Biden news: Tanden drops out over Twitter row, as president says vaccines for all adults by May
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Your support makes all the difference.Joe Biden says the US will have enough vaccines for all adults in the country by the end of may after invoking the Defence Production Act to accelerate manufacturing of the newly-approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The president said that all teachers should be vaccinated by the end of March in an effort to get students back in school as a "national imperative".
Meanwhile, governors of Texas and Mississippi announced that mask mandates would end and businesses could begin to fully reopen.
Late in the day, the White House announced the withdrawal of Neera Tanden as its nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget after it became increasingly clear she didn’t have support from the Senate.
FBI director Christopher Wray earlier told a Senate judiciary committee hearing that the attack at the Capitol on 6 January was considered by the FBI as “domestic terrorism”.
As Wray was being questioned on security threats at home, US intelligence concluded Russia was behind the poisoning of Alexey Navalny, with sanctions to be imposed against multiple senior government officials.
As several Democrats called on New York governor Andrew Cuomo to resign, the White House defended silence from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as it emerged the third accuser worked for the Biden-Harris administration.
“I’m speaking on their behalf, that’s how they feel, they both feel this is a situation where all of the women coming forward should be treated with dignity and respect and have their voices heard, and that’s a representation of their points of view,” spokesperson Jen Psaki.
Cuomo has authorised attorney general Letitia James to carry out an investigation into the allegations.
After Biden gave a speech marking Read Across America day that excluded Dr Seuss, the White House said it was important for children of all backgrounds see themselves in the books that they read.
While the president released a joint statement with his “equal” partner, Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, signalling their future cooperation, the White House said no commitment has been made to share vaccines with Mexico as Biden's priority is vaccinating America first.
- Donald and Melania Trump ‘both got Covid shot before leaving the White House’
- CDC ‘deeply concerned’ as Covid cases and deaths and increase
- Biden calls Mexican president an ‘equal’ partner amid surge in border crossings
- People who know Trump personally think they know why Republicans really can’t let him go
Jen Psaki says she would go on a Fox News show of predecessor Kayleigh McEnany
Following news that the former White House press secretary has joined Fox News, the current occupant of the briefing room said she would happily join a Fox News show with Kayleigh McEnany.
“I will say that I knew Kayleigh a little bit, not well, I met her when we were both CNN contributors and we did a few shows, I’m not sure how many together,” Psaki said.
“Like many Americans, we disagree on political issues but we talked about our families, our spouses, sports, all sorts of things in the green room and I certainly wish her the best in her future endeavours.
Watch: MSNBC mocks Lindsey Graham over Trump praise
“Can you imagine saying something like that?”
Hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe laughed at Graham for telling Fox News host Sean Hannity that the former president was “very nice” because “he’s allowed me to be in his world”.
Dr Seuss: Six books pulled from publication over ‘hurtful and wrong’ imagery
White House press secretary Jen Psaki tiptoed around Joe Biden’s decision to exclude Dr Seuss from his remarks for Read Across America Day, telling reporters to ask the Department of Education for more detail.
Coinciding with Biden’s departure from his predecessors - both Barack Obama and Donald Trump referenced the author - Dr Seuss’ estate announced six books have been pulled from publication over their use of “hurtful and wrong” imagery.
The Independent’s Clémence Michallon has more.
Six Dr Seuss books pulled from publication over ‘hurtful and wrong’ imagery
Work of Theodor Seuss Geisel has come under scrutiny for racist undertones
Capitol rioter wearing ‘Keep America Great’ sweatshirt turned in by his own family
A North Carolina man who was pictured wearing a “Keep America Great” hoodie during the Capitol riots, has been arrested after being turned in by his own family members.
Grayson Sherrill, of Cherryville in northwestern North Carolina, was captured in several photographs inside the US Capitol on 6 January, alongside a mob of pro-Trump supporters who had breached the building.
Five people died and several more were injured on that day, as House members barricaded themselves inside their offices to hide from the rioters.
James Crump reports.
Capitol rioter wearing ‘Keep America Great’ sweatshirt turned in by his own family
Grayson Sherrill was seen in multiple images during riot on 6 January
BREAKING: Texas governor ends mask mandate and says all businesses can reopen
Texas governor Greg Abbott has announced that all businesses can reopen at 100 per cent capacity and that he is lifting the statewide mask mandate, implemented to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the Republican governor announced that he was issuing an executive order to rescind his previous orders that brought in the restrictions on business operations.
“Effective next Wednesday, all business of any type, are allowed to open 100 per cent,” he said to applause.
“That includes any type of entity in Texas,” he continued. “Also, I am ending the statewide mask mandate.”
Oliver O’Connell has the developing story.
Texas governor ends mask mandate and says all businesses can reopen
Texas governor Greg Abbott has announced that all businesses can reopen at 100 per cent capacity and that he is lifting the statewide mask mandate, implemented to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
An obscure law could help Biden roll back Trump-era policies
The Trump administration’s last-minute haste to cement regulatory changes before President Joe Biden took office has left its legacy vulnerable to legal challenge, the watchdog group Public Citizen argues in a new report, released on Monday.
“In its rush to roll back as many regulatory protections as possible following the 2020 election, the Trump Administration violated an obscure regulatory law called the Congressional Review Act (CRA), making the last-minute regulatory rollbacks more legally vulnerable to reversal,” the report’s authors Amit Narang and Matt Kent write.
Josh Marcus reports.
An obscure law could help Biden roll back Trump-era policies
The Trump administration rushed through regulations at the end of its term, leaving them vulnerable to legal challenge
5,000 National Guard troops remain in DC amid QAnon frenzy that Trump will be inaugurated again this week
Nearly 5,000 National Guard troops are in Washington, DC this week for an inauguration that won’t happen.
That’s because followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory believe that on 4 March, which was once the inauguration date of US presidents, Donald Trump will become president again. According to Rep. Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, this has led to online chatter about storming the Capitol a second time.
“Some of these people have figured out that apparently 75 years ago, the president used to be inaugurated on 4 March,” Smith said during a hearing last month with Department of Defense officials. “Now why that’s relevant, God knows. At any rate, now they are thinking maybe we should gather again and storm the Capitol on 4 March.”
The Independent’s Nathan Place reports.
5,000 guards remain in DC amid QAnon frenzy that Trump will be inaugurated this week
QAnon followers believe that on 4 March, which was once the inauguration date of US presidents, Donald Trump will become president again
Watch: Joe Biden delivers remarks on Covid-19 pandemic
The president is expected to begin shortly.
Follow live with The Independent.
Johnson & Johnson vaccine “wasn’t coming fast enough” says Joe Biden.
The president said the Defence Production Act was invoked to accelerate the manufacture of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
“It simply wasn’t coming fast enough. So my team has been hard at work to accelerate that effort,” he says.
“Manufacturing facilities will now begin to operate 24/7,” he added.
The US to have vaccine supply for all American adults by end of May, says Biden
“As a consequence of the stepped-up process that I’ve ordered and just outline, this country will have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by the end of May,” Joe Biden says.
Three weeks ago that timeline was estimated to be at the end of July.
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