Today's Top Political and Coronavirus News Compilation - Wednesday, September 8, 2021 (1 Viewer)

China, on Wednesday, threatened to send warships into U.S. territorial waters. The Global Times called on People's Liberation Army Navy warships to travel to "U.S. military bases in the Asia-Pacific and the U.S. allies' coastlines to conduct close-in reconnaissance operations and declare freedom...

White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that the former Trump officials were asked to resign or face firing.

Congress’ two top Democrats seem like they're leaving the door open to ultimately reducing the $3.5 trillion price tag of President Joe Biden’s plan to boost social and environment programs.

Conservatives are cautioning about election malfeasance as we race through the closing days of California’s recall campaign

"The rubber is hitting the road in terms of shaping the policy and fine-tuning everything," said one senior Democratic aide, with the party hoping to vote on the bill this month.

As the President Joe Biden enters a make-or-break moment for his legislative agenda, the White House has moved toward a clear message for the Democrats it can’t afford to lose: This is a simple choice.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday his state would "eliminate rape" in response to criticism of the state's abortion ban.

Foes of the new Texas law that bans most abortions have been looking to the Democratic-run federal government to swoop in and knock down the most restrictive abortion law in effect in the country.

First Read is your briefing from "Meet the Press" and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.

In the Senate, all roads lead to Joe Manchin.

Solar could provide as much as 40% of U.S. electricity by 2035 under aggressive clean-energy laws.

President Biden is facing backlash after asking for resignations from multiple members of military academies’ advisory boards who were appointed by former President Trump.

President Joe Biden is glossing over important details and oversimplifying the facts when it comes to United Auto Workers' support for his effort to dramatically boost U.S. production of electric vehicles.

The FBI released a new video Wednesday showing the person suspected of placing pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican headquarters on the night before the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The video shows the suspect, who is wearing a hoodie, face mask, gloves, and is carrying a...

Members of the loosely organized anti-government militia group are facing charges including conspiracy for Jan. 6. At least four have pleaded guilty.

Former President Barack Obama waded into the political arena Wednesday touting the work of the Biden administration and issuing support for California Gov. Gavin Newsom who is facing a recall effort.

In the past year and a half, Asian American Christians across denominations have been calling out the anti-Asian bias they see in their own church congregations.

Louisiana health officials announced an additional 11 storm-related deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total number of deaths from Hurricane Ida to 82.

Crews hoisted the statue off a giant pedestal where it had towered over Virginia’s capital city for more than a century.

Biden’s budget request will increase the political pain for any lawmaker planning to oppose the funding patch.

The Navy says the sailor killed in the suicide bomber attack during the evacuation mission in Afghanistan late last month has been posthumously promoted.

The ads hold nothing back ripping into the vice president as she galavants around California with the embattled governor.

The deaths occurred Aug. 30 to Monday but were just confirmed to have been storm-related by the Orleans Parish coroner, the state Health Department said.

"The Taliban never gave any hint that they wanted to include people other than themselves in the government," one expert said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made comments about rape and the state's new abortion law that prompted backlash.

Nidal Hasan, the radical Islamic terrorist who murdered 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, wrote a letter from death row, congratulating the Taliban as the terrorist group took control of Afghanistan.

A swath of the Florida Panhandle was under a tropical storm warning after Tropical Storm Mindy made landfall Wednesday night.

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger – the only person in California history to win a gubernatorial race in a recall election – is aggressively neutral on the one coming up on September 14.

"Outside of your podcasts and Facebook staged videos I've not seen nor heard from you or your church staff," one critic wrote on Facebook.

The president wants people who are "qualified" and aligned with his administration's values, the White House press secretary says.

It is not a colossus bestriding the political universe, rather a middling administration, at best, that will have trouble imposing its will even on its own party in Congress.

"It's always a sad place to be for me," FDNY Commissioner Dan Nigro tells Scott Pelley. "And I think this year will be particularly difficult." This Sunday, 60 Minutes remembers 9/11 through the stories of firefighters at the World Trade Center that day.

Just 3 percent of the current electricity supply comes from solar power.

But don't read too much into ballot partisanship yet.

Chartered evacuation flights from Afghanistan 'need to move,' Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, but he added the U.S. is facing 'limits' in pressing the Taliban.

At least one egg was thrown at Larry Elder, the Republican front-runner in the California gubernatorial recall election, during a confrontation with a hostile crowd while walking with his team on Wednesday. Local reporters posted video to social media that showed an individual wearing a gorilla...

Speaking to Al Jazeera, acting PM Akhund says Taliban leaders face ‘great responsibility and test’.

With ever-increasing risks from climate-enhanced wildfires, floods and storms, building resilience into the power system is likely to be both difficult and expensive.

The so-called "tax gap" could total $7 trillion over the next decade.

And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says it's 'full speed ahead' on reconciliation.

The justices have not met together since the pandemic shut down the court building in March 2020.

U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger will provide the briefing Monday in Pelosi's office at the Capitol.

Here's a look at who's who in the new Taliban "caretaker" government in Afghanistan -- including men designated by the U.S. and U.N. as terrorists -- and no women.

Republicans want documents and communications between a gallerist, the White House and Hunter Biden.

Since the 9/11 attack, far-right extremists killed more people in the US than did American-based Islamist fundamentalists Proud Boys organizer recites the Pledge of Allegiance during a Proud Boys rally at Delta Park in Portland, Oregon on 26 September 2020. Photograph: Maranie R Staab/AFP/Getty...

Vice President Kamala Harris opened up a speech supporting California Gov. Gavin Newsom against a recall effort by slamming Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his state’s newly enacted law restricting abortions.

Someone threw what appeared to be an egg at GOP recall candidate Larry Elder during a tour of homeless encampments in Venice.

Donald Trump is planning to endorse a lawyer and former Republican Party official in Wyoming in an effort to primary GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, an outspoken critic of the former President who has drawn his ire for rejecting his claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, The Washington Post reported...

Top US diplomat criticises new Afghan government but says administration’s engagement with the Taliban will continue.

For the first time, the heads of the Catholic, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox churches came together to draw attention to the "climate crisis." They called on all people to look beyond their immediate interests in order to care for the poor and preserve natural resources for future generations...

Elizabeth Holmes pretended her blood-testing technology worked in order to enrich herself, prosecutors say.

The number of job openings hit a record high on the last day of July, the Department of Labor said, as businesses struggle to lure back workers amid COVID-19.

Women in Afghanistan demanding their rights say they have been beaten by the Taliban.

The Biden administration is asking numerous Trump-era holdovers on advisory boards at academies like West Point to resign or be removed.

As a critical Thursday markup looms for the party's social spending plan, it's locked in a familiar split.

A professor at Portland State University resigned after he said the campus became a "social justice factory" and a place that made "intellectual exploration impossible." Peter Boghossian, a philosophy professor and critic of what he calls a "culture of offense," resigned with an open letter...

The president wants people who are "qualified" and aligned with his administration's values, the White House press secretary says.

The Treasury secretary again called on Congress to take swift action to address the debt limit, cautioning that uncertainty in the meantime could hurt the global economy.

The Taliban's new ministers have taken office - but are they any different this time around?

Kyle Rittenhouse's former lawyer, who now represents 15 people charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection, has notified judges he's out of the hospital.

Syrian Civil Defence says a medical centre in rebel-held Idlib province was targeted by government shelling.

One of President Joe Biden’s top economists told reporters at a White House briefing on Wednesday that grocery prices are normal if you exclude beef, pork, and poultry.National Economic Council Director Brian Deese appeared at the briefing alongside Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to tout the...

Angry protests at Canadian PM’s election campaign stops prompt extremism experts to warn of possible rising violence.

Almost 60% of oil and gas and 90% of coal must stay in the ground to keep global warming below 1.5C.

The chamber's rules referee will hear reasoning on whether Democrats can include a legal path to citizenship for certain immigrant groups in their partisan spending bill.

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — The judge presiding over the death penalty case against five al Qaeda members who played key roles in 9/11 said he wasn’t “shocked” the terrorist attack happened but was stunned by its massive “scope” as he recounted his personal experience while grilled by defense lawyers...

Attorney General Letitia James has issued at least one subpoena relating to an investigation into the alleged use of state resources to promote former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's book on leadership during the pandemic, a new report says.As part of her investigation into the former governor's alleged...

Frustrated by their inability to track down six escapees, Israeli soldiers are arresting their relatives.

House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal faces pressure on international taxes

De La Hoya withdrew from his boxing match against Vitor Belfort, who will now fight Evander Holyfield in Florida.

Democrats are grappling with how to avert a government shutdown while advancing infrastructure and budget bills at the heart of President Joe Biden's agenda.

Governor Greg Abbott said that the state will "eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them."

The judge dismissed the court several hours ahead of schedule to allow both sides to regroup and strategize.

Protests erupt in the Afghan capital, with chanting of anti-Pakistan slogans, as the Taliban cements power.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Tuesday a bill that imposes a raft of new restrictions on voting in one of the nation’s fastest-growing and diversifying states.

Carnival's Glory cruise ship will provide "critical housing support to address emergency needs and to get power restored to the region," the company said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday denied a GOP congressman's claim the Taliban was holding Americans "hostage," keeping them from leaving on chartered planes.

About 8.9 million Americans lost unemployment benefits as a federal program meant to help weather the pandemic expired on Sept. 5.

In a speech Thursday, President Biden will lay out a “six-pronged strategy” to combat the coronavirus pandemic throughout the fall.

Experts say the failure to predict and prevent the violence on Jan. 6 means officials should prepare for the worst this time around.

The State Department refused to grant official approval for private evacuation flights from Afghanistan to land in third countries, even though the department conceded that that approval would likely be needed for planes to land in those countries, an email reviewed by Fox News shows.

The all-men interim cabinet includes names of people on the US and UN most-wanted lists.

In Afghanistan, the Biden administration must figure out how to deal diplomatically and politically with what will be a Taliban-led government.

The Trumps have signed a contract to do a live "gamecast" of a total of four boxing matches at a Saturday event organized by Triller.

Wyoming attorney Harriet Hageman resigned from her role on the Republican National Committee, potentially foreshadowing a campaign launch.

A complete Taliban victory over the holdout Panjshir Valley would be a devastating and symbolic blow, regional experts say.

A Texas death row inmate has won a reprieve from execution for killing a convenience store worker during a 2004 robbery that garnered $1.25. The U.S.

Biden used the trip to highlight climate change and underscore his infrastructure bill, which will help communities prepare for extreme weather.

President Joe Biden announced "climate change is here" while touring areas devastated by the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Ida.

The sweeping changes to Texas' election code that GOP Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Tuesday make it harder — sometimes even legally riskier — to cast a ballot in the state, which already has some of the nation's most restrictive voting laws. Democrats gridlocked the state Capitol for 38...

Taliban spokesman says new caretaker government will be led by Mohammad Hasan Akhund.

Leaving the White House may be a weight off former President Donald Trump's shoulders in more ways than one, with observers noting that physical changes in the former president's appearance may demonstrate the physical toll the presidency took while also signaling future ambitions. Trump had...

Some staffers in the Biden White House would rather miss their boss speak in public than endure another gaffe, according to a new report. Anxiety about what President Joe Biden might say if he takes questions from the media drives some in the White House to mute him or turn off his public...

House Republicans could face increased pressure to vote against a bipartisan infrastructure package when they return to Washington later this month with outside groups and conservatives already ramping up the campaign against a $1.2 trillion package they say would be akin to writing Democrats a...

Democrats and Republicans will start what could become a monumental game of chicken this month over raising the limit on U.S. government borrowing, as Congress attempts to avert an historic debt default.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is calling on the state legislature to repeal a state law criminalizing abortion that could go into effect if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

A river bursts its banks in the town of Tula, cutting power and oxygen at the facility, officials say.

Robert F. Kennedy's widow, Ethel Kennedy, voiced opposition on Tuesday to a California review panel's recommendation that the man serving a life term for assassinating her husband during his 1968 presidential campaign be released from prison on parole.

The Biden administration is adjusting guidance for Afghan children who arrived in the US without a parent to allow them to stay with the adult they traveled with, according to guidance obtained by CNN.

Authentic crowd noise.

Ghader Heydari was convicted of felony rape in Idaho in 2010 and served part of an 18-year prison sentence before he was released and deported to Afghanistan in 2017.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has dispelled rumors that he may be running for president in 2024, saying the rumors are “purely manufactured.”

The White House proposed a stopgap measure to fund the government as lawmakers haggle over a $1 trillion infrastructure bill and a $3.5 trillion budget package.

Those special requests will increase the political pain for any lawmaker planning to oppose the funding patch Congress needs to pass this month to keep government agencies open beyond Sept. 30.

At the heart of the matter are thousands of patients: a mother misled about her pregnancy, a patient told to stop taking heart medication, and people who received false HIV-positive results.

President Biden addressed hecklers who shouted at him about his chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, claiming that they don’t actually live in the area he was touring and suggesting that they were upset about his climate change position.

At a time when many investors are content to follow the crowd and buy top techs like Apple, Amazon and Microsoft, Cathie Wood is looking for the next big innovators in buzzy fields like robotics, fintech and space exploration.

The steel industry is lobbying the Biden administration

Wealthy Chinese exile Guo Wengui is using his online misinformation network to promote the use of unproven treatments for Covid.

Georgia officials were interviewed as part of a criminal investigation into whether former President Donald Trump and his allies broke state law with phone calls about the 2020 election results.Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said members of his office have communicated with Fulton...

It's all about how the justice system at Guantanamo was set up, says one national security expert: "The system is set up to fail."

All of the dead, including two foreigners, were inmates, with guards unable to unlock doors in time.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his allies have spent the past few weeks ahead of Tuesday’s recall making one direct pitch to Democratic voters – “Vote no and go” – asking them to vote “no” on ousting Newsom and send their ballots back without bothering to answer the second question about whom...

Young people on social media are protesting Texas' new law banning most abortions by focusing on a website established by the state’s largest anti-abortion group that takes tips on violations.

Police had demanded the group hand over information on finances, supporters as part of national security investigation.

Donald Trump is set to return to Iowa next month where he will hold a rally in Des Moines, a source familiar with the former president's political operation has confirmed to Fox News.

The potential combination of influenza, Covid-19 and other circulating viruses may be too much for hospitals to handle this winter, experts said.

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday endorsed Michigan state lawmaker Steve Carra's bid to unseat U.S. Representative Fred Upton, his third endorsement of a challenger to a Republican who voted to impeach him on a charge of sparking the Capitol riot.

Jason Miller, a former senior adviser to Donald Trump, said he was briefly detained and questioned by Brazilian authorities in the country’s capital on Tuesday.

A U.S. House of Representatives committee this week will attempt to advance sweeping legislation to expand healthcare benefits for the elderly and other social services as part of Democrats' $3.5 trillion domestic investment plan.

A former New York congressional candidate died in an apparent suicide on Tuesday – less than two weeks after he dropped his bid for U.S. House, government officials and reports said.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other 9/11 defendants are set for pretrial hearings.

French trial scheduled to last nine months with about 1,800 plaintiffs in what is described as a judicial marathon.

More than a dozen new fires ignited Monday near Sonoma County, California, as firefighters worked to contain nearly 50% of the Caldor Fire that threatened South Lake Tahoe and forced many to evacuate the region last week.Evacuation orders were lifted in South Lake Tahoe on Sunday as workers...

Leonel Sanchez thought he was about to go home to his family after serving three-and-a-half years for assault and other crimes in California, saying he felt redeemed after he started reading the Bible, attending Alcoholics Anonymous and even fighting wildfires as a prisoner.

More than 100 people have died, including 40 kids, in just a couple weeks, but at least now authorities know what they're battling.

President Joe Biden stumbled through parts of his Tuesday briefing on Hurricane Ida, leaving the definition of a tornado unclear. Biden visited New York and New Jersey to observe the damage caused in recent days by Hurricane Ida. He discussed the impact of the storm, as well as other devastating...

Brazil’s far-right president riles up hundreds of thousands of his supporters at mass rallies denouncing Supreme Court.

Ukrainian intelligence set up a recruitment website to ensnare Russian mercenaries but their plan ended with arrests in Belarus.

The historically Black university said it noticed "unusual activity" on its network last week.

President Joe Biden toured storm-ravaged areas of New York and New Jersey on Tuesday, blaming the devastation on climate change.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the nation’s most restrictive voting law on Tuesday, ending a saga that began in July when state House Democrats fled Texas in an attempt to stop the measure.

The countries at greatest risk say all nations must take bigger steps to avoid climate catastrophe.

Emily Brearley says the military didn't keep her safe — they promoted her partner instead.

A typhoon headed toward Taiwan and the southern coast of China is rapidly gaining in speed and strength ahead of an expected landfall later this week.

The former senator of Illinois died at his home on Chicago’s North Side.

"Addiction doesn't go away," Michael K. Williams told The New York Times in 2017. "It's an everyday struggle for me, but I'm fighting."

Fort McCoy Army Base in Wisconsin identified a case of the measles this week as it brings in thousands of Afghan refugees as part of the mass evacuation effort in the wake of the Taliban takeover of Kabul.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday slammed Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s “deep ignorance” on abortion after he defended the state’s new six-week abortion ban earlier in the day.

Jamie Spears has overseen his daughter's affairs since 2008.

Milwaukee city council member Chantia Lewis, a Democrat running for the Senate seat currently held by Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, was hit with the charges and given a court date at the end of September.

Hurricane Ida shut down nearly 95% of the region's crude oil and gas production.

Democrats are planning to include free community college, a priority for President Joe Biden, in a massive spending plan that party leaders are hoping to pass by the end of the month – and such a major federal investment could provide a much needed jolt to the nation’s two-year colleges after...

The nationwide fraud involving multiple former NFL players resulted in payouts of about $2.5 million from June 2017 to April 2018, federal officials said.

Overall, 2,753 people died in New York City that day. Just over 40% of those who died have not been officially identified.

A new study narrows down where to find a hypothetical ninth planet in the dark outer limits of our solar system.

The summer that was supposed to mark America’s independence from COVID-19 is instead drawing to a close with the U.S. more firmly under the tyranny of the virus, with deaths per day back up to where they were in March.

The Biden administration has notified some countries that it plans to propose the conference, one person familiar with the matter said, but has yet to send out formal invitations.

Biden will address the testing situation Thursday afternoon, in what the White House is billing as a major speech laying out the next phase of the federal pandemic response.

President Joe Biden, entering autumn with coronavirus still wreaking havoc on the nation’s health and economy, will push for new vaccine mandates and testing programs as part of a revamped approach to ending the pandemic.

This is Greene's second fine for not complying with the House mask requirement.

Outdoor events are not as risky as indoor events, but few Covid precautions mean the games are still a risk — particularly as people congregate before and after.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, took issue Wednesday with a plea from the World Health Organization for wealthy nations to issue a moratorium on COVID-19 booster vaccines until more of the developing world has received its first doses.

Gallagher is calling on Dr. Anthony Fauci to resign, arguing newly released documents show the nation's top infectious disease expert lied

The union representing thousands of TSA employees has renewed its call for expanded bargaining rights amid growing threats from the Delta variant and other emergent Covid-19 strains.

A libertarian youth organization announced their fight against COVID-19 vaccine mandates on 23 college campuses.

The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.

Most parents are eager for kids to go back to school, despite COVID-19's delta surge. But they want mask and vaccine mandates, a new poll shows.

President Joe Biden will lay out a new effort to combat the delta variant of COVID-19 on Thursday, the White House said Tuesday.

The seven homes, which all appear to be under the same ownership, failed to have "an evacuation plan that upheld residents' human dignity," the state said.

New variant found in South Africa getting attention for the number and types of mutations and speed at which they occur.

As millions of students return to classrooms, the U.S. is now facing its most significant pediatric COVID-19 surge yet.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is "completely incorrect" for asserting the effects of someone's COVID-19 vaccination status does not extend to others. DeSantis, who has been vaccinated, acknowledged the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in a press conference on Friday but insisted...

Two tropical islands half a world apart and popular with tourists – Jamaica in the Caribbean and Sri Lanka in South Asia – are now among the highest-risk destinations for travelers.

75% of adults in the United States have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday morning, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Sen. Rand Paul said newly disclosed documents providing fresh details on the extent of U.S. funding of coronavirus research in China lends credence to his assertions that Dr. Anthony Fauci lied in testimony before Congress. The Kentucky Republican, who referred President Joe Biden's chief...

A story went viral last week about Oklahoma hospitals and ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug some Americans are taking to treat Covid-19 even though it is not approved or proven for that purpose.

Similar to rules at stadiums for the Las Vegas Raiders and the New Orleans Saints, Seattle will require proof of vaccination as the regular season kicks off.

The American Civil Liberties Union published an op-ed in support of vaccine mandates taking the position that the mandates actually “further civil liberties” despite having publicly opposed such mandates before the coronavirus pandemic.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced on Tuesday a plan to ration healthcare to patients in a bid to help hospitals keep up with a surge in COVID-19 cases. With hospitals in the Idaho panhandle and in the north-central part of the state running out of both staff and hospital beds...

More than two-thirds of people looking to travel for leisure are planning to scale back their plans because of surging cases of COVID-19, according to new industry research. A survey conducted last month by Morning Consult, on behalf of the American Hotel & Lodging Association and released...

Two nurses who helped evacuate residents from seven nursing homes to a Louisiana warehouse told CNN on Tuesday that some health care workers spent days trying to keep patients alive while enduring supply shortages, electricity cuts and what they described as a negligent nursing home administration.

Radio shows and social media continue to spread dangerous disinformation about Covid, claiming that masks don't work and the vaccines are dangerous and part of the “global reset.”

First Read is your briefing from "Meet the Press" and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.

North Carolina health officials on Tuesday released a report showing 170 ongoing COVID-19 clusters in K-12 schools or child care settings.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday warned against travel to Sri Lanka, Jamaica and Brunei because of the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

As the US reached another major vaccine milestone – more than 75% of adults have gotten at least one shot, according to the White House – there’s a growing question of how to deal with the unreachable vaccine opponents who won’t get the shot no matter how dangerous that is for their families...

Three Vermont state troopers are under federal investigation for allegedly creating fake COVID-19 vaccination cards