![CDC director Rochelle Walensky warns of "impending doom" amid COVID-19 spikes](https://cbsnews1.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2021/03/29/d9cf3e0e-defa-4f29-9cc3-81fa2b27dbcc/thumbnail/1200x630/7b3a8301a4e13ecc299040b6501c0fbf/ap21077544941980.jpg)
CDC director Rochelle Walensky warns of "impending doom" amid COVID-19 spikes
CBSN
Washington — Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued a dire warning of a sense of "impending doom" as coronavirus infections and hospitalizations tick up and pleaded with Americans to not let up on mitigation measures.
During a briefing from the White House COVID-19 Response Team and public health officials, Walensky said there are "continuing concerning trends" in the nation's response to the coronavirus pandemic, with the number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths all rising. The number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. has surpassed 30.2 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. "I'm going to pause here, I'm going to lose the script and I'm going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom," Walensky said, appearing to grow emotional. "We have so much to look forward to. So much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope. But right now I'm scared."![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20250214202746.jpg)
Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a high-stakes meeting at this year's Munich Security conference to discuss the Trump administration's efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Vance said the U.S. seeks a "durable" peace, while Zelenskyy expressed the desire for extensive discussions to prepare for any end to the conflict.
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Washington — The Trump administration on Thursday intensified its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce, the nation's largest employer, by ordering agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees who hadn't yet gained civil service protection - potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of workers.
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It was Labor Day weekend 2003 when Matt Scribner, a local horse farrier and trainer who also competes in long-distance horse races, was on his usual ride in a remote part of the Sierra Nevada foothills — just a few miles northeast of Auburn, California —when he noticed a freshly dug hole along the trail that piqued his curiosity.