North America

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing growing pressure to ease up on pandemic restrictions, the White House insisted Wednesday it is making plans for a less-disruptive phase of the national virus response. But impatient states, including Democratic New York, made clear they aren’t waiting for Washington as public frustration grows.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that New York will end its COVID-19 mandate requiring face coverings in most indoor public settings — but will keep it for schools. Illinois announced the same.

NEW YORK (AP) — Senate Republicans blame the Republican National Committee. The RNC blames two Republican House members. They blame former President Donald Trump. And Trump blames Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

In the midst of the GOP’s first major election year blowup, each bloc believes it represents the real Republican Party and its best interests in the bid to regain control of Congress.

MEXICO CITY, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday suggested "pausing" diplomatic relations with Spain, ratcheting up the rhetoric of his attacks on Mexico's former colonial power, which he has accused of plundering Mexico.

Speaking at a regular news conference, Lopez Obrador said it was matter of taking a "breather" without breaking diplomatic ties with Spain, saying "the relationship is not good now."

A spokesperson from Spain's Foreign Affairs Ministry declined to comment.

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Kamala Harris will hold a series of in-person meetings with U.S. allies and partners at the Munich Security Conference next week seeking to deter Russian aggression in Ukraine, a trip that serves as a major diplomatic test of her vice presidency.

A senior administration official said Harris will deliver a speech, articulate U.S. policy at a number of public engagements and assert America's commitment to its NATO allies. Leaders of Germany, the EU and NATO will attend and Harris is not expected to meet leaders from Russia and China.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Low-income and uninsured people in the United States are facing hurdles to obtain COVID-19 antivirals, NBC News has reported.

Though the COVID-19 antiviral pills are an easier, cheaper and more effective method of treating the virus, they are not easy to obtain, especially for those who are low-income or uninsured, said the U.S. media network Sunday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court’s decision to halt efforts to create a second mostly Black congressional district in Alabama for the 2022 election sparked fresh warnings Tuesday that the court is becoming too politicized, eroding the Voting Rights Act and reviving the need for Congress to intervene.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department announced Tuesday its largest-ever financial seizure — more than $3.6 billion — and the arrests of a New York couple accused of conspiring to launder billions of dollars in cryptocurrency stolen from the 2016 hack of a virtual currency exchange.

Federal law enforcement officials said the recovered sum was linked to the hack of Bitfinex, a virtual currency exchange whose systems were breached by hackers nearly six years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress would lift onerous budget requirements that have helped push the Postal Service deeply into debt and would require it to continue delivering mail six days per week under bipartisan legislation the House approved Tuesday.

The election-year bill, coming at a time of widespread complaints about slower mail service, would also require the Postal Service to display online how efficiently it delivers mail to communities.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Jury selection resumed Tuesday with the first questioning of potential jurors for the trial of a former Kentucky police officer involved in the deadly raid that killed Breonna Taylor.

Prospective jurors in Brett Hankison’s wanton endangerment trial are being questioned individually, so lawyers can determine whether they have any preexisting biases before evidence is presented.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration has stalled in the narrowly divided Senate, an unexpected setback that could delay decisions on electronic cigarettes and a raft of other high-profile health issues pending at the agency.

Biden nominated Dr. Robert Califf for the job in November after a 10-month search that critics complained left a leadership vacuum at the powerful regulatory agency, which has played a central role in the COVID-19 response effort.