Arkansas GOP governor says he regrets ban on mask mandates as Covid-19 cases surge
CNN
Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday he regrets approving a statewide ban on face mask mandates earlier this year and has called the state Legislature into a special session in an effort to amend the law.
"In hindsight, I wish that had not become law," Hutchinson said during a news conference. "But it is the law, and the only chance we have is either to amend it or for the courts to say that it has an unconstitutional foundation." The governor's comments -- a shift from his earlier defense of the measure -- reflect the changing public health landscape across the US brought on by the highly transmissible Delta variant. On Tuesday, for the first time since February, more than 50,000 hospital beds across the country were occupied by Covid-19 patients, according to new data from the US Department of Health and Human Services. That number is more than triple what it was a month ago.
President-elect Donald Trump on Friday announced his picks for critical remaining public health roles in his incoming administration.
The defense has rested its case in the trial of Daniel Penny, the former Marine who held Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold on the New York City subway last year, after four days of witness testimony.
President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named former NFL player and White House official Scott Turner to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
President-elect Donald Trump named billionaire Scott Bessent as his pick to serve as the next secretary of the Department of the Treasury.
Venezuelan authorities are investigating opposition leader Maria Corina Machado for alleged treason after she expressed support for a US bipartisan bill that seeks to block Washington from doing business with any entity that has commercial ties with the government of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
President-elect Donald Trump has selected Russell Vought as his pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget, he said in a Truth Social post.
President-elect Donald Trump on Friday announced Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon as his pick to serve as the next secretary of the Department of Labor.
Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the intelligence community, was briefly placed on a Transportation Security Administration list that prompts additional security screening before flights after her overseas travel patterns and foreign connections triggered a government algorithm earlier this year, three sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
The Supreme Court agreed Friday to wade into a fight over Congress’ ability to delegate power to federal agencies — opening the next chapter in a decadeslong effort by conservatives and business interests to reduce the power of the federal government.
At least three professional sports leagues warned their teams this week that organized and skilled groups are targeting the homes of athletes for break-ins, including while the players are away at games. The warnings came after reports of burglaries at the homes of players in the NBA and the NFL.
The Nicaraguan parliament, dominated by the ruling Sandinista Front, on Friday approved a constitutional reform that hands more power to President Daniel Ortega as well as the Central American nation’s police and military.