Biden Announces New Effort to Fight Omicron Coronavirus Surge

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U.S. President Joe Biden laid out a new concerted effort Tuesday to combat the surging omicron variant of the coronavirus, dispatching federal health care workers to short-handed hospitals, pre-positioning the national stockpile of medical equipment around the country and offering 500 million free COVID-19 test kits to Americans. Biden detailed his attack plan in a White House address as the number of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. is markedly increasing again, with 143,000 recorded on Monday, along with another 1,300 deaths. Nearly three-fourths of the new cases are linked to the highly transmissible omicron variant.  But Biden said thatmore

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White House Says Democrats ‘Need to Work Together’ on Biden Safety Net Legislation   

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U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration says it is looking to push ahead with work on a social safety net spending bill after a key Democrat in the Senate said he could not support it.  White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at a briefing Monday that the administration is ready to “work like hell” with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and other members of the Democratic caucus in order to achieve its goal.  “What’s most on the President’s mind is the risk of inaction,” Psaki said.  “And if we do not act to get this legislation done and the components in it,more

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Pentagon Issues Rules Aimed at Stopping Rise of Extremism

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Warning that extremism in the ranks is increasing, Pentagon officials issued detailed new rules Monday prohibiting service members from actively engaging in extremist activities. The new guidelines come nearly a year after some current and former service members participated in the riot at the U.S. Capitol, triggering a broad department review.  According to the Pentagon, fewer than 100 military members are known to have been involved in substantiated cases of extremist activity in the past year. But it warns that the number may grow given recent spikes in domestic violent extremism, particularly among veterans. Officials said the new policy doesn’tmore

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Biden Welcomes Puppy to White House; No Word on Promised Cat

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President Joe Biden has welcomed a new addition to the family, a puppy named Commander. Biden shared a photo Monday on his official Twitter account with a caption that said, “Welcome to the White House, Commander” as well as a brief video of him tossing a ball to Commander and walking the leashed dog into the White House. No other details about the dog were provided.  The puppy appears to be a German shepherd, the breed of Biden’s other two dogs, and was a gift to him from his family, according to CNN, which first reported on the puppy’s arrivalmore

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