Dec 22 Watch 7:23 What you need to know about the extended student loan payment pause, child tax credit By Stephanie Sy, Karina Cuevas American graduates and their families may be feeling relief Wednesday after the Biden administration extended a pause on student loan payments. Payments will not be required before May 1, and the extension will help around 41 million borrowers. Meanwhile, millions… Continue watching
Dec 22 Watch 10:43 Frustrated health workers dread expected rise in COVID hospitalizations: 'We're exhausted' A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found 2020's death toll was worse than previously reported — finalized at nearly 3.4 million people. It also forewarned that 2021 is expected to surpass 2020's record number of deaths by… Continue watching
Dec 22 Watch 8:56 What Hartford has learned in its fight to raise Black vaccination rates By Jason Kane and Sarah Varney, Kaiser Health News About 72 percent of Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. During much of the vaccine rollout, Hispanic and Black Americans have been less likely to get vaccinated. The gap between white and Hispanic Americans has… Continue watching
Dec 22 $475 million settlement proposed in longest-running U.S. oil spill By Janet McConnaughey, Associated Press Sixteen wells off Louisiana have been leaking since September 2004, when a subsea mudslide caused by Hurricane Ivan knocked over a Taylor Energy Co. production platform. Continue reading
Dec 22 Trucker's 110-year sentence draws calls for clemency By Colleen Slevin, Associated Press The family of a trucker sentenced to 110 years in prison after an explosive brake-failure accident that left four people dead is planning to rally in Denver Wednesday to plead for clemency. Continue reading
Dec 22 WATCH: Gov. Gavin Newsom announces plans to protect Californians from omicron variant By News Desk and Adam Beam, Associated Press California's roughly 2.5 million health care workers have until Feb. 1 to get a coronavirus vaccine booster shot or risk losing their jobs, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday. Continue reading
Dec 22 Biden extends student loan moratorium to May 1 By Colleen Long, Associated Press The Biden administration is extending a student loan moratorium that has allowed millions of Americans to put off debt payments during the pandemic. Continue reading
Dec 22 Pfizer pill becomes first home COVID-19 treatment authorized in the U.S. By Matthew Perrone, Associated Press The long-awaited milestone comes as U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all rising and health officials warn of a tsunami of new infections from the omicron variant that could overwhelm hospitals. Continue reading
Dec 22 After Supreme Court abortion case, a new look at baby 'safe haven' laws By Astrid Galvan, Associated Press Safe haven laws drew attention this month when U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett questioned the role they play in the debate around abortion rights. Continue reading
Dec 22 Russia's foreign minister says security talks with U.S., NATO will begin in January By Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press Russian and U.S. negotiators will sit down for talks early next year to discuss Moscow's demand for Western guarantees precluding NATO's expansion to Ukraine, Russia’s top diplomat said Wednesday. Continue reading