Biden Administration

The Washington Post reports: The Justice Department in a court filing Tuesday said it can “vigorously” defend a religious exemption from federal civil rights law that allows federally funded religious schools to discriminate against LGBTQ students, a move that surprised some LGBTQ advocates who said the wording went further than just an obligation to defend an existing law. In the …

The Washington Post reports: The Justice Department’s Civil Division under President Biden is continuing the Trump-era push to represent the former president in a defamation lawsuit brought by author E. Jean Carroll, according to a Monday night appellate court filing. The lawsuit brought by Carroll — who accused Donald Trump two years ago of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s …

ABC News reports: The Justice Department has recovered some of the millions in ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline shortly after the company was hacked, according to a warrant unsealed Monday. The Colonial Pipeline hack was carried out by Darkside actors, the FBI said in brief statement days after the attack. The company’s CEO said last month in an interview that …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Department of Justice is elevating investigations of ransomware attacks to a similar priority as terrorism in the wake of the Colonial Pipeline hack and mounting damage caused by cyber criminals, a senior department official told Reuters. Internal guidance sent on Thursday to U.S. attorney’s offices across the country said information about ransomware investigations in the field …

The Associated Press reports: Free beer is the latest White House-backed incentive for Americans to get vaccinated for COVID-19, as President Joe Biden is announcing a “month of action” Wednesday to get more shots into arms before the July 4 holiday. Speaking from the White House, Biden is set to update the nation on the vaccination rollout and his plans …

Politico reports: The Biden administration is moving to suspend all oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pending a deeper look at the environmental impacts of drilling in the sensitive region, according to a person with direct knowledge of the decision. The suspension of the leases follows Biden’s January 20 executive order that identified “alleged legal deficiencies” …

Just in via press release from the White House: Today, President Biden issued a proclamation affirming June 2021 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) Pride Month, marking a time a time of hope, progress, and promise for LGBTQ+ Americans across the country. After four years of relentless attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken historic actions …

The Washington Post reports: Lawyers for the Justice Department urged a federal judge on Friday to dismiss lawsuits against former president Donald Trump, former attorney general William P. Barr and other officials for last June’s violent clearing of demonstrators from Lafayette Square by U.S. military and police. Trump and other U.S. officials are immune from civil lawsuits over police actions …

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 …

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to deliver the keynote address for an upcoming event at the Pentagon recognizing Pride Month, the Washington Blade has learned. The event, which is scheduled to take place in the Pentagon auditorium on June 9, is coordinated by DOD Pride, the affinity group for LGBTQ civilian and …

The Associated Press reports: President Joe Biden on Wednesday asked U.S. intelligence officials to “redouble” their efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the unlikely possibility that the origins of the virus trace to Chinese lab. After months of minimizing the possibility as a fringe theory, the Biden administration is responding both to domestic and geopolitical concerns …

NPR reports: The U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program has gone from zero to 50% in less than six months. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Biden administration said, half of the country’s adults are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. “This is a major milestone in our country’s vaccination efforts,” Andy Slavitt, a White House senior adviser on the COVID-19 response, said …

CNN reports: The Tokyo Olympics, postponed in 2020 during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, are facing increasing hurdles in putting on a 2021 show. The latest troubling sign for the Summer Games came Monday when the State Department advised US citizens against traveling to Japan because of a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases. The “Level 4: Do Not …

The Associated Press reports: Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to the Middle East to press the Israelis, Palestinians and regional players to build on last week’s Gaza cease-fire by laying the groundwork for an eventual resumption in long-stalled peace talks. President Joe Biden announced Blinken would depart on Monday for a short visit to Israel, the West Bank, …

Politico reports: Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday affirmed President Joe Biden’s commitment to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, arguing that without solutions that afforded Palestinians more dignity, the cycle of violence was likely to continue. “Ultimately, it is the only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state, and of course the only …

Axios reports: The State Department will now grant U.S. citizenship to children born abroad through in vitro fertilization, surrogacy and other assisted reproductive technologies, the agency said Tuesday. The Trump administration had denied citizenship to children born abroad to same-sex parents in several cases. The State Department under Trump defended a long-standing policy that categorized children born abroad via surrogate …

CBS News reports: Colonial Pipeline announced Wednesday that it has begun restarting pipeline operations after a cyberattack forced the company to take some of its systems offline last Friday. News of the attack sparked panic in some regions of the country, with residents lining up at the pump over fears of a gas shortage. The company said it initiated the …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The White House will announce a new partnership with ride-sharing companies Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. to make all rides to and from vaccination sites free until July 4, according to administration officials. White House Covid-19 coordinator Jeff Zients will detail the new steps in a Tuesday call with governors as part of the …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. will protect gay and transgender people against sex discrimination in health care, the Biden administration announced Monday, reversing a Trump-era policy that sought to narrow the scope of legal rights in sensitive situations involving medical care. The action by the Department of Health and Human Services affirms that federal laws forbidding sex discrimination in …