(EUGENE, Ore) — Drew and Kayla Gottfried were heartbroken after they were told that their wedding video had been erased after they tied the knot in 2007.
In a fortunate twist this past spring, Drew Gottfried received a call from their church saying that an old VHS tape had been found in the basement. Astonishingly, it was their wedding video.
For two months, Gottfried kept the secret until July 27, the couple’s 14th anniversary.
On that night, the couple went out to dinner and a movie at a local theater in downtown Eugene, Oregon, where Gottfried surprised his wife with a private viewing of the recovered video.
Kayla Gottfried’s emotional response was caught on camera and has since been viewed 6.1 million times on TikTok.
“How do you have video of this?” Kayla Gottfried said when she was surprised with the video. She told “World News Tonight” that she was happy to have that memory back.
“Break out those old family videos and relive those special moment with your loved ones often,” she said.
Although he’s also happy to have the video back, Gottfried shared a message that the present is just as important as the past.
“Enjoy your life, the moment you’re in, with your families. Whatever they are — birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations, get-togethers,” said Gottfried. “Just enjoy your time with your family. Be present and be there.”
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 611,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.1 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 57.6% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC on Tuesday, citing new science on the transmissibility of the delta variant, changed its mask guidance to now recommend everyone in areas with substantial or high levels of transmission — vaccinated or not — wear a face covering in public, indoor settings.
Here’s how the news is developing Thursday. All times Eastern:
Jul 29, 4:00 pm
Biden calls on states to offer $100 to those who get vaccinated
President Joe Biden is urging local governments to offer $100 to those who get vaccinated with funding from the American Rescue Plan.
Biden will also announce Thursday that all federal government employees and outside contractors will be asked to “attest to their vaccination status,” and those who aren’t vaccinated must social distance, get tested once or twice a week and wear a mask at work no matter where they live. This includes members of the Armed Forces and National Guard.
Biden’s also set to announce that small and medium businesses will be reimbursed for giving employees paid leave to get their family members vaccinated.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Jul 29, 2:54 pm
US approaching same case, hospitalization levels as 1 year ago
One year ago, the U.S. was beginning to see a downturn in COVID-19 cases following a summer surge. On July 27, 2020, the U.S. was averaging about 63,400 new COVID-19 cases per day.
Now, one year later, the U.S. case average is trending in the wrong direction, averaging nearly 62,000 new cases a day.
The new infection average is up by 64.1% in the last week and 440% since mid-June.
Hospitalization levels are also nearing last summer’s numbers. More than 33,000 COVID-19 patients are now receiving care, close to the 37,000 patients hospitalized on Aug. 1, 2020.
Daily deaths, however, are significantly lower now than they were last summer.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Jul 29, 2:42 pm
Florida hospital at capacity
Baptist Health in Jacksonville, Florida, warned Thursday that its hospitals and emergency rooms are at maximum capacity.
Hospital president and CEO Michael Mayo said earlier this week that the hospital had over 400 COVID-19 patients, an all-time high, and that unvaccinated people accounted for at least 97% of the patients. “It’s never been as bad as it is now,” Mayo said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jul 29, 2:06 pm
Vaccinations up in Louisiana, Kentucky
Louisiana reported more than 10,000 vaccine doses per day over the last week, the first time the state’s daily numbers climbed above 10,000 since April, according to state data.
Kentucky is seeing a “little bit of an uptick” in vaccinations, Gov. Andy Beshear said, as cases skyrocket in the state.
When asked if he was considering a mask mandate, Beshear said, “I am not currently considering reinstating the mask mandate, but it’s still on the table if needed.”
Kentucky Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said 95% of all cases involve unvaccinated individuals.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Jason Volack
Jul 29, 1:16 pm
Israel to give 3rd vaccine dose to those 60 and over
In Israel, a third vaccine dose can be administered to people 60 and older beginning Aug. 1, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.
The third shot will be given to those who received a second dose at least five months ago.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota
Jul 29, 12:34 pm
University of Missouri requiring masks in classrooms
The University of Missouri is requiring masks in classrooms, including for those who are vaccinated as of Aug. 2, the school said.
COVID-19 cases are surging in Missouri. The state’s positivity rate stands at 14.7%.
The university said the temporary mask requirement will be reviewed by Sept. 15.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jul 29, 9:46 am
Masks required in all federal buildings in areas of high or substantial transmission
Masks are now required for everyone — including vaccinated people — in all federal buildings that are in areas of high or substantial transmission, according to an Office of Management and Budget official. That includes federal offices in Washington, D.C., which is currently in substantial transmission status.
Jul 29, 8:12 am
US now administering over 600,000 shots per day on average
Over 754,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines went into the arms of people across the United States on Wednesday, according to White House COVID-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar.
That figure includes 498,000 newly vaccinated individuals, Shahpar said, which is the highest daily amount reported since July 1.
The U.S. is now averaging more than 600,000 total shots administered per day, an increase of about 18% compared with last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Jul 29, 7:21 am
Daily case count hits record high in Tokyo amid Olympics
As the 2020 Summer Olympics plays out in Tokyo, the host city saw a record-breaking number of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 for the third straight day.
A new all-time high of 3,865 cases were reported on Thursday, up from 3,177 on Wednesday and double the daily count a week ago, according to data from Tokyo’s metropolitan government. The Games, which were postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, are being held under a regional state of emergency and stringent restrictions.
Although Japan has managed to keep its COVID-19 cases and death toll lower than many other countries, its numbers have been on the rise in recent weeks with infections soaring not just in the capital city but across the nation.
“We have never experienced the expansion of the infections of this magnitude,” Japanese chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters Tuesday.
At least 198 confirmed cases have been associated with the Tokyo Olympics. Of those, 24 were reported on Thursday and include three athletes who are staying at the Olympic Village, according to data from the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.
Jul 29, 5:41 am
Dozens of cases across US linked to Christian summer camp
At least 75 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across 17 U.S. states have been linked to a Christian summer camp in North Carolina, officials said.
The outbreak is associated with campers and staff who attended The Wilds camp near Rosman in North Carolina’s Transylvania County between June 28 and July 17, according to a statement from the local public health department.
The camp, nestled on 1,000 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains, offers sessions for children, adults and families.
Last week, a spokesperson for the camp told Ashevile ABC affiliate WLOS that they had cancelled sessions that week to work on enhancing COVID-19 protocols. Although there was no plan to cancel further sessions, the spokesperson said the camp was working to limit the number of attendees and started asking campers to get tested for COVID-19 before their sessions.
“We’ve been checking our staff, we’ve been doing screenings for everyone who comes onto the campsite and anticipating they’re coming to our campsite healthy,” the spokesperson told WLOS during a telephone interview last week. “And the anticipation is that they would leave healthy as well.”
Jul 29, 1:20 am
FDA approves shelf life extension for J&J vaccine
The Food and Drug Administration has approved another extension to the shelf life of Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, from four-and-a-half months to six months, J&J said in a statement late Wednesday.
“The decision is based on data from ongoing stability assessment studies, which have demonstrated the vaccine is stable at six months when refrigerated at temperatures of 36 – 46 degrees Fahrenheit,” J&J said.
Jul 29, 12:38 am
CDC changes testing guidance for vaccinated people
On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly updated its guidance on testing for vaccinated people on its website.
While the CDC had previously said vaccinated people did not have to get tested for COVID-19 after being exposed to someone with the virus, unless they had symptoms, that is no longer the case.
The government agency now recommends: “If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you should get tested 3-5 days after your exposure, even if you don’t have symptoms.”
“You should also wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until your test result is negative. You should isolate for 10 days if your test result is positive,” the updated guidance states.
Jul 28, 10:20 pm
Disney World brings back indoor mask requirement for all guests
Masks once again will be required while indoors at Disney World, regardless of vaccination status, the company announced Wednesday, as Florida has quickly become a COVID-19 hotspot.
Starting Friday, face coverings will be required for all guests ages 2 and up while indoors, including upon entering and throughout all attractions.
They are also required while riding Disney transportation.
Masks are still optional in outdoor common areas, the company said.
The theme park had initially dropped its mask requirement for vaccinated guests last month.
The updated rule will also go into effect Friday at Disneyland in California.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is stepping up efforts to get shots in people’s arms, including calling on states, territories and local governments to do more to incentivize vaccination by offering $100 to those who get vaccinated and reimbursing small- and medium-sized businesses for offering their employees paid leave to get their family members vaccinated.
He also announced that every federal government employee and onsite contractor will be asked to “attest to their vaccination status,” and will require anyone not fully vaccinated to wear a mask at work regardless of where they live, social distance and get tested once or twice a week. Employees can also face restrictions on official travel.
Biden was also directing the Department of Defense to look into how and when they will add COVID-19 vaccination to the list of required vaccinations for members of the military, according to a fact sheet that was released to reporters.
Ahead of the president’s announcement, some groups representing large numbers of federal workers — including law enforcement and postal workers — raised some early objections.
“As an association representing those men and women charged with protecting the Constitutional rights of all Americans, including the right to privacy and choice, we are concerned by any move that would mandate the COVID-19 vaccine among federal employees,” Larry Cosme, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, said in a statement.
The statement also asked that the administration work collaboratively with the association and other federal employee groups to incentivize workers to be vaccinated.
Chad Hooper, the executive director of the Professional Managers Association — formed in 1981 by IRS managers — implored all of its members, their staff and eligible Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible, but highlighted that any mandate imposed on the entire workforce would be the first of its kind.
“Consistent with vaccines for other illnesses, such as measles or influenza, PMA believes that agency leadership should have the discretion to determine whether any, some, or all of their staff must be vaccinated against COVID-19,” Hooper said in a statement.
“At this time, no COVID-19 vaccine has received full approval from the FDA, and this may be contributing to vaccine hesitancy across our country. We must ask the administration to craft any such mandate with care and consideration of our members’ individual contraindications as well as their closely held personal and religious beliefs,” the statement continued.
Pfizer, Moderna and the Johnson and Johnson vaccines were granted an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), but the FDA is facing pressure to issue full authorization of the vaccines, which could open the door to mandates in schools, and the military.
“The FDA recognizes that vaccines are key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic and is working as quickly as possible to review applications for full approval,” FDA spokesperson Alison Hunt said in a statement.
ABC News’ Jordyn Phelps and Lauren King contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate swiftly passed the $2.1B emergency security supplemental bill Thursday with a rare unanimous vote in the Senate and only 11 House members voting against it.
The bill now heads to the president for his signature.
The move staves off critical funding cuts that both the U.S. Capitol Police and National Guard were expected to enact following weeks of congressional inaction. Both forces were crushed by the emergency needs in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection, each relying on Congress to reimburse them in the months after the attack.
The bill provides $521 million to reimburse the National Guard for the cost of deployment to Capitol Hill and roughly $70 million to the Capitol Police to cover expenses incurred in response to the attack, according to the bill’s summary.
An additional $300 million will be used to bolster safeguards for the Capitol complex, including funds for window and door upgrades and the installation of new security cameras.
But some Republican lawmakers argued that after spending trillions to battle the pandemic, it would be irresponsible to spend billions more without enacting spending cuts to cover the expenses.
The emergency supplemental bill also has $1.125 billion to cover the Afghanistan Special Immigrant Visa program — a little less than what the White House requested — to provide asylum to allies there who aided the U.S. mission and now face retribution from a resurgent Taliban.
The bill makes specific changes to the visa program, including increasing the number of authorized visas by 8,000 and lowering an employment eligibility requirement from two years to one.
Sen Mike Braun, R-Ind., said, “We need to protect our National Guard — and we will. And we need to protect our allies who kept our troops safe, and we will. Emergencies arise and the biggest threat to dealing with them in my opinion is fiscal irresponsibility in D.C. We could have easily paid for the major parts of this legislation with offsets within the DOD.”
This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Bars and restaurants are once again at the forefront of a polarizing business decision 16 months into the pandemic: Whether or not they should require patrons to wear masks inside or show vaccination status in order to dine safely.
Parts of the country are bracing for change after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended Wednesday that vaccinated Americans wear masks indoors in areas with high COVID-19 transmission rates due to the increasing spread of the delta variant. The agency did not publish new research but cited, “CDC COVID-19 Response Team, unpublished data, 2021.”
From coast to coast the restaurant industry has been hard-pressed to follow ever-changing health protocols throughout the pandemic to keep both staff and customers safe, but even with 49.5% of the country fully vaccinated, according to the Mayo Clinic, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution.
Restaurateur Danny Meyer, CEO and founder of Union Square Hospitality, announced Thursday that his restaurants in Washington, D.C., and New York City will require patrons dining and drinking inside to show they have been fully vaccinated starting Sept. 7. Guests can bring the physical COVID-19 vaccine card, a New York State Excelsior Pass, relevant state-provided vaccine pass, or a photo of their vaccination card to share upon arrival.
Although it’s also part of his group, the Shake Shack founder said the policy does not yet extend to the popular burger chain.
“As everything opened up, there was a lot of reason for cautious optimism, but the increase of the delta variant infection rates is causing alarm for many,” Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, told ABC News. “Some restaurants have or will implement vaccination policies for workers and in some cases customers, but that poses challenges.”
Proof of a vaccine or facial coverings are ultimately up to the business owners who are looking out for the best interests of workers and the communities they serve.
For specific restaurants such as ones in a community with lower vaccination rates, Rigie said “different restaurants are situated differently and have different abilities. If most of your customer base is vaccinated and you have resources to check vaccination status, it’s not easy, but it’s easier than being a small business in a community with hesitancy or lower vaccine rates.”
He added, “Collectively I think we understand we need to do everything possible not to revert to new mandates and restrictions after the restaurant industry has been economically devastated so far.”
For first-time restaurant owner Patricia Howard, who opened an intimate seafood restaurant Dame to rave reviews in June, she said she has “anxiously watched the infection rate creep back up” and wants to remain vigilant for both diners and staff.
“We can’t control whether the person next to us on the subway is wearing a mask, but we can control who gets to come through our doors at Dame,” she told ABC News. “With two members of our staff immunocompromised and the very small size of our space, it is better to air on the side of caution. We were nervous about potential backlash, but once the city announced all municipal workers are required to be vaccinated, we felt more confident that it’s the right thing to do regardless of the response.”
The small team at Dame emailed diners who had upcoming reservations earlier this week about requiring proof of vaccination and Howard said they “only had to cancel a few reservations, due to one or more guests being unvaccinated thus far.” She added that nearly all guests have been appreciative and supportive with hundreds of unexpected replies “thanking us for keeping our community safe, saying it makes them even more excited to dine at Dame, and hoping other restaurants follow suit.”
In California, even before the latest CDC guidance, some bars in Los Angeles County, as well as the Bay Area, have taken preventative steps, asking for proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test 72 hours before dining.
Starting Thursday, bars that are part of The San Francisco Bar Owner Alliance may ask customers who wish to be inside to show proof of vaccination. While not mandated by the government, Ben Bleiman, president of the local industry group and owner of Soda Popinski’s and Teeth bars, said this is a step they needed to take “to protect our staff and families.”
Other industry leaders like Oregon-based Erika Polmar, executive director of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, stressed that this new wave of rules and recommendations could become “confusing and burdensome” for both restaurants and diners.
“It’s really challenging to walk into one place and not see a mask mandate and then just a block or two away the mask rules are different,” Polmar explained. “The requirements vary county to county and the public doesn’t know where a county line is.”
Polmar emphasized that if diner attendance dips again, government financial assistance will be crucial and she is imploring Congress to quickly allocate money again for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
“I think if you were to talk to any restaurant owner across the country they would be even more heartbroken that they’re not seeing the replenishment of the RRF” despite support in the House and Senate, she said. “The urgency isn’t being acted upon.”
She continued, “Restaurants are accepting the hard truth that Congress might not act until September and that’s amplifying the devastation they’re feeling.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration on Thursday announced a new strategic framework aimed at reducing and managing conditions in Central America that have caused unprecedented levels of migration in recent years.
The strategy resembles much of what the administration has already proposed and focuses on reducing poverty, combating corruption and addressing violence in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. The administration previously dedicated $4 billion in financial support to the region, later saying that substantial portions of the money would not go to Northern Triangle governments and instead would be distributed among nonprofits and aid organizations.
Specifically, the five-point plan aims to address economic instability, establish anti-corruption measures with the involvement of U.S. officials, prioritize human rights and labor rights, counter and prevent gang violence and other organized crime while also targeting gender-based violence.
“We’re not seeking to end migration,” a senior administration official told reporters. “It’s part of the fabric of this region, we have so many familial cultural ties to Central America. But we’re seeking to change the ways in which people migrate, provide an alternative to the criminal smuggling, smuggling and trafficking rings, and to give people access to opportunity and protection through safe legal channels, safe legal pathways.”
The strategy is being led by Vice President Kamala Harris who was tasked by Biden earlier this year with addressing the root causes of migration. In announcing the new framework, Harris said the United Nations and Mexico, among others, have committed support.
The administration is also looking to countries like Canada and Costa Rica, one official said, in an effort to provide more options for asylum and refuge.
The announcement comes as Biden continues to try to unwind the immigration enforcement policies of his predecessor, including recently making it easier for migrants to seek humanitarian relief. The Department of Justice announced this week the reversal of another Trump-era policy that immigrant advocates, student organizations and law professors said was part of the prior administration’s limiting of humanitarian protections.
Attorney General Merrick Garland formally rescinded a decision from his predecessor, Attorney General William Barr, which required the Board of Immigration appeals to completely re-decide immigration petitions and asylum cases even if a defendant had made progress in establishing their case. The Barr decision, now reversed, was also expected to exacerbate the growing backlog of cases in immigration court.
A group of more than 350 law firms, professors and advocacy organizations called on the Biden administration earlier this year to repeal a series of decisions made under the Trump administration which limited avenues for migrants to receive a grant of asylum. Monday’s announcement was the final decision to be reversed in that series.
The Biden administration had already reversed a decision from former Attorney General Jeff Sessions that domestic violence and gang violence were not grounds for asylum claims.
The new strategy from Harris also places an emphasis on making humanitarian relief opportunities available in the home countries of would-be migrants. It’s an essential component of reducing the migratory traffic at the U.S. southern border, which has become flooded with asylum-seeking children and families in recent months.
(LOS ANGELES) — A Boeing 747 pilot near Los Angeles reported Wednesday night another “possible jet pack man in sight.” It’s the latest in a string of mysterious jet pack sightings near the City of Angels since last year.
“A Boeing 747 pilot reported seeing an object that might have resembled a jet pack 15 miles east of LAX at 5,000 feet altitude around 6:12 p.m. Wednesday,” a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration told ABC News. “Out of an abundance of caution, air traffic controllers alerted other pilots in the vicinity.”
Air traffic controllers could be heard directing pilots in the area to “use caution towards the jet pack.” The FAA spokesperson said there were no “unusual objects” that had appeared on the radar around LAX around that time on Wednesday.
“We were looking but we did not see Iron Man,” one person said on the air traffic recording.
The supposed jet pack sighting follows several others dating back to early 2020. In December 2020, a Southern California pilot captured a video of what appeared to be a person with a jet pack flying off the Palos Verdes Peninsula at around 3,000 feet.
Another sighting was reported in August 2020, after two different commercial airline pilots reported seeing a man in a jet pack hovering near LAX, ABC News reported.
“Reports of unmanned aircraft sightings from pilots, law enforcement personnel and the general public have increased dramatically over the past two years,” the FAA said on its website.
The agency says it receives more than 100 such reports each month.
Unauthorized operators flying around airplanes, helicopters and airports is illegal and may be subject to fines and criminal charges, including jail time, the FAA Says. The FAA spokesperson said the agency works with the FBI to investigate these sightings.
“The FAA has worked closely with the FBI to investigate every possible jet pack sighting report,” said the spokesperson. “We have not been able to validate any of the reports.”
ABC News’ Alex Stone and Mina Kaji contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) —The Biden administration on Thursday called on Congress to extend a federal freeze on evictions set to expire on Saturday, arguing its hands are tied by the Supreme Court.
The new statement comes as the country grapples with a COVID-19 surge fueled by the highly contagious delta variant.
The moratorium, essentially a nationwide ban on evictions, was put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last September. In June, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to allow the eviction ban to continue through the end of July but signaled in its ruling that it would block any further extensions unless there was “clear and specific congressional authorization.”
Amid public outcry, House Democratic leadership was looking to possibly take legislative action by the end of the week, before legislators leave for a six-week recess, to extend the freeze until the end of December, ABC News was told. Senate Democrats were also preparing legislation to extend the moratorium for the same duration, according to a Democratic aide.
“Given the recent spread of the Delta variant, including among those Americans both most likely to face evictions and lacking vaccinations, President Biden would have strongly supported a decision by the CDC to further extend this eviction moratorium to protect renters at this moment of heightened vulnerability,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Thursday.
“Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has made clear that this option is no longer available. In June, when CDC extended the eviction moratorium until July 31st, the Supreme Court’s ruling stated that ‘clear and specific congressional authorization (via new legislation) would be necessary for the CDC to extend the moratorium past July 31,'” she added, citing Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion.
By a vote of 5 to 4, the court rejected a request from two associations of relators in Alabama and Georgia and group of property management companies seeking an emergency injunction against the CDC, which imposed the moratorium.
The Biden administration had previously said it would not extend the moratorium beyond July, so the Court allowed the moratorium to remain in place, though Justice Kavanaugh made clear that he and the other conservative justices believe the CDC exceeded its authority.
“In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling,” Psaki continued, “the President calls on Congress to extend the eviction moratorium to protect such vulnerable renters and their families without delay.”
In the meantime, Biden has asked the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Agriculture and Department of Veterans Affairs to each extend their respective eviction bans through the end of September, which Psaki said “will provide continued protection for households living in federally-insured, single-family properties.”
“The President has also asked these and other departments to do everything in their power so that owners and operators of federally-assisted and financed rental housing seek Emergency Rental Assistance to make themselves whole while keeping families in secure and safe housing — before moving toward eviction,” she added.
Psaki described the federal eviction moratorium as a “critical backstop to prevent hard-pressed renters and their families who lost jobs or income due to the COVID-19 pandemic from being evicted for nonpayment of rent.”
“This moratorium prevented hundreds of thousands of Americans from experiencing the heartbreak, homelessness, and health risks that too often emanate from evictions — particularly during a pandemic,” she said.
The Biden administration has faced mounting pressure from some Democratic lawmakers to address the looming deadline amid growing concerns that vaccinated people can spread the delta variant to others — evidence of which has prompted the CDC to advise vaccinated Americans to wear face masks indoors in areas with high or substantial levels of COVID-19 transmission.
“I urge the Biden Administration to extend the CDC’s eviction moratorium. It is reckless not to extend the deadline when rental assistance funds have not gone out fast enough to protect people. Eviction filings have already spiked in anticipation of the moratorium being lifted,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., tweeted on July 23.
When asked during Tuesday’s press briefing if the Biden administration was discussing an extension of the nationwide eviction ban, Psaki had little to add.
“I don’t have anything to preview for you at this point in time,” she said. “But certainly, we will be watching this closely,” she added, citing “ongoing discussions about how we can continue to help renters.”
ABC News’ Mariam Khan and Trish Turner contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) —The Senate swiftly passed the $2.1B emergency security supplemental bill Thursday in a rare unanimous vote.
The bill now heads to the House for expected passage this week. Then it heads to the president for his signature.
The move staves off critical funding cuts that both the U.S. Capitol Police and National Guard were expected to enact following weeks of congressional inaction. Both forces were crushed by the emergency needs in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection, each relying on Congress to reimburse them in the months after the attack.
But some Republican lawmakers argued that after spending trillions to battle the pandemic, it would be irresponsible to spend billions more without enacting spending cuts to cover the expenses.
The emergency supplemental bill also has $1.125 billion to cover the Afghanistan Special Immigrant Visa program — a little less than what the White House requested — to provide asylum to allies there who aided the U.S. mission and now face retribution from a resurgent Taliban.
Sen Mike Braun, R-Ind., said, “We need to protect our National Guard — and we will. And we need to protect our allies who kept our troops safe, and we will. Emergencies arise and the biggest threat to dealing with them in my opinion is fiscal irresponsibility in D.C. We could have easily paid for the major parts of this legislation with offsets within the DOD.”
This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Investing platform Robinhood officially became a publicly-listed company Thursday, making its Wall Street debut on the Nasdaq under the trading ticker $HOOD.
Robinhood co-founders Vlad Tenev (the current chief executive officer) and Baiju Bhatt (the chief creative officer) rang the Nasdaq’s opening bell in Times Square on Thursday morning, surrounded by colleagues and family members. Tenev carried his young daughter on his hip as his company made its initial public offering.
Trading opened to the public at $38 per share, giving it a valuation of some $32 billion. By mid-day the stock fell slightly, trading at around $35 per share.
Robinhood exploded in popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic as swaths of retail investors turned to its commission-free trading services. It became embroiled in controversy amid the GameStop short-squeeze, when an army of retail investors attempted to take on Wall Street firms that were betting against the video game retailer.
As individual investors pushed the price of GameStop shares up, Robinhood and other trading platforms abruptly halted trading of the stock — leading to allegations they were doing so at the urging of hedge funds and short sellers. The company has denied this, saying the temporary halt was due to clearinghouse-mandated deposit requirements that skyrocketed amid the volatility.
Still, Robinhood’s Tenev was called to testify before lawmakers and the fallout of the GameStop saga left Wall Street reeling for months.
Robinhood has repeatedly said its mission is to “democratize finance for all.” The firm on Thursday celebrated what it saw as bringing its Main Street clientele to Wall Street via its Nasdaq listing. Some 50% of Robinhood users are first-time investors.
“The U.S. stock market is one of the world’s greatest sources of wealth creation. But for generations, it was out of reach for most people,” Tenev and Bhatt said in a joint statement Thursday celebrating the IPO. “Robinhood changed that — we’ve built investing products for everyday people, to put them in control of their financial futures.”
“Our listing day is a celebration of our customers — Generation Robinhood,” the statement added. “Through Robinhood, millions of everyday people have started investing in the stock market for the first time.”
Tenev and Bhatt said these new everyday investors are “making their voices heard through the markets, transforming our financial system in the process.”
