Government

CBS News reports: A 20-year-old Irvine man has been federally charged with attacking a flight attendant aboard an American Airlines flight from New York to Orange County last week, forcing the plane to be diverted to Denver. The U.S. Attorney’s Office reported Monday that Brian Hsu has been charged with interference with a flight crew and assault within the special …

Penn Live reports: Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration put a new incentive on the table to encourage state employees to get their COVID-19 vaccination. Even those employees who already received their shots will benefit from it. The 72,000 employees who work under the governor’s jurisdiction are now eligible for up to five days paid leave if they are or become fully …

The Associated Press reports: Nine in 10 New York City municipal workers received COVID-19 vaccinations as a Monday deadline loomed under a city mandate, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio. De Blasio tweeted that 91% of city workers had received the vaccine, which represented a jump from about 83% as of Friday night. Under a city mandate, those who haven’t …

Gothamist reports: More than 26,000 New York City government employees, including firefighters, police officers, and sanitation workers, flouted the deadline for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, according to data provided by his office. The workers had until Friday at 5 p.m. to get the shots and claim a $500 bonus. On Monday, the unvaccinated city workers will be …

Via press release from the White House: We, the President of France, Chancellor of Germany, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and President of the United States, met in Rome today to discuss the risks posed to international security by Iran’s escalating nuclear program. We expressed our determination to ensure that Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon …

CNBC reports: The Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized the use of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, a move that will make the shots available to 28 million kids in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must sign off before shots can be distributed. It’s scheduled an advisory committee meeting …

NBC News reports: The United States has issued its first passport with an “X” gender marker, which denotes that someone is neither exclusively male nor female, the State Department said Wednesday. This marks a milestone for nonbinary and intersex Americans, who make up an estimated 1.2 million and 4 million Americans, respectively, according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA …

Axios reports: Senate Democrats on Wednesday released a billionaires’ tax proposal, designed to help support President Biden’s social spending and climate change legislation. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the Billionaires Income Tax would raise “hundreds of billions of dollars” and would affect approximately 700 taxpayers who have more than $1 billion in assets or …

The Associated Press reports: Ohio’s debut of its new license plate failed to take off — because a banner depicted on the plate was attached to the wrong end of the Wright Brothers’ historic first plane, the Wright Flyer. The new license plate illustrates rays of sunlight beaming into the sky, with a banner that reads “Birthplace of Aviation” draped …

Changing America reports: The U.S. could change the definition of what it means to be fully vaccinated in the future with the increasing availability of COVID-19 boosters, officials said Friday. “We have not yet changed the definition of ‘fully vaccinated.’ We will continue to look at this. We may need to update our definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ in the future,” …

NBC News reports: New documents detail more than a dozen conflicts of interest Postmaster General Louis DeJoy faced because of his and his family’s investments in a number of companies closely tied to the U.S. Postal Service. Amid ethical concerns and criticism, DeJoy initially recused himself from decision-making related to those companies, fully divesting himself of them under public pressure …

Politico reports: Facebook outspent nearly the entire D.C. influence industry on lobbying during the quarter ending Sept. 30, putting in its second most lavish three months ever, according to new filings from the social network embroiled in damaging revelations from whistleblower Frances Haugen. The $5.1 million spree outpaces the company’s big tech peers Google, Amazon and Microsoft. In fact, the …

New York City’s NBC News affiliate reports: New York City’s response plans for a chemical or biological attack will be put to the test starting Monday as part of a federal preparedness study. The MTA says the Department of Homeland Security working alongside a team of researchers and city agencies will deploy a non-toxic gas on five separate days between …

The Washington Post reports: The Food and Drug Administration authorized a set of e-cigarette products for sale in the United States for the first time on Tuesday after it concluded that the benefit to adult cigarette smokers outweighed the risk posed to young people. The authorization of an e-cigarette device and two accompanying nicotine cartridge products, which are sold under …

The New York Daily News reports: The controversial plan to build an AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport has been paused indefinitely, Port Authority officials announced Tuesday. Gov. Hochul last week requested the Port Authority seek “alternatives” to the project. The AirTrain — boosted for years by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — aimed to build a new automated rail link to the …

The Kansas City Star reports: After four months of delays, Wichita City Council passed a nondiscrimination ordinance Tuesday aimed at banning discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations. The council voted 6-1 to approve the ordinance, with Jeff Blubaugh voting against. The council also rejected a carve out that would have allowed religious groups to fire or refuse to hire …

NPR reports: The Senate has passed a bill to increase the federal debt ceiling, after weeks of tense cross-aisle negotiations regarding the looming threat of the country defaulting on its debt. The legislation was approved Thursday night along party lines, with a simple majority. An earlier procedural vote required Republicans to get to 60 votes. It got 61. House approval …

ABC News reports: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blinked after a three-month stalemate with Democrats. Democrats appear to have taken a deal that many in the caucus acknowledge is little more than kicking the can down the road. But as aides and members have made clear to over the course of the last 15 hours, what other choice was there? …

Roll Call reports: The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill to decriminalize and deschedule marijuana, finishing a two-day markup in which the panel also approved a series of bipartisan measures designed to lower drug prices. Republicans Matt Gaetz of Florida and Tom McClintock of California joined Democrats to advance the marijuana bill by a vote of 26-15. The measure, sponsored …

The Washington Post reports: Senate Democrats and Republicans on Thursday approved a measure to fund the government into early December, putting lawmakers one step close toward staving off a shutdown that is set to occur after midnight. The morning vote followed weeks of hand wringing between the two parties, after Democrats initially sought to move the measure along with another …