Texas Governor Greg Abbott is taking the Biden Justice Department to task after a federal judge blocked his executive order allowing troopers to stop vehicles suspected of carrying illegal immigrants over fears they could spread COVID-19.

Abbott blasted the temporary order issued by US District Judge Kathleen Cardone of El Paso on Tuesday as “temporary and based on limited evidence.”

“We look forward to providing the Court with the evidence to support the Governor’s Executive Order to protect Texans,” he added.

The judge’s order halts the implementation of Abbott’s executive order that he introduced last week, which allowed for state troopers to stop any vehicle suspected of transporting illegal immigrants.

If the suspicion was confirmed, troopers could then reroute vehicles back to their point of origin or impound them.

Abbott had argued his order would help stop the spread of COVID-19, but the Biden Department of Justice sued last week on the basis that the governor’s order interferes with Federal immigration policy.

Gov. Greg Abbott’s order allowed state troopers to stop any vehicle suspected of transporting illegal immigrants.
AFP via Getty Images

“The Biden Administration has knowingly—and willfully—released COVID-19 positive migrants into Texas communities, risking the potential exposure and infection of Texas residents,” Abbott said in a statement following the judge’s order.

“The Governor’s Executive Order attempts to prevent the Biden Administration from spreading COVID-19 into Texas and protect the health and safety of Texans.”

The judge said in her two-page order that the Justice Department was likely to prevail on its claim that the order signed by Abbott violates the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause by both conflicting with federal immigration law and regulating federal operations.

US District Judge Kathleen Cardone said the order signed by Gov. Greg Abbott violates the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
United States Courts

Cardone also found that the order “causes irreparable injury to the United States and to individuals the United States is charged with protecting, jeopardizing the health and safety of non-citizens in federal custody, risking the safety of federal law enforcement personnel and their families, and exacerbating the spread of COVID-19.”

She has scheduled a full hearing for August 13.

It comes as U.S. authorities revealed the number of illegal migrants crossing at the border had reached a 20-year high.

The number of illegal migrants crossing the border has reached a 20-year high.
REUTERS

Illegal immigrants were stopped about 210,000 times in July, which was up from 188,829 in June.

Authorities said they likely picked up 19,000 unaccompanied children in July, exceeding the previous high of 18,877 in March.

The June total was 15,253, according to David Shahoulian, assistant secretary for border and immigration policy at the Department of Homeland Security, who singled out the Rio Grande Valley for having the largest numbers.

With Post Wires

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2021/08/04/texas-governor-responds-as-judge-blocks-illegal-immigration-order/

The district attorneys for Manhattan and Westchester County asked New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday for evidence related to her office’s bombshell report accusing Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment.

Westchester DA Mimi Rocah, in a letter obtained by NBC News, told James she plans to conduct an inquiry into whether the alleged sexual misconduct by Cuomo that occurred in her jurisdiction was “criminal in nature.”

A spokesperson for Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. told NBC later Wednesday that, “When our office learned yesterday that the Attorney General’s investigation of the Governor’s conduct was complete, our office contacted the Attorney General’s Office to begin requesting investigative materials in their possession pertaining to incidents that occurred in Manhattan.”

Another DA, David Soares of Albany County, had already announced his office would launch its own criminal investigation into Cuomo due to the allegations in the report.

Rocah asked James to send her materials related to one of the 11 women who in an official report accused Cuomo of sexual harassment. Soares also said his office would “welcome any victim to contact our office with additional information” about Cuomo.

That complainant was a state trooper on the governor’s protective detail, the report alleges.

“According to the report, one of the complainants, identified as Trooper #1, indicates that certain conduct of the Governor occurred in Westchester County,” Rocah’s letter said.

“As such, while the report found that Governor Cuomo’s actions violated state and federal civil statutes, I believe it is appropriate for my Office to conduct a further inquiry to determine if any of the reported conduct that is alleged to have occurred in Westchester County is criminal in nature,” Rocah wrote.

Cuomo on Tuesday denied inappropriately touching anyone or making any inappropriate sexual advances. “The facts are much different than what has been portrayed,” he said in a video responding to the report. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Rocah’s letter.

Cuomo earlier this year rebuffed a wave of calls for his resignation, including from dozens of Democrats in New York and nationally.

But Tuesday’s release of the damning, 165-page report prompted a new batch of high-profile Democrats, including President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to urge Cuomo to resign.

The public also appears to be turning against Cuomo, according to a Marist poll conducted after the report came out. The survey of registered New York voters found 63% saying Cuomo should step down, including 77% of Republicans and 52% of Democrats.

Just 12% of those surveyed said Cuomo deserves a fourth term as governor, Marist’s poll said.

Meanwhile, New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie vowed Tuesday to “move expeditiously” to conclude an impeachment investigation into Cuomo “as quickly as possible” once James hands over relevant materials from her own probe.

“It is abundantly clear to me that the Governor has lost the confidence of the Assembly Democratic majority and that he can no longer remain in office,” Heastie said after the attorney general’s probe became public.

Heastie, a Democrat, in mid-March authorized a panel to launch the impeachment investigation into the harassment claims and other allegations of wrongdoing by Cuomo, including whether his staff tried to hide or alter data on coronavirus deaths in New York nursing homes.

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/04/cuomo-allegations-westchester-county-da-seeks-evidence-for-potential-criminal-probe.html

The World Health Organization is calling for a moratorium on booster shots until at least the end of September, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news briefing in Geneva on Wednesday.

“WHO is calling for a moratorium on boosters until at least the end of September to enable at least 10% of the population of every country to be vaccinated. To make that happen, we need everyone’s cooperation, especially the handful of countries and companies that control the global supply of vaccines,” he said.

“Even while hundreds of millions of people are still waiting for their first dose, some rich countries are moving towards booster doses,” added Tedros. “So far more than 4 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally. More than 80% have gone to high and upper middle income countries, even though they account for less than half of the world’s population.”

Germany, the UK, and Israel have all announced plans to provide booster shots for certain vulnerable populations.

While Tedros said he understood the concern of all governments to protect their people from the Delta variant, “we cannot and we should not accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it while the world’s most vulnerable people remain unprotected.”

In May, Tedros called for global support to enable countries to vaccinate at least 10% of their populations by September. He said that although it’s more than halfway to the target date, the world is not on track.

When his challenge was issued, high income countries had administered around 50 doses for every 100 people, Tedros said.

Since then, the number has doubled, with high income countries having now administered almost 100 doses for every 100 people, while low income countries have been able to administer 1.5 doses for every 100 people due to lack of supply.

“We need an urgent reversal from the majority of vaccines going to high income countries to the majority going to low income countries,” Tedros said.

Tedros called upon the G20 leaders to make concrete commitments to support WHO’s global vaccination targets, for vaccine producers to prioritize COVAX, and for everyone with influence to support the call for the moratorium on boosters.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/04/health/who-coronavirus-booster-shots/index.html

Mr. Axelrod said he was no longer attending. Rahm Emanuel, who served as Mr. Obama’s first chief of staff, had also planned to attend the bash. But he said he got a call Tuesday night telling him that if he was not already on the island, he should not come.

Mr. Emanuel said he joked to Marty Nesbitt, the former president’s close friend and the chairman of the Obama Foundation, that the revoked invitation was an exercise in character building. “I told him that we literally got voted off the island,” Mr. Emanuel said.

Mr. Obama’s change of plans came days after President Biden effectively conceded that the pandemic had come roaring back, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an internal document that the Delta variant was much more contagious and more likely to break through vaccine protections than all other known versions of the virus.

Mr. Obama, however, had at first appeared eager to carry on with his plans, displaying what some Democrats supportive of Mr. Obama said they viewed as a casual disregard for the optics of his birthday bash. Even as cities like Washington reimposed mask mandates indoors, a source involved in the planning of Mr. Obama’s birthday party said the event would go on as planned, underscoring that it would be outdoors and all guests would be following C.D.C. public health protocols.

Some of Mr. Obama’s former aides also defended his decision to carry on.

Guys…buy a map,” Tommy Vietor, a former Obama spokesman, wrote on Twitter in response to a news article about the party proceeding amid growing concerns about the coronavirus after an outbreak in the vaccinated community of Provincetown, Mass. “Martha’s Vineyard is an island. It’s not close to Provincetown.”

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/04/us/politics/obama-cancels-60th-birthday-party.html

Though Mr. Heastie is said not to have spoken to Mr. Cuomo in months, until his announcement on Tuesday, many of the governor’s detractors had seen Mr. Heastie as being in Mr. Cuomo’s corner.

Last month, when Mr. Heastie suggested that the attorney general’s findings alone would not be enough to act upon, Debra Katz, the lawyer for one of Mr. Cuomo’s accusers, Charlotte Bennett, accused him of betraying his duty.

“Speaker Heastie has made clear that he will actively obstruct efforts to hold Governor Cuomo responsible,” Ms. Katz said then.

Even now, some Democrats remain skeptical that Mr. Heastie, the party insider, will follow through on taking down such a powerful Democratic man.

“The Bronx machine has been a rat’s nest of patriarchy, historically,” said Alexis Grenell, another Democratic strategist, “and it was in no way disrupted by the former chairman.” Mr. Heastie stepped aside from the party leadership post when he became speaker in 2015.

But the left flank of Mr. Heastie’s Democratic conference is pressing for action — and fast.

Assemblyman Ron Kim, a Queens Democrat, who caused a stir in February when he said that Mr. Cuomo had threatened to “destroy” him, said that every additional day that Mr. Cuomo remains in office was a risk.

“We’re talking about one of the most powerful executives in the history of New York, who is willing to use every kind of public resource and leverage to save his behind,” Mr. Kim said, “and that’s a very dangerous position.”

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/04/us/politics/carl-heastie-cuomo-impeachment.html

Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/08/04/florida-texas-hospitals-covid-unvaxxed-patients/5452766001/

New York Democrat Rep. Mondaire Jones accused President Biden of having an “empathy deficit” Tuesday, rebuking the president’s questioning tone on extending a nationwide eviction moratorium.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidelines that will temporarily ban evictions in high transmission areas – a move Biden said he believes lacks “constitutional muster.”

Biden said he had asked “constitutional scholars” to evaluate his legal authority to extend an eviction moratorium. 

“The bulk of the constitutional scholarship says that it’s not likely to pass constitutional muster,” Biden said ahead of the CDC’s announcement.

CORI BUSH SPENDS NIGHT PROTESTING OUTSIDE US CAPITOL, GETS SUPPORT FROM SQUAD ALLIES OMAR, PRESSLEY

But the president said he was advised the 60-day moratorium on evictions recommended by the CDC was “worth the effort.” 

“It is odd I think to raise issues about the constitutionality of your own executive action shortly before making that executive action. And this is what I mean when I talk about an empathy deficit,” Mondaire told reporters following the president’s comments. 

“You can rest assured that every litigator now about to challenge this moratorium will cite directly to the president’s words,” he continued. “That is not the commentary of someone who is actually trying to help people.”

The White House previously alleged the president lacked the legal authority to prevent the eviction moratorium from expiring last weekend – a move that sparked intense pressure from progressives in his party.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, CDC ANNOUNCE NEW, TARGETED EVICTION BAN FOR MANY RENTERS

Democratic lawmakers, led by Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., championed their efforts in lobbying the White House to extend a ban on evictions for the 11 million Americans who are behind on rent following the coronavirus pandemic.

“It will be a win for people who for such a long time…felt like nobody listens,” Bush said, reflecting on her own time of living out of her car.

Bush, who spent several nights camping at the Capitol in protest, was embraced by lawmakers after becoming emotional during the press conference.

The new guidance from the CDC would protect roughly 90 percent of Americans in high transmission areas from eviction. 

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Democratic lawmakers acknowledge the moratorium was just a launching point and said more work needs to be done on the ground to ensure renters and landlords get access to federal funds to help with rental assistance.

“Once we get a moratorium extension in place, we need governors and principalities to get emergency rental assistance funds out,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., told reporters. “That is what the point of this moratorium is. It is to buy time.”

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-dem-accuses-white-house-of-empathy-deficit-on-evictions

BEIRUT (AP) — Banks, businesses and government offices were shuttered Wednesday as Lebanon marks one year since the horrific explosion at the port of Beirut with a national day of mourning.

The grim anniversary comes amid an unprecedented economic and financial meltdown, and a political stalemate that has kept the country without a functioning government for a full year. United in grief and anger, families of the victims and other Lebanese were planning prayers and protests later in the day.

The explosion killed at least 214 people, according to official records, and injured thousands.

It was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history — the result of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate igniting after a fire broke out. The explosion tore through the city with such force it caused a tremor across the entire country that was heard and felt as far away as the Mediterranean island of Cyprus more than 200 kilometers (180 miles) away.

It soon emerged in documents that the highly combustible nitrates had been haphazardly stored at a port warehouse alongside other flammable material since 2014, and that multiple high-level officials over the years knew of its presence and did nothing.

A year later, there has been no accountability, and the investigation has yet to answer questions such as who ordered the shipment of the chemicals and why officials ignored repeated internal warnings of their danger.

Families of the victims planned a memorial and prayers at the still wrecked site of the blast at Beirut port later in the day. Mass protests were also expected. A huge metal gavel with the words “Act for Justice” was placed on a wall opposite the port with its shredded grain silos, near the words “My government did this” scrawled in black.

Flags flew at half-staff over government institutions and embassies and even medical labs and COVID-19 vaccination centers were closed to mark the day. Reflecting the raw anger at the country’s ruling class, posters assailing authorities were hung on the facade of defaced buildings across from the port.

“Here starts your end and our beginning,” read one poster that took up the space of five floors of a high-rise. “Hostages of a murderous state,” read another.

In an extensive investigative report about the blast, Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called for an international probe into the port blast, accusing Lebanese authorities of trying to thwart the investigation.

HRW said a lack of judicial independence, constitution-imposed immunity for high-level officials and a range of procedural and systemic flaws in the domestic investigation rendered it “incapable of credibly delivering justice.”

“Since the 1960s we have not seen an official behind bars,” said Pierre Gemayel, whose brother Yakoub was killed in his apartment in the explosion last year.

Taking part in a small protest outside the justice palace Wednesday, he said the refusal by the political class to lift immunity from senior officials accused of negligence that led to the blast is “proof of their collusion, and that their hands are tainted with blood.”

The explosion — which destroyed and damaged thousands of homes and businesses — and the lack of accountability, have added to tensions and anguish in a country reeling from multiple crises, including an economic unraveling so severe it has been described by the World Bank as one of the worst in the last 150 years.

The crisis has led to a dramatic currency crash and hyperinflation, plunging more than half the country’s population below the poverty line.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis recalled the suffering of the Lebanese people, as he held his first weekly audience with the public since surgery a month ago.

“A year after the terrible explosion in the port of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, that caused death and destruction, my thoughts go to that dear country, above all to the victims, to their families, to the many injured and all those who lost home and work,” the pontiff said.

“And so many lost the illusion of living,” he added.

___

Associated Press writers Frances D’Emilio in Rome and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed reporting.

Source Article from https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-business-lebanon-beirut-df101c65596fb121046e351067406c2e

Four Northeast Democratic governors are calling for the resignation of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, following a report from the state attorney general’s office that he sexually harassed multiple women and retaliated against a former employee who complained. 

“We are appalled at the findings of the independent investigation by the New York Attorney General. Governor Cuomo should resign from office,” read the statement. 

It was signed by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, and Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee – all Democrats. 

Their names add to the growing list of people – including President Biden – calling for Cuomo’s resignation after the release of the investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James. 

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN DEMANDS CUOMO RESIGNATION FOLLOWING SEXUAL HARASSMENT PROBE

The nearly five-month, non-criminal investigation, overseen by James and led by two outside lawyers, concluded that 11 women within and outside state government were telling the truth when they said Cuomo had touched them inappropriately, commented on their appearance or made suggestive comments about their sex lives. 

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Cuomo, meanwhile, has remained defiant, saying in a taped response to the findings that “the facts are much different than what has been portrayed” and that he “never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual comments.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democratic-governors-cuomo-resign-sex-harassment-scandal

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced a new two-month federal moratorium on evictions to replace the broader one that expired over the weekend.

The new moratorium would take effect in areas where COVID-19 has been on the rise and last through Oct. 3, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The moratorium applies to counties facing high or substantial levels of the coronavirus and is estimated to cover about 90% of the U.S. population.

Without a federal moratorium in place, millions of Americans who fell behind on their rent during the pandemic faced eviction, depending on the patchwork of state policies.

California’s state eviction moratorium currently lasts until Sept. 30.

In a statement, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky called the moratorium “the right thing to do” to keep people in their homes and out of settings where COVID-19 can spread.

“Such mass evictions and the attendant public health consequences would be very difficult to reverse,” she said.

Biden previously said he did not have legal authority to renew the moratorium himself, and asked Congress to act. He said Monday he was still unsure if a new ban would pass constitutional muster, and constitutional scholars said it might not. But the president said that it would at least help Americans temporarily.

President Biden meets with Latino leaders on the second anniversary of the El Paso shooting as Democrats try to shore up support among Latino voters.

“By the time it gets litigated, it will probably give some additional time,” Biden said.

The Supreme Court narrowly rejected an attempt to end the previous eviction moratorium in June, but did not rule on whether the federal ban was constitutional.

Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, who joined liberal justices and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to uphold the moratorium, made clear he would block any additional extensions unless there was “clear and specific congressional authorization.”

Since the White House’s abrupt announcement last week that Biden would not extend the moratorium, congressional leaders and the White House have passed the blame for who would be responsible for the millions of Americans who could be evicted.

Progressive Democrats lambasting the White House for not extending the moratorium led a pressure campaign urging Biden to act once it became clear Congress could not agree on an extension.

A small group of House lawmakers led by Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) has slept on the outdoor steps to the House chamber for five days in an effort to draw attention to the issue. Bush said her protest was deeply personal because she had been evicted in the past, at one point living in a car with her small children.

“This is an enormous victory, and we laud the White House for listening to the clarion call of our members, our colleagues, and communities around the country,” Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said. “The president clearly understands that we need to keep people in their homes.”

Many members pointed to Bush’s protest as integral to the new moratorium.

“I particularly applaud Rep. Cori Bush, who understands what it’s like to be evicted and who took her passion and turned it into amazingly effective action,” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.

The extended moratorium gives states more time to distribute the $46.5 billion that Congress provided in the Emergency Rental Assistance program in January and March to those who need it.

The Treasury Department estimates that just $3 billion, or 7% of available funds, had been distributed by the end of June. Many states did not begin processing applications until June.

According to California’s Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, the state has distributed $242.65 million in rental assistance to 20,066 households as of Tuesday.

It’s a tiny portion of the $5.6 billion the state either has received or expects to receive from the federal Emergency Rental Assistance program, but more than double where the state was a month ago.

Agency spokesman Russ Heimerich said there has been a big uptick in applications since mid-June, when state lawmakers increased the potential reimbursement for rent to 100% and extended eviction protections until the end of September.

He said the agency is also working to cut its application processing time to two weeks by streamlining the paperwork and doubling the number of workers.

Source Article from https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-08-03/biden-new-temporary-eviction-moratorium

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced Tuesday that he had pardoned Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who were charged with waving guns at a group of Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home last year.

Mark McCloskey was seen holding a semi-automatic rifle while his wife was holding a handgun on their property on June 28, 2020, as a group of protesters passed by their house, prosecutors said. The couple were filmed shouting “Get out” to the crowd, but there was no physical confrontation between them and the protesters.

They contended they were protecting their property during the protests.

Several prominent conservative leaders, including President Donald Trump, defended the couple. The McCloskeys were guest speakers at the 2020 Republican National Convention.

A grand jury indicted the couple in October and Pearson told reporters he would consider pardoning them.

The couple pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and harassment charges in June. They surrendered their weapons and Patricia McCloskey was fined $2,000 while her husband was fined $750.

When Judge David Mason asked Mark McCloskey if he acknowledged that his actions put people at risk of personal injury, McCloskey replied, “I sure did, your honor.”

Mark McCloskey, who announced in May he was running for U.S. Senate, told reporters outside the courthouse after the hearing that he’d do it again.

“Any time the mob approaches me, I’ll do what I can to put them in imminent threat of physical injury because that’s what kept them from destroying my house and my family,” he said.

The couple and the governor didn’t immediately provide statements about the pardons.

Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/US/governor-pardons-st-louis-couple-pointed-guns-black/story?id=79250990

Hey, remember the children? We used to say things about them like, “They’re the future,” or “They should be exposed to culture,” or even “They should definitely go to school.” But the last 17 months have seen our society put kids dead last again and again. Now New York City is seemingly looking to banish them from public spaces altogether. 

Announcing a “new approach,” called the “Key-to-NYC Pass,” the mayor decreed that unvaccinated persons won’t be able to participate in most indoor activities in Gotham.

Hizzoner explained it thus: “The key to New York City. When you hear those words, I want you to imagine the notion that because someone’s vaccinated, they can do all the amazing things that are available in this city. This is a miraculous place, literally full of wonders. And if you’re vaccinated, all of that is going to open up to you. You have the key. You can open the door.”

Left unsaid: Children will be waiting outside the door of this miraculous place of wonders. The mayor’s announcement included no exceptions for kids, leaving city parents, as well as potential tourists to New York, in limbo once more.

Asked about the announcement, Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, the city’s health commissioner, gave the impression that children were simply forgotten when the policy was crafted — neglect that is fully in line with how kids have been treated throughout the pandemic.

“Many of them are settings where there won’t be children involved,” Chokshi said. “For those that may involve children, this is something that we have to take into consideration.” Children will be taken into consideration after the announcement of a policy whose formulation didn’t take them into consideration. Got it.

Bill de Blasio speaks during his news conference on Tuesday.

Even before the mayor’s announcement, New York City was starting to close its doors to kids. Last week, the Met Opera banned all kids under 12 from its performances. 

And some restaurants have pre-emptively stopped allowing kids inside. Asked whether kids can dine inside after it announced indoor dining for vaccinated individuals only, the restaurant Frenchette responded to one parent: “Unfortunately, indoors is vaxxed only.”

There is no vaccine for kids under 12, that’s true. But there are plenty of studies that show unvaccinated children have the same COVID risks as vaccinated adults. When will it be finally time to follow the science in regard to kids? (In Europe, where the approach is saner compared to ours to begin with, there are expressions of regret over the cruelty of COVID policy to kids: Witness the Bild newspaper’s widely viewed video apology to German children for what COVID hype did to their lives.)

The problem isn’t just dining or cultural institutions, though closing those off to children should be enough of a wake-up call to adults that things are going horribly wrong. On Tuesday, Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter echoed the mayor’s language in a tweet: “Vaccines are our passport out of this pandemic, and every person vaccinated is another person protected from COVID-19. As a parent, I encourage all families preparing to return to @NYCSchools this fall to get your student age 12+ vaxxed by Aug. 9.” 

Parents, even those who were vaccinated themselves, are understandably skittish about giving the vaccine to children, who likely don’t need it. Again: Kids are at minuscule risk from the virus, and they transmit at a far lower rate than do adults. If schooling becomes contingent on vaccination status, New York City kids are in for another year of educational chaos.

If a city wanted to force out its families, it would not do things much differently than New York has done. We used to understand that families were the key to a thriving Big Apple. Now we push children out of public life, as if they are lepers, and treat them as an afterthought.

New York parents deal with a lot to raise their children in the city, but it’s worth it when they get exposure to unique cultural events or unusual cuisines. Close off those opportunities to little ones, and more families will flee the city. Their leaders are already telegraphing to them that this is the choice they should make. 

Twitter: @Karol

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2021/08/03/nycs-new-vaccine-policy-erases-kids-from-public-life/

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Tuesday it will extend the federal eviction moratorium through October 3, 2021 after the ban lapsed over the weekend.

The announcement comes after pressure from House Democrats including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo. The White House previously said Biden did not have the authority extend the ban, given a June Supreme Court ruling that said only Congress can enact a such a ban. Congressional Democrats did not appear to have enough votes to do so, and the House is currently in recess.

Now, the CDC will instead issue a ban in counties “experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission levels” of in Covid-19, which will cover an estimated 90% of renters, according to Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The White House is also calling on state and local governments to do everything they can to get out the $46 billion in emergency rental relief Congress has allocated. So far, only an estimated $3 billion has been disbursed.

The extended moratorium should give states the time they need to get the money out, says Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).

“This is a tremendous relief for millions of people who were on the cusp of losing their homes and, with them, their ability to stay safe during the pandemic,” Yentel says.

An estimated 11 million adults are currently behind on their rental payments. Since the moratorium expired on Saturday, housing attorneys said there had already been an uptick in eviction filings.

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Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/03/cdc-will-extend-the-federal-eviction-moratorium-through-oct-3.html

Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Shontel Brown speaks during a campaign event on July 31 in Cleveland.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images


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Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Shontel Brown speaks during a campaign event on July 31 in Cleveland.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Shontel Brown has narrowly won the Democratic primary to replace former Ohio U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, according to a race call from The Associated Press, marking a victory for more moderate Democrats in the closely watched contest.

Cleveland area voters chose Brown, the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party chair and a county councilwoman, over Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator and co-chair of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential run, and a bevy of other candidates.

Turner had jumped out to a money and early polling lead in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District, and had broader name recognition.

She also secured the endorsements of leftists like Sanders and the so-called Squad, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Cori Bush.

Brown, meanwhile, had the backing of establishment favorites, including Hillary Clinton and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina.

The seat opened up after Fudge was appointed to head the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ohio’s 11th district is traditionally Democratic leaning, and so Brown’s primary win makes it likely that she will secure the seat. She’ll face Republican Laverne Gore, who won the GOP primary.

15th Congressional District

Elsewhere in Ohio, voters in the 15th Congressional District on Tuesday chose nominees to replace former Republican Rep. Steve Stivers, who left the seat in the spring to become president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

The Associated Press called the GOP primary for coal lobbyist Mike Carey, who had the backing of former President Donald Trump.

Carey will face the Democratic nominee, state Rep. Allison Russo.

The primary win for Carey follows a recent special congressional election in Texas, where Trump’s endorsed candidate lost in a runoff to a fellow Republican.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2021/08/03/1024490197/shontel-brown-edges-nina-turner-in-ohio-democratic-u-s-house-primary

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden called on Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign Tuesday, following an official report that said Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women.

“He should resign,” Biden told reporters at the White House.

Asked whether Cuomo should be removed from office if he refuses to resign, Biden said, “I understand the state legislature may decide to impeach, I do not know that for a fact.”

Shortly after Biden’s response, New York State House Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat, announced that the chamber would seek to quickly conclude its impeachment inquiry into the governor.

In calling on Cuomo to step down, Biden joined nearly every other major Democratic lawmaker in both Albany and Washington. But from atop the party leadership, Biden’s demand carries more weight than others.

Cuomo’s press office did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC on the president’s remarks.

The report released Tuesday by state Attorney General Letitia James summarized a monthslong probe by concluding that Cuomo “sexually harassed multiple women, and in doing so violated federal and state law,” James said at a press conference.

A somber but defiant Cuomo strongly denied some of those allegations later Tuesday, and said that other examples of his alleged misconduct had been mischaracterized or misinterpreted.

The 165-page report, which comprises interviews with 179 witnesses and a review of tens of thousands of documents, also said that Cuomo’s office was riddled with fear and intimidation, and was a hostile work environment for many staffers.

The women Cuomo is accused of harassing included members of his own staff, members of the public and other state employees, one of whom was a state trooper, the report found.

The wave of demands that Cuomo resign Tuesday represented a stunning fall from grace for a politician who made no secret of his national ambitions, and was widely seen as a potential 2024 Democratic presidential nominee should Biden decide not to run for re-election.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Cuomo maintained close relationships with first the Trump administration and later the Biden administration.

The president’s response came four months after Biden said that if an investigation confirmed allegations of sexual harassment against Cuomo, then the governor should step down.

Biden said Tuesday that he stood by his March statement.

“I think he’ll probably end up being prosecuted, too,” Biden told ABC News in an interview that aired March 16.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the White House’s message to Cuomo’s accusers was that all women who “have lived through this type of experience … deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.”

“I don’t know that anyone could have watched [James’ press conference] this morning and not found the allegations to be abhorrent— I know I certainly did,” said Psaki.

The findings revealed “a deeply disturbing, yet clear, picture,” James said, describing Cuomo’s office as “a toxic workplace.”

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/03/biden-calls-on-cuomo-to-resign-after-bombshell-sexual-harassment-report.html

President Biden speaks Tuesday about the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images


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Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

President Biden speaks Tuesday about the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Days after a national eviction moratorium expired, the Biden administration on Tuesday issued a new, more limited freeze that remains in effect through Oct. 3.

Like the previous order, the two-month moratorium issued Tuesday comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new ban on evictions covers parts of the United States that are experiencing what the CDC calls “substantial” and “high” spread of the coronavirus.

As of Tuesday afternoon, that’s the vast majority of U.S. counties.

The order, which cites the rise of the delta variant, says: “Without this Order, evictions in these [higher transmission] areas would likely exacerbate the increase in cases.”

“Where we are right now with such high disease rates, we felt a new, tailored order [was needed] to make sure that … working Americans who were at risk of eviction could be stably housed during this really tenuous, challenging period of time,” the CDC’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, told NPR’s All Things Considered.

The federal ban expired Saturday night, affecting millions of Americans who had the potential to be removed from their homes if they had fallen behind on rent.

Since that moratorium’s expiration, progressives had pressured the Biden administration to extend the pause on evictions.

The administration previously said it didn’t have the legal authority to issue a such a measure. The new order could face legal challenges.

Gene Sperling, who oversees the White House’s rollout of COVID-19 relief, told reporters on Monday that Biden had “quadruple-checked” whether he had the legal grounds to extend the moratorium unilaterally but said ultimately his hands were tied by a Supreme Court ruling that blocked the CDC from extending its past moratorium beyond the end of July. A last-minute effort by Congress to extend the ban failed.

Sperling pushed back against criticism from Democrats on Capitol Hill, who argued the White House should have acted sooner in extending the earlier moratorium. He said the Supreme Court made it clear that “congressional authorization” was needed on the matter.

Sperling added that Biden was asking state and local governments to extend or pass eviction moratoriums themselves and noted there’s still billions of dollars in rental assistance aid available.

In remarks to reporters earlier Tuesday, Biden acknowledged the legal quandary.

“Any call for [a] moratorium based on the Supreme Court’s recent decision is likely to face obstacles,” he said. “I’ve indicated to the CDC, I’d like them to look at other alternatives [other] than the one that is in existence, which the court has declared they’re not going to allow to continue.”

For days, a group of congressional Democrats had argued that the prevalence and severity of the delta variant necessitated the continuation of the moratorium.

Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, who was a driving force in the effort to raise awareness about the moratorium’s expiration, slept outside the U.S. Capitol in protest.

Bush, along with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and others, called on their House colleagues to return to Washington after leaving for recess and pushed the White House to step in.

A “largely preventable tragedy”

During his remarks Tuesday, Biden reiterated the danger of the delta variant, noting it now accounts for more than 80% of all current coronavirus cases in the United States.

Calling the current surge a “largely preventable tragedy,” the president emphasized that unlike past surges of the virus, “we have the tools to prevent this rise in cases from shutting down our businesses, our schools, our society.”

He noted that despite the increase in cases, there has not been a comparable rise in hospitalizations or deaths in most parts of the country due to the effectiveness of the vaccine.

“We have a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Biden said. “If you’re vaccinated, you’re highly unlikely to get COVID-19, and even if you do, the chances are you won’t show any symptoms and if you do, they’ll most likely be very mild. Vaccinated people are almost never hospitalized with COVID-19.”

He pointed to Vermont, the most vaccinated state in the country, which he said has seen just five new cases of COVID-19 per day for every 100,000 people who live there.

By contrast, he noted that Florida and Texas — states with lower vaccination rates — account for one-third of all new COVID-19 cases in the country.

He urged people to get the vaccine before it’s too late.

“Right now, too many people are dying or watching a loved one dying and saying, ‘If I just got vaccinated.’ “

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2021/08/03/1024345276/the-biden-administration-plans-a-new-eviction-moratorium-after-a-federal-ban-lap

A Pentagon police officer has died after he was stabbed several times in the neck outside the Pentagon on Tuesday, officials familiar with the incident told NBC News.

The officer opened fire on the assailant after the attack began outside the Pentagon metro entrance, according to NBC News. The assailant was shot dead by police, but it’s not yet clear which officer killed the assailant.

“I’m incredibly saddened to learn about the passing of a Pentagon police officer, who was killed earlier this morning in a senseless act of violence outside the Pentagon,” Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, posted on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon.

“My heart goes out to the officer’s family and friends, as well as the entire Pentagon Police force,” said Warner, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The Pentagon was placed on lockdown Tuesday morning after several gunshots were fired near the building, but it reopened after more than an hour.

The exact details and sequence of events remain murky. Woodrow Kusse, the police chief of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, said at a press conference that “several injuries resulted from the incident” but did not confirm the death of the officer.

However, the Fairfax County Police Department also expressed condolences for the death of a Pentagon police officer.

Kusse said authorities are not actively looking for another suspect: “The incident is over, the scene is secure, and most importantly, there is no continuing threat to our community,” he said.

The FBI is leading an investigation into the incident, as the motivations behind it are still unknown.

“At this time, it would be premature to speculate on motive, and in order to protect the integrity of the investigation we cannot provide additional details at this time,” the FBI Washington Field Office said in a statement. “There is no ongoing threat to the public.”

The incident occurred on a metro bus platform that is part of the Pentagon Transit Center, only steps away from the Pentagon building in Arlington County, Virginia.

“The Pentagon Metro Station is probably one of the busiest in the transportation system. It is a hub for commuters as well as building occupants,” Kusse said at the press conference.

While the lockdown has been lifted, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency tweeted that the public should stay away from the metro rail entrance and bus platform area as it is “still an active crime scene.”

Transportation at the Pentagon is now being diverted to Pentagon City, the agency added.

At the time of the shooting, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were at the White House for a meeting with President Joe Biden.

The last time a significant incident occurred at the Pentagon Metro Center was in 2010, according to Kusse. 

A gunman opened fire at the Pentagon entrance and wounded two officers with the Pentagon Force Protection Agency in March 2010. The officers, who survived, fatally shot the man soon after.

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/03/pentagon-police-officer-killed-in-clash-outside-building-senator-says.html

Starting in September, New York City will require people to prove they’ve received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine to eat indoors, visit gyms, and go to theaters. The new program is called “Key to NYC Pass,” but it does not, as the name might imply, involve the release of a new app or vaccine passport. Instead, people can show a paper CDC vaccine card or an existing vaccine passport app to prove their status.

The initiative marks the first time a major US city has issued a vaccine mandate like this, and it immediately confused the public.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a Tuesday press conference that the Key to NYC Pass — which, again, is a program, not an app or a vaccine passport — is meant to boost inoculation rates across the city. The announcement comes just a day after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo encouraged private businesses to require Covid-19 vaccination for entry to bars and restaurants. Right now, about 30 percent of adults in New York City still haven’t gotten vaccinated. That’s about on par with the rest of the United States.

Not all the details for the new program are clear. Mayor de Blasio says the program will begin August 16, and that more information about the plan will become available in the coming weeks. The system is launching on a voluntary basis beginning on August 16, and the city will start enforcing the new requirements on September 13, after Labor Day, when city officials expect indoor activities to become more popular. City Hall told Recode it planned to do outreach to the affected industries about enforcement of the new rules but did not provide more details.

“The goal here is to convince everyone that this is the time. We’re going to stop the delta variant,” de Blasio told reporters. “That means getting vaccinated right now.”

De Blasio explained that, in addition to showing a CDC card, people can use two government-supported apps to prove their status: New York State’s Excelsior pass, which links up to the state’s vaccine registry and provides a QR code for venues to scan in order to verify a person’s status; and the newer NYC Covid Safe app, which is essentially just a handy place to store pictures of CDC vaccine cards, Covid-19 test results, and photo ID. (Some have criticized the NYC Covid Safe app for lacking security features as it does not currently verify the validity of vaccine credentials.)

Still, the announcement left many thinking that the Key to NYC pass program would involve the launch of yet another app. The mixed messaging isn’t all that surprising. Since Covid-19 vaccinations debuted, there’s been ongoing confusion about how people can confirm that they’ve received a vaccine, especially as more companies and businesses have issued their own vaccine mandates. At the same time, private companies have launched a slew of competing apps.

The city’s explanation of the new vaccine requirements even left Recode’s own Peter Kafka confused:

New York City’s new program also arrives as the White House eschews a federal vaccine mandate or vaccine passport system. The Biden administration has instead supported private businesses and local governments to move forward with their own vaccine requirements. On Tuesday, just days after she encouraged private companies to take “innovative steps” to promote vaccination, press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that a federal vaccination mandate is still not on the table. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, suggested last week, however, that European-style health passes could be a “path forward” from the pandemic.

Indeed, the new vaccine mandate for certain indoor activities in New York is bound to reignite the broader conversation about the use of vaccine passports, which have remained controversial in the US. New York, which launched the country’s first state-supported vaccine passport app with the help of IBM in March, has been bullish about the technology. But other states have banned the use of vaccine passports, calling them government overreach and a violation of peoples’ privacy. Norwegian Cruise Line is currently suing Florida’s surgeon general over such a ban.

Vaccine passport programs have found success in other countries, and there’s evidence that these mandates boost vaccination rates. In France, for instance, a new health pass system that requires proof of vaccination for indoor dining, long-distance trains, and malls inspired protests — but also led to record sign-ups for vaccination appointments. Israel and Italy have also enacted similar vaccine passport systems to boost vaccination uptake and curb the impact of the delta variant.

Some private businesses have taken it upon themselves to check customers’ vaccination statuses and even issue vaccine mandates of their own. Last month, a San Francisco alliance that represents about 500 bars announced that its members would require proof of vaccination or a negative test before offering indoor service. The fitness chain Equinox, which also operates SoulCycle, said that all of its customers and employees will eventually be required to show proof of vaccination, a policy that will be implemented at its New York City gyms starting in September.

A growing number of major companies have also announced vaccine mandates for their employees. Google, Facebook, and Microsoft have said that they’ll require workers to prove they’ve gotten inoculated. Disney is requiring all its salaried and non-union employees to get vaccinated within the next two months. Walmart, the largest employer in the United States, announced late last month that its office workers will have to prove they’ve received a Covid-19 vaccine. And Tyson Foods, the second-largest meat processor in the country, is requiring all of its workers to get the shot.

New York City’s new plan comes amid fears that there could be a fourth Covid-19 wave brought on by the delta variant and people moving activities indoors as the weather cools. If one major city shows that vaccine mandates help stop the spread, there’s hope that other local governments will take notice. At the very least, New York City is showing its residents and visitors that getting the vaccine can open doors.

Source Article from https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/8/3/22607985/new-york-vaccine-mandate-indoor-dining