Month: December 2021

President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Tuesday afternoon, announcing changes to his winter COVID-19 plan in light of the Omicron variant causing a rapid surge in positive cases across the country. Among the changes the President noted were providing an additional 500 million rapid coronavirus tests for use across the country. Biden also detailed other changes, including new testing sites, greater support for overloaded hospitals and more efforts for vaccination and booster doses.

Biden and his medical advisers have been monitoring the spread of the Omicron strain, which has quickly become the dominant variant nationwide. The mutation is responsible for almost 75% of all new cases across the United States. The President said: “I know you’re tired. I really mean this, and I know you’re frustrated. We all want this to be over. But we’re still in it. And this is a critical moment. We also have more tools than we have ever had before. We’re ready. We’ll get through this.”

A new website will make nearly 500 million COVID-19 rapid antigen tests available and delivered to homes free of charge for anyone who wants them. Biden also reinforced that his vaccine mandate has been reinstated by an appeals court. The rules require companies with more than 100 employees to require them to be vaccinated or conduct daily testing. “The rule is legal and effective, and it’s going to save thousands of American lives,” he said.

Biden said the the Defense Department is being directed to prepare an additional 1,000 military doctors, nurses, paramedics and other medical personnel to be deployed to hospitals in January and February in an effort to prevent hospitals from becoming overfilled.

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The U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday that it will allow federal inmates who had previously been released to serve home confinement because of the threat of COVID-19 in prisons to remain at home. The department originally said it would force inmates released under the program to eventually return to federal custody. Densely populated prisons have become a breeding ground for COVID-19, according to researchers.

The decision on the Justice Department’s website read: “This office concluded in January 2021 that, when the COVID-19 emergency ends, the Bureau of Prisons will be required to recall all prisoners placed in extended home confinement.” Since March 2020, some nearly 5,000 federal inmates have been released from prison and placed into extended home confinement. The directive was part of the CARES Act, an initiative to address COVID-19 crisis. At least 2,830 of those prisoners would have to be returned to a correctional facility once the pandemic emergency is deemed over, under the previous interpretation of the rule.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement:  “Thousands of people on home confinement have reconnected with their families, have found gainful employment, and have followed the rules. We will exercise our authority so that those who have made rehabilitative progress and complied with the conditions of home confinement, and who in the interests of justice should be given an opportunity to continue transitioning back to society, are not unnecessarily returned to prison.”

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Former President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization have sued New York Attorney General Letitia James to ask a federal court to halt or limit her office’s ongoing investigations.  The lawsuit from Trump comes on the heels of James’ office seeking to depose Trump as part of its civil fraud investigation into the Trump Organization, also seeks to enjoin James’ involvement in any civil or criminal actions against the former President or his company.  James’ office is investigating whether the Trump Organization manipulated the value of its properties, and is also working with Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s office on a parallel criminal investigation into the Trump Organization. The two investigations are separate, but some attorneys from James’ office have been designated to work on the criminal investigation, which is ongoing.

Filed in federal court in Northern New York on Monday, the lawsuit accuses James of misconduct, claiming she has abused her investigatory powers to target her political adversaries and advance her career.  The suit states: “Since taking office, she has tirelessly bombarded him, his family and his business, Trump Organization LLC, with unwarranted subpoenas in a bitter crusade to ‘take on’ the President.”   The suit also accuses James of “relentlessly pushing” Vance’s office into a criminal investigation of the Trump Organization. A spokesman for Vance’s office declined to comment.

James responded to the suit in a statement Monday, saying the Trump Organization has repeatedly attempted to delay her office’s investigation into its business dealings. James said in a statement:  “To be clear, neither Mr. Trump nor the Trump Organization get to dictate if and where they will answer for their actions. Our investigation will continue undeterred because no one is above the law, not even someone with the name Trump.”

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The stock market took a hit on Monday as investors began the trading week with fears of the surging Omicron COVID-19 variant and the setback to President Biden’s Build Back Better social spending bill. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down by about 433 points at the end of trading Monday afternoon, while the broader S&P 500 dropped 1.14%. The Nasdaq Composite sagged 1.24%.

Travel, entertainment and retail stocks had some of the greatest losses earlier in the day but bounced back some by closing. The energy sector also took a significant hit as U.S. crude oil prices tumbled 3% to below $69 per barrel as investors worried that new restrictions might cut into energy demand. The sell-off came after the World Health Organization said Omicron cases are doubling every 1.5 to 3 days in countries where transmissions are documented. European leaders reacted by imposing new restrictions on Friday and over the weekend.

Analysts blamed some of Monday’s market downturn on Sen. Joe Manchin’s surprise announcement Sunday that he would not support President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion Build Back Better social spending agenda. The measure, with its billion of dollars in economic stimulus spending, is unlikely to pass the Senate.

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