
Harris presides over Senate passage of bill to boost funds for Americans leaving Afghanistan
CBSN
Washington — Vice President Kamala Harris provided over the Senate on Tuesday to oversee the passage of a bill to boost funding to repatriate Americans returning from Afghanistan.
The bill was passed by unanimous consent at the request of Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, with most senators back in their home states for the August recess. Ahead of its passage, a White House official said Harris would gavel in a pro forma session in the Senate to "enable the passage" of the bill. The Emergency Repatriation Assistance for Returning Americans Act, which already passed the House, will now head to President Biden's desk. The bill amends the Social Security Act to increase temporary assistance for Americans returning from abroad.
Santa Fe, New Mexico — A representative for the estate of actor Gene Hackman is seeking to block the public release of autopsy and investigative reports, especially photographs and police body-camera video related to the recent deaths of Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa after their partially mummified bodies were discovered at their New Mexico home in February.

In the past year, over 135 million passengers traveled to the U.S. from other countries. To infectious disease experts, that represents 135 million chances for an outbreak to begin. To identify and stop the next potential pandemic, government disease detectives have been discreetly searching for viral pathogens in wastewater from airplanes. Experts are worried that these efforts may not be enough.