Congress granted the HHS permission to move pandemic-related money between accounts, though the agreement stipulated the agency had to give lawmakers a heads up. Former Office of Management and Director Russ Vought defended the decision and said "we would do it again," telling Stat that not only did the administration have the authority, it was also "the right thing to do in order to move as quickly as possible because lives were on the line." Other Trump officials seemed to agree, per Stat, arguing that successful vaccines would reduce hospitalizations, making Warp Speed the more consequential outlet.
Senators Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah) on Tuesday pressed FBI Director Christopher Wray on the procedures federal law enforcement officials have used to track down those who participated in the January 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol. โI'm anxious to see those who committed unlawful, violent acts on January 6 brought to justice,โ Lee said during a Senate Judiciary Hearing on Tuesday. The Utah Republican explained that he had โheard a number of accountsโ of people who were in Washington, D.C. on January 6 who never went near the Capitol but were โinexplicablyโ contacted by FBI agents who knew of their presence in the district that day โwith no other explanation, perhaps, other than the use of geolocation data.โ
No hate crimes were reported this year so far. According to Yam, the 2,800 hate incidents collected by watchdog Stop AAPI Hate over five months last year โweren't necessarily hate crimesโ as they included โless severe, yet insidious, forms of discrimination. Citing experts, the piece acknowledged the rise in โanti-Asian sentiment during the COVID-19 pandemic but warns against labeling incidents without evaluating individually.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments by Arizona Republicans in defense of two voting restrictions they are looking to keep intact. At one point, Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked Michael Carvin, a lawyer representing the Arizona GOP, what the party's interest in maintaining the policy of discarding ballots cast at the wrong precinct was. Carvin answered, without hesitation, that removing the rule would prevent Republicans from competing in the state.
An Oklahoma woman was literally caught red-handed on first-degree burglary complaint charges thanks to Cheetos snack dust. Sharon Carr was arrested on Feb. 26 after police reported an attempted home burglary. While she did not take anything, officers claim she left behind a Cheetos bag.
After the U.S. House of Representatives approved President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus deal and sent it to the Senate, White House officials indicated Biden is open to lowering the income threshold for direct payments. The legislation passed by the House last week includes $1,400 direct payments for individuals making up to $75,000 a year and married couples earning up to $150,000 a year. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Fox News Sunday that Biden is willing to lower the maximum income for stimulus check eligibility to โensure they hit the Americans who need that help the most.โ
The plane laden with vaccines had just rolled to a stop at Santiago's airport in late January, and Chile's president, Sebastiรกn Piรฑera, was beaming. The source of that hope: China โ a country that Chile and dozens of other nations are depending on to help rescue them from the COVID-19 pandemic. China's vaccine diplomacy campaign has been a surprising success: It has pledged roughly half a billion doses of its vaccine to more than 45 countries, according to a country-by-country tally by The Associated Press.
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Boeing Co has raised concerns over the design of arch-rival Airbus' newest narrow-body jet, the A321XLR, saying a novel type of fuel tank could pose fire risks. The U.S. plane giant's intervention is not without precedent in a global system that regularly allows manufacturers to chime in whenever safety rules are being interpreted in a way that might affect the rest of the industry. But it comes at a pivotal moment as Boeing emerges from a two-year safety crisis over its competing 737 MAX, and Airbus faces its own crucial test of the tougher mood expected from regulators worldwide following the MAX's 20-month grounding.
MyPillow's outspoken Trump-supporting chief executive was censored during an interview at CPAC โ an event branded โAmerica Uncanceledโ โ after he launched into conspiracy theories linking the coronavirus vaccine with the devil. Mike Lindell was speaking on Sunday to Liz Willis, the host of conservative YouTube channel Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN), when he delivered a somewhat meandering set of conspiracy theories relating to the pandemic, the presidential election and Israel. โIn Israel right now, from the prime minister on down, we don't know what happened, but obviously, he congratulated Biden, but after that, we got a little suspect,โ Mr Lindell said during the segment that was edited out by RSBN on their YouTube channel.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed confidence on Tuesday that President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill will pass in the Senate this week, saying the Senate will take up the legislation as early as Wednesday. The Senate is using the budget reconciliation process to pass the bill, which limits time for debate and allows legislation to pass with a simple majority. Schumer spoke to reporters after Mr. Biden addressed Democratic senators virtually during their caucus lunch.
The FBI arrested a notorious white supremacist livestreamer in an early morning raid in Florida on Tuesday. FBI agents, working with Fort Lauderdale police and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, arrested Paul N. Miller, 32, on one charge of being a โconvicted felon in possession of a firearm.โ The FBI said in a press release that Miller was arrested without incident.
Utah senator Mitt Romney says he โtook a fallโ while visiting his grandkids in Boston over the weekend, knocking him unconscious and sending him to the hospital. Sen @MittRomney has a black eye and stitches, says he took a fall while visiting his son in Boston, โI took a fall, knocked me unconscious but I'm doing better.โ Joked: โI went to CPAC, that was a problem...โ
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Tuesday that all businesses in the state can fully reopen. Abbott also ended the statewide mask mandate.
This week, President Joe Biden's senior advisor, Cedric Richmond, confirmed that the White House plans โto start acting nowโ on reparations for African-American citizens. Richmond made the stunning admission to journalistย Mike Allenย during Sunday evening's broadcast ofย Axios on HBO. In the interview, the former Louisiana lawmaker explained to Allen that Biden remains consistent in his support of H.R. 40, the House of Representatives bill that received a Congressional hearing last month, that would look into the issue of reparations.
The Biden administration imposed sanctions on Russia over Alexei Navalny's poisoning. The sanctions affect seven senior Russian officials. US intelligence concluded with "high confidence" that Russia poisoned Navalny, officials said.
And while Mr Biden has kept Mr Trump's policy in place to send new migrants back to Mexico due to concerns about Covid spread, the new president has already begun rolling back other Trump-era policies that hardened the border against refugees and other migrants seeking opportunities or safe haven in the US. The Biden administration has ended Mr Trump's so-called Remain in Mexico programme that forced more than 70,000 asylum-seekers to stay south of the border while their cases wound their way through immigration courts. Thousands of those enrollees have now crossed into the US under the Biden administration's supervision.
Fitness brand CrossFit, a staple of Marjorie Taylor Greene's political brand, is distancing from the Republican. A spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that the company is against Greene's conspiracy theories. CrossFit's statement comes after the House voted to strip Greene of her committee assignments.
GOP Sen. Ted Cruz drew national ire after he attempted to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election, but according to a new poll from Morning Consult, his overall job approval from Texans was hurt far more when he vacationed in Cancรบn during a winter storm that left much of Texas without power or water for days. According to polling conducted between February 18-28, Cruz's net approval rating dropped from +6 to -5 in the weeks following his Cancรบn excursion. A net approval rating is calculated by subtracting the share of disapproving Texan voters from the share of voters that approve of Cruz.
Luke Dufrene said he saw something disturbing as he was driving to work Thursday evening. The 23-year-old Lockport, Louisiana,ย man said he was on his commute when he saw the driver of a vehicleย "dropping a baby off" on the median of a highway. "I lookedย backย and he took off leaving the childย there,ย so I flipped a U-turn in the grass to get to the baby,โ Dufrene said.
Merrick Garland could be confirmed as the next US attorney general as early as this week, after the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced his nomination for consideration before the full chamber by a bipartisan 15-7 vote. Mr Garland has breezed through his nomination process with the Senate Democratic majority controlling committee gavels. The longtime DC Circuit Court judge's ascent to the top spot in Justice Department leadership has been welcomed by Democrats and even some Republicans as a welcome change from the tumult of the Donald Trump years.
A home stylist on TikTok is sharing tips for cheap ways to make your home look expensive using only rugs. A Google search with the dimensions, style, color, and budget can help zero in on the right rug. An interior-design expert has a very simple hack for making your space look expensive on a budget: Create an illusion that you have a big space by properly positioning the right-sized rug around the furniture you already have.
A top US general says that the evacuation of US troops at a military base in Iraq before an Iranian ballistic missile attack last year was carefully planned so that Iran would not know that roughly half the troops on base had moved out, but at least one expert says the story is a bit questionable. On Jan. 8, 2020, just days after then-President Donald Trump ordered the airstrike that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian military fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at bases in Iraq hosting US and coalition troops, specifically Al Asad and Irbil.
The state Supreme Court agreed Monday with unusual speed to hear former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor's appeal of his third-degree murder conviction. Noor's lawyer Thomas Plunkett filed a petition last Thursday, asking the court to hear the case. It is extremely rare for the court to grant review so quickly but the charge Noor appealed has implications in the case against Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer set to go on trial in Hennepin County District Court on Monday in the death of George Floyd.
As state electors, Congress, over 60 unsuccessful lawsuits, Trump administration officials like former attorney William Barr, and even many (but certainly not all) state-level Republican officials have confirmed, Joe Biden won the election fair and square. The ex-president also blamed a litany of factors for his loss, from dead voters being counted to new mail-in ballot expansions during the pandemic. The Democrats used the China virus as an excuse to change all of the election rules, without the approval of their state legislators, making it therefore illegal.
โHow about we skip โhe wonโt winโ cycle and not do 2016 all over again. Trump can absolutely win another presidential election.โ
โWith independents deserting him, there is simply no path for Trump to get back into the White House โ except as a tourist.โ
โThey might as well cancel the 2024 primaries...because there is no way he can lose.โ
โThe next Republican presidential primary will be heavily shaped by Trump โ whether or not he decides to run again.โ
โDonald Trump will not be running for president again. He will, however, continue to tease the possibility of a 2024 run.โ