Wednesday morning news - August 4, 2021

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington.

CDC announces new eviction moratorium » The Biden administration announced a new 60-day eviction ban on Tuesday that will apply to most of the country until early October.

The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the CDC’s prior eviction ban to remain in place until it expired on July 31st. But the court indicated that it would not uphold another extension.

The CDC, however, said it identified a legal authority for a different moratorium. Hours earlier, President Biden told reporters at the White House …

BIDEN: My hope is that it’s going to be a new moratorium that in some way covers close to 90 percent of the American people who are renters.

The CDC allowed the prior eviction ban to expire at the end of July. Citing the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Biden administration said it did not have legal authority to extend it further. The administration said states and cities must be more aggressive in releasing nearly $47 billion in relief for renters on the verge of eviction.

But Democratic lawmakers kept pressure on the White House to extend the moratorium in spite of the high court ruling.

Biden touts vaccinations, urges action to reach holdouts » Also at the White House Tuesday the president touted an uptick in new vaccinations.

BIDEN: Over the past two weeks, the eight states with the highest current case rates have seen a doubling of the number of people newly vaccinated each day.

The United States this week finally reached Biden’s goal of getting at least one COVID-19 shot into the arms of 70 percent of adults, a month later than he president hoped.

Cases continue to rise nationally. Most new infections and the overwhelming majority of serious cases are among unvaccinated Americans.

With that in mind, Biden made another appeal to those who have not yet received a shot.

In an effort to persuade the unvaccinated, the president said he’s urging states to offer $100 cash incentives. Several states have done so, and Biden said daily vaccinations are up 25 percent in those states.

He also called on businesses to incentivize vaccinations for employees.

NYC, Louisiana implement new pandemic mandates » Meantime, more states and cities are introducing new mandates to try and halt the spread of the delta variant.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced unprecedented regulations.

DE BLASIO: The Key to NYC pass will be a first-in-the-nation approach. It will require vaccination for workers and customers in indoor dining, in indoor fitness facilities, indoor entertainment facilities.

That means customers at those New York businesses will have to show proof of vaccination. The city plans to start enforcing the program on September 13th.

And the state of Louisiana has ordered nearly everyone, vaccinated or not, to wear masks again in all indoor public settings.

The delta variant is hitting the south especially hard. Florida on Sunday broke a previous record for current hospitalizations due to COVID-19.

Cuomo defiant after probe says he sexually harassed 11 women » New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pushing back against the findings of a state investigation into sexual harassment claims against him.

The state’s Democratic Attorney General Latitia James announced those findings on Tuesday.

JAMES: The independent investigation found that Gov. Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, many of whom were young women, by engaging in unwanted groping, kisses, hugging, and by making inappropriate comments.

The nearly five-month investigation, led by two outside lawyers, concluded that 11 women who made accusations against him were telling the truth.

But Cuomo said the accusations are not accurate.

CUOMO: I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances.

The probe also determined that Cuomo worked to retaliate against one of his accusers.

Following the report, many, including President Biden, called on the Democratic governor to resign immediately. But Cuomo again said he’s not going anywhere.

Taliban take much of provincial capital in south Afghanistan » The Taliban pressed ahead with their advances in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday. It has now captured nine out of 10 districts of the capital city in Helmand province.

Afghan government forces launched airstrikes, backed by the U.S. military, in a desperate effort to defend the city.

The fall of Lashkar Gah would be a major turning point in the offensive the Taliban has waged in recent months as U.S. and NATO forces withdraw.

It would also be the first provincial capital the Taliban has captured in years.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell had sharp words for the White House on Tuesday.

MCCONNELL: The president’s rushed pullback from Afghanistan has left our friends and partners in the lurch and rolled out the red carpet for a Taliban takeover. It is already underway.

The Afghan military dispatched elite commando units to help protect key government buildings, including the local police and army headquarters. But some fear it’s only a matter of time before Taliban forces overrun those facilities.

I’m Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org.

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