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.
The penal colonyย where Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been sent to serve his two-year sentence isย "one of the worst" in Russia, former inmates and prisoners rights groups have said. Mr Navalny was reported to have arrived at penal colony No. 2 in the town of Pokrov, three hours outside Moscow, on Sunday. Transfers of inmates within Russia's penitentiary system can take days or weeks and relatives often only discover the whereabouts of a prisoner after he or she has arrived at a prison.
Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden's pick for attorney general, moved a step closer on Monday to securing Senate confirmation as the top U.S. law enforcement official, with the Judiciary Committee throwing its weight behind his nomination. The federal appellate judge won bipartisan support in a 15-7 tally in the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance his nomination to the Senate floor for a vote that Democrats hope will be held this week. Among the four Republicans voting in favor of Garland were two former chairmen of the committee, Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham.
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.
Police in Myanmar's biggest city fired tear gas Monday at defiant crowds who returned to the streets to protest last month's coup, despite reports that security forces had killed at least 18 people a day earlier. The protesters in Yangon were chased as they tried to gather at their usual meeting spot at the Hledan Center intersection. Demonstrators scattered and sought in vain to rinse the irritating gas from their eyes, but later regrouped.
The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions to punish Russia for what it described as Moscow's attempt to poison opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a nerve agent last year, in President Joe Biden's most direct challenge yet to the Kremlin. The sanctions against seven senior Russian officials, among them the head of its FSB security service, and on 14 entities marked a sharp departure from former President Donald Trump's reluctance to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin. Biden stopped short, however, of putting sanctions on Putin himself.
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.
China appears to be moving faster toward a capability to launch its newer nuclear missiles from underground silos, possibly to improve its ability to respond promptly to a nuclear attack, according to an American expert who analyzed satellite images of recent construction at a missile training area. Hans Kristensen, a longtime watcher of U.S., Russian and Chinese nuclear forces, said the imagery suggests that China is seeking to counter what it may view as a growing threat from the United States. The U.S. in recent years has pointed to China's nuclear modernization as a key justification for investing hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming two decades to build an all-new U.S. nuclear arsenal.
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.
China on Monday denied accusations by Taiwan that a ban on pineapples from the island was about politics, saying it was purely a matter of biosecurity, in an escalating war of words that has added to existing tensions. China announced the ban last week, citing "harmful creatures" it said could come with the fruit, threatening China's own agriculture. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, says there is nothing wrong with its pineapples and that Beijing is using the fruit as another way to coerce the island.
China, under growing global pressure over its treatment of a Muslim minority in its far west, is mounting an unprecedented and aggressive campaign to push back, including explicit attacks on women who have made claims of abuse.
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi has been seen for the first time since she was detained in a military coup, after she appeared in court via video link. The ousted leader appeared to be in "good health" and asked to see her legal team, her lawyers say. Two new charges were announced against Ms Suu Kyi, who was arrested after the 1 February coup.
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.
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It boggles the mind why Republican lawmakers have for seven years denied healthcare in the form of Medicaid to those who are less fortunate. The worldwide pandemic has taken a toll on the lives and livelihoods of many in North Carolina. President Biden added 15% more to help with expansion of Medicaid, which certainly sweetens the pot for N.C. legislators to act now.
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo started his Monday night show by awkwardly acknowledging the sexual assault allegations against his brother, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Three women have now accused Governor Cuomo of inappropriate behaviour and sexual misconduct. Chris Cuomo said it would be inappropriate for him to cover the allegations against his brother because they are family. Both Democrats and Republicans have called for Governor Cuomo to resign.
The announcement comes at a critical juncture in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to medical officials. Only about 6.5% of Texas residents have received the COVID-19 vaccine. Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley immediately lifted the mask mandate for county businesses and their patrons.
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.
A newly declassified US intel report said the Saudi crown prince approved Jamal Khashoggi's killing. Joe Biden announced new sanctions over the murder but has declined to punish the crown prince. A US official told The Washington Post it's because Biden wanted to heal the US-Saudi relationship.
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.
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.
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.
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