WATCH: White House holds briefing after Biden signs Ukraine, Israel aid bill into law PBS NewsHour

Table Of Content

• Biden announces more than $7B in student debt relief for 277,000 borrowers
• Statement from National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard on March PCE Report
• White House plans to limit Biden's graduation speeches as campuses erupt in protests
• Add at-home tests, antiviral pills, and masks for the general population to America’s stockpile for the first time.
• WATCH: White House holds news briefing as government shutdown looms
• News Wrap: 3 U.S. troops killed in drone attack on military base in Jordan

In the next few hours — literally, the few hours — we’re going to begin sending in equipment to Ukraine for air defense; munitions for artillery, for rocket systems; and armored vehicles. It gives vital support to America’s partners and they — so they can defend themselves against threats to their sovereignty and to the lives and freedom of their citizens. And it’s an investment in our own security, because when our allies are stronger — and I want to make this point again and again — when our allies are stronger, we are stronger. Three officials with Iran-backed militias in Iraq, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with journalists, said the drone attack against the base in Jordan was launched by one of the Iraqi groups.

Biden announces more than $7B in student debt relief for 277,000 borrowers

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Saturday directed that federal resources be surged to locations with the greatest need after a series of tornadoes and severe weather ripped through several. Environmental groups challenged that rule, arguing it left a large amount of coal ash waste unregulated by the federal government. The rule issued Thursday forces owners to safely close inactive coal ash ponds and clean up contamination. America will continue to deliver the 1.2 billion doses we committed to donate to countries in need, continuing to leverage the partnerships the U.S. government built to donate and deliver vaccines to the rest of the world.

Statement from National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard on March PCE Report

"We strongly support this request and ask for your timely consideration,” the delegation wrote in their letter. "The Kentucky National Guard and Kentucky State Police have been mobilized to provide support to Kentuckians, but emergency response has also been hampered by the storm damage." FEMA is sending emergency response personnel, water and other needed commodities to the region, and Biden's order will make other federal resources and personnel available. Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, called the EPA rule “unlawful, unrealistic and unachievable,” adding that it faced a certain court challenge. The rule disregards the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision that limited the agency’s ability to regulate carbon pollution under the Clean Air Act, Matheson said. The Administration provided a historic investment of $130 billion from the American Rescue Plan to reopen schools by improving school ventilation, accessing tests, and hiring more teachers, nurses, and staff.

White House plans to limit Biden's graduation speeches as campuses erupt in protests

The Biden administration on Friday defended its response to a toxic freight train derailment in Ohio two weeks ago, even as local leaders and members of Congress demanded that more be done. One organizer complained that the White House Correspondents’ Association — which represents the hundreds of journalists who cover the president — largely has been silent since the first weeks of the war about the killings of Palestinian journalists. Despite being similar in age, Biden said, the two presidential hopefuls have little else in common. That changed with the signing of the supplemental bill, which allocates $23.2 billion to replenish U.S. defense articles and defense services provided to Ukraine, $11.3 billion for current U.S. military operations in that region and $13.8 billion for the procurement of still more weapons and services.

White House officials said the president fully supports such moves, encouraging states to do everything they can on their own. In its existence, FEMA has only received three requests for extreme heat declarations (two in 1980 and one in 1995), and all were denied because “they did not demonstrate that state and local capacity had been exceeded,” an agency spokesperson said. Arizona officials have pointed to the fact that the nighttime is considered just as dangerous as the daytime in some instances because high temperatures aren’t coming down enough and many people can’t afford the proper air conditioning to contend with such overwhelming warmth.

Add at-home tests, antiviral pills, and masks for the general population to America’s stockpile for the first time.

Also, under the plan, Biden would also jump-start efforts to make vaccinations available in all pharmacies across the country and would launch mobile vaccination clinics designed to specifically reach underserved urban and rural areas. President Biden has offered federal assistance to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been coordinating with the state emergency operations center and other partners, the White House said. To get inside Saturday’s dinner, some guests had to hurry through hundreds of protesters outraged over the mounting humanitarian disaster for Palestinian civilians in Gaza. They condemned Biden for his support of Israel’s military campaign and Western news outlets for what they said was undercoverage and misrepresentation of the conflict. An election-year roast of President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday butted up against growing public discord over the Israel-Hamas war.

Plants that expect to retire by 2039 would face a less stringent standard but still would have to capture some emissions. America will stockpile new categories of supplies including at-home tests, antiviral pills, and masks for the general population for the first time. The Administration will also maintain a fully stocked Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) with an inventory of masks, ventilators, gloves, gowns, and hospital equipment. The U.S. government will be ready to deploy supplies to the American people to ensure adequate supply in times of surges, COVID-19 outbreaks, or new variants.

White House open to new border expulsion law, mandatory detention and increased deportations in talks with Congress - CBS News

White House open to new border expulsion law, mandatory detention and increased deportations in talks with Congress.

Posted: Tue, 12 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

With an increasing risk of military escalation in the region, U.S. officials were working to conclusively identify the precise group responsible for the attack, but they have assessed that one of several Iranian-backed groups was behind it. The announcement marks an end to the long, painful battle with Republicans in Congress over urgently needed assistance for Ukraine. More than 1.13 million people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 over the last three years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including 1,773 people in the week ending April 5. The White House issued a one-line statement Monday saying Biden had signed the measure behind closed doors, after having publicly opposed the resolution though not to the point of issuing a veto. More than 197 Democrats in the House voted against it when the GOP-controlled chamber passed it in February. Last month, as the measure passed the Senate by a vote, Biden let lawmakers know he would sign it.

Omicron represented another step in the virus’s evolution, and has been one of the most contagious viruses in history, causing record numbers of infections around the world over the past three months. However, because of both lower severity of the Omicron variant and a stronger level of population immunity from vaccinations, Omicron has caused relatively fewer cases of severe COVID-19. Compared to prior waves of COVID-19 in the United States, the Omicron wave has had a lower proportion of cases resulting in hospitalization or death. A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll conducted online last month found that 71% of respondents said they have heard “little” or “nothing at all” about the climate package.

At least 13% of Medicaid recipients could get removed from their coverage when the Medicaid rules change, according to research compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) from around 20 states. A senior administration official told ABC News that the CDC will reach out to states in the coming months to encourage them to continue sharing that information voluntarily. One potential impact will be on hospitals and doctors' offices, which have come to rely on higher rates for Medicare patients and more flexibility around bed capacity rules when there's a surge of patients.

The Biden administration supports "an orderly, predictable wind-down of Title 42, with sufficient time to put alternative policies in place," the government said in Monday's announcement. Biden also touted the military aid the measure will send to Israel, and humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians inside the war-torn Gaza strip. The administration and a bipartisan group of lawmakers have called the social media site a growing national security concern. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre held a news briefing after President Joe Biden signed into law on Wednesday a $95 billion war aid measure that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and that also has a provision that would force social media site TikTok to be sold or be banned in the U.S.

The report came after a 2015 CSX oil train disaster near Mount Carbon, W.Va. A train derailed, exploded and burned for days, contaminating the Kanawha River. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who toured the crash site with Regan on Thursday, said he spoke with Biden on Friday and was assured that any assistance the state needs will be given. Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) said he was glad that Regan visited the site, but called it “unacceptable that it took nearly two weeks for a senior administration official to show up’’ in Ohio. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has faced criticism from lawmakers and the mayor of East Palestine for not visiting the site, said the Ohio disaster was just one of many derailments that occur each year.

We look to a future when Americans no longer fear lockdowns, shutdowns, and our kids not going to school. It’s a future when the country relies on the powerful layers of protection we have built and invests in the next generation of tools to stay ahead of this virus. The new national dashboard, which will be overseen by the Health and Human Services Department, maps emergency services responding to heat-related illness calls across the country, officials said. The “EMS HeatTracker” is intended to help ensure sufficient medical aid gets to Americans who need it most during severe heat, officials said.

The Administration will also provide technical assistance that encourages schools, public buildings, and state, local, and Tribal governments to make ventilation improvements and upgrades using American Rescue Plan funds. As we work to keep ourselves protected against COVID-19, America must remain prepared for any new variant that may come our way. To do so, the Administration has developed a comprehensive plan for how we monitor this virus to stay ahead of it, adapt our tools swiftly to combat a new variant, and deploy emergency resources to help communities. By monitoring community risk, masks can be worn when the risk of severe disease in the community is high and taken off when the risk is low. Overall, it means Americans will be wearing masks less because so many people are protected from severe disease. For now, they hope Wednesday’s announcement will be welcomed, while acknowledging some limitations the government has when it comes to heat.

That report described the drone strike as targeting “an outpost on the border with Syria” and said it did not wound any Jordanian troops. The small installation, which Jordan does not publicly disclose, includes U.S. engineering, aviation, logistics and security troops. Austin said the troops were deployed there “to work for the lasting defeat of ISIS.” Three officials said the drone struck near the troops’ sleeping quarters, which they said explained the high casualty count. House Speaker Mike Johnson delayed a vote on the supplemental aid package for months as members of his party’s far right wing, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, threatened to move to oust him if he allowed a vote to send more assistance to Ukraine. Tucked into the measure is a provision that gives TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, nine months to sell it or face a nationwide prohibition in the United States. The president can grant a one-time extension of 90 days, bringing the timeline to sell to one year, if he certifies that there’s a path to divestiture and “significant progress” toward executing it.

The United States stands alone in procuring 1 billion vaccines for the sole purpose of donating them. And overall, the Administration has committed to donating 1.2 billion doses to other countries – for free, with zero strings attached, which represents the largest commitment of any single country or group of countries in the world. As of today, the U.S. government has delivered over 475 million free doses to 112 countries around the world – four times the number of free doses shared with the world than any other country. The U.S. government will also provide a Clean Air in Buildings Checklist that all buildings can use to improve indoor ventilation and air filtration and will encourage uptake of ventilation improvements.