Brianna Borja, a registered nurse, administers a dose of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine another nurse, Etienne Dyiana, in Riverside county, California. Photograph: MediaNews Group/The Riverside Press-Enterprise/Getty Images
Brianna Borja, a registered nurse, administers a dose of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine another nurse, Etienne Dyiana, in Riverside county, California. Photograph: MediaNews Group/The Riverside Press-Enterprise/Getty Images
The governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte, has tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Republican, who had a first vaccine shot last week, will self-isolate for 10 days, in accordance with public health guidelines and his doctor’s recommendations, his office said. His wife, Susan Gianforte, was also tested and was showing no symptoms while awaiting results.
Gianforte said he and his staff had been regularly tested since he was sworn in on 4 January. Staff were to be tested again on Tuesday and people with whom the governor has had recent close contact had been notified, the governor’s office said.
Gianforte then ran for the US House of Representatives in a 2017 special election. He made national news in May that year when he attacked Ben Jacobs, then a reporter for the Guardian, during a campaign event.
While touring the vaccination site in Alexandria, Virginia, Joe Biden said he hopes the US will be able to share its vaccine supply with other countries “pretty soon”.
The president said this crisis would not be solved solely in America, but around the world as well. If a global strategy is not pursued, all countries will suffer as a result, Biden said.
The president added, “You can’t build a wall or a fence high enough to keep out the virus.”
Biden has previously emphasized the importance of getting people in other countries vaccinated. However, the president has also stressed he is currently focused on making vaccines available to all Americans.
Biden is expected to shortly announce that all American adults will be eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine by April 19.
Knee on subdued suspect’s neck not allowed, police trainer tells Chauvin trial
Chris McGreal
A Minneapolis police trainer who instructed Derek Chauvin in the use of force told the former officer’s murder trial on Tuesday that placing a knee on a suspect’s neck when they are already subdued “is not authorised”.
Lt Johnny Mercil told the court that at the time George Floydwas arrested last May, police department policy still permitted the use of neck restraints using an arm or side of a leg when a suspect was being “assaultive”.
But he said the training did not include the use of a knee, as Chauvin used for more than nine minutes on the 46-year-old African American man in his custody.
Mercil said putting a knee to the neck is “not unauthorised” in making an arrest, but that it is not permitted if the suspect is in handcuffs or otherwise subdued. Floyd was in handcuffs for several minutes before he was forced into the prone position on the ground and Chauvin applied his knee.
Joe Biden is now touring a vaccination site in Alexandria, Virginia, where he will soon deliver an update on vaccine distribution in the US.
The president told one of the employees at the vaccination site, located at the Virginia Theological Seminary, that the country has surpassed 150 million shots administered since he took office, per Bloomberg News.
Biden is touring a temporary vaccination site in Alexandria, inside the Virginia Theological Seminary.
Nurses are giving jabs in a former worship hall with an organ and pews.
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said at her briefing that Biden’s remarks would include an announcement about 150 million shots administered.
The president is also expected to announce all American adults will be eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine by April 19, pushing up the earlier deadline of May 1 by about two weeks.
The Associated Press reports on a major legislative boost for Joe Biden:
Late on Monday, the Senate parliamentarian gave the green light to a strategy that would allow Democrats in the 50-50 chamber to rely on a 51-vote threshold to advance some bills, rather than the typical 60 votes typically needed.
The so-called budget reconciliation rules can now be used more often than expected giving Democrats a fresh new path around the GOP blockade.
A spokesman for the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, welcomed the parliamentarian’s opinion as ‘an important step forward’.
Justin Goodman said no decisions have been made on the process ahead, but ‘this key pathway is available to Democrats if needed’.
The prospects for a massive infrastructure investment, once a source of unity on Capitol Hill, have groaned under the weight of political polarization. Where Biden sees an urgency in going big, Republicans want a narrow plan that focuses on roads and bridges, and warn that any corporate tax increase would crush economic growth.
‘They know we need it,’ Biden said of the Republicans as he returned to Washington on Monday. ‘Everybody around the world is investing billions and billions of dollars in infrastructure, and we’re going to do it here.’
The standoff almost ensures a months-long slog as Congress hunkers down to begin drafting legislation and the White House keeps the door open to working with Republicans, hoping that continued public attention will drum up support.
But Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell declared plainly on Monday that Biden’s plan is ‘something we’re not going to do.’ Speaking to reporters in Kentucky, McConnell said Republicans could support a ‘much more modest’ approach, and one that doesn’t rely on corporate tax hikes to pay for it.
Here’s Lauren Gambino on some of the big thinking behind Biden’s plan:
The US Capitol Police released a statement from the family of William “Billy” Evans, the officer who died in the car attack on Friday.
“Billy was the best father, son, brother, and friend anyone could ever hope for. His death has left a gaping void in our lives that will never be filled,” the family said.
— U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) April 6, 2021
The statement includes a photo of Evans with his two children, Logan and Abigail, who appear to be wearing Halloween costumes in the picture.
“The absolute most important thing in his life was his two children, Logan and Abigail. His most cherished moments were those spent with them,” the family said.
“Billy was proud to be a United States Capitol Police Officer. His colleagues from the North Barricade were the people he spent so many hours with, and their friendship was one of the best parts of his job. We hold them in our hearts, as we know they acutely share our grief.”
The family expressed gratitude for “the outpouring of support we have received from the law enforcement community from around the country and world,” and they requested privacy as they mourn their loss.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer announced earlier today that Evans will lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda next week.
Beto O’Rourke haswarned that the “hottest places in Texas” will be reserved for US corporations that remain on the sidelines as Republicans push new voter restrictions in the state.
Beto O’Rourke. Photograph: AP
“Please know that the very hottest places in Texas will be reserved for those companies who maintain their neutrality in a moment of moral crisis like this one,” the former Texas congressman said, on a conference call with political leaders and civil rights groups opposed to the legislation making its way through the state’s legislature.
Last week, Texas Republicans advanced legislation that would limit early voting hours, prohibit drive-thru voting and give partisan poll workers the ability to record voters at the polls, among other provisions.
Unlike in Georgia, where Republicans are facing a backlash after the governor signed sweeping new voting restrictions, leaders and activists said there was still time to stop the effort in Texas.
“Here in Texas we still have a chance to make sure this does not become law – that is important,” said Julián Castro, the former housing secretary and a Texas native.
Public pressure helped defeat an effort to regulate the use of bathrooms by transgender people in Texas in 2017, Castro said, when asked whether he believed the election bill could be stopped in the Republican-controlled legislature.
Castro and the others on the call urged Texans to put pressure on companies based in the state, like AT&T, Frito-Lay and Southwest. Cliff Albright, co-founder of the Georgia-based Black Voters Matter Fund, cautioned that rhetoric alone wasn’t enough. Corporations needed to use their power and influence to raise awareness about the voting restrictions and sanction politicians who support them, he said.
“What we need now is strong words being matched by strong actions,” Albright said. “If AT&T can convince folks to upgrade a phone every few months, certainly they can convince them that voter suppression is bad.”
Boehner book – Trump Deep State conspiracy theory is 'horseshit'
Martin Pengelly
Donald Trump’s obsession with the Deep State conspiracy theory, which holds that a permanent secret government of bureaucrats and intelligence officials existed to thwart his agenda in office, was destructive and delusional, John Boehner says in a new book.
John Boehner wipes his eyes. Photograph: Erin Scott/Reuters
“Let me be diplomatic here,” the former speaker writes in the memoir, On the House. “That’s horseshit.”
Boehner’s view chimes with that of Steve Bannon, a key propagator of the theory who was Trump’s campaign chairman in 2016 and a senior White House strategist. Trump, senior aide Stephen Miller and others have repeatedly blamed the Deep State for their problems. Bannon has said the theory is “for nut cases” and “none of this is true”.
Boehner was a congressman from Ohio for 24 years, a figure in the Washington firmament, House speaker from 2011 until his retirement in 2015.
His criticism of Trump comes as no surprise, not least because an extract of his new book ran in Politico last week. The memoir will be published next week. The Guardian obtained a copy.
The White House press briefing has now concluded. Here’s where the day stands so far:
Joe Biden will announce all American adults will be eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine by April 19, the White House said. The president is scheduled to deliver an update on vaccine distribution in Alexandria, Virginia, later today, and the White House said Biden will also announce the US has administered 150 million vaccine doses since he took office.
A shooting occurred at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, this morning. The US Navy confirmed the shooter, who is now dead, was a naval hospital corpsman. The two victims of the shooting are in critical condition and were airlifted to a Baltimore hospital, Frederick police told reporters.
Derek Chauvin’s trial has resumed in Minneapolis, where the former police officer is facing murder charges over the killing of George Floyd. Follow Joanna Walters on the Guardian’s live blog to get the latest updates on the trial.
Jen Psaki was asked whether Joe Biden is concerned by indications that Americans are becoming more relaxed about social-distancing guidelines.
A reporter noted more than 30,000 people attended the Texas Rangers home opener yesterday, and TSA reported a noticeable uptick in travel over Easter Weekend.
"The president recognizes that this has been a long and difficult journey," press sec. Psaki tells @karentravers on whether Pres. Biden's message of vigilance is getting lost amid increased travel and events.
“The president recognizes that this has been a long and difficult journey,” the White House press secretary said. “What he is asking people to do is to sacrifice a little bit longer.”
Biden will likely echo that message later today, when he delivers an update on vaccine eligibility and distribution in Alexandria, Virginia.
