U.S. News

The U.S. gave the final go-ahead Friday to the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine, marking what could be the beginning of the end of an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans, according to a person familiar with the decision but not authorized to discuss it publicly.

Attorney General Bill Barr reportedly hid two federal probes involving Hunter Biden for months.

The US government deficit in the first two months of the budget year increased by 25.1% more than it was at the same time last year, PBS reports. The rise reflects increased government spending to manage the COVID-19 pandemic against a related backdrop of decreased income from taxes. The budget year begins on October 1.

In a surprising move, the Pentagon has told the Central Intelligence Agency that it is weighing an end to the majority of the military support it provides to the agency’s counterterrorism missions, according to a former senior administration intelligence official.

The U.S. military has rushed to deny reports that it has blocked Joe Biden, who claimed victory in the presidential election, and his team from meeting with intelligence agencies.

A U.S. government advisory panel on Thursday endorsed Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, despite concerns about possible side effects.

The Abortion Care Network has reported that 127 US abortion clinics have closed since 2015, the Christian Post reports. The ACN report suggests most of these clinics closed because of financial constraints and pro-life laws.

A court of appeals has told a lower court that, in light of recent US Supreme Court rulings, it must reconsider its decision to uphold California’s restrictions on in-person worship services, the Christian Post reported Wednesday. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found in favor of Chula Vista’s South Bay United Pentecostal Church, which had argued the pertinent COVID-19 restrictions were discriminatory against houses of worship.

Pressure mounted Wednesday on Joe Biden, who claimed victory in the U.S. presidential election, as his son is being investigated for possible tax evasion.

Missouri led a group of 17 states that Wednesday afternoon filed a brief with the Supreme Court supporting the Texas lawsuit aimed at delaying the appointment of presidential electors from Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Facebook got slapped with a pair of blockbuster antitrust lawsuits on Wednesday, as government officials accused the Silicon Valley giant of systematically acquiring smaller rivals in order to prevent them from becoming competitive threats.

A new poll finds that only about half of Americans are all in for taking a COVID-19 shot once a vaccine is approved.

Tech giant and Internet video pioneer YouTube this week announced that it will begin to remove videos challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election, a policy it plans to enforce even as numerous videos remain up challenging the outcome of the 2016 election in which Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton.

A prominent LGBT rights group is trying to persuade former Vice President Joe Biden and his presumptive administration to adopt guidelines that could lead to the closing of private Christian colleges and universities.

A pro-life research and education organization has published a new chart detailing whether the eight leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates supported by President Trump’s “Operation Warp Speed” are produced or tested using cells derived from abortions.

A lung specialist at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee has pleaded with a Senate committee to review his study of an anti-parasite drug which he says has produced dramatically positive results in treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients, CNS News reports.

A Superior Court judge has said it is “just shocking” that LA County had not “seriously” considered the impact of outdoor dining on the COVID-19 pandemic before banning it indefinitely on November 25, the LA Times reports. Restricting the ban to just three weeks, LA County Superior Court Judge James Chalfant ruled Tuesday that county officials must carry out a risk-benefit analysis if they want to extend the order beyond December 16.

In a novel legal strike, the state of Texas has asked the Supreme Court to invalidate the election results in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, arguing officials in those four battleground states violated the Constitution by making changes to how ballots were cast and counted without legislative approval.

The House voted overwhelmingly to pass a critical defense bill that President Trump has threatened to veto because it lacks new language that would punish social media firms.

In a newly resurfaced video from July, Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared to acknowledge that large numbers of positive COVID-19 cases may arise from oversensitive tests that pick up mere fragments of the virus rather than active, viable infections.