Masks? Optional.

Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY
·5 min read

Since the mask mandate was overturned, travel is looking a lot different. Government officials were tied to a human trafficking probe in Georgia. And an Oregon woman was identified as a victim of the "Happy Face Killer" in a 30-year-old cold case.

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Now that the mask mandate is overturned...

Travel is looking completely different today than it did yesterday – or any day in the past two years – as masks are now optional on just about every major mode of transportation. From airlines to ride-share companies, transportation providers have quickly pivoted after a federal judge in Florida voided the federal mask mandate Monday. U.S. District Court Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle said the mandate exceeded the authority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which she said failed to justify the order and didn't follow proper rule-making procedures. Every major U.S. airline has now made face masks optional for passengers and employees. Some airlines reminded travelers to respect the decisions of people who choose to continue wearing masks. Ride-sharing companies like Lyft and Uber have also made masks optional. The federal mask mandate was extended last week through May 3 after a rise in cases of coronavirus subvariants.

Airline passengers without face masks walk through San Francisco International Airport on April 19, 2022 in San Francisco, California.
Airline passengers without face masks walk through San Francisco International Airport on April 19, 2022 in San Francisco, California.

Biden restores environmental law on highways, bridges, other projects

The Biden administration moved Tuesday to restore federal requirements that government agencies evaluate the environmental impacts of their actions. President Donald Trump had stripped the provisions from the National Environmental Policy Act. Biden’s move is the latest in a contentious back-and-forth over rules signed into law by President Richard Nixon and enacted in 1970. Supporters argue the law is essential to protect the environment from climate change and ensure federal agencies work with communities to consider alternatives, while critics of the law have long held that it slows progress and drives up costs for essential infrastructure projects.

Traffic flows past construction work on eastbound Highway 50 in Sacramento, Calif., on Aug. 12, 2021. The work is part the California Department of Transportations comprehensive project that would improve Highway 50 with the construction of High Occupancy Vehicle lanes.
Traffic flows past construction work on eastbound Highway 50 in Sacramento, Calif., on Aug. 12, 2021. The work is part the California Department of Transportations comprehensive project that would improve Highway 50 with the construction of High Occupancy Vehicle lanes.

What everyone's talking about

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'Beyond troubling'

Two Georgia labor officials whose jobs involved protecting or advocating for farmworkers have links to one of the largest U.S. human trafficking cases ever prosecuted involving foreign agricultural laborers brought here on seasonal visas. In October, a grand jury indicted 24 people on charges of conspiring to engage in forced labor and other crimes. Federal prosecutors say the defendants required guest farmworkers to pay illegal fees to obtain jobs, withheld their IDs so they could not leave, made them work for little or no pay, housed them in unsanitary conditions, and threatened them with deportation and violence. Two workers died in the heat, according to the indictment. Court records say five workers were kidnapped and one of them was raped. Read more here.

Photo included in the Booming Onion ongoing criminal case as an exhibit. The partial address provided matches one reported as a guest farmworker housing location.
Photo included in the Booming Onion ongoing criminal case as an exhibit. The partial address provided matches one reported as a guest farmworker housing location.

New Russian attacks signify a new phase of war in Ukraine

Russia's new attacks in eastern Ukraine are what the Pentagon believes to be a prelude to a major offensive in the Donbas region, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said Tuesday. The attacks, southwest of Donetsk and south of Izyum, have come as Russia continues to add to its forces in Ukraine and resupply those already inside the country, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence findings. Both Ukrainian and Russian officials acknowledged Tuesday that the war had entered a new phase. Read the latest updates here.

Damaged and burned vehicles are seen at a destroyed part of the Illich Iron & Steel Works Metallurgical Plant, as smoke rises from the Metallurgical Combine Azovstal during heavy fighting, in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, Monday, April 18, 2022. Mariupol, a strategic port on the Sea of Azov, has been besieged by Russian troops and forces from self-proclaimed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine for more than six weeks.

Real quick

Woman murdered by 'Happy Face Killer' identified in 30-year cold case

On June 3, 1993, Patricia Skiple's body was found by a truck driver who stopped on the side of California State Route 152 in unincorporated Gilroy, about a half-hour south of San Jose. An autopsy classified her death as "undetermined," and with no leads on her identity, authorities referred to her as "Blue Pacheco." Detectives reexamined the case a few years ago, and with the help of DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit organization that provides investigative genetic genealogy services, they were able to uncover Skiple's identity last week and confirm the identity of her killer. Skiple, known to her family and friends as "Patsy," was a mother and resident of Colton, Oregon. She would have been about 45 at the time she was killed by Keith Hunter Jesperson, who is now 67. Jesperson is serving four life sentences without the possibility of parole for murders in three states and is known as the "Happy Face Killer" for drawing happy faces in letters he wrote, boasting about people he killed on the West Coast.

After nearly 30 years, California authorities have uncovered the identity of Oregon woman, Patricia Skiple, who was one of the multiple victims of the "Happy Face Killer."
After nearly 30 years, California authorities have uncovered the identity of Oregon woman, Patricia Skiple, who was one of the multiple victims of the "Happy Face Killer."

A break from the news

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mask mandates, Ukraine, 'Happy Face Killer' cold case solved. It's Tuesday's news.