The U.S. government is temporarily pausing admissions for some refugees to prioritize the processing and resettlement of thousands of Afghan evacuees expected to arrive in the coming months, the State Department said Monday.
Why it matters: An initial group of 37,000 Afghan evacuees is set to start arriving in 46 states, Axios' Stef Kight reports. The resettlement has come with numerous legal and logistical hurdles for groups in charge of the effort.
Why it matters: The legislation includes massive investments in roads, bridges, waterways and other “hard infrastructure.” It's the biggest public-works bill since former President Eisenhower created the interstate highway system in 1956.
America is bracing for a sequel to the protests ignited after George Floyd's murder, with the focus now less on police and more on the nation's broader criminal justice system and self-defense laws.
Why it matters: Activists and law enforcement officials warn that two ongoing national trials have the ingredients to reignite racial tensions and public protests when verdicts are handed down.
Russia tested an anti-satellite missile on Monday, the State Department and the Pentagon said, creating a large cloud of debris that, according to NASA, endangered the International Space Station, its crew and could go on to threaten other satellites.
Why it matters: Weapon tests in space can generate thousands of pieces of debris that may stay in orbit and pose a risk for space-based technologies and people for years, and even decades.
New York City is telling health providers not to turn away anyone over 18 years old who wants a COVID-19 booster shot, city health commissioner Dave Chokshi announced Monday.
Details: Adults will be allowed the booster shot six months after receiving their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two months after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, per Chokshi's announcement.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) introduced legislation Monday to federally decriminalize and tax marijuana, an alternative to Democratic-led attempts to legalize the drug.
Details: The Republican-backed bill, called the States Reform Act, would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act while deferring to states on matters of regulation.
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is liable for damages in a lawsuit brought by families of Sandy Hook shooting victims after he falsely claimed the attack was a hoax, a Connecticut judge ruled Monday.
Why it matters: This is Jones' latest defeat in defamation lawsuits related to his conspiracy theories about the 2012 mass shooting.
President Biden Monday proposed a 20-year federal oil and gas leasing ban on lands near Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, a site considered sacred and ancestral to members of Pueblo and other Native American tribes.
Why it matters: For years, tribes have requested a drilling moratorium for lands around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and preserves one of the most important pre-Columbian cultural and historical areas in the U.S.
Howard University students and administrators announced on Monday that they have reached a resolution after a month of student protests over unsafe housing conditions at the school, as well as other public safety issues.
The big picture: More than 100 studentslived inthe Blackburn University Center starting in October in protest, while others pitched tents outside and said they would remain there until demands were met, per the Washington Post.
President Biden signed an executive order Monday directing federal agencies to design a strategy to address the epidemic of murdered and missing Indigenous people, the White House said.
Driving the news: The order is part of a slew of announcements expected this week as the White House hosts the first Tribal Nations summit since 2016.
The judge presiding over the homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse on Monday dismissed the charge of possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor, ahead of the trial's closing arguments.
Driving the news: Rittenhouse was initially facing six charges — including first-degree intentional homicide — for allegedly shooting two men and injuring another during protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake last year.
Dealmakers are winning the long game on U.S. antitrust law, despite the current squeeze.
Driving the news: Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) — not normally a pair of legislative BFFs — recently introduced a bill that would make it much more difficult for a small group of Big Tech companies to make acquisitions.
Former Trump adviser Steven Bannon surrendered to the FBI on charges of contempt of Congress.
Driving the news: A grand jury last week indicted Bannon on two counts of contempt of Congress for his failure to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Jan. 6 select committee. He is expected to appear before a judge later on Monday.
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke officially announced Monday that he is running for governor of Texas in 2022.
Why it matters: The formal announcement of his campaign puts to rest months of speculation that O’Rourke would challenge current Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in next year's elections.
Chris Christie told me on "Axios on HBO" that he and former President Trump haven't spoken since before Jan. 6, when Christie frantically tried to reach his friend of 20 years — and Trump never picked up the phone.
Driving the news: "I tried to call him ... to give him advice on what I thought he needed to be doing to stop the violence," the former governor told me during our hourlong interview at his home in New Jersey.
Monthly premiums that cover physician and outpatient care for Medicare patients will increase by 15% next year, the Biden administration said in a notice Friday evening.
Why it matters: People on Medicare are getting slammed with a big hike during an election year, due largely to the big price tag from the questionable Alzheimer's treatment, Aduhelm, and uncertainty stemming from the coronavirus.
The Women's Tennis Association on Sunday called on Chinese officials to investigate player Peng Shuai's allegations that China's former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli sexually assaulted her.
Why it matters: WTA CEO Steve Simon took the extraordinary step of issuing a statement calling for a "full, fair and transparent investigation" and an "end of censorship" against the former world no. 1 doubles player, who made the allegations in a since-deleted online post.
A Chinese businesswoman convicted of trespassing at former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago club and lying to Secret Service agents in 2019 has been deported to China, the Miami Herald first reported Sunday.
The big picture: Yujing Zhang served an eight-month prison sentence before being transferred to immigration custody at the Glades County Detention Center in December 2019, per AP.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a CBS interview broadcast Sunday that COVID-19 "has been calling the shots for the economy and for inflation" in the U.S. and future stability depends on the outcome of the pandemic.
Why it matters: The rate of price growth has remained consistently strong in recent months, per Axios' Kate Marino. The Consumer Price Index released last Wednesday showed inflation has reached a 30-year-high, with overall prices rising 6.2% from one year ago.
The White House on Sunday named former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu as the senior adviser responsible for coordinating the implementation of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.
Why it matters: President Biden is due to sign the bill on Monday, when he plans to tout how the core piece of his signature domestic agenda will "deliver to American families."
