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CVS and Walgreens under fire for slow pace of vaccination in nursing homes
The effort to vaccinate some of the country’s most vulnerable residents against covid-19 has been slowed by a federal program that sends retail pharmacists into nursing homes — accompanied by layers of bureaucracy and logistical snafus.
As of Thursday, more than 4.7 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna covid vaccines had been ...Read more
Trump retreats from his job, and Pence fills the void as ‘acting' president
WASHINGTON — Frustrated by the loss of his Twitter account and forced to accept that he soon must leave office, President Donald Trump has effectively stopped doing his job, delegating daily responsibilities to Vice President Mike Pence while hunkering down with a shrinking group of acquiescent aides and contemplating additional presidential ...Read more

New effort to ban cosmetic genital surgery on children launches in California Legislature
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California legislators will again consider a bill to ban cosmetic surgery on small children born with atypical genitalia under a bill introduced Friday.
Senate Bill 225 by state Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, would delay procedures that are not deemed medically necessary until a child is 6 years old, a ...Read more

Florida adds 13,720 new coronavirus cases as positivity dips
MIAMI — Florida’s Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 13,720 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,531,720. Also, 217 new resident deaths were announced, bringing the state’s resident death toll from the novel coronavirus to 23,613.
No new nonresident deaths were announced, leaving the nonresident ...Read more

Interior watchdog to examine Jan. 6 Capitol riot, events before
WASHINGTON — The Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General said Friday it would open an investigation into the department’s activities in the days preceding the violent attack on Congress and the Capitol as well as its response to that assault.
In a brief statement, the inspector general said it would “coordinate” its inquiry ...Read more

Fast-spreading COVID-19 variant seen becoming top strain in US
The COVID-19 variant that emerged in the U.K. and sparked concerns of faster spread could become dominant in the U.S. as soon as March, government public health researchers said in a report.
Several lines of evidence indicate the strain spreads faster than other versions, and steps should be taken to reduce its transmission, including increased...Read more

Biden plans fewer rules, more shots in revised vaccination drive
WASHINGTON — President-Elect Joe Biden proposed to overhaul eligibility rules for coronavirus vaccines and open more sites to receive shots, but his plan to rev up U.S. inoculations largely retains the bones of the Trump administration’s system.
Biden’s pledges are vague about timelines, reinforcing his previous warnings that there’ll ...Read more
Trump-touted plasma therapy shows no benefit against virus, researchers say
A large, national study in the U.K. examining convalescent plasma as a therapy for COVID-19 was ended after a finding that the treatment touted by U.S. President Donald Trump doesn’t work.
The University of Oxford research was part of a clinical trial named Recovery that’s investigating different COVID-19 treatments. The only arm of the ...Read more

National Mall sealed off through Biden's inauguration; protesters will be searched amid ‘extremist’ threats
The National Mall will be closed off to the public and thousands of heavily armed soldiers are expected to patrol the streets around the U.S. Capitol when Joe Biden is sworn in next week, federal law enforcement officials said Friday, as the nation continues to reel from political violence and the worst public health crisis in modern history.
...Read more

Hundreds in publishing sign letter objecting to book deals for the Trump administration
More than 250 authors, editors, agents, professors and others in the American literary community signed an open letter this week opposing any publisher that signs book deals with President Donald Trump or members of his administration.
Former DC Comics President Paul Levitz, journalist Sarah Weinman and “Little Fires Everywhere” author ...Read more
Daily COVID-19 death count soars to new heights in California
LOS ANGELES — More than 530 Californians are now dying every day from COVID-19, pushing several counties past new, grim milestones.
Just this week, Santa Clara County and Sacramento County each reported its 1,000th cumulative COVID-19 death, while San Diego County notched its 2,000th.
And Los Angeles County, long the epicenter of California�...Read more

US approves copper mine land swap on Native American land
The U.S. government published a report Friday that triggers a land swap involving U.S. Native American land for an area that could become the largest copper mine in North America, pushing the project into the next phase in the permitting process.
The Forest Service’s final environmental impact statement finalizes a swap of land at Oak Flat in...Read more
6 suspects in Whitmer kidnapping plot set to stand trial in March
DETROIT — Three months after their arrests, six men charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have been ordered to stand trial in March for their alleged roles in a scheme that was foiled by undercover FBI agents.
Chief U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker set the trial date for March 23 in U.S. District Court in Grand ...Read more

Mexican president accuses US of fabricating drug case against ex-defense chief
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday accused the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration of fabricating a case against a former Mexican defense minister who was arrested on drug trafficking charges at Los Angeles International Airport last year.
López Obrador, who in November successfully pressured the U.S. ...Read more

Poll: Two-thirds of Americans want Trump to disappear from politics
WASHINGTON — The tumultuous final weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency have damaged his already low public standing, with 68% of Americans saying they want Trump’s political career to end.
A Pew Research Center survey released Friday shows Trump with the lowest approval number of his presidency at 29%, driven by last week’s assault on the...Read more

Note left on Pence's chair during Capitol riot focus of DOJ inquiry, reports say
The U.S. Justice Department has filed criminal charges against 44 people accused of participating in last week’s Capitol riot, some of whom intended to capture and assassinate elected officials, according to reports Friday.
Murder was on the minds of some of the insurgents, according to federal officials, who cited “strong evidence” of a ...Read more

They're the most likely to die from COVID-19, but hardly any have been vaccinated
LOS ANGELES — As public health officials scramble to clear a backlog of unused COVID-19 vaccine by opening the process to anyone 65 or older, new data shows they failed to quickly deliver shots to the vast majority of California's most vulnerable residents, who were supposed to be the priority.
As of Sunday, only about 5% of long-term care ...Read more

Former FDA official to help lead vaccine oversight for Biden
WASHINGTON — Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler will serve as chief science officer of the COVID-19 response under the Biden administration.
Kessler will help lead Operation Warp Speed, the joint Pentagon and Department of Health and Human Services project to develop and distribute COVID-19 vaccines and other ...Read more

Retired Navy SEAL who boasted online about storming Capitol faces questioning by FBI
A retired Navy SEAL was so proud about participating in the storm on the Capitol that he reportedly filmed himself boasting about it and posted the footage online — prompting a call from the FBI.
Adam Newbold, 45, of Lisbon, Ohio, admitted to his participation in the Jan. 6 insurrection in a since-deleted video posted on his Facebook page, ...Read more

Refugee resettlement agency releases proposal for Biden to end 'Remain in Mexico' program
A refugee resettlement agency published a logistical outline Friday morning for the Biden administration to end President Donald Trump's "Remain in Mexico" program.
The heavily criticized program, known officially as Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP, requires asylum seekers from Latin American countries other than Mexico to wait in Mexico ...Read more
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