TThe United States Senate has confirmed Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The 55 to 44 vote makes Brooks-LaSure the first Black woman to lead CMS in its nearly six-decade history.
“Since it became law more than a decade ago, the Affordable Care Act has been a lifeline for millions of Americans. The pandemic has demonstrated how badly it is needed and how critical it is that we continue to improve upon it,” President Biden stated.
In a major step toward returning to pre-pandemic life, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has eased mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings.
Gas shortages at the pumps have spread from the South, all but emptying stations in Washington, D.C., following a ransomware cyberattack that forced a shutdown of the nation’s largest gasoline pipeline.
There are more signs that we can expect changes at the Justice Department.
“We are very deeply engaged in working with members of the Senate and their teams on how this can move forward,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said of H.R. 1, or the “For the People Act of 2021,” which passed the House last month.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is currently accepting applications to provide emergency assistance to restaurants and bars.
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that the 2020 Census shows the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2020, was 331,449,281.
COVID-19 vaccinations are currently in full force, with over 20 million Californians currently having received one of the three FDA approved vaccines. President Biden recently announced vaccine eligibility expansion for all adult Americans beginning April 19, while every Californian 16 and up are eligible for vaccination on April 15.
Bernice A. King joined the children of late civil rights champions the Rev. C.T. Vivian, and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, in blasting voter suppression laws that have cropped up since the 2020 election.
President Joe Biden will withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America that were coordinated from that country, several U.S. officials said Tuesday.
“I am deeply saddened by the untimely passing of my friend and colleague, Rep. Hastings of Florida,” Texas Democratic Congressman Al Green wrote in an email to the Black Press and posted to Twitter.
“The right to vote is the foundation of American democracy. Free and fair elections that reflect the will of the American people must be protected and defended,” President Biden remarked during the Martin & Coretta Scott King Unity Breakfast. “But many Americans, especially people of color, confront significant obstacles to exercising that fundamental right. These obstacles include difficulties with voter registration, lack of election information, and barriers to access at polling places.”
“While we reported on the 73 million children in the U.S. in 2019, which is 22 percent of the nation’s population, we also note that 2020 was the first year in American history that a majority of children are projected to be children of color,” said the Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson, the president and CEO of the Children’s Defense Fund.
The families of refugees and their supporters, including 124 elected officials, sent President Joe Biden a letter Tuesday urging him to make good on his promise to boost refugee admissions to the United States during the current budget year, replacing the record low number set by his predecessor.