
Biden's Fourth of July celebrations clouded by a gnawing concern over the Delta variant of Covid-19
CNN
When President Joe Biden welcomes 1,000 essential workers and military personnel on the South Lawn this weekend to mark Independence Day, it will fulfill -- and even exceed -- his prediction from March that July 4th gatherings this year would look more like they used to.
But underneath the jubilation is a gnawing concern that pockets of the United States remain in the grips of the pandemic, awash in cases of the highly transmissible Delta variant and populated with people who refuse to get vaccinated. Even as a crowded South Lawn represents scenes of celebration across the country, concerns about the continuing spread of the virus remain strong inside the administration, which announced this week it would dispatch response teams across the US to communities where officials are worried about a potentially deadly combination: low vaccination rates and a significant presence of the highly transmissible form of the virus.
Janet Mills and her allies are counting on a gender gap to narrow Platner’s wide lead ahead of the June 9 primary to decide who will face incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. They are betting that the unfiltered style that has brought Platner widespread attention as someone who could help Democrats reach young men will backfire with women.

As a shrinking number of Transportation Security Administration agents work to keep hourslong security lines moving despite not being paid, President Donald Trump stepped into the fray Saturday, announcing he will send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to airports by Monday if Congress doesn’t agree to a plan to end the partial government shutdown.











