US hits Biden’s COVID-19 vaccination target, nearly a month late
WASHINGTON — Seventy percent of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a key milestone in the fight against the pandemic that the country hit nearly a month later than President Joe Biden had hoped.
After falling dramatically since April, the pace of U.S. vaccinations has recently accelerated due to the rapid spread of the delta variant of coronavirus. The U.S. was averaging more than 72,000 new infections a day in a delta-fueled resurgence of the virus as of Friday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The administration reported Monday that 468,000 doses of vaccines were administered in the past day, including 320,000 to people getting their first shot, White House COVID-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar said on Twitter, calling the day a “Milestone Monday.” The first-shot number is up from 257,000 a week ago, he said.
The seven-day average of newly vaccinated people is 441,000, Shahpar also said. That’s the highest rolling average since June.
In early May, Biden set the 70% goal for Independence Day, believing it to be a reasonable threshold for the country to meet. But by the July Fourth holiday, only about 67% of adults had been given at least one dose.
—Bloomberg News
Blagojevich files suit against law keeping him from running again
CHICAGO — The last time convicted ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich appeared in federal court in Chicago, he watched sullenly via a video link from prison as a judge resentenced him to 14 years in prison for an array of corruption schemes.
Five years later, a far more upbeat Blagojevich returned in the flesh to the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, ground zero for his historic political and personal downfall.
“I don’t like this place,” Blagojevich said after striding up to a battery of news microphones set up outside the building on South Dearborn Street. “I was hoping I would never have to set foot in this building again, but here I am.”
This time, the ex-governor, whose sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump in February 2020, wasn’t there to answer to allegations of brazenly selling a U.S. Senate seat or receive a tongue-lashing from a judge.
He was there filing a lawsuit of his own challenging the Illinois General Assembly’s disqualifying resolution that prohibited him from running for any state or local office in Illinois because of his 2009 impeachment.
Blagojevich, 64, is seeking a permanent injunction from a federal judge declaring the resolution unconstitutional. Blagojevich repeatedly insisted to reporters that he had no specific plans to run for office should the suit succeed — but he wouldn’t rule it out, either.
—Chicago Tribune
Other state legislators to join Texas Democrats' push for voting bills
WASHINGTON — As the Texas House Democrats who bolted from Austin prepare for their last week in Washington before Gov. Greg Abbott’s current special session ends, their push for voting rights protection is getting a boost from activists and other state legislators nationwide.
Over 100 state lawmakers from more than 20 states will join the Texas Democrats in Washington this week, many of them coming from Republican-led legislatures that have either threatened or already passed legislation similar to the GOP-backed voting bills the Texas members are blocking in the Legislature.
The legislators have planned a rally outside the Capitol on Tuesday, and said Monday they will continue to push for the federal bills at public events and private meetings throughout the week — even as the Texas lawmakers’ return to Austin remains shrouded in uncertainty.
“We’re literally fighting the same fight,” said Daniel Hernández, an Arizona state house representative who is flying in Tuesday morning to join the rally. He said the Arizona delegation is attempting to set up meetings with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly. “So whether you’re in Texas or Arizona, there are a lot of similarities. When we’re looking at the next election, the voting restrictions don’t just impact Democratic voters, or voters of color. They impact all Texans, and all Arizonans, and all Americans.”
The group will echo the Texas delegation’s call for the Senate to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act — or at least make progress — before the chamber’s August recess.
—The Dallas Morning News
Forest Service promises swifter action on new wildfires
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Hit with bipartisan criticism about a “wait and see” approach to fighting wildfires in California, the new chief of the USDA Forest Service is directing his agency to become more aggressive about suppressing new fires.
Forest Service Chief Randy Moore, who until earlier this year oversaw 18 national forests in California, is implementing the new policy amid complaints that the federal agency was too slow to respond to wildfires that began this year on national forest land in the north state.
“Chief Moore committed that he will issue a change of policy to all regions of the U.S. Forest Service, including California, to immediately put out all fires,” said Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., who revealed the new direction in an email to environmental organizations, firefighter policy experts and others over the weekend.
“This is a major policy change for the U.S. Forest Service, whose previous policy was to let the fire burn if it was not immediately adjacent to communities or major infrastructure,” LaMalfa wrote.
Moore’s policy directive comes amid rising complaints about the Forest Service’s response to a handful of recent wildfires, including the Tamarack fire, which has burned 68,696 acres in California and Nevada. The fire began July 4 in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and was allowed to burn for several days. Then fierce winds caused the fire to spread dramatically, although it’s now 82% complained.
—The Sacramento Bee
