Month: April 2021

Millions of vaccinated Americans on Tuesday were freed from government recommendations on outdoor mask-wearing.  U.S. President Joe Biden pulls off his face mask as he arrives to speak about loosening coronavirus mask guidelines, outside the White House in Washington, April 27, 2021.Biden used the occasion to renew a plea to the unvaccinated, saying the relaxed mask guidance “is another great reason to go get vaccinated.”  As of Tuesday, according to the CDC, nearly 30 percent of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated with 42 percent having received at least one shot.  “As we gather more and more data on the real-world efficacy of vaccines, we know that masked fully vaccinated people can safely attend worship services inside, go to an indoor restaurant or bar, and even participate in an indoor exercise class,” CDC Director Dr. Rachel Walensky told reporters prior to the president’s remarks.  Americans, however, need to remain more vigilant with others when indoors.  “There’s increasing data that suggests that most of transmission is happening indoors rather than outdoors — less than 10 percent of documented transmission in many studies has occurred outdoors,” explained Walensky. “We also know that there’s almost a 20-fold increased risk of transmission in the indoor setting than in the outdoor setting.”  Vaccine safetyOne challenge health authorities face is a hesitancy among some of the unvaccinated to get their shots. That is partly due to concerns about the vaccines causing rare but serious side effects. The CDC voted late last week to permit the resumption of the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine accompanied by a new warning about an increased risk of rare but life-threatening blood clots for adult women under 50. FILE – The Pfizer vaccine is given amid the coronavirus pandemic, in the Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City, New York, April 23, 2021.Walensky told reporters on Tuesday that the CDC has not seen a link between heart inflammation and the vaccines. “We have not seen a signal and we’ve actually looked intentionally for the signal in the over 200 million doses we’ve given,” she said when asked about the Defense Department’s investigation of 14 cases of heart inflammation among those vaccinated through the military’s health services. Israel’s Health Ministry is examining a small number of cases of heart inflammation in people, mostly those under the age of 30, who had received Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.  Meanwhile, the Canadian province of Quebec has reported its first death of a patient, a 54-year-old woman, from the AstraZeneca vaccine due to clotting. 
 
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As migrants continue to surge toward the U.S. border with Mexico, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says it is upping efforts to stop organizations involved in smuggling people into the country. “Transnational criminal organizations put profit over human life, with devastating consequences,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in a statement on Tuesday. “With the help of our federal and foreign partners, we aim to cut off access to that profit by denying these criminals the ability to engage in travel, trade, and finance in the United States.”  FILE – Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, March 1, 2021.The new effort will be called Operation Sentinel and will be a joint effort among U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Department of State, and the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration of the U.S. Department of Justice.  “Smuggling operations continue to lie and exploit vulnerable populations to promote their criminal enterprise — the health and safety of migrants does not influence their lucrative ambition,” said Troy Miller, the acting CBP commissioner.  He added that the new operation aims to “disrupt every facet of the logistical network of these criminal organizations.” According to a news release from Homeland Security, “transnational criminal organizations pose significant dangers to migrants.” “These organizations are complicit in sexual assaults, human trafficking, and abandonment of vulnerable migrants — including tender-aged children,” the release said.  Earlier this month, the U.S. government said it had picked up nearly 19,000 children who had traveled along across the U.S.-Mexico border in March. It was the largest number ever recorded. Central American migrants wait to be transported by the U.S. Border Patrol after crossing the Rio Grande River into the U.S. from Mexico in La Joya, Texas, April 27, 2021.More than 172,000 migrants were caught at the border in March, the highest number since March of 2001. Some Republican lawmakers have been critical of President Joe Biden’s border policies, which represent reversals from his predecessor’s tough border controls. In March, Republican Congressman Troy Nehls, of Texas, said the Biden administration is “aiding and abetting human trafficking.” “This is inhumane is what’s happening here,” the former Fort Bend County Texas sheriff told Fox News.  Earlier this month, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told Fox that the situation at the border was “not a crisis, it is chaos.” 
 
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Iran said Tuesday it was seeking the release of all Iranian prisoners held in the U.S. amid talks in Vienna meant to bring Tehran and Washington back into the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.Cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei also hinted that another exchange of prisoners between Iran and America was possible, saying that “the idea of a swap of prisoners has always been on the agenda” and adding they should be released because of “humane concerns.”Rabiei did not offer details on how many Iranians are held in the U.S. and claimed that releasing their names could harm them. However, he said, “their number is bigger than that of American prisoners in Iran.”In 2019, a prisoner exchange saw Iran free a Chinese-American scholar from Princeton who had been held for three years on widely criticized espionage charges. At the time, Tehran said American authorities were holding about 20 Iranian nationals in jail.Iran has at times expressed readiness for prisoner swaps with the U.S. When they do take place, the exchanges are seen as rare diplomatic breakthroughs between Tehran and Washington.On Tuesday, Rabiei said Iranian judiciary has also voiced “readiness” for a swap. His remarks marked the second statement by Iranian officials on a possible prisoner release in less than two weeks.Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh last week made comments suggesting Tehran hopes to swing a major prisoner swap as part of ongoing negotiations in Vienna. A similar swap accompanied the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.Iranian media have in recent days identified seven Iranians in U.S. custody by name while the U.S. regularly asks Iran to release American prisoners, including Siamak and Baquer Namazi, who are serving 10-year prison sentences on spying charges.Siamak Namazi, a 46-year-old businessman who promoted closer ties between Iran and the West, was arrested in October 2015. His 81-year-old father Baquer, a former UNICEF representative who served as governor of Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province under the U.S.-backed shah, was arrested in February 2016, apparently drawn to Iran over fears about his incarcerated son.Also among Americans held in Iran is environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian with U.S. and British citizenship also initially sentenced to 10 years in prison.There are other Western nationals in Iranian custody, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman who after serving a five year prison sentence on spying charges has how been sentenced to a sixth year in prison or spreading “propaganda against the system” for participating in a protest in front of the Iranian Embassy in London in 2009.Iran does not recognize dual nationalities, meaning those detained cannot receive consular assistance. The two Namazis, like other dual nationals, faced secret charges in closed-door hearings in Iran’s Revolutionary Court, which handles cases involving alleged attempts to overthrow the government.As nuclear talks are about to get underway Tuesday in Vienna following a brief break, Tehran has been insisting that the U.S. lift all sanctions imposed under then-President Donald Trump after he pulled America out of the nuclear deal, including those not related to its nuclear program.Meanwhile, Washington has said Iran needs to comply with all restrictions imposed under the deal. In response to Trump’s withdrawal, Iran has gradually violated the terms of the accord, including limits on uranium enrichment.Washington has not been at the table for the Vienna talks, but an American delegation is in the Austrian capital and representatives of the other powers have been shuttling between it and the Iranian delegation. sabotage at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility.
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The number of antisemitic incidents in the United States decreased last year as lockdown measures reduced physical encounters, but the tally remained near historic highs seen in recent years, the Anti-Defamation League said on Tuesday.   In its annual audit of antisemitic incidents in the United States, the Jewish civil rights group said it tallied 2,024 reports of incidents targeting American Jews in 2020, a decrease of 4% from the 2,107 cases it identified in 2019. Harassment and vandalism accounted for the vast majority of the recorded incidents.   Still, last year’s number of antisemitic incidents was the third highest ADL has recorded since it began tracking such incidents in 1979, the group said.   Antisemitic incidents in the United States have risen steadily in recent years, with the highest number recorded in 2019 when ADL identified 2,107 anti-Jewish incidents, including a spate of deadly assaults on Jewish communities around the country.   Of the more than 2,000 incidents recorded last year, ADL attributed 331, or 16% of the total, to extremist groups or individuals. The majority involved the distribution of antisemitic fliers, banners, stickers or written messages. The New Jersey European Heritage Association, which ADL describes as a white supremacist group, was responsible for 110 incidents.   Cases of harassment increased. There were 1,242 incidents of harassment, a 10% increase from 2019, and 751 incidents of vandalism, most involving the display of swastikas, down 18% on the year.   Jewish graves and cemeteries were vandalized 11 times last year. In January, headstones in two Jewish cemeteries in Hartford, Connecticut, were vandalized and toppled, the ADL said. The number of assaults on American Jews dropped by nearly half, from 61 in 2019 to 31 in 2020, targeting 41 victims. Nearly half of the assaults took place in New York City, home of the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.   Last November, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, a Jewish man was hit by a passerby who said, “I got a chance to slap a Jew,” according to the report.   In December, a Jewish man was assaulted near the University of Kentucky. A driver ran over his leg yelling antisemitic slurs, according to the report.   Unlike 2019, when five American Jews were killed in antisemitic assaults, there were no fatalities last year.   Attacks on Jewish institutions such as synagogues and Jewish community centers and schools increased by 40% to 327 last year. Of the 264 incidents of harassment targeting Jewish institutions, 114 were disruptive intrusions targeting religious, educational or cultural webinars.   The number of antisemitic incidents at non-Jewish schools and universities fell by 61%. But as schools reopen, the ADL said it expects antisemitic incidents at those institutions to return to levels seen in recent years. 
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A Black man killed by deputies in North Carolina was shot in the back of the head and had his hands on his car steering wheel when they opened fire, attorneys for his family said Monday after relatives viewed body camera footage. The account was the first description of the shooting of Andrew Brown Jr., who was killed by deputies serving drug-related search and arrest warrants. His death last Wednesday led to nightly protests and demands for justice in the town of Elizabeth City. Authorities have released few details, and the video has not been made public. Attorney Chantel Cherry-Lassiter watched a 20-second portion of body camera video with Brown’s family. Lassiter said Brown did not appear to be a threat to officers as he backed his vehicle out of his driveway and tried to drive away from deputies with guns drawn. “There was no time in the 20 seconds that we saw where he was threatening the officers in any kind of way,” she told reporters at a news conference. When asked whether Brown was shot in the back, attorney Harry Daniels said, “Yes, back of the head.” An eyewitness account and emergency scanner traffic had previously indicated Brown was shot in the back as he tried to drive away. “My dad got executed just by trying to save his own life,” said Brown’s adult son Khalil Ferebee, who watched the video. Lassiter, who watched the video multiple times and took notes, said the shooting started as soon as the video began and that she lost count of the number of gunshots fired by law enforcement officers armed with rifles and handguns. She said she counted as many as eight deputies in the video, some wearing tactical uniforms and some in plainclothes. “They’re shooting and saying, ‘Let me see your hands’ at the same time,” she said. She added: “Let’s be clear. This was an execution.” The family’s lawyers were also angry about what they described as rude treatment by Pasquotank County Attorney R. Michael Cox, to whom they attributed the decision to limit the amount of footage shown. They criticized authorities for sharing only 20 seconds of video from a single body camera. “They’re trying to hide something,” attorney Benjamin Crump said. Attorney Bakari Sellers said Cox used profanity toward him. “I’ve never been talked to like I was talked to in there,” Sellers said. Cox did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II has said that multiple deputies fired shots. Seven deputies are on leave pending a probe by the State Bureau of Investigation. In a video statement, the sheriff said Monday that Cox had filed a request to have the video released, which in North Carolina must be authorized by a judge. He asked for patience while the State Bureau of Investigation probes the case. “This tragic incident was quick and over in less than 30 seconds, and body cameras are shaky and sometimes hard to decipher. They only tell part of the story,” he said. Earlier Monday, a search warrant was released that indicated investigators had recorded Brown selling small amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine to an informant. Crump argued that authorities were trying to release negative information about Brown while shielding themselves by holding back the video. The warrant was sought by Wooten’s office and signed by a judge to allow the search of Brown’s Elizabeth City home. It said that an investigator in nearby Dare County was told by the informant that the person had been purchasing crack cocaine and other drugs from Brown for over a year. The informant described purchasing drugs at the house that was the target of the search. In March, narcotics officers used the informant to conduct controlled purchases of methamphetamine and cocaine from Brown on two separate occasions, according to the warrant, which said both drug transactions were recorded using audio and video equipment. The search warrant said investigators believed Brown was storing drugs in the home or two vehicles. The document, which indicated the search was not completed, did not list anything found. Two arrest warrants released last week charged him with possession with intent to sell and deliver 3 grams of each of the drugs. Calls have been growing to release the body camera footage. A coalition of media organizations have sought the footage, and city officials plan to do so as well. Short of releasing it publicly, state law allows law enforcement to show body camera video privately to a victim’s family. Also Monday, Elizabeth City officials declared a state of emergency amid concerns about how demonstrators would react to a possible video release. Protests since the shooting in the eastern North Carolina town of about 18,000 have generally been peaceful. Danielle McCalla, who grew up in Elizabeth City before recently moving to Virginia, joined demonstrators who came to watch the news conference by the family attorneys. She said it left her in tears. “As soon as they started going into details, I started crying,” she said. McCalla, 30, said she met Brown and had several conversations with him, making her sad about what’s happening in her hometown and about police shootings elsewhere. “It’s the same thing that keeps happening,” she said. “It’s a bigger monster than we think it is.” 
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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to speak Tuesday with community organizations in Guatemala, a day after the United States announced economic and other efforts to help Guatemala and its neighbors slow uncontrolled migration. Harris’ office said Tuesday’s virtual roundtable session “will underscore the importance of placing the Guatemalan people at the center of solutions to root causes of migration.” She said during talks Monday with Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei that she was “eager to hear their thoughts,” and that the people of the region “must be at the center of everything we do.” An increased number of migrants have traveled from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to reach the United States, leading President Joe Biden to task Harris to work with the governments of the three countries, along with Mexico, to try to address the factors motivating people to leave their homes. Honduran migrants clash with Guatemalan soldiers in Vado Hondo, Guatemala.The World Food Program said in a report earlier this year that after several hurricanes hit the region, and the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of people facing hunger in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras has reached 7.8 million. A $310 million U.S. program announced Monday will seek to address food insecurity in the region and deliver other needed humanitarian aid. The effort includes aid to farmers, food and literacy programs for school children, disaster relief services, and addressing safety and protection of refugees, asylum seekers and those displaced within their country. Harris told Giammattei that behind the U.S. effort is a responsibility to engage with its regional neighbors and a desire to “bring hope to the people of Guatemala that there will be an opportunity for them if they stay at home.” Giammattei said his government shares that goal. “Creating hope through the consolidation of walls of prosperity where people can find here opportunities to move ahead and, therefore, not need to go abroad to the United States is the road that should be our objective,” he said. The two countries also agreed on a plan for the United States to send a group of employees from the Department of Homeland Security to train members of a Guatemalan border protection task force. The United States will also help with aid programs and shelter construction for migrants who are returned to Guatemala. 
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U.S. military planners have a growing number of options should the Taliban, or any other group, decide to target American and NATO troops as they prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan. Two U.S. B-52 bombers arrived at al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday, charged with providing air cover for the approximately 10,000 U.S. and NATO forces set to depart Afghanistan over the coming months. New: Two B-52 bombers arrive at In this picture taken on Nov. 21, 2016, a U.S. Navy fighter jet takes off from the deck of the U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier.Despite such efforts, top military officials and various government watchdogs have warned that the Afghan forces lack the capacity to withstand a military challenge from the Taliban if peace negotiations collapse. “My concern is the ability of the Afghan military to hold the ground that they’re on now without the support they’ve been used to for many years,” U.S. Central Command’s General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie told U.S. lawmakers last week. Some details of the U.S. withdrawal are still being worked out. Pentagon officials expect the finalized plan to be presented this coming Friday, but they have been looking at ways to continue supporting Afghan forces from afar. Such solutions could even include virtual calls to help Afghanistan’s air force keep its planes in the air. “We’re looking at how we can continue to support in a responsible way some of their contractual requirements for things like aviation maintenance,” the Pentagon’s Kirby said Monday, emphasizing that the U.S. is committed to ending all in-country assistance. “Our support to the Afghan forces will be primarily financially based,” he said. Despite the planned pullout, Taliban officials have repeatedly threatened to target U.S. and coalition forces if they fail to leave Afghanistan by the start of May — the deadline under an agreement signed between the Taliban and the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump.  
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Organizers of the recall effort against California Governor Gavin Newsom collected enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.  The California secretary of state’s office announced Monday that more than 1.6 million signatures had been verified, about 100,000 more than needed to force a vote on the first-term Democrat.  People who signed petitions now have 30 days to withdraw their signatures, though it’s unlikely enough will do so to stop the question from going to voters.  An election is likely in the fall where voters would face two questions: Should Newsom be recalled and who should replace him? The votes on the second question will only be counted if more than half say yes to the first.  FILE – California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference near Big Sur, Calif., April 23, 2021.If Newsom survives the recall, he will be up for reelection in 2022.  Among the most prominent Republicans running to replace Newsom are former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner, who has never run for elected office. Businessman John Cox, who lost badly to Newsom in 2018, and former Congressman Doug Ose also are running.  In 2003, voters recalled Democratic Governor Gray Davis and replaced him with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s the only other recall of a California governor to qualify for the ballot.  Newsom won election in 2018 with support from more than 60% of voters. Recalling him will be a tough sell in the heavily Democratic state where just a quarter of the state’s registered voters are Republicans, about the same number as those who identify as “no party preference.” But organizers see an opening by energizing voters who were angered by Newsom’s handling of the pandemic and those frustrated by one-party rule in Sacramento. Republicans have not won statewide office since 2006, when voters gave Schwarzenegger a second term. Newsom’s pandemic actions tipped the recall effort over the edge, especially after he was caught last fall dining at a fancy restaurant for a lobbyist’s birthday while urging residents to stay home.  Organizers began working to remove him from office before the coronavirus took hold in California. Orrin Heatlie, a retired county sheriff’s sergeant, decided to pursue a recall after seeing Newsom explaining the rights of immigrants living in the country illegally. He and other Republicans were also frustrated by many of Newsom’s liberal policy decisions.  Dozens of other candidates, serious and not, are expected to enter the race.  So far no other Democrats have announced plans to run against Newsom. The governor launched an anti-recall campaign in March, crafting the effort as one driven by Republican extremists and adherents to former President Donald Trump, who lost California twice. 
 
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U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday announced a sweeping investigation of the police department and local government in the southern U.S. city of Louisville, Kentucky, where officers last year shot and killed Breonna Taylor, a Black emergency technician, during a bungled raid on her home.The “pattern or practice” investigation is the second of a police department following the conviction last week of former Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin in the death of African American George Floyd while in police custody last year.Garland said the investigation into the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government and Louisville Metro Police Department will determine whether police officers engaged in unconstitutional and unlawful practices. Among other things, federal investigators will examine whether local police engage in unreasonable use of force and unconstitutional stops, searches and seizures.He said the Justice Department has briefed Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and LMPD chief Erika Shields on the investigation. Both officials pledged to cooperate, the attorney general said.The announcement came more than a year after Taylor, 26, died on March 13, 2020 after three Louisville Police officers fired on her while serving a no-knock warrant. The use of such controversial warrants will be examined as part of the federal inquiry.FILE – This undated photo provided by Taylor family attorney Sam Aguiar shows Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.Only one of the three Louisville police officers was later charged by a state grand jury.  The case remained little known until Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020 thrust it into the public debate and protest movement over police brutality and racism.Last week, Garland announced a similar “pattern or practice” investigation into the embattled police department in the midwestern U.S. city of Minneapolis, a day after a jury found Chauvin guilty of two murder counts and one manslaughter count in the killing of Floyd.As with the Minneapolis department probe, the goal of the new investigation is “to ensure that policing policies and practices are constitutional and lawful,” Garland said.The two investigations mark a shift in Justice Department priorities under President Joe Biden and reflect his administration’s intent to use “pattern or practice” investigations to combat civil rights violations and other abuses in police departments. Such investigations were widely used during the Obama administration, but the tactic was subsequently abandoned under Biden’s immediate predecessor, Donald Trump.Garland said that at the end of the investigation, the department will seek to negotiate “mutually agreeable steps” to prevent abuse but if an agreement can’t be reached, it will file a civil lawsuit.The Obama administration investigated 25 police departments, negotiating 14 consent decrees. None was done under the Trump administration. 
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The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider a major new gun control case, whether there is a constitutional right to carry a weapon outside the home for self-defense.As it stands now, Americans have the right to gun ownership for self-defense in their homes.But the court said that in its term that begins next October, it would hear a National Rifle Association-supported challenge to a century-old New York state law that requires those seeking a permit to carry a concealed weapon outside the home to show a special need for self-defense.New York is one of eight states that limit who has the right to carry a weapon in public, while in the country’s other 42 states, gun owners can mostly carry their weapons when they leave their homes.The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees gun ownership rights. FILE – Several types of weapons, including AR-15 style rifles, are displayed at a gun shop in Virginia. (Photo: Diaa Bekheet)Former President Donald Trump frequently touted his support for political candidates supporting gun ownership rights, while the current U.S. leader, President Joe Biden, has signed executive orders to try to curb gun violence and called on Congress to tighten gun background checks and ban assault weapons.The Supreme Court previously turned down a request to review the New York law, but the court’s new 6-3 conservative majority, which includes three justices appointed by Trump, has signaled that it could be more receptive to challenges of laws limiting gun owners’ rights.The Supreme Court rejected a request by New York state Attorney General Letitia James to turn down a review of the open carry restrictions in her state.The state’s law “has existed in the same essential form since 1913 and descends from a long Anglo-American tradition of regulating the carrying of firearms in public,” she wrote in a brief to the court.She said the state law complies with a previous Supreme Court’s gun rights ruling, “that the Second Amendment right is not unlimited and can be subject to state regulation consistent with the historical scope of the right.”The New York appeal was brought by two men, Robert Nash and Brandon Koch, who both received a permit to carry a gun outside the home for hunting and target practice but were turned down to carry a concealed weapon for self-defense.Paul Clement, a lawyer representing the challengers to the New York law, told the court the country is divided, with “the Second Amendment alive and well in the vast middle of the nation, and those same rights disregarded near the coasts.”
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Taking home the Academy Awards, or Oscars, for Best Director and Best Picture would normally be a notable event, but apparently not in China for Chloé Zhao, who won the two prizes for her movie “Nomadland.”State media outlets were silent about the accolades for the Chinese-born Zhao, with no mention on either CCTV or Xinhua.Sunday’s awards ceremony was not aired live in China or in Hong Kong.News of her win was also censored on China’s highly controlled internet. According to the Associated Press, a post about Zhao’s win by a movie-related account on China’s Weibo microblogging site was censored a few hours after it was posted.Some users had to resort to using the code “zt,” Zhao’s initials using her Chinese name Zhao Ting, to talk about Zhao.A popular movie app, Douban, banned even searching for “Nomadland” and “Zhao Ting.”Zhao left China at the age of 14 to go to boarding school in London and later moved to Los Angeles.
Some social media users in China said she insulted the country in past comments when she was nominated for a Golden Globe in March, but in her acceptance speeches, she was apolitical and even recalled her childhood in China fondly.”Nomadland” had been scheduled for release in China on April 23, but that never happened, the Associated Press reported. No new release date has been set.Zhao is the first Asian woman and second woman to win the Best Director award.
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Like all U.S. presidential candidates, Joe Biden spent most of last year’s election campaign making promises. As his 100th day in office approaches — a traditional, if arbitrary, milestone for assessing presidential performance — he has delivered on many of them, but fallen short on others. The president’s campaign promises can be sorted into three broad baskets, regardless of the policy areas in which they fall.  There was the low-hanging fruit — things Biden really could accomplish “on Day One” with the stroke of a pen or the issuance of an order. As of April 15, Biden had signed 49 different executive orders and memoranda, far more than his recent predecessors:  Donald Trump (36), Barack Obama (34) and George W. Bush (12).  Slightly more difficult to achieve, though still within the sole purview of the executive branch, were other policy changes and initiatives that would take some time to implement but could be achieved with no input from members of Congress. Finally, there were the grand promises of a transformed relationship between the two major parties. Biden said he would work to bring Republicans and Democrats together to work in a bipartisan fashion on issues of importance to the country.  Across a wide array of policy areas, Biden quickly accomplished most of the issues in that first basket, and some in the second, but efforts to achieve bipartisan successes in Congress have almost all come up empty.Biden Urges World Leaders to Keep Promises on Climate Following SummitUS president addresses world leaders on final day of virtual climate change summitClimate  Biden was quick to take care of the easy wins on issues related to the climate and global warming. In his first eight days in office, he announced that the U.S. would rejoin the Paris climate accord, issued a slew of executive orders halting projects associated with high greenhouse gas emissions, like the Keystone XL pipeline, and announced that he would ask the Senate to ratify an international accord on reducing the production of hydrofluorocarbons. On Thursday, Biden kept his promise to convene an international climate summit, gathering world leaders for a virtual conference in advance of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November. He pledged to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2030, using 2005 levels as a baseline. Biden’s vow to create new energy infrastructure in the U.S., ranging from electronic vehicle charging stations to a smart electrical grid, is part of a massive infrastructure package that is currently working its way through Congress. Other initiatives have been slower to take off. A promise to make 30% of the land and water in the United States subject to conservation requirements has not been fleshed out with an official proposal. The administration is also still working on ways to get the aviation and transport industries to commit to emissions reductions. Biden Moves to Curb US Gun ViolenceUS leader: Mass killings are ‘a blemish on our character as a nation’Guns   Simply put, there isn’t much low-hanging fruit to be had in the debate over gun control in the United States. Earlier this month, the White House announced a pending proposal to slow the proliferation of so-called “ghost guns” that individuals can assemble from separately purchased parts without serial numbers for identification. The administration said that within 60 days it would publish model “red flag” legislation for states, which could block individuals deemed to pose a threat from purchasing firearms. Biden had promised to send Congress a gun control bill, but instead threw his support behind two measures in the House of Representatives strengthening background checks and regulating the transfer of firearms. Both bills passed in that chamber, but are stalled in the Senate. Biden’s promise to sign a bill renewing the Violence Against Women Act is contingent on the bill passing Congress and, while the House approved it in a bipartisan vote last month, the Senate has taken no action. Biden Accelerates Deadline for Opening Up COVID-19 Vaccinations President’s announcement comes amid increase in coronavirus cases among young adults COVID-19  On his first day in office January 20, Biden announced a mask mandate in federal buildings and sent a letter informing the World Health Organization that the U.S. would like to rejoin that organization after the Trump administration withdrew. Biden has also been able to keep, and often exceed, other pandemic-related promises. An initial vow to deliver 100 million vaccinations in 100 days has been greatly exceeded, with twice that number already completed, and the administration made good on promises to set up 100 mass vaccination sites and to create mobile vaccination clinics. A pledge to reopen most schools for in-person instruction has been less successful, in large part because decisions about local school policies are not within the purview of the White House. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did issue guidelines on how to safely reopen schools and other public facilities, but only a little more than half of public schools are open full time for in-person learning.Biden to Lift Refugee Cap Next Month, White House SaysPresident initially retained historically low 15,000-person limit set by Trump administrationImmigration/refugees  Biden did away with former President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban and expanded deportation criteria on his first day in office, and at the same time he halted construction on the wall that the Trump administration was attempting to build on the U.S-Mexico border. He attempted to implement a 100-day “freeze” on deportations, but that effort was blocked by a court ruling. Within the first month of his term, Biden also sent Congress an immigration bill that would create a pathway to citizenship for many undocumented immigrants and announced a program aimed at reuniting children who were separated from their families by the previous administration. As promised, Biden eliminated the “public charge rule” implemented by Trump to prevent recent immigrants from accessing public services. The administration appears to have stumbled badly in its efforts to restore the acceptance of refugees into the U.S. to pre-Trump levels. After promising to accept 62,500 in fiscal year 2022, the administration last week reduced that number to 15,000. The White House then said Biden would raise that number in May, but likely not to the promised level.Biden Lifts Ban on Transgender People in Military Trump had banned further recruitment of transgender people but allowed those already in the military to continue their serviceRacism/Inequity  On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order calling for a comprehensive assessment of racial equity in the federal government and in the services it provides.  Within his first few months in office, Biden had signed multiple executive actions meant to protect people from discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, including the lifting of a ban on transsexuals serving in the armed forces. However, his promise to sign the Equality Act, which would codify many of those protections, has stalled in the Senate after the legislation passed the House in February.  The White House placed a hold on the creation of a police oversight commission, instead electing to work toward passage of a police accountability law in Congress.  Biden Promises Sharply Increased US Engagement Around the WorldNew US president warns Russia and China, while announcing an increase in accepting refugees and an end to support for Saudi offensive against Yemen National security  Biden pledged to restore America’s standing across the globe by reengaging with allies, and in the opening months of his term, he has begun the work of repairing U.S. relations with NATO countries and U.S. security partners in the Pacific region. Biden also promised to bring the U.S. back into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, better known as the Iran nuclear deal. Talks to do that have begun, but success is far from assured.
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With diversity at center stage, minority Oscar nominees took home many coveted golden statuettes, but the three major awards for best actor, best actress and best cinematography went to white nominees. VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more.
Camera: Penelope Poulou      Producer: Penelope Poulou  
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