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Texas federal judge halts Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees

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Texas federal judge halts Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees
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A federal judge issued an order Friday halting President Biden’s order that all federal employees get the coronavirus vaccine or risk losing their jobs, saying the president overstepped the bounds of his powers.

Judge Jeffrey Vincent Brown, a Trump appointee to the bench in Texas, issued a nationwide injunction.

His ruling follows a decision last week by the Supreme Court that halted yet another Biden COVID-19 vaccine mandate for large businesses.

Of four major vaccine mandates the Biden administration has promulgated, three are now blocked.

Judge Brown said the case involving federal workers isn’t about whether people should get vaccinated, saying, “The court believes they should.” Nor is it about whether the federal government as a whole could require its employees to get the shots.

Instead, it is about whether Mr. Biden, acting as chief executive, can issue an order that millions of people undergo a medical procedure.

“That, under the current state of the law as just recently expressed by the Supreme Court, is a bridge too far,” the judge ruled.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki, reacting soon after the decision, said it would be up to the Justice Department to decide next steps, but she suggested the idea of the mandate has already worked.

“First, let me update you that 98% of federal workers are vaccinated. That is a remarkable number,” she said.

She also said the administration was “confident in our legal authority here.”

In arguing its case to Judge Brown, the Biden administration had pointed to several sections of the law that said the president gets to set rules and regulations governing federal workers’ conduct and conditions of employment. Justice Department lawyers said getting vaccinated falls under on-the-job conduct.

Feds for Medical Freedom, the group that challenged the mandate in this case, argued that being vaccinated against the deadly virus wasn’t conduct but rather status. And even if it is judged to be conduct, it’s not “workplace” conduct.

Judge Brown agreed.

He said the Supreme Court’s ruling last week against the large-business mandate found that COVID is not an issue unique to the workplace, so a vaccine mandate can’t be shoehorned into an order regarding work conduct.

Judge Brown was racing to beat a Jan. 21 deadline, which was the earliest point at which any of the plaintiffs involved in the case might face discipline.

His order applies not just to the members of Feds for Medical Freedom but to all federal employees. Judge Brown said trying to draw a narrow injunction was impractical.

The four major vaccine mandates the Biden team imposed last year covered federal employees, federal contractors, workers at businesses with at least 100 employees, and medical workers who are funded by federal money through Medicare or Medicaid.
Of those, only the health care worker mandate remains in place, covering about 10 million people.

The Supreme Court last week ruled Congress did give the administration power in the medical area.

But the justices blocked the large-business mandate from taking effect. The federal contractor mandate was blocked by lower courts.

• Tom Howell Jr. contributed to this article.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.

Health, The New York Today

Biden urges Congress to bolster semiconductor chip manufacturing in U.S.

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Biden urges Congress to bolster semiconductor chip manufacturing in U.S.
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President Biden on Friday urged Congress to pass legislation that would spend billions to increase U.S. semiconductor production, saying America needs to end its reliance on foreign computer chips.

At a White House event touting Intel Corp’s construction of a $20 billion chip manufacturing complex outside of Columbus, Ohio, Mr. Biden urged lawmakers to “get another historic piece of bipartisan legislation done.”

“Let’s do it for the sake of our economic competitiveness and our national security,” the president said. “Let’s do it for the cities and towns all across America working to get their piece of the global economic package.”

The legislation,  known as the CHIPS for America Act, would spend $52 billion to increase U.S. semiconductor chip production. It passed the Senate in July with bipartisan support but has stalled in the House.

Under the legislation, the federal government would fund domestic semiconductor research, design and manufacturing by private companies. It would also offer other incentives like tax breaks for companies that build new chip manufacturing plants.

The chips power everything from toothbrushes and coffee machines to cars and iPhones. A global chip shortage has contributed to soaring inflation and skyrocketing car prices.

Mr. Biden said the legislation would help make the U.S. supply chain more resistant to disruptions. The supply-chain crisis has hamstrung the U.S.’s economic recovery after the COVID-19 shutdown.

But critics say the legislation won’t do much to address the chip shortage that is impacting the U.S. economy, because of the length of time required to get a chip factory online.

The factory in Ohio is expected to create 7,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs.

Intel’s new plant, which Mr. Biden hailed as “a historic investment,” won’t be running until 2025.

When asked how the plant would alleviate the chip shortage when it’s three years away from coming online, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said it could prevent future shortages.

“I think our view is that it is an important step forward to ensure that we have manufacturing capacity here in the United States so that we don’t have a chip shortage in the future,” she said.

Ms. Psaki also declined to speculate why the legislation has stalled in the Democratic-controlled House.

“I think [House] Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi made it clear she wants to move it forward,” she said.

Even if the U.S. increases production significantly, it can’t completely remove itself from the global supply chain. The testing and packaging are completed in Southeast Asia, where costs are much lower.

It costs 30% more to make a chip in the U.S. than in Asia, according to a 2020 report by the Semiconductor Industry Association. That could add $10 billion to $40 billion to production expenses.

Intel Corp. announced last month that it will spend $7.1 billion to build a massive packaging and testing facility in Malaysia, bucking the administration’s call for more domestic manufacturing.

The $7.1 billion is part of Intel’s overall $30 billion spending on facilities in Malaysia, which will include a sprawling complex to build chips for cars, computers and other industries.

In China, where it costs nearly 50% less to produce a semiconductor than it does in the U.S., the government is spending $150 billion to increase chip production. That is nearly triple the level of spending under the CHIPS Act.

Still, Mr. Biden argued that the legislation is necessary for the U.S. to compete with China.

“China is doing everything it can to take over the global market,” he said.

Some fear the bid to increase manufacturing in the U.S. will lead to a glut of chips in the market, resulting in falling prices and negative or zero revenue growth.

The revenue of the top 10 semiconductor firms, including Intel and Samsung, declined by 12% in 2019 because of oversupply, according to research from Gartner, a technology and consulting company.

The potential for overcapacity is on the horizon as automobile and smartphone makers slash inventory because of sluggish sales.

In 3-week isolation, unvaccinated Swiss athlete Patrizia Kummer waits for Olympics

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In 3-week isolation, unvaccinated Swiss athlete Patrizia Kummer waits for Olympics
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Three weeks alone in a hotel room is hardly an ideal setting for a snowboarder preparing for the Olympics.

Patrizia Kummer, a Swiss athlete who won a gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, is unvaccinated against the coronavirus, so she is spending 21 days in isolation in China before the Winter Games begin in Beijing on Feb. 4.

Even though vaccine rules are strict for the upcoming Olympics, a few unvaccinated athletes will still be taking part.

Kummer said she doesn’t want to influence anyone else’s views on vaccination and thinks the quarantine requirement is fair, but also declined to discuss her “personal reasons” for refusing a vaccine.

“I had a bunch of reasons for the vaccine and a bunch of reasons against the vaccine, and in the end, it was like, ‘No, I can’t do it,’” she said on a video call from her Beijing hotel room, adding she is “not in a risk group.”

The Beijing Games are being held under severe protocols as part of China’s “ Zero COVID ” policy. The government has locked down several cities in the lead up to the Olympics because of the presence of only a handful of cases of the highly contagious omicron variant that has surged throughout the world.

The coronavirus can cause disease and death in younger people, including athletes. Scientists believe vaccinating as many people as possible will help slow the virus’ spread, which will help in preventing the emergence of new variants and in building immunity more broadly in the population.

When Kummer competes on Feb. 8 in her third Olympics, she will have been in China for nearly a month.

Some countries have refused to select unvaccinated athletes for their Olympic teams. Other athletes have a choice between vaccination or the 21-day quarantine. A few will compete unvaccinated without quarantine after getting exemptions on medical or legal grounds. That includes some young Russian athletes who weren’t eligible for vaccines at home.

VACCINE OR QUARANTINE

Kummer is staying in a Holiday Inn in northern Beijing, far from the mountains where some Olympic events will be held. Food is brought to her door three times a day, there’s a stationary bike for exercise, and she brought a yoga mat, weights and fitness equipment.

When she’s not working out, Kummer visualizes riding the snowboard she has propped against the wall, streams TV shows or works on her plans to renovate a historic building back home in Switzerland.

That’s life in what the International Olympic Committee calls the “dedicated facility” for unvaccinated athletes waiting to enter the “closed loop” of the Beijing Olympics.

“I’m a minimalist, so I don’t need much to have a good living. I don’t need much to be happy. So that’s no problem,” Kummer said. “And I actually enjoy being by myself.”

Kummer thinks she’s the only unvaccinated athlete in quarantine, but doesn’t know for sure. The IOC declined to say whether there are others, saying only that “close to 100% of the residents of the Olympic and Paralympic Villages” will be vaccinated. Nearly 3,000 athletes are expected at the Beijing Games.

VACCINE MANDATES

Austrian snowboarder Claudia Riegler is in a stand-off with her Olympic team, which is threatening to leave her at home if she doesn’t get the vaccine.

Kummer and Riegler are friends who bonded on a long drive home through the Alps when they were both turned away from a World Cup race in Italy last month for being unvaccinated. They wanted to ask for quarantine rooms next door to each other in Beijing before Riegler’s dispute with her team became public, and they did an online fitness class together after Kummer arrived in China.

Austrian news agency APA reported that Riegler has until Sunday to get her first vaccine shot or be left off the team. The four-time Olympian doesn’t want to be vaccinated after having contracted the virus over the Christmas period, APA reported.

The United States and Canada imposed vaccine mandates last year for their Olympic teams. The Americans said all of their Winter Olympians will be vaccinated, as did other countries, including Britain, Sweden, France, Italy, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

EXEMPTIONS

A few unvaccinated athletes will be able to compete without quarantining.

The IOC said a panel chosen by the Olympic body and China will rule on exemptions for medical or legal reasons. Examples include people who are allergic to vaccine ingredients, or who take medicines which suppress the immune system. Olympic organizers use the laws in an athlete’s country of origin as a guide to decide on exemptions.

Russian officials have estimated seven athletes – including some figure skaters – will compete unvaccinated because they are under 18 and weren’t eligible for any vaccine at home until recently.

A version of the Sputnik vaccine received government approval in November for use in children between the ages of 12 and 17 but is not yet widely available. Russia doesn’t let people under 18 receive other vaccines.

In tennis, Novak Djokovic used a positive test dated in December as evidence he had recovered from the virus to get an exemption for the Australian Open while unvaccinated. He was eventually ordered to leave the country after a legal battle.

Evidence of a previous infection could be enough to get an exemption for the Beijing Olympics but IOC guidelines indicate that would work only if the athlete’s home country has ruled that infected people are “not eligible” for a vaccine. There is no indication anyone has applied for an exemption on those grounds.

Copyright © 2022 The Washington Times, LLC.

Health, The New York Today

Poll: Most voters support U.S. military defense of Taiwan, but not Ukraine

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Poll: Most voters support U.S. military defense of Taiwan, but not Ukraine
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Most American voters across the political spectrum support U.S. military intervention to defend Taiwan against China, but not to defend Ukraine against Russia, according to a new poll released Friday.

The survey by the Trafalgar Group found that while 58.1% of likely voters believe the Biden administration “should use U.S. military assets to defend Taiwan if Taiwan is invaded by China,” 84.8% believe the U.S. should have “limited involvement in the event that Russia invades Ukraine.”

These results suggest most voters see China as a bigger threat than Russia, despite the current war fears that are surging in eastern Europe, according to the Convention of States Action, a Texas-based states’ rights advocacy group that commissioned the poll.

“Voters in all parties stand squarely behind a U.S. military defense of a free and democratic Taiwan, even though that comes with great risk — and potentially a high cost to our nation — against the growing threat from China,” said Mark Meckler, the group’s president. “Conversely, while voters clearly sympathize with Ukraine and support assisting them through diplomacy and other means, there is no support for U.S. military intervention should a conflict arise with Russia.”

The Biden administration is promising harsh economic sanctions if the Kremlin moves against Ukraine, but has ruled out U.S. combat troops to counter an invasion, noting Ukraine is not a NATO member.

If Russia invades Ukraine, the poll found that 31.1% of voters believe the U.S should provide supplies and military weapons, 30.5% favor only diplomatic pressure and 23.2% believe the U.S. should provide U.S. military advisors. Only 15.3% said U.S. troops “should be provided as boots on the ground in the event that Russia invades Ukraine.”

“Our leaders often forget that the American people have great wisdom in understanding the nature of threats abroad,” Mr. Meckler said.

Meanwhile, Trafalgar’s poll found that  56.2% of likely Democratic voters, 60.8% of Republican voters and 57.4% of independents support using the U.S. military to defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion by China, whose Communist leaders consider the island democracy a part of China‘s sovereign territory.

The poll echoes other studies that suggest Americans have increasingly viewed China as a greater threat than Russia since COVID-19 lockdowns began in March 2020.

A summer 2020 survey by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found that 54% of Americans saw China as the biggest challenge to the United States, more than double the 22% who said they were primarily concerned about Russia. The survey found that 41% of Americans backed military action if China were to invade Taiwan.

On Dec. 17, a YouGov poll commissioned by the Charles Koch Institute found that 73% of Americans from all political affiliations want the Biden administration to prioritize domestic issues, and only 27% favored going to war to defend Ukraine. Another 48% of respondents opposed going to war with Russia and 24% said they didn’t know.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s CommonWealth magazine published a survey on Jan. 12 that found 58.8% of Taiwanese respondents believed the U.S. military was likely to support Taipei in the event of a conflict with China, but 57.7% said they did not trust President Biden.

Mirroring likely voter turnout demographics, 39.3% of respondents in Friday’s Trafalgar poll identified as Democrats, 35.6% as Republicans and 25.1% as independents. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.98%.  The survey of 1,081 likely general election voters was conducted Jan. 12-14.

Louie Anderson, Emmy-winning comedian, dies at 68

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Louie Anderson, Emmy-winning comedian, dies at 68
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Louie Anderson, whose more than four-decade career as a comedian and actor included his unlikely, Emmy-winning performance as mom to twin adult sons in the TV series “Baskets,” died Friday. He was 68.

Anderson died at a hospital in Las Vegas of complications from cancer, said Glenn Schwartz, his longtime publicist. Anderson had a a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Schwartz said previously.

Anderson won a 2016 Emmy for best supporting actor for his portrayal of Christine Baskets, mother to twins played by Zach Galifianakis. Anderson received three consecutive Emmy nods for his performance.

He was a familiar face elsewhere on TV, including as host of a revival of the game show “Family Feud” from 1999 to 2002, and on comedy specials and in frequent late-night talk show appearances.

Anderson voiced an animated version of himself as a kid in “Life With Louie.” He created the cartoon series, which first aired in prime time in late 1994 before moving to Saturday morning for its 1995-98 run. Anderson won two Daytime Emmy Awards for the role.

He made guest appearances in several TV series, including “Scrubs” and “Touched by an Angel,” and was on the big screen in 1988′s “Coming to America” and in last year’s sequel to the Eddie Murphy comedy.

Anderson also toured regularly with his stand-up act and as a stand-up comedian.

Copyright © 2022 The Washington Times, LLC.

Augmented Reality Theater Takes a Bow. In Your Kitchen.

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Augmented Reality Theater Takes a Bow. In Your Kitchen.
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When the pandemic shut down British performing venues in March 2020, Coffey accelerated plans to turn “All Kinds of Limbo” into an at-home experience. The retooled version can be watched via A.R. on a mobile device, via a V.R. headset, or on a regular computer. Brandon’s performance stays the same, but, depending on the device used, the experience feels subtly different.

To summon some of theater’s shared intimacy, it’s being ticketed and broadcast as live, although the show is recorded. Other people attending virtually are represented by blades of moving white light and, by playing with the settings, you can move around the space and see the action from different angles.

It’s a short piece, but “All Kinds of Limbo” does feel like the glimmering of a new art form: somewhere between music video, video game and live cabaret show.

Over the last few years, Britain’s theater scene has become a test bed for similar experiments. Last spring, the Royal Shakespeare Company co-produced an immersive digital piece called “Dream” that featured actors performing using motion-capture technology and was watchable via smartphone or computer. Other projects, such as shows by the Almeida theater in London and the company Dreamthinkspeak in Brighton, England, require participants to turn up in person and get equipped with VR headsets.

Francesca Panetta, a V.R. producer and artist who was recently appointed as the alternate realities curator at the Sheffield DocFest film festival, said in a video interview that practitioners from audio, gaming, theater, TV and other art forms were collaborating as never before. “Many different people are trying to explore this space and work out what it really is,” she said. “No one is quite sure.”

One of the most keenly awaited partnerships is between the immersive theater troupe Punchdrunk, which pioneered live site-specific shows such as “Sleep No More” and “The Masque of the Red Death” in the mid-2000s, and the tech firm Niantic, best-known for the wildly successful A.R. game Pokémon Go.

Zero-Covid Policy Shakes Hong Kong’s Economy and Its ‘Soul’

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Zero-Covid Policy Shakes Hong Kong’s Economy and Its ‘Soul’
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HONG KONG — Perry Lam felt confident that his business had weathered the worst of the pandemic. Several rounds of bar closures in Hong Kong had dimmed the city’s vibrant nightlife, threatening to destroy his brewery. But things seemed better late last year.

After the government’s relentless effort to stamp out the virus, there were no local infections, bars began ordering kegs of his lager again and money was coming in. “You saw the silver lining,” said Mr. Lam, 34.

That changed this month when Omicron started spreading, and officials returned to the trusted zero-Covid playbook that Hong Kong shares with mainland China. Restaurants were forced to shut down by 6 p.m. Small animals were culled. Flights from eight countries were suspended. Imports came to a standstill.

Hong Kong is chasing the same dogged virus strategy as China, hoping this will strengthen ties to Beijing and allow it to declare victory over Covid-19. But in the process, a place once known as “Asia’s World City” has cut itself off from the outside world, crushing an economy reliant on international trade at a time when the global supply chain is already deeply strained.

Now, local businesses that held on through several outbreaks are trembling as their highflying metropolitan hub transforms into what feels more like another isolated Chinese city.

Hong Kong has reported around 300 cases of Omicron, most detected from overseas visitors during their quarantine. In recent days, however, local infections have jumped and emerged from unexpected origins, putting health officials on edge. In all, it has recorded 13,096 virus cases and 213 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

These low numbers have been too much for Beijing’s zero-tolerance line, a seeming prerequisite for Hong Kong to reopen its border with China — a top priority for local officials who are under pressure to make the former British colony more like the mainland.

The fallout for local business has been staggering. Economists at Wall Street banks have lowered their estimates of the city’s economic growth for the year. Fitch, the ratings agency, warned that the ban on foreign travel would severely threaten Hong Kong’s economic future.

In the days after the city announced its latest virus measures, several small businesses, including a rotisserie chicken chain, a popular wine bar, a craft beer shop and a gastro pub, said that they would close. Mr. Lam said he is determined that H.K. Lovecraft, his brewery, is not next.

“I’ve tried to hold out as long as possible,” he said, “but we are losing money.”

Just a few years ago when he was studying to become a brewmaster in Germany, Mr. Lam had much bigger dreams: “I wanted to have something that belongs to Hong Kong, that is locally made,” he said.

He returned to the city and with his own money built a brewery with special equipment shipped from Germany. If he had known what was to come, he might have waited, he said. “It seems like it’s not getting any better and there have been times when I have been pondering how we should proceed.”

Even before the latest round of virus measures in Hong Kong, the cost of shipping malts and hops had become a challenge for many brewers. When the pandemic put pressure on the global supply chain, prices soared.

Ships stuffed with raw materials remain stuck at sea. There are more delivery trucks than there are drivers.

Ian Jebbitt, who started a Hong Kong brewery called Gweilo Beer in 2015 with his wife and a friend, said before the pandemic he used to pay around €2,000 for a container of hops. “I just agreed to pay €15,500,” he said, or more than $17,500.

The rising costs of goods, rent and labor, as well as the lockdown measures, have made Hong Kong one of the hardest markets to operate in, said Mr. Jebbitt, who has expanded his business to other markets, including Britain and Australia. “I am surprised there haven’t been more casualties.”

The Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics said the city’s 21-day quarantine and the effort to stamp out Omicron have created a deficit of aircrew that will most likely cause prices to go up by 30 to 40 percent in the coming weeks.

Carrie Lam, the city’s chief executive, has acknowledged the problem and warned that the cost will be felt by everyone. “We almost have no goods entering via cargo flight,” she said last week.

Motorino, a popular pizzeria with two locations in the city, is running out of tomato sauce.

A pallet of the sauce left Naples, Italy several months ago, but has been delayed four times, said Syed Asim Hussain, a co-founder of Black Sheep Restaurants, the group that owns Motorino and 28 other restaurants.

The number of diners is dwindling, too.

When he calculated his daily revenue across all restaurants after the new pandemic restrictions were announced, Mr. Hussain said it was less than what one of his restaurants brought in at lunchtime just a month ago.

In the background, Hong Kong is still navigating the aftermath of the 2019 pro-democracy protests that divided the city and his 1,000 employees.

At Carbone, another one of Mr. Hussain’s Italian restaurants, December was punctuated by farewell dinners for people leaving the city, rather than raucous holiday parties. “No one in business school teaches you how to deal with two black swan events like this,” he said.

Another obstacle to relaxing Covid-19 restrictions is the city’s vaccination rate, which is low compared with many developed countries. Only 70 percent of residents are fully vaccinated, with many saying they are suspicious of the government.

The estimated loss for the current virus measures, which are expected to last for several more weeks, is at least $1.2 billion over a four-week period, according to Tommy Cheung, a legislative councilor who represents the catering sector in Hong Kong.

“This isn’t going away like SARS,” he said, referring to the coronavirus that devastated Hong Kong in 2003 and helped shape the city’s response to Covid-19. “This is one tunnel where I don’t see the light at the end. All these restaurants that ask me to their ribbon cutting, I keep saying that, ‘You guys are too damn brave.’”

Mrs. Lam last week announced a $500 million pandemic relief fund for restaurants, retailers and travel agencies, but many businesses say it won’t be enough.

Rob Cooper, who owns four restaurants under the Enoteca Group, said he received four rounds of government support between November 2020 and May 2021, but managed to break even in this year only because of generous landlords and some savings.

Now that fewer chefs and other restaurant workers are willing to move to Hong Kong and brave the quarantine, he’s unsure he’ll be able to survive another outbreak under the zero-Covid policy.

“We’ll never open up,” Mr. Cooper said. “The next variant is around the corner. That’s just science, isn’t it? How do you open up an economy if everything is imported? The rest of the world is riddled with Omicron.”

For Mr. Hussain, a fifth-generation Hong Konger, losing the small mom-and-pop restaurants, diners and outdoor eateries that make his home so vibrant will irrevocably change the city.

“The old-timers assure me that we are going to be OK. But I worry as a restaurateur, as an entrepreneur,” he said. “I worry about the soul of the city.”

More talks planned as Blinken, Lavrov meet over Ukraine crisis

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More talks planned as Blinken, Lavrov meet over Ukraine crisis
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There were no breakthroughs, but the top diplomats from the U.S. and Russia agreed at least to keep talking Friday amid fears that Moscow is preparing an invasion of its neighbor Ukraine.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met for 90 minutes in Geneva Friday, showing no apparent give on either side but seeking to lower the temperature after weeks of high-stakes threats and counter-threats.

Mr. Blinken for the first time acknowledged to reporters that the Biden administration will meet at least one Kremlin demand — replying in writing in the coming days to a Russian proposal last month to roll back NATO’s presence in eastern Europe and to rule out forever NATO membership for Ukraine and fellow former Soviet states such as Georgia.

The U.S. and its allies have rejected many of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands as non-starters, but had not committed to answering the Kremlin’s call for a broader debate over European security and Russia‘s so-called “red lines” regarding security along its long European border with the West.

Despite massing some 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s border in recent months, Russia denies plans to invade. Friday’s talks, which followed Mr. Blinken’s visits to Kyiv and to Berlin for discussions with allies earlier in the week, appeared to signal that diplomacy was being given a little more chance to head off a shooting war.

Mr. Blinken, in an interview after the session with ABC  News, said, “We had an opportunity to look at where we can go next in this, and I think we at least have some opportunity to continue to work to resolve this diplomatically. “

Mr. Blinken’s task was complicated by President Biden’s press conference earlier in the week in which he predicted Mr. Putin was already intent on military action, that a “minor incursion” into Ukraine might meet with a lesser response, and that there were internal divisions within NATO on how to respond to Russian aggression. 

U.S. and NATO officials quickly moved to clarify those remarks, saying Russia would face unprecedented economic sanctions for any military move against Kyiv.

The secretary of state added Thursday that the U.S. would consider another face-to-face meeting between Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin if it would be “productive.”

Russian analysts say the crisis has already yielded dividends for the Kremlin by focusing U.S. and global attention on Russia‘s longstanding grievances in Europe.

Mr. Lavrov called the Friday meeting “constructive and useful,” and said Russia would study carefully the U.S. and NATO  responses to its demands in the coming days.

“I can’t say whether we are on the right track or not,” he told reporters. “We will understand that when we receive the U.S. written response to all of our proposals.”

• This article was based in part on wire service reports.

Judge denies Trump spokesperson’s attempts to recoup bank records from Jan. 6 committee

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Judge denies Trump spokesperson’s attempts to recoup bank records from Jan. 6 committee
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A federal judge has denied a motion by a spokesman for former President Donald Trump to have his bank records returned by the House committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Obama-appointed Judge James Boasberg denied the motion on Thursday, saying that he is constitutionally barred from directing members of Congress from turning over the documents.

“There really is no question that this Court has no jurisdiction to order Congress under the Speech or Debate Clause to return documents that it has received,” Judge Boasberg said, according to The Hill.

Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich sued the committee last month after he learned that the committee had issued a subpoena directly to his bank, JP Morgan Chase, for the release of his bank information.

He later learned that the bank had already turned over his records before he filed his case, and amended his complaint to have the committee turn over the records, and strike them from their investigation.

The decision marks a second legal victory for the committee this week, after the Supreme Court denied Mr. Trump’s appeal to block the release of White House documents to the panel.

Mr. Budowich accused JPMorgan Chase and its legal counsel, former Obama administration Attorney General Loretta Lynch, of colluding with the committee to deny him a legal challenge to the subpoena.

He said he was given just hours to respond in court after becoming aware of the subpoena, and accused the bank and the committee of working together to ensure he was unable to object to the subpoena.

“What is happening to me through this process should not happen to any American. It is an affront to my individual rights and the Constitution,” he said last month. “I will continue to fight for both.”

Judge Boasberg scheduled a follow-on hearing for later this month to discuss the next steps in the case.

Singer Adele postpones Las Vegas shows citing crew sidelined by COVID-19

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Singer Adele postpones Las Vegas shows citing crew sidelined by COVID-19
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English pop singer Adele postponed her Las Vegas residency a day before its launch, citing delivery delays and the impact of COVID-19 on her crew.

“I’m so sorry but my show ain’t ready,” she said in a tearful Instagram message. “Half my crew, half my team is down with COVID. They still are, and it’s been impossible to finish the show. And I can’t give you what I have right now, and I’m gutted. I’m gutted and I’m sorry it’s so last minute.”

Adele’s run at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace was supposed to start Friday and last until April 16.

The “Cry Your Heart Out” singer apologized to fans who traveled in recent days and said dates would be rescheduled.

“We’ve been awake for over 30 hours now trying to figure it out, and we’ve run out of time,” she said. “And I’m so upset, and I’m really embarrassed and I’m so sorry to everyone who traveled, again.”

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.

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