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Senate sets new mark for longest recorded vote thanks to vote-a-rama 2021
WASHINGTON — Senators were prepared for a long day and night of voting, but on Friday the chamber stalled out on the very first vote of an anticipated vote-a-rama and the single question dragged on to become the longest Senate vote in modern history.
The Senate began voting at 11:03 a.m. Eastern time Friday on an amendment from Sen. Bernie ...Read more

Anti-Asian hate crimes and harassment rise to historic levels during COVID-19 pandemic
Kiwi Wongpeng was stopped at a traffic light in suburban Cleveland when a man pulled up beside her and motioned for her to roll down the window.
“Get out of my country — that’s an order!” he shouted from his pickup. After a pause, he added: “I’ll kill you.”
It wasn’t her first brush with racism. But she had never heard ...Read more

Hospital system contradicts DeSantis on COVID-19 vaccine delivery to luxury Keys enclave
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Baptist Health on Friday disputed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ claim that his administration had nothing to do with the decision to send 1,200 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Ocean Reef Club, the luxury Key Largo community at the center of controversy over whether the wealthy received privileged access to vaccines.
The ...Read more

FDA urges COVID-19 patients to stop self-medicating with dangerous anti-parasite drug intended for horses
A spike in hospitalizations is causing the Food and Drug Administration to warn the public against equine-grade ivermectin — an anti-parasite drug.
“The FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical support and been hospitalized after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for horses,” the FDA said Friday.
The...Read more

Meghan Markle's friends go public with support ahead of Oprah interview
LOS ANGELES — Who wouldn't want a friend like Meghan Markle?
At least that's the vibe being conveyed by her close friends, who over the last 24 hours have gone public with personal testimonies to the former actress' bona fides.
In the run-up to this weekend's sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry and Markle have been caught up ...Read more

Microsoft server flaws raise alarms at White House, DHS
WASHINGTON — Newly discovered flaws in Microsoft Corp.’s software for email has raised concerns at the highest levels of the U.S. government, which is urging users to immediately apply patches.
At least 30,000 organizations across the U.S., including significant numbers of small businesses and local governments, have been hacked via holes ...Read more

Cuomo administration defends removing nursing home COVID-19 death data from report
ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top lawyer was on the defensive Friday, arguing that officials stripped the full number of nursing home deaths from a report issued last summer due to incomplete data.
Cuomo senior counsel Beth Garvey issued a statement contending that the governor’s embattled COVID-19 team didn’t alter any information...Read more

Biden administration faces GOP outcry for saying no border 'crisis'
Congressional Republicans ramped up calls to the Biden administration and Democratic leaders for meetings on the rising number of migrant children crossing the U.S. border, pushing back on the administration’s claim that the border is not in “crisis.”
Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee and the Judiciary Committee’s ...Read more
News briefs
Teen convicted in 2014 Slender Man stabbing seeking early release
One of the two Wisconsin teen girls who plotted to murder their friend to appease fictional internet demon Slender Man in 2014 is seeking early release from a mental health institution.
Anissa Weier, now 19, will formally ask for her release March 10, the Milwaukee Journal ...Read more

US Coast Guard intercepts vessel carrying 25 Haiti migrants off Jupiter coast
JUPITER, Fla. — Authorities intercepted a vessel carrying 25 Haitian migrants northeast of the coast of Jupiter this week, the U.S. Coast Guard reported Friday.
Rescue crews from the Coast Guard Station Lake Worth Inlet and from Customs and Border Protection's Air and Marine Operations responded Wednesday to reports of a vessel taking on ...Read more
Mars rover Perseverance gets its first test drive
It crept at a speed that rush-hour veterans could appreciate — all of 21.3 feet in 33 minutes — but Perseverance has executed its first drive on the surface of Mars, NASA announced Friday.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to see wheel tracks in my life,” Anais Zarifian, an engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in ...Read more
Vulnerable groups still falling behind in vaccination effort
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has argued it can distribute the coronavirus vaccine quickly and equitably, but federal data show little progress in getting doses to minority communities as states prioritize getting shots into as many arms as quickly as possible.
Health care providers in Minnesota, for instance, must use 90% of their ...Read more

With an eye on mental health, Kentucky faculty will consider renaming 'Dead Week'
LEXINGTON, Ky. — University of Kentucky faculty will vote next week on whether to rename Dead Week — out of respect for those who may have lost someone to suicide.
Dead Week, the last week of every semester before the all-important Finals Week, is ubiquitous to the modern college experience and is generally meant to give students time to ...Read more
Biden to fire Trump EEOC general counsel who refused to resign
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden was expected to fire Sharon Gustafson, the Trump-appointed general counsel of the EEOC, on Friday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.
The Biden administration demanded in a March 2 email that Gustafson, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s top litigator, resign, said ...Read more
Astra stockpiles US vaccine that could speed up Biden timeline
WASHINGTON — AstraZeneca Plc has begun stockpiling its COVID-19 vaccine for use in the U.S., providing a potential supply boost that could speed up President Joe Biden’s inoculation timetable, should the company win regulatory authorization.
A company executive said this week it has begun production and expects to have 30 million doses ...Read more

2 top female aides leave Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration
ALBANY, N.Y. — Two more aides to Andrew Cuomo have left their jobs as the New York governor faces dual scandals over sexual harassment claims and accusations his administration covered up nursing-home COVID-19 deaths.
Press secretary Caitlin Girouard and interim policy adviser Erin Hammond have left, the administration said Friday. The two ...Read more

Teen convicted in 2014 Slender Man stabbing seeking early release
One of the two Wisconsin teen girls who plotted to murder their friend to appease fictional internet demon Slender Man in 2014 is seeking early release from a mental health institution.
Anissa Weier, now 19, will formally ask for her release March 10, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Weier and Morgan Geyser schemed to murder classmate ...Read more

US embraces COVID-19 vaccines, improving odds of herd immunity
More Americans are warming up to COVID-19 vaccines, with 19% saying they’ve already received at least one dose and 49% expressing intent to do so when they get the chance, according to new poll results.
Altogether, 69% of U.S. adults surveyed by the Pew Research Center now intend to become vaccinated. That’s up from 60% in November and 52% ...Read more

Permanent daylight saving time bill advances in Georgia
ATLANTA — Georgia would stay on daylight saving time permanently, putting an end to twice-a-year time changes under a bill that passed the state House on Friday.
State representatives said falling back and springing forward disrupts sleep patterns, contributes to car crashes and increases the number of heart attacks.
The House voted 112-48 ...Read more

New York lawmakers roll back Cuomo's COVID-19 powers amid dueling scandals
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York lawmakers approved a measure Friday scaling back Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sweeping emergency powers enacted last year during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The action comes as the governor is embroiled in two scandals, over his nursing home policies during the crisis and allegations that he sexually harassed former ...Read more
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