The White House says Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas led a team of Biden administration officials on a visit to the US-Mexico border this weekend. NPR’s Joel Rose has more.
The White House says President Biden asked members of his senior staff to travel to the border and report back on what they saw. Secretary Mayorkas led a team of top White House administration officials including domestic policy advisor Susan Rice on a tour of border facilities for migrants on Saturday. The visit comes amid a rising number of illegal border-crossings, particularly by unaccompanied children, and mounting criticism from republicans led by former President Trump that an immigration crisis is brewing. But Mayorkas rejects that language, she says the Biden administration needs time to rebuild an immigration system that is “gutted and restore humane treatment of migrant families and children”. Joel Rose NPR news.
The CDC says nearly 16 million people have got at least 1 doze of covid-19 vaccine and as the vaccines becomes more available, states are lifting pandemic restrictions. But White House corona virus response coordinator Jeff Zients says the country won’t instantly turn back to normal.
“We are on a path, we need to make sure that we do not let down our guard, people do need to meet the President’s challenge of masking up. People do need to take the vaccine when it’s their turn, we need to stay on this path and beat the pandemic.”
Speaking there on NBC’s Meet the Press. Officials are still worried about new variants including the more contagious B117 UK variant, now comprising up to 40% of cases in some communities in the US.
Israel has reopened large parts of its economy to those who have been vaccinated or have recovered from covid-19. NPR’s Daniel Estrin reports.
About half of Israelis are vaccinated or recovered from the virus. They get special access to parts of the economy, now including indoor dining, wedding calls and travel abroad. These incentives have convinced some hesitant Israelis to get vaccinated. Like Antonio Miller who says there’s just one reason he’s in line to get his shot.
“Because my friends are getting married, I have to make a vaccine to be there on their wedding.”
Israel is issuing a green pass to the vaccinated and recovered. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at a restaurant.
“This is a great day we are opening with a green pass to the restaurants, coming back to life.”
Netanyahu faces accusations he’s hastened to reopen the economy to win votes. He’s running for reelection in 2 weeks. Daniel Estrin NPR news, Jerusalem.
In Minnesota, jury selection starts tomorrow in the trail of a former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder and manslaughter in the death of Geroge Floyd. Derek Chauvin’s trial’s expected to last for weeks. Floyd who was black died May 25th after Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck while Floyd pleaded he couldn't breathe.
This is NPR.
Pope Francis spent his last full day in Iraq by visiting areas retaken from ISIS. As NPR’s Alice Fordham reports Francis also celebrated mass in northern city of Erbil.
Francis spoke of forgiveness, reconciliation and a broad sense of community as he led mass for thousands of people in a stadium in Erbil. The Christian population of the city swelled in 2014 after ISIS drove them and many others out of the city of Mosul, a historically Christian village on the Nineveh plain. Earlier he prayed in a Christian part of Mosul still in ruins after the battle against ISIS, and he prayed in a church in the town of Qaraqosh whose post-ISIS renovation has just been completed. Priests and community leaders in the area said they hope his visit will encourage Christians to return. Alice Fordham, NPR news Iraq.
Environmentalists and local politicians are opposing a plan to oil pipe line that would run through Memphis Tennessee into north Mississippi. Valero Energy and Plains All American Pipeline want to build an underground pipeline to carry crude oil through the wet lands over an aquifer that provides drinking water for more than 1 million people and then under a predominately black neighborhood in South Memphis. Critics say the companies are putting oil profits ahead of the people who live along the pipelines’ path, and that a spill would endanger water ways and also the aquifer. Pipeline officials denied that claim.
I’m Jeanine Herbst and you are listening to NPR news.
发表于 2021-3-8 08:04
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发表于 2021-3-8 14:43
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