Government

The Associated Press reports: Once known for singer Anita Bryant’s anti-gay rights campaign and a ban on gay and lesbian adoptions, Florida is now home to two metro areas with among the highest concentrations of gay and lesbian coupled households in the U.S., according to a new report released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Orlando and Miami had the fourth …

Gallup reports: Twenty-seven percent of U.S. adults are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S, more than double the percentage observed in January. The increase reverses a three-month decline that saw satisfaction drop to one of its lowest levels ever. Satisfaction, which had been 28% at the time of the 2020 presidential election, fell in the ensuing …

The Washington Post reports: As the service crisis at the U.S. Postal Service drags into its eighth month, complaints are reaching a fever pitch. Consumers are inundating members of Congress with stories of late bills — and the late fees they’ve absorbed as a result. Small-business owners are waiting weeks, even months, for checks to arrive, creating cash-flow crunches and …

CNBC reports: The House passed its $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill early Saturday, sending the massive proposal to the Senate as Democrats rush to approve more aid before unemployment programs expire. It is the first major legislative initiative for President Joe Biden. The House approved it in a 219-212 mostly party line vote, as two Democrats joined all Republicans in …

NBC News reports: An independent advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration voted Friday to recommend that the agency authorize Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine. Members of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, or VRBPAC, voted unanimously in favor of recommending authorization. The FDA is not required to go along with the committee’s recommendation, but is widely …

Via press release from the Justice Department: United Airlines Inc. (United), the world’s third largest airline, has agreed to pay over $49 million to resolve criminal charges and civil claims relating to fraud on postal service contracts for transportation of international mail. United entered into a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and agreed to pay $17,271,415 …

Via press release from the FDA: Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it is allowing undiluted frozen vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to be transported and stored at conventional temperatures commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers for a period of up to two weeks. This reflects an alternative to the preferred storage of the undiluted vials in …

Politico reports: Florida Rep. Stephanie Murphy is seriously considering a bid to unseat Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2022 reelection, announcing Wednesday that she’s launching a statewide listening tour and has hired a top Democratic operative to manage the effort. Murphy, 42, has been elected three times to one of Florida’s most competitive congressional districts in Orlando, and first won the seat …

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports: Palm Beach County won’t follow Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order to lower flags at the county courthouse to honor the late conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, officials said late Tuesday. The governor ordered the U.S. and Florida state flags to be flown at half-staff Wednesday at Florida’s Capitol, the Palm Beach County courthouse in …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Nearly 20 years ago, Texas shifted from using full-service regulated utilities to generate power and deliver it to consumers. The state deregulated power generation, creating the system that failed last week. And it required nearly 60% of consumers to buy their electricity from one of many retail power companies, rather than a local utility. Those …

The Washington Post reports: Democrats are expected to grill Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Postal Service board of governors chair Ron Bloom over the agency’s handling of mail over the holidays and delivery issues that have persisted for months, delaying prescription medications, paychecks, bills and more. More than 90 House Democrats have already called for DeJoy’s ouster and many are …

Reuters reports: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Tuesday it was ordering immediate inspections of Boeing 777 planes with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines before further flights after an engine failed on a United flight on Saturday. The engines are used on 128 older versions of the plane accounting for less than 10% of the more than 1,600 777s …

CNN reports: Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he expects US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance for fully vaccinated people will be coming soon. Fauci said that the CDC wants “to make sure they sit down, talk about it, look at the data and then come out with a recommendation …

The Wall Street Journal reports: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is expected to face a tough confirmation hearing Tuesday as Republicans are set to argue that President Biden’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary is overly liberal and lacks public-health experience. Mr. Becerra’s hearing Tuesday with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will be followed by a …

The Associated Press reports: For Native Americans, Deb Haaland is more than an elected official on track to become the first Indigenous secretary of the Interior Department. She is a sister, an auntie and a fierce pueblo woman whose political stances have been molded by her upbringing. On Tuesday, Haaland’s confirmation hearing will be closely watched in tribal communities across …

ABC News reports: Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland will face another day of questioning Tuesday on how he’ll oversee probes ranging from the Jan. 6 Capitol breach to Hunter Biden’s business dealings — along with his stance on left-wing rioters in Portland and Seattle. Garland pledged during Monday’s hearing that handling the investigation into last month’s deadly siege on the …

The New Jersey Advance reports: More than three years after he took office with hopes of legalizing marijuana in 100 days, Gov. Phil Murphy signed three bills that together legalize marijuana in New Jersey and put an end to thousands of arrests. But it took more than a marijuana-friendly governor to make reform a reality. There were years of failed …

CNN reports: At last, Merrick Garland gets his Senate confirmation hearing. Five years ago, Garland became the poster child for the Republican blockade of an open Supreme Court seat in the final year of President Barack Obama’s term when Senate Republicans denied even a hearing to the Supreme Court nominee. Now Garland gets another chance to go before the Senate …

NBC News reports: Israel reopened swathes of its economy including malls and leisure facilities on Sunday, with the government saying the start of a return to routine was enabled by Covid-19 vaccines administered to almost half the population. Shops were open to all, but access to gyms, hotels and theatres was limited to people with a “Green Pass”: those who …

Bloomberg News reports: Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden’s nominee for attorney general, is pledging he’ll take the lead in prosecuting participants in the mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6. “If confirmed, I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol on January 6 — a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone …