Covid-19
Supreme Court to weigh in on whether judge can order ivermectin to treat COVID-19
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will take up a lawsuit that sought to force a hospital to administer ivermectin to a COVID-19 patient. The Court agreed to look at the issue after a state appeals court rejected the demand of a Waukesha County man who wanted a judge to order a hospital to use ivermectin to […]
GOP balks at White House request for billions for public health, natural disasters, Ukraine
WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress are lukewarm about providing $47 billion in new emergency spending for the ongoing Ukrainian war against Russia’s invasion, COVID-19 and monkeypox public health campaigns, and to help states recover from natural disasters. GOP senators, who have returned to Washington after Congress’ summer break, aren’t so sure the Biden administration’s request […]
Cyclists, pedestrians and motorists clash over COVID street changes
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, cities including Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles installed dedicated bus lanes within a matter of months. To aid struggling restaurants, many cities eliminated parking spaces to allow curbside pickup zones for takeout and delivery. Communities closed off lanes or even whole streets to make space for pedestrian-only […]
Anthony Fauci, leader on federal COVID response, to step down in December
WASHINGTON — Anthony Fauci, one of the federal government’s leading public health figures, announced Monday he’ll be leaving his post in December, though he made clear he’s not retiring. The 81-year-old doctor who runs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, became a household name […]
Biden tests positive for COVID-19 again in ‘rebound’ infection
WASHINGTON — The White House announced that President Joe Biden tested positive again for COVID-19 this past weekend in what his physician said represented “rebound” positivity. “The President has experienced no reemergence of symptoms, and continues to feel quite well,” his physician, Dr. Kevin C. O’Connor, said in a letter to press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre […]
Biden tests negative for COVID, announces he’s back to in-person work
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden held a celebratory speech in the Rose Garden on Wednesday, marking his return to the Oval Office less than a week after testing positive for COVID-19. Biden used the event to encourage Americans to keep updated on their COVID-19 boosters, to test for the virus using the free rapid tests […]
Biden: ‘I’m feeling much better than I sound’ after COVID diagnosis
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has begun using an albuterol inhaler intermittently to treat symptoms related to COVID-19, but is feeling well, according to White House officials and the president on Friday. “I’m feeling much better than I sound,” Biden said during a virtual meeting on gas prices with his economic advisers Friday afternoon. When […]
Biden tests positive for COVID-19
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, the White House announced Thursday morning. Biden, 79, is fully vaccinated against the virus and has twice received booster doses, according to the statement. He is taking Paxlovid, an antiviral prescription medication that is meant to reduce the severity of […]
Thousands could lose health care when the federal public health emergency expires
State departments of health are bracing for the end of the COVID-19 federal Public Health Emergency (PHE), which will affect health care coverage for millions of Americans, especially those on Medicare or Medicaid — known in Wisconsin as BadgerCare. The PHE was enacted in January 2020 by then-Secretary Alex Azar of the U.S. Department of […]
A federal funding flood followed by a school finance drought
The horrifying school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas was dominating the news as the Milwaukee school board finalized the district’s preliminary budget for the coming year on May 26. Just a few weeks earlier, school budget debates were focused on learning loss. Some school officials were pushing the message that students’ mental health […]
Remote voting in the U.S. House hits a second anniversary, but it may be its last
After two years of a temporary provision to allow remote voting in the U.S. House, the top 36 users of the proxy voting system are all Democrats, though Republicans have also taken advantage of it. Proxy voting was meant to keep crowds of House members smaller and thereby limit the spread of COVID-19, back in […]
Ron Johnson’s tax rebellion
On tax day this year, wouldn’t you like to be Sen. Ron Johnson? Wisconsin’s senior U.S. senator paid only $2,015 in state income tax in 2017, despite earning more than $450,000 that year. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Dan Bice, who first reported on Johnson’s teeny-weeny tax bill, pointed out that the multimillonaire’s 2017 Wisconsin tax […]