![Sturgis Motorcycle Rally kicks off amid COVID-19 surge fueled by Delta variant](https://cbsnews1.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2021/08/07/b2872699-02cc-4b13-a65f-ae4bc9a2b511/thumbnail/1200x630/710a36ea94731c1cd17aa13a01750bb8/ap21218778604430.jpg)
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally kicks off amid COVID-19 surge fueled by Delta variant
CBSN
Thousands of bikers have converged on the tiny South Dakota community of Sturgis for the annual 10-day Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
The rally got underway on Friday amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in the United States being fueled by the highly-contagious Delta variant. In South Dakota, cases spiked nearly 70% in the days before the rally started. The rally kicked off ceremoniously, with no mask mandates. No proof of vaccinations are needed, Mola Lenghi reports for "CBS This Morning: Saturday."![](/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.