The court will hear in-person arguments on Friday on emergency requests in two separate cases by challengers including business groups, religious entities and various Republican-led U.S. states for orders blocking the vaccine requirements, with rulings expected in short order. The challengers maintain that Biden and his administration have overstepped their authority.
The court’s 6-3 conservative majority in the past has shown skepticism toward sweeping actions by federal agencies.
Decisions against Biden could hamstring his ability to take broad action to tackle a pandemic that already has claimed the lives of roughly 830,000 Americans, with COVID-19 cases driven by the coronavirus Omicron variant soaring nationally.
The nine justices have spent the bulk of the pandemic working remotely. When the court returned to in-person oral arguments in October for the first time since the early stages of the pandemic, the few people allowed to attend were required to wear masks and maintain social distancing. Among the justices, only Sonia Sotomayor wore a mask in the courtroom during recent arguments.
Members of the public continue to be barred from entering the court building, as they have been since March 2020. Lawyers and journalists are required to take COVID-19 tests to gain entry, though the court has not required proof of vaccination.
A court representative said all nine justices are fully vaccinated and have received booster doses.
The justices, sometimes divided, have rejected several religious-based challenges to state vaccine requirements. Friday’s cases are the first tests of the federal government’s authority to issue its own vaccine mandates.
In other pandemic-related cases, the court has backed religious challenges to certain restrictions and ended the federal government’s residential housing eviction moratorium, originally imposed under former President Donald Trump.
The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Dec. 17 lifted an injunction issued by a lower court that had blocked the rule requiring workers at businesses with at least 100 employees to be vaccinated or be tested weekly. That mandate, part of Biden’s drive to increase the U.S. vaccination rate, was issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and affects around 80 million workers nationwide.
The healthcare worker mandate applies to a majority of the estimated 10.3 million Americans who work in healthcare facilities that receive money under the Medicaid and Medicare government programs. Biden’s administration is asking the Supreme Court to lift orders by federal judges in Missouri and Louisiana blocking the policy in half the 50 U.S. states while litigation on the legal merits of the mandate continues.
‘CLEAR STATEMENT’
In both cases, the challengers argued that the federal government overstepped its authority by issuing requirements that were not specifically authorized by Congress, citing Supreme Court rulings that limited federal agency power over tobacco and greenhouse gas regulations. Both vaccine mandates are of sufficient economic and political significance to require a “clear statement” from Congress, according to the challengers.
Deepak Gupta, a lawyer who filed briefs supporting the mandates, said this argument raised by the challengers is problematic.
“It allows unelected judges to decide there are certain questions they think are significant enough that they require a clear statement on that specific issue,” Gupta said.
Some legal experts suspect the healthcare worker mandate has a better chance of surviving Supreme Court review because the regulation covers just facilities that decide to accept patients covered by Medicaid and Medicare.
“This is only a condition on participation in a federal program, not a direct regulation. Second, and pragmatically, the justices may hesitate before they enjoin a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers,” said Sean Marotta, a lawyer representing the American Hospital Association, a trade group for healthcare providers that is not involved in the litigation.
The clock is ticking for the justices.
Biden’s administration has said it will start requiring compliance with the healthcare worker policy next Monday, though companies would have until Feb. 9 to set up testing programs. In the states where this regulation has not been blocked, workers are required to be fully vaccinated by Feb. 28.
Employers are currently unsure how to proceed, with some concerned about losing staff in a tight labor market if they impose vaccine or testing requirements, said Todd Logsdon, a lawyer based in Louisville, Kentucky who represents companies on workplace safety.
“The quicker they can issue the decision the better,” Logsdon said of the Supreme Court.
The Virginia Department of Transportation said early Wednesday that I-95 around Fredericksburg was open, though some icy conditions persisted. Crews had worked through Tuesday to free up a roughly 50-mile traffic jam that forced scores of drivers to wait in their cars for more than 24 hours in some cases for the roads to clear.
Gov. Ralph Northam blamed the backup on “an incredibly unusual event” after about a foot of snow blanketed the area around Fredericksburg. Transportation officials said the winter weather started with rain, which would have washed away any treatment on roadways to prevent icing.
But some motorist trapped in the backup vented frustration with officials’ response.
“They passed out water (this morning). What is water going to do?” Maurice Watson told WJLA-TV. “I ain’t ate in 24 hours, I ran out of gas, I called VDOT six times. No one came. This is an outrage. This is how you treat your taxpayers?”
Ronni Schorr told The Washington Post she didn’t see any plows until Tuesday morning after being trapped for 14 hours. “I’m not angry at the snow,” Schorr said. “I’m just upset at the way they handled it.”
Among those stuck was Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who was driving to Washington, D.C., from Richmond and said the journey took him 27 hours.
Speaking with reporters after arriving in Washington, Kaine said he saw crews working overnight to clear the roads but called the incident “probably a good infrastructure story. Generally, we’re just not as big investors and infrastructure as we should be.”
After it began to snow on roads that had not been pretreated, “that was entirely too much for us to keep up with,” Department of Transportation district engineer Marcie Parker told reporters. Trucks began to lose control, and it was snowing at a rate of 2 inches an hour, she said. “Consequently, with the amount of traffic that we had on the interstate, the trucks and the cars couldn’t make it up and down the hills because we had too much snow and ice out there.”
Parker said the snow knocked out power to some traffic cameras, and because of the location of the logjam, express lanes weren’t much help to clear the backup.
Just after 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Virginia Department of Transportation tweeted that the freeway had been reopened and that no disabled vehicles remained on the road.
The National Weather Service on Wednesday, though, said patches of freezing rain could cause slick travel conditions. The state transportation department warned drivers on I-95 be cautious.
The number of vehicles caught in the backup was not clear, but photos and videos on social media showed hundreds lined up.
Overnight Monday into Tuesday, cold temperatures had drivers worried, and many turned off their cars for periods to conserve gas. Others walked around or passed out food.
Marvin Romero, who had been returning from South Florida with his children, said he spent 20 hours on the roadway.
“To me, I see it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. How many people can actually say that they stepped on I-95, or they slept on I-95?” he said. “It’s hopefully a story that I can tell my grandkids one day.”
Contributing: Ledyard King, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
Donald Trump has canceled a press conference scheduled for 6 January at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the attack on the Capitol mounted by his supporters.
The former president blamed the “total bias and dishonesty” of the “Fake News Media” as well as the House panel investigating the assault, which released several text messages from Fox News personality Sean Hannity to the former president’s then-chief of staff Mark Meadows in the days surrounding the attack.
Documents recently published by the committee also reveal how the former president’s allies planned a campaign to intimidate election officials and spread voter fraud falsehoods, while another appeared to call for the seizure of “evidence” in service of his false claims that propelled the attack and his spurious bid to overturn election results.
In recent weeks, the committee has accelerated its probe into the attack, fuelled by conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, and a violent attempt to reject the votes of millions of Americans.
On Thursday, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will deliver remarks to mark one year since the attack. At the Capitol, lawmakers will hold a memorial service.
The House’s January 6th Committee is considering rare prime-time hearings to help build a maximum audience for testimony about what happened during last year’s Capitol riot
A committee member told Axios: “Members are still discussing potential formats and timing for the committee’s hearings”.
“The Select Committee views upcoming hearings as one of its most important opportunities to lay out facts and provide answers to the American people about the January 6th attack and its causes,” the aide added.
The committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, told Bloomberg’s Billy House that hearings could open in late March or early April.
Thompson stated: “The public needs to know, needs to hear from people under oath about what led up to Jan. 6th, and to some degree, what has continued after Jan. 6.”
Capitol riot committee wants Fox News host Sean Hannity to testify
Fox News host Sean Hannity has become the first employee from the network to face a request for his testimony from the House select committee to investigate the Capitol riot.
Hannity is one of several Fox hosts who texted Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on the day of the Capitol riot.
Congressman Adam Schiff said on MSNBC on Tuesday that an official announcement that the committee would seek Mr Hannity’s cooperation was forthcoming.
“Yes. I think you’ll see an announcement about that very soon,” California Democrat announced.
The announcement was officially made on the committee’s social media account shortly after.
Trump’s team ‘wanted him to film TikToks in run-up to Jan 6’
Former President Donald Trump’s team wanted him to film TikTok videos in the run-up to Jan 6 to whip up a “Stop the Steal” frenzy, a new report claims.
The pitch was one of many outlined in a 22-page communications playbook first published by Politico.Titled the “Strategic Communications Plan,” it was authored by a group of unnamed individuals under the moniker the “Giuliani Presidential Legal Defense Team.”
The pitch quoted by Politico said: “TIKTOK*** WE have to use TIKTOK!! Content goes VIRAL here like no other platform!!!!! And there are MILLIONS of Trump supporters!” read the document. “It would be amazing if POTUS would use the platform actually – he’d have the biggest account EVER.”
The document lists a dozen TikTok influencers and their respective follower counts, including conservative TikTok influencers ‘Conservative Barbie’ and the Republican ‘Hype House’.
Garland to speak on DOJ’s Jan. 6 investigation in bid to ‘hold accountable those responsible’
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday will deliver a rare address on the Justice Department’s sweeping investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection, in remarks one official said will outline DOJ’s “efforts to hold accountable those responsible” for the attack on the Capitol.
As ABC News reports, Garland has increasingly found himself the subject of public scrutiny over what critics have argued is a seeming hesitance to hold accountable those like former President Donald Trump or his allies — who urged the rioters to march toward Congress almost a year ago today.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure that the perpetrators of Jan. 6 are brought to justice,” Garland said back in October. “We will follow the facts and the law where they land.”
A DOJ official told ABC News that Garland’s remarks Wednesday will similarly “not speak to specific individuals or charges,” but rather will “discuss the department’s solemn duty to uphold the Constitution, follow the facts and the law, and pursue equal justice under law without fear or favor.”
A masked figure, a backpack of explosives and a manhunt turned cold: The mystery of the DC pipe bomber
More than 700 Capitol rioters have been arrested so far, but none have been charged with planting the explosives. For now, the identity of the DC pipe bomber remains unknown.
For the past year, the FBI has been hunting down and arresting the Trump supporters who allegedly stormed the Capitol on 6 January. More than 700 people have been charged with crimes related to the Capitol riot, with some already convicted and serving prison terms.
Despite the staggering number of arrests — largely stemming from public tips to the FBI — one individual has still managed to evade the FBI’s custody.
Graig Graziosi reports on the seemingly elusive DC pipe bomber.
More than 700 Capitol rioters have been arrested, but none have been charged with planting the explosives. Graig Graziosi investigates the mystery of the DC pipe bomber
Capitol Police Chief vows to ‘restore confidence’ in the force after Jan 6
As the New York Times reports, The chief, J. Thomas Manger, who took over the force in July, will tell the Senate Rules Committee that the Capitol Police are already addressing 90 of the agency inspector general’s 103 recommendations, according to his written testimony.
They include streamlining intelligence operations and purchasing much needed new equipment.
“We fully understand the need to restore confidence in our ability to fulfil our mission each day, no matter the circumstances,” Chief Manger plans to tell the committee, which last month heard critiques of the agency.
“The men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police proved their mettle on Jan. 6. I take full responsibility for restoring confidence in the leadership of the department. We have accomplished a great deal, with more work to be done,” he added.
Lindsey Graham ‘takes credit’ for Trump cancelling 6 January anniversary speech
South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham is taking credit for getting former president Donald Trump to cancel his scheduled press conference on the anniversary of the Capitol Hill insurrection.
The senator said that he was among several people, including Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who urged Mr Trump to cancel the event.
Mr Graham is a close aide of the former president. He told Axios that he “discussed the subject with Mr Trump over a weekend golf match in West Palm Beach”.
Ask The Independent’s senior US correspondent anything about 6 January Capitol riot
Our US correspondent Richard Hall will be on hand to answer all your questions about the Capitol riot in an ‘Ask me Anything’ event on Wednesday, 5 January.
He will be answering live in the comments section below between 3pm and 4pm GMT (10am and 11am EST).
Register to submit your question in the comments box of the article here:
Richard Hall was on the ground reporting on the riot as it happened in 2021 for The Independent and will be on hand to answer your questions about the day itself
‘It’s gonna leave a scar’: Capitol Police and staffers still traumatised a year after Jan 6
When the Covid-19 pandemic forced Congress to shutter the US Capitol to most visitors and send most legislative staff home to work remotely, a core group of essential workers didn’t have that option.
Even without the hustle and bustle attendant to the thousands of tourists, lobbying groups and staff members who make their way through the labyrinthine corridors and grand lobbies of the Capitol on a normal non-pandemic day, there were still entrances to be guarded, food to be served, bills to be filed and debates to be had.
This meant that for the police, service workers, and nonpartisan staff who keep the complex running, the show had to go on. And so when it came time for Congress to meet in its quadrennial joint session to certify the presidential election results, they showed up for work. They were at their posts when a pro-Trump mob hoping to disrupt that session perpetrated what would be the worst attack on the Capitol since 1814.
Capitol police and nonpolitical staffers are still struggling to deal with the impact of the attack on their place of work a year ago, writes Andrew Feinberg.
Donald Trump calls off Jan 6 anniversary speech in Mar-a-Lago after Hannity texts revealed
Donald Trump has canceled his press conference to commemorate the 6 January Capitol riot, which the former president planned to hold at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
Mr Trump’s change of plans comes after the special congressional committee investigating the insurrection released a series of texts from Fox News host Sean Hannity, who texted then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows his concerns over the violence at the Capitol and raised doubts on Mr Trump’s election fraud claims.
In one text message sent on 5 January 2021, Mr Hannity wrote that he was “very worried” about the next 48 hours. In another, sent a few days earlier, he wrote: “I do NOT see January 6 happening the way he is being told.”
Pedro Martinez, chief executive of Chicago Public Schools, said classes would be canceled Wednesday if the teachers union voted to switch to remote learning due to record COVID-19 levels. Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced in September that Martinez would be the new head of the city’s public schools.
Ashlee Rezin/AP
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Ashlee Rezin/AP
Pedro Martinez, chief executive of Chicago Public Schools, said classes would be canceled Wednesday if the teachers union voted to switch to remote learning due to record COVID-19 levels. Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced in September that Martinez would be the new head of the city’s public schools.
Ashlee Rezin/AP
CHICAGO — Classes in Chicago’s public schools will be canceled Wednesday after the teachers union voted to switch to remote learning due to the latest COVID-19 surge, district officials announced late Tuesday.
The move in the nation’s third-largest school district comes amid an escalating battle over pandemic safety protocols in schools. The status of instruction for the rest of the week remained in limbo. The union’s action, approved by 73% of members, called for remote instruction until “cases substantially subside” or union leaders approve an agreement for safety protocols with the district.
“This decision was made with a heavy heart and a singular focus on student and community safety,” the union said in a statement.
Chicago Public Schools officials have insisted on keeping all schools open for in-person class, saying remote instruction during the pandemic has been disastrous for children’s learning and mental health. But the union argued that the district’s safety protocols are lacking and both teachers and students are vulnerable.
Contentious issues in the roughly 350,000-student district include metrics that would trigger school closures. The district proposed guidelines for individual school closures, saying safety measures like required masks, availability of vaccines and improved ventilation make schools among the safest places for kids to be. But the union has proposed metrics for districtwide closure, citing risks to students and teachers.
Students returned to class Monday after a two-week winter break with COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations fueled by the omicron variant at record levels. School districts nationwide have grappled with the same issue, with most opting to stay open.
While the union has characterized the vote as a return to remote instruction, district leaders called it a “walkout” and “illegal work stoppage.” A contentious battle took place last January over similar issues causing a bumpy start to the district’s return to in-person instruction after first going remote in March 2020.
Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said buildings would remain open regardless of the union vote, saying buildings were open for administrators, staff and “essential services,” but not instruction for students. Mayor Lori Lightfoot also signaled that teachers who did not show up to work would be placed on “no pay status.”
In response to union concerns, the district said that it has provided 200,000 KN95 masks to teachers, would allow schools to bring back daily health screening questions for students and building visitors that were required last academic year, and would spell out metrics for closing individual schools. For instance, the district said it would switch to remote learning at an elementary school if 50% of its classrooms had more than 50% of its students instructed to isolate or quarantine.
The Chicago Teachers Union, which has roughly 25,000 members, said Tuesday it was reviewing the district’s offer, but that they received it “minutes” before the news conference. The union had sought the same metrics to close schools from an agreement last year, which expired over the summer. That includes a districtwide two-week pause on in-person learning if the citywide COVID-19 test positivity rate increases for seven consecutive days, for instance.
Union leaders said more safety protocols were needed and that the COVID-19 surge was causing staffing shortages. The district said roughly 82% of its roughly 21,600 teachers reported to work Monday, which was lower than usual, but that classes were covered by substitute teachers and other staff.
District officials said student attendance for the week was not yet available.
Roughly 100,000 students and 91% of its more than 47,000 staff in the district are vaccinated, according to the district.
Christian Jacob, the head of the right-wing Republicans party, told lawmakers that the comments were unbecoming of a French head of state. “I cannot support a bill whose only goal is to piss off the French,” he said.
The Coronavirus Pandemic: Key Things to Know
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The global surge. The coronavirus is spreading faster than ever at the start of 2022, but the last days of 2021 brought the encouraging news that the Omicron variant produces less severe illness than earlier waves. As such, governments are focusing more on expanding vaccination than limiting the spread.
Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader and one of Mr. Macron’s main opponents in the upcoming election, accused him of “waging war” on the unvaccinated.
“Even if one doesn’t share their choice, they have broken none of our country’s laws,” she told reporters in Parliament late Tuesday, saying Mr. Macron had made a political and moral mistake. “He is continuing his policy of division, of pitting the French against one another,” she added.
Mr. Macron’s comments come in a heated political climate — less than four months before the presidential election — and after he vowed in a recent interview that he had learned from mistakes made earlier in his term, when his one-liners were regularly criticized as dismissive and out of touch.
Stéphane Séjourné, a member of the European Parliament and close ally of Mr. Macron’s, defended the president’s comments, arguing on Twitter that it was the unvaccinated who were bothering the French by overburdening hospitals, exhausting health workers and “forcing the rest of the population to endure restrictions.”
“So yes, we have to piss them off in return,” he said.
ALMATY, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Kazakhstan declared emergencies in the capital, main city and provinces on Wednesday after demonstrators stormed and torched public buildings, the worst unrest for more than a decade in the tightly controlled country.
The Cabinet resigned, but that failed to quell the anger of the demonstrators, who have taken to the streets in response to a fuel price increase from the start of the new year.
Though the unrest was triggered by the price rise, there were signs of broader political demands in a country still under the shadow of three decades of one-man rule.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, 81, took office as president of the former Soviet republic in 1990 and only stepped down in 2019. He retained authority as ruling party boss and head of a powerful security council.
An Instagram live stream by a Kazakh blogger showed a fire blazing in the office of the mayor of the main city, Almaty, with apparent gunshots audible nearby. Videos posted online also showed the nearby prosecutor’s office burning.
Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters journalists saw thousands of protesters pressing towards Almaty city centre, some of them on a large truck. Security forces, ranked in helmets and riot shields, fired tear gas and flash-bang grenades.
The city’s police chief said Almaty was under attack by “extremists and radicals”, who had beaten up 500 civilians and ransacked hundreds of businesses.
A presidential decree announced a two-week state of emergency and nighttime curfew in the capital Nur-Sultan – named after the former president. It cited a “serious and direct security threat to citizens”.
States of emergency were also declared in Almaty and in the westerly Mangistau province, where protests first broke out.
Reuters journalists reported the internet had been shut down as the unrest spread. Netblocks, a site that monitors global internet connectivity, said Kazakhstan was “in the midst of a nation-scale internet blackout”.
Though the unrest was triggered by a fuel price rise, there were signs of broader political demands in a country still under the shadow of three decades of one-man rule.
Footage showed police and security officials in civilian clothes breaking up a small group of protesters in the city of Shymkent, hauling away men and pushing them into a police car and a white van as some chanted “Nazarbayev, go away!”
In the city of Aqtobe, what appeared to be several hundred protesters gathered on a square shouting: “Old Man, go away!”. A video posted online showed police using water cannon and stun grenades against protesters near the mayor’s office there.
BONDS PLUNGE
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Kazakh law enforcement officers are seen on a barricade during a protest triggered by fuel price increase in Almaty, Kazakhstan January 5, 2022. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev
Nazarbayev’s hand-picked successor, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, accepted the Cabinet’s resignation on Wednesday and ordered acting ministers to reverse the fuel price rise.
Tokayev also named a new first deputy head of the National Security Committee to replace a nephew of Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev himself has not commented or convened the security council since the unrest began.
Kazakhstan’s reputation for political stability under Nazarbayev has helped it attract hundreds of billions of dollars of foreign investment in its oil and metals industries.
The unrest saw the price of Kazakhstan’s dollar bonds plunge by nearly 6 cents, the worst showing since the height of the coronavirus market collapse of 2020. read more
Analysts said the veneer of stability has masked anger among a younger generation denied the liberalisation seen in other ex-Soviet states.
“I think there is an underlying undercurrent of frustrations in Kazakhstan over the lack of democracy,” said Tim Ash, emerging market strategist at BlueBay Asset Management.
“Young, internet savvy Kazakhs, especially in Almaty, likely want similar freedoms as Ukrainians, Georgians, Moldovans, Kyrgyz and Armenians, who have also vented their frustrations over the years with authoritarian regimes.”
Kazakhstan is a close ally of Russia. The Kremlin said it expected the country to quickly resolve its internal problems, warning other countries against interfering.
Atameken, Kazakhstan’s business lobby group, said its members were reporting attacks on banks, stores and restaurants. The city health department said 190 people had sought medical help, including 137 police. City authorities urged residents to stay home.
The interior ministry said government buildings were also attacked in the southern cities of Shymkent and Taraz overnight, with 95 police wounded in clashes. Police have detained more than 200 people.
Kazakhstan has been grappling with rising price pressures. Inflation was closing in on 9% year-on-year late last year – its highest level in more than five years – forcing the central bank to raise interest rates to 9.75%.
Tokayev acknowledged the government had botched the lifting of a cap on the price of liquefied petroleum gas from Jan. 1, which saw the cost more than double. The low-cost fuel is used by many Kazakhs to power their cars with pressurised tanks.
Tokayev ordered the LPG price cap restored and extended to gasoline, diesel and other “socially important” goods. He also ordered the government to develop a personal bankruptcy law and consider freezing utility prices and subsidising rent payments.
He said the situation was improving in protest-hit cities and towns, including Almaty and the surrounding province, where the authorities declared a state of emergency.
A source familiar with the situation said some workers at Mangistaumunaigas, a Kazakh-Chinese oil-producing joint venture based in Mangistau province, were on strike, although this was not affecting output.
Tucker Carlson and Va. radio host Vince Coglianese offer reaction on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’
Virginia‘s Republican Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin doesn’t take office until Jan. 15 – yet some critics Tuesday tried to blame him, instead of the commonwealth’s outgoing Democratic incumbent, for a 179-mile-long traffic mess on Interstate 95.
Hundreds of travelers – including U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. — were stranded in their vehicles overnight Monday into Tuesday in frigid conditions along the northern third of the highway in Virginia.
However, one of the stranded motorists – New Jersey parent Joseph Catalano — told Fox News he reached out to the actual sitting governor, Democrat Ralph Northam, while he and his family were trying to travel home from Disney World in Florida.
On Tuesday night’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” host Tucker Carlson noted that many others impulsively blamed Youngkin instead of Northam for the crisis.
Carlson pointed to a tweet from anti-Trump Republican pundit Jonah Goldberg, saying that if he “were Glenn Youngkin, I’d be flooding the zone,” as images spread of drivers stuck on the frozen blacktop in places like Ladysmith, Spotsylvania and Carmel Church, while conditions on the parallel, older U.S. Highway 1 weren’t any better.
The Virginia Department of Transportation was warning motorists to avoid travel on I-95 until lanes reopen and congestion clears. (Fox)
Other critics called it “not a good start” for Youngkin, while another critic lamented, “does Virginia’s new Governor Youngkin know people have been stranded on I-95 for 15 hours?”
But Carlson also spoke with Northern Virginia radio host Vince Coglianese, who observed that Youngkin – despite being wrongly blamed for the crisis – was receiving briefings and speaking with the media about the snow catastrophe.
Vehicles in a still image from video as authorities work to reopen an icy stretch of Interstate 95 near Garrisonville, Virginia, Jan. 4, 2022. (Reuters)
“He seemed quite active in a way that Ralph Northam did not,” Coglianese said, adding that Northam didn’t tweet about the crisis until 8 a.m. ET, after many motorists spent a frigid night in their vehicles.
“Glenn Youngkin wasn’t even in office,” he added.
While certain new officeholders like New York City Mayor Eric Adams took office Jan. 1, there is no nationwide date for state or local officials to take office.
Coglianese also questioned the absence of U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, noting that I-95 and its West Coast counterpart Interstate 5 are probably the two most important longitudinal highways in the country.
“He has done nothing to relieve the pressure?” Carlson remarked.
The snow-in ensnared a handful of top Washington figures, including Kaine, who said he was traveling from his Richmond, Virginia, home to D.C., as well as NBC News reporter Joshua Lederman.
Lederman said he was stuck in his vehicle overnight on the highway.
In full, Interstate 95 runs more than 1,900 miles from a Canadian border crossing near Houlton, Maine, to its end at the aforementioned Route 1 in the Brickell neighborhood of Miami, serving many major cities in between.
Donald Trump has canceled a press conference scheduled for 6 January at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the attack on the Capitol mounted by his supporters.
The former president blamed the “total bias and dishonesty” of the “Fake News Media” as well as the House panel investigating the assault, which released several text messages from Fox News personality Sean Hannity to the former president’s then-chief of staff Mark Meadows in the days surrounding the attack.
Documents recently published by the committee also reveal how the former president’s allies planned a campaign to intimidate election officials and spread voter fraud falsehoods, while another appeared to call for the seizure of “evidence” in service of his false claims that propelled the attack and his spurious bid to overturn election results.
In recent weeks, the committee has accelerated its probe into the attack, fuelled by conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, and a violent attempt to reject the votes of millions of Americans.
On Thursday, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will deliver remarks to mark one year since the attack. At the Capitol, lawmakers will hold a memorial service.
Ask The Independent’s senior US correspondent anything about 6 January Capitol riot
Our US correspondent Richard Hall will be on hand to answer all your questions about the Capitol riot in an ‘Ask me Anything’ event on Wednesday, 5 January.
He will be answering live in the comments section below between 3pm and 4pm GMT (10am and 11am EST).
Register to submit your question in the comments box of the article here:
Richard Hall was on the ground reporting on the riot as it happened in 2021 for The Independent and will be on hand to answer your questions about the day itself
‘It’s gonna leave a scar’: Capitol Police and staffers still traumatised a year after Jan 6
When the Covid-19 pandemic forced Congress to shutter the US Capitol to most visitors and send most legislative staff home to work remotely, a core group of essential workers didn’t have that option.
Even without the hustle and bustle attendant to the thousands of tourists, lobbying groups and staff members who make their way through the labyrinthine corridors and grand lobbies of the Capitol on a normal non-pandemic day, there were still entrances to be guarded, food to be served, bills to be filed and debates to be had.
This meant that for the police, service workers, and nonpartisan staff who keep the complex running, the show had to go on. And so when it came time for Congress to meet in its quadrennial joint session to certify the presidential election results, they showed up for work. They were at their posts when a pro-Trump mob hoping to disrupt that session perpetrated what would be the worst attack on the Capitol since 1814.
Capitol police and nonpolitical staffers are still struggling to deal with the impact of the attack on their place of work a year ago, writes Andrew Feinberg.
Donald Trump calls off Jan 6 anniversary speech in Mar-a-Lago after Hannity texts revealed
Donald Trump has canceled his press conference to commemorate the 6 January Capitol riot, which the former president planned to hold at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
Mr Trump’s change of plans comes after the special congressional committee investigating the insurrection released a series of texts from Fox News host Sean Hannity, who texted then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows his concerns over the violence at the Capitol and raised doubts on Mr Trump’s election fraud claims.
In one text message sent on 5 January 2021, Mr Hannity wrote that he was “very worried” about the next 48 hours. In another, sent a few days earlier, he wrote: “I do NOT see January 6 happening the way he is being told.”
Senator Brian Schatz warns of continued threat to US democracy
Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) said on Tuesday that the attacks on the US Capitol were an “attempted overthrow of American democracy.”
Warning against the “continued threat” to the country, he said: “A year ago, there was an attempted overthrow of American democracy right here in this building. We came perilously close to losing everything that night. Police officers were maimed and killed. Custodial workers and Senate staffers were hiding, with zero protection.”
He added: “One year later, and I’m even more worried now.”Mr Schatz continued: “If we take a moment and we realise what’s at stake, we will realise what is required… It will require citizens to understand that democracy in this country is not what we have, it is what we do, and it is never, ever guaranteed.”
The senator emphasised that “authoritarians rarely give up. And we know that they aren’t doing their preparation for the next coup in hiding. They are doing it all in plain sight and they must be stopped.”
House Republicans to release their own report on 6 January
House Republicans are preparing their own report on the events of 6 January to counter the House select committee’s report, Axios reported.
Republican representative from Indiana, Jim Banks, is allegedly preparing the report.
Sources quoted by Axios said that Mr Banks will share a “separate investigation from House Republicans” and will also circulate a memo describing Nancy Pelosi’s committee as “illegitimate.”
Mr Banks is also supposed to tell House Republicans that GOP leadership staff have been “conducting their own interviews with Capitol Police, their union and other officials to focus on the security failures that allowed the Capitol breach.”
He has told other Republicans that they “will produce their own report documenting failures of preparation, activation on intelligence and inadequate equipment for Capitol Police.”
Domestic extremism shifted in the US after 6 Jan, report reveals
A report by Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab revealed that a year after the 6 January riots, “domestic extremist movements have evolved and adapted their strategies, infrastructure, and messaging.”
The report found that “despite an initial decline, domestic extremist groups have evolved and resurfaced, encouraging local action while recruiting and spreading their messages through culture-war debates including vaccines, race and education.”
Jared Holt, a resident fellow at the Digital Forensic Research Lab — and the author of the new report titled “After the Insurrection” — says that “the domestic extremist landscape was battered by Jan. 6. But extremism is dynamic and fluid. It is always trying to adapt to fit the container that it’s in.”
The report notes that “domestic extremist threats include groups and individuals whose racial, ethnic, or religious hatred leads them toward violence” and those who incite “imminent violence in opposition to legislative, regulatory, or other actions taken by the government,” including self-proclaimed militias, “sovereign citizen” movements, and others promoting fringe ideological grievances.
House Select Committee wants to hear from Mike Pence directly
Representative Bennie Thompson, chairman of the select committee investigating the 6 January riots said that the committee wants to hear from former vice president, Mike Pence, directly.
In an interview with CNN, Mr Thompson said: “I would hope that he would do the right thing and come forward and voluntarily talk to the committee.”
However, he added that the committee has not officially asked Mr Pence to speak with them but added “if he offered, we’d gladly accept. Everything is under consideration.”
“I think it’s important that the public needs to know this was the no. 2 person in government. And for our President, at that time, to take 187 minutes to say the rioters you need to stop and go home because my vice president is in the building and his life is in danger is an absolute shame,” Mr Thompson added.
Trump says he is expecting ‘big crowd’ on 15 January in Arizona
After Donald Trump cancelled a press conference he was scheduled to address on the anniversary of the Capitol Hill riots, he said that he is expecting a “big crowd” on his next appearance on 15 January in Arizona.
In a statement, Mr Trump said: “In light of the total bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media, I am cancelling the January 6th Press Conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, and instead will discuss many of those important topics at my rally on Saturday, January 15th, in Arizona—It will be a big crowd!”
He continued: “What has become more and more obvious to ALL is that the LameStream Media will not report the facts that Nancy Pelosi and the Capitol Sergeant-at-Arms denied requests for DC National Guard or Military to be present at the Capitol. Their emails and correspondence with the Department of Defense exist, but the media won’t ask for this evidence, or report the truth!”
Several Republican leaders said that the cancellation of the press conference by Trump was not a good idea.
From the QAnon Shaman to zip-tie guy: The most notable Capitol rioters and what happened to them
Among the more than 700 people arrested in connection with the Capitol insurrection, a few names and faces stand out. The Independent’s Andrew Naughtie catches up with their cases:
Among the more than 700 people arrested for allegedly taking part in the Capitol insurrection, a few names and faces stand out. Andrew Naughtie catches up with their cases
More toxic, more difficult’: How January 6 broke the House
The January 6 riot was an assault on democracy, meant to undermine the democratic process.
But Capitol Hill is also an office where 435 members of Congress, together with five non-voting delegates, 100 Senators and thousands of staffers that range from seasoned professionals to earnest recent college graduates and interns, show up to go to work.
The Independent’s Eric Garcia on how the attack broke the House:
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention amended its controversial Covid-19 isolation guidance on Tuesday, declining to add a testing requirement as public health officials expected after the agency cut its recommended quarantine time in half.
In its updated guidance, the CDC said people who have recovered from the virus and have isolated for at least five days can take a rapid test if they want, but they don’t have to — falling far short of making an outright recommendation to get a negative Covid test before ending isolation.
“I do not think that the clarification helped at all and I actually think that it made things worse,” emergency physician Dr. Leanna Wen, the former health commissioner of Baltimore, said in an interview with CNN. “I think they should be upfront and say they can’t do this because they don’t have enough tests.”
The updated guidance comes after the CDC faced a barrage of criticism last week for shortening its recommended isolation period from 10 days without asking for people to get tested.
“If an individual has access to a test and wants to test, the best approach is to use an antigen test towards the end of the 5-day isolation period,” the agency said in updated guidance on its website.
Many Americans do not have access to tests right now. Pharmacies are frequently sold out of at-home tests both online and in stores amid a dramatic spike in demand, and lines at testing sites are often hourslong.
The CDC, in its guidance, recommended that people with Covid isolate for five days if they are asymptomatic or if their symptoms are resolving. They should then wear a mask for five days after coming out of isolation.
The CDC said people are most contagious two days prior to symptom onset and about three days afterward. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said last week that up to 90% of transmission happens during that period.
Walensky said the CDC did not distinguish between people who are unvaccinated and vaccinated in its isolation guidance because transmission peaks at about the same time regardless of immunization status.
CNBC Health & Science
Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:
White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, in an interview with CNN, said isolation guidelines were updated in part to address the sheer number of people forced to stay home from work due to infections from the highly contagious omicron variant.
The U.S. reported a pandemic record of more than 1 million new infections on Monday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The nation is now reporting a seven-day average of more than 480,000 new infections, nearly double the week prior, according to a CNBC analysis of Hopkins data.
Walensky separately told CNN the new guidelines also reflect what the public is willing to tolerate. She noted that some data indicates less than a third of people are adhering to guidelines on isolation.
“We really want to make sure that we had guidance in this moment where we were going to have a lot of disease that could be adhered to, that people were willing to adhere to,” Walensky told CNN.
Walensky, during the White House briefing last week, said the CDC did not ask people to get tested before leaving isolation because they can remain positive for up to 12 weeks after infection on a PCR test, long after they are no longer contagious. She said it’s also not yet clear how effective antigen tests are at detecting transmissibility at day five.
The CDC also shortened its quarantine period for people who are exposed to Covid. People who have not received a booster should quarantine for five days if it has been longer than six months from their second Moderna or Pfizer shots, or longer than two months from their Johnson & Johnson dose. They should then wear a mask for five days after leaving quarantine. The unvaccinated should follow these same guidelines.
People who have received a booster do not need to quarantine, but should wear a mask for 10 days after exposure, according to the guidance.
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Interstate 95 in Virginia fully reopened Tuesday night after more than a day of blockage, which caused havoc for thousands of commuters who were trapped on to the roadway for hours.
To clear the roads and evacuate motorists,northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 95 from exit 152 (Dumfries Road) to exit 104 (Carmel Church) were closed to travel. Crews continued work to remove stopped trucks, treat the roads for icing and remove snow. Motorists were also encouraged to avoid the area, or use local routes to reach their destinations.
I-95 is open after being closed for emergency response for most of the day. All disabled vehicles have been removed from the interstate. pic.twitter.com/1j0nreDIrR
Initially, officials expected the closed section of I-95 to reopen by Wednesday morning’s rush hour with no traffic-related injuries or deaths reported as a result of the shutdown. Emergency crews were able to move all disabled vehicles off the interstate in order to reopen the roads by Tuesday evening.
In a tweet, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said that despite I-95 reopening, drivers should stay off the roads as travel conditions remain hazardous through Stafford, Spotsylvania and Caroline counties.
With commuters looking for alternate routes out of I-95, traffic delays have also grown along Route 1 between Woodbridge and Fredericksburg, according to Dave Dildine in the WTOP Traffic Center.
The traffic center also said they continue to see extreme volume delays on US-1 in both directions near Russell Rd and Marine Corps Base Quantico. They advise drivers to proceed with caution as multiple disabled vehicles remain. US-1 northbound at I-495/Capital Beltway has also seen all lanes blocked by a crash.
Preventing severe road conditions
In a phone call with reporters, Northam said that rain falling before Monday morning’s snowstorm would have washed away any chemicals or salt used to pretreat the roads.
“First we had rain, which meant that we couldn’t adequately pretreat the roads. Then we had slushy snow that fell a lot faster than our snow plows could move it,” Northam said. “And then, as night fell, the temperatures dropped below freezing. All those together created the perfect storm for what happened on I-95.”
In addition to the preliminary conditions, multiple tractor-trailers that jackknifed on the highway, further complicated cleanup efforts.
“When that happens, it’s going to create a mess … and it’s going to take time to clean up, whether it happens in a winter storm or on a sunny summer day,” Northam said.
In response to questions about why Virginia’s National Guard had not been called to support state responders, Northam said the Guard had received no requests from localities along I-95. He also said deploying the Guard wouldn’t have been an “immediate solution” to the crisis.
“Remember that our guard members have day jobs. In fact, as you all remember last Jan. 6, we sent the National Guard to help at the Capitol after the insurrection, but it was the next day before they were able to arrive.”
At present, Northam said the Virginia National Guard is on standby, but state and local police, in addition to other responders, “have the resources and crew that we need.”
Earlier in the day, Northam said that food and warming shelters were being established for drivers.
“We don’t need more people on the highways, we need to clear the highway,” the governor said. “So I would ask people to stay off our roads until we can get them clear.”
Why the highway closed
Also in the update, Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner Steve Brich said that, even though traffic had been moving slowly overnight Monday, rapidly dropping temperatures had frozen snow that had already fallen. This led to the hazardous conditions and standstill that trapped motorists Tuesday morning.
Brich said it was around 3 a.m. on Tuesday that officials decided to shut down I-95. He said the hours between making that decision and actually closing the highway at 8 a.m. were needed to spread the word and to develop working detours for motorists.
“This included media notifications … throughout the state and our neighboring states,” Brich said. “This also allowed us to develop the final detour plan to be able to take people and motorists off the interstate and either redirect them in the southbound direction or northbound direction to ensure there were viable routes available to them that also facilitate lodging.”
Brich said emergency and cleanup crews are working to make sure motorists who were stranded get to where they need to and to reopen the highway.
“Right now we have 52 snowplows with spreaders on them, nine motor graders and 16 wreckers actively working from milepost 110 to 143, both in the northbound and southbound directions.”
According to Brich, all motorists have been evacuated from the closed section of I-95, but there are still 50-60 vehicles on the highway that have been abandoned.
Conditions for many motorists trapped on an around I-95 have been severe.
Hundreds of vehicles were at a standstill, some for almost 24 hours, shutting off their engines in frigid weather to conserve dwindling fuel, many with little to no food or water.
“We know that there were an enormous amount of vehicles that were stuck for many, many hours, which we find completely unacceptable,” said Marcy Parker, district engineer with the Virginia Department of Transportation, during a situational update earlier Tuesday.
Parker said the number one priority is to get all stuck motorists off the highway so “we’ll be able to send the plows and the motor graders off to cut out the ice and snow that has frozen to the roadway.”
She also said the biggest obstacle to operations are vehicles, including large tractor-trailers, that ran out of fuel while being stuck on the highway.
“They’re either stuck in the snow or in a ditch, so that requires a tow truck — lots of tow trucks — to get those vehicles out,” Parker said.
For those who remain stranded after being towed from the highway, Parker said state and local police are trying to assist by “providing them water, or fuel, or a blanket and letting them know where they can go. If they need shelter, all the localities either have, or are opening a shelter by the end of the day to help anybody who can’t continue onto their final destination.”
In addition to clearing and treating the interstate, Parker said clearing fallen trees and ice at highway exits and their surrounding is a major priority.
As of 8:30 Tuesday morning, Virginia State Police had responded to 1,015 traffic crashes related to the recent winter weather. That number doesn’t include incidents on 1-95 since the backup began, said Corinne Geller, Public Relations Manager for Virginia State Police.
Throughout Monday morning, VDOT guided vehicles stopped on the interstate to nearby interchanges, where they could access alternate routes. WTOP’s Neal Augenstein reported stranded drivers were getting off southbound I-95 at Exit 152 for Route 234/Dumfries Road, albeit slowly.
WTOP traffic reporter Dave Dildine called the crisis a worst-case scenario.
“Some people were seen abandoning their vehicles in snow-covered travel lanes, walking down I-95 to parts unknown,” Dildine said. “Some callers were sobbing and scared. Psychologically is it extremely distressing to be motionless on a highway for hours on end without knowing how much longer it will last.”
Earlier in the day
Earlier on Tuesday, Northam fended off criticism that the state’s response was sluggish and there was a lack of communication with the public and media.
Northam told WTOP early Tuesday that the state had all its resources on the I-95 closure.
Trapped commuters on I-95 ran out of gas with kids and pets in their car. Drivers were forced to spend the overnight on the highway with no bathrooms nearby and temperatures plunging into the low 20s.
“We need to take my dad to an essential surgery in Massachusetts by 7:30 a.m. tomorrow,” one driver wrote to WTOP. Another: “We left Gaithersburg at 4:50 a.m. to attend my father’s funeral in Hampton. Doesn’t look like we are going to make it.”
In the last few minutes emergency vehicles have traveled up the Express Lanes. Crew members have walked across grassy median, and touched base w some stranded drivers. Perhaps seeing if emergency help is needed. Nobody transported from my vantage point @WTOPtraffic@WTOPtrafficpic.twitter.com/EhZhqRF6cz
“We’ve been parked here for five hours south of Quantico,” said Claire Hughes, a commuter on I-95. “We have seen no tow trucks, no broken-down vehicles, no police trying to open lanes up. It’s just a standstill parking lot … it’s atrocious.”
NBC News correspondent Josh Lederman found himself in a traffic jam about half an hour south of the District on Monday afternoon. As of around daybreak on Tuesday, he still hadn’t budged. In a Twitter thread, Lederman said people were taking exercise breaks and walking their dogs between derelict vehicles.
Like thousands of others, Lederman — accompanied by his dog Jonas — spent the cold night on the interstate nervously eyeing the fuel gauge, going hours without seeing police or plows. Lederman melted snow for his dog to drink.
“I have some gum and about a third of a bottle of water. If things get really bad, I’ve got food for my dog, but I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that,” Lederman told WTOP by phone. “If you were in an emergency right now, there is absolutely no way anybody could get to you for something medical or otherwise. People who are here are just stuck.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., tweeted Tuesday that he, too, had become stranded on the highway headed for Washington: “I started my normal 2-hour drive to D.C. at 1 p.m. yesterday. Nineteen hours later, I’m still not near the Capitol.”
President Biden routinely promised on the campaign trail that he would “shut down” the virus if elected and regularly asserted it was former President Trump’s ineptitude that “caused the country to have to shut down in large part,” often claiming his administration would take care of the pandemic more efficiently. However, as the omicron variant has spread throughout the country, CBS News reporter Ed O’Keefe took notice that many issues have only gotten worse.
White House press secretary Jenn Psaki denied that the Biden administration has “lost control” of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“Cases are rising across the country. Tests are hard to come by in many places, or there is long lines for them. Schools are closing again or having to go virtual and that’s not because of the weather, in some parts of the country, but because of the pandemic. There is a sense among many that the country has lost control over the virus,” O’Keefe said before asking, “Would the White House agree with that?”
Psaki quickly shot back, “We would not.”
The COVID-19 testing line wrapped around the block at Long Beach City College PCH campus according to social media and on site workers on Monday, December 27, 2021. (Photo by Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images) (Photo by Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images)
“We’re in a very different place than we were a year ago, Ed. 200 million people are vaccinated. Those are people who are protected, seriously protected from illness and death from the virus. We have also just purchased the largest over-the-counter purchase of tests in history,” Psaki said. “That builds on the fact that we have already distributed 50 million tests back in December to rural health center, to community health centers, the fact that we have 20,000 sites across the country where you can get free tests, the fact that next week people can get reimbursed for their tests, and we are going to continue to build on that.”
Psaki then declared “97% of schools are open” and Biden “wants schools to be open” despite a surge in COVID cases across the nation.
“He advocated for $130 million in the American Rescue Plan and $10 billion to cover testing, even when many people said that was not necessary and was not needed,” Psaki said. “That has all been distributed to states. If states have not used it, and some have not, and school districts have not used it, now is the time to use it. So I would note that we have taken steps to prepare for any contingency, any moment, and we’re working to implement and build on that from here.”
People line up and receive test kits to detect COVID-19 as they are distributed in New York on Dec. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)
The rise of omicron has coincided with a record surge in new COVID-19 cases across the country.
The new omicron variant of COVID-19 was responsible for 95.4% of all new cases in the week that ended Jan. 1, according to CDC data released Tuesday. It took only about a month for the new variant to displace delta, as the first case of omicron was detected in the United States on Dec. 1, and it was responsible for just 0.6% of new cases for the week that ended Dec. 4.
Omicron was responsible for 8% of cases by Dec. 11, 37.9% of cases by Dec. 18, and 77% of cases by Dec. 25.
New hospital admissions for COVID-19 were up to 10,185 on Dec. 28, an increase over the 6,592 that were admitted on Dec. 1, when omicron was first detected. The seven-day average for new deaths was 1,100 on Dec. 29, an increase over the 879 deaths that occurred on Dec. 1.
Fox News’ Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and Paul Best contributed to this report.
President Biden reassured Americans Tuesday that there was reason to be optimistic about “2020” — mistakenly saying the wrong year four days into 2022.
Biden’s post-New Year’s gaffe came as the president urged people to keep wearing masks and get vaccinated for COVID-19 as the Omicron variant causes record-high numbers of infections.
“There’s a lot of reason to be hopeful in 2020. But for God’s sake, please take advantage of what is available,” the president said.
Biden’s political foes often claim he’s going senile and former President Donald Trump accused Biden of being “mentally shot” during the 2020 campaign.
Biden’s defenders says he’s simply prone to gaffes and point to decades of examples.
Biden, 79, is the oldest-ever president and his cognitive abilities increasingly are a topic of public debate.
Last month, Biden mistakenly referred to Kamala Harris, his vice president, as “President Harris” — repeating an error he made twice before.
Biden told Americans that “there’s a lot of reason to be hopeful in 2020.”EPA
Biden says he plans to run for a second term in 2024, but many Democrats don’t believe it and polls find broad concern about his mental acuity.
Biden would be 86 if he completes a second term.
A Politico/Morning Consult survey published in November found that 50 percent of registered voters disagreed with the statement “Joe Biden is in good health,” while only 40 percent agreed and 10 percent did not know or had no opinion.
The poll also found that 48 percent of voters disagreed with the statement “Joe Biden is mentally fit,” while 46 percent agreed and 6 percent did not know or had no opinion.
Biden plans to run for a second term in 2024 but there is some concern over his age.APFormer President Donald Trump accused Biden of being “mentally shot” during the 2020 campaign.Getty Images
A Harvard-Harris poll found that 53 percent of voters have doubts about the president’s fitness while 47 percent do not. In addition, 58 percent of respondents said Biden was too old to be president, while 42 percent felt he was fit enough for the job.
“We’ve got to do risk-benefit analysis here, and at least among children, we have to think of this as similar to flu,” Dr. Arwady said, explaining that Chicago is averaging seven child hospitalizations per day because of Covid-19.
But the district’s bungled effort to test tens of thousands of students over winter break only added to parents’ and teachers’ concerns. Most of the roughly 150,000 mail-in P.C.R. tests given to students were never returned. Of the 40,000 or so tests that were mailed in, a majority produced invalid results.
Mr. Martinez said that many families had trouble following the test instructions, and that he had learned an important lesson: that student testing should be conducted at schools in order to be effective.
“I wanted to reduce the anxiety level, and I’m just disappointed that I couldn’t achieve that,” said Mr. Martinez, who called on the federal government to address the persistent shortages of tests. Moving forward, the district has committed to providing at least 30,000 screening tests per week; there are about 340,000 students in the system.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised schools to avoid quarantines and closures by using a protocol known as test-to-stay, in which close contacts of positive virus cases take two rapid antigen tests in a week; only those who test positive must stay home.
But officials in Chicago, like those in many cities and towns across the country, said they did not have nearly the number of rapid tests they needed.
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