(WASHINGTON) — With more than 161 million people now fully vaccinated in the U.S., experts say we are bound to see reports of breakthrough infections, meaning people will test positive for COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated.
These breakthrough COVID-19 cases aren’t proof the vaccines aren’t working, experts said, but are normal and expected. All evidence suggests that even in the face of the new, highly-transmissible delta variant, COVID vaccines are still working as they should to dramatically decrease the risk of hospitalization and death.
“When you hear about a breakthrough infection, that doesn’t necessarily mean the vaccine is failing,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said before Congress on Tuesday.
COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective, but they do not block the virus 100% of the time, meaning that some breakthrough infections occur after vaccination.
“I think people need to appreciate when you talk about breakthrough infections that the original data from the clinical trial — the efficacy data was based on preventing clinically apparent disease, not preventing infection, such as a symptomatic infection,” Fauci said.
Despite many high-profile cases of breakthrough infections with mild or no symptoms, including among Olympic athletes and some politicians, the overall number is very low compared to the number of people vaccinated.
And the number of people who have been hospitalized or died after being fully vaccinated is even lower, according to the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health departments. This demonstrates that vaccinated people are far less likely to die of COVID-19 compared to unvaccinated people.
That doesn’t mean severe illness as the result of an infection isn’t possible, but this tends to happen in people who are elderly or otherwise immune-compromised, experts said.
“Out of 157 million fully vaccinated in the US, there were 4,909 hospitalizations and 988 deaths,” Dr. Carlos del Rio, infectious disease physician and professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory University School of Medicine, said during a press briefing on Monday.
“Of course we will see some breakthrough infections that lead to severe illness, more in vulnerable populations with underlying chronic conditions who couldn’t mount a response to vaccines because they couldn’t,” Dr. John Brownstein, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Boston’s Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor, told ABC News.
Although studies on this aren’t completed, Fauci said last week that the risk of a vaccinated person spreading COVID to someone else is assuredly far less than an unvaccinated person spreading COVID.
“You could make a reasonable assumption that the rate of transmissibility from the asymptomatic vaccinated person to an uninfected person would be less likely than if the person was unvaccinated,” Fauci said at a White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing last week.
The overall number of breakthrough infections is rising, but that could be because more people overall are getting vaccinated, resulting in more breakthrough cases, Dr. Shobha Swaminathan, an associate professor and infectious disease expert at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, told ABC News.
“As the number of infections in the U.S. increases, there may be a slight increase in the number of ‘breakthrough’ infections,” Swaminathan said. “However, the majority of infections continue to be reported among those who have not been vaccinated.”
Experts said the delta variant could be contributing to these cases, but for now, research is ongoing.
“If it causes an increased rate of breakthrough infections, that’s unknown,” adds Brownstein.
But experts feel reassured by what they do know, that even with the highly-transmissible delta variant sweeping the country, more than 99% of COVID-19 deaths are among people who are unvaccinated.
Alexis E. Carrington, M.D. is an ABC News Medical Unit Associate Producer and a rising dermatology resident at George Washington University. Sony Salzman is a Coordinating Producer for ABC News Medical Unit.
(NEW YORK) — The city of Liverpool, England was stripped of its World Heritage status on Wednesday, after a U.N. committee determined that the recent construction has been detrimental to its value.
Liverpool was inscribed on the United Nations’ Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s World Heritage List in 2004 for its value as a Maritime Mercantile City. The committee listed it as “in danger” in 2012, over concerns about development within the city.
— UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳😷 (@UNESCO) July 21, 2021
UNESCO says Liverpool’s “historic centre and docklands were inscribed for bearing witness to the development of one of the world’s major trading centres in the 18th and 19th centuries.” They also cited major developments in dock technology, transportation, and port management that were made in Liverpool.
But UNESCO says the Liverpool Waters development project at the city’s north docks, as well as a new soccer stadium being built for the club team Everton F.C., have contributed to an “irreversible loss of attributes.”
— Liverpool City Council (@lpoolcouncil) July 21, 2021
Liverpool is just the third property to lose World Heritage status, according to the U.N. The prior sites to lose that status are the Elbe Valley in Dresden, Germany and the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in Oman.
(NEW YORK) — With many students heading back to school soon, researchers are gathering information that can help schools set COVID protocols.
Some devices being studied are portable air purification units, which could add a layer of protection and slow the spread of aerosols and droplets in a classroom setting. In fact, New York City plans to have such devices in its classrooms.
Good Morning America got an exclusive look at testing by the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota at the Well Living Lab to examine these devices.
“I think it just provides another layer of security for people,” Dr. Bruce Johnson of the Mayo Clinic told GMA.
In its study, a team of more than 20 researchers built an experimental “classroom.” They rigged up a mannequin in the center to spray out a neon-colored solution to mimic how a sick student might spread particles as they breathe.
Then, researchers measured what was collected on 70 surfaces all over the room, such as desks, chairs and iPad, to see how the droplets spread with and without air purification.
“We’re able to say at each point in the room — how quickly are particulars depositing on different surfaces,” researcher Dr. Zachary Pope said.
Researchers also found that using portable air purifiers to supplement a classroom HVAC system, it may result in up to five times lower particle concentration in the air, improving air quality throughout the room, not just near the unit.
The study from the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota drew similar results to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted earlier this month.
The agency now recommends schools should “filter and/or clean the air in the school by improving the level of filtration as much as possible.”
“I think they [parents] should be put at ease in the sense that we have solutions available,” Hogan said. “There’s a lot of information that is — now available to school administrators and they should be comfortable with the fact that they’re looking into it. And hopefully will be able to implement these solutions.”
For teachers or parents looking to invest in an air filter system, researchers said that any portable air filtration system will do the job. But a quick skim through the product specifications will show how many square feet the product will cover to ensure that it covers enough units of the entire room.
If an air filtration system is beyond your budget, another option would be to update your HVAC system or open a window to add that layer of protection.
The IOC steered the bidding for the 2032 Games towards Brisbane, avoiding rival bids. The city was given exclusive negotiating rights in February, leaving officials in Qatar, Hungary and Germany disappointed with the failure of their own planned bids.
It will be the first Games in Australia since the 2000 Olympics in Syndey. Prior to that, Melbourne hosted the Olympics in 1956.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told the IOC that Australia knows “what it takes to deliver a successful games.” That, in an 11-minute video call with IOC members.
Brisbane is the latest host city to be named, and will follow the Summer Games in Paris in 2024, and the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. The IOC describes the Brisbane project as “a passion-driven, athlete-centric offer from a sports-loving nation.”
Events will be held across the Australian state of Queensland. The city of Brisbane says it already has more than 80 percent of stadiums and event venues in place, which will allow it to avoid excessive spending.
(NEW YORK) — A family is sharing a stark new warning for others about the alleged dangers of the Peloton Tread+ treadmill after they say their son was sucked under the belt and severely injured.
Ygal and Sarah Saadoun spoke exclusively to ABC News about their 4-year-old son, who they said suffered third-degree burns after getting pinned underneath the workout equipment.
“This treadmill is a death trap for children,” Ygal Saadoun said in the interview airing Wednesday on Good Morning America.
“Children should not be sucked under a conveyor belt that can kill them,” he added. “Period.”
In July 2020, the Saadouns dropped their child off with another family for a sleepover. Just hours later, the young boy was sucked under the treadmill’s belt while playing next to the machine and was rushed to the hospital in extraordinary pain, the parents said.
“We were shocked to see the extent of the burns. My son was covered in burns,” the father told ABC News. “We were shocked to hear that a treadmill can do that to somebody.”
Nearly two dozen other families have reported children being hurt by the Peloton Tread+ and one even died from their injuries.
In May, the New York-based fitness company announced a recall of its Tread+ and Tread treadmills due to risk of injury and offered a full refund to anyone who purchased them until November.
“The fact that the Peloton [Tread+] has neither a safety guard or sensor to me is extremely worrying,” Sarah Saadoun told ABC News.
Peloton surged in popularity amid the coronavirus pandemic with its at-home workout machines, like the $4,300 Tread+, as people stuck at home turned to interactive fitness.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission first issued an “urgent warning” about the Peloton Tread+ in April, urging users with small children or pets at home “to stop using the product immediately.” The CPSC said kids could become “entrapped, pinned and pulled under the rear roller” of the equipment.
Peleton initially called that warning “inaccurate and misleading,” but then backtracked with CEO and co-founder John Foley publicly apologizing on GMA.
“We did make a mistake by not engaging with the Consumer Product Safety Commission in a more productive dialogue earlier in the process,” Foley told GMA in May.
However, the Saadoun family said it was too little, too late.
“I read the statement from the company after knowing that so many kids had been injured, that a child had died and still insisting that their product was safe and taking weeks to actually recall the product,” Sarah Saadoun told ABC News. “That was when we decided we need to sue this company.”
The family’s lawsuit against the company claims Peloton “knew or should have known” that the treadmill “was extremely and unreasonably dangerous.”
Lawyers for the family pointed out that other at-home treadmills have a safety guard on the back of the machines to prevent such accidents.
“Part of what the Saadoun family wants is to raise awareness about how dangerous this treadmill is,” their attorney, Nathan Worksman, told ABC News.
“We think a better, more safe, not defective product design would have avoided this child’s injuries,” another one of their attorneys, Jordan Merson, added.
When asked for comment, Peloton told ABC News in a statement: “We take this incident, and all others reported to us involving our products, very seriously. We care deeply about the safety of our community and recognize the trust our members place in us to develop safe products. We continue to cooperate with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on this recall.”
(PROVINCETOWN, Mass.) — A popular Cape Cod, Massachusetts, summertime destination is reporting a new spread of COVID-19 infections following the Fourth of July.
Officials in Provincetown, Massachusetts, issued a number of renewed mitigation measures on Monday after at least 132 individuals tested positive for COVID-19 in the weeks after the holiday weekend.
Town Manager Alex Morse told ABC News on Monday that the “vast majority” of the COVID-19 cases associated with the town’s outbreak are among vaccinated individuals.
Eighty-nine of the reported cases are amongst Bay State residents, 39 of whom reside in Barnstable County, and the remainder of the individuals, who tested positive, reside in other states and jurisdictions, local officials said.
At the height of its tourist season in the summer months, Provincetown’s population swells from 3,000 year-round residents, to over 60,000 people, according to state data.
Morse reported most individuals are experiencing “mild symptoms.” According to medical experts, fully vaccinated individuals are far less likely to become severely ill, and hospitalized, if infected with COVID-19.
Nina Hargus, and her husband, Stan, of Sudbury, Massachusetts, were among the influx of tourists who enjoyed the busy Fourth of July weekend in Provincetown.
“It really felt like a pre-COVID Fourth of July in Provincetown,” Hargus said. “Restaurants and bars were packed. The streets were filled with pedestrians, we saw very few masks, and no social distancing.”
Last week, Johnny Chagnon, of Vermont, and several of his friends, were thrilled to return to Provincetown after a difficult year. Although Chagnon had heard about breakthrough Fourth of July infections, he had not been too concerned, he told ABC News, because he was fully vaccinated.
“I have a lot of faith in vaccines,” said Chagnon, who has also conducted COVID-19 testing throughout the pandemic for the Vermont Department of Health.
Nevertheless, preferring to be cautious, “we were avoiding indoor events, because they were very packed,” opting instead for outdoor events, but without wearing a mask, he said.
However, on Monday, right after leaving Provincetown, he began to feel sick, coming down with a fever, and experiencing shortness of breath, a sore throat and cold-like symptoms.
“Today my fever is even worse,” Chagnon said on Tuesday. Although his symptoms have been manageable, “it’s definitely not what I expected being fully vaccinated.”
In light of the outbreak, officials in Provincetown have issued a new mask advisory, in which masks are now advised indoors where social distancing cannot be achieved. All unvaccinated individuals, including children under the age of 12, are required to wear masks both outdoors in crowded areas where social distancing cannot be achieved and in public indoor spaces.
Local officials are also now “strongly advising” venues with high density, where social distancing is not achievable, to enforce vaccine verification prior to admittance.
The Boston Public Health Commission also announced that it too would issue guidance for recent Provincetown visitors, after officials identified at least 35 positive COVID-19 cases tied to the Cape cluster among Boston residents.
The city’s residents, who have traveled to Provincetown since the first of the month, are now being urged to get tested, regardless of vaccination status or symptoms, self-isolate, and avoid groups or gatherings for at least five days and until residents have received a negative COVID-19 test. All residents are now being asked to take additional precautions to help identify COVID-19 infections, and to prevent additional spread.
(WASHINGTON) — As the Senate barrels toward a key test vote Wednesday on a bipartisan infrastructure deal, some Senate Republicans involved in trying to nail down the deal are pleading with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to delay the vote until next week.
Key Republican negotiators in the bipartisan group of senators who have been trying to work out the deal say they believe they can firm up their proposal by Monday. The group huddled over Mexican food and wine behind closed doors for over two hours late Tuesday night, but left without squaring all of their differences on how to pay for the $1.2 trillion package.
Without a firmed-up agreement, Republican negotiators left the Capitol Tuesday saying they do not believe a single Republican will vote “yes” to start debate on any measure Wednesday.
Republican negotiators advocated that Schumer delay the vote until Monday to buy more time for the bipartisan group to finish its work. Schumer, the Republicans say, is well-aware of their position that waiting until next week to hold a vote would heighten the chances of success.
Schumer had set the high-stakes vote to try to force progress on a top priority for President Joe Biden, but he needs the Republicans to get past the 60-vote threshold to advance legislation.
“I don’t think any Republican votes yes tomorrow. I don’t think we should, because we’re not ready,” the senior lawmaker said looking ahead to Wednesday’s vote.
Instead, the GOP negotiators debated sending a letter to Schumer saying that Republicans, who have been warning they won’t vote on advancing a bill that’s not yet written, are prepared to support starting debate on Monday, the senior lawmaker said.
The group, which has been working around the clock, along with White House officials, is “close” to a deal on how to pay for roads, bridges and other “traditional infrastructure,” according to numerous members involved. They were meeting again Tuesday afternoon — joined by senior Biden aides – to try to finalize a bill.
The White House said it continued to support Schumer’s tactics.
But the bipartisan group of lawmakers won’t get a final agreement by Wednesday, according to multiple negotiators. Negotiators said Tuesday that there are about six remaining issues with the bipartisan bill, the thorniest of which is how to structure spending on public transit systems.
At the same time, the senior lawmaker expects the legislation to be finalized by Monday, and that includes the nonpartisan analyses by various agencies breaking down all of the financing options, how much revenue would be produced, and a final price tag.
Republicans, in particular, will be looking to show that the $579 billion in new spending is fully paid for.
As of Tuesday afternoon, it didn’t appear as if Schumer would delay the vote, but he could minimize the impact, should it be headed for failure.
If it is, Schumer could switch his vote to the losing side at the last minute, enabling him as majority leader, under Senate rules, to call up the vote again for reconsideration.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday pointed to Schumer’s option to bring up the bill again in a few days, after the bipartisan group has had time to complete its work.
“No time is lost by adhering to a very simple principle, we are not going to the bill until we know what the bill is.
He could do so on Monday, when GOP members of the negotiating group say they’ll be ready to go.
Might a failed vote Wednesday poison the well for GOP negotiators?
No, said the senior lawmaker close to the talks, and Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., a member of the negotiating group.
The Wednesday vote is to start debate on a shell bill because there is no final bill from the negotiators. It would serve as a placeholder should negotiators strike a final deal.
The measure is separate from a much larger bill Biden and Democrats are pushing that would spend $3.5 trillion on so-called “human infrastructure” such as child care.
Democrats plan to push that through the Senate with no Republican votes, using a budget tool called “reconciliation.”
(LITTLE ROCK, Ark.) — A federal courthouse in central Arkansas on Wednesday will be the site of a consequential moment for the LGBTQ+ community in the state — and for health care precedent across the country — as a federal judge is slated to hear a constitutional challenge to a first-of-its-kind ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender youth.
U.S. District Judge James Moody is scheduled to consider an effort by the American Civil Liberties Union to block a new Arkansas law that effectively bans gender-affirming health care for transgender minors, prohibits doctors from even providing referrals, and allows private insurers to refuse coverage of gender-affirming care to transgender persons at any age.
The law, which plaintiffs like Amanda Dennis argue will have a devastating impact beyond Arkansas, is set to go into effect next week on July 28 — unless the judge issues an injunction.
“We’re doing everything that we can to stop this dangerous legislation, not just for our daughter, but on behalf of transgender kids all over the United States,” Dennis told ABC News in an interview ahead of the hearing. “Because we know, right now, all eyes are on Arkansas.”
Here’s what you need to know: When did HB1570 pass?
In April, the GOP-led Arkansas state legislature passed HB1570, the first bill in the country that would effectively ban transgender youth from gender-affirming care — despite a surprise veto by Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
While Hutchinson supported two earlier anti-transgender bills in the state legislative session this spring, he called the third bill a “government overreach” and refused to sign it.
He warned lawmakers they’d set a bad precedent by getting overly involved in decisions between physicians, patients and their families — but since the Arkansas legislature requires only a simple majority to overrule a veto, the law moved on.
Republican sponsors say the bill is meant to protect minors, who, they say, are too young to make decisions on transition-related medical care.
However, health care experts say gender-affirming care, or treatment that affirms a person’s gender identity, is life-saving. For minors, any surgery is far more often the exception, but therapy and reversible treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone replacements can be prescribed to combat the distress of gender dysphoria, or the incongruence between one’s assigned sex at birth and gender identity.
Activists argue that if the Arkansas law is allowed to go into effect, it will have detrimental effects on the mental, emotional and physical health of transgender people — beyond state borders.
What’s at stake?
The ACLU filed its challenge to HB1570 on behalf of four transgender youths, as well as their families, and two medical doctors back in May, arguing that the law is both unconstitutional and cruel.
One of the plaintiffs, Brooke Dennis, is nine-years-old, entering the fourth grade and hopes to pursue rhythmic gymnastics when she grows up. She was assigned male at birth, but her mother, Amanda, says Brooke has known she was a girl since she was two.
“[After accepting Brooke’s new pronouns,] it was as if a cloud lifted and Brooke’s smile came back. We had a happy, bright-eyed child again, and we were relieved to see our child flourishing once more,” said parents Amanda and Shayne Dennis in a brief submitted to the court.
But under the new law, Brooke won’t be able to get puberty-blocking hormones. Her mother told ABC News, that without access to the therapy Brooke will soon need, her daughter’s mental, emotional and physical health are at stake — and that’s not something she’s willing to risk as a parent.
“We would have to move,” Dennis said. “It would mean new jobs, a new home, all of the stress of picking up your entire life and starting over somewhere else. That’s a really, really frightening thing to even have to consider after all that Brooke and our family have been through.”
Dr. Kate Stewart, a professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, told ABC News that health professionals in the state have already had experience with minors they say have become suicidal because of the law.
“We’ve seen how treatment can be life or death,” Stewart said, speaking in her personal capacity. “Anecdotally, I’m already hearing increased reports of emergency rooms seeing kids that are in crisis, just being so concerned about this law passing. It’s nothing short of devastating.”
Stewart also raised concerns that since the law limits one’s scope of practice, it will also discourage medical professionals from working in Arkansas.
What’s next?
The judge is expected to issue a decision before next Wednesday, July 28, when the law is set to take effect.
Until then, all of the plaintiffs must weigh how they’ll respond if the law does pass.
(WASHINGTON) — When President Joe Biden was sworn in six months ago, he inherited several major challenges, including a global pandemic and subsequent economic disruption, a social and racial reckoning across America, and a fractured Washington, reeling from the divisions of the Trump era.
On the campaign trail, Biden promised to bring bipartisanship back to the federal government, calling for unity in order to stem the effects of the coronavirus, rebuild the economy and foster equity and inclusion for all Americans.
“Since taking office, the president has acted to get America back on track by addressing the crises facing this nation, vaccinating America to beat the pandemic, delivering much needed help to American families, making transformative investments to rescue and rebuild our economy, and fundamentally showing that government can deliver for the American people,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday, marking the anniversary.
While Biden has presided over a growing economy and a retreating pandemic, there is much he hasn’t been able to accomplish, as Washington remains deadlocked without more bipartisan support from Congress for his initiatives– somethings Biden acknowledged during only the second Cabinet meeting of his administration.
“There’s much more to be done and so much more to do. Tackling voting rights, which is an existential threat to democracy right now, the things that are being passed are just beyond the pale. The vice president has been working hard on this issue and going to continue to, we all are, but there’s much more to do. We have to tackle the immigration problem, which we’re working really hard to get done in a humane and serious way. Police reform and crime,” Biden said Tuesday.
Six months into his administration, here’s a look at how successful Biden has been in pursuing some of his major initiatives.
The pandemic and the economy
President Biden oversaw an unprecedented vaccination effort to end the COVID-19 pandemic, distributing more than 200 million shots of the vaccine within his first 100 days in office.
COVID-19 cases and death rates plunged to a record low since the start of the pandemic as the effects of vaccination took hold.
Still, the Biden administration has struggled with vaccine hesitancy, and failed to hit a self-imposed goal to distribute at least one shot to 70% of all adults over 18 by July 4. As of Biden’s 6-month mark, 68.3% of adults over 18 have at least one shot, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
“If you’re fully vaccinated, you have a high degree of protection against severe illness, hospitalization and death. If you’re unvaccinated, you are not protected. So please, please get vaccinated. Get vaccinated now,” Biden said Monday, acknowledging that cases and death rates are once again rising in the U.S.
Biden was successful in passing his economic relief package, dubbed the American Rescue Plan. The $1.9 trillion spending package delivered stimulus checks, small business aid, funding for COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, and state and local government relief.
But he failed to deliver on one major campaign promise: to secure bipartisan support for his initiatives. The COVID-19 relief package passed in Congress without a single Republican vote.
“For all of those predictions of doom and gloom six months in, here is where we stand. Record growth. Record job creation. Workers getting hard-earned breaks. Look, we brought this economy back from the brink and we’ve designed our strategy not only to provide for a temporary boost, but to lay the foundation for a long-term boom that brings everyone along,” Biden said Monday in remarks touting his economic achievement and pushing a bipartisan measure to spend $1.2 trillion improving roads, bridges and other “traditional infrastructure.”
But the fate of that is unclear in the both the Senate and House where Democrats have only a narrow majority — as is the future of legislation that would spend $3.5 trillion on “human infrastructure” such as child care that Democrats hope to push through with no Republican votes.
In those same remarks, Biden had to address inflation concerns, as rising prices across the U.S. threaten the economic optimism of reopening after the pandemic.
Immigration
President Biden has struggled to stem the flow of migrants crossing the southern border of the U.S. In June, Customs and Border Patrol apprehended a ten-year record number of migrants.
Biden appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to address the root causes of migration, and Harris has traveled to Guatemala and Mexico in her efforts to encourage potential migrants to stay in their home countries and apply for asylum legally. But with corruption, drug-related violence and extreme weather plaguing many Central and South American countries, her efforts, including offering increased aid to those countries, have not led to a significant shift in migration patterns, as illustrated by the June CBP numbers.
“No matter how much effort we put in on curbing violence, providing disaster relief, on tackling food insecurity — on any of it — we will not make significant progress if corruption in the region persists,” Harris said on May 4.
Biden was successful in overturning many of President Trump’s strict immigration policies. He ended Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban” that prevented people from traveling from several Muslim-majority countries to the United States. Biden also returned deportation priorities to the status quo in the Obama administration, which focused on people who committed crimes other than entering the country illegally.
While Biden has proposed a comprehensive immigration reform plan to Congress, there has been little movement to advance it. In July, a federal judge ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which shielded young people brought illegally to the U.S. as children from deportation, is unlawful, and disallowed new applications to the program. The case is likely to be heard by the Supreme Court, but in the meantime, the defeat in the courts ramps up pressure on Biden and Congress to achieve a legislative fix for Dreamers.
“Only Congress can ensure a permanent solution by granting a path to citizenship for Dreamers that will provide the certainty and stability that these young people need and deserve,” Biden said in a statement Saturday. “It is my fervent hope that through reconciliation or other means, Congress will finally provide security to all Dreamers, who have lived too long in fear.”
Policing and Guns
One policy area proving elusive for Biden is police reform and gun control, as legislation on the issues have stalled in Congress.
The Biden White House has frequently highlighted its support for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and called for it to be passed by the first anniversary of Floyd’s death in May. While the deadline was missed, they have encouraged bipartisan negotiations on Capitol Hill that have yielded little beyond a “framework” and discussions continue.
The administration also decided to forgo Biden’s campaign promise to create a commission within his first 100 days to study the issue of policing, with senior adviser Susan Rice saying the administration decided it would not be the “most effective way” to deliver on its top priority of getting the Floyd bill passed “based on close, respectful consultation with partners in the civil rights community.”
The president has not seen gun control legislation come to his desk from Capitol Hill, even after the House passed a measure that would address loopholes in the background check system. But Biden has taken unilateral action on the issue after several mass shootings during his short tenure in office.
Biden signed six gun-related executive actions on April 8, including directing the Justice Department to issue a proposed rule to regulate the sale of so-called “ghost guns” within 30 days, calling for investments in evidence-based community violence intervention and asking the Justice Department to publish model “red flag” legislation for states within 60 days.
He took additional action in June, allowing communities to spend some of the funding they received as part of his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill funding to combat gun crime, such as investing in summer jobs programs for youths; hiring more police officers and court personnel; spending on gun-violence enforcement; and paying for more nurses, counselors and social workers.
Other measures include establishing a “zero tolerance” policy for gun dealers who break the law; embedding federal law enforcement officials with local police departments; and hiring more formerly incarcerated people for jobs in the federal government, according to the White House.
Even with his presidential actions, Biden is limited in what he can accomplish on his own, and has fallen short of some of his biggest campaign pledges on the issue, like stopping the importation of assault weapons, and creating a national buyback program for the U.S.
(NEW YORK) — Tom Barrack, a longtime friend of Donald Trump’s who chaired the committee that raised more than $100 million for his inauguration, has been charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government and obstruction of justice.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Tuesday that in 2016, Barrack illegally sought to use his influence with the new president on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.
In May 2016, according to the indictment, Barrack “took steps to establish himself as the key communications channel for the United Arab Emirates” to the Trump campaign and, that same month, gave a co-defendant a draft copy of an energy speech then-candidate Trump was preparing to deliver. The co-defendant then sent it to a UAE official and solicited feedback.
“Congrats on the great job today,” court records quoted the Emirati official saying in an email to Barrack after Trump delivered the speech. “Everybody here are happy with the results.”
A spokesman for Barrack, 74, told ABC News that “Mr. Barrack has made himself voluntarily available to investigators from the outset. He is not guilty and will be pleading not guilty.”
Barrack was due to make an initial court appearance in California, where he was arrested Tuesday morning.
Prosecutors are seeking to detain Barrack while he awaits trial, calling him “an extremely wealthy and powerful individual with substantial ties to Lebanon, the UAE, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” who “poses a serious flight risk.”
Between May 2016 and October 2017, Barrack “repeatedly promoted the United Arab Emirates and its foreign policy interests during media appearances” after soliciting direction from his co-defendant and UAE officials, the indictment said.
“The defendant promoted UAE-favored policy positions in the Campaign, in the Administration, and through the media, at times using specific language provided by UAE leadership,” assistant U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis wrote in the court filing. “The defendant never registered as an agent of the UAE, as public disclosure of his agreement to act at the direction of senior UAE officials would have diminished, if not eliminated, the access and influence that the UAE sought and valued.”
The allegations involving Barrack came to light as part of a House Oversight Committee investigation, ABC News reported in July 2019.
