Tag Archives: Biden Administration

The Washington Post reports: Attorney General Merrick Garland will give a speech Wednesday about the Justice Department’s efforts to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, stressing the department’s “unwavering commitment to defend Americans and American democracy from violence and threats of violence,” a Justice Department official said. The remarks will be directed at …

CNN reports: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has tested positive for Covid-19 and is exhibiting “mild” symptoms, according to a statement from him released by the Defense Department on Sunday. “I have informed my leadership team of my positive test result, as well as the President. My staff has begun contact tracing and testing of all those with whom I have …

Reuters reports: The Biden administration will lift travel restrictions on eight southern African countries imposed last month over concerns about the fast-spreading COVID-19 Omicron variant, the White House said Friday. Foreign nationals who are barred from the United States because they have been in one of the eight countries within the prior 14 days will again be allowed on U.S.-bound …

Politico reports: The White House has been considering connecting the voting rights drive with the upcoming first anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, making the case that the most sacred tenant of America’s democracy remains under siege one year after the insurrection fueled by the election fraud lies told by former President Donald Trump. To strongly …

CNN reports: The Biden administration has released a tranche of secret documents that some historians — and conspiracy theorists — hope might shed light on the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. You can read the documents here. Longtime JFK researchers say the release likely does not include a smoking gun that would substantively change the public understanding of …

CNN reports: The Biden administration faces a Wednesday deadline to publicly release a tranche of secret documents that some historians — and conspiracy theorists — hope might shed light on the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The release is expected to prolong the bitter debate between the federal government and JFK researchers, who have argued that the CIA, …

NBC News reports: Consumer prices rose by 6.8 percent in November over the previous year, the highest annual inflation rate since June 1982, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, released Friday. The figure exceeds the 6.2 percent year-over-year figure from October. Volatile energy prices, supply chain snarls, high consumer demand, and loose …

The Associated Press reports: President Joe Biden will require essential, nonresident travelers crossing U.S. land borders, such as truck drivers, government and emergency response officials, to be fully vaccinated beginning on Jan. 22, the administration planned to announce. A senior administration official said the requirement, which the White House previewed in October, brings the rules for essential travelers in line …

CNN reports: White House health officials are set to announce on Monday that 95% of the federal workforce is in compliance with the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate, a senior administration official said. Over 90% of workers have received at least one shot and the other 5% have submitted exception applications that were already approved or are pending. More than 90% …

The Washington Post reports: A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, helmed by one judge who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan and two others who were appointed by President Donald Trump, issued the ruling late Friday, after temporarily halting the mandate last weekend in response to lawsuits filed by Republican-aligned businesses and legal …

The New York Times reports: Consumer inflation surged in October as fuel costs picked up, supply chains remained under pressure and rents moved higher — bad news for economic policymakers at the Federal Reserve and for the Biden White House, which had been emphasizing a recent slowdown in price gains. Inflation picked up to 0.9 percent last month from September, …

Axios reports: Surgeon General Vivek Murthy took to ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday to defend the Biden administration’s plan to institute a vaccine mandate for companies with more than 100 workers, calling the measure “appropriate and necessary,” and adding that the administration is prepared to fight legal challenges to implementation. A three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of …

The New York Times reports: The Biden administration said on Thursday that large companies have until Jan. 4 to ensure that their workforces are fully vaccinated under a sweeping new coronavirus health measure that will cover 84 million private sector workers. The plan was first announced in September by President Biden, who directed the Labor Department to invoke its emergency …

CNN reports: White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who dropped off President Joe Biden’s international trip shortly before he departed, has tested positive for coronavirus after members of her household did, she said in a statement Sunday. Psaki said she last saw Biden Tuesday outside while masked, before the President departed for Rome for the Group of 20 Summit, and …

CNN reports: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Sunday that a federal no-fly list for violent airplane passengers should be evaluated. “I think that should be on the table,” Buttigieg said of the potential list on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “The [Federal Aviation Administration] stands strongly with flight crews. It’s why you’re seeing some really harsh penalties and fines …

CNN reports: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who is vaccinated, tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday morning, according to department spokesperson Marsha Espinosa. “Secretary Mayorkas tested positive this morning for the COVID-19 virus after taking a test as part of routine pre-travel protocols. Secretary Mayorkas is experiencing only mild congestion; he is fully vaccinated and will isolate and work at …

Via press release from the FDA: Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a landmark proposal intended to improve access to and reduce the cost of hearing aid technology for millions of Americans. The agency proposed a rule to establish a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. When finalized, the rule would allow hearing aids within this category …

“Look, paid family leave is important. It’s important as a matter of family values. It’s important to our economy. And one more thing that I think is maybe underappreciated. “When somebody welcomes a new child into their family and goes on leave to take care of that child, that’s not a vacation. It’s work. It’s joyful, wonderful, fulfilling work, but …

Politico reports: The White House has a new headache as it struggles to get its multitrillion-dollar party-line spending bill passed: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s objections to drug pricing reforms that are already struggling to make it through the House. The Arizona Democrat is opposed to the current prescription drug pricing proposals in both the House and Senate bills, two sources familiar …

The Washington Post reports: The covid-19 response plan President Biden unveiled Thursday envisions a sweeping expansion of coronavirus testing, aiming to make quick-turnaround test kits cheaper and more accessible than ever as the country tries to quell the wave of infections driven by the delta variant. Leaning on test manufacturers to ramp up production, the administration wants to send hundreds …