Tag Archives: Biden Administration

Labor Dept: Consumer Prices Up 6.8% Over Nov 2020

NBC News reports: Consumer prices rose by 6.8 percent in November over the previous year, the highest annual inflation rate since June 1982, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, released Friday. The figure exceeds the 6.2 percent year-over-year figure from October. Volatile energy prices, supply chain snarls, high consumer demand, and loose …

Read More »

US To Stiffen Vax Mandate At Canada/Mexico Borders

The Associated Press reports: President Joe Biden will require essential, nonresident travelers crossing U.S. land borders, such as truck drivers, government and emergency response officials, to be fully vaccinated beginning on Jan. 22, the administration planned to announce. A senior administration official said the requirement, which the White House previewed in October, brings the rules for essential travelers in line …

Read More »

WH To Announce 90% Of Federal Workforce Is Vaxxed

CNN reports: White House health officials are set to announce on Monday that 95% of the federal workforce is in compliance with the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate, a senior administration official said. Over 90% of workers have received at least one shot and the other 5% have submitted exception applications that were already approved or are pending. More than 90% …

Read More »

Appeals Court Halts Vaccine Mandate For Businesses

The Washington Post reports: A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, helmed by one judge who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan and two others who were appointed by President Donald Trump, issued the ruling late Friday, after temporarily halting the mandate last weekend in response to lawsuits filed by Republican-aligned businesses and legal …

Read More »

Labor Dept Reports Highest Inflation Rate Since 1990

The New York Times reports: Consumer inflation surged in October as fuel costs picked up, supply chains remained under pressure and rents moved higher — bad news for economic policymakers at the Federal Reserve and for the Biden White House, which had been emphasizing a recent slowdown in price gains. Inflation picked up to 0.9 percent last month from September, …

Read More »

Surgeon General Vows Defense Of Vaccine Mandates

Axios reports: Surgeon General Vivek Murthy took to ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday to defend the Biden administration’s plan to institute a vaccine mandate for companies with more than 100 workers, calling the measure “appropriate and necessary,” and adding that the administration is prepared to fight legal challenges to implementation. A three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of …

Read More »

WH Sets Jan. 4th Vax Deadline For Large Companies

The New York Times reports: The Biden administration said on Thursday that large companies have until Jan. 4 to ensure that their workforces are fully vaccinated under a sweeping new coronavirus health measure that will cover 84 million private sector workers. The plan was first announced in September by President Biden, who directed the Labor Department to invoke its emergency …

Read More »

WH Press Secretary Jen Psaki Tests Positive For COVID

CNN reports: White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who dropped off President Joe Biden’s international trip shortly before he departed, has tested positive for coronavirus after members of her household did, she said in a statement Sunday. Psaki said she last saw Biden Tuesday outside while masked, before the President departed for Rome for the Group of 20 Summit, and …

Read More »

Buttigieg: Federal No-Fly List “Should Be On The Table”

CNN reports: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Sunday that a federal no-fly list for violent airplane passengers should be evaluated. “I think that should be on the table,” Buttigieg said of the potential list on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “The [Federal Aviation Administration] stands strongly with flight crews. It’s why you’re seeing some really harsh penalties and fines …

Read More »

Fully Vaxxed DHS Secretary Tests Positive For COVID

CNN reports: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who is vaccinated, tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday morning, according to department spokesperson Marsha Espinosa. “Secretary Mayorkas tested positive this morning for the COVID-19 virus after taking a test as part of routine pre-travel protocols. Secretary Mayorkas is experiencing only mild congestion; he is fully vaccinated and will isolate and work at …

Read More »

FDA To Allow Over-The-Counter Sales Of Hearing Aids

Via press release from the FDA: Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a landmark proposal intended to improve access to and reduce the cost of hearing aid technology for millions of Americans. The agency proposed a rule to establish a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. When finalized, the rule would allow hearing aids within this category …

Read More »

Buttigieg: Paid Family Leave Is Not A Vacation [VIDEO]

“Look, paid family leave is important. It’s important as a matter of family values. It’s important to our economy. And one more thing that I think is maybe underappreciated. “When somebody welcomes a new child into their family and goes on leave to take care of that child, that’s not a vacation. It’s work. It’s joyful, wonderful, fulfilling work, but …

Read More »

Sinema Opposes Dem Plan For Drug Pricing Reform

Politico reports: The White House has a new headache as it struggles to get its multitrillion-dollar party-line spending bill passed: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s objections to drug pricing reforms that are already struggling to make it through the House. The Arizona Democrat is opposed to the current prescription drug pricing proposals in both the House and Senate bills, two sources familiar …

Read More »

Biden Plan Includes Expansion Of Home COVID Testing

The Washington Post reports: The covid-19 response plan President Biden unveiled Thursday envisions a sweeping expansion of coronavirus testing, aiming to make quick-turnaround test kits cheaper and more accessible than ever as the country tries to quell the wave of infections driven by the delta variant. Leaning on test manufacturers to ramp up production, the administration wants to send hundreds …

Read More »

Feds: Vax Mandate For Companies With 100+ Workers

The Wall Street Journal reports: All employers with 100 or more employees would have to require their workers to be vaccinated or undergo at least weekly Covid-19 testing under a new plan by President Biden to curb the spread of the pandemic, senior administration officials said. The Labor Department in the coming weeks plans to issue an emergency temporary standard …

Read More »

US Says Solar Could Produce 45% Of Energy By 2050

The Hill reports: Solar energy could supply nearly half of the nation’s electricity nationwide by 2050 in a scenario where the U.S. reaches net-zero carbon emissions, according to a study released Wednesday by the Department of Energy. The Department’s Solar Futures study analyzes three possible scenarios, including two in which the U.S. grid is 95 percent decarbonized by 2035 and …

Read More »

20 States Sue Biden Admin Over LGBTQ Protections

The Associated Press reports: Attorneys general from 20 states sued President Joe Biden’s administration Monday seeking to halt directives that extend federal sex discrimination protections to LGBTQ people, ranging from transgender girls participating in school sports to the use of school and workplace bathrooms that align with a person’s gender identity. Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery filed the lawsuit in …

Read More »

Biden Admin To Mandate Vax For Nursing Home Staff

CNN reports: The Biden administration will direct all nursing homes to require their staff be vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to continue receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding, administration officials told CNN. President Joe Biden will announce Wednesday afternoon that he is directing the Department of Health and Human Services to draw up new regulations making employee vaccination a condition for …

Read More »

Pete And Chasten Buttigieg Reveal They’ll Be Parents

The Hill reports: Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, are going to become parents. “The process isn’t done yet and we’re thankful for the love, support, and respect for our privacy that has been offered to us,” he wrote. “We can’t wait to share more soon.” The couple, who …

Read More »

Blinken: US Has Begun Evacuation Of Kabul Embassy

Politico reports: Without saying directly that the U.S. was shutting down its embassy in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the U.S. was evacuating personnel from the facility in Kabul. “We are working to make sure that our personnel are safe and secure,” Blinken told host Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week.” “We’re relocating the men and …

Read More »