June 15, when the economy is slated to fully reopen. California residents who have been vaccinated are already entered …

“We’re seeing the civil war within the GOP. Matt and I have teamed up because we refuse to allow Liz Cheney, or Adam Kinzinger, or any Trump-hating Republican or any Republican that just sells out the Republican voters. “We won’t allow the GOP to turn into their party, so we’re taking charge, we’re bringing it to the people. We know …