Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Friday she is deploying up to 1,500 National Guard troops to support hospitals as Delta continues to reach across the United States.
Why it matters: 733 Oregonians are currently hospitalized with severe cases, including 185 in intensive care, Brown said.
As the Taliban recaptures Afghanistan, Afghans are fleeing their homes to escape in desperation and fear.
Why it matters: The Taliban has pursued a lightning offensive to take over Afghanistan since the U.S.'s withdrawal of troops. Civilian casualties in Afghanistan have hit record highs, according to the UN.
A Texas district judge granted Harris County’s request for a temporary order that prevents the enforcement of Gov. Greg Abbott's recent executive order banning face masks mandates in public schools, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Why it matters: The order allows the county to temporarily enforce mask mandates for students and school faculty as COVID cases continue to tick up throughout Houston.
Twenty Democratic lawmakers are calling on the U.S. Indian Health Service (IHS) to provide "culturally appropriate" mental health care for Native Americans who might experience trauma as the Interior Department investigates the U.S. Indian Boarding School policy's lasting effects.
Why it matters: Under the policy, Native children were forcibly removed from their homes and placed in boarding schools that attempted to strip them of their cultures, practices and identities. Survivors, as well as their descendants, might face a "resurgence of trauma" amid revelations from the probe, lawmakers say.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a warning Friday regarding the heightened threat environment leading up to the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Driving the news: DHS said that the anniversary of the attacks could serve as a motivator for foreign terror groups while terrorism still poses a high threat in the United States.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is pushing his conservative agenda in hopes of riling up the state's Republican base ahead of the 2022 gubernatorial election, but major corporations are not having it.
The Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned two Cuban officials and a Cuban military unit over the government's violent response to peaceful protests that took place on the island in July.
The big picture: The protests were the largest demonstrations against the communist government in decades as the country faces one of its worst economic crises.
New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced Friday the chamber will suspend its impeachment investigation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo following his decision to resign effective Aug. 25.
Why it matters: Cuomo decided to step down after the state attorney general released an independent report that found the governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women.
A federal judge denied landlords' request to pause the Biden administration's new federal eviction moratorium, saying she doesn't have the authority to do so despite her belief that the policy is illegal, according to a court document filed Friday.
Driving the news: U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich determined that the new moratorium is "virtually identical" to a previous ban that she deemed illegal in May, and should therefore be considered an "extension."
The number of people who identify as Native American or Alaska Native alone grew by 27.1% to 3.7 million people over the last decade, according to the U.S. Census.
Why it matter: The spike in the number of people who solely identify as Native American or Alaska Native mirrors the steady rise of the population since 1890, when Indigenous people were nearly wiped out in the U.S.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced in letter to members on Friday that she is extending proxy voting in the chamber until Oct. 1 in response to a surge in new coronavirus cases driven by the Delta variant.
Why it matters: Despite initial opposition and a lawsuit from House Republicans, remote voting is quickly becoming the norm. Some members have even pressured Pelosi to make the arrangement permanent.
Chelsea Clinton is slated to publish or collaborate on 10 new chapter books and a picture book in 2022 as part of her popular "She Persisted" children's series, according to Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
The big picture: The picture book — "She Persisted in Science: Brilliant Women Who Made a Difference," set to come out March 1 — will honor Florence Nightingale, Jane Goodall, Greta Thunberg and other pioneering women, per AP.
Nine House Democrats on Thursday sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) warning that they would not vote on a budget resolution until the $1 trillion infrastructure package passes the House and is signed into law, Punchbowl News reported.
Why it matters: The pledge threatens Democrats' plan to pass both a multitrillion-dollar spending package and the bipartisan infrastructure package, which Pelosi has pledged to take up at the same time. With only a slim majority in the House, Pelosi can only lose three Democratic votes.
Many in the U.S. military see the race out of Afghanistan as a dishonorable withdrawal, and some State Department officials fear the U.S. may have to close the embassy in Kabul.
Driving the news: Those were some of the dire soundings Axios heard in Washington yesterday, as the Pentagon made the shocking announcement that 3,000 U.S. troops will head into Afghanistan to help evacuate Americans.
Demand for pet dogs is far outstripping supply, and the imbalance is expected to worsen as young adults consider dog ownership a normal life stage (before kids), dog breeders face increasing regulation and the U.S. cracks down on illegal dog imports.
Why it matters: Rabies and other diseases that can jump from dogs to humans are cropping up in places where they were all but eradicated, a result of unscrupulous imports from countries with looser hygiene laws and health oversight.
House Judiciary lawmakers on Friday introduced legislation meant to boost competition in app stores by setting rules for how companies like Google and Apple control their marketplaces.
Why it matters: The bipartisan bill is the House companion to Senate legislation introduced earlier this week, showing the appetite from both chambers of Congress to take on the app store battle.
A bipartisan group of senators wants to know how Amazon is protecting data privacy and security as it promotes a new palm-print recognition system that will allow consumers to pay for in-store purchases with a wave of the hands.
Why it matters: Amazon's move into biometrics opens up the tech giant to additional Washington scrutiny on a new front.
Why it matters: The court sided with a group of landlords who argued that the ban violates their rights, but the ruling's immediate effect is unclear. The New York ban is separate from a federal eviction moratorium recently extended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Bill Gates has pledged $1.5 billion to climate collaborations with the Department of Energy (DOE) through his climate investment fund Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The backdrop: Global warming is happening so fast that scientists now say we'll cross a crucial temperature threshold as early as 2030, up to a decade sooner than previously thought. The projects would depend on passage of President Biden's $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which currently awaits a House vote.
