Month: August 2021

A third police officer who responded to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol died by suicide last week, the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department said Monday. Metropolitan Police Officer Gunther Hashida was found dead in his home on Thursday, a police spokesperson said in a statement. Hashida, assigned to the Emergency Response Team within the Special Operations Division, joined MPD in May 2003. This is the third known suicide of a police officer who responded to the attack on the Capitol. Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith and U.S. Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood also responded to the Capitol riot and later died by suicide. More than 500 people have been charged with crimes stemming from the January 6 riot.  
 
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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday that Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Port Authority employees working in state facilities must be vaccinated or face weekly testing, beginning after the Labor Day holiday September 6. The policy will cover more than 70,000 workers, most of whom are already vaccinated. Cuomo made the announcement at a news conference in New York, where he also noted, “In our hospitals, public-facing employees must be vaccinated. Not vaccinated or tested once a week. You must be vaccinated.”  He said New York “is the first state in the nation to do it.” Last week, Cuomo announced that public-facing state employees working in high-risk situations such those at state hospitals must get vaccinated against COVID-19, with no option for regular testing, and that all other state employees must be vaccinated or face testing. The policies come after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidelines, saying fully vaccinated people should wear masks indoors in areas where the delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 is causing surges in news cases. That decision comes after studies show even vaccinated people can carry and spread the delta variant, first detected in India. Cuomo also urged New York’s bars and restaurants and other businesses to adopt a policy of only serving vaccinated people. He said Radio City Music Hall and some sporting events have already done this with great success.  The governor said he could not issue mask or vaccine mandates for the general public because that would require the legislature — which has adjourned — to act.  “The best I can do is say, ‘I strongly recommend’ that they do that. We’re in the city of New York. Whatever they put in place, we will follow,” Cuomo said. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press. 
 
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The U.S. Senate pushed ahead Monday with consideration of a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, with Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promising to work with opposition Republican lawmakers to hold key votes on specific construction projects across the country.”Let’s start voting on amendments,” Schumer told the Senate as it started business for the week. He said a final vote on the legislation could be held “in a matter of days” but vowed to keep the chamber in session until work on the measure is completed — before recessing for the Senate’s annual August vacation. “The longer it takes to finish the bill, the longer we will be here.”The package, one of President Joe Biden’s top legislative priorities, would provide tens of billions of dollars to repair the country’s deteriorating roads and bridges, advance broadband internet service throughout the country, expand rail and transit services and replace lead-piped drinking water systems.The package was negotiated over several weeks between a centrist group of 10 lawmakers and the White House, but now the remaining 90 members of the Senate will have a chance to offer amendments to the legislation for favored projects in their home states to earmark for funding.”Infrastructure is exactly the kind of subject that Congress should be able to address across the aisle,” Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said of the politically divided chamber, where Republicans and Democrats spar sharply over most issues.McConnell, over the objections of some Republicans, has agreed to allow debate to proceed but has not said how he will ultimately vote. On Monday, he described the 2,700-page bill as a “good and important jumping off point” for a discussion of the country’s infrastructure needs.FILE – The Interstate 40 bridge connecting Tennessee and Arkansas is seen in Memphis, May 14, 2021. The bridge been indefinitely closed after a crack was found in one of its steel beams.The measure was formally introduced at a rare Sunday evening Senate session. “We know that this has been a long and sometimes difficult process, but we are proud this evening to announce this legislation,” said Senator Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Democrat who was a lead negotiator on the package. The bill, she said, showed “we can put aside our own political differences for the good of the country.”Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, a Republican negotiator, said the final product will be “great for the American people.”Biden has been vocal in his support for the infrastructure, not only for the improvements that would be made across the U.S., but to show voters that major legislation can still be approved in politically fractious Washington. It includes $550 million in new spending along with $450 billion in previously approved funds.The package includes $110 billion for roads and bridges, $39 billion for public transit, $66 billion for rail and $55 billion for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, as well as billions for airports, ports, broadband internet and electric vehicle charging stations.Portman said, “This is a really important bill because it takes our big, aging and outdated infrastructure in this country and modernizes it. That’s good for everybody.”If the Senate approves the measure, the House of Representatives would then consider it. Passage appears less certain in the House, where some progressive Democratic lawmakers are complaining that the spending package is too small.Some material in this report came from the Associated Press. 
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The Biden administration is in the process of delivering 25 million vaccine doses to African countries in a massive effort to help African nations beat the COVID-19 pandemic. VOA’s Hayde Adams, the host of “Straight Talk Africa,” spoke with Akunna Cook, the U.S. deputy assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, about how the effort is going. The interview was edited for brevity and clarity.   VOA: These are difficult times all over the world In Africa, only about 1% of the continent’s population is fully vaccinated. Please tell us more about what the United States is doing to get much needed vaccines to African countries and where those doses are going first.   COOK: It’s a pleasure to be with you, particularly talking about this topic of ending the COVID-19 pandemic, which is a top priority of the Biden-Harris administration. The president has been very clear that we have to approach, vaccine, vaccine contributions around the world with the same urgency that we have here in the United States, and so we are working tirelessly to get out this first tranche of 25 million doses to Africa. We have already, in the past two weeks or so, donated the first five million doses into 16 African countries. Burkina Faso and Djibouti were among the first.   But there’s many more coming… We will be delivering the largest sum of doses to any country, to South Africa at, 5.6 million doses, and then to Nigeria at just over four million doses coming up.    FILE – A worker looks on as the second delivery of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is offloaded at the O.R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, Feb. 27, 2021.And so this is just the beginning. This are the initial tranche. We remain the largest contributor to (global vaccine distribution scheme) COVAX and are committed to getting vaccines out as quickly as possible because we know that we cannot end this pandemic anywhere until we’ve ended it everywhere.    VOA: The World Health Organization says Africa needs about 200 million doses to vaccinate 10% of its population by September this year. Is the United States prepared to do more? Is this a once off donation?    COOK: So our vaccine contributions are, what, multitiered and multilayered, right? So these initial this initial tranche of 25 million, it’s the first step. But we are also doing other things including supporting vaccine manufacturing on the continent. And so we have invested in vaccine manufacturing in South Africa and in Senegal to ensure that Africa can then produce its own vaccines moving forward. We are also providing economic assistance to countries that have been impacted by COVID-19 with over $541 million in assistance to respond to the economic aftereffects of the pandemic. And so this is just the beginning. This is an initial tranche of our assistance. And I’m sure that we will see more rolling out over, over the next couple of months.    FILE – A man with a cough but who had not been tested for the coronavirus uses COVIDEX, a locally-made herbal medicine approved by the government for use as a supportive treatment for viral infections, in Kampala, Uganda, July 6, 2021.VOA: Something we are seeing in the United States and something that is very prevalent across the African continent is misinformation around vaccines. There is a lack of trust as people feel that in the past, Africans, have been used as guinea pigs for scientific experiments, and of course there was an element of that here in the United States as well. What is your message to people in Africa about taking a vaccine coming from the West? How can they feel safe to trust the vaccines?    COOK: Well, you know what I will say is we absolutely acknowledge that there have been past reasons for there to be distrust here in the United States and around the world. But it is absolutely the case that these vaccines are safe and they are effective. And we are working to disseminate best practices, including working with trusted messengers to get the word out that these vaccines are safe and they are effective, and that is absolutely critical that populations around the world including here in the United States, avail themselves of these vaccines so that we can end this pandemic once and for all. 
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Jessie Fleming scored a second-half penalty as Canada upset four-time Olympic women’s football champions the United States 1-0 in Kashima on Monday to reach the final for the first time.Fleming’s 74th-minute spot-kick earned Canada a first win over their neighbors since 2001 and set up a clash with Sweden or Australia for the gold medal.Defeat ended the Americans’ 36-match unbeaten run against Canada. The world champions will face the losers of Monday’s second semi-final for the consolation of a bronze medal.The US and Canada combined for seven goals the last time they met at the Olympics; a memorable 4-3 semi-final win for the US after extra time at Old Trafford in 2012.US goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, the hero of their quarter-final win over the Dutch on penalties, required lengthy treatment here to her right knee after landing awkwardly while trying to collect a cross.Naeher, who saved a spot-kick in normal time and two more in the shootout against the 2019 World Cup runners-up, briefly battled on but was eventually replaced by Adrianna Franch in the first half.It wasn’t until the introduction of Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd and Christen Press on the hour that the US recorded a first shot on target, a curling strike from Lloyd tipped over by Stephanie Labbe.Labbe stopped two as Canada edged Brazil on penalties in the previous round, and she produced another sharp save to keep out Julie Ertz’s header at a corner.The US had advanced to every Olympic final aside from at Rio 2016, where they lost to Sweden on penalties in the last eight.Yet they had won just once in four matches over 90 minutes in Japan and fell behind when Canada was awarded a penalty following a VAR review.Deanne Rose put Tierna Davidson under pressure and the Canadian went sprawling after a tangle of legs, with the referee pointing the spot after consulting the pitchside monitor.Fleming tucked the resulting penalty beyond Franch, and there would be no comeback from the Americans — Lloyd’s header clipping the bar in the final minutes as their Olympics came to a tame end.
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With the delta variant of the coronavirus spreading in the United States, officials are instituting new mask guidance and some employers and even restaurants are requiring proof of vaccination. Michelle Quinn reports.
Video editor: Mary Cieslak
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The top U.S. infectious disease expert said Sunday that the country is facing “some pain and suffering” with the surging delta variant of the coronavirus. Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser, told ABC’s “This Week” show, “Things are going to get worse,” and laid the blame on millions of people who have not been vaccinated against the virus. As the number of new cases has risen sharply in recent weeks, some people who have not been vaccinated say they now are considering getting shots. But millions more are saying that for one reason or another they have no intention of getting inoculated no matter how many health officials urge them to do so. FILE – Dr. Anthony Fauci responds to accusations by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as he testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 20, 2021.Fauci, who almost daily prods Americans to get vaccinated, said, “You are protecting yourself from getting seriously ill and perhaps dying. The unvaccinated are allowing the propagation of the virus.” The U.S. is already recording 70,000 new coronavirus cases a day, up nearly 60,000 over the last six weeks, to a level not seen since February. The caseload is being fueled by the delta variant first discovered in India. The coronavirus causes the COVID-19 disease. Some disease trackers are predicting even bigger caseloads, to 140,000 to 300,000 new infections later in August as the highly transmissible delta variant spreads throughout the United States. Scientists now say that even those already vaccinated can spread the variant, prompting the government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, to issue a new directive last week. The CDC said that those already vaccinated should again wear face masks in indoor public settings in parts of the country where the number of new cases is spreading the fastest. FILE – A woman wears a mask against COVID-19, following the CDC’s recommendation that even fully vaccinated Americans wear masks to limit the spread of the highly transmissible coronavirus delta variant, in New York City, July 27, 2021.The directive has drawn rebukes from some Republican governors who have relaxed coronavirus restrictions in their states in recent months and voiced opposition to new face masking orders or any directive for mandatory vaccinations. Biden last week ordered more than 2 million federal workers to get vaccinated before returning to offices in the coming months or face frequent tests to prove they do not have the coronavirus. Doug Ducey, the Republican governor in the southwestern state of Arizona, dismissed the CDC directive, saying, “Arizona does not allow mask mandates, vaccine mandates, vaccine passports or discrimination in schools based on who is or isn’t vaccinated. We’ve passed all of this into law, and it will not change.” Ducey said the CDC directive “is just another example” of the Biden administration’s “inability to effectively confront the COVID-19 pandemic.” Fauci said he disagreed with the Republican officials’ complaints that the new masking recommendations were overkill. He rejected complaints by those who refuse to get vaccinations and have said their individual liberties are being eroded. “We are in a very serious health challenge,” Fauci said. “The fact is that if you get infected [and pass on the virus to others] you are encroaching on their individual rights.” 
 
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Kosovo’s president on Sunday awarded a medal to the late son of U.S. President Joe Biden for his service in building the country’s justice system after war ended more than two decades ago.Beau Biden worked in Kosovo after the 1998-1999 war, helping to train local prosecutors and judges for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The former Delaware attorney general died in 2015 of cancer aged 46.“Beau’s work in Kosovo was heartfelt; he fell in love with the country,” President Biden said in a pre-recorded video message played during the ceremony in Pristina on Sunday.“Beau could see what you could do, Beau could see even then the future that was possible for your proud country. The future that Kosovo had so long been denied,” Biden said.In 2016 Biden, then vice president, unveiled a memorial to his son in Kosovo. A road leading to Camp Bondsteel, home to the 700 American soldiers who still help maintain the fragile peace in Kosovo, was also named after Beau Biden.Naming streets after U.S. officials has become something of a tradition in Kosovo, whose population is mainly ethnic Albanian, and which considers the United States its savior for its support of a 1999 bombing campaign that deprived Serbia of control of Kosovo.Kosovo declared independence in 2008 with Western backing, but Serbia still refuses to recognize it and considers it part of its territory.“What the United States and the American people have done for our country, for our freedom, for our right to exist, goes beyond any partnership currently witnessed in the world. Mr. President, Kosovo is your home too,” said Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani while presenting the award. 
 
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The U.S. Senate is meeting in a rare Sunday session in an attempt to advance legislation calling for about $1 trillion in infrastructure spending to fix the country’s deteriorating roads and bridges and construct broadband service nationwide.Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, hopes to have the text of the more than 2,500-page measure completed to present to lawmakers so they can begin to offer amendments and vote on a final bill in the coming days.The package, which also calls for more passenger rail and public transit funding in addition to replacement of lead-piped drinking water systems in the United States, was negotiated between the administration of President Joe Biden and a group of centrist Republican and Democratic senators.The collection of infrastructure spending, including $550 billion in new allocations, is something of a rarity in Washington — a potential bipartisan deal in a fractious political environment where Republicans and Democrats remain divided on a host of other issues.One of the negotiators of the pact, Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, told CNN’s “State of the Union” show, “We really are just about finished.”The measure has already cleared preliminary procedural votes with unified Democratic support and more than 15 Republicans in favor in the politically divided 100-member Senate.Collins said the legislation might win Senate approval by the end of the week and that ultimately 10 or more Republicans would join Democrats in support, enough to clear the 60-vote super-majority needed to thwart any attempt to block it with a legislative filibuster.Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, takes an escalator from the Senate subway on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 30, 2021.The measure would then go the House of Representatives, where some progressive lawmakers have complained that the infrastructure package is not big enough. Potential final congressional approval could be weeks away.“This bill is good for America,” Collins said.The package is one of Biden’s biggest legislative priorities, an attempt six months into his presidency to prove to voters that the White House and Congress can reach bipartisan agreement on some issues.Brian Deese, the director of Biden’s National Economic Council, told the “Fox News Sunday” show, that the new infrastructure spending amounted to “badly needed investments in our country.”The White House is predicting that the spending could annually add two million new jobs, mostly in the construction trades, for the next decade.Included in the package is $110 billion for roads and bridges, $39 billion for public transit and $66 billion for rail. Fifty-five billion dollars is allocated for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure as well as billions for airports, ports, broadband internet and electric vehicle charging stations. 
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Simone Biles will not defend her Olympic gold medal on floor exercise.USA Gymnastics announced Sunday that the six-time Olympic medalist has opted not to compete on floor, where she won gold in Rio de Janeiro and placed second in qualifying last week.Jennifer Gadirova of Britain will replace Biles in the finals, which are scheduled for Monday.USA Gymnastics said Biles has not decided whether to participate in the balance beam final, which is scheduled for Tuesday. She earned bronze on the event in Brazil five years ago.Biles has already chosen not to compete in the uneven bars and vault finals, set for Sunday evening at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre. She was not expected to medal on bars but is the Olympic champion on vault.Biles is dealing with a mental block that in gymnastics is referred to as “the twisties.” In other words, Biles is having trouble figuring out where her body is in relation to the ground when in the air.Biles has been dominant on floor exercise during her elite career, winning five world championships along with her triumph in Rio. Her innovative tumbling has redefined what is possible on the podium. She has two tumbling pass dismounts named after her in the sport’s Code of Points.
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The Senate convened for a rare weekend session on Saturday, with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer encouraging the authors of a bipartisan infrastructure plan to finish writing their nearly $1 trillion bill so that senators can begin offering amendments.Several senators had predicted that the text of the bill would be ready for review late Friday or early Saturday, but it was not done when the Senate opened for business late in the morning. Nor was it ready when Schumer came to the floor in the early evening.“I’ve been informed the group is working hard to bring this negotiation to a conclusion, but they need a little more time,” Schumer said. “I’m prepared to give it to them.”Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said earlier in the day he understood that completing the writing of such a large bill is a difficult project, but he warned that he was prepared to keep lawmakers in Washington for as long as it took to complete votes on both the bipartisan infrastructure plan and a budget blueprint that would allow the Senate to begin work later this year on a massive, $3.5 trillion social, health and environmental bill.“The longer it takes to finish, the longer we will be here, but we’re going to get the job done,” he said.The bipartisan plan calls for $550 billion in new spending over five years above projected federal levels. A draft bill circulating Capitol Hill indicated it could have more than 2,500 pages when introduced. It’s being financed from funding sources that might not pass muster with deficit hawks, including repurposing untapped COVID-19 relief aid and relying on projected future economic growth.Among the major investments are $110 billion for roads and bridges, $39 billion for public transit and $66 billion for rail. There’s also $55 billion for water and wastewater infrastructure as well as billions for airports, ports, broadband internet and electric vehicle charging stations.A bipartisan group of senators helped it clear one more hurdle Friday and braced to see if support could hold during the next few days of debate and efforts to amend it.Schumer wants the voting to be wrapped up before senators break for their August recess. He said that once the legislative text is finalized, he’ll review it and offer it up as a substitute to the shell bill currently before the chamber. Then, senators can begin voting on amendments.“We may need the weekend, we may vote on several amendments, but with the cooperation of our Republican colleagues, I believe we can finish the bipartisan infrastructure bill in a matter of days,” Schumer said Friday night.But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, predicted, “It’s going to be a grind.”Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks past the chamber as the Senate advances to formally begin debate on a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure plan at the Capitol in Washington, July 30, 2021.Earlier this week, 17 GOP senators joined all Democrats in voting to start the debate, launching what will be a dayslong process to consider the bill. That support largely held Friday during another procedural vote, with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., again voting yes to nudge the process along.Whether the number of Republican senators willing to pass a key part of President Joe Biden’s agenda grows or shrinks in the days ahead will determine if the president’s signature issue can make it across the finish line.Cornyn said he expects Schumer to allow all senators to have a chance to shape the bill and allow for amendments from members of both parties.“I’ve been disappointed that Sen. Schumer has seen fit to try to force us to vote on a bill that does not exist in its entirety, but I hope we can now pump the brakes a little bit and take the time and care to evaluate the benefits and the cost of this legislation,” Cornyn said.Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., released a statement on Friday saying they were close to finalizing the legislative text and hoped to make it public later in the day. But Friday came and went without final paperwork.“When legislative text is finalized that reflects the product of our group, we will make it public together consistent with the bipartisan way we’ve worked for the last four months,” the senators said.Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said Saturday that negotiators were finalizing the last few pieces, but he had no predictions when it would be ready for senators to have amendments and debate. He said some lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle have panned the bill in some ways, but in the end, it would provide the kind of investment that lawmakers have talked about for years but have been unable to follow through on.“There’s been some of the sense of, well, infrastructure, that shouldn’t be hard to do. If it wasn’t hard to do, why has it taken 30 years to get to this moment?” Warner said.The outcome with the bipartisan effort will set the stage for the next debate over Biden’s much more ambitious $3.5 trillion spending package, a strictly partisan pursuit of far-reaching programs and services including childcare, tax breaks and health care that touch almost every corner of American life. Republicans strongly oppose that bill, which would require a simple majority, and may try to stop both. 
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Florida reported a record 21,683 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, making the Southeastern U.S. state the national epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.The state’s previous record was 19,334 cases reported on January 7, before vaccinations had become widely available, according to federal health data, The Associated Press reported.Florida, with a population of nearly 21.5 million people, now accounts for about one-fifth of all new COVID-19 cases in the U.S., the CDC said. The state had reported about 17,000 new cases on Friday, the same day state Governor Ron DeSantis barred schools from requiring that students wear masks when they return to in-person classes in August.AdventHealth, one of the state’s largest health care systems, said on Friday that its Central Florida Division would not perform nonemergency surgeries in an effort to conserve resources because of the increase in COVID-19 patients in the region.Since the start of the pandemic, Florida has recorded 2.6 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 39,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.Cruises returnThe cruise ship industry, which is a big part of Florida’s tourism industry, was hit hard when the pandemic began in early 2020. On Saturday, the Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras ship was to set sail from Port Canaveral, Florida, the first ship since March 2020.The ship, planning a seven-day voyage to the Caribbean, was running at just 70% of its normal 5,282-passenger capacity.The pandemic forced cruise lines to suspend trips leaving from U.S. ports. Carnival Cruise Line is requiring — at least for its July and August voyages — that 95% of its passengers and crew be vaccinated, according to the AP.A day earlier, Royal Caribbean announced that six passengers — four fully vaccinated adults and two unvaccinated minors — had tested positive for COVID-19. All six were Americans, Royal Caribbean spokesperson Lyan Sierra-Caro told the AP. She said the six, who were not all traveling together, had disembarked in Nassau, the Bahamas, after a seven-day cruise. Royal Caribbean planned to fly the six back to the U.S. on private transportation, Sierra-Caro said, according to the AP.FILE – Guests cool off with a water mist under the globe at Universal Studios City Walk in Orlando, Fla., Oct. 22, 2015.Florida also is home to several major theme parks, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld. On Saturday, Universal and SeaWorld began asking guests to wear masks indoors. Universal also is requiring employees to wear masks while indoors and to practice social distancing protocols.“The health and safety of our guests and team members is always our top priority,” Universal said in a statement.On Friday, the Walt Disney Co. started requiring employees and guests older than 2 to wear masks indoors and on Disney transportation and said it would be requiring all salaried and nonunion employees who work at its properties in the U.S. to be fully vaccinated. As of now, face coverings are not required outdoors at the parks.Raquel Heres gets a COVID-19 test to be able to travel overseas, July 31, 2021, in North Miami, Fla. Federal health officials say Florida has reported 21,683 new cases of COVID-19, the state’s highest one-day total since the start of the pandemic.Those Disney employees who are unvaccinated will have 60 days to receive the shots.Across the country, the state of Arizona, in the U.S. Southwest, is dealing with a worsening outbreak caused by the delta variant of the coronavirus, as well as low vaccination rates in the state, health officials said.”Unlike last summer when we were headed into school w/ declining rates, the match has been lit and the kindling is aflame this time,” Dr. Joe K. Gerald, a University of Arizona researcher who tracks COVID-19 data, said on Twitter, according to AP.The state reported more than 2,000 new daily COVID-19 cases for the first time in nearly five months, according to an AP report. The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients topped 1,000 for a third straight day as well, according to officials.Arizona, with a population of 7.2 million, has reported 925,169 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 18,224 deaths since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins.Vaccine distributionThe CDC also reported that as of Saturday, the U.S. had distributed 400.6 million vaccine doses and had administered 345.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, which include the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna and the one-dose Johnson & Johnson.More than 190.8 million people had received at least one dose of the vaccine, while more than 164.4 million had been fully vaccinated as of Saturday.As of Saturday, 197.7 million cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and 4.2 million deaths had been recorded globally, according to Johns Hopkins. The U.S. led the world in number of COVID-19 cases, with nearly 35 million, and related deaths, 613,113, according to the university.Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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The Russian hackers behind the massive SolarWinds cyberespionage campaign broke into the email accounts of some of the most prominent federal prosecutors’ offices around the country last year, the Justice Department said.The department said 80% of Microsoft email accounts used by employees in the four U.S. attorney offices in New York were breached. All told, the Justice Department said, in 27 U.S. attorney offices at least one employee’s email account was compromised during the hacking campaign.The Justice Department said in a statement Friday that it believes the accounts were compromised from May 7 to Dec. 27, 2020. Such a timeframe is notable because the SolarWinds campaign, which infiltrated dozens of private-sector companies and think tanks as well as at least nine U.S. government agencies, was first discovered and publicized in mid-December.The Biden administration in April announced sanctions, including the expulsion of Russian diplomats, in response to the SolarWinds hack and Russian interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Russia has denied wrongdoing.Jennifer Rodgers, a lecturer at Columbia Law School, said office emails frequently contained all sorts of sensitive information, including case strategy discussions and names of confidential informants, when she was a federal prosecutor in New York.”I don’t remember ever having someone bring me a document instead of emailing it to me because of security concerns,” she said, noting exceptions for classified materials.The Administrative Office of U.S. Courts confirmed in January that it was also breached, giving the SolarWinds hackers another entry point to steal confidential information like trade secrets, espionage targets, whistleblower reports and arrest warrants.The list of affected offices includes several large and high-profile ones like those in Los Angeles, Miami, Washington and the Eastern District of Virginia.The Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, where large numbers of staff were hit, handle some of the most prominent prosecutions in the country.”New York is the financial center of the world and those districts are particularly well known for investigating and prosecuting white-collar crimes and other cases, including investigating people close to the former president,” said Bruce Green, a professor at Fordham Law School and a former prosecutor in the Southern District.The department said all victims had been notified and it is working to mitigate “operational, security and privacy risks” caused by the hack. The Justice Department said in January that it had no indication that any classified systems were affected.The Justice Department did not provide additional detail about what kind of information was taken and what impact such a hack may have on ongoing cases. Members of Congress have expressed frustration with the Biden administration for not sharing more information about the impact of the SolarWinds campaign.The Associated Press previously reported that SolarWinds hackers had gained access to email accounts belonging to the then-acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and members of the department’s cybersecurity staff, whose jobs included hunting threats from foreign countries. 
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Government forces in Afghanistan battled a major assault Saturday by Taliban insurgents on Lashkar Gah, the capital of embattled southern Helmand province, and officials said clashes were ongoing inside parts of the city.Both warring sides reportedly suffered heavy casualties. The fierce fighting forced civilians to flee to safety amid allegations the Afghan air force had bombed and destroyed a city hospital.An Italian medical charity, Emergency, confirmed fighting was taking place inside the city of Lashkar Gah. “Our hospital is full. Four extra bed spaces added so far,” the organization tweeted.🔴 FILE – Afghan security forces stand near an armored vehicle during fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters in the Busharan area on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, May 5, 2021.The Taliban also have previously assaulted and tried to seize control of Lashkar Gah but they were beaten back mainly because Afghan forces at the time had the backing of U.S. military airstrikes.That cover is no longer available to Afghan forces, though U.S. officials confirmed conducting some strikes against Taliban positions in Helmand in recent days, apparently to keep them from threatening the provincial capital.The insurgents control almost all the districts around Lashkar Gah.Taliban hang twoThe Taliban hanged two men Saturday from the entrance gate of a nearby town, accusing them of kidnapping children.An insurgent statement sent to journalists said the men were found guilty of the crime by a Taliban court. The incident revived memories of the harsh Islamic rule the Taliban had imposed on most of Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001.The U.S.-led military coalition invaded Afghanistan and ousted the Taliban weeks after deadly terror strikes against America in September 2001 that Washington said were plotted by al-Qaida leaders from their sanctuaries on Afghan soil at the time.VOA’s Afghan Service contributed to this report.
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Belinda Bencic of Switzerland captured the women’s tennis gold medal in the singles tournament Saturday at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Bencic defeated Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 for her first major title.Poland upset the U.S. in the Olympic debut of the 4×400 mixed relay competition. The Dominican Republic won the silver medal and the Americans, who competed without Allyson Felix, took the bronze.Qatar won its first Olympic title Saturday when Fares Elbakh captured the gold medal in the men’s 96-kilogram weightlifting category. He lifted 177 kilograms in the snatch and 225 in the clean and jerk for a total of 402 kg. Keydomar Vallenilla took second for Venezuela. The Fiji’s women’s rugby team triumphed over Britain to take home the bronze medal and register a historic victory. The Fijian athletes’ 21–12 win made them the first women from their country to ever win Olympic medals.In swimming, American Caleb Dressel set a world record Saturday and won his third gold medal of the Tokyo Games in his 49.45-second triumph in the 100-meter butterfly.Katie Ledecky of the U.S. holds up her gold medal after winning the women’s 800-meter freestyle final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Center, Jul 31, 2021. (Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports.)Katie Ledecky of the U.S. became the first swimmer to win a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle in three consecutive Olympics. The 24-year-old phenom said she was looking forward to competing in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.   She’s leaving Tokyo with a bundle of medals — gold in the 800- and the 1,500-meter races, in addition to silver in the 400 and the 4×200 relay.Ivan Litvinovich won the gold in the men’s trampoline final. The score for the 20-year-old from Belarus was 61.715, while China’s Dong Dong won the silver with 61.235.  New Zealand’s Dylan Schmidt took home the bronze.  Simone Biles Makes Mental Health the Talk of the Tokyo GamesOlympians in many sports have spent the past two days coming forward to recount their own battles while offering support to BilesAmerican gymnast Simone Biles will not compete Sunday in the finals for the uneven bars and the vault.  USA Gymnastics did not say whether Biles will compete in next week’s floor exercise and balance beam finals.  Biles withdrew from the team and individual all-round competitions earlier this week, saying she had mental health issues and trouble maneuvering in the air.  She posted on Instagram, “Literally can not tell up from down.”  On Saturday, the Olympic Games announced 21 new COVID-19 cases among people connected with the Olympics, bringing the total number to 246, including 26 athletes. 
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