In 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration announced COVID-19 vaccination requirements to promote the health and safety of individuals and the efficiency of workplaces, protecting vital sectors of our economy and vulnerable populations. Since January 2021, COVID-19 deaths have declined by 95%, and hospitalizations are down nearly 91%. Globally, COVID-19 deaths are at their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic. Following a whole-of-government effort that led to a record number of nearly 270 million Americans receiving at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, we are in a different phase of our response to COVID-19 than we were when many of these requirements were put into place.

Today, we are announcing that the Administration will end the COVID-19 vaccine requirements for Federal employees, Federal contractors, and international air travelers at the end of the day on May 11, the same day that the COVID-19 public health emergency ends. Additionally, HHS and DHS announced today that they will start the process to end their vaccination requirements for Head Start educators, CMS-certified healthcare facilities, and certain noncitizens at the land border. In the coming days, further details related to ending these requirements will be provided.

Our Administration’s vaccination requirements helped ensure the safety of workers in critical workforces including those in the healthcare and education sectors, protecting themselves and the populations they serve, and strengthening their ability to provide services without disruptions to operations. The Federal government successfully implemented requirements for its workforce in a way that increased vaccination to achieve 98% compliance, reflecting employees who had received at least one dose of a vaccine or had a pending or approved exception or extension request filed by January 2022. We also put in place vaccination requirements for certain international travelers to slow the spread of new variants entering the country and to allow our healthcare system time to effectively manage access to care if faced with an increase in cases and hospitalizations.

Our COVID-19 vaccine requirements bolstered vaccination across the nation, and our broader vaccination campaign has saved millions of lives. We have successfully marshalled a response to make historic investments in broadly accessible vaccines, tests, and treatments to help us combat COVID-19. While vaccination remains one of the most important tools in advancing the health and safety of employees and promoting the efficiency of workplaces, we are now in a different phase of our response when these measures are no longer necessary.

Aerosmith is heading into retirement with a farewell tour.

The group announced Monday that they will have a 40-date North American tour, featuring special guests The Black Crowes.

“It’s not goodbye it’s PEACE OUT!,” Aerosmith said in a joint statement. “Get ready and walk this way, you’re going to get the best show of our lives.”

They also shared that drummer Joey Kramer will not be joining them.

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said on Monday that the United States could run out of money to pay its bills by June 1 if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit, putting pressure on President Biden and lawmakers to reach an agreement to avoid a default.

The warning over when the United States could hit the so-called X-date provides new urgency for Democrats and Republicans to find a way to lift the nation’s borrowing cap and break a standoff that threatens to rock financial markets and upend the economy.

“Given the current projections, it is imperative that Congress act as soon as possible to increase or suspend the debt limit in a way that provides longer-term certainty that the government will continue to make its payments,” Ms. Yellen said.

House Republicans passed legislation in April that would raise the debt limit in exchange for deep spending cuts and roll back recent legislation that Democrats passed along party lines. Mr. Biden has blasted that bill, saying it would hurt working families while benefiting the oil and gas industry, and he has accused Republicans of putting America’s economy on the line.

Multiple fatalities have been reported after a dust storm caused at least 40 to 60 cars to crash along a major highway in Central Illinois on Monday, officials said.

The crashes along I-55 led to the interstate closing in Sangamon and Montgomery counties, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. The city of Springfield, the state capital, is in Sangamon County.

Illinois State Police Captain Ryan Starrick said at least “40 to 60 passenger cars” were involved in the crashes and they have reports of “multiple fatalities” and more than 30 people being hospitalized.

At least two semi trucks caught fire in the crashes, according to Starrick.

Small-dollar donors were supposed to save democracy. Reformers had hoped that grass-roots political fundraising — connected by the internet and united against corruption — would become a formidable force to counter the money that wealthy individuals funnel to candidates.

Only half of that would become true. Small-dollar donors are indeed powerful today — but they have made politics worse, not better.

This has manifested in different ways depending on the party. For Republicans, small-dollar donors have bankrolled bomb-throwers who treat Congress like the Thunderdome. For Democrats, they have wasted hundreds of millions of dollars on ridiculous, fantasy-driven campaigns. And even when they flood a race with cash, they do little to lessen the influence of big donors.

Democratic small-dollar donors present a different problem. While many of them strategically give to candidates in close, high-stakes races, too frequently they waste unthinkable sums of money trying to force high-profile Republicans out of safe seats.

Amy McGrath is the perfect case study. The Kentucky Democrat had almost no chance of beating Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell in deep-red Kentucky. Yet small-dollar donors sent her more than $56 million.

BEND, Ore. — As he navigated one day last fall through a crowded grid of beds at one of Oregon’s largest homeless shelters, Steve Martin, a longtime rancher and community volunteer, was brought to a halt by a familiar voice that called out from an unfamiliar face.

“Aren’t you going to say hi, Steve?” said the man, with eyes peering through curtains of white hair and a beard that flared in neglected disarray. Martin, who spent many of his days working among the shelter’s residents, considered the man’s gaunt frame, searching for a clue. Then the man spoke again: “It’s Craig.”

The words jolted Martin with a mix of recognition and disbelief. He had known Craig Coyner for more than 50 years, watching with admiration as the man from one of the most prominent families in Bend, Oregon, rose through an acclaimed career — as a prosecutor, a defense lawyer and then a mayor who helped turn the town into one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities.

Now, at 75, Coyner was occupying a bed at the shelter on Second Street, his house lost to foreclosure, his toes gnarled by frostbite, his belongings limited to a tub of tattered clothing and books on the floor next to his bed.

We have the potential to transform lives and communities together through the Obama Foundation–and the Obama Presidential Center is at the heart of this work.

Right now, you can make a donation to bring our vision to life and help us create a cultural institution that will share President and Mrs. Obama’s story, inspire visitors to create positive change of their own, and provide a place for our neighbors on the South Side of Chicago to gather.

The opening of the Obama Presidential Center may seem far off, but my team and I are in a sprint to make sure we’re ready to welcome visitors and provide them with a meaningful experience upon opening our doors.

Your support will help us stay on track. So please, if you’d like to help us empower our community and inspire the next generation of leaders, make a donation now.

DONATE NOW

–Mike

Michael Strautmanis
Executive Vice President, Civic Engagement

SAN FRANCISCO — Last year, with pandemic lockdowns in the rearview mirror, Whole Foods Market made a bet on a gritty San Francisco neighborhood. The high-end supermarket chain opened a giant flagship store in a part of the city that is home to both tech companies like Twitter and open-air drug dealing.

But the store was soon confronted head-on with many of the problems plaguing the area. People threatened employees with guns, knives and sticks. They flung food, screamed, fought and tried to defecate on the floor, according to records of 568 emergency calls over 13 months, many depicting scenes of mayhem.

“Male w/machete is back,” the report on one 911 call states. “Another security guard was just assaulted,” another says. A man with a four-inch knife attacked several security guards, then sprayed store employees with foam from a fire extinguisher, according to a third.

In September, a 30-year-old man died in the bathroom from an overdose of fentanyl, a highly potent opioid, and methamphetamine.

E. Jean Carroll, who has accused Donald Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s, testified on cross-examination Monday in her lawsuit about why she did not file a police report about the alleged assault. Carroll, 79, who wrote an advice column for many years, said: “I am a member of the silent generation. … Women like me were taught and trained to keep our chins up and to not complain.” Carroll testified last week that Trump’s attack caused decades-long trauma in her life. Trump has denied her allegations and called her a liar. Trump attorney Joe Tacopina has repeatedly questioned Carroll about her conduct during and since that alleged assault.

Gov. Jay Inslee will not run for a fourth term, he announced Monday.

Inslee, a Democrat elected in 2012, previously said he was unsure whether he’d seek an unprecedented fourth term as Washington governor.

“Serving the people as governor of Washington state has been my greatest honor. During a decade of dynamic change, we’ve made Washington a beacon for progress for the nation. I’m ready to pass the torch,” Inslee said in a statement.