
Biden ramps up vaccine push with new rules for federal workers and call for $100 payments
CBSN
Washington — President Biden called on state and local governments to use COVID-19 relief funds to give $100 to residents who get vaccinated and said federal workers will have to show proof of vaccination or face new restrictions in the workplace, including complying with weekly testing.
"We are not fully out of the woods yet. Because what is happening in America right now is a pandemic, a pandemic of the unvaccinated," Mr. Biden said in a speech at the White House on Thursday. "Let me say that again. It's a pandemic of the unvaccinated." The new rules for the federal workers and the call for cash payments are part of a broader push by the administration to get more Americans vaccinated as the Delta variant of the coronavirus fuels an increase in new infections nationwide. The vast majority of COVID-19 cases are still among the unvaccinated, and the Biden administration says 97% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients haven't gotten their shots.
Yangon — Myanmar's military leader lauded President Trump and asked him to lift sanctions, the ruling junta said Friday, after a tariff letter from the U.S. president that it has taken as Washington's first public recognition of its rule. Min Aung Hlaing endorsed Mr. Trump's false claim that the 2020 U.S. election was stolen, and thanked him for shutting down funding for U.S.-backed media outlets that have long provided independent coverage of conflict-wracked Myanmar.

After years of unsuccessful attempts to finance and build a public alarm network that would warn residents of Kerr County, Texas, about dangerous flooding, officials in the region, nicknamed "flash flood alley," were going to start developing a centralized flood monitoring system this summer to help leaders and emergency managers plan ahead.

Washington — The Senate is expected to vote next week on a request from the White House to claw back funding for international aid and public broadcasting. But the funding for rural radio and television stations — sometimes an area's sole source for emergency warnings and other news — has sparked concern among some Senate Republicans, especially after the recent devastating flash floods in Texas.