US regulators OK new COVID-19 shot option from Novavax
The U.S. is getting another COVID-19 vaccine choice. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday cleared Novavax shots for adults. It’s a more traditional type of vaccine than the Pfizer and Moderna shots already used to protect most Americans. Still, millions of adults haven’t yet gotten vaccinated even this late in the pandemic. Experts expect at least some of them to roll up their sleeves for the more conventional technology. The Centers for Disease Control still must recommend how to use the Novavax vaccine before shots begin. The U.S. has bought 3.2 million doses.
Pharmacies can’t discriminate on reproductive health scripts
The Biden administration is warning pharmacies not to discriminate against women who may seek reproductive health prescriptions, including some that might be involved in ending a pregnancy. The Department of Health and Human Services says pharmacies receiving federal money from programs such as Medicare and Medicaid cannot discriminate in how they supply medications or advise patients on prescriptions. The agency notes that discrimination against people based on their pregnancy or related conditions would be a form of sex discrimination. Wednesday’s announcement comes after last month’s Supreme Court’s decision that ended a constitutional right to abortion.
Ex-CIA engineer convicted in massive theft of secret info
A former CIA software engineer accused of the biggest theft of classified information in CIA history has been convicted at a New York City retrial. A jury reached the guilty verdict against Joshua Schulte on Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan. Schulte chose to act as his own defense attorney, calling himself a scapegoat for an embarrassing public release of a trove of CIA secrets by WikiLeaks in 2017. A mistrial was declared at his original 2020 trial after jurors deadlocked on the most serious counts. The so-called Vault 7 leak revealed how the CIA hacked Apple and Android smartphones in overseas spying operations, and efforts to turn internet-connected televisions into listening devices.
Witness tampering at Jan. 6 hearing? Cheney raises prospect
In a Jan. 6 committee hearing already sprinkled with notable moments, Rep. Liz Cheney saved perhaps the most startling one for last. She said Tuesday that the panel had learned that former President Donald Trump had recently tried to contact a witness whom “you have not yet seen in these hearings.” The witness did not answer and instead contacted their lawyer, who referred the issue to the Justice Department. Though much remains uncertain about the call, including its purpose and the recipient, the manner it was described raised the prospect that Trump or people in his orbit were hoping to shape witness testimony in the ongoing congressional hearings into last year’s assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Suspect is arrested in Ohio after rape of 10-year-old girl
An Ohio man has been arrested and charged with the rape of a 10-year-old girl, whose travel across state lines to receive an abortion captured national attention. Gerson Fuentes, 27, was arraigned Wednesday in Franklin County Municipal Court in Columbus, where he was charged with the rape of a child younger than 13 years old, a felony that can carry a lifetime prison sentence. He was being held on $2 million bond. The case of the young victim became a focus of the abortion debate after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion enshrined in Roe v. Wade.
Wildfires scorch parts of Europe amid extreme heat wave
Firefighters from Portugal and Spain to southern France and Croatia are battling a spate of wildfires scorching Europe amid an unusual heat wave that authorities link to climate change. Portuguese authorities say more than 600 people have been evacuated and about 120 needed medical attention. Water-dumping planes helped 1,300 firefighters combat the worst of the blazes in the nation’s central area. More than 800 firefighters battled two wildfires in the region outside Bordeaux in southwest France. Spain’s weather service warn that unusually high temperatures combined with a lack of rainfall have created ideal conditions for destructive fires. One Croatian firefighter told state HRT television that “it’s hell, we don’t know where to go first.”
By wire sources