OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Iowa man has sued an eastern Nebraska county, its sheriff and several deputies, saying their lack of training led one of the deputies to shoot him in the eye with a pepper ball during a protest last year. 

The Omaha World-Herald reports that 24-year-old Adam Keup, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, filed the federal lawsuit last week against Sarpy County, Sheriff Jeff Davis and four deputies, alleging Davis handed out the pepper balls to his deputies before the protest without providing any training on how to use them. 

Keup says he was just watching the protest and standing on a sidewalk about 100 feet from protesters and law enforcement when a deputy shot him in the eye with a pepper ball, leaving him blinded in that eye.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Iowa man has sued an eastern Nebraska county, its sheriff and several deputies, saying their lack of training led one of the deputies to shoot him in the eye with a pepper ball during a protest last year. The Omaha World-Herald reports that 24-year-old Adam Keup, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, filed the federal lawsuit last week against Sarpy County, Sheriff Jeff Davis and four deputies, alleging Davis handed out the pepper balls to his deputies before the protest without providing any training on how to use them. Keup says he was just watching the protest and standing on a sidewalk about 100 feet from protesters and law enforcement when a deputy shot him in the eye with a pepper ball, leaving him blinded in that eye.

Iowa man sues Nebraska sheriff after pepper ball blinded him

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is pledging to Americans still trapped in Afghanistan: “We will get you home.” 

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?514188-1/president-biden-remarks-afghanistan-evacuations">Click here to </a>watch the President's comments

Biden’s comments at a White House news conference Friday come as the U.S. government struggles to ramp up a massive airlift clearing Americans and other foreigners and vulnerable Afghans, rescuing them from a Taliban takeover of the country. Biden is facing criticism from some at home for the chaotic and often violent scene outside the airport as crowds struggle to reach safety. 

The pace of evacuations picked up some overnight, but flights from the Kabul airport had stopped for several hours as of Friday afternoon before resuming.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a firestorm of criticism, President Joe Biden addressed the nation Friday afternoon about the chaotic evacuation of Americans and allies from Afghanistan as the U.S. struggles with obstacles ranging from armed Taliban checkpoints to airport pandemonium and cumbersome red tape.

While Biden has previously blamed Afghans for the U.S. failure to get out more allies ahead of this month’s sudden Taliban takeover, U.S. officials told The Associated Press that American diplomats had formally urged weeks ago that the Biden administration ramp up evacuation efforts.

Tens of thousands of people remain to be evacuated ahead of the United States’ Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw its troops from the country, although the pace picked up overnight. A defense official said about 5,700 people, including about 250 Americans, were flown out of Kabul aboard 16 C-17 transport planes. On each of the previous two days, about 2,000 people were airlifted.

With desperate crowds thronging Kabul’s airport, and Taliban fighters ringing its perimeter, the U.S. government is renewing its advisory to Americans and others that it cannot guarantee safe passage for any of those desperately seeking seats on the planes inside.

The advisory captured some of the pandemonium, and what many Afghans and foreigners see as their life-and-death struggle to get inside: “We are processing people at multiple gates. Due to large crowds and security concerns, gates may open or close without notice. Please use your best judgment and attempt to enter the airport at any gate that is open.”

Biden is set to meet with his national security team about the evacuations, and to speak from the White House Friday afternoon. In addition to criticism from some lawmakers who say the U.S. failed to adequately plan for the Taliban’s swift takeover, U.S. diplomats have voiced dissent.

In July, more than 20 diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul registered their concerns that the evacuation of Afghans who had worked for America was not proceeding quickly enough.

In a cable sent through the State Department’s dissent channel, a time-honored method for foreign service officers to register opposition to administration policies, the diplomats said the situation on the ground was dire, that the Taliban would likely seize control of the capital within months of the Aug. 31 pullout, and urged the Biden administration to immediately begin a concerted evacuation effort. That’s according to officials familiar with the document who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal debate.

Biden has said that the chaos that unfolded as part of the withdrawal was inevitable as the nearly 20-year war came to an end. He said he was following the advice of Afghanistan’s U.S.-backed president, Ashraf Ghani, in not earlier expanding U.S. efforts to fly out translators and other Afghans in danger for the past work with Americans. Ghani fled the country last weekend as the Taliban seized the capital.

Biden also said that many at-risk Afghan allies had not wanted to leave the country. But refugee groups point to yearslong backlogs of applications from thousands of those Afghans for visas that would let them take refuge in the United States.

The administration has also portrayed its contingency planning as successful after the Afghan government fell much faster than publicly anticipated by administration officials. Yet the White House received clear warnings that the situation was deteriorating rapidly before the current evacuation push.

The Kabul airport has been the focus of intense international efforts to get out foreigners, Afghan allies and other Afghans most at risk of reprisal from the Taliban insurgents.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that U.S. citizens are able to reach the airport, but face an obstacle in the large crowds at the airport gates.

On Thursday, Taliban militants fired into the air to try to control the crowds gathered at the airport’s blast walls. Men, women and children fled. U.S. Navy fighter jets flew overhead, a standard military precaution but also a reminder to the Taliban that the U.S. has firepower to respond to a combat crisis.

Sullivan acknowledged that there is the possibility of a hostage situation or terrorist attack, and said the government is working for safe passage for U.S. citizens. The administration has committed to ensuring that all Americans can leave, even if that means staying past the August deadline.

“This is a risky operation,” Sullivan told NBC News Thursday. “We can’t count on anything.”

There is no firm figure of the number of people — Americans, Afghans or others — who are in need of evacuation as the process is almost entirely self-selecting.

The State Department says that when it ordered its nonessential embassy staff to leave Kabul in April after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-troop-withdrawal-afghanistan-september-11-d2c7426736f9f530e0e62f2295a44d28">Biden’s withdrawal announcement</a>, fewer than 4,000 Americans had registered for security updates. The actual number, including dual U.S.-Afghan citizens along with family members, is likely much higher, with estimates ranging from 11,000 to 15,000. Refugee advocates estimate about 100,000 Afghan allies and family members also are appealing for seats on the U.S. airlift.

Compounding the uncertainty, the U.S. government has no way to track how many registered Americans may have left Afghanistan already. Some may have returned to the United States but others may have gone to third countries.

Although Afghanistan had been a hotspot for the coronavirus pandemic, the State Department said Thursday that evacuees are not required to get negative COVID-19 results.

However, Afghans and the Americans trying to help them escape say the Biden administration has clung to visa requirements for would-be evacuees that involve more than a dozen steps, and can take years to complete. That often included requirements that the Taliban sweep made impossible or dangerous — like requiring Afghans to go to a third-country to apply for a U.S. visa, and produce paperwork showing their work with Americans.

Additional American troops continued to arrive at the airport to safeguard and run the U.S. part of the evacuation. As of Thursday there were about 5,200, including Marines who specialize in evacuation coordination and an Air Force unit that specializes in emergency airport operations. Biden has authorized a total deployment of about 6,000.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629481981854.png" alt="President Joe Biden speaks about the evacuation of American citizens and vulnerable Afghans in the East Room of the White House, Friday.&nbsp; Vice President Kamala Harris, Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin and Sec. of State Antony Blinken joined the President-photo courtesy White House&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>President Joe Biden speaks about the evacuation of American citizens and vulnerable Afghans in the East Room of the White House, Friday.&nbsp; Vice President Kamala Harris, Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin and Sec. of State Antony Blinken joined the President-photo courtesy White House&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is pledging to Americans still trapped in Afghanistan: “We will get you home.” <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?514188-1/president-biden-remarks-afghanistan-evacuations">Click here to </a>watch the President's commentsBiden’s comments at a White House news conference Friday come as the U.S. government struggles to ramp up a massive airlift clearing Americans and other foreigners and vulnerable Afghans, rescuing them from a Taliban takeover of the country. Biden is facing criticism from some at home for the chaotic and often violent scene outside the airport as crowds struggle to reach safety. The pace of evacuations picked up some overnight, but flights from the Kabul airport had stopped for several hours as of Friday afternoon before resuming.-------WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a firestorm of criticism, President Joe Biden addressed the nation Friday afternoon about the chaotic evacuation of Americans and allies from Afghanistan as the U.S. struggles with obstacles ranging from armed Taliban checkpoints to airport pandemonium and cumbersome red tape.While Biden has previously blamed Afghans for the U.S. failure to get out more allies ahead of this month’s sudden Taliban takeover, U.S. officials told The Associated Press that American diplomats had formally urged weeks ago that the Biden administration ramp up evacuation efforts.Tens of thousands of people remain to be evacuated ahead of the United States’ Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw its troops from the country, although the pace picked up overnight. A defense official said about 5,700 people, including about 250 Americans, were flown out of Kabul aboard 16 C-17 transport planes. On each of the previous two days, about 2,000 people were airlifted.With desperate crowds thronging Kabul’s airport, and Taliban fighters ringing its perimeter, the U.S. government is renewing its advisory to Americans and others that it cannot guarantee safe passage for any of those desperately seeking seats on the planes inside.The advisory captured some of the pandemonium, and what many Afghans and foreigners see as their life-and-death struggle to get inside: “We are processing people at multiple gates. Due to large crowds and security concerns, gates may open or close without notice. Please use your best judgment and attempt to enter the airport at any gate that is open.”Biden is set to meet with his national security team about the evacuations, and to speak from the White House Friday afternoon. In addition to criticism from some lawmakers who say the U.S. failed to adequately plan for the Taliban’s swift takeover, U.S. diplomats have voiced dissent.In July, more than 20 diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul registered their concerns that the evacuation of Afghans who had worked for America was not proceeding quickly enough.In a cable sent through the State Department’s dissent channel, a time-honored method for foreign service officers to register opposition to administration policies, the diplomats said the situation on the ground was dire, that the Taliban would likely seize control of the capital within months of the Aug. 31 pullout, and urged the Biden administration to immediately begin a concerted evacuation effort. That’s according to officials familiar with the document who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal debate.Biden has said that the chaos that unfolded as part of the withdrawal was inevitable as the nearly 20-year war came to an end. He said he was following the advice of Afghanistan’s U.S.-backed president, Ashraf Ghani, in not earlier expanding U.S. efforts to fly out translators and other Afghans in danger for the past work with Americans. Ghani fled the country last weekend as the Taliban seized the capital.Biden also said that many at-risk Afghan allies had not wanted to leave the country. But refugee groups point to yearslong backlogs of applications from thousands of those Afghans for visas that would let them take refuge in the United States.The administration has also portrayed its contingency planning as successful after the Afghan government fell much faster than publicly anticipated by administration officials. Yet the White House received clear warnings that the situation was deteriorating rapidly before the current evacuation push.The Kabul airport has been the focus of intense international efforts to get out foreigners, Afghan allies and other Afghans most at risk of reprisal from the Taliban insurgents.White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that U.S. citizens are able to reach the airport, but face an obstacle in the large crowds at the airport gates.On Thursday, Taliban militants fired into the air to try to control the crowds gathered at the airport’s blast walls. Men, women and children fled. U.S. Navy fighter jets flew overhead, a standard military precaution but also a reminder to the Taliban that the U.S. has firepower to respond to a combat crisis.Sullivan acknowledged that there is the possibility of a hostage situation or terrorist attack, and said the government is working for safe passage for U.S. citizens. The administration has committed to ensuring that all Americans can leave, even if that means staying past the August deadline.“This is a risky operation,” Sullivan told NBC News Thursday. “We can’t count on anything.”There is no firm figure of the number of people — Americans, Afghans or others — who are in need of evacuation as the process is almost entirely self-selecting.The State Department says that when it ordered its nonessential embassy staff to leave Kabul in April after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-troop-withdrawal-afghanistan-september-11-d2c7426736f9f530e0e62f2295a44d28">Biden’s withdrawal announcement</a>, fewer than 4,000 Americans had registered for security updates. The actual number, including dual U.S.-Afghan citizens along with family members, is likely much higher, with estimates ranging from 11,000 to 15,000. Refugee advocates estimate about 100,000 Afghan allies and family members also are appealing for seats on the U.S. airlift.Compounding the uncertainty, the U.S. government has no way to track how many registered Americans may have left Afghanistan already. Some may have returned to the United States but others may have gone to third countries.Although Afghanistan had been a hotspot for the coronavirus pandemic, the State Department said Thursday that evacuees are not required to get negative COVID-19 results.However, Afghans and the Americans trying to help them escape say the Biden administration has clung to visa requirements for would-be evacuees that involve more than a dozen steps, and can take years to complete. That often included requirements that the Taliban sweep made impossible or dangerous — like requiring Afghans to go to a third-country to apply for a U.S. visa, and produce paperwork showing their work with Americans.Additional American troops continued to arrive at the airport to safeguard and run the U.S. part of the evacuation. As of Thursday there were about 5,200, including Marines who specialize in evacuation coordination and an Air Force unit that specializes in emergency airport operations. Biden has authorized a total deployment of about 6,000.

🎥  Pres. Biden updates chaotic Kabul evacuation

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A Missouri family alleges in a federal lawsuit that Yellowstone National Park rangers and Wyoming sheriff’s deputies seeking a murder suspect held them at gunpoint without adequate cause for an hour. 

Brett and Genalyn Hemry, of Independence, Missouri, seek unspecified damages to be determined at trial.

 Yellowstone and Park County officers were looking for Gerald Michael Bullinger, a Utah man suspected of killing three people in Idaho, when they stopped the Hemrys and their minor child near Yellowstone in 2017.

 The lawsuit claims Brett Hemry looks nothing like Bullinger. 

Park County sheriff's and Yellowstone officials declined comment Tuesday.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A Missouri family alleges in a federal lawsuit that Yellowstone National Park rangers and Wyoming sheriff’s deputies seeking a murder suspect held them at gunpoint without adequate cause for an hour. Brett and Genalyn Hemry, of Independence, Missouri, seek unspecified damages to be determined at trial. Yellowstone and Park County officers were looking for Gerald Michael Bullinger, a Utah man suspected of killing three people in Idaho, when they stopped the Hemrys and their minor child near Yellowstone in 2017. The lawsuit claims Brett Hemry looks nothing like Bullinger. Park County sheriff's and Yellowstone officials declined comment Tuesday.

Lawsuit: Mixup keeps family at gunpoint near Yellowstone

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Producer Mike Richards stepped down as host of “Jeopardy!” after a report about past misogynistic comments surfaced this week.

Richards was chosen last week as the successor to Alex Trebek, but his selection was seen as divisive from the beginning after the show embarked on a broad search that included actors, sports figures, journalists and celebrities. 

Earlier this week, a report on the website The Ringer revealed demeaning comments about women that Richards had made on a podcast. 

The clips were removed online after the report was posted. Richards says in a note to the “Jeopardy!” staff on Friday that moving forward would be too much of a “distraction for our fans.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Producer Mike Richards stepped down as host of “Jeopardy!” after a report about past misogynistic comments surfaced this week.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Announcing Mayim Bialik and Mike Richards as our new hosts of Jeopardy! Richards will host the daily syndicated show, while Bialik will host primetime and spinoff series.<a href="https://t.co/MVQAqnKgjU">https://t.co/MVQAqnKgjU</a> <a href="https://t.co/itY6fIe5Uv">pic.twitter.com/itY6fIe5Uv</a>&mdash; Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jeopardy/status/1425540248696619009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Richards was chosen last week as the successor to Alex Trebek, but his selection was seen as divisive from the beginning after the show embarked on a broad search that included actors, sports figures, journalists and celebrities. Earlier this week, a report on the website The Ringer revealed demeaning comments about women that Richards had made on a podcast. The clips were removed online after the report was posted. Richards says in a note to the “Jeopardy!” staff on Friday that moving forward would be too much of a “distraction for our fans.”

Search for 'Jeopardy!' host continues; Richards steps down

WASHINGTON — Amid the chaos and confusion at the airport, the United States said it had taken at least one step to ease requirements for those seeking to leave: COVID-19 tests.

Although Afghanistan had been a hotspot for the coronavirus pandemic, the State Department said Thursday that evacuees are not required to get a negative COVID-19 result to travel.

“A blanket humanitarian waiver has been implemented for COVID testing for all persons the U.S. government is relocating from Afghanistan,” the department said.

It referred questions about how the matter would be handled once evacuees arrive in the United States to the Department of Health and Human Services. Medical exams, including coronavirus tests, had been required for evacuees prior to Taliban’s weekend takeover of Kabul, which added extra urgency to efforts to get at-risk Afghans out of the country.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629403212055.png" alt="Afghan civilians prepare to board a plane during an evacuation Thursday at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan -photo courtesy U.S. Dept. of Defense" />
 <figcaption>Afghan civilians prepare to board a plane during an evacuation Thursday at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan -photo courtesy U.S. Dept. of Defense</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON — Amid the chaos and confusion at the airport, the United States said it had taken at least one step to ease requirements for those seeking to leave: COVID-19 tests.Although Afghanistan had been a hotspot for the coronavirus pandemic, the State Department said Thursday that evacuees are not required to get a negative COVID-19 result to travel.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Kansas City would proudly accept refugees from Afghanistan who have served bravely by our side over the past generation.&mdash; Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) <a href="https://twitter.com/QuintonLucasKC/status/1427357250553884679?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“A blanket humanitarian waiver has been implemented for COVID testing for all persons the U.S. government is relocating from Afghanistan,” the department said.It referred questions about how the matter would be handled once evacuees arrive in the United States to the Department of Health and Human Services. Medical exams, including coronavirus tests, had been required for evacuees prior to Taliban’s weekend takeover of Kabul, which added extra urgency to efforts to get at-risk Afghans out of the country.

US: Evacuees from Afghanistan don't need COVID tests

WASHINGTON (AP) —The Biden administration announced Thursday it will automatically erase student loan debt for more than 300,000 Americans with severe disabilities that leave them unable to earn significant incomes.

The move will wipe out more than $5.8 billion in debt, according to the Education Department, and it marks the start of a broader overhaul of a program that has been criticized for having overly burdensome rules.

“We’ve heard loud and clear from borrowers with disabilities and advocates about the need for this change and we are excited to follow through on it,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

The federal government offers student debt relief for people who are “totally and permanently disabled” and have limited incomes. But the current rules require them to submit documentation of their disability and undergo a three-year monitoring period to prove they’re earning little pay.

Tens of thousands of people have been dropped from the program and had their loans reinstated simply because they failed to submit proof of their earnings, however, and critics say the complex rules deter some from applying.

Advocates have pressed the Education Department to eliminate the monitoring period entirely and to provide automatic debt relief to people who the Social Security Administration already identifies as permanently disabled.

Under the new action, both demands will be met. Starting in September, the Education Department will start erasing student debt for 323,000 Americans identified in Social Security records as being permanently disabled.

Borrowers will be notified once they have been approved for relief. All of the loans are expected to be discharged by the end of the year.

The department also plans to eliminate the program’s three-year monitoring period, which was previously suspended during the pandemic. That change is expected to be cemented during a federal rulemaking process set to start in October, the agency said.

“This is going to be a smooth process for our borrowers,” Cardona said in a call with reporters. “They’re not going to have to be applying for it or getting bogged down by paperwork.”

Advocates celebrated the change as a victory. Aaron Ament, president of the National Student Legal Defense Network, called it a “life-changing” step.

“This is a huge moment for hundreds of thousands of borrowers with disabilities who can now move on with their lives and won’t be trapped in a cycle of debt,” he said.

Democrats in Congress said it was the right move. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, said borrowers shouldn’t face paperwork and other administrative hurdles if the federal government already knows they’re eligible for loan forgiveness.

“With this simple and sensible change, more than 320,000 borrowers and their families are being freed from the burden of student loans that they should not have to repay,” Scott said in a statement.

The program has faced scrutiny since 2016, when a federal watchdog agency found that the income reporting process posed an obstacle for borrowers. In 98% of cases in which loans were restored, it was because borrowers did not submit paperwork, not because their earnings were too high, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported.

The Trump administration started granting automatic loan cancellations to eligible military veterans in 2019, but the move did not apply to hundreds of thousands of other Americans with disabilities.

In March, the Education Department&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-f78bae481c408b19c96a7ab1a3e426da">canceled debt</a>&nbsp;for more than 40,000 borrowers whose debt had been restored because of paperwork issues, but it indicated further changes would need to come through a federal rulemaking process.

Cardona announced the change as the White House faces mounting pressure to pursue wider debt forgiveness.

Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, N.Y., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Mass.,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-joe-biden-business-education-0c2776d99aadef0ca3931eb6098c853b">have called on Biden to erase $50,000&nbsp;</a>in student debt for all borrowers as a way to jumpstart the economy.

Biden has asked the Education and Justice departments to assess the legality of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-business-985cd1e840698acd547d5032764a5c68">mass debt cancellation</a>. Cardona said Thursday that those conversations are “still underway.” Meanwhile, he said, his agency is working to improve other debt forgiveness programs that target specific groups of borrowers.

“It’s an effort to show that we are working to improve targeted loan relief and help our borrowers,” he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/3/1616100370459.png" alt="“We’ve heard loud and clear from borrowers with disabilities and advocates about the need for this change and we are excited to follow through on it,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement." />
 <figcaption>“We’ve heard loud and clear from borrowers with disabilities and advocates about the need for this change and we are excited to follow through on it,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —The Biden administration announced Thursday it will automatically erase student loan debt for more than 300,000 Americans with severe disabilities that leave them unable to earn significant incomes.The move will wipe out more than $5.8 billion in debt, according to the Education Department, and it marks the start of a broader overhaul of a program that has been criticized for having overly burdensome rules.“We’ve heard loud and clear from borrowers with disabilities and advocates about the need for this change and we are excited to follow through on it,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.The federal government offers student debt relief for people who are “totally and permanently disabled” and have limited incomes. But the current rules require them to submit documentation of their disability and undergo a three-year monitoring period to prove they’re earning little pay.Tens of thousands of people have been dropped from the program and had their loans reinstated simply because they failed to submit proof of their earnings, however, and critics say the complex rules deter some from applying.Advocates have pressed the Education Department to eliminate the monitoring period entirely and to provide automatic debt relief to people who the Social Security Administration already identifies as permanently disabled.Under the new action, both demands will be met. Starting in September, the Education Department will start erasing student debt for 323,000 Americans identified in Social Security records as being permanently disabled.Borrowers will be notified once they have been approved for relief. All of the loans are expected to be discharged by the end of the year.The department also plans to eliminate the program’s three-year monitoring period, which was previously suspended during the pandemic. That change is expected to be cemented during a federal rulemaking process set to start in October, the agency said.“This is going to be a smooth process for our borrowers,” Cardona said in a call with reporters. “They’re not going to have to be applying for it or getting bogged down by paperwork.”Advocates celebrated the change as a victory. Aaron Ament, president of the National Student Legal Defense Network, called it a “life-changing” step.“This is a huge moment for hundreds of thousands of borrowers with disabilities who can now move on with their lives and won’t be trapped in a cycle of debt,” he said.Democrats in Congress said it was the right move. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, said borrowers shouldn’t face paperwork and other administrative hurdles if the federal government already knows they’re eligible for loan forgiveness.“With this simple and sensible change, more than 320,000 borrowers and their families are being freed from the burden of student loans that they should not have to repay,” Scott said in a statement.The program has faced scrutiny since 2016, when a federal watchdog agency found that the income reporting process posed an obstacle for borrowers. In 98% of cases in which loans were restored, it was because borrowers did not submit paperwork, not because their earnings were too high, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported.The Trump administration started granting automatic loan cancellations to eligible military veterans in 2019, but the move did not apply to hundreds of thousands of other Americans with disabilities.In March, the Education Department&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-f78bae481c408b19c96a7ab1a3e426da">canceled debt</a>&nbsp;for more than 40,000 borrowers whose debt had been restored because of paperwork issues, but it indicated further changes would need to come through a federal rulemaking process.Cardona announced the change as the White House faces mounting pressure to pursue wider debt forgiveness.Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, N.Y., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Mass.,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-joe-biden-business-education-0c2776d99aadef0ca3931eb6098c853b">have called on Biden to erase $50,000&nbsp;</a>in student debt for all borrowers as a way to jumpstart the economy.Biden has asked the Education and Justice departments to assess the legality of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-business-985cd1e840698acd547d5032764a5c68">mass debt cancellation</a>. Cardona said Thursday that those conversations are “still underway.” Meanwhile, he said, his agency is working to improve other debt forgiveness programs that target specific groups of borrowers.“It’s an effort to show that we are working to improve targeted loan relief and help our borrowers,” he said.

US to erase student debt for those with severe disabilities

WASHINGTON —U.S. Senator Roger Marshall joined his colleagues in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/9939850a-4ef6-44f3-9895-9ff63ea466e8/1BD4E3A619D314417E454545C95B5C4B.08.18.21---rubio-et-al-letter-to-austin-re-afghanistan.pdf" target="_blank">sending a letter</a>&nbsp;to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanding a full account of U.S. military equipment left behind in Afghanistan, which has already or risks falling into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies. The letter says in part,

“It is unconscionable that high-tech military equipment paid for by U.S. taxpayers has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies. Securing U.S. assets should have been among the top priorities for the U.S. Department of Defense prior to announcing the withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

We write with grave concern regarding the status of U.S. military equipment left behind in Afghanistan as a result of our poorly executed withdrawal from the country. As we watched the images coming out of Afghanistan as the Taliban retook the country, we were horrified to see U.S. equipment – including UH-60 Black Hawks – in the hands of the Taliban.

It is unconscionable that high-tech military equipment paid for by U.S. taxpayers has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies. Securing U.S. assets should have been among the top priorities for the U.S. Department of Defense prior to announcing the withdrawal from Afghanistan. We therefore request detailed information on the following:

1. A full account of military equipment provided to the Afghan Armed Forces in the last year;

2. All military equipment, owned by either the U.S. or Afghan Armed Forces, that was removed or destroyed prior to the U.S. withdrawal, or is rendered inoperable without U.S. logistics personnel;

3. All U.S. military equipment that remains operational in Afghanistan;

4. A list of what military equipment has been seized by the Taliban;

5. An assessment of how long it will take the Taliban to use each of the captured equipment;

6. An assessment of the likelihood that the Taliban will seek to work with Russia, Pakistan, Iran, or the People’s Republic of China for training, fuel, or infrastructure necessary to utilize the equipment they do not have the capabilities to use on their own; and

7. Any efforts by the administration, planned or underway, to recapture or destroy equipment that remains in Afghanistan and is at risk of being used by terrorist entities.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629403212055.png" alt="Afghan civilians prepare to board a plane during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan -photo courtesy U.S. Dept. of Defense" />
 <figcaption>Afghan civilians prepare to board a plane during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan -photo courtesy U.S. Dept. of Defense</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON —U.S. Senator Roger Marshall joined his colleagues in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/9939850a-4ef6-44f3-9895-9ff63ea466e8/1BD4E3A619D314417E454545C95B5C4B.08.18.21---rubio-et-al-letter-to-austin-re-afghanistan.pdf" target="_blank">sending a letter</a>&nbsp;to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanding a full account of U.S. military equipment left behind in Afghanistan, which has already or risks falling into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies. The letter says in part,“It is unconscionable that high-tech military equipment paid for by U.S. taxpayers has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies. Securing U.S. assets should have been among the top priorities for the U.S. Department of Defense prior to announcing the withdrawal from Afghanistan.”The letter is printed belowDear Secretary Austin:We write with grave concern regarding the status of U.S. military equipment left behind in Afghanistan as a result of our poorly executed withdrawal from the country. As we watched the images coming out of Afghanistan as the Taliban retook the country, we were horrified to see U.S. equipment – including UH-60 Black Hawks – in the hands of the Taliban.It is unconscionable that high-tech military equipment paid for by U.S. taxpayers has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies. Securing U.S. assets should have been among the top priorities for the U.S. Department of Defense prior to announcing the withdrawal from Afghanistan. We therefore request detailed information on the following:1. A full account of military equipment provided to the Afghan Armed Forces in the last year;2. All military equipment, owned by either the U.S. or Afghan Armed Forces, that was removed or destroyed prior to the U.S. withdrawal, or is rendered inoperable without U.S. logistics personnel;3. All U.S. military equipment that remains operational in Afghanistan;4. A list of what military equipment has been seized by the Taliban;5. An assessment of how long it will take the Taliban to use each of the captured equipment;6. An assessment of the likelihood that the Taliban will seek to work with Russia, Pakistan, Iran, or the People’s Republic of China for training, fuel, or infrastructure necessary to utilize the equipment they do not have the capabilities to use on their own; and7. Any efforts by the administration, planned or underway, to recapture or destroy equipment that remains in Afghanistan and is at risk of being used by terrorist entities.Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

U.S. Senators want accountability of equipment left for Taliban

By LAURA OLSON <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/08/18/covid-19-booster-shots-to-roll-out-starting-next-month/">States Newsroom</a>

WASHINGTON — Top U.S. health officials <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s0818-covid-19-booster-shots.html">announced a plan </a>Wednesday
 to begin offering COVID-19 booster shots to Americans starting Sept. 
20, with the scheduling of the additional shot to be based on when a 
person was fully vaccinated.&nbsp;

The new round of jabs will be extended to those who received the two-dose vaccine from either <a target="_blank" href="https://coloradonewsline.com/2020/12/11/fda-approves-first-covid-19-vaccine-clearing-the-way-for-states-rollout/">Pfizer</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/Moderna.html">Moderna,</a> and can be taken eight months after an individual’s second dose.&nbsp;

Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon 
general, told reporters Wednesday that recent data makes clear that 
while the current COVID-19 vaccines have been highly effective against 
severe disease, hospitalization and death, the protection against mild 
and moderate disease has appeared to decrease over time.&nbsp;

“This is likely due to both waning 
immunity and the strength of the widespread delta variant,” Murthy said,
 adding that health officials are concerned that the decline in immunity
 could reduce protection against severe disease and death in the months 
ahead.&nbsp;

The more than 13 million Americans who received the one-dose shot from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.azmirror.com/2021/02/26/one-dose-jj-covid-vaccine-poised-for-fda-green-light-after-advisory-panel-ok/">Johnson &amp; Johnson </a>may also need boosters, but will not yet be eligible.&nbsp;

Federal health officials said they 
are awaiting data from J&amp;J in the next few weeks before urging 
additional doses. The J&amp;J shot wasn’t approved until March, so those
 who received it will not hit eight months past inoculation until 
November.

The new booster rollout plan is 
subject to formal authorization from the Food and Drug Administration 
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine panel.&nbsp;

Those agencies will hold public 
meetings before the booster rollout can begin. But officials said they 
were detailing the booster plan ahead of those meetings in part to give 
state and local health officials time to prepare for another wave of 
vaccination logistics.&nbsp;

State and local health officials again under pressure

The plan for offering a third shot 
puts yet another layer of pressure on state and local health departments
 that have carried out the massive vaccination campaign.&nbsp;

Those officials are still seeking to 
boost vaccination rates that have lagged in certain regions amid 
skepticism and misinformation. Meanwhile, vaccine manufacturers are 
expected this fall to seek approval for administering shots to children 
under 12, who so far have not been eligible.&nbsp;

During Wednesday’s news briefing, 
Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, cited several new studies that 
tracked vaccine effectiveness, including among New Yorkers across age 
groups and another following case counts from nursing homes.&nbsp;

Those studies have shown that 
protection against severe infection has held up but not against milder 
infections, she said, adding that other countries, such as Israel, also 
are starting to see “worsening outcomes.”

“In the context of all of these 
studies, different cohorts, different settings across the country, and 
our international colleagues, we’ve made the decision to plan for these 
booster doses,” Walensky said.

The booster shots will be available 
at roughly 80,000 sites nationally, including 40,000 local pharmacies. 
As with the other COVID-19 shots, the boosters will be free of charge.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s0813-additional-mRNA-mrna-dose.html">The CDC had already approved</a>
 a third COVID-19 shot for some immunocompromised individuals, who may 
not have received strong protection from the initial doses of the 
vaccine.

While the booster plan does not 
specifically mention other categories of individuals to receive a 
priority for boosters, the initial vaccine rollout did put certain 
groups first in line. So the first individuals to hit eight months after
 their second shot should be those in the earliest priority categories, 
such as health care workers and nursing home residents.

Laura covers the nation's capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom, a network of nonprofit outlets that includes Kansas Reflector.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629391803022.png" alt="Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, told reporters Wednesday that recent data makes clear that while the current COVID-19 vaccines have been highly effective against severe disease, hospitalization and death, the protection against mild and moderate disease has appeared to decrease over time-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, told reporters Wednesday that recent data makes clear that while the current COVID-19 vaccines have been highly effective against severe disease, hospitalization and death, the protection against mild and moderate disease has appeared to decrease over time-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By LAURA OLSON <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/08/18/covid-19-booster-shots-to-roll-out-starting-next-month/">States Newsroom</a>WASHINGTON — Top U.S. health officials <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s0818-covid-19-booster-shots.html">announced a plan </a>Wednesday
 to begin offering COVID-19 booster shots to Americans starting Sept. 
20, with the scheduling of the additional shot to be based on when a 
person was fully vaccinated.&nbsp;The new round of jabs will be extended to those who received the two-dose vaccine from either <a target="_blank" href="https://coloradonewsline.com/2020/12/11/fda-approves-first-covid-19-vaccine-clearing-the-way-for-states-rollout/">Pfizer</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/Moderna.html">Moderna,</a> and can be taken eight months after an individual’s second dose.&nbsp;Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon 
general, told reporters Wednesday that recent data makes clear that 
while the current COVID-19 vaccines have been highly effective against 
severe disease, hospitalization and death, the protection against mild 
and moderate disease has appeared to decrease over time.&nbsp;“This is likely due to both waning 
immunity and the strength of the widespread delta variant,” Murthy said,
 adding that health officials are concerned that the decline in immunity
 could reduce protection against severe disease and death in the months 
ahead.&nbsp;The more than 13 million Americans who received the one-dose shot from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.azmirror.com/2021/02/26/one-dose-jj-covid-vaccine-poised-for-fda-green-light-after-advisory-panel-ok/">Johnson &amp; Johnson </a>may also need boosters, but will not yet be eligible.&nbsp;Federal health officials said they 
are awaiting data from J&amp;J in the next few weeks before urging 
additional doses. The J&amp;J shot wasn’t approved until March, so those
 who received it will not hit eight months past inoculation until 
November.The new booster rollout plan is 
subject to formal authorization from the Food and Drug Administration 
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine panel.&nbsp;Those agencies will hold public 
meetings before the booster rollout can begin. But officials said they 
were detailing the booster plan ahead of those meetings in part to give 
state and local health officials time to prepare for another wave of 
vaccination logistics.&nbsp;<h2>State and local health officials again under pressure</h2>The plan for offering a third shot 
puts yet another layer of pressure on state and local health departments
 that have carried out the massive vaccination campaign.&nbsp;Those officials are still seeking to 
boost vaccination rates that have lagged in certain regions amid 
skepticism and misinformation. Meanwhile, vaccine manufacturers are 
expected this fall to seek approval for administering shots to children 
under 12, who so far have not been eligible.&nbsp;During Wednesday’s news briefing, 
Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, cited several new studies that 
tracked vaccine effectiveness, including among New Yorkers across age 
groups and another following case counts from nursing homes.&nbsp;Those studies have shown that 
protection against severe infection has held up but not against milder 
infections, she said, adding that other countries, such as Israel, also 
are starting to see “worsening outcomes.”“In the context of all of these 
studies, different cohorts, different settings across the country, and 
our international colleagues, we’ve made the decision to plan for these 
booster doses,” Walensky said.The booster shots will be available 
at roughly 80,000 sites nationally, including 40,000 local pharmacies. 
As with the other COVID-19 shots, the boosters will be free of charge.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s0813-additional-mRNA-mrna-dose.html">The CDC had already approved</a>
 a third COVID-19 shot for some immunocompromised individuals, who may 
not have received strong protection from the initial doses of the 
vaccine.While the booster plan does not 
specifically mention other categories of individuals to receive a 
priority for boosters, the initial vaccine rollout did put certain 
groups first in line. So the first individuals to hit eight months after
 their second shot should be those in the earliest priority categories, 
such as health care workers and nursing home residents.Laura covers the nation's capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom, a network of nonprofit outlets that includes Kansas Reflector.&nbsp;

Surgeon General: Get a COVID-19 booster shot starting in Sept.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The man who claimed to have bomb in a pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol has surrendered to law enforcement, ending an hourslong standoff.

The man, identified by law enforcement officials as 49-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry of North Carolina, crawled out of the vehicle and was being taken into custody shortly before 2:30 p.m. He had pulled up outside the library earlier in the day and told police he had a bomb in his truck. 

An officer saw what appeared to be a detonator in the man’s hand. The man had been negotiating with police during a standoff that lasted around five hours.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man sitting in a black pickup truck parked on the sidewalk outside the Library of Congress told police he had a bomb Thursday, triggering a standoff in the heart of the nation’s capital.

Officials evacuated a number of buildings around the Capitol and sent snipers to the area after officers saw the man holding what looked like a detonator inside the pickup, which had no license plates. Congress is in recess this week, but staffers were seen calmly walking out of the area at the direction of authorities.

Police negotiators were communicating with him as he wrote notes and showed them to authorities from inside the truck, according to three people who were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. They were trying to determine whether it was an operable bomb, the officials said.

“My negotiators are hard at work trying to have a peaceful resolution to this incident,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said. “We’re trying to get as much information as we can to find a way to peacefully resolve this.”

The episode began about 9:15 a.m. when the truck drove up the sidewalk outside the library, Manger said. The driver told the responding officer that he had a bomb, and was holding what the officer believed to be a detonator, The truck had no license plates.

The nation’s capital has been tense since the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.

Fencing that had been installed around the Capitol grounds had been up for months but was taken down this summer. A day before thousands of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol</a>, pipe bombs were left at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee in Washington.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-joe-biden-inaugurations-capitol-siege-8828a6a920198d0ea1ee0c73a49d8847">No one has been arrested yet for placing the bombs.</a>

The RNC, not far away from where the truck was parked Thursday, was also evacuated over the threat.

The area was blocked off by police cars and barricades, and multiple fire trucks and ambulances were staged nearby. Also responding were the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police, FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The White House said it was monitoring the situation and was being briefed by law enforcement.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629395763681.png" alt="Officials evacuated a number of buildings around the Capitol and sent snipers to the area -photo courtesy WUSA TV" />
 <figcaption>Officials evacuated a number of buildings around the Capitol and sent snipers to the area -photo courtesy WUSA TV</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The man who claimed to have bomb in a pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol has surrendered to law enforcement, ending an hourslong standoff.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The suspect, 49-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry, has been to safely taken into custody. <a href="https://t.co/06RcwTcasQ">pic.twitter.com/06RcwTcasQ</a>&mdash; U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/CapitolPolice/status/1428426595010846721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The man, identified by law enforcement officials as 49-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry of North Carolina, crawled out of the vehicle and was being taken into custody shortly before 2:30 p.m. He had pulled up outside the library earlier in the day and told police he had a bomb in his truck. An officer saw what appeared to be a detonator in the man’s hand. The man had been negotiating with police during a standoff that lasted around five hours.-------<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629396620231.png" alt="Capitol Police blocking traffic near the library of Congress -photo courtesy WUSA TV" />
 <figcaption>Capitol Police blocking traffic near the library of Congress -photo courtesy WUSA TV</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — A man sitting in a black pickup truck parked on the sidewalk outside the Library of Congress told police he had a bomb Thursday, triggering a standoff in the heart of the nation’s capital.Officials evacuated a number of buildings around the Capitol and sent snipers to the area after officers saw the man holding what looked like a detonator inside the pickup, which had no license plates. Congress is in recess this week, but staffers were seen calmly walking out of the area at the direction of authorities.Police negotiators were communicating with him as he wrote notes and showed them to authorities from inside the truck, according to three people who were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. They were trying to determine whether it was an operable bomb, the officials said.“My negotiators are hard at work trying to have a peaceful resolution to this incident,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said. “We’re trying to get as much information as we can to find a way to peacefully resolve this.”The episode began about 9:15 a.m. when the truck drove up the sidewalk outside the library, Manger said. The driver told the responding officer that he had a bomb, and was holding what the officer believed to be a detonator, The truck had no license plates.The nation’s capital has been tense since the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.Fencing that had been installed around the Capitol grounds had been up for months but was taken down this summer. A day before thousands of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol</a>, pipe bombs were left at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee in Washington.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-joe-biden-inaugurations-capitol-siege-8828a6a920198d0ea1ee0c73a49d8847">No one has been arrested yet for placing the bombs.</a>The RNC, not far away from where the truck was parked Thursday, was also evacuated over the threat.The area was blocked off by police cars and barricades, and multiple fire trucks and ambulances were staged nearby. Also responding were the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police, FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.The White House said it was monitoring the situation and was being briefed by law enforcement.___

Man surrenders after claiming to have bomb near Capitol

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A new lawsuit contends the office of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is illegally delaying the release of public records related to its $26 million, no-bid coronavirus testing contract. 

Reynolds and her office’s public records custodian are the latest officials to be accused of violating open records laws by a Utah-based company formed to investigate testing programs in several states. 

Paul Huntsman, chairman of the board of The Salt Lake Tribune, recently launched the effort to seek records related to Test Utah and similar programs in Nebraska, Iowa and Tennessee. 

His lawyer has filed open records lawsuits in Utah and Nebraska, and recently against the Iowa Department of Public Health.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A new lawsuit contends the office of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is illegally delaying the release of public records related to its $26 million, no-bid coronavirus testing contract. Reynolds and her office’s public records custodian are the latest officials to be accused of violating open records laws by a Utah-based company formed to investigate testing programs in several states. Paul Huntsman, chairman of the board of The Salt Lake Tribune, recently launched the effort to seek records related to Test Utah and similar programs in Nebraska, Iowa and Tennessee. His lawyer has filed open records lawsuits in Utah and Nebraska, and recently against the Iowa Department of Public Health.

Lawsuit: Iowa governor's office violating open records law

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A suburban Omaha school district is requiring an entire elementary class to quarantine at home to limit the spread of COVID-19 after a cluster of virus cases was found among the students.

 The Millard school district will keep the classroom at Montclair Elementary School closed for seven days because three students tested positive for COVID-19 and health officials believe thee virus was spreading in the class. 

The class quarantine could be a model for how the district will respond to future clusters of COVID-19. 

The district started school a week ago without requiring masks, and it is currently reporting 52 active COVID cases among its roughly 23,000 students.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A suburban Omaha school district is requiring an entire elementary class to quarantine at home to limit the spread of COVID-19 after a cluster of virus cases was found among the students. The Millard school district will keep the classroom at Montclair Elementary School closed for seven days because three students tested positive for COVID-19 and health officials believe thee virus was spreading in the class. The class quarantine could be a model for how the district will respond to future clusters of COVID-19. The district started school a week ago without requiring masks, and it is currently reporting 52 active COVID cases among its roughly 23,000 students.

Suburban Omaha district quarantines class because of virus

LINCOLN, Neb.-One lucky player who bought a Nebraska Pick 5 ticket for the Wednesday, August 18 drawing is holding a ticket worth $200,000.

The Nebraska Lottery has confirmed that one ticket sold for Wednesday’s Nebraska Pick 5 draw matched all five winning numbers for the $200,000 jackpot. The ticket was sold at Pac N Save, 620 D St, in Utica. The winning numbers from Wednesday’s Nebraska Pick 5 draw were 04, 11, 16, 26, 38. Players are encouraged to check their tickets at any Nebraska Lottery retailer, online at nelottery.com, or by calling the Lottery office at 402-471-6100.

Winning Nebraska Lottery Lotto tickets expire 180 days after the drawing. Prizes of $20,000 or more must be claimed in person at Lottery headquarters in Lincoln. Additional information about claiming prizes can be found at the Nebraska Lottery website, nelottery.com, or by calling 800-587-5200.

Nebraska Pick 5 is Nebraska's unique Lottery game: all the proceeds from Nebraska Pick 5 stay in Nebraska, and all the winning tickets are sold in Nebraska at Nebraska Lottery Lotto game retailers. The odds of winning the Nebraska Pick 5 jackpot, which starts at $50,000 and grows by $4,000 each drawing that it is not won, are 1 in 501,942. The overall odds of winning any Nebraska Pick 5 prize which has drawings seven nights a week, are 1 in 8.

The mission of the Nebraska Lottery is to generate proceeds for good causes while providing quality entertainment options to Nebraskans. Over $831 million has been raised for the Nebraska Lottery’s beneficiary funds since the Lottery began in 1993. All 93 counties in Nebraska have benefited from projects funded with these Nebraska Lottery proceeds.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/6/1561728158071.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>News Release Nebraska LotteryLINCOLN, Neb.-One lucky player who bought a Nebraska Pick 5 ticket for the Wednesday, August 18 drawing is holding a ticket worth $200,000.The Nebraska Lottery has confirmed that one ticket sold for Wednesday’s Nebraska Pick 5 draw matched all five winning numbers for the $200,000 jackpot. The ticket was sold at Pac N Save, 620 D St, in Utica. The winning numbers from Wednesday’s Nebraska Pick 5 draw were 04, 11, 16, 26, 38. Players are encouraged to check their tickets at any Nebraska Lottery retailer, online at nelottery.com, or by calling the Lottery office at 402-471-6100.Winning Nebraska Lottery Lotto tickets expire 180 days after the drawing. Prizes of $20,000 or more must be claimed in person at Lottery headquarters in Lincoln. Additional information about claiming prizes can be found at the Nebraska Lottery website, nelottery.com, or by calling 800-587-5200.Nebraska Pick 5 is Nebraska's unique Lottery game: all the proceeds from Nebraska Pick 5 stay in Nebraska, and all the winning tickets are sold in Nebraska at Nebraska Lottery Lotto game retailers. The odds of winning the Nebraska Pick 5 jackpot, which starts at $50,000 and grows by $4,000 each drawing that it is not won, are 1 in 501,942. The overall odds of winning any Nebraska Pick 5 prize which has drawings seven nights a week, are 1 in 8.The mission of the Nebraska Lottery is to generate proceeds for good causes while providing quality entertainment options to Nebraskans. Over $831 million has been raised for the Nebraska Lottery’s beneficiary funds since the Lottery began in 1993. All 93 counties in Nebraska have benefited from projects funded with these Nebraska Lottery proceeds.

$200K winning Nebraska Pick 5 ticket sold in Utica

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he is committed to keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan until every American is evacuated, even if that means maintaining a military presence there beyond his Aug. 31 deadline for withdrawal.

He also pushed back against criticism that the U.S. should have done more to plan for the evacuation and withdrawal, which has been marked by scenes of violence and chaos as thousands attempted to flee while the Taliban advanced.

In an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Biden said the U.S. will do “everything in our power” to evacuate Americans and U.S. allies from Afghanistan before the deadline.

Pressed repeatedly on how the administration would help Americans left in the nation after Aug. 31, Biden said, “If there’s American citizens left, we’re gonna stay till we get them all out.”

Up to 15,000 Americans remain in Afghanistan after the Taliban took full control of the nation last weekend.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier Wednesday that the U.S. military does not have the forces and firepower in Afghanistan to expand its current mission from securing the Kabul airport to collecting Americans and at-risk Afghans elsewhere in the capital and escorting them for evacuation.

The question of whether those seeking to leave the country before Biden’s deadline should be rescued and brought to the airport has arisen amid reports that Taliban checkpoints have stopped some designated evacuees.

“I don’t have the capability to go out and extend operations currently into Kabul,” Austin said. “And where do you take that? How far do you extend into Kabul, and how long does it take to flow those forces in to be able to do that?”

Austin, a retired four-star Army general who commanded forces in Afghanistan, spoke at his first Pentagon news conference since the Taliban swept to power in Kabul on Sunday.

He said the State Department was sending more consular affairs officers to speed up the processing of evacuees.

“We’re not close to where we want to be” in terms of the pace of the airlift, Austin said.

He said he was mainly focused on the airport, which faced “a number of threats” that must be monitored.

“We cannot afford to either not defend that airfield or not have an airfield that’s secure, where we have hundreds or thousands of civilians that can access the airfield,” he said, adding that talks with the Taliban were continuing to ensure safe passage for those evacuating.

Austin said there were about 4,500 U.S. troops at the airport, maintaining security to enable the State Department-run evacuation operation that has been marked by degrees of chaos and confusion.

Biden, however, told ABC that there wasn’t anything his administration could have done to avoid such chaos.

“The idea that somehow, there’s a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don’t know how that happens,” he said.

Senior U.S. military officers were talking to Taliban commanders in Kabul about checkpoints and curfews that have limited the number of Americans and Afghans able to enter the airport.

John Kirby, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said that over 24 hours about 2,000 people, including 325 American citizens, had left aboard 18 flights by U.S. Air Force C-17 transport planes. The number of departing Air Force flights was likely to be similar in the coming 24 hours, Kirby said, although he said he could not estimate how many people they would carry.

He said the administration was considering its options for dealing with a separate but related problem — the abandonment by Afghan security forces of an array of military equipment, weapons and aircraft that have fallen into the hands of the Taliban or other militant groups.

“We don’t, obviously, want to see our equipment in the hands of those who would act against our interests or the interests of the Afghan people and increase violence and insecurity inside Afghanistan,” Kirby said. “There are numerous policy choices that can be made, up to and including destruction.” He said those decisions had not yet been made.

Kirby said several hundred more U.S. troops were expected to arrive at the airport by Thursday.

An Air Force unit arrived overnight that specializes in rapidly setting up and maintaining airfield operations, Kirby said. And he said Marines trained in evacuation support have continued to arrive and will assist in getting civilians onto flights.

The top congressional Republicans, Rep. Kevin McCarthy and Sen. Mitch McConnell, asked Biden on Wednesday for a classified briefing with the “gang of eight” — the top Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate intelligence committees as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, McCarthy and McConnell.

McCarthy and McConnell said they want a briefing on the number of Americans still in Afghanistan and the plans to evacuate those outside of Kabul. Their letter prompted Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill to tweet that she had already requested such a meeting. He also said House members will receive an unclassified telephone briefing Friday and an in-person briefing Tuesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629040310655.png" alt="“The idea that somehow, there’s a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don’t know how that happens,” President Biden said Wednesday- photo courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>“The idea that somehow, there’s a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don’t know how that happens,” President Biden said Wednesday- photo courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he is committed to keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan until every American is evacuated, even if that means maintaining a military presence there beyond his Aug. 31 deadline for withdrawal.He also pushed back against criticism that the U.S. should have done more to plan for the evacuation and withdrawal, which has been marked by scenes of violence and chaos as thousands attempted to flee while the Taliban advanced.In an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Biden said the U.S. will do “everything in our power” to evacuate Americans and U.S. allies from Afghanistan before the deadline.Pressed repeatedly on how the administration would help Americans left in the nation after Aug. 31, Biden said, “If there’s American citizens left, we’re gonna stay till we get them all out.”Up to 15,000 Americans remain in Afghanistan after the Taliban took full control of the nation last weekend.Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier Wednesday that the U.S. military does not have the forces and firepower in Afghanistan to expand its current mission from securing the Kabul airport to collecting Americans and at-risk Afghans elsewhere in the capital and escorting them for evacuation.The question of whether those seeking to leave the country before Biden’s deadline should be rescued and brought to the airport has arisen amid reports that Taliban checkpoints have stopped some designated evacuees.“I don’t have the capability to go out and extend operations currently into Kabul,” Austin said. “And where do you take that? How far do you extend into Kabul, and how long does it take to flow those forces in to be able to do that?”Austin, a retired four-star Army general who commanded forces in Afghanistan, spoke at his first Pentagon news conference since the Taliban swept to power in Kabul on Sunday.He said the State Department was sending more consular affairs officers to speed up the processing of evacuees.“We’re not close to where we want to be” in terms of the pace of the airlift, Austin said.He said he was mainly focused on the airport, which faced “a number of threats” that must be monitored.“We cannot afford to either not defend that airfield or not have an airfield that’s secure, where we have hundreds or thousands of civilians that can access the airfield,” he said, adding that talks with the Taliban were continuing to ensure safe passage for those evacuating.Austin said there were about 4,500 U.S. troops at the airport, maintaining security to enable the State Department-run evacuation operation that has been marked by degrees of chaos and confusion.Biden, however, told ABC that there wasn’t anything his administration could have done to avoid such chaos.“The idea that somehow, there’s a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don’t know how that happens,” he said.Senior U.S. military officers were talking to Taliban commanders in Kabul about checkpoints and curfews that have limited the number of Americans and Afghans able to enter the airport.John Kirby, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said that over 24 hours about 2,000 people, including 325 American citizens, had left aboard 18 flights by U.S. Air Force C-17 transport planes. The number of departing Air Force flights was likely to be similar in the coming 24 hours, Kirby said, although he said he could not estimate how many people they would carry.He said the administration was considering its options for dealing with a separate but related problem — the abandonment by Afghan security forces of an array of military equipment, weapons and aircraft that have fallen into the hands of the Taliban or other militant groups.“We don’t, obviously, want to see our equipment in the hands of those who would act against our interests or the interests of the Afghan people and increase violence and insecurity inside Afghanistan,” Kirby said. “There are numerous policy choices that can be made, up to and including destruction.” He said those decisions had not yet been made.Kirby said several hundred more U.S. troops were expected to arrive at the airport by Thursday.An Air Force unit arrived overnight that specializes in rapidly setting up and maintaining airfield operations, Kirby said. And he said Marines trained in evacuation support have continued to arrive and will assist in getting civilians onto flights.The top congressional Republicans, Rep. Kevin McCarthy and Sen. Mitch McConnell, asked Biden on Wednesday for a classified briefing with the “gang of eight” — the top Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate intelligence committees as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, McCarthy and McConnell.McCarthy and McConnell said they want a briefing on the number of Americans still in Afghanistan and the plans to evacuate those outside of Kabul. Their letter prompted Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill to tweet that she had already requested such a meeting. He also said House members will receive an unclassified telephone briefing Friday and an in-person briefing Tuesday.___

Biden: Troops will stay in Afghanistan to evacuate Americans

Today, the Federal Trade Commission filed an&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUcs9-2BYv-2FBvF5AG8cihP-2F7iTMkEDIG3xYV2QmxalVq9v0EJpjcyrNtVg-2F-2F5Q525WONG-2BuzWCDLFk3F-2BXv-2BvUVTdzSG7I0YNPY6u5bcZu48wU-2BhioOw2eZ7YMW3-2F46KhX79g-3D-3Dm7gn_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgD4EBUDXLopiVzG-2Fvw8A4mp2eEkOsXshnuXLlKUWkYlFxaPTdp9dQyNcYgk2Im7HQ9wgRri93VdsapV8DDCoJZhkKeBkJWVELCuLZhY7bRsTTBWVVel3Sp-2FALZ8UK2B6MkLb-2FG4J-2F-2By8lZ4aP6MvbzVg-3D">amended complaint</a>&nbsp;against Facebook in the agency’s ongoing federal antitrust case. The complaint alleges that after repeated failed attempts to develop innovative mobile features for its network, Facebook instead resorted to an illegal buy-or-bury scheme to maintain its dominance. It unlawfully acquired innovative competitors with popular mobile features that succeeded where Facebook’s own offerings fell flat or fell apart. And to further moat its monopoly, Facebook lured app developers to the platform, surveilled them for signs of success, and then buried them when they became competitive threats. Lacking serious competition, Facebook has been able to hone a surveillance-based advertising model and impose ever-increasing burdens on its users. &nbsp;

“Facebook lacked the business acumen and technical talent to survive the transition to mobile. After failing to compete with new innovators, Facebook illegally bought or buried them when their popularity became an existential threat,” said Holly Vedova, FTC Bureau of Competition Acting Director. “This conduct is no less anticompetitive than if Facebook had bribed emerging app competitors not to compete. The antitrust laws were enacted to prevent precisely this type of illegal activity by monopolists. Facebook’s actions have suppressed innovation and product quality improvements. And they have degraded the social network experience, subjecting users to lower levels of privacy and data protections and more intrusive ads. The FTC’s action today seeks to put an end to this illegal activity and restore competition for the benefit of Americans and honest businesses alike.”

The FTC filed the amended complaint today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, following the court’s June 28 ruling on the FTC’s initial complaint. The amended complaint includes additional data and evidence to support the FTC’s contention that Facebook is a monopolist that abused its excessive market power to eliminate threats to its dominance.

According to the amended complaint, a critical transition period in the history of the internet, and in Facebook’s history, was the emergence of smartphones and the mobile Internet in the 2010s. Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, recognized at the time that “we’re vulnerable in mobile” and a major shareholder worried that Facebook’s mobile weakness “ran the risk of the unthinkable happening - being eclipsed by another network[.]”&nbsp;

After suffering significant failures during this critical transition period, Facebook found that it lacked the business talent and engineering acumen to quickly and successfully integrate its outdated desktop-based technology to the new era of mobile-first communication. Unable to maintain its monopoly or its advertising profits by fairly competing, Facebook’s executives addressed this existential threat by buying up the new mobile innovators, including its rival Instagram in 2012 and mobile messaging app WhatsApp in 2014, who had succeeded where Facebook had failed. The company supplemented its anticompetitive shopping spree with an open-first-close-later scheme that helped cement its monopoly by severely hampering the ability of rivals and would-be rivals to compete on the merits. By anticompetitively cementing its personal social networking monopoly, Facebook has harmed the competitive process and limited consumer choice.

As described in the amended complaint, after starting Facebook Platform as an open space for third party software developers, Facebook abruptly reversed course and required developers to agree to conditions that prevented successful apps from emerging as competitive threats to Facebook. By pulling this bait and switch on developers, Facebook insulated itself from competition during a critical period of technological change. Developers that had relied on Facebook’s open-access policies were crushed by new limits on their ability to interoperate. Facebook’s conduct not only harmed developers such as Circle and Path, but also deprived consumers of promising and disruptive mavericks that could have forced Facebook to improve its own products and services.&nbsp;

The amended complaint bolsters the FTC’s monopoly power allegations by providing detailed statistics showing that Facebook had dominant market shares in the U.S. personal social networking market. The suit also provides new direct evidence that Facebook has the power to control prices or exclude competition; significantly reduce the quality of its offering to users without losing a significant number of users or a meaningful amount of user engagement; and exclude competition by driving actual or potential competitors out of business.

Facebook’s dominant position is also protected by significant barriers to entry,&nbsp;including high switching costs. &nbsp;Over time, users of a personal social network build more connections and develop a history of posts and shared experiences, which they cannot easily transfer to another personal social networking provider.

Other significant barriers to entry include user-to-user effects, known as network effects, which make a personal social network more valuable as more users join the service. As the amended complaint notes, it is very difficult for a new entrant to displace an established personal social network in which users’ friends and family already participate.

According to the amended complaint, Facebook continues to monitor the industry for competitive threats to its personal social networking monopoly. Facebook is likely to impose anticompetitive conditions on access to its platform and seek to acquire companies it perceives as potential threats, especially when it next faces “acute competitive pressures from a period of technological transition,” the amended complaint alleges.

The FTC’s Office of General Counsel carefully reviewed Facebook’s petition to recuse Chair Lina M. Khan. As the case will be prosecuted before a federal judge, the appropriate constitutional due process protections will be provided to the company. The Office of the Secretary has dismissed the petition.

The Commission vote to authorize staff to file the amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia was 3-2. Commissioner Christine Wilson also issued a&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUcs9-2BYv-2FBvF5AG8cihP-2F7iTMkEDIG3xYV2QmxalVq9v0iOYbRkeIt283kp-2Bg6Aj2z1rC8Sq7d547un0HMenS-2FgMzG5W-2BHGNKpSHPZn6pRv4w1AL6n-2Bs5214VQTPNKSMN8nxyulVK0LCEu8AFQ84nc8ewfZdLa9q5yT-2BRbTEIrcdGFnT4IBOIGlSWz4C9XZMLdQ-3D-3DsTdn_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgD-2B-2F7s-2FPUl7d-2F8Ve-2FQD4Z0Zz2A-2FSH-2F7B4bnuCz2c-2FgLg8zQWo0C8n4aOcPlxKH-2F1Q-2F6s1MZcGqD5-2B33tAMFAquhRDfwvQjJeaa5nfmwoBZqniESGMFXqjVCKO7KEedpd86X7uNFlLaB4KSUjW1XCrNrE-3D">dissenting statement</a>.

The Federal Trade Commission works to&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUfYotPP72MaC0HTuHPy7LHmaFRvq-2FV0-2Fyav7uDNsu0VJXQ7Li4uUuFG-2FgW-2FufqqAzxkkaDXnO8tQt-2BGmBeoqjTE-3DBTxk_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgD9DGmvSdCWIIzKaT-2BNMH2dgUOoOOE3Yd1sYnmFy-2FldypH6PzmkqjPxDqWwd2FLMJE6KGxzGLj97TvVnIx9jrLDs5PdXtjjLQym3eBn1TLUzDcWJOm-2BUU3XEO57p0ykN4iNlxgS-2BW3eBa0DK7A0cq21w-3D">promote competition</a>, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUcs9-2BYv-2FBvF5AG8cihP-2F7iQWnd8XJYDJsRlzUaZkZLpoP53MwAdwBu90JZ8-2BZ21Pwy8g3dYplgkjvWWGMKaQCK-2B2oivpxvXX5SP0DfHFvrM8xSwG3WO3ZUzLmdEjAAxlMg-3D-3D8z56_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgDwghf5Ew9rzcUdw3y44NbOHmeRGoqUn67JxubF5ukpPNK5p1kYjP-2FJQRGWgIdMy2NTcgxGWKcymtsUYNMS4QIlEogcE-2FbQn3ZK3yTlQR3V8tYl08f9mEl9FdHLqKZ3q3cNj2v2CHwZfhqi-2BaYG9453w-3D">how competition benefits consumers</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUft4-2FLsPOgSlMfKsp5nBmH-2BnAx5eOkas5VzFNC-2BpA3KvN-2BegOZmmTNGow5qLlk1P5opKT43leGYdzcGH6uD7tqE-3DfEcI_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgDzGeTOBLve0jPQy-2B-2FzQ5wnadbMQlcakN-2F-2FoJ-2FyBtV6EcPn2rDlv34lJbTnKX34PIeIMS-2FYAnV-2FDfuqxhrscUslUjKqBNYAydE3L5o4E6-2FhM4nmGmZ8b0-2FztDsJUahACF9ZZ1EAB6mOQQVlboLZSSIyE-3D">file an antitrust complaint</a>. Like the FTC on&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUb8Hzhz9hTfMErRs-2Fni8h9hiOJrviSzKQNqI9GVS7mOnKw8dvzyuiJDiF0DAyVqVrw-3D-3DseDz_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgD-2FRmmNgtPBsFAoTDQ288Mb4ivi-2FEcdzte9d-2Ft4wBCc0OLWyRi6wsKGaFVh75tTHcS-2FMV4na4YrZLGTn2TSFJvoxCwNCLCG7pvR5nV5quPpKzrYJy5OEHXru4miO0k44ZjTqpG6QB6-2BwARY7-2BJ5c-2FtaY-3D">Facebook(link is external)</a>, follow us on&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUYAQIXOK1tXZ-2BYsSRwaswHA-3Dyqxj_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgD5llmwZ8gbcBG-2BPZUXey5HwuxMYEK5-2FUhu1u2B-2BAez52HRu-2FOjK9zpjYKZb1S5FnMbHYgc2bE0fFe-2FonIGdSjXfaTa-2FltL8wSznMyew2bUaaKVjkJr9Frfn4b02SmPCOfw2rbv97i-2FluTbrzYcXO5LI-3D">Twitter(link is external)</a>, read our&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUdbOg1oyC3s1BFESJfv1yTQdWwEeOZo7HSwxeTqeUuWkoiaNF3MwEVvWYIIucwfZflzBLWCinuMz8tqzNbKvKYI-3DBh8R_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgD9Fxrsv5eAZEe3rWzTe0vbU5KT-2B6JupE8qpoqqSU4z2ph1JbtKn9mHxkiK-2BzVXuA47oLuc5utVIVttgeSmyJXsCEaShEsvX0P-2FG0OB2k4GT7cBCBqmqKYhuPbeYzFxgw0XGKw04BAgx5i3ZMLXlTXBc-3D">blogs</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUSV6prqcooIaql9rBEYv0EwFugi7vo4ZpjKyiy5rMQ-2FGHkru_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgDzeWKfo-2BBzc6guwTHhf-2FKjdsJy9Xt4sg0U7f5eb9NLflhuwYD-2FGPxA3L233FjaYm6rOL8Va0EMW7fok48oclfEZroRhkdhRWPTQzcGfrZc3AwT4-2BcWQB77PCnPjfdBZDLlxAQz56DblE7F1-2FXz47pXE-3D">subscribe to press releases</a>&nbsp;for the latest FTC news and resources.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619632629588.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>FTCToday, the Federal Trade Commission filed an&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUcs9-2BYv-2FBvF5AG8cihP-2F7iTMkEDIG3xYV2QmxalVq9v0EJpjcyrNtVg-2F-2F5Q525WONG-2BuzWCDLFk3F-2BXv-2BvUVTdzSG7I0YNPY6u5bcZu48wU-2BhioOw2eZ7YMW3-2F46KhX79g-3D-3Dm7gn_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgD4EBUDXLopiVzG-2Fvw8A4mp2eEkOsXshnuXLlKUWkYlFxaPTdp9dQyNcYgk2Im7HQ9wgRri93VdsapV8DDCoJZhkKeBkJWVELCuLZhY7bRsTTBWVVel3Sp-2FALZ8UK2B6MkLb-2FG4J-2F-2By8lZ4aP6MvbzVg-3D">amended complaint</a>&nbsp;against Facebook in the agency’s ongoing federal antitrust case. The complaint alleges that after repeated failed attempts to develop innovative mobile features for its network, Facebook instead resorted to an illegal buy-or-bury scheme to maintain its dominance. It unlawfully acquired innovative competitors with popular mobile features that succeeded where Facebook’s own offerings fell flat or fell apart. And to further moat its monopoly, Facebook lured app developers to the platform, surveilled them for signs of success, and then buried them when they became competitive threats. Lacking serious competition, Facebook has been able to hone a surveillance-based advertising model and impose ever-increasing burdens on its users. &nbsp;“Facebook lacked the business acumen and technical talent to survive the transition to mobile. After failing to compete with new innovators, Facebook illegally bought or buried them when their popularity became an existential threat,” said Holly Vedova, FTC Bureau of Competition Acting Director. “This conduct is no less anticompetitive than if Facebook had bribed emerging app competitors not to compete. The antitrust laws were enacted to prevent precisely this type of illegal activity by monopolists. Facebook’s actions have suppressed innovation and product quality improvements. And they have degraded the social network experience, subjecting users to lower levels of privacy and data protections and more intrusive ads. The FTC’s action today seeks to put an end to this illegal activity and restore competition for the benefit of Americans and honest businesses alike.”The FTC filed the amended complaint today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, following the court’s June 28 ruling on the FTC’s initial complaint. The amended complaint includes additional data and evidence to support the FTC’s contention that Facebook is a monopolist that abused its excessive market power to eliminate threats to its dominance.According to the amended complaint, a critical transition period in the history of the internet, and in Facebook’s history, was the emergence of smartphones and the mobile Internet in the 2010s. Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, recognized at the time that “we’re vulnerable in mobile” and a major shareholder worried that Facebook’s mobile weakness “ran the risk of the unthinkable happening - being eclipsed by another network[.]”&nbsp;After suffering significant failures during this critical transition period, Facebook found that it lacked the business talent and engineering acumen to quickly and successfully integrate its outdated desktop-based technology to the new era of mobile-first communication. Unable to maintain its monopoly or its advertising profits by fairly competing, Facebook’s executives addressed this existential threat by buying up the new mobile innovators, including its rival Instagram in 2012 and mobile messaging app WhatsApp in 2014, who had succeeded where Facebook had failed. The company supplemented its anticompetitive shopping spree with an open-first-close-later scheme that helped cement its monopoly by severely hampering the ability of rivals and would-be rivals to compete on the merits. By anticompetitively cementing its personal social networking monopoly, Facebook has harmed the competitive process and limited consumer choice.As described in the amended complaint, after starting Facebook Platform as an open space for third party software developers, Facebook abruptly reversed course and required developers to agree to conditions that prevented successful apps from emerging as competitive threats to Facebook. By pulling this bait and switch on developers, Facebook insulated itself from competition during a critical period of technological change. Developers that had relied on Facebook’s open-access policies were crushed by new limits on their ability to interoperate. Facebook’s conduct not only harmed developers such as Circle and Path, but also deprived consumers of promising and disruptive mavericks that could have forced Facebook to improve its own products and services.&nbsp;The amended complaint bolsters the FTC’s monopoly power allegations by providing detailed statistics showing that Facebook had dominant market shares in the U.S. personal social networking market. The suit also provides new direct evidence that Facebook has the power to control prices or exclude competition; significantly reduce the quality of its offering to users without losing a significant number of users or a meaningful amount of user engagement; and exclude competition by driving actual or potential competitors out of business.Facebook’s dominant position is also protected by significant barriers to entry,&nbsp;including high switching costs. &nbsp;Over time, users of a personal social network build more connections and develop a history of posts and shared experiences, which they cannot easily transfer to another personal social networking provider.Other significant barriers to entry include user-to-user effects, known as network effects, which make a personal social network more valuable as more users join the service. As the amended complaint notes, it is very difficult for a new entrant to displace an established personal social network in which users’ friends and family already participate.According to the amended complaint, Facebook continues to monitor the industry for competitive threats to its personal social networking monopoly. Facebook is likely to impose anticompetitive conditions on access to its platform and seek to acquire companies it perceives as potential threats, especially when it next faces “acute competitive pressures from a period of technological transition,” the amended complaint alleges.The FTC’s Office of General Counsel carefully reviewed Facebook’s petition to recuse Chair Lina M. Khan. As the case will be prosecuted before a federal judge, the appropriate constitutional due process protections will be provided to the company. The Office of the Secretary has dismissed the petition.The Commission vote to authorize staff to file the amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia was 3-2. Commissioner Christine Wilson also issued a&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUcs9-2BYv-2FBvF5AG8cihP-2F7iTMkEDIG3xYV2QmxalVq9v0iOYbRkeIt283kp-2Bg6Aj2z1rC8Sq7d547un0HMenS-2FgMzG5W-2BHGNKpSHPZn6pRv4w1AL6n-2Bs5214VQTPNKSMN8nxyulVK0LCEu8AFQ84nc8ewfZdLa9q5yT-2BRbTEIrcdGFnT4IBOIGlSWz4C9XZMLdQ-3D-3DsTdn_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgD-2B-2F7s-2FPUl7d-2F8Ve-2FQD4Z0Zz2A-2FSH-2F7B4bnuCz2c-2FgLg8zQWo0C8n4aOcPlxKH-2F1Q-2F6s1MZcGqD5-2B33tAMFAquhRDfwvQjJeaa5nfmwoBZqniESGMFXqjVCKO7KEedpd86X7uNFlLaB4KSUjW1XCrNrE-3D">dissenting statement</a>.The Federal Trade Commission works to&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUfYotPP72MaC0HTuHPy7LHmaFRvq-2FV0-2Fyav7uDNsu0VJXQ7Li4uUuFG-2FgW-2FufqqAzxkkaDXnO8tQt-2BGmBeoqjTE-3DBTxk_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgD9DGmvSdCWIIzKaT-2BNMH2dgUOoOOE3Yd1sYnmFy-2FldypH6PzmkqjPxDqWwd2FLMJE6KGxzGLj97TvVnIx9jrLDs5PdXtjjLQym3eBn1TLUzDcWJOm-2BUU3XEO57p0ykN4iNlxgS-2BW3eBa0DK7A0cq21w-3D">promote competition</a>, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUcs9-2BYv-2FBvF5AG8cihP-2F7iQWnd8XJYDJsRlzUaZkZLpoP53MwAdwBu90JZ8-2BZ21Pwy8g3dYplgkjvWWGMKaQCK-2B2oivpxvXX5SP0DfHFvrM8xSwG3WO3ZUzLmdEjAAxlMg-3D-3D8z56_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgDwghf5Ew9rzcUdw3y44NbOHmeRGoqUn67JxubF5ukpPNK5p1kYjP-2FJQRGWgIdMy2NTcgxGWKcymtsUYNMS4QIlEogcE-2FbQn3ZK3yTlQR3V8tYl08f9mEl9FdHLqKZ3q3cNj2v2CHwZfhqi-2BaYG9453w-3D">how competition benefits consumers</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUft4-2FLsPOgSlMfKsp5nBmH-2BnAx5eOkas5VzFNC-2BpA3KvN-2BegOZmmTNGow5qLlk1P5opKT43leGYdzcGH6uD7tqE-3DfEcI_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgDzGeTOBLve0jPQy-2B-2FzQ5wnadbMQlcakN-2F-2FoJ-2FyBtV6EcPn2rDlv34lJbTnKX34PIeIMS-2FYAnV-2FDfuqxhrscUslUjKqBNYAydE3L5o4E6-2FhM4nmGmZ8b0-2FztDsJUahACF9ZZ1EAB6mOQQVlboLZSSIyE-3D">file an antitrust complaint</a>. Like the FTC on&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUb8Hzhz9hTfMErRs-2Fni8h9hiOJrviSzKQNqI9GVS7mOnKw8dvzyuiJDiF0DAyVqVrw-3D-3DseDz_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgD-2FRmmNgtPBsFAoTDQ288Mb4ivi-2FEcdzte9d-2Ft4wBCc0OLWyRi6wsKGaFVh75tTHcS-2FMV4na4YrZLGTn2TSFJvoxCwNCLCG7pvR5nV5quPpKzrYJy5OEHXru4miO0k44ZjTqpG6QB6-2BwARY7-2BJ5c-2FtaY-3D">Facebook(link is external)</a>, follow us on&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUYAQIXOK1tXZ-2BYsSRwaswHA-3Dyqxj_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgD5llmwZ8gbcBG-2BPZUXey5HwuxMYEK5-2FUhu1u2B-2BAez52HRu-2FOjK9zpjYKZb1S5FnMbHYgc2bE0fFe-2FonIGdSjXfaTa-2FltL8wSznMyew2bUaaKVjkJr9Frfn4b02SmPCOfw2rbv97i-2FluTbrzYcXO5LI-3D">Twitter(link is external)</a>, read our&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUdbOg1oyC3s1BFESJfv1yTQdWwEeOZo7HSwxeTqeUuWkoiaNF3MwEVvWYIIucwfZflzBLWCinuMz8tqzNbKvKYI-3DBh8R_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgD9Fxrsv5eAZEe3rWzTe0vbU5KT-2B6JupE8qpoqqSU4z2ph1JbtKn9mHxkiK-2BzVXuA47oLuc5utVIVttgeSmyJXsCEaShEsvX0P-2FG0OB2k4GT7cBCBqmqKYhuPbeYzFxgw0XGKw04BAgx5i3ZMLXlTXBc-3D">blogs</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUSV6prqcooIaql9rBEYv0EwFugi7vo4ZpjKyiy5rMQ-2FGHkru_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lFVK-2Fv-2BVYIe7tqlqeMNp9piIGbHTL-2FW9eReqsOPCJMQqFVqN0-2FZcAx-2BzgHBMq5O0HOMSBDi3sl5eIvRQX-2Fu2QV4EjfP-2BuX3VZW2Q3NmY51W7dFxf7K5ea5etKqGiNvo2cyCqlebs-2BJfGKoIAgDooKZA8AaSdm5K5c9NNv-2Bbv5SgDzeWKfo-2BBzc6guwTHhf-2FKjdsJy9Xt4sg0U7f5eb9NLflhuwYD-2FGPxA3L233FjaYm6rOL8Va0EMW7fok48oclfEZroRhkdhRWPTQzcGfrZc3AwT4-2BcWQB77PCnPjfdBZDLlxAQz56DblE7F1-2FXz47pXE-3D">subscribe to press releases</a>&nbsp;for the latest FTC news and resources.

FTC: Facebook's 'buy or bury' scheme maintained monopoly

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will require that nursing home staff be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for those facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?514148-1/president-biden-covid-19-vaccinations&amp;live">Click here to watch </a>the President's comments

Biden announced the move Wednesday afternoon in a White House address as the administration continues to look for ways to use mandates to encourage vaccine holdouts to get shots. A senior administration official confirmed the announcement on condition of anonymity to preview the news before Biden’s remarks.

The new mandate, in the form of a forthcoming regulation to be issued by the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, could take effect as soon as next month.

Hundreds of thousands of nursing home workers are not vaccinated, according to federal data, despite those facilities bearing the brunt of the early COVID-19 outbreak and their workers being among the first in the country to be eligible for shots.

It comes as the Biden administration seeks to raise the costs for those who have yet to get vaccinated, after months of incentives and giveaways proved to be insufficient to drive tens of millions of Americans to roll up their sleeves.

In just the past three weeks, Biden has forced millions of federal workers to attest to their vaccination status or face onerous new requirements, with even stricter requirements for federal workers in frontline health roles, and his administration has moved toward mandating vaccines for the military as soon as next month.

Biden has also celebrated businesses that have mandated vaccines for their own workforces and encouraged others to follow, and highlighted local vaccine mandates as a condition for daily activities, like indoor dining.

The new effort seems to be paying off, as the nation’s rate of new vaccinations has nearly doubled over the past month. More than 200 million Americans have now received at least one dose of the vaccines, according to the White House, but about 80 million Americans are eligible but haven’t yet been vaccinated.

Last year CMS used similar regulatory authority to prohibit most visitors from nursing homes in an effort to protect residents.

Biden’s announcement was first reported by CNN.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629319164930.png" alt="During his Wednesday afternoon address, President Biden said wearing masks in school is not about politics but keeping children safe. .-photo courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>During his Wednesday afternoon address, President Biden said wearing masks in school is not about politics but keeping children safe. .-photo courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will require that nursing home staff be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for those facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?514148-1/president-biden-covid-19-vaccinations&amp;live">Click here to watch </a>the President's commentsBiden announced the move Wednesday afternoon in a White House address as the administration continues to look for ways to use mandates to encourage vaccine holdouts to get shots. A senior administration official confirmed the announcement on condition of anonymity to preview the news before Biden’s remarks.The new mandate, in the form of a forthcoming regulation to be issued by the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, could take effect as soon as next month.Hundreds of thousands of nursing home workers are not vaccinated, according to federal data, despite those facilities bearing the brunt of the early COVID-19 outbreak and their workers being among the first in the country to be eligible for shots.It comes as the Biden administration seeks to raise the costs for those who have yet to get vaccinated, after months of incentives and giveaways proved to be insufficient to drive tens of millions of Americans to roll up their sleeves.In just the past three weeks, Biden has forced millions of federal workers to attest to their vaccination status or face onerous new requirements, with even stricter requirements for federal workers in frontline health roles, and his administration has moved toward mandating vaccines for the military as soon as next month.Biden has also celebrated businesses that have mandated vaccines for their own workforces and encouraged others to follow, and highlighted local vaccine mandates as a condition for daily activities, like indoor dining.The new effort seems to be paying off, as the nation’s rate of new vaccinations has nearly doubled over the past month. More than 200 million Americans have now received at least one dose of the vaccines, according to the White House, but about 80 million Americans are eligible but haven’t yet been vaccinated.Last year CMS used similar regulatory authority to prohibit most visitors from nursing homes in an effort to protect residents.Biden’s announcement was first reported by CNN.

🎥  Biden mandates vaccine for nursing home staff, talks student masks

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Police in Rapid City are working to identify a person of interest in a homicide investigation. 

Authorities have already made one arrest in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Austin Freeman last Friday. 

A 31-year-old man is being held on probable murder and drug charges. 

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Police in Rapid City are working to identify a person of interest in a homicide investigation. Authorities have already made one arrest in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Austin Freeman last Friday. A 31-year-old man is being held on probable murder and drug charges. Investigators say they are also looking for woman in connection with the case. Police Capt. James Johns says it appears Freeman was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was an innocent victim of violence associated with drugs.