News Daypop Archives

The White House warned that the U.S. may consider a military response to the rocket attack on Wednesday that hit an airbase in western Iraq where American and coalition troops are house. A U.S. contractor died after at least 10 rockets slammed into the base. It was the first strike since the U.S. bombed Iran-aligned militia targets along the Iraq-Syria border last week; no group has claimed responsibility.. ...Read Full Story

During questioning as part of the Senate’s investigation of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a Washington, a member of the National Guard and a Pentagon official disagreed on the speed of response to the incident.. ...Read Full Story

Governors of Texas and Mississippi announced Tuesday that they will lift their state’s mask mandates, as well as lift the restrictions on businesses and facility capacity back to 100%. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the mandates are no longer needed due to advancements of vaccines and therapeutics to protect against COVID-19. The new executive order goes into effect on Wednesday, March 10, rescinding most earlier executive orders related to the coronavirus. Abbott said in address to the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce: “With the medical advancements of vaccines and antibody therapeutic drugs, Texas now has the tools to protect Texans from the virus. We must now do more to restore livelihoods and normalcy for Texans by opening Texas 100 percent. Make no mistake, COVID-19 has not disappeared, but it is clear from the recoveries, vaccinations, reduced hospitalizations, and safe practices that Texans are using that state mandates are no longer needed.” He said the new order ensures “that all businesses and families in Texas have the freedom to determine their own destiny.”. ...Read Full Story

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday that the Biden administration plans to allow migrant families separated under the Trump administration to reunite in the United States. Speaking during a news conference, Mayorkas called the separation of children from their parents at the Mexican border “the most powerful and heartbreaking example of the cruelty that preceded this administration.” Mayorkas said families will be given the option of reuniting in their country of origin or in the United States.. ...Read Full Story

On Monday, the Senate judiciary committee approved President Biden’s nomination of appellate court judge Merrick Garland to be the United States’ attorney general. The committee voted 15-7 early Monday afternoon to advance Garland’s candidacy. The nomination now advances to the full Senate for final confirmation. Most likely the Senate will hold a floor vote later this week, and is expected to approve the nomination. . ...Read Full Story

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel voted unanimously Sunday to recommend the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 single-shot vaccine for people 18 and older. During an emergency session, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices strongly endorsed the vaccine’s effectiveness in completely protecting against hospitalization and death. The federal government will be able to begin shipping doses, making a third COVID-19 vaccine available in the United States as early as this week. The new vaccine has a lower efficacy rate — 66% overall and 72% in the United States in preventing moderate to severe cases of COVID-19 — than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines already in use.. ...Read Full Story

On Thursday, the House passed legislation that would extend existing civil rights law to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics. The bill would ensure equal treatment for LGBTQ individuals in areas including employment, education, housing, credit, public accommodations and others.. ...Read Full Story

A former member of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration offered new details Wednesday of sexual harassment claims she made against him, saying he once kissed her on the lips without consent after a private meeting. Lindsey Boylan, an economic advisor in Cuomo’s administration, said that during her more than three years working for him Cuomo “would go out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms and legs,” amongst other accusations.. ...Read Full Story

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Wednesday to answer lawmakers’ questions on how to put the USPS on a better financial footing. The service came under scrutiny in the fall after DeJoy ordered certain service cuts.. ...Read Full Story

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Wednesday to answer lawmakers’ questions on how to put the USPS on a better financial footing. The service came under scrutiny in the fall after DeJoy ordered certain service cuts.. ...Read Full Story

Four board members of Texas’ power grid operator will resign after last week’s blackouts left millions of people without electricity after a winter storm hit the area. More than 3 million people and businesses were left without power after a major winter cold front swept Texas last week, leaving Texans without power in below-freezing temperatures. Residents struggled to stay warm, and the lack of heating froze pipes, contributing to a water crisis in the state.. ...Read Full Story

Tiger Woods was seriously injured Tuesday when his SUV rolled over and ended up on its side in suburban Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the news in a statement. According to the LASD, the 45-year-old  athlete had to be pulled from his vehicle with the “jaws of life” by firefighters and paramedics and was transported by ambulance to a hospital for serious injuries. Woods was the sole driver and occupant in the crash, which took place on the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes. The vehicle sustained major damage. The sheriff’s department said it is conducting an investigation into the crash.. ...Read Full Story

Federal authorities said that the wife of the notorious Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera was arrested Monday on drug trafficking charges. . ...Read Full Story

President Joe Biden called on all Americans to remember the 500,000 lives lost to COVID-19 and to remain vigilant against the virus during remarks and a national moment of silence on Monday. Biden said, “The people we lost were extraordinary. They span generations — born in America, immigrated to America…But just like that, so many of them took their final breath alone in America. I ask all Americans to remember — remember those who were lost and those who were left behind,” the president said. “But as we remember, as we all remember, I also asked us to act, to remain vigilant.”. ...Read Full Story

Federal aviation regulators have ordered United Airlines to step up inspections of all Boeing 777s equipped with the type of engine that suffered a catastrophic failure over Denver on Saturday. The announcement comes a day after United Airlines Flight 328 had to make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport after its right engine blew apart just after takeoff. The plane with 231 passengers and 10 crew on board landed safely, and nobody aboard or on the ground was reported hurt, United said it is temporarily removing those aircrafts from service.. ...Read Full Story

Federal aviation regulators have ordered United Airlines to step up inspections of all Boeing 777s equipped with the type of engine that suffered a catastrophic failure over Denver on Saturday. The announcement comes a day after United Airlines Flight 328 had to make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport after its right engine blew apart just after takeoff. The plane with 231 passengers and 10 crew on board landed safely, and nobody aboard or on the ground was reported hurt, United said it is temporarily removing those aircrafts from service.. ...Read Full Story

The White House said on Sunday that it expects to deliver 6 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine this week, that had been delayed by the winter storm that swept across the nation. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told ABC News’ This Week that President Biden’s administration plans to “rapidly catch up this week” and that 2 million doses have already been delivered.. ...Read Full Story

NASA successfully landed its fifth robotic rover on Mars on Thursday, confirming that Perseverance touched down safely on the red planet’s surface after its six-month voyage from Earth.. ...Read Full Story

The FBI and the US attorney’s office in Brooklyn, NY have begun an investigation into how New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration handled the state’s nursing home crisis during the coronavirus pandemic. Neither Cuomo nor any administration official has at this point been accused of any wrongdoing.. ...Read Full Story

Longtime conservative commentator and radio show host Rush Limbaugh has died at the age of 70, his wife announced Wednesday on his program. Limbaugh had been receiving treatment for lung cancer. A statement posted to his website stated, “In loving memory of Rush Hudson Limbaugh III, the greatest of all time.”. ...Read Full Story

Millions of people are still without electricity, hundreds of flights were canceled and the death toll rose due to a major winter storm spanning from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic that produced deep snow record-breaking cold temperatures.. ...Read Full Story

Millions of people are still without electricity, hundreds of flights were canceled and the death toll rose due to a major winter storm spanning from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic that produced deep snow record-breaking cold temperatures.. ...Read Full Story

Millions of people are still without electricity, hundreds of flights were canceled and the death toll rose due to a major winter storm spanning from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic that produced deep snow record-breaking cold temperatures. The storm hit Texas hard, a state which rarely sees extreme cold and snow, resulting in more than 4 million people in the state to lose power on Tuesday. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a news conference that 1.3 million people were without power in the Houston region. In Fort Worth, about 100,000 people were told to boil their water after a treatment plant lost power. Those who could not boil water were encouraged to use bottled water. Officials are working to set up water bottle distribution centers. Freezing rain made travel dangerous, as nearly an inch of ice was measured in Frenchburg, Ky. — more than triple the amount needed to weigh down branches and power lines.. ...Read Full Story

Millions of people are still without electricity, hundreds of flights were canceled and the death toll rose due to a major winter storm spanning from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic that produced deep snow record-breaking cold temperatures. The storm hit Texas hard, a state which rarely sees extreme cold and snow, resulting in more than 4 million people in the state to lose power on Tuesday. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a news conference that 1.3 million people were without power in the Houston region. In Fort Worth, about 100,000 people were told to boil their water after a treatment plant lost power. Those who could not boil water were encouraged to use bottled water. Officials are working to set up water bottle distribution centers. Freezing rain made travel dangerous, as nearly an inch of ice was measured in Frenchburg, Ky. — more than triple the amount needed to weigh down branches and power lines.. ...Read Full Story

The NAACP and a Washington, D.C. civil rights law firm filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against former President Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and two right-wing groups for violating the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act.. ...Read Full Story

On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced plans to launch an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. In a letter to lawmakers, Pelosi said that an assessment of Congressional security by retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore in the wake of the insurrection has presented a necessity to “get to the truth of how this happened,” adding, “To protect our security, our security, our security, our next step will be to establish an outside, independent 9/11-type Commission to ‘investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the Jan. 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex.”. ...Read Full Story

President Joe Biden called for gun legislation on Sunday, on the third anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fl.. ...Read Full Story

The New York City police department said on Sunday that they have arrested a man in connection with a series of subway stabbing attacks that killed two people and injured two others. Rigoberto Lopez, 21, faces two charges of second-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and a single count of first-degree murder, police said. . ...Read Full Story

On Thursday, President Joe Biden said his administration has finalized a deal for 200 million additional COVID-19 vaccine doses. Biden said the acquisition will give the United States a total of 600 million doses, enough to inoculate 300 million people by the end of July. Biden also announced that federally run community health centers will begin receiving vaccine doses.. ...Read Full Story

President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday he had approved an executive order for new sanctions on those responsible for the military coup in Myanmar, repeating demands for the generals to give up power and free civilian leaders. Biden said the order enables his administration “to immediately sanction the military leaders who directed the coup, their business interests as well as close family members,” adding that Washington would identify the first round of targets this week, and was taking steps to prevent the generals in Myanmar — also known as Burma — having access to $1 billion in Myanmar government funds held in the United States.. ...Read Full Story

A graphic video was shown to members of the Senate at the start of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial on Tuesday, containing the violence and obscenities shouted by the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6. The Democratic House impeachment managers presented the footage as a way of walking through the events of Jan. 6. . ...Read Full Story

One person was killed and many more injured and a suspect was taken into custody following a shooting at a health clinic in Minnesota on Tuesday morning. Buffalo Police Chief Pat Budke said during a press conference that Police received a call of shots fired at the Allina Health clinic in Buffalo, Minn., about 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis, before 11 a.m. where they found the victims and the suspect. Five people were taken to area hospitals, including three who were in critical but stable condition.. ...Read Full Story

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell have agreed to the rules for former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. Trump’s legal team, however, slammed the process as an effort to silence a political opponent. Trump’s legal team also filed a brief on Monday, denying that Trump had a part in inciting the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, which occurred while Congress was certifying the Electoral College votes in favor of President Joe Biden. ...Read Full Story

Four skiers died and four others were injured after an avalanche in the Salt Lake County. The skiers, ranging in age from 23 to 48, were reported to be at 9,800 feet elevation near Wilson Glade in Millcreek Canyon around 11 a.m. Saturday.. ...Read Full Story

The House approved a resolution Thursday removing GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her assigned committees. The final vote tally was 230-199 and 11 with Republicans voting in support of the resolution. Greene, a vocal supporter of Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of election fraud, has been condemned by Democrats and many Republicans for embracing numerous conspiracy theories in videos and social media activity before she took office this year.. ...Read Full Story

Johnson & Johnson submitted an application on Thursday to the Food and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorization of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine. The FDA could grant that authorization within weeks; if authorized, it would give the U.S. a third Covid-19 vaccine, along with those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.. ...Read Full Story

On Wednesday, the Virginia Senate approved legislation to abolish the death penalty, bringing the state one step closer to becoming the 23rd state to do so. The upper chamber of the General Assembly voted 21-17 on the bill along party lines. The Virginia House of Delegates must still vote on the legislation — and the two chambers must agree on a matching bill — before it can be sent to Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam for signature. . ...Read Full Story

Prosecutors said on Wednesday that a former Ohio police officer has been indicted in the fatal shooting of a black man last month. Adam Coy, the white officer who served with the Columbus Police Department, was indicted by a Franklin County grand jury in the shooting death of Andre Hill, 47. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Coy was indicted on charges of murder, felonious assault and dereliction of duty.. ...Read Full Story

Prosecutors said on Wednesday that a former Ohio police officer has been indicted in the fatal shooting of a black man last month. Adam Coy, the white officer who served with the Columbus Police Department, was indicted by a Franklin County grand jury in the shooting death of Andre Hill, 47. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Coy was indicted on charges of murder, felonious assault and dereliction of duty.. ...Read Full Story

Amazon announced Tuesday that founder Jeff Bezos will step down from his position as CEO. The 57-year-old Bezos will transition to the role of executive chair in the third quarter of 2021; Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services, will be the company’s new chief executive, the company said.. ...Read Full Story

A major storm hit the mid-Atlantic coast and northeast with a snow accumulation of more than a foot in some areas on Monday, and is expected to intensify Tuesday overnight. The National Weather Service said that areas from the northern Mid-Atlantic to southern New England experienced heavy snow and increasingly strong winds together with increasing waves along the coast that were predicted to cause coastal flooding overnight during high tides. . ...Read Full Story

On Monday, SpaceX announced plans for the first all-civilian mission to space in late 2021.  The mission will be a days long orbit of the Earth, to be led by finance company executive and pilot Jared Isaacman. Isaacman has purchased a four-person mission in the SpaceX Dragon capsule Resilience to launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. He expects a mission duration ranging from two to four days. Isaacman pledged to donate $100 million to Memphis-based St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in connection with the space flight. Isaacman also promised to hold a raffle for one of the four seats on the Dragon mission — to prompt efforts to raise $200 million for the hospital.. ...Read Full Story

Just one day after CNN first reported that five members of former President Trump’s defense team had departed, his office announced that David Schoen and Bruce L. Castor, Jr. will now head the legal team for his second impeachment trial. . ...Read Full Story

A major nor’easter traveling toward the East Coast is expected to affect approximately 110 million people on the East Coast with blizzard-like conditions including heavy snow, rain and high winds.. ...Read Full Story

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 300.19 points while the S&P 500 climbed 0.98% and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.50% as U.S. markets rebounded on Thursday.  Brokerage firms took steps to restrict an influx of transactions on heavily shorted stocks, after the stock trading app Robinhood restricted trades involving GameStop, AMC, Blackberry, and Nokia. . ...Read Full Story

Health officials in South Carolina announced Thursday that they have identified two cases of a COVID-19 variant that emerged recently in South Africa. The two cases are the first found of the mutated virus in the United States. According to South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control, federal officials identified the B.1.351 variant in adults from the state’s Lowcountry and Pee Dee regions. The patients have not traveled internationally and did not know each other.. ...Read Full Story

Chicago teachers threatened to strike if the public school district retaliates against any of them who failed to report to school buildings on Wednesday to prepare to resume in-person learning for tens of thousands of students next week.. ...Read Full Story

The White House has temporarily put a freeze on arms deals negotiated under the Trump administration with several Middle Eastern nations, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The State Department has not confirmed which countries will see arms deal freezes, but a report by the Wall Street Journal Wednesday said that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are expected to be among the nations affected.. ...Read Full Story

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked President Joe Biden’s 100-day pause on deportations. Federal Judge Drew Tipton granted a temporary restraining order in response to a lawsuit by state Attorney General Ken Paxton, which in part cited an agreement between Texas and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that required the agency to consult the state before instituting policy changes.. ...Read Full Story

On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Antony Blinken to serve as President Joe Biden’s secretary of state, with an overwhelming 78-22 vote. Blinken served as deputy secretary of state under former President Barack Obama.. ...Read Full Story

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Monday to lift a ban issued by President Donald Trump that prevented transgender persons from serving openly in the U.S. armed forces. The Trump administration ordered that all military members must follow standards associated with their birth gender and prohibited those who have received transitional therapies from joining the military.. ...Read Full Story

On Monday, the Senate confirmed Janet Yellen as the first woman to head the Treasury Department in an 84-15 vote.. ...Read Full Story