The United Nations Security Council voted on Friday to reauthorize the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syrians via the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, the only one available, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Driving the news: The vote will allow for the border to remain open for a minimum of 12 months. Russia agreed to a last-minute compromise with the United States despite its initial opposition, which officials say signals that it is possible for the two countries to continue cooperating, CNN notes.
President Biden dismissed Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul on Friday after he refused a request to resign, the Washington Post first reported.
Why it matters: Saul, who was nominated to the position by former President Trump in 2018, had a chaotic first six months in the Biden administration, during which advocates for the elderly and the disabled urged the White House to terminate him over his anti-union stances and policies designed to restrict benefits.
The Justice Department declined to prosecute 82% of hate crime suspects between 2005 and 2019, according to a department report released this week.
State of play: Prosecutors declined to prosecute the 1,548 cases for different reasons, but more than 55% of the decisions came down to insufficient evidence, which means that a case could not be proven in court beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Biden administration has canceled $55.6 million in student loan debt for victims of a for-profit college fraud, the Department of Education announced Friday.
Why it matters: The Department of Education said it canceled the loan payments for 1,800 borrowers who attended Westwood College, Marinello Schools of Beauty and the Court Reporting Institute.
The Biden administration has canceled $1.5 billion in debt for nearly 92,000 borrowers who claim they were defrauded, including students from ITT Technical Institute and Corinthian Colleges.
The big picture: A majority of the debt, $53 million, will go toward borrowers who attended Westwood College, which closed in 2015. Another $2.2 million from 200 complaints will go toward students from Marinello and $340,000 in debt was forgiven for 18 borrowers from the Court Reporting Institute.
The debt is being forgiven under the Borrower Defense to Repayment, a policy that allows students who were defrauded by their college to seek debt relief.
What they're saying: Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement that the department will “continue doing its part to review and approve borrower defense claims quickly and fairly so that borrowers receive the relief that they need and deserve.”
“We also hope these approvals serve as a warning to any institution engaging in similar conduct that this type of misrepresentation is unacceptable,” Cardona said.
President Biden on Friday nominated Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) to serve as ambassador to India, pending Senate confirmation.
Why it matters: This is one of a handful of high-profile picks for ambassadorships that Biden has made since taking office, and Garcetti may be dispatched amid a surge in COVID-19 infections in India.
President Biden wants to remake the U.S. economy by injecting more competition into highly concentrated industries including airlines, Big Tech and agriculture to improve choices and prices for consumers.
Why it matters: The ambitious executive order signed Friday directs the federal government to step up antitrust enforcement and regulation. The move marks a sea change from four decades of a hands-off-big-business approach ushered in by Ronald Reagan.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) on Thursday rejected the Biden administration's plan to send people door to door to urge residents to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Why it matters: McMaster called on the state's board of health to issue a directive to prevent state and local healthcare organizations from knocking on people's doors to promote the vaccines.
FDA Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock on Friday formally asked the HHS' Office of Inspector General to "conduct an independent review and assessment of interactions between representatives of Biogen and FDA during the process that led to the approval of Aduhelm."
Why it matters: Aduhelm has been one of the most controversial drug approvals in recent memory. The rare move from the agency comes on the heels of a STAT News report that detailed how Biogen and FDA officials worked closely during the process, and possibly violated FDA rules with an "off-the-books" meeting.
President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. would take action to "defend its people" against ransomware attacks, per a White House readout of the call on Friday.
The big picture: The call comes after a Russia-linked group is believed to be behind an attack on software provider Kaseya, the latest in a mass of ransomware attacks impacting U.S. companies.
They were mothers, fathers, grandparents, newlyweds and young daughters. The victims identified so far from the Surfside condo collapse are being remembered by family and friends as "very dedicated," "super mom" and a "silent warrior."
The big picture: So far, 47 of the 78 confirmed victims have been identified. At least 62 people remain unaccounted for, officials said Friday, two days after they announced the search was shifting from a rescue to a recovery operation.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will no longer detain most pregnant, nursing and postpartum undocumented immigrants, per a new policy released Friday.
Why it matters: The policy is the latest move by the Biden administration to ease immigration detention policies implemented during the Trump administration.
President Biden has decided to become the antitruster-in-chief, today signing a sweeping executive order that could limit corporate consolidation.
The big picture: Biden is explicitly asking regulators to not only block new mergers, but also to consider unwinding prior mergers that were not challenged by past administrations.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is hearing from her left flank about climate spending they want in the Democratic reconciliation package.
Driving the news: 11 progressive House Democrats led by Rep. Cori Bush, in a new letter first obtained by CBS, call for various provisions, including "$250 billion in climate and environmental justice funding for local governments" and $1 trillion to "build public renewables with union labor."
President Biden is setting the federal government's sights on the power of Big Tech and Big Telecom in a competition order that will urge more regulation and enforcement against the sectors.
The big picture: The new executive order, expected to be signed Friday, includes over 70 initiatives aimed at promoting competition in areas of the economy the Biden administration finds a troubling amount of concentration — including technology markets.
President Biden will sign an executive order on Friday promoting 72 initiatives across more than a dozen agencies that aim to reduce corporate consolidation, increase competition and offer benefits to consumers, workers, farmers and small businesses.
Why it matters: It's a sweeping push to fulfill Biden's goals of making the U.S. economy more dynamic and fair, as the administration seeks to crack down on highly concentrated industries like Big Tech and compete more effectively with China.
Fourteen-year-old Zaila Avant-garde on Thursday night became the first African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The big picture: Avant-garde's winning word was "murraya." First lady Jill Biden attended this year's finals, which were held in Orlando, Florida, after the coronavirus pandemic canceled last year's bee.
The Texas legislature convened on Thursday for a special session requested by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to consider a collection of conservative priorities, including new voting restrictions, the Washington Post reports.
State of play: State Republicans in the House and Senate introduced new bills that would ban drive-through voting and would make it a crime for election officials to solicit mail-in voting applications.
An immigrant rights group said Thursday it has reached a settlement with federal immigration authorities that allows it to continue to operate a hotline used by detained immigrants across the U.S. to report abuses.
Why it matters: The toll-free number, believed to be the country's biggest immigration detention hotline, receives between 600 and 14,500 calls each month, according to Freedom for Immigrants, which sued the Trump administration after it shut down the line in 2019.
