© Jonathan Gibbons/Reaching the Last Mile Forum via AP Images |
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Global COVID-19 status downgraded as US moves to end public health emergency
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The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Friday that it’s ending its declaration of COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), a status the virus has held since January 2020. The announcement comes as the public health emergency declaration in the U.S. is set to end next Thursday. “The risk remains of new variants emerging that cause new surges in cases and deaths,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. But for “more than a year, the pandemic has been on a downward trend, with population immunity increasing from vaccination and infection, mortality decreasing and the pressure on health systems easing,” he said.
The WHO’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard showed that, as of May 3, there had been more than 765 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 6.9 million deaths globally reported to WHO. On Friday, the White House announced Rochelle Walensky is leaving her role as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just ahead of the public health emergency declaration ending in the U.S.
Walensky has led the CDC since the early days of the Biden administration, responding to fallout and overseeing the rollout of vaccines.
Republicans in Congress have indicated they plan to still review the government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
The work of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which is investigating the origins of COVID-19, will continue this year.
Wondering what the end of the public health emergency declaration in the U.S. means? Check out more related coverage from The Hill: |
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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Trump deposition video released
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Video of former President Trump’s deposition in E. Jean Carroll’s sexual battery and defamation lawsuit was released on Friday.
“In the deposition, Trump repeatedly denied Carroll’s claims as he attacked her appearance and claimed the case was a hoax,” The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld wrote.
Closing arguments in the case are expected Monday.
Read more and see clips of the video here |
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Fox Corp. sends Media Matters cease-and-desist
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Fox Corp. said in a cease-and-desist letter that unaired footage of former host Tucker Carlson published by Media Matters for America is “Fox’s confidential intellectual property.”
The company said “Fox did not consent to its distribution or publication” and “does not consent to its further distribution or publication.”
Media Matters published the footage in a recent “FOXLEAKS” series. The leaked videos show Carlson making crude comments off the air.
Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters, told The Hill in a statement that “reporting on newsworthy leaked material is a cornerstone of journalism. For Fox to argue otherwise is absurd and further dispels any pretense that they’re a news operation.”
“Perhaps if I tell them that the footage came from a combination of WikiLeaks and Hunter Biden’s laptop, it will alleviate their concerns,” Carusone continued.
Carlson recently left the network, with neither party commenting on the circumstances surrounding his departure. This came shortly after Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit, which involved Carlson’s text messages. Read more here |
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President Biden’s first reelection campaign interview
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President Biden will have his first one-on-one interview since announcing his reelection bid. He’ll sit down with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle for an interview that airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET. MSNBC said Biden and Ruhle will discuss “the administration’s infrastructure agenda, the 2024 campaign and recently announced reelection bid, the shaping GOP field, looming debt ceiling crisis, and more.”
The interview comes as Biden and his Cabinet members have been traveling the country for weeks on the administration’s “Investing in America” tour, highlighting investments from laws Biden signed in his first two years in office, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act.
It also comes days before the president meets with House and Senate leaders to discuss the debt limit, with Democrats and Republicans so far at an impasse over attaching spending cuts to a debt limit increase.
Biden announced his 2024 reelection bid as several notable individuals had already announced their Republican primary candidacies, including former President Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) announced the formation of an exploratory committee last month. |
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‘Stranger Things’ store coming to Vegas
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Is it cheaper to rent or buy right now?
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To rent or to buy: Which is cheaper in the current economy? “After analyzing nearly 600 cities in the U.S. and reviewing the average mortgage and rent payments outlined in a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, SmartAsset found that in six cities — all in Florida or Arizona — buying a home may be cheaper than renting,” Nexstar’s Addy Bink wrote. Learn more about average cost differences by location here. |
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U.S. children’s test scores falling
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The Hill’s Lexi Lonas breaks down students’ falling test scores with education experts, considering the impacts of the pandemic, culture wars and subject prioritization on student learning. |
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“DeSantis’s Disney battle is setting him up for failure in 2024” — David Dumke, executive director of the University of Central Florida Office of Global Perspectives & International Initiatives. The opinions expressed in this article are his own. (Read here)
“Three ways Biden can effectively negotiate with China” — Nicholas Sargen, Ph.D., an economic consultant for Fort Washington Investment Advisors who is affiliated with the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. (Read here) |
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550 days until the presidential election. |
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10 p.m.: The first interview with President Biden since he announced his reelection campaign airs on MSNBC.
Saturday: The Kentucky Derby and King Charles III‘s coronation. |
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