Month: July 2022

White House officials said in a briefing Thursday that President Joe Biden is taking an antiviral and isn’t expected to have serious illness, this after testing positive for COVID-19, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told reporters that Biden is fully up to date on his vaccines and has been prescribed Paxlovid to treat the virus.  Dr. Jha said during a White House briefing: “Because the president is fully vaccinated, double boosted, his risk of serious illness is dramatically lower. Our expectation is that he’s going to have mild illness.”

Biden has been tested for COVID-19 regularly since taking office, but has never had a positive result before Thursday. Earlier in the day, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement: “This morning, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms.nHe has begun taking Paxlovid. Consistent with CDC guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time.”  Additionally, Biden’s travel has been cancelled for at least the next five days; Jean-Pierre said: “Out of an abundance of transparency, the White House will provide a daily update on the president’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation.” 

Biden later posted a video on Twitter saying he’s “doing great” and continuing to work. “Keep the faith,” he said. “It’s going to be OK.”

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A federal judge sentenced former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane to 30 months in prison for violating George Floyd’s civil rights in his 2020 death. Lane was one of three officers charged with violating Floyd’s civil rights for not intervening when former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes, leading to his death. Lane was also convicted in February for depriving Floyd of medical care during his arrest. Prosecutors had asked for six-and-a-half years in prison.

Lane was only on his fourth day of the police force during Floyd’s arrest, and was heard on body camera video asking the other officers if they should turn Floyd over, and that he was concerned. The former officer pleaded guilty to the state’s charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. He agreed to three years behind bars and is expected to be sentenced for the state’s charge on Sept. 21.

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A New York judge has ordered Rudy Giuliani to testify next month before a Fulton County special grand jury investigating whether former President Donald Trump and others interfered in Georgia’s 2020 elections.  New York State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber ordered Giuliani to appear Aug. 9, “and on any such other dates as this court may order,” after he and Trump attorney failed to attend a July 13 hearing to challenge the subpoena.

Giuliani was one of seven Trump associates subpoenaed earlier this month, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who recently agreed to testify. Giuliani is being ordered to testify about appearances in December 2020 before Georgia’s state Senate where he and lawyer John Eastman blamed Trump’s loss to Democrat Joe Biden on disproven claims of widespread voter fraud.

The 23-person special grand jury has already started hearing evidence. If Giuliani fails to appear in Atlanta on Aug. 9, a judge can issue a material witness warrant to arrest and detain him until he testifies.  The special grand jury will not have the power to return an indictment, however, it “may make recommendations concerning criminal prosecutions as it shall see fit.”

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President Biden declared that the threat of climate change had reached “code red for humanity,” and pledged to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50% by 2030.

President Biden said during a speech in Massachusetts on Wednesday:  “This is an emergency and I will look at it that way. I’ll use my executive powers to combat the climate crisis in the absence of congressional action.” Biden touted several actions the administration is taking, saying that the White House was planning a series of executive orders in the coming weeks to address climate change.

A new $2.3 billion grant program announced Wednesday for state and local communities to build climate-resilient infrastructure. Said the president:  “It is literally – not figuratively – a clear and present danger. The health of our citizens and our communities is literally at stake.”

The speech came after negotiations stalled once again in Congress on including green energy subsidies in a party-line spending bill. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., recently urged his party to delay including tax and climate change provisions within the package until there was a clear picture of the national economy. Without Manchin’s support, the tax is unlikely to become law.

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NBCUniversal has confirmed that a crew member from the NBC series ‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’ was shot and killed on the set of the television show Tuesday in New York City.

The New York Police Department said the 31-year-old victim, Johnny Pizarro of Queens, was a contracted employee hired to hold parking spots for movie and television productions which are common in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn where the show is filming. The block was permitted through the city for a shoot for Law & Order: Organized Crime.

The NYPD said a gunman opened Pizarro’s car door and opened fire at approximately 5:15 a.m. EDT. Pizarro was shot multiple times in the face and neck before being transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.  NYPD said they believe the shooting was targeted and are still looking for the suspect, who was described as a man with a thin build wearing a black hoodie and black pants.

NBCUniversal is working with law enforcement as they investigate. NBC and Universal Television said in a statement:  “We were terribly saddened and shocked to hear that one of our crew members was the victim of a crime early this morning and has died as a result. We are working with local law enforcement as they continue to investigate.”

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