Joe biden snubbed as courts block compulsory covid vaccine mandate

Germany’s top court has approved a mandate for health workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Federal Constitutional Court announced on Thursday that it had rejected complaints against the measure, which came into effect in mid-March. The court said that the importance of protecting vulnerable people in hospitals and care homes outweighs any infringement of health workers’ rights. Judges had previously refused to issue an injunction blocking the rules from coming into effect. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach welcomed Thursday’s ruling, saying that “the state is obliged to protect vulnerable groups.” Lauterbach also thanked health facilities that have implemented the mandate, arguing that they have helped prevent more deaths from the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Chancellor Olaf Scholz initially propose to extend the vaccine mandate to all adults, but such plans were rejected by lawmakers . Almost 76% of Germany's population has received two … [Read more...] about Germany’s top court approves vaccine mandate for health workers

Nearly a week after Wisconsin voters headed to the polls, a risky and controversial move amid the height of a global pandemic , former Vice President Joe Biden emerged the winner of the presidential primary, according to an ABC News projection. State election clerks began releasing results for the presidential primary, a closely watched state Supreme Court race and a cluster of local elections late Monday afternoon. With 24% of the expected vote in, Biden was leading by more than 30 points, 65% to 29%. Biden will earn at least 44 delegates so far, and Sen. Bernie Sanders will gain eight, despite dropping out of the race last week. MORE: Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden, they announce 'working groups' on policy issues Last Tuesday, after a chaotic series of emergency orders and last-minute legal wrangling , Wisconsin's election unfolded against the backdrop of the coronavirus , with thousands of voters casting their ballots wearing masks and gloves and … [Read more...] about Joe Biden will win Wisconsin’s turbulent election: ABC News projection

A federal judge in Lafayette heard arguments Friday on whether the Biden administration should end a controversial Trump-era pandemic restriction, known as Title 42, later this month. Judge Robert Summerhays of the U.S. Western District of Louisiana confirmed Friday his temporary restraining order that stopped the Biden administration from processing the end of Title 42 on May 23, and said he would soon issue a ruling on the preliminary injunction. In a hearing that made Lafayette the battleground of a nationwide debate over immigration, Deputy Solicitor General of Arizona Drew Ensign presented the arguments of more than 20 Republican-led states, including Louisiana, that sued the Centers for Disease Control in April. Department of Justice attorney Jean Lin represented the federal government’s arguments in court. The Centers for Disease Control said its decision to end the policy was based on the wide availability of vaccines, a consistent decrease in the number of COVID-19 … [Read more...] about ‘Not an immigration law.’ As Lafayette judge weighs COVID policy, asylum seekers remain in limbo

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Twitter late Wednesday in the US that he had tested positive for COVID after his appointments with the International Monetary Fund and the G20 in Washington. "After two years without a COVID-19 infection, after a negative result yesterday in a test center and another negative rapid test earlier today: positive," Lindner wrote. "Thanks to three vaccinations only mild and already fading cold symptoms." Lindner was taking part in various appointments in the US capital, focused on the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund as well as a G20 session he participated in and a smaller G7 finance ministers' meeting he chaired, as Germany is the current G7 presidency holder. According to Finance Ministry officials, he had been undergoing regular tests, all of them negative, until recording one positive rapid test late on Wednesday. The 43-year-old had further appointments scheduled for Thursday in the US, and then a late … [Read more...] about COVID digest: German Finance Minister Lindner tests positive in US

America and South Korea have agreed to expand military exercises to counter the threat from the North, while at the same time offering Pyongyang help to tackle its COVID-19 outbreak. Speaking on a visit to Seoul, the US President Joe Biden expressed concerns about the North's growing nuclear capabilities and said he would meet its leader Kim Jong Un if "he was serious". Mr Biden was in the country for his first diplomatic talks with his new South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol, who was inaugurated 11 days ago. Dominating the discussions were continuing tensions with North Korea and fears it could launch fresh missile tests. In a joint statement, Mr Biden reaffirmed the US commitment to defend South Korea with nuclear weapons if necessary. Advertisement The two sides agreed to consider expanding their combined military drills, which had been scaled back in recent years in an effort to ease fraught relations with the North. The … [Read more...] about North Korea: Washington and Seoul step up moves to deter Pyongyang – but offer COVID-19 aid

When Honoria Bush , 32, began working as a nurse in February 2020, she did not know how much death she would soon witness. But just one month later, Texas would see its first confirmed COVID-19 case. Soon, the beds in the Houston hospital where she worked would be filled with patients on ventilators, many of whom wouldn’t survive. But nothing could have prepared her for the moment her phone rang on Aug. 31, 2020, when she learned her brother, Chris Miller, had been taken to the hospital after his college roommate found him on the floor of their home, struggling to breathe. Nearly four months later, on Dec. 18, 2020, Miller died from complications with COVID-19. He had celebrated his 22nd birthday just a month earlier and would have graduated college the following May. “I felt like the wind was blown out of me — I was confused, I felt lost, and I felt so alone,” Bush told BuzzFeed News. “I literally felt like God had just taken the breath out of me.” At the time of her … [Read more...] about COVID Has Killed 1 Million Americans — And Left Behind 9 Million Loved Ones

Published 10 hours ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic A US judge has blocked plans by Joe Biden's administration to lift a policy allowing migrants to be swiftly expelled at the Mexico border over concerns about spreading Covid. District Judge Robert Summerhays granted an injunction to Republican state attorneys challenging the halting of checks known as Title 42. The policy, introduced by Donald Trump in 2020, was due to expire on 23 May. The US Department of Justice said it would appeal. Aimed at stopping virus spread in migrant holding facilities, Title 42 was twice extended by President Biden. More than 1.7 million people have been expelled under the policy. Are more migrants crossing US-Mexico border than ever? On Friday, Judge Summerhays in Lafayette, Louisiana, ruled that the policy would stay … [Read more...] about Biden plan to end US migrant expulsion policy blocked

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 1 million on Monday, a once-unimaginable figure that only hints at the multitudes of loved ones and friends staggered by grief and frustration. The confirmed number of dead is equivalent to a 9/11 attack every day for 336 days. It is roughly equal to how many Americans died in the Civil War and World War II combined. It’s as if Boston and Pittsburgh were wiped out. “It is hard to imagine a million people plucked from this earth,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, who leads a new pandemic center at the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island. “It’s still happening and we are letting it happen.” Some of those left behind say they cannot return to normal. They replay their loved ones' voicemail messages. Or watch old videos to see them dance. When other people say they are done with the virus, they bristle with anger or ache in silence. “'Normal.' I hate that word,” said Julie Wallace, 55, of Elyria, Ohio, who … [Read more...] about US deaths from COVID hit 1 million, less than 2 1/2 years in

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania dealt a blow Tuesday to the Trump campaign's legal efforts over the election results. In a 5-2 decision, the court ruled that the Philadelphia Board of Elections acted correctly in setting up its access rules for canvass observers, who were kept six feet away from ballot tabulation in line with COVID protocols. While poll watchers were allowed in the convention center where ballots were being counted, the lawsuit from President Donald Trump 's campaign sought closer access for observers. The Trump campaign contended its observers were kept much farther away than 6 feet, in some cases up to 100 feet and not even in the room. Lawyers for the city argued that monitors from both parties were allowed in the room from the start and were subject to the same restrictions. The intermediate court overturned a decision from the Commonwealth Court, calling the decision "erroneous," and reinstated the trial court's order, writing that "the Board did not … [Read more...] about Trump campaign lawsuit over ballot-counting access rejected by Pennsylvania Supreme Court

McAllen, Texas — The U.S. government has vaccinated more than 20,000 migrants and asylum-seekers in U.S. border custody since launching a massive COVID-19 vaccination campaign in late March , the top doctor at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told CBS News. During an interview this week, Dr. Pritesh Gandhi, the chief medical officer at DHS, said as many as 1,000 migrants are being vaccinated every day at 24 processing facilities across the U.S.-Mexico border as part of one of the largest medical initiatives the government has set up for undocumented individuals in U.S. custody. "It is something that I believe is historic, because we are building a health system all along the southwest border, an area that has been historically neglected for years, if not decades," Gandhi told CBS News on Tuesday during a tour of the migrant holding center in McAllen, Texas, one of the sites offering vaccines. Migrants who are not expelled under a pandemic-era rule known as Title … [Read more...] about U.S. has vaccinated 20,000 migrants in border custody as part of massive operation