Connect with us

Published

on

President Joe Biden has called on states and local authorities in the US to offer residents $100 (£71) to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

State and local governments will be able to access a $350bn (£250bn) coronavirus aid fund to pay for the incentives, the US Treasury has promised.

Federal workers and onsite contractors will also have to prove they are vaccinated, or else wear face masks, be socially distanced, and do regular testing.

Military personnel will have the COVID-19 vaccination added to the jabs they are already required to have.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the pace of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccinations in the United States during remarks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 29, 2021
Image:
US President Joe Biden is getting tough on federal workers who have not been vaccinated

Mr Biden said he wanted America’s four million federal employees to set an example to private employers and other citizens.

COVID-19 cases are rising rapidly in the US, fuelled by the highly-transmissible Delta variant, which is particularly dangerous for those who have not been vaccinated.

Mr Biden aimed to have 70% of adults at least partially vaccinated by 4 July, but the latest figure shows 69.3% are partially vaccinated and about 60% are fully vaccinated.

More on Covid-19

“It’s a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Mr Biden said in a White House address on Thursday.

“People are dying who don’t have to die.”

Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University Law School, was optimistic that Mr Biden’s plan could work.

“People would much rather roll up their sleeves and get a jab, than undergo weekly testing and universal masking,” he said.

“In many ways, this is really not a mandate, it’s giving workers a choice.”

Mr Biden wants private businesses to follow his lead by imposing burdens for those who are not vaccinated.

Some larger businesses are already there: Facebook and Google have announced employees will have to prove they have been vaccinated before returning to work.

Airlines Delta and United are requiring new employees to show proof of vaccination, and finance firms Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley want workers to disclose their vaccination status but have stopped short of requiring them to be inoculated.

Jeff Hyman, a Chicago-based business author and recruiter for start-up companies, said: “I think we’ve reached this tipping point, and Mr Biden’s announcement will provide a lot of air cover for companies and boards of directors who have difficult decisions facing them.”

The White House is no longer gently encouraging vaccinations – analysis by Martha Kelner, US correspondent

We are at a pivotal point in the pandemic in the US with the Delta variant taking a firm grip and sending hospitalisations soaring in certain areas, prompting this urgent intervention from President Biden.

This was an address to the nation from the president, but aimed specifically at the unvaccinated, to whom he implored: “You don’t have to die”.

The take-up of the vaccine is divided along political and geographical lines, with just 34% of people in Alabama fully vaccinated, compared with 68% of people in Vermont.

Until now, the Biden administration had been content to allow corporate America to take the lead on mandatory vaccination and many Silicon Valley companies, like Facebook and Google, have banned employees from the office unless they get vaccinated.

Other companies have said employees can either get the vaccine or they will get fired.

But the dramatic rise in hospitalisations in the last few weeks has led to a shift in policy from the White House, which is no longer gently encouraging vaccinations but taking a significant step towards a firm order.

But the plan will not go through without opposition.

More than 100 bills have been introduced at state level banning employers from requiring vaccination and at least six states have approved these bills.

Some unions are also against the idea.

Brian Rothenberg, spokesman for United Auto Workers, said the union supported the vaccine but was against requiring people to have it.

Larry Cosme, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, had a similar view, saying: “Forcing people to undertake a medical procedure is not the American way and is a clear civil rights violation no matter how proponents may seek to justify it.”

The Justice Department has said federal laws take precedence and none of those forbid employers from requiring vaccinations.

Continue Reading

US

‘It’s a war’: Meet the volunteers leading the fight against Trump’s ICE raids

Published

on

By

'It's a war': Meet the volunteers leading the fight against Trump's ICE raids

It’s 5.30am, but the car park outside a laundrette in south central Los Angeles is already bustling.

A woman is setting up a stand selling tacos on the pavement and the sun is beginning to rise behind the palm trees.

A group of seven women and two men are gathered in a circle, most wearing khaki green t-shirts.

The leader, a man named Francisco “Chavo” Romero, begins by asking how everyone is feeling. “Angry,” a few of them respond. “Proud of the community for pushing back,” says another.

Ron, a high school history teacher, issues a rallying cry. “This is like Vietnam,” he says. “We’re taking losses, but in the end we’re going to win. It’s a war.”

Francisco “Chavo” Romero, Union del Barrio, a volunteer group, attempting to spot immigration officials
Image:
Francisco ‘Chavo’ Romero leads a volunteer group, attempting to warn people ahead of ICE raids

This is what the resistance against Donald Trump’s immigration policy looks like here. In the past month, immigration and customs enforcement agents – known as ICE – have intensified their raids on homes and workplaces across Los Angeles.

Since the beginning of June, nearly 2,800 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in the city, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The previous monthly high was just over 850 arrests in May this year.

Federal immigration agents toss tear gas at protesters during a raid in the agriculture area of Camarillo, Calif
Image:
Police use tear gas against protesters, angry at a recent immigration raid at a farm in Camarillo, California. Pic: AP

Videos have circulated online of people being tackled to the ground in the car park of DIY shops, in car washes and outside homes. The videos have prompted outrage, protests and a fightback.

“Chavo” and Ron belong to a group of organised volunteers called Union del Barrio. Every morning, a group of them meet, mostly in areas which have high immigrant populations.

The day I meet them, they’re in an area of LA which is heavily Latino. Armed with walkie talkies to communicate with each other, megaphones to warn the community and leaflets to raise awareness they set out in cars in different directions.

Ron, a high school history teacher, driving in LA trying to spot ICE officials
Image:
A volunteer from Union del Barrio shows Sky’s Martha Kelner how they try to stay one step ahead of ICE agents

They’re looking for cars used by ICE agents to monitor “targets”.

“That vehicle looks a little suspicious,” says Ron, pointing out a white SUV with blacked-out windows, “but there’s nobody in it”.

An elderly Latino man is standing on a street corner, cutting fruit to sell at his stall. “He’s the exact target that they’re looking for,” Ron says. “That’s what they’re doing now. The low-hanging fruit, the easy victim. And so that is proving to be more successful for their quotas.”

Man selling fruit on a street in LA
Image:
This man, selling fruit on a street corner in LA, is a potential target of immigration agents

In the end, it turns out to be a quiet morning in this part of LA, no brewing immigration operations. But elsewhere in the city, dawn raids are happening.

ICE agents are under pressure from the White House to boost their deportation numbers in line with Donald Trump’s campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

In June, tear gas and rubber bullets were fired at protestors demonstrating against immigration raids

Maria’s husband Javier was one of those arrested in LA. He came to the United States from Mexico when he was 19 and is now 58.

The couple have three grown-up children and two grandchildren. But Javier’s work permit expired two years ago, according to Maria and so he was living here illegally.

Maria whose husband Javier was one of those arrested in Los Angeles
Image:
Maria’s husband Javier was arrested after his work permit expired

She shows me a video taken last month when Javier was at work at a car wash in Pomona, an area of LA. He is being handcuffed and arrested by armed and masked ICE agents, forced into a car. He is now being held at a detention centre two hours away.

“I know they’re doing their job,” she says, “but it’s like, ‘you don’t have to do it like that.’ Getting them and, you know, forcing people and pushing them down on the ground. They’re not animals.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

US troops accused of ‘political stunt’ after park raid

Maria wipes away tears as she explains the impact of his absence for the past four weeks. “It’s been so hard without him,” she says. “You feel alone when you get used to somebody and he’s not there any more. We’ve never been apart for as long as this.”

The family have a lawyer and is appealing for him to remain in the US, but Maria fears he will be sent back to Mexico or even a third country.

Maria's husband Javier was one of those arrested in Los Angeles.
Image:
Maria fears her husband, who has lived in the US for nearly 40 years, will be sent back to Mexico

“I don’t know what to say to my grandkids because the oldest one, who is five was very attached to his papas, as he calls him. And he’s asking me, ‘When is papa coming home?’ and I don’t know what to say. He’s not a criminal.”

The fear in immigrant communities can be measured by the empty restaurant booths and streets that are far quieter than usual.

A sign asking people to report sightings of ICE officials in LA
Image:
People in LA are being asked to report sightings of ICE officials so others can be warned

I meet Soledad at the Mexican restaurant she owns in Hollywood. When I arrive, she’s watching the local news on the TV as yet another raid unfolds at a nearby farm.

She’s shaking her head as ICE agents face off with protesters and military helicopters hover overhead. “I am scared. I am very scared,” she says.

All of her eight employees are undocumented, and four of them are too scared to come into work, she says, in case they get arrested. The process to get papers, she says, is too long and too expensive.

Read more from Sky News:
Farmer first to die during ICE raids
Trump warns comic over citizenship

Soledad, who owns a Mexican restaurant in Hollywood
Image:
Soledad, who owns a Mexican restaurant, plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive

“They call me and tell me they are too afraid to come in because immigration is around,” she says.

“I have to work double shifts to be able to make up for their hours, and yes, I am very desperate, and sometimes I cry… We have no sales, and no money to pay their wages.”

There is just one woman eating fajitas at a booth, where there would usually be a lunchtime rush. People are chilled by the raids.

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Soledad says she plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive.

“I’ve told them, get inside the fridge, hide behind the stove, climb up where we have a space to store boxes, do not run because they will hunt you down.”

The White House says they’re protecting the country from criminals. ICE agents have been shot at while carrying out operations, their work becoming more dangerous by the day.

The tension here is ratcheting up. Deportation numbers are rising too. But the order from Donald Trump is to arrest even more people living here illegally.

Continue Reading

US

Q&A: Should there be an age limit on the presidency?

Published

on

By

Q&A: Should there be an age limit on the presidency?

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

Mark Stone and Martha Kelner answer your listener questions.

If you’ve got a question you’d like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

Continue Reading

US

Two dead after multiple people were injured in shooting at church in Kentucky

Published

on

By

Two dead after multiple people were injured in shooting at church in Kentucky

Two people are dead after multiple people were injured in shootings in Kentucky, the state’s governor has said.

Andy Beshear said the suspect had also been killed following the shooting at Richmond Road Baptist Church in Lexington.

A state trooper was earlier shot at Blue Grass Airport in Fayette County on Sunday morning, the Lexington Herald-Leader local newspaper reports.

Mr Beshear has said a state trooper “from the initial stop” and people who were injured in the church shooting are “being treated at a nearby hospital”.

The extent of the injuries is not immediately known.

State troopers and the Lexington Police Department had caught up with the suspect at the church following the shooting in Fayette County, according to Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.

Read more US news
Trump threatens to revoke comedian’s citizenship
Farmer becomes first person to die during ICE raids
Trump imposes 30% tariff on EU imports

Mr Beshear said: “Please pray for everyone affected by these senseless acts of violence, and let’s give thanks for the swift response by the Lexington Police Department and Kentucky State Police.”

The Blue Grass Airport posted on X at 1pm local time (6pm UK time) that a law enforcement investigation was impacting a portion of an airport road, but that all flights and operations were now proceeding normally.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the latest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Continue Reading

Trending