An Ignoble Experiment: FDA, CDC say fully vaccinated don't need booster shots. Yet.

By Liza Hearon

TOP STORIES

Friday, July 9

NO COVID-19 BOOSTERS — YET Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not need a booster shot at this point, according to the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Their statement came hours after reports that Pfizer plans to file for authorization to give people a third shot of its vaccine amid the rise in more transmissible coronavirus variants around the country. [HuffPost]

BIDEN TO MAKE GOOD ON AFGHANISTAN PROMISE BY AUG. 31 President Joe Biden said that he will achieve his goal of ending America's 20-year military campaign in Afghanistan, the country's longest-running war, by Aug. 31. Biden's plan may thrill skeptics of the war, but the costs of America's withdrawal are becoming increasingly clear. [HuffPost]

HOW DO YOU SPELL 'SERIOUSLY IMPRESSIVE'? Zaila Avant-garde, a 14-year-old from Harvey, Louisiana, became the first African American winner and the second Black champion in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Not only did she nail the winning word, "Murraya," but she also is a basketball prodigy who owns three Guinness world records for dribbling multiple balls simultaneously. [AP]

TOYOTA REVERSES COURSE ON CAMPAIGN DONATIONS The car manufacturer said it will no longer donate to lawmakers who voted against certifying the 2020 election, according to The Detroit News. Toyota credited the change to "stakeholders," but it should be noted it came hours after the Lincoln Project released a damning video attacking the car company. [HuffPost]

What the lambda variant means for us right now.
GOP rep. ridiculed over vaccine picture that "makes no logical sense."
Five mental health conditions that are way underdiagnosed.
"This Way Up" star Aisling Bea on making a comedy about loneliness amid the pandemic.

Get the latest coronavirus updates on our dedicated page

TEXAS GOP BEGINS NEW ATTEMPT AT VOTER SUPPRESSION The Texas legislature began its second attempt to introduce new voting restrictions, unveiling a pair of bills that could become some of the harshest election laws passed this year. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced the special session last month following a dramatic walkout by Democrats to block the initial barrage of restrictive legislation. [HuffPost]

FARMWORKERS DEMAND BASIC SAFETY AFTER EXTREME HEAT WAVE Farmworkers are calling on Congress to pass basic safety standards to protect them from extreme heat after a heat wave in the Pacific Northwest killed hundreds of people, including an undocumented worker in Oregon. There is currently no federal standard for working conditions during extreme heat. [HuffPost]

WHAT'S BREWING

TROPICAL STORM ELSA DUMPS HEAVY RAIN ON EAST COAST Severe weather from Tropical Storm Elsa spurred tornado warnings in Delaware and New Jersey early Friday as the system moved over the mid-Atlantic states and into the northeastern U.S. The earliest fifth-named storm on record was already blamed for one death in Florida on Wednesday. [AP]

1 BILLION SEA CREATURES COOKED TO DEATH IN CANADA HEAT WAVE The record heat wave in the Pacific Northwest that claimed hundreds of human lives also cooked to death an estimated 1 billion sea creatures, like mussels and clams, according to a marine biologist. Such a massive die-off has a major effect on the environment. [HuffPost]

HARRIS SLAMS GOP ATTACKS ON VOTING RIGHTS Vice President Kamala Harris is spending the week going after Republican attacks on voting access and speaking to audiences of Black Americans, one of the groups disproportionately affected by the restrictions. The Republican-backed laws are designed to "make it harder for you to vote," the vice president told an audience at Howard University. [HuffPost]

TRUMP 'CHARGING RENT TO THE AGENCY THAT PROTECTS HIS LIFE' Donald Trump has charged the Secret Service more than $50,000 for lodging at his own properties just since he left the White House, The Washington Post reported. The latest figures from Trump's spring move to Bedminster revealed he's continuing a "habit" that began in the first days of his presidency. [HuffPost]

CALIFORNIANS ASKED TO VOLUNTARILY CUT WATER USAGE California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked people and businesses to voluntarily cut how much water they use by 15% as the Western U.S. weathers a drought that is rapidly emptying reservoirs relied on for agriculture, drinking water and fish habitat. California's most important reservoirs are already at dangerously low levels. [AP]

REMINGTON MAKES MOCKERY OF SANDY HOOK FAMILIES' LAWSUIT Lawyers representing the families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in a lawsuit against gun-maker Remington Arms said the company included tens of thousands of "random" images in court-ordered discovery documents. The files included 18,000 cartoons. [HuffPost]