![Texas governor bans mandated COVID-19 'vaccine passports'](https://cbsnews1.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2021/04/07/0a88f2c9-a4a8-40da-afad-105189cac436/thumbnail/1200x630/7f6005df29b8ca6e35a7d65ddeff3252/gettyimages-1230020811.jpg)
Texas governor bans mandated COVID-19 'vaccine passports'
CBSN
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott used his executive power Tuesday to ban state government and some private entities from requiring COVID-19 "vaccine passports" to access services, in the latest move from a Republican governor pitting public health campaigns against personal freedom and private choices.
According to Abbott's order, state agencies and political subdivisions, and public and private organizations that receive public funding in Texas cannot require people to prove that they have been inoculated against the coronavirus. The mandate also states that it will supersede any conflicting local executive orders and calls for the Texas Legislature to take up COVID-19 vaccine requirements during its ongoing current session.![](/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.