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Month: January 2021

Oregon Dept. of Education releases new guidance for schools returning to in-person learning

Click here for updates on this story     PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) — The Oregon Department of Education released updated guidance and metrics Tuesday for when schools can return to in-person learning. ODE first released “Ready Schools, Safe Learners” guidance in Aug. 2020 for public schools across the state. The guidance was developed under the direction of

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Annika Sorenstam defends accepting Presidential Medal of Freedom a day after US Capitol riots

Golfing great Annika Sorenstam has defended her decision to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom a day after rioters stormed the US Capitol. Sorenstam, a 10-time major winner, said she wasn’t going to “second guess” accepting the honor on January 7. Five people were killed as a result of the insurrection and authorities are investigating

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US accuses China of ‘genocide’ of Uyghurs and minority groups in Xinjiang

The US has officially determined that China is committing genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghur Muslims and ethnic and religious minority groups who live in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. “This genocide is ongoing, and…we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uyghurs by the Chinese party-state,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said

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Washington Post: Biden to ask for US Surgeon General Jerome Adams’ resignation and name acting official

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to ask for US Surgeon General Jerome Adams’ resignation soon after he is sworn-in on Wednesday, and select an acting surgeon general while his permanent pick for the role of the nation’s top doctor undergoes Senate confirmation, according to The Washington Post. Biden last month announced he will nominate Dr.

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Biden transition team denies outgoing acting defense secretary transitional office space

The Biden transition team has declined to give outgoing acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller office space and resources for his transition out of the role, according to a Biden transition official. It is typically a courtesy to provide transitioning office space and resources to departing secretaries of defense, and the decision reflects the extraordinary bitterness

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‘A vote of conscience’: GOP senators signal that Trump’s fate is in their hands

A wide range of Senate Republicans are noncommittal about whether they are considering convicting Donald Trump of committing high crimes and misdemeanors at his upcoming impeachment trial, a sign that the soon-to-be former President’s political future rests squarely with his fellow Republicans who are weighing whether to hold him accountable for the deadly riot in

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Biden to start fast on immigration with DACA, border wall and travel ban

President-elect Joe Biden will kick off his term by rolling out a series of immigration executive actions, moving swiftly to undo many Trump administration policies. Biden outlined an ambitious immigration agenda on the campaign trail that would reverse the actions of his predecessor, vowing, for example, to introduce comprehensive immigration legislation and maintain programs that

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Navajo Nation identifies 75 communities with ‘uncontrolled’ Covid-19 spread in first weeks of January

The Navajo Nation has identified 75 communities with an “uncontrolled spread” of Covid-19 in the first two weeks of January, according to a Tuesday news release. That’s more than double the number of communities with uncontrolled spread the Nation had identified in November. At the time, Navajo leaders said the spread was “largely due to

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Iran’s Rouhani hopes Biden will return to Obama-era nuclear deal as he dubs Trump a ‘tyrant’

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has called on United States President-elect, Joe Biden, to return to the 2015 nuclear deal and lift sanctions imposed on Tehran by Donald Trump’s administration. Speaking at a televised cabinet meeting Wednesday, Rouhani said the ball was “in the US court now.” “If Washington returns to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, we

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Utah man faces charges after authorities say he impersonated an officer and stole a doughnut

Daniel Mark Wright, 47, is facing charges after Utah authorities accused him of impersonating an officer, possessing a stolen vehicle and stealing a doughnut. A 7-Eleven employee approached a police officer Sunday, saying a suspicious person entered his store earlier that day wearing a sheriff’s deputy jacket, but he didn’t seem to be an officer,

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Biden’s secretary of state pick vows to appoint LGBTI envoy and allow embassies to fly pride flag

Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the State Department, said Tuesday that he plans to swiftly appoint an LGBTI envoy, allow embassies to fly the pride flag and formally repudiate the findings of the controversial “Commission on Unalienable Rights.” Taken together, Blinken’s comments during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

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Trump reportedly wants a 21-gun salute for his departure. The military honor has a fascinating history

As President Donald Trump prepares to leave Washington, D.C. for a post-presidential life in Florida, he has indicated that he wants an elaborate sendoff. A color guard, a military band and a red carpet are among the pomp and circumstance under consideration, an administration official told CNN. Another idea that’s being floated: a 21-gun salute.

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Biden’s defense secretary pick pledges to uphold ‘principle of civilian control of the military’

President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for defense secretary, retired Gen. Lloyd Austin, pledged on Tuesday that he will “uphold the principle of civilian control of the military” if confirmed to the post. The vow comes as Austin must overcome objections from some lawmakers about allowing a recently retired general to assume the top civilian post at

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After finding controversial novel on school’s summer reading list, teenage twins push for change in state law

Click here for updates on this story     CHICAGO (WBBM) — Homework; for many of us adults, it’s been eons since we had school assignments. Now 13-year-old twins in southwest suburbs want to give Illinois lawmakers a big project. CBS 2 Morning Insider Lauren Victory explains. It’s below freezing in mid-January, but two St. Dominic Catholic

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Members of extremist Oath Keepers group planned attack on US Capitol, prosecutors say

Prosecutors on Tuesday filed the first significant conspiracy charge in the US Capitol attack, alleging that three members of the so-called Oath Keepers, an extremist militant group, planned and coordinated ahead of the January 6 assault. In an amended complaint unsealed Tuesday in federal court, an FBI agent divulged striking new details about the group’s

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Sen. Hawley blocks quick consideration of Biden’s Homeland Security nominee

Sen. Josh Hawley blocked quick consideration of President-elect Joe Biden’s Homeland Security nominee, Alejandro Mayorkas, on Tuesday, leaving the third-largest federal department without confirmed leadership as it faces national security concerns, a pandemic and an incoming president prepared to roll out ambitious immigration plans. The Missouri Republican’s decision stemmed from an exchange with Mayorkas hours

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Biden’s State Department pick reaches out for GOP allies as he promises policy shifts

Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the State Department, indicated to Congress Tuesday that he plans to emphatically redirect the trajectory of US foreign policy after four years of the Trump administration, rebuilding and reengaging alliances to confront transnational threats ranging from Russia and North Korea to climate change. Blinken made especially clear

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Biden’s daughter Ashley on not having traditional hand-off at White House on Inauguration Day: ‘I think we’re all OK with it’

President-elect Joe Biden‘s daughter, Ashley Biden, did her first network television interview with another member of the small club of presidential children, Jenna Bush Hager of NBC. In an interview that aired Tuesday, Ashley Biden said her mother, incoming first lady Jill Biden, has not heard from first lady Melania Trump about any kind of

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A 99-million-year-old beetle shines light on the evolution of glowing insects

Bioluminescent insects have long fascinated scientists, but little is known about how these animals got their light abilities. A 99-million-year-old beetle recently discovered by researchers, however, unlocks a piece of the evolutionary puzzle, according to a study published in The Royal Society journal. The beetle, known by its Latin name Cretophengodes, was found fossilized in

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Hiland Dairy recalls batch of chocolate milk, saying it may contain food-grade sanitizers

A batch of chocolate milk has been recalled after it was discovered that some could contain food-grade sanitizers. Hiland Dairy is recalling half-pint, 1% low fat, chocolate milk, sold in small cartons, produced in Norman, Oklahoma, the company said in an announcement. Consuming food-grade sanitizers could cause illness. Affected products were distributed to these areas,

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Some Columbia University students say they’re prepared to withhold payments if tuition isn’t lowered

Click here for updates on this story     NEW YORK (WCBS) — Coronavirus pandemic fallout has impacted the way college students learn. And now, some students at Columbia University say it should also impact how much they pay in tuition, and they’re prepared to go on strike from making payments, CBS2’s Dave Carlin reported Sunday. Staying

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Trump administration leaves Biden with ‘confusing’ Covid-19 vaccine numbers and states in limbo

States across the country say they’re running low on coronavirus vaccine supply, with many officials insisting the vaccine delivery numbers reported by the Trump administration don’t align with what they are seeing on the ground. From New York to Tennessee to West Virginia, officials are clamoring for more doses of coronavirus vaccine. And officials in

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