WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has extended the nationwide ban on evictions for a month to help tenants who are unable to make rent payments during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">the coronavirus pandemic</a>, but it said this is expected to be the last time it does so.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, extended the evictions moratorium until July 31. It had been scheduled to end June 30. The CDC said Thursday that “this is intended to be the final extension of the moratorium.”

The White House had acknowledged Wednesday that the emergency pandemic protection will have to end at some point. The trick is devising the right sort of off-ramp to make the transition without massive social upheaval.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the separate bans on evictions for renters and mortgage holders were “always intended to be temporary.”

This week, dozens of members of Congress wrote to Biden and Walensky&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-coronavirus-pandemic-health-business-government-and-politics-4f40c6aeefbfec1a42a0efd387279d5f">calling for the moratorium to be not only extended but also strengthened</a>&nbsp;in some ways.

The letter, spearheaded by Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Jimmy Gomez of California and Cori Bush of Missouri, called for an unspecified extension in order to allow the nearly $47 billion in emergency rental assistance included in the American Rescue Plan to get into the hands of tenants.

Ending the assistance too abruptly, they said, would disproportionately hurt some of the same minority communities that were hit so hard by the virus itself. They also echoed many housing advocates by calling for the moratorium’s protections to be made automatic, requiring no special steps from the tenant in order to gain its protections.

“The impact of the federal moratorium cannot be understated, and the need to strengthen and extend it is an urgent matter of health, racial, and economic justice,” the letter said.

Diane Yentel, president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, called an extension of the eviction ban “the right thing to do — morally, fiscally, politically, and as a continued public health measure.”

But landlords, who have opposed the moratorium and challenged it in court, are against any extension. They have argued the focus should be on speeding up the distribution of rental assistance.

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 4 million people say they fear being evicted or foreclosed upon in the coming months, just as two studies released Wednesday found that the nation’s housing availability and affordability crisis is expected to worsen significantly following the pandemic.

The studies come as a federal eviction moratorium is set to expire at the end of the month. The moratorium has kept many tenants owing back rent housed. Making matters worse, the tens of billions of dollars in federal emergency rental assistance that was supposed to solve the problem has not reached most tenants.

The housing crisis, the studies found, risks widening the gap between Black, Latino and white households, as well as putting homeownership out of the reach of lower-income Americans.

The reports were released on the same day as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/hhp/#/?measures=EVICTFOR&amp;periodSelector=31" target="_blank">Census Bureau’s biweekly Household Pulse Survey</a>&nbsp;came out. It showed that nearly 4.2 million people nationwide report that it is likely or somewhat likely that they will be evicted or foreclosed upon in the next two months.

Many of those tenants are waiting to see what becomes of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/eviction-moratorium-rental-assistance-coronavirus-bd0947fe93b72c88305629a6608602ee">Centers for Disease Control</a>&nbsp;and Prevention eviction moratorium, which is set expire June 30. Housing advocates are pressuring President Joe Biden’s administration to extend it. They argue extending it would give states the time to distribute more than $45 billion in rental assistance and protect vulnerable communities from COVID-19. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pandemics-new-york-andrew-cuomo-coronavirus-pandemic-us-news-bfbf0744510d50a1e173247ee5f9ba1b">rental assistance</a>&nbsp;has been slow to reach tenants.

“The latest data confirm two things — emergency rental assistance is very slow to reach renters in need, and millions of renters remain behind on rent and at heightened risk of evictions,” Diane Yentel, president of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, said in an email.

Among those confronting the June 30 deadline is Victor Richardson. The 78-year-old, who is disabled and in a wheelchair, is facing eviction from his $2,500-a-month assisted living center in Tucson, Arizona, and has a court hearing early next month.

“We have been successfully fighting this and I’ve come to believe we are going to come out this victoriously,” said Richardson, who housing advocates said would not be admitted to a homeless shelter because of his disability.

The reports by Harvard University and the National Association of Realtors come from different perspectives, but ultimately reach the same conclusion: The United States isn’t building enough housing to address population growth, causing record low home availability, and rising home prices are putting homeownership out of reach of millions of Americans.

Without substantial changes in homebuilding and home affordability, both reports say, the result will be a more-or-less permanent class of renters contrasted with what will likely be a mostly white class of homeowners. While these problems were known before the coronavirus pandemic,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_State_Nations_Housing_2021.pdf" target="_blank">the economic impact of the pandemic exacerbated the problem</a>, the reports say.

“These disparities are likely to persist even as the economy recovers, with many lower-income households slow to regain their financial footing and facing possible eviction or foreclosure,” researchers at Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University wrote.

A separate study commissioned by the National Association of Realtors found that the U.S. housing market&nbsp;<a href="https://cdn.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/Housing-is-Critical-Infrastructure-Social-and-Economic-Benefits-of-Building-More-Housing-6-15-2021.pdf" target="_blank">needs to build at least 5.5 million new units</a>&nbsp;to keep up with demand and keeping home ownership affordable over the next 10 years. That’s on top of the roughly 1.2 million units built per year on average, or a roughly 60% increase in home construction for the next decade, just to keep up with demand.

“The scale of underbuilding and the existing demand-supply gap is enormous and will require a major national commitment to build more housing of all types by expanding resources, addressing barriers to new development and making new housing construction an integral part of a national infrastructure strategy,” wrote Kenneth Rosen, David Bank, Max Hall, Scott Reed and Carson Goldman with the Rosen Consulting Group, in its report to the association of realtors.

The association’s report points out several regions requiring more homes, including many parts of California and the West, Southern Florida, and the Northeast, particularly the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area.

Without additional housing, an increasing share of Americans are likely to become renters in the coming years. While renting is not necessarily a bad thing since it provides more flexibility, homeownership has been the primary driver of wealth generation in the U.S. since World War II. Home equity is often a way for Americans to have a financial safety net at times of economic trouble, as seen in the pandemic.

These problems get worse when broken out by racial backgrounds. Black and Latino homeowners have less in savings than their white counterparts. White potential homeowners also have generational wealth to potentially tap in the form of a down payment.

“The diverging circumstances between those with the resources to weather the economic shutdowns and those struggling to simply stay afloat thus widened already large inequalities in income and wealth,” said the Harvard researchers.

Outside of a massive increase in homebuilding, researchers at Harvard pointed to government home affordability programs as likely the best solution to address the problem long term.

“Any of a number of new proposals to provide down payment assistance to socially disadvantaged buyers would potentially bring millions of low-income households and households of color into homeownership.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624546142101.png" alt="Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the CDC said Thursday that “this is intended to be the final extension of the moratorium.” Photo courtesy White House COVID-19 Response Team" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the CDC said Thursday that “this is intended to be the final extension of the moratorium.” Photo courtesy White House COVID-19 Response Team</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has extended the nationwide ban on evictions for a month to help tenants who are unable to make rent payments during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">the coronavirus pandemic</a>, but it said this is expected to be the last time it does so.Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, extended the evictions moratorium until July 31. It had been scheduled to end June 30. The CDC said Thursday that “this is intended to be the final extension of the moratorium.”The White House had acknowledged Wednesday that the emergency pandemic protection will have to end at some point. The trick is devising the right sort of off-ramp to make the transition without massive social upheaval.White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the separate bans on evictions for renters and mortgage holders were “always intended to be temporary.”This week, dozens of members of Congress wrote to Biden and Walensky&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-coronavirus-pandemic-health-business-government-and-politics-4f40c6aeefbfec1a42a0efd387279d5f">calling for the moratorium to be not only extended but also strengthened</a>&nbsp;in some ways.The letter, spearheaded by Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Jimmy Gomez of California and Cori Bush of Missouri, called for an unspecified extension in order to allow the nearly $47 billion in emergency rental assistance included in the American Rescue Plan to get into the hands of tenants.Ending the assistance too abruptly, they said, would disproportionately hurt some of the same minority communities that were hit so hard by the virus itself. They also echoed many housing advocates by calling for the moratorium’s protections to be made automatic, requiring no special steps from the tenant in order to gain its protections.“The impact of the federal moratorium cannot be understated, and the need to strengthen and extend it is an urgent matter of health, racial, and economic justice,” the letter said.Diane Yentel, president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, called an extension of the eviction ban “the right thing to do — morally, fiscally, politically, and as a continued public health measure.”But landlords, who have opposed the moratorium and challenged it in court, are against any extension. They have argued the focus should be on speeding up the distribution of rental assistance.-------------------NEW YORK (AP) — More than 4 million people say they fear being evicted or foreclosed upon in the coming months, just as two studies released Wednesday found that the nation’s housing availability and affordability crisis is expected to worsen significantly following the pandemic.The studies come as a federal eviction moratorium is set to expire at the end of the month. The moratorium has kept many tenants owing back rent housed. Making matters worse, the tens of billions of dollars in federal emergency rental assistance that was supposed to solve the problem has not reached most tenants.The housing crisis, the studies found, risks widening the gap between Black, Latino and white households, as well as putting homeownership out of the reach of lower-income Americans.The reports were released on the same day as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/hhp/#/?measures=EVICTFOR&amp;periodSelector=31" target="_blank">Census Bureau’s biweekly Household Pulse Survey</a>&nbsp;came out. It showed that nearly 4.2 million people nationwide report that it is likely or somewhat likely that they will be evicted or foreclosed upon in the next two months.Many of those tenants are waiting to see what becomes of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/eviction-moratorium-rental-assistance-coronavirus-bd0947fe93b72c88305629a6608602ee">Centers for Disease Control</a>&nbsp;and Prevention eviction moratorium, which is set expire June 30. Housing advocates are pressuring President Joe Biden’s administration to extend it. They argue extending it would give states the time to distribute more than $45 billion in rental assistance and protect vulnerable communities from COVID-19. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pandemics-new-york-andrew-cuomo-coronavirus-pandemic-us-news-bfbf0744510d50a1e173247ee5f9ba1b">rental assistance</a>&nbsp;has been slow to reach tenants.“The latest data confirm two things — emergency rental assistance is very slow to reach renters in need, and millions of renters remain behind on rent and at heightened risk of evictions,” Diane Yentel, president of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, said in an email.Among those confronting the June 30 deadline is Victor Richardson. The 78-year-old, who is disabled and in a wheelchair, is facing eviction from his $2,500-a-month assisted living center in Tucson, Arizona, and has a court hearing early next month.“We have been successfully fighting this and I’ve come to believe we are going to come out this victoriously,” said Richardson, who housing advocates said would not be admitted to a homeless shelter because of his disability.The reports by Harvard University and the National Association of Realtors come from different perspectives, but ultimately reach the same conclusion: The United States isn’t building enough housing to address population growth, causing record low home availability, and rising home prices are putting homeownership out of reach of millions of Americans.Without substantial changes in homebuilding and home affordability, both reports say, the result will be a more-or-less permanent class of renters contrasted with what will likely be a mostly white class of homeowners. While these problems were known before the coronavirus pandemic,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_State_Nations_Housing_2021.pdf" target="_blank">the economic impact of the pandemic exacerbated the problem</a>, the reports say.“These disparities are likely to persist even as the economy recovers, with many lower-income households slow to regain their financial footing and facing possible eviction or foreclosure,” researchers at Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University wrote.A separate study commissioned by the National Association of Realtors found that the U.S. housing market&nbsp;<a href="https://cdn.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/Housing-is-Critical-Infrastructure-Social-and-Economic-Benefits-of-Building-More-Housing-6-15-2021.pdf" target="_blank">needs to build at least 5.5 million new units</a>&nbsp;to keep up with demand and keeping home ownership affordable over the next 10 years. That’s on top of the roughly 1.2 million units built per year on average, or a roughly 60% increase in home construction for the next decade, just to keep up with demand.“The scale of underbuilding and the existing demand-supply gap is enormous and will require a major national commitment to build more housing of all types by expanding resources, addressing barriers to new development and making new housing construction an integral part of a national infrastructure strategy,” wrote Kenneth Rosen, David Bank, Max Hall, Scott Reed and Carson Goldman with the Rosen Consulting Group, in its report to the association of realtors.The association’s report points out several regions requiring more homes, including many parts of California and the West, Southern Florida, and the Northeast, particularly the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area.Without additional housing, an increasing share of Americans are likely to become renters in the coming years. While renting is not necessarily a bad thing since it provides more flexibility, homeownership has been the primary driver of wealth generation in the U.S. since World War II. Home equity is often a way for Americans to have a financial safety net at times of economic trouble, as seen in the pandemic.These problems get worse when broken out by racial backgrounds. Black and Latino homeowners have less in savings than their white counterparts. White potential homeowners also have generational wealth to potentially tap in the form of a down payment.“The diverging circumstances between those with the resources to weather the economic shutdowns and those struggling to simply stay afloat thus widened already large inequalities in income and wealth,” said the Harvard researchers.Outside of a massive increase in homebuilding, researchers at Harvard pointed to government home affordability programs as likely the best solution to address the problem long term.“Any of a number of new proposals to provide down payment assistance to socially disadvantaged buyers would potentially bring millions of low-income households and households of color into homeownership.”

Biden administration extends nationwide ban on evictions

The Federal Trade Commission is sending refunds totaling more than $223,000 to people who lost money to a student loan and mortgage debt relief operation.

The FTC alleged that A1 DocPrep Inc., 
Streamlined Marketing, and their owner, Horman Ardalan falsely claimed 
to be from the Department of Education, and promised to reduce 
borrowers’ monthly payments or forgive their student loans in exchange 
for illegal upfront fees, according to the <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/a1_docprep_inc._complaint.pdf">FTC’s September 2017 complaint</a>.
 The FTC also alleged the defendants targeted distressed homeowners by 
making false promises that they would provide mortgage relief and 
prevent foreclosure.<a href="https://public.tableau.com/profile/federal.trade.commission#!/vizhome/Refunds_15797958402020/RefundsbyCase"></a>

The refunds stem from <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2018/11/remaining-operators-student-debt-relief-scheme-settle-ftc-charges">settlements</a> the defendants reached with the FTC that also ban them from debt
 relief and telemarketing activities and prohibits them from making 
misrepresentations or unsubstantiated claims related to other financial 
products or services.

The FTC is mailing 136 checks to consumers who previously filed a complaint with law enforcement. The checks average&nbsp;$1,641 each.
 People who receive checks should deposit or cash their checks within 90
 days, as indicated on the check. Recipients who have questions about 
their checks can call the refund administrator, Analytics, at 844-695-0454. The FTC never requires people to pay money or provide account information to cash a refund check.

The FTC’s <a href="https://public.tableau.com/profile/federal.trade.commission#!/vizhome/Refunds_15797958402020/RefundsbyCase">interactive dashboards for refund data(link is external)</a>
 provide a state-by-state breakdown of FTC refunds. In 2020, FTC actions
 led to more than $483 million in refunds to consumers across the 
country, but recently the United States Supreme Court ruled the FTC 
lacks authority under Section 13(b) to seek monetary relief in federal 
court going forward. The <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/04/ftc-asks-congress-pass-legislation-reviving-agencys-authority">Commission has urged Congress</a> to restore the FTC’s ability to get money back for consumers.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and to <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-consumer-protection">protect and educate consumers</a>. You can <a href="https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/">learn more about consumer topics</a> and report scams, fraud, and bad business practices online at <a href="https://reportfraud.ftc.gov">ReportFraud.ftc.gov</a>. Like the FTC on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/federaltradecommission">Facebook(link is external)</a>, follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/FTC">Twitter(link is external)</a>, get <a href="http://ftc.gov/subscribe">consumer alerts</a>, read our <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs">blogs</a>, and <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/stay-connected">subscribe to press releases</a> for the latest FTC news and resources.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619632629588.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>FTCThe Federal Trade Commission is sending refunds totaling more than $223,000 to people who lost money to a student loan and mortgage debt relief operation.The FTC alleged that A1 DocPrep Inc., 
Streamlined Marketing, and their owner, Horman Ardalan falsely claimed 
to be from the Department of Education, and promised to reduce 
borrowers’ monthly payments or forgive their student loans in exchange 
for illegal upfront fees, according to the <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/a1_docprep_inc._complaint.pdf">FTC’s September 2017 complaint</a>.
 The FTC also alleged the defendants targeted distressed homeowners by 
making false promises that they would provide mortgage relief and 
prevent foreclosure.<a href="https://public.tableau.com/profile/federal.trade.commission#!/vizhome/Refunds_15797958402020/RefundsbyCase"></a> The refunds stem from <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2018/11/remaining-operators-student-debt-relief-scheme-settle-ftc-charges">settlements</a> the defendants reached with the FTC that also ban them from debt
 relief and telemarketing activities and prohibits them from making 
misrepresentations or unsubstantiated claims related to other financial 
products or services.The FTC is mailing 136 checks to consumers who previously filed a complaint with law enforcement. The checks average&nbsp;$1,641 each.
 People who receive checks should deposit or cash their checks within 90
 days, as indicated on the check. Recipients who have questions about 
their checks can call the refund administrator, Analytics, at 844-695-0454. The FTC never requires people to pay money or provide account information to cash a refund check.The FTC’s <a href="https://public.tableau.com/profile/federal.trade.commission#!/vizhome/Refunds_15797958402020/RefundsbyCase">interactive dashboards for refund data(link is external)</a>
 provide a state-by-state breakdown of FTC refunds. In 2020, FTC actions
 led to more than $483 million in refunds to consumers across the 
country, but recently the United States Supreme Court ruled the FTC 
lacks authority under Section 13(b) to seek monetary relief in federal 
court going forward. The <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/04/ftc-asks-congress-pass-legislation-reviving-agencys-authority">Commission has urged Congress</a> to restore the FTC’s ability to get money back for consumers.The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and to <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-consumer-protection">protect and educate consumers</a>. You can <a href="https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/">learn more about consumer topics</a> and report scams, fraud, and bad business practices online at <a href="https://reportfraud.ftc.gov">ReportFraud.ftc.gov</a>. Like the FTC on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/federaltradecommission">Facebook(link is external)</a>, follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/FTC">Twitter(link is external)</a>, get <a href="http://ftc.gov/subscribe">consumer alerts</a>, read our <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs">blogs</a>, and <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/stay-connected">subscribe to press releases</a> for the latest FTC news and resources.

FTC sends refunds to victims of student loan, mortgage scheme

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Medical marijuana won’t be allowed on the campuses of South Dakota’s public universities. 

The Board of Regents, which oversees the state’s six public universities, changed its policy on medical marijuana as the state prepares for the drug to be legalized on July 1.

 It reasoned that it had to stay in compliance with federal law, which still outlaws the drug. 

The new policy does not stop university students or employees from ingesting medical pot on property not controlled or owned by the board, but threatens to discipline students and employees who are “impaired” while in class or at their jobs.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Medical marijuana won’t be allowed on the campuses of South Dakota’s public universities. The Board of Regents, which oversees the state’s six public universities, changed its policy on medical marijuana as the state prepares for the drug to be legalized on July 1. It reasoned that it had to stay in compliance with federal law, which still outlaws the drug. The new policy does not stop university students or employees from ingesting medical pot on property not controlled or owned by the board, but threatens to discipline students and employees who are “impaired” while in class or at their jobs.

South Dakota Board of Regents: no medical pot on campus

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Parts of Nebraska and Iowa are cleaning up after strong overnight storms.

 Storms Wednesday night and Thursday morning led to wind damage and power outages in the Omaha area and other parts of Nebraska. 

Wind gusts of more than 60 mph downed power lines and trees. Thousands of homes and businesses in the Omaha lost power. 

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

 The Dodge County, Nebraska, Sheriff’s Office reported that an electrical supply line fell across all four lanes of traffic on Highway 30.

 In Iowa, a tree struck a gas line at a home in Pottawattamie County, forcing the evacuation of that home and neighboring houses.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Parts of Nebraska and Iowa are cleaning up after strong overnight storms. Storms Wednesday night and Thursday morning led to wind damage and power outages in the Omaha area and other parts of Nebraska. Wind gusts of more than 60 mph downed power lines and trees. Thousands of homes and businesses in the Omaha lost power. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The Dodge County, Nebraska, Sheriff’s Office reported that an electrical supply line fell across all four lanes of traffic on Highway 30. In Iowa, a tree struck a gas line at a home in Pottawattamie County, forcing the evacuation of that home and neighboring houses.

Storms cause damage in parts of Nebraska

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska man has been convicted of cyberstalking for trying to use nude photos of a legislative candidate’s wife as blackmail to derail the candidate’s campaign.

 The Omaha World-Herald reports that a federal jury convicted Dennis Sryniawski, of Bellevue, on Monday. 

Prosecutors said Sryniawski sent threatening and sexually explicit emails to Jeff Parris when he was running for the Nebraska Legislature in 2018 urging him to drop out of the race.

 At the time, Diane Parris was serving as her husband’s campaign manager.

 Jeff Parris remained in the race but lost the election. 

Dianne Parris later went public and testified before a legislative committee in support of a proposal to outlaw so-called revenge porn.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska man has been convicted of cyberstalking for trying to use nude photos of a legislative candidate’s wife as blackmail to derail the candidate’s campaign. The Omaha World-Herald reports that a federal jury convicted Dennis Sryniawski, of Bellevue, on Monday. Prosecutors said Sryniawski sent threatening and sexually explicit emails to Jeff Parris when he was running for the Nebraska Legislature in 2018 urging him to drop out of the race. At the time, Diane Parris was serving as her husband’s campaign manager. Jeff Parris remained in the race but lost the election. Dianne Parris later went public and testified before a legislative committee in support of a proposal to outlaw so-called revenge porn.

Nebraska man guilty of using nude photo for blackmail

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Police in the Kansas City suburb of Independence are investigating after a teenage girl was found shot to death.

Police responding to a call found the victim Wednesday afternoon inside a home. Her name and age have not been released. No arrests have been made.

The killing was the second this week in Independence. Police say 30-year-old Ales L. Carr of Kansas City, Missouri, died early Monday at a hospital, where she had been dropped off after being shot in the head. Police believe she was shot at a home in Independence.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Police in the Kansas City suburb of Independence are investigating after a teenage girl was found shot to death.Police responding to a call found the victim Wednesday afternoon inside a home. Her name and age have not been released. No arrests have been made.The killing was the second this week in Independence. Police say 30-year-old Ales L. Carr of Kansas City, Missouri, died early Monday at a hospital, where she had been dropped off after being shot in the head. Police believe she was shot at a home in Independence.

Teenage girl shot to death in Kansas City suburb

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced new efforts Wednesday to stem a rising national tide of violent crime, declaring the federal government is “taking on the bad actors doing bad things to our communities.” But questions persist about how effective the efforts can be in what could be a turbulent summer.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?512889-1/president-biden-attorney-general-garland-deliver-remarks-gun-crime-prevention">Click here to watch </a>the President's remarks

Crime rates have risen after plummeting during the initial months of the coronavirus pandemic, creating economic hardship and anxiety. Biden’s plan focuses on providing money to cities that need more police, offering community support and most of all cracking down on gun violence and those supplying illegal firearms.

“These merchants of death are breaking the law for profit,” Biden said. “If you willfully sell a gun to someone who’s prohibited, my message to you is this: We’ll find you and we’ll seek your license to sell guns. We’ll make sure you can’t sell death and mayhem on our streets.”

But there are also tricky politics at play, and Biden's plan shows how few options the Democratic president has on the issue.

The steps he outlined are aimed at going hard after gun dealers who break federal law and establishing strike forces in several cities to help stop weapons trafficking. He also said he would seek more money for the agency that tracks the nation's guns.

But the rest of his new strategy boils down mostly to suggestions for beleaguered localities. He's encouraging cities to invest some of their COVID-19 relief funds into policing and pushing alternative crime reduction steps such as increased community support and summer jobs for teenagers — often both targets and perpetrators of violence.

The president has been clear that he is opposed to the “defund the police” movement, which has been effectively used against other Democrats to cast them as anti-law enforcement.

“This is not a time to turn our backs on law enforcement," said Biden, who noted that "crime historically rises during the summer, and as we emerge from this pandemic the traditional summer spike may be even more pronounced than it usually would be.”

But he's also is trying to boost progressives' efforts to reform policing, following a year of demonstrations and public anguish sparked by the killing by police of George Floyd and other Black people across the country. While combating crime and overhauling the police don't have to be at odds, the two efforts are increasingly billed that way.

Biden will try to do both at once. But Republicans quickly tried to portray his measures as government overreach and linked them to efforts to rein in policing.

“I think a lot of it ties back to this whole ‘defund the police’ movement and some of the disruption we had in civil society last year,” Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said on Fox News. “And I think that’s part of, when you start undermining that basic foundation, you start breaking apart the bonds that hold us together and that’s why you see an increase in crime.”

Biden announced a “zero tolerance" policy that would give no leeway to gun dealers who fail to comply with federal law — their licenses to sell would be revoked on a first offense.

The president has already announced a half-dozen executive actions on gun control, including going after “ghost guns,” homemade firearms that lack serial numbers for tracking and often are purchased without background checks.

A number of anti-crime and gun safety groups, including the Brady Campaign and Everytown for Gun Safety, applauded the administration's efforts.

“The president is helping start a much-needed conversation about reducing violent crime. A greater investment in community interventions will help take a bite out of violent crime," said Paul DelPonte, head of the National Crime Prevention Council. "Strategies that increase public engagement in public safety are proven crime stoppers. Putting more police officers who are trained and certified in crime prevention on the streets of our communities makes sense.”

Legislation to expand background checks has so far stalled in the Senate after the House passed it in March, even though Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed then that the Senate would hold a vote on the bill.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy has been negotiating for weeks with individual Republicans to see if there is legislation that could win enough votes for passage. One option is to narrow the scope of the House bill and expand background checks only to commercial sales like gun shows. Most Republicans oppose regulating private sales between individuals, as the House bill would do, but some have said they would support tougher regulation of gun shows.

Biden will seek increased transparency on gun data and better coordination among states, and he will push Congress for more money for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the agency responsible for enforcing federal gun laws and regulating gun dealers. The Justice Department is also launching strike forces in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., to help take down illegal gun traffickers.

Police officials have said they are struggling with increasing crime and continued tensions between police and communities; some say their calls for support aren't answered as they take the blame for the spike. Biden noted that $350 billion of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package can be used by cities to hire law enforcement officers, pay overtime, prosecute gun traffickers and invest in technology to make law enforcement more efficient.

While crime is rising — homicides and shootings are up from the same period last year in Chicago; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Portland, Oregon; Baltimore; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Houston — violent crime overall remains lower than it was a decade ago or even five years ago. Most violent crimes plummeted during the first six months of the coronavirus pandemic, as people stayed indoors and away from others, then started creeping up last summer.

It all comes against the backdrop of the national debate on policing and racism — and as a police reform bill is being crafted in Congress.

As a senator, Biden wrote several major anti-crime packages, including a 1994 bill that contained provisions now viewed by some as an overreaction to the crime spikes in the 1980s and 1990s. Critics say those bills helped lead to mass incarceration of Black Americans, and Biden’s involvement became an issue in his 2020 campaign.

Biden has expressed second thoughts about some aspects of the legislation. But he and his allies still point to the law’s provisions to address domestic violence, ban assault weapons and finance community policing.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624486188733.png" alt="The President's plan focuses on providing money to cities that need more police, offering community support and most of all cracking down on gun violence and those supplying illegal firearms-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>The President's plan focuses on providing money to cities that need more police, offering community support and most of all cracking down on gun violence and those supplying illegal firearms-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced new efforts Wednesday to stem a rising national tide of violent crime, declaring the federal government is “taking on the bad actors doing bad things to our communities.” But questions persist about how effective the efforts can be in what could be a turbulent summer.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?512889-1/president-biden-attorney-general-garland-deliver-remarks-gun-crime-prevention">Click here to watch </a>the President's remarksCrime rates have risen after plummeting during the initial months of the coronavirus pandemic, creating economic hardship and anxiety. Biden’s plan focuses on providing money to cities that need more police, offering community support and most of all cracking down on gun violence and those supplying illegal firearms.“These merchants of death are breaking the law for profit,” Biden said. “If you willfully sell a gun to someone who’s prohibited, my message to you is this: We’ll find you and we’ll seek your license to sell guns. We’ll make sure you can’t sell death and mayhem on our streets.”But there are also tricky politics at play, and Biden's plan shows how few options the Democratic president has on the issue.The steps he outlined are aimed at going hard after gun dealers who break federal law and establishing strike forces in several cities to help stop weapons trafficking. He also said he would seek more money for the agency that tracks the nation's guns.But the rest of his new strategy boils down mostly to suggestions for beleaguered localities. He's encouraging cities to invest some of their COVID-19 relief funds into policing and pushing alternative crime reduction steps such as increased community support and summer jobs for teenagers — often both targets and perpetrators of violence.But it's voluntary.The president has been clear that he is opposed to the “defund the police” movement, which has been effectively used against other Democrats to cast them as anti-law enforcement.“This is not a time to turn our backs on law enforcement," said Biden, who noted that "crime historically rises during the summer, and as we emerge from this pandemic the traditional summer spike may be even more pronounced than it usually would be.”But he's also is trying to boost progressives' efforts to reform policing, following a year of demonstrations and public anguish sparked by the killing by police of George Floyd and other Black people across the country. While combating crime and overhauling the police don't have to be at odds, the two efforts are increasingly billed that way.Biden will try to do both at once. But Republicans quickly tried to portray his measures as government overreach and linked them to efforts to rein in policing.“I think a lot of it ties back to this whole ‘defund the police’ movement and some of the disruption we had in civil society last year,” Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said on Fox News. “And I think that’s part of, when you start undermining that basic foundation, you start breaking apart the bonds that hold us together and that’s why you see an increase in crime.”Biden announced a “zero tolerance" policy that would give no leeway to gun dealers who fail to comply with federal law — their licenses to sell would be revoked on a first offense.The president has already announced a half-dozen executive actions on gun control, including going after “ghost guns,” homemade firearms that lack serial numbers for tracking and often are purchased without background checks.A number of anti-crime and gun safety groups, including the Brady Campaign and Everytown for Gun Safety, applauded the administration's efforts.“The president is helping start a much-needed conversation about reducing violent crime. A greater investment in community interventions will help take a bite out of violent crime," said Paul DelPonte, head of the National Crime Prevention Council. "Strategies that increase public engagement in public safety are proven crime stoppers. Putting more police officers who are trained and certified in crime prevention on the streets of our communities makes sense.”Legislation to expand background checks has so far stalled in the Senate after the House passed it in March, even though Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed then that the Senate would hold a vote on the bill.Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy has been negotiating for weeks with individual Republicans to see if there is legislation that could win enough votes for passage. One option is to narrow the scope of the House bill and expand background checks only to commercial sales like gun shows. Most Republicans oppose regulating private sales between individuals, as the House bill would do, but some have said they would support tougher regulation of gun shows.Biden will seek increased transparency on gun data and better coordination among states, and he will push Congress for more money for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the agency responsible for enforcing federal gun laws and regulating gun dealers. The Justice Department is also launching strike forces in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., to help take down illegal gun traffickers.Police officials have said they are struggling with increasing crime and continued tensions between police and communities; some say their calls for support aren't answered as they take the blame for the spike. Biden noted that $350 billion of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package can be used by cities to hire law enforcement officers, pay overtime, prosecute gun traffickers and invest in technology to make law enforcement more efficient.While crime is rising — homicides and shootings are up from the same period last year in Chicago; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Portland, Oregon; Baltimore; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Houston — violent crime overall remains lower than it was a decade ago or even five years ago. Most violent crimes plummeted during the first six months of the coronavirus pandemic, as people stayed indoors and away from others, then started creeping up last summer.It all comes against the backdrop of the national debate on policing and racism — and as a police reform bill is being crafted in Congress.As a senator, Biden wrote several major anti-crime packages, including a 1994 bill that contained provisions now viewed by some as an overreaction to the crime spikes in the 1980s and 1990s. Critics say those bills helped lead to mass incarceration of Black Americans, and Biden’s involvement became an issue in his 2020 campaign.Biden has expressed second thoughts about some aspects of the legislation. But he and his allies still point to the law’s provisions to address domestic violence, ban assault weapons and finance community policing.___

🎥 President Biden's plan to stem rising tide of violent crime

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the case of the cursing cheerleader, the Supreme Court notched a victory for the free speech rights of students Wednesday, siding with a high school student whose vulgar social media post got her kicked off the junior varsity squad.

The court voted 8-1 in favor of Brandi Levy, who was a 14-year-old freshman when she expressed her disappointment over not making the varsity cheerleading team with a string of curse words and a raised middle finger on Snapchat.

Levy, of Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, was not at school when she made her post, but she was suspended from cheerleading activities for a year anyway. In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20971151-mahanoy-area-school-district-v-b-l" target="_blank">an opinion by Justice Stephen Breyer</a>, the high court ruled that the suspension violated Levy’s First Amendment freedom of speech rights. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, noting he would have upheld the suspension.

The justices did not foreclose schools from disciplining students for what they say off campus, though they did not spell out when schools could act. An earlier federal appeals court ruling in this case would have barred public schools from punishing off-campus speech.

Despite ruling in Levy’s favor, Breyer wrote that “we do not believe the special characteristics that give schools additional license to regulate student speech always disappear when a school regulates speech that takes place off campus. The school’s regulatory interests remain significant in some off-campus circumstances.”

The case drew extra interest at a time of remote learning — because of the coronavirus pandemic — and a rising awareness of the harmful effects of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/f52ab056e47a4025ac8b10d67cca2949">online bullying</a>.

The decision was a strong endorsement of students’ right to speak freely, which the court first expressed more than a half century ago in defending armbands worn by high school students in protest of the Vietnam War, said Abner Greene, a constitutional law professor at the Fordham University School of Law in Manhattan.

“Students can engage in all kinds of critical or dissenting commentary, whether about the Vietnam War or the student cheerleading team, without losing their free speech rights. And it doesn’t matter where they say it,” Greene said.

The case arose from Levy’s posts, one of which pictured her and a friend with raised middle fingers and included the repeated use of a vulgarity to complain that she had been left off the varsity cheerleading squad.

“F——— school f——— softball f——— cheer f——— everything,” she wrote near the end of her freshman year, from a local convenience store, on a Saturday. Now 18, Levy recently finished her first year of college.

Levy’s parents filed a federal lawsuit after the cheerleading coach learned of the posts and suspended her from the junior varsity team for a year. Lower courts ruled in Levy’s favor, and she was reinstated.

The school district&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-of-the-united-states-brett-kavanaugh-elena-kagan-religion-courts-a4cbdf8ef08ea427ef94ba8f426cb9ac">appealed to the Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;after the broad appellate ruling that said off-campus student speech was beyond schools’ authority to punish.

The dispute is the latest in a line of a cases that began with Tinker v. Des Moines, the Vietnam-era case of a high school in Des Moines, Iowa, that suspended armband-wearing students. In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court sided with the students, declaring they don’t “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

The court also held then that schools retained the authority to restrict speech that would disrupt the school environment.

Wednesday’s ruling basically adopted the reasoning of Judge Thomas Ambro of the 3rd U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Philadelphia. Ambro agreed with the other two judges who decided Levy’s case that the suspension was unwarranted, but only because what she did was not disruptive either to the cheerleading team or school.

Breyer wrote that Levy’s case seemed less serious than its Vietnam-era predecessor.

“It might be tempting to dismiss B. L.’s words as unworthy of the robust First Amendment protections discussed herein. But sometimes it is necessary to protect the superfluous in order to preserve the necessary,” he wrote, using Levy’s initials because that was how she was identified in the original lawsuit. Levy has granted numerous interviews allowing her name to be used.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1578090484280.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — In the case of the cursing cheerleader, the Supreme Court notched a victory for the free speech rights of students Wednesday, siding with a high school student whose vulgar social media post got her kicked off the junior varsity squad.The court voted 8-1 in favor of Brandi Levy, who was a 14-year-old freshman when she expressed her disappointment over not making the varsity cheerleading team with a string of curse words and a raised middle finger on Snapchat.Levy, of Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, was not at school when she made her post, but she was suspended from cheerleading activities for a year anyway. In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20971151-mahanoy-area-school-district-v-b-l" target="_blank">an opinion by Justice Stephen Breyer</a>, the high court ruled that the suspension violated Levy’s First Amendment freedom of speech rights. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, noting he would have upheld the suspension.The justices did not foreclose schools from disciplining students for what they say off campus, though they did not spell out when schools could act. An earlier federal appeals court ruling in this case would have barred public schools from punishing off-campus speech.Despite ruling in Levy’s favor, Breyer wrote that “we do not believe the special characteristics that give schools additional license to regulate student speech always disappear when a school regulates speech that takes place off campus. The school’s regulatory interests remain significant in some off-campus circumstances.”The case drew extra interest at a time of remote learning — because of the coronavirus pandemic — and a rising awareness of the harmful effects of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/f52ab056e47a4025ac8b10d67cca2949">online bullying</a>.The decision was a strong endorsement of students’ right to speak freely, which the court first expressed more than a half century ago in defending armbands worn by high school students in protest of the Vietnam War, said Abner Greene, a constitutional law professor at the Fordham University School of Law in Manhattan.“Students can engage in all kinds of critical or dissenting commentary, whether about the Vietnam War or the student cheerleading team, without losing their free speech rights. And it doesn’t matter where they say it,” Greene said.The case arose from Levy’s posts, one of which pictured her and a friend with raised middle fingers and included the repeated use of a vulgarity to complain that she had been left off the varsity cheerleading squad.“F——— school f——— softball f——— cheer f——— everything,” she wrote near the end of her freshman year, from a local convenience store, on a Saturday. Now 18, Levy recently finished her first year of college.Levy’s parents filed a federal lawsuit after the cheerleading coach learned of the posts and suspended her from the junior varsity team for a year. Lower courts ruled in Levy’s favor, and she was reinstated.The school district&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-of-the-united-states-brett-kavanaugh-elena-kagan-religion-courts-a4cbdf8ef08ea427ef94ba8f426cb9ac">appealed to the Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;after the broad appellate ruling that said off-campus student speech was beyond schools’ authority to punish.The dispute is the latest in a line of a cases that began with Tinker v. Des Moines, the Vietnam-era case of a high school in Des Moines, Iowa, that suspended armband-wearing students. In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court sided with the students, declaring they don’t “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”The court also held then that schools retained the authority to restrict speech that would disrupt the school environment.Wednesday’s ruling basically adopted the reasoning of Judge Thomas Ambro of the 3rd U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Philadelphia. Ambro agreed with the other two judges who decided Levy’s case that the suspension was unwarranted, but only because what she did was not disruptive either to the cheerleading team or school.Breyer wrote that Levy’s case seemed less serious than its Vietnam-era predecessor.“It might be tempting to dismiss B. L.’s words as unworthy of the robust First Amendment protections discussed herein. But sometimes it is necessary to protect the superfluous in order to preserve the necessary,” he wrote, using Levy’s initials because that was how she was identified in the original lawsuit. Levy has granted numerous interviews allowing her name to be used.

Justices rule for foul-mouthed cheerleader in free speech case

WASHINGTON
 — The Internal Revenue Service is partnering with non-profit 
organizations, churches, community groups and others in 12 cities to 
help eligible families, particularly those who normally do not file a 
federal tax return, file a 2020 income tax return or register for the 
monthly Advance Child Tax Credit (AdvCTC) payments using the new <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-non-filer-sign-up-tool">Non-filer Sign-up Tool</a>.

This tool, an update of last year's IRS Non-Filers tool, is also 
designed to help eligible individuals who don't normally file tax 
returns register for the $1,400 third round of Economic Impact Payments 
(also known as stimulus checks) and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit for
 any amount of the first two rounds of Economic Impact Payments they may
 have missed. Individuals do not need to have children in order to 
attend these events and sign up for Economic Impact Payments.

The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5532.pdf">special events&nbsp;PDF</a>
 by IRS and partner groups to help people quickly file income tax 
returns and register for the advance payments will take place over two 
weekends, June 25-26 and July 9-10, 2021. Events will be held in 
Atlanta; New York; Detroit; Houston; Los Angeles; Las Vegas; Miami; 
Milwaukee; Philadelphia; Phoenix; St. Louis; and Washington, DC.

"This important new tax change affects millions of families across 
the nation, and the IRS wants to do everything it can to help people get
 the payments," said IRS Wage &amp; Investment Commissioner Ken Corbin, 
who also serves as the agency's Chief Taxpayer Experience Officer. "Many
 people miss out on tax benefits simply because they don't file a tax 
return. Our work in these cities is designed to help people receive 
monthly Advance Child Tax Credit payments and Economic Impact Payments."

People can check their eligibility for the AdvCTC payments by using the new <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-eligibility-assistant">Advance Child Tax Credit Eligibility Assistant</a>.

To make the sign-up process go quickly and smoothly, people are 
encouraged to have the following information when they come to one of 
these events:

As part of a wider effort to raise awareness of the expanded 
Child Tax Credit, the IRS also encourages its partners to use available <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">online tools and toolkits</a> to help non-filers, low-income families and other underserved groups sign up to receive the AdvCTC.

Some tax credits, such as the Child Tax Credit (CTC), are 
"refundable," meaning that even if taxpayers don't owe income tax, the 
IRS will issue them a refund if they're eligible; but they must file a 
tax return or register with the new Non-filer Sign-up Tool to receive 
it. Some people who haven't filed a 2020 tax return yet are also 
eligible for the $1,400 per person Economic Impact Payments and the 
Recovery Rebate Credit.

The first monthly payments of the expanded and newly-advanceable CTC 
from the American Rescue Plan will be made in July. Most families will 
begin receiving monthly payments without any additional action. Eligible
 families will receive a payment of up to $300 per month for each child 
under age 6, and up to $250 per month for each child ages 6 to 17.

People who need to file a 2020 federal income tax return, but are 
unable to attend one of these events, may be able to prepare and file 
their own federal income tax online using IRS <a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free">Free File</a> if their income is $72,000 or less.

People who don't need to file a 2020 federal tax return can use the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-non-filer-sign-up-tool">Non-filer Sign-up Tool</a> to register to receive the advance CTC payments, the Third Round Economic Impact Payment, and the Recovery Rebate Credit.

The IRS encourages people to request payments via direct deposit, 
which is faster and more secure than other payment methods. People who 
don't have a bank account should visit the <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/about/initiatives/getbanked/index.html">Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation</a> website for details on opening an account online. They can also use the FDIC's <a href="https://banks.data.fdic.gov/bankfind-suite/bankfind">BankFind</a> tool to locate an FDIC-insured bank.

Finally, <a href="https://covidbanking.joinbankon.org/">BankOn</a>, <a href="https://www.aba.com/advocacy/community-programs/consumer-resources/manage-your-money/choosing-safe-affordable-account">American Bankers Association</a>, <a href="https://www.icba.org/about/find-a-community-bank/open-a-bank-account-remotely">Independent Community Bankers of America</a> and <a href="https://www.mycreditunion.gov/about-credit-unions/credit-union-locator">National Credit Union Administration</a> have lists of banks and credit unions that can open an account online. Veterans can see the <a href="https://www.benefits.va.gov/benefits/banking.asp">Veterans Benefits Banking Program</a> for financial services at participating banks.

The expanded and newly-advanceable Child Tax Credit was authorized by
 the American Rescue Plan Act, enacted in March. Normally, the IRS will 
calculate the payment based on a family's 2020 tax return, including 
those who use the Non-filer Sign-up Tool. If that return is not 
available because it has not yet been filed or is still being processed,
 the IRS will instead determine the initial payment amounts using the 
2019 return or the information entered using the Non-filers tool that 
was available in 2020.

The payment will be up to $300 per month for each child under age 6 and up to $250 per month for each child age 6 through 17.

To make sure families have easy access to their money, the IRS will 
issue these payments by direct deposit, as long as correct banking 
information has previously been provided to the IRS. Otherwise, people 
should watch their mail around July 15 for their mailed payment. The 
dates for the Advance Child Tax Credit payments are July 15, August&nbsp;13, 
September&nbsp;15, October&nbsp;15, November&nbsp;15, and December&nbsp;15.

To learn more about advance CTC payments, visit <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">IRS.gov/childtaxcredit2021</a> or see <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/2021-child-tax-credit-and-advance-child-tax-credit-payments-frequently-asked-questions">FAQs on the 2021 Child Tax Credit and Advance Child Tax Credit Payments</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON
 — The Internal Revenue Service is partnering with non-profit 
organizations, churches, community groups and others in 12 cities to 
help eligible families, particularly those who normally do not file a 
federal tax return, file a 2020 income tax return or register for the 
monthly Advance Child Tax Credit (AdvCTC) payments using the new <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-non-filer-sign-up-tool">Non-filer Sign-up Tool</a>.This tool, an update of last year's IRS Non-Filers tool, is also 
designed to help eligible individuals who don't normally file tax 
returns register for the $1,400 third round of Economic Impact Payments 
(also known as stimulus checks) and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit for
 any amount of the first two rounds of Economic Impact Payments they may
 have missed. Individuals do not need to have children in order to 
attend these events and sign up for Economic Impact Payments.The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5532.pdf">special events&nbsp;PDF</a>
 by IRS and partner groups to help people quickly file income tax 
returns and register for the advance payments will take place over two 
weekends, June 25-26 and July 9-10, 2021. Events will be held in 
Atlanta; New York; Detroit; Houston; Los Angeles; Las Vegas; Miami; 
Milwaukee; Philadelphia; Phoenix; St. Louis; and Washington, DC."This important new tax change affects millions of families across 
the nation, and the IRS wants to do everything it can to help people get
 the payments," said IRS Wage &amp; Investment Commissioner Ken Corbin, 
who also serves as the agency's Chief Taxpayer Experience Officer. "Many
 people miss out on tax benefits simply because they don't file a tax 
return. Our work in these cities is designed to help people receive 
monthly Advance Child Tax Credit payments and Economic Impact Payments."People can check their eligibility for the AdvCTC payments by using the new <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-eligibility-assistant">Advance Child Tax Credit Eligibility Assistant</a>.To make the sign-up process go quickly and smoothly, people are 
encouraged to have the following information when they come to one of 
these events:<ol>
 <li>Social Security numbers for their children,</li><li>Social Security numbers or Tax Identification Numbers for themselves and their spouse,</li><li>a reliable mailing address,</li><li>an email address, and</li><li>their bank account information if they want to receive their payment by direct deposit.</li>
 </ol>As part of a wider effort to raise awareness of the expanded 
Child Tax Credit, the IRS also encourages its partners to use available <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">online tools and toolkits</a> to help non-filers, low-income families and other underserved groups sign up to receive the AdvCTC.Some tax credits, such as the Child Tax Credit (CTC), are 
"refundable," meaning that even if taxpayers don't owe income tax, the 
IRS will issue them a refund if they're eligible; but they must file a 
tax return or register with the new Non-filer Sign-up Tool to receive 
it. Some people who haven't filed a 2020 tax return yet are also 
eligible for the $1,400 per person Economic Impact Payments and the 
Recovery Rebate Credit.The first monthly payments of the expanded and newly-advanceable CTC 
from the American Rescue Plan will be made in July. Most families will 
begin receiving monthly payments without any additional action. Eligible
 families will receive a payment of up to $300 per month for each child 
under age 6, and up to $250 per month for each child ages 6 to 17.People who need to file a 2020 federal income tax return, but are 
unable to attend one of these events, may be able to prepare and file 
their own federal income tax online using IRS <a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free">Free File</a> if their income is $72,000 or less.People who don't need to file a 2020 federal tax return can use the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-non-filer-sign-up-tool">Non-filer Sign-up Tool</a> to register to receive the advance CTC payments, the Third Round Economic Impact Payment, and the Recovery Rebate Credit.The IRS encourages people to request payments via direct deposit, 
which is faster and more secure than other payment methods. People who 
don't have a bank account should visit the <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/about/initiatives/getbanked/index.html">Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation</a> website for details on opening an account online. They can also use the FDIC's <a href="https://banks.data.fdic.gov/bankfind-suite/bankfind">BankFind</a> tool to locate an FDIC-insured bank.Finally, <a href="https://covidbanking.joinbankon.org/">BankOn</a>, <a href="https://www.aba.com/advocacy/community-programs/consumer-resources/manage-your-money/choosing-safe-affordable-account">American Bankers Association</a>, <a href="https://www.icba.org/about/find-a-community-bank/open-a-bank-account-remotely">Independent Community Bankers of America</a> and <a href="https://www.mycreditunion.gov/about-credit-unions/credit-union-locator">National Credit Union Administration</a> have lists of banks and credit unions that can open an account online. Veterans can see the <a href="https://www.benefits.va.gov/benefits/banking.asp">Veterans Benefits Banking Program</a> for financial services at participating banks.<h2>About the advance Child Tax Credit</h2>The expanded and newly-advanceable Child Tax Credit was authorized by
 the American Rescue Plan Act, enacted in March. Normally, the IRS will 
calculate the payment based on a family's 2020 tax return, including 
those who use the Non-filer Sign-up Tool. If that return is not 
available because it has not yet been filed or is still being processed,
 the IRS will instead determine the initial payment amounts using the 
2019 return or the information entered using the Non-filers tool that 
was available in 2020.The payment will be up to $300 per month for each child under age 6 and up to $250 per month for each child age 6 through 17.To make sure families have easy access to their money, the IRS will 
issue these payments by direct deposit, as long as correct banking 
information has previously been provided to the IRS. Otherwise, people 
should watch their mail around July 15 for their mailed payment. The 
dates for the Advance Child Tax Credit payments are July 15, August&nbsp;13, 
September&nbsp;15, October&nbsp;15, November&nbsp;15, and December&nbsp;15.To learn more about advance CTC payments, visit <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">IRS.gov/childtaxcredit2021</a> or see <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/2021-child-tax-credit-and-advance-child-tax-credit-payments-frequently-asked-questions">FAQs on the 2021 Child Tax Credit and Advance Child Tax Credit Payments</a>.

IRS: Free tax help for families to get Child Tax Credit, COVID relief payments

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 78-year-old Lincoln woman who was shot in the head earlier this week has died, so prosecutors are considering upgrading the charges against her husband. 

The woman’s 80-year-old husband, John Kotopka, is currently charged with first-degree assault and a weapons crime, and he is being held on $500,000 bond. 

Court documents say Janet Kotopka had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about two years ago and her health had deteriorated significantly. 

John Kotopka told investigators he was “exhausted and couldn’t take care of her any longer” and he worried about the potential financial burden of her being cared for at a nursing home.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 78-year-old Lincoln woman who was shot in the head earlier this week has died, so prosecutors are considering upgrading the charges against her husband. The woman’s 80-year-old husband, John Kotopka, is currently charged with first-degree assault and a weapons crime, and he is being held on $500,000 bond. Janet Kotopka died Wednesday morning. Court documents say Janet Kotopka had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about two years ago and her health had deteriorated significantly. John Kotopka told investigators he was “exhausted and couldn’t take care of her any longer” and he worried about the potential financial burden of her being cared for at a nursing home.

Woman dies days after shooting, husband may face new charges

By SETH BORENSTEIN-Associated Press&nbsp;&nbsp;

(AP)-A new study says there are lots of stars and planets in our galactic neighborhood that can get a good glimpse of Earth and its civilization. 

Wednesday's study flips the technique used to search for extraterrestrial life on its head. Instead of astronomers looking to see what's out there, this study looks from other star systems' points of view to see what places could see us. 

There are more than 1,700 stars that could have had a prime view of Earth when it occasionally passes in front of the sun. 

That's a key method that Earth's astronomers use to find planets outside of our solar system.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624467052924.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By SETH BORENSTEIN-Associated Press&nbsp;&nbsp;(AP)-A new study says there are lots of stars and planets in our galactic neighborhood that can get a good glimpse of Earth and its civilization. Wednesday's study flips the technique used to search for extraterrestrial life on its head. Instead of astronomers looking to see what's out there, this study looks from other star systems' points of view to see what places could see us. There are more than 1,700 stars that could have had a prime view of Earth when it occasionally passes in front of the sun. That's a key method that Earth's astronomers use to find planets outside of our solar system.

Can ET see us? Study finds many stars with prime Earth view

NEW YORK (AP) — Warren Buffett resigned Wednesday as trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which says it will announce plans in July to answer questions raised about its leadership structure as it deals with the divorce of its two founders.

 The announcement from Buffett comes weeks after Bill and Melinda Gates announced that they were divorcing after 27 years of marriage but would continue to jointly run the foundation. 

It's one of the largest charitable foundations in the world. 

Buffett also said Wednesday that he is halfway to reaching his goal of giving away the entirety of his shares in Berkshire Hathaway, his company.

NEW YORK (AP) — Warren Buffett resigned Wednesday as trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which says it will announce plans in July to answer questions raised about its leadership structure as it deals with the divorce of its two founders. The announcement from Buffett comes weeks after Bill and Melinda Gates announced that they were divorcing after 27 years of marriage but would continue to jointly run the foundation. It's one of the largest charitable foundations in the world. Buffett also said Wednesday that he is halfway to reaching his goal of giving away the entirety of his shares in Berkshire Hathaway, his company.

Warren Buffett resigns from Gates Foundation

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. (AP) — Offutt Air Force Base’s 55th Wing has a new leader — the first woman to command the 80-year-old reconnaissance unit.

 The Omaha World-Herald reports that Col. Kristen Thompson took over command Tuesday, becoming the first woman among the 65 officers who have led the unit since it was established in 1941.

 She replaces Col. Gavin Marks, who was the first Black leader of the unit.

 Marks led the 55th Wing through a tumultuous time that included the early stages of recovery from the March 2019 floods and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

About 300 people, including Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, attended the ceremony.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. (AP) — Offutt Air Force Base’s 55th Wing has a new leader — the first woman to command the 80-year-old reconnaissance unit. The Omaha World-Herald reports that Col. Kristen Thompson took over command Tuesday, becoming the first woman among the 65 officers who have led the unit since it was established in 1941. She replaces Col. Gavin Marks, who was the first Black leader of the unit. Marks led the 55th Wing through a tumultuous time that included the early stages of recovery from the March 2019 floods and the COVID-19 pandemic. About 300 people, including Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, attended the ceremony.

Offutt Air Force Base's 55th Wing gets historic new leader

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is announcing new efforts to stem a rising national tide of violent crime as administration officials brace for what could be a turbulent summer, focusing on attacking gun violence, providing money to cities that need more police and offering community support.

The worry over crime is real: It has created economic hardship, displacement and anxiety. But there are also tricky politics at play. The spike in crime has become a Republican talking point and has been a frequent topic of conversation on conservative media.

White House aides believe that Biden, with his long legislative record on fighting crime as a senator, is not easy to paint as soft on the issue, and the president has been clear that he is opposed to the “defund the police” movement, which has been effectively used against other Democrats to cast them as anti-law enforcement.

But Biden also is trying to boost progressives' efforts to reform policing, following a year of mass demonstrations and public anguish sparked by the killing by police of George Floyd and other Black people across the country. And while combating crime and reforming the police don't have to be at odds with each other, the two efforts are increasingly billed that way.

Biden will try to do both at once, according to senior administration officials who detailed his upcoming address on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about it.

In his speech Wednesday, Biden will announce a “zero tolerance" policy — not to be confused with the Trump administration's “zero tolerance” policy on immigration that separated thousands of children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. This one gives no leeway to gun dealers who fail to comply with federal law — their license to sell will be revoked on the first offense.

The president has already announced a half-dozen executive actions on gun control, including cracking down on “ghost guns,” homemade firearms that lack serial numbers used to trace them and that are often purchased without a background check.

But Biden is limited in his power to act alone. The House passed two bills requiring background checks on all firearm sales and transfers and allowing an expanded 10-day review for gun purchases. That legislation faces strong headwinds in the Senate, where some Republican support would be needed for passage.

In the meantime, Biden will also seek increased transparency on gun data and better coordination among states, and he will push Congress for more money for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the agency responsible for enforcing federal gun laws and regulating gun dealers. The Justice Department is also launching strike forces in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., to help take down illegal gun traffickers, building on an initiative begun last month.

Police officials around the country have said they are struggling with increasing crime and continued tensions between police and communities, and some say their calls for support aren't answered as they take the blame for the spike.

“Many of us — if not most of us — are seeing a rise in crime, while at the same time, we’re hearing calls for reform,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said of cities in remarks Tuesday at a forum on policing. “And some of those calls are to the extreme of dismantle and defund ... while all of the same time we’re sworn to protect the people.”

Biden planned to discuss how $350 billion of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package can be used by cities to hire law enforcement officers, pay overtime, prosecute gun traffickers and invest in technology to make law enforcement more efficient. The officials said the Biden administration hoped cities would choose to use the money for alternatives to policing, too, and to invest in community policing models.

While crime is rising — homicides and shootings are up from the same period last year in Chicago; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Portland, Oregon; Baltimore; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Houston — violent crime overall remains lower than it was a decade ago or even five years ago. And most violent crimes plummeted during the first six months of the coronavirus pandemic, as people stayed indoors and away from others.

Crime started creeping up last summer, a trend criminologists say is hard to define and is likely due to a variety of factors such as historic unemployment, fear over the virus and mass anger over stay-at-home orders. Public mass shootings have also made an alarming return.

The rise in violence comes against the backdrop of the national debate on policing and racism in policing — and as a police reform bill is being crafted in Congress. White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday dismissed suggestions that a presidential event focused on cracking down on crime would undermine that legislative effort.

As a senator, Biden wrote several major anti-crime packages, including a 1994 bill that contained provisions now viewed by some as an overreaction to the crime spikes in the 1980s and 1990s. Critics say those bills helped lead to mass incarceration of Black Americans, and Biden’s involvement became a flashpoint in his 2020 campaign.

Biden has expressed second thoughts about some aspects of the legislation, and he has acknowledged its harmful impact on many Black Americans. But he and his allies still hold out the law’s provisions to address domestic violence, ban assault weapons and finance community policing.

On the reform side, Biden on Wednesday is expected to push cities to use $122 billion to help keep schoolchildren busy this summer — they're often both targets and perpetrators of violence — and to expand summer hiring programs for teenagers, the officials said. Labor Department funding will be used to provide pre-apprenticeship jobs for youths and help formerly incarcerated adults and young people in 28 communities get work.

The White House also planned to convene a bipartisan meeting Wednesday of law enforcement officials, politicians, activists and prosecutors and will meet with 14 jurisdictions from around the country that have committed to using a portion of the funding for violence intervention programs.

“Yes, there need to be reforms of police systems across the country. The president is a firm believer in that," Psaki said Tuesday. "But there are also steps he can take as president of the United States to help address and hopefully reduce that crime. A big part of that, in his view, is putting in place gun safety measures ... using the bully pulpit but also using levers at his disposal as president.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624447816031.png" alt="President Joe Biden is expected to announce a partnership between federal law enforcement and local police to help combat a rising tide of violent crime. The effort is aimed at building on his administration’s gun control efforts so far and is to including new strike forces to tackle gun trafficking.-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>President Joe Biden is expected to announce a partnership between federal law enforcement and local police to help combat a rising tide of violent crime. The effort is aimed at building on his administration’s gun control efforts so far and is to including new strike forces to tackle gun trafficking.-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is announcing new efforts to stem a rising national tide of violent crime as administration officials brace for what could be a turbulent summer, focusing on attacking gun violence, providing money to cities that need more police and offering community support.The worry over crime is real: It has created economic hardship, displacement and anxiety. But there are also tricky politics at play. The spike in crime has become a Republican talking point and has been a frequent topic of conversation on conservative media.White House aides believe that Biden, with his long legislative record on fighting crime as a senator, is not easy to paint as soft on the issue, and the president has been clear that he is opposed to the “defund the police” movement, which has been effectively used against other Democrats to cast them as anti-law enforcement.But Biden also is trying to boost progressives' efforts to reform policing, following a year of mass demonstrations and public anguish sparked by the killing by police of George Floyd and other Black people across the country. And while combating crime and reforming the police don't have to be at odds with each other, the two efforts are increasingly billed that way.Biden will try to do both at once, according to senior administration officials who detailed his upcoming address on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about it.In his speech Wednesday, Biden will announce a “zero tolerance" policy — not to be confused with the Trump administration's “zero tolerance” policy on immigration that separated thousands of children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. This one gives no leeway to gun dealers who fail to comply with federal law — their license to sell will be revoked on the first offense.The president has already announced a half-dozen executive actions on gun control, including cracking down on “ghost guns,” homemade firearms that lack serial numbers used to trace them and that are often purchased without a background check.But Biden is limited in his power to act alone. The House passed two bills requiring background checks on all firearm sales and transfers and allowing an expanded 10-day review for gun purchases. That legislation faces strong headwinds in the Senate, where some Republican support would be needed for passage.In the meantime, Biden will also seek increased transparency on gun data and better coordination among states, and he will push Congress for more money for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the agency responsible for enforcing federal gun laws and regulating gun dealers. The Justice Department is also launching strike forces in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., to help take down illegal gun traffickers, building on an initiative begun last month.Police officials around the country have said they are struggling with increasing crime and continued tensions between police and communities, and some say their calls for support aren't answered as they take the blame for the spike.“Many of us — if not most of us — are seeing a rise in crime, while at the same time, we’re hearing calls for reform,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said of cities in remarks Tuesday at a forum on policing. “And some of those calls are to the extreme of dismantle and defund ... while all of the same time we’re sworn to protect the people.”Biden planned to discuss how $350 billion of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package can be used by cities to hire law enforcement officers, pay overtime, prosecute gun traffickers and invest in technology to make law enforcement more efficient. The officials said the Biden administration hoped cities would choose to use the money for alternatives to policing, too, and to invest in community policing models.While crime is rising — homicides and shootings are up from the same period last year in Chicago; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Portland, Oregon; Baltimore; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Houston — violent crime overall remains lower than it was a decade ago or even five years ago. And most violent crimes plummeted during the first six months of the coronavirus pandemic, as people stayed indoors and away from others.Crime started creeping up last summer, a trend criminologists say is hard to define and is likely due to a variety of factors such as historic unemployment, fear over the virus and mass anger over stay-at-home orders. Public mass shootings have also made an alarming return.The rise in violence comes against the backdrop of the national debate on policing and racism in policing — and as a police reform bill is being crafted in Congress. White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday dismissed suggestions that a presidential event focused on cracking down on crime would undermine that legislative effort.As a senator, Biden wrote several major anti-crime packages, including a 1994 bill that contained provisions now viewed by some as an overreaction to the crime spikes in the 1980s and 1990s. Critics say those bills helped lead to mass incarceration of Black Americans, and Biden’s involvement became a flashpoint in his 2020 campaign.Biden has expressed second thoughts about some aspects of the legislation, and he has acknowledged its harmful impact on many Black Americans. But he and his allies still hold out the law’s provisions to address domestic violence, ban assault weapons and finance community policing.On the reform side, Biden on Wednesday is expected to push cities to use $122 billion to help keep schoolchildren busy this summer — they're often both targets and perpetrators of violence — and to expand summer hiring programs for teenagers, the officials said. Labor Department funding will be used to provide pre-apprenticeship jobs for youths and help formerly incarcerated adults and young people in 28 communities get work.The White House also planned to convene a bipartisan meeting Wednesday of law enforcement officials, politicians, activists and prosecutors and will meet with 14 jurisdictions from around the country that have committed to using a portion of the funding for violence intervention programs.“Yes, there need to be reforms of police systems across the country. The president is a firm believer in that," Psaki said Tuesday. "But there are also steps he can take as president of the United States to help address and hopefully reduce that crime. A big part of that, in his view, is putting in place gun safety measures ... using the bully pulpit but also using levers at his disposal as president.”

Biden taking steps to combat rising tide of violent crime

DALLAS (AP) — More than 150 employees at a Houston hospital system who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine have been fired or resigned after a judge dismissed an employee lawsuit over the vaccine requirement.

A spokesperson for Houston Methodist hospital system said 153 employees either resigned in the two-week suspension period or were terminated on Tuesday.

The case over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-fb23579a72964b583299c79688f87334">how far health care institutions can go</a>&nbsp;to protect patients and others against the coronavirus has been closely watched. It’s believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S. But it won’t be the end of the debate.

Earlier this month, a federal judge&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ar-state-wire-hurricanes-storms-floods-tropical-cyclones-5a1271ab361a4bf3864340739662ae89">threw out the lawsuit</a>&nbsp;filed by 117 employees over the requirement. The hospital system’s decision in April to require the vaccine for workers made it the first major U.S. health care system to do so.

The Houston Methodist employees who filed the lawsuit likened their situation to medical experiments performed on unwilling victims in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes called that comparison “reprehensible” and said claims made in the lawsuit that the vaccines are experimental and dangerous are false.

Hughes, who dismissed the lawsuit on June 12, said that if the employees didn’t like the requirement, they could go work elsewhere.

Those who filed the lawsuit have already appealed the judge’s dismissal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The hospital system had required employees to complete their immunization by June 7. The next day, 178 employees were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tx-state-wire-houston-coronavirus-pandemic-health-6d96b666fd521ea4cab5956022c195d0">suspended</a>&nbsp;for two weeks without pay for not complying.

Jennifer Bridges, a registered nurse who is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit against Houston Methodist, said her director called her Tuesday to ask if she’d gotten the vaccine yet or made any effort to do so. She said that when she replied “absolutely not,” she was told that she was terminated.

“We all knew we were getting fired today,” said Bridges, 39. “We knew unless we took that shot to come back, we were getting fired today. There was no ifs, ands or buts.”

She had worked for 6½ years at the medical-surgical in-patient unit at Houston Methodist’s hospital in the suburb of Baytown.

Bridges said Tuesday was also her first day at her new job at a company that sends nurses into people’s homes.

“I’m hoping if we win this at a federal level then they’re going to create laws to protect employees from having to go through this anywhere else in the country,” said Bridges, who said she does not have confidence in the vaccine’s safety.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that while a small number of health problems have been reported, COVID-19 vaccines are safe and highly effective.

Other hospital systems around the country, including in Washington, D.C., Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania and most recently New York, have followed Houston Methodist and have also gotten pushback.

Legal experts say such vaccine requirements, particularly in a public health crisis, will probably continue be upheld in court as long as employers provide reasonable exemptions, including for medical conditions or religious objections.

Harris Methodist has said some employees got medical or religious exemptions, and some were deferred for pregnancy or other reasons.

But Houston Methodist’s president and CEO, Marc Boom, has said nearly 25,000 of the system’s more than 26,000 workers have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“You did the right thing. You protected our patients, your colleagues, your families and our community. The science proves that the vaccines are not only safe but necessary if we are going to turn the corner against COVID-19,” Boom said in a statement to employees.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1623674276825.png" alt="Employee protest outside the hospital&nbsp; photo courtesy KTRK-TV" />
 <figcaption>Employee protest outside the hospital&nbsp; photo courtesy KTRK-TV</figcaption>
 </figure>DALLAS (AP) — More than 150 employees at a Houston hospital system who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine have been fired or resigned after a judge dismissed an employee lawsuit over the vaccine requirement.A spokesperson for Houston Methodist hospital system said 153 employees either resigned in the two-week suspension period or were terminated on Tuesday.The case over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-fb23579a72964b583299c79688f87334">how far health care institutions can go</a>&nbsp;to protect patients and others against the coronavirus has been closely watched. It’s believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S. But it won’t be the end of the debate.Earlier this month, a federal judge&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ar-state-wire-hurricanes-storms-floods-tropical-cyclones-5a1271ab361a4bf3864340739662ae89">threw out the lawsuit</a>&nbsp;filed by 117 employees over the requirement. The hospital system’s decision in April to require the vaccine for workers made it the first major U.S. health care system to do so.The Houston Methodist employees who filed the lawsuit likened their situation to medical experiments performed on unwilling victims in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes called that comparison “reprehensible” and said claims made in the lawsuit that the vaccines are experimental and dangerous are false.Hughes, who dismissed the lawsuit on June 12, said that if the employees didn’t like the requirement, they could go work elsewhere.Those who filed the lawsuit have already appealed the judge’s dismissal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.The hospital system had required employees to complete their immunization by June 7. The next day, 178 employees were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tx-state-wire-houston-coronavirus-pandemic-health-6d96b666fd521ea4cab5956022c195d0">suspended</a>&nbsp;for two weeks without pay for not complying.Jennifer Bridges, a registered nurse who is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit against Houston Methodist, said her director called her Tuesday to ask if she’d gotten the vaccine yet or made any effort to do so. She said that when she replied “absolutely not,” she was told that she was terminated.“We all knew we were getting fired today,” said Bridges, 39. “We knew unless we took that shot to come back, we were getting fired today. There was no ifs, ands or buts.”She had worked for 6½ years at the medical-surgical in-patient unit at Houston Methodist’s hospital in the suburb of Baytown.Bridges said Tuesday was also her first day at her new job at a company that sends nurses into people’s homes.“I’m hoping if we win this at a federal level then they’re going to create laws to protect employees from having to go through this anywhere else in the country,” said Bridges, who said she does not have confidence in the vaccine’s safety.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that while a small number of health problems have been reported, COVID-19 vaccines are safe and highly effective.Other hospital systems around the country, including in Washington, D.C., Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania and most recently New York, have followed Houston Methodist and have also gotten pushback.Legal experts say such vaccine requirements, particularly in a public health crisis, will probably continue be upheld in court as long as employers provide reasonable exemptions, including for medical conditions or religious objections.Harris Methodist has said some employees got medical or religious exemptions, and some were deferred for pregnancy or other reasons.But Houston Methodist’s president and CEO, Marc Boom, has said nearly 25,000 of the system’s more than 26,000 workers have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.“You did the right thing. You protected our patients, your colleagues, your families and our community. The science proves that the vaccines are not only safe but necessary if we are going to turn the corner against COVID-19,” Boom said in a statement to employees.

Hospital workers fired, resign over COVID-19 vaccine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democrats’ sweeping attempt to rewrite U.S. election and voting law stalled in the Senate Tuesday, blocked by a wall of Republican opposition to what would have been the largest overhaul of the electoral system in a generation.

The bill, known as the For the People Act, would touch on virtually every aspect of how elections are conducted, striking down hurdles to voting that advocates view as the Civil Rights fight of the era, while curbing the influence of money in politics and limiting partisan influence over the drawing of congressional districts.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624401128658.png" alt="Vice President Kamala Harris, the first black woman to hold her office, presided over the chamber as the bill failed-photo Courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Vice President Kamala Harris, the first black woman to hold her office, presided over the chamber as the bill failed-photo Courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democrats’ sweeping attempt to rewrite U.S. election and voting law stalled in the Senate Tuesday, blocked by a wall of Republican opposition to what would have been the largest overhaul of the electoral system in a generation.The bill, known as the For the People Act, would touch on virtually every aspect of how elections are conducted, striking down hurdles to voting that advocates view as the Civil Rights fight of the era, while curbing the influence of money in politics and limiting partisan influence over the drawing of congressional districts.But many in the GOP say the measure represents a breathtaking federal infringement on states’ authority to conduct their own elections without fraud — and one meant to ultimately benefit Democrats.Kansas Senator Jerry Moran said following the vote, "The so called ‘For the People Act’ is a laundry list of bad public policies that would federalize our elections; make elections less secure by undermining sensible voter ID laws; use taxpayer dollars to fund political campaigns; override duly elected state legislatures by mandating the restoration of voting rights for felons; and reform the structure of the currently bipartisan, six-seat Federal Elections Commission into a partisan, five-member panel."It failed on a 50-50 vote after Republicans, some of whom derided the bill as the “Screw the People Act,” denied Democrats the 60 votes needed to begin debate. Vice President Kamala Harris, the first black woman to hold her office, presided over the chamber as the bill failed.Kansas Senator Jerry Moran said, “We often hear that elections have consequences. In November, Americans voted for a Congress that is nearly a 50-50 split between the parties in the House, and precisely 50-50 in the Senate. If elections have consequences, then the consequence American voters had in mind was to require Congress to put aside partisan differences and work together to do its job on their behalf. The U.S. Senate upheld that mandate from the American people today by rejecting this partisan power grab.”The rejection forces Democrats to reckon with what comes next for their top legislative priority in a narrowly divided Senate. They’ve touted the measure as a powerful counterweight to scores of proposals advancing in GOP-controlled statehouses making it more difficult to vote.“This is a battle for the soul of America,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. “We will keep fighting until we succeed.”Before the vote, Biden tweeted, “Democrats are united and committed to passing this landmark legislation to protect voting rights, ensure the integrity of our elections and repair and strengthen our democracy.”Whatever Democrats decide, they will likely be confronted with the same challenge they faced Tuesday when minority Republicans used the filibuster — the same tool that Democrats employed during Donald Trump’s presidency — to block consideration of the bill.Republicans showed no sign of yielding.Republican leader Mitch McConnell called the bill a “a solution looking for a problem” and vowed to “put an end to it.”Pressure has been mounting on Democrats to change Senate rules or watch their priorities languish. A group of moderate Democratic senators, however, including Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, have ruled that out, denying the votes needed to make a filibuster change.Biden has vowed what the White House calls the “fight of his presidency” over ensuring Americans’ access to voting. But without changes to Senate rules, key planks of his agenda, including the voting bill, appear stalled.Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat and senior pastor at the Atlanta church Martin Luther King Jr. once led, called minority Republicans’ willingness to prevent debate on the voting bill a “dereliction” of duty.“What could be more hypocritical and cynical than invoking minority rights in the Senate as a pretext for preventing debate about how to preserve minority rights in the society,” Warnock said during a floor speech Tuesday.The changes being enacted in many Republican states are decried by voting rights advocates who argue the restrictions will make it more difficult for people to cast ballots, particularly minority residents who tend to support Democrats. Republicans, cheered on by Trump, talk instead about fighting potential voting fraud and say the Democrats’ concerns are wildly overblown.As the Senate discussion churns, more changes could be coming to the bill.Democrats want to protect against intimidation at the polls in the aftermath of the 2020 election. They propose enhancing penalties for those who would threaten or intimidate election workers and creating a “buffer zone” between election workers and poll watchers, among other possible changes.They also want to limit the ability of state officials to remove local election officials. Georgia Republicans passed a law earlier this year that gives the GOP-dominated Legislature greater influence over a state board that regulates elections and empowers it to remove local election officials deemed to be underperforming.But Democrats have divisions of their own. Until Tuesday, it wasn’t even clear that they would be united on the vote to bring the bill up for debate. Manchin, a moderate from West Virginia, announced earlier this month that he couldn’t support the bill because it lacked Republican support.Manchin flipped his vote to a “yes” after Democrats agreed to consider his revised version. His proposal was endorsed by former President Barack Obama and called a “step forward” by Biden’s administration.Manchin has proposed adding provisions for a national voter ID requirement, which is anathema to many Democrats, and dropping a proposed public financing of campaigns.Those changes did little, however, to garner the bipartisan support Manchin was hoping for. Senate Republicans said they would likely reject any legislation that expands the federal government’s role in elections. McConnell dismissed Manchin’s version as “equally unacceptable.”Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Alaska Republican, said some aspects of the Democratic bill were laudable and she supports other voting rights legislation, like a reinstatement of the Voting Rights Act struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013.But, ultimately, she said the “sprawling” bill amounted to “a one-size-fits-all mandate coming out of Washington D.C.” that “in many cases doesn’t work.”“It will make election more difficult, expensive, subject to federal micromanagement,” Murkowski said.Months in the making, Tuesday’s showdown over the For the People Act, as it is called, is hardly the end of the road. The struggle is taking on fresh urgency as Trump continues to challenge the outcome of the 2020 election and new limits move ahead in Republican-led states.State officials who certified the results of the 2020 election have dismissed Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-ap-fact-check-joe-biden-donald-trump-technology-49a24edd6d10888dbad61689c24b05a5">claims of voter fraud</a>, and judges across the country have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-courts-election-results-e1297d874f45d2b14bc99c403abd0457">thrown out multiple lawsuits</a>&nbsp;filed by Trump and his allies. Trump’s own attorney general said there was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/barr-no-widespread-election-fraud-b1f1488796c9a98c4b1a9061a6c7f49d">no evidence of widespread fraud</a>&nbsp;that would change the outcome