TSA extends mask mandate on airplanes, public transit
The Transportation Security Administration will extend its mask mandate for airplanes and other public transportation through mid-April, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention works with federal agencies to revise mask policies, the two agencies announced Thursday. The requirement will extend at least through April 18 at the CDC’s recommendation and will apply to public transportation and transportation hubs. Under the rule, passengers on airplanes, buses and trains and at airports and transit stations must wear masks. But the relatively short extension signaled that the federal government may be preparing to wind down the requirement, at least in some places.
2020 Census undercounted Hispanic, Black and Native American residents
Saddled with daunting logistical and political obstacles, the 2020 census undercounted the number of Hispanic, Black and Native American residents even though its overall population count was largely accurate, the Census Bureau said Thursday. At the same time, the census overcounted white and Asian American residents, the bureau said. In essence, the report said, minority groups — mostly concentrated in cities and tribal areas — were underrepresented in census figures, even though the total population count in those areas often was fairly accurate. That could affect those groups’ political clout, and conceivably could sway decisions by businesses and governments over the next decade.
Smollett sentenced to jail for false report of a hate crime
A judge in Chicago sentenced Jussie Smollett to five months in jail on Thursday, ordering that the actor be incarcerated for falsely reporting to the police that he had been the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in 2019. Judge James Linn excoriated Smollett, saying he had concluded that the actor had premeditated the hoax and that, despite his and his family’s admirable past work in social justice, he had an arrogant, selfish side because he “craved the attention.” In his trial last year, Smollett was found guilty of felony disorderly conduct, which had carried a sentence of up to three years in prison.
Police officer’s suicide after Jan. 6 riot ruled a line-of-duty death
The death of Officer Jeffrey Smith, who killed himself nine days after confronting a mob at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was the direct result of an injury he sustained during the riot, a retirement board has found. The ruling marks the first time in the records of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. — and one of very few times across the country — that a suicide has been classified as a line-of-duty death. The moment may be a tipping point in a crusade to lift long-held taboos against open discussion of depression, addiction and suicide in policing.
Senate gives final approval to Ukraine aid, huge budget bill
A $13.6 billion emergency package of military and humanitarian aid for besieged Ukraine and its European allies easily won final congressional approval Thursday, hitching a ride on a government-wide spending bill that’s five months late but loaded with political prizes for both parties. With Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion killing thousands and forcing over 2 million others to flee, the Senate approved the overall $1.5 trillion overall legislation by a 68-31 bipartisan margin. Democrats and Republicans have battled this election year over rising inflation, energy policy and lingering pandemic restrictions, but they’ve rallied behind sending aid to Ukraine, whose stubborn resilience against brutal force has been inspirational for many voters.
IRS plans to hire 10,000 workers to relieve massive backlog
The IRS said Thursday it plans to hire 10,000 new workers to help reduce a massive backlog that the government says will make this tax season the most challenging in history. The agency released a plan to work down the tens of millions of filings that includes speeding up the traditionally slow hiring process, relying more on automated processes and bringing on more contract workers to help with mailroom and paper processing. The agency faces a backlog of around 20 million pieces of correspondence, which is more than 15 times as large as in a normal filing season, according to the agency. And the IRS workforce is the same size it was in 1970, though the U.S. population has grown exponentially and the U.S. tax code has become increasingly complicated.
US: NKorea is testing a new intercontinental missile
The White House on Thursday said that North Korea had begun testing a new intercontinental ballistic missile in recent days and that U.S. forces were putting their missile defense units in Asia in a state of “enhanced readiness” for what they expect will be another launch intended to demonstrate the range of the new missile. In a briefing Thursday, a senior U.S. official told reporters that in a departure from the past, North Korea had tried to hide the nature of the tests, both of which have taken place during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Islamic State names new leader
The Islamic State group announced Thursday that it has a new leader but provided little information on the true identity or background of the man who will now oversee the global terrorist organization. The new leader, Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, was unveiled in an audio message released on Islamic State social media accounts. The message offered scant information about the new leader, providing neither his real name nor an image of him, and making it hard to draw conclusions about his outlook or how he might lead the group, which is a shadow of its former self in terms of members and power.
By wire sources