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Millions of masks to be sent to households in Biden equity planPresident Joe Biden will announce a program to send cloth masks to disadvantaged U.S. communities to curb the coronavirus pandemic while deciding for now to shelve a proposal to send masks to every American, according to two administration officials familiar with the plans. The U.S. will probably send millions of masks around the country “very shortly,” Biden said Tuesday at a virtual roundtable event with Black essential workers who discussed the pandemic response with him. Brig. Gen. David Sanford, director of the supply chain ta...
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Sen. Graham to speak with Trump this weekend about GOP future, unityCOLUMBIA, S.C. — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham will visit former President Donald Trump this weekend to discuss the Republican Party’s future, the South Carolinian told reporters Friday. One of Trump’s staunchest allies who has backed him still after the Capitol riots, Graham said the party needs to focus on unity heading into the 2022 elections when several Senate, House and state-level seats will be up for grabs. That includes South Carolina’s other Republican senator, Tim Scott. “We need to get the party together as much as poss...
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Six Capitol Police officers suspended in connection with pro-Trump attackSix U.S. Capitol Police officers have been suspended and dozens more are under investigation in connection with last month’s deadly pro-Trump attack on the historic building, a spokesman for the agency said Thursday. In total, 35 officers are facing internal investigations conducted by the U.S. Capitol Police’s Office of Professional Responsibility for their actions during the Jan. 6 riot, the spokesman said in a statement. The six suspended officers have been placed off duty with pay. The spokesman did not elaborate on t...
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Biden extends COVID-19 ban on foreclosures President Joe Biden has extended a ban on some foreclosures until the summer as millions of homeowners continue to struggle during the coronavirus pandemic. The moratorium on foreclosures for federally guaranteed mortgages means struggling homeowners have until June 30 to request a pause or reduction in their payments. It will also extend for six months the help already granted to homeowners since last year. There was no immediate word on whether Biden will also extend past March 31 the ban on evictions for renters. The White House says more than 10 m...
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Texas power plants get emergency clearance to crank up outputWASHINGTON — The Department of Energy issued an emergency order allowing several Texas power plants to produce as much electricity as possible, a move expected to violate anti-pollution rules that comes amid a deepening electricity crisis in the state that has cut power to millions of homes. The Energy Department order, requested by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, authorizes power plants throughout the state to run a maximum output levels, even as such a move is anticipated to result in a violation of limits of pollution. ...
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Biden plans to close Guantanamo prison by end of his termWASHINGTON — The Biden administration plans to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay by the end of the president’s time in office, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Friday. “That certainly is our goal and our intention,” Psaki told reporters. The facility in Cuba, used to house terror suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, became a flashpoint in former President George W. Bush’s war on terror. Human rights groups demanded the prison be shut down amid reports that detainees were tortured and held for questionable ...
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Pompeo’s taxpayer-funded gifts to dinner guests: $10,000 in engraved pens from ChinaWASHINGTON — High-powered guests at a controversial dinner series hosted by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were treated to custom-made gifts that cost taxpayers more than $10,000, according to documents obtained by an independent watchdog this week. Pompeo spent a total of $10,433 on 400 engraved pens made in China, embossed with the emblem of the Madison Dinners, an event series that raised concerns within the State Department inspector general’s office over its questionable diplomatic value and politic...
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DEA seizes $12 million worth of heroin in NYC drug den, nabs ring leader and othersNEW YORK — DEA agents busted a major drug trafficker and seized more than $12 million worth of heroin, 1,000 fentanyl pills and $200,000 in cash from a Queens drug mill, prosecutors said on Wednesday. Luis Martinez is accused of running the sprawling drug packaging mill in Ridgewood, where he employed Sofia Medina, Maria Altagracia Berroa and Jacqueline Sosa de Espinal to help run his large-scale trafficking operation, Manhattan prosecutors said. DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan described the setup as “a ...
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Biden’s deportation freeze is blocked again for 2 weeksWASHINGTON — The Biden administration’s plan to freeze deportations for 100 days was temporarily blocked again by a judge in a lawsuit brought by Texas, which argues the federal government can’t make immigration enforcement changes without first consulting the state. U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton in Victoria, Texas, on Tuesday extended by two weeks a temporary restraining order against the deportation pause that was set to expire today. Texas has also requested a longer-lasting injunction that could block the plan during the entire litig...
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Paul Manafort cannot be prosecuted in NY after Trump pardon, appeals court rulesNEW YORK — Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance cannot prosecute Paul Manafort on a state level for financial crimes similar to the ones pardoned by former President Donald Trump, New York’s top court has ruled, ensuring the former Trump campaign chairman will remain a free man. The one-page ruling from the New York Court of Appeals upheld a lower order from October that found Vance’s attempt to charge Manafort with mortgage fraud and other felonies violated the state’s so-called double jeopardy law, which bars pro...
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