Tag Archives: Biden Administration

The Washington Post reports: President Biden will tap senior adviser John D. Podesta to replace outgoing U.S. special climate envoy John F. Kerry once Kerry steps down this spring, Podesta and other White House officials confirmed to The Washington Post on Wednesday. Podesta now oversees implementation of Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. The law devoted billions of …

NBC News reports: Senate Democrats are putting new pressure on the Biden administration to ease federal restrictions on marijuana in a new letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration on Tuesday as it considers rescheduling cannabis after it was federally classified more than five decades ago. The letter, from 12 senators led by Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and John Fetterman, D-Pa., and …

Politico reports: Attorney General Merrick Garland will be out of commission this weekend due to back surgery and is going out of his way to make sure that there are no doubts about who will be in charge during his absence. The unusual, early announcement by the Biden administration’s top law enforcement officer is intended to avoid the storm of …

Axios reports: John Kerry, the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, will leave the administration later this winter, and plans to help President Biden’s campaign, Axios has learned. Kerry, 80, thinks Biden’s reelection is the “single biggest” difference that can be made this year for climate progress at home and globally, a source close to the administration told Axios. Kerry …

Reuters reports: Apple Watch import and sales to the U.S. are banned effective today after the Biden’s administration declined to veto a decision by the International Trade Commission. The ITC determined earlier this year that Apple uses a blood oxygen technology that infringes on patents held by Masimo. The government could have vetoed the ITC decision by December 25. The …

The Hill reports: As Americans begin traveling for the holidays in numbers not seen in years, few airport delays have been reported so far. So far, 1.2 percent of U.S. flights have been canceled this year, the lowest cancellation rate in five years. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Thursday that his department made improvements over the last year and applauded …

Yahoo Finance reports: The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell in November, reflecting signs that the labor market may not be cooling as quickly as many had initially thought. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Friday the unemployment rate was 3.7% down from 3.9% in October, while US economy added 199,000 jobs. The largest jobs increases in Friday’s report were …

Axios reports: The Biden administration for the first time will allow all schools to order free COVID-19 tests from the federal government ahead of the holidays, officials told Axios first. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), an agency within HHS, has a stockpile of hundreds of millions of COVID tests. It is teaming up with the Department of …

The Hill reports: The Biden administration on Monday will announce a $16.4 investment for rail projects along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor as part of the overall investments in infrastructure by President Biden, a longtime Amtrak user. The funding will go to 25 passenger rail projects and will come from the bipartisan infrastructure law’s overall $66 billion investment in rail. The projects …

The Washington Post reports: The Supreme Court on Friday temporarily allowed the Biden administration to continue its efforts to get social media companies to remove posts from their platforms that the government says are misleading. The administration had asked the justices to put on hold a lower-court ruling that found top officials likely violated the First Amendment by improperly pressuring …

USA Today reports: The U.S. State Department issued a worldwide travel advisory on Thursday, urging Americans overseas to exercise increased caution. The travel advisory cited “increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests.” The State Department recommended U.S. citizens stay vigilant in locations popular with tourists, …

The Daily Beast reports: National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Sunday that he won’t rule out the possibility that American troops could be deployed to help free hostages captured by the Hamas militant group, but noted there are no plans currently in place to do so. In an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Kirby was asked whether he would …

Axios reports: Israel resumed on Sunday the water supply to the southern Gaza Strip after strong pressure from the Biden administration, two Israeli officials told Axios. Israel’s decision to completely stop the water supply to Gaza exacerbated the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, with aid groups warning water supplies were quickly running out. Israel announced on the second day …

The Washington Post reports: U.S. officials and the Qatari government have agreed to stop Iran from accessing a $6 billion account for humanitarian assistance in light of Hamas’s attack on Israel, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told House Democrats on Thursday, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private remarks. The decision not …

The Associated Press reports: The Biden administration announced it waived 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow border wall construction on Wednesday, marking the administration’s first use of a sweeping executive power employed often during the Trump presidency. The Department of Homeland Security posted the announcement on the U.S. Federal Registry with few details outlining the construction in Starr …

CNET reports: Starting today, the US Postal Service said it will begin shipping free COVID tests to homes across the country. The new at-home tests are made possible by a $600 million investment from the White House that includes grants for 12 manufacturing companies that produce the tests. The new free tests from the post office come at a time …

The Associated Press reports: The Biden administration announced Monday that it has awarded more than $1.4 billion to projects that improve railway safety and boost capacity, with much of the money coming from the 2021 infrastructure law. “These projects will make American rail safer, more reliable, and more resilient, delivering tangible benefits to dozens of communities where railroads are located, …

The New York Times reports: The Biden administration, looking ahead to a possible winter surge of Covid-19, announced on Wednesday that it was reviving its program of offering Americans free coronavirus tests through the mail and would spend more than $600 million to buy tests from a dozen domestic manufacturers. The website for the program, covidtests.gov, will begin accepting orders …

The Hill reports: The White House will create a federal Climate Corps, a major wish list item for progressive Democrats and environmentalist groups, Biden administration officials confirmed on a call with reporters Tuesday. On the call, administration officials said the program will employ 20,000 people in its first year. These recruits, they said, will be “doing the important task of …

CNN reports: Five Americans who had been imprisoned in Iran have been freed and have landed in Doha, Qatar, before flying to the United States later on Monday. The five, all of whom had been designated as wrongfully detained, were freed as part of a wider deal that includes the US unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds. They are being …