NATION IN BRIEF
CDC panel says older adults should get another COVID vaccine shot now
A panel of doctors and scientists advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Wednesday to recommend people 65 and over — a group of people particularly vulnerable to the virus — get a second dose of an updated COVID vaccine that became available last fall.
The recommendations are subject to the approval of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Mandy Cohen.
COVID hospitalizations are far higher among seniors than other age groups. In fact, over the past year, hospitalization rates among those 65 and older have been about five times higher than those who are between the ages 50 to 64, according to data presented at the Wednesday meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
“It is devastating to see how many elderly and immunocompromised are being admitted to the hospital, are in the ICU and dying from COVID,” said Dr. Camille Kotton, a member of the committee.
Congressional leaders announce deal to unlock final spending bills
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders reached an agreement on final fiscal 2024 appropriations bills Wednesday that will pave the way for lawmakers to wrap up the process in two packages in the coming days and weeks.
Funding for agencies covered by the Agriculture, Energywater, Military Constructionva and Transportation-hud bills would be extended from March 1 through March 8 in a stopgap bill. Those agencies’ full-year bills would then join the Interior-environment and Commerce-justice-science bills in the first tranche to be voted on next week.
Appropriators are aiming to release text for the first batch of bills by Sunday in order for the House to be able to turn around and vote Wednesday, before Thursday gets swallowed up by President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. In theory, that would give the Senate time to get the first package to Biden’s desk before the impacts of a partial shutdown on those agencies subject to the new March 8 deadline are felt.
Stopgap funding for the remaining six bills, which had been set to lapse after March 8, would last through March
22, giving lawmakers enough time to finish turning the deal into legislative text and getting the bills through both chambers. That package would consist of the Defense, Laborhhs-education, Homeland Security, Financial Services, State-foreign Operations and Legislative Branch measures.
Lauren Boebert’s son arrested, charged in ‘string of vehicle trespasses and property thefts’ in Colorado
DENVER — One of U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s sons was arrested Tuesday on charges related to a “string of vehicle trespasses and property thefts,” according to the Rifle Police Department.
Police arrested Tyler Jay
Boebert, 18, at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, the department said in a Facebook post Tuesday evening. He appeared virtually in Garfield County Court from jail Wednesday afternoon.
He is facing four felony charges of criminal possession of ID documents of multiple victims, one count of conspiracy to commit a felony and “over 15 additional misdemeanor and petty offenses,” the department stated.
According to online jail records for the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, Tyler Boebert faces 22 charges, which also include contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Texas-based Hindu group accused of promoting ‘hate and violence’ in IRS complaint
A Frisco, Texas-based group that has generated controversy and concern among local
Indian Americans is being accused of the “promotion of hate and violence against religious minorities in India” in a complaint to the Internal Revenue Service.
The complaint, filed Jan. 29, 2024, by a group of nonprofits, seeks to revoke the tax-exempt status of Global Hindu Heritage Foundation.
“We write to alert you of what we believe are activities — namely, the promotion of hate and violence against religious minorities in India — that fall outside any legitimate charitable purpose and mission,” says the complaint, which was reviewed by The Dallas Morning News.
Founded in 2006, Global Hindu Heritage Foundation is led by Prakasarao Velagapudi, a retired sociology professor who helped coordinate the planning and construction of Frisco’s Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple, according to a 2017 CV. The temple previously denied any relationship with the group in an interview with The News.
According to its website, Global Hindu Heritage Foundation is dedicated to preserving and promoting
Hindu culture and temples, among other entities. Velagapudi and board members could not be reached for comment by The News.
The IRS complaint alleges Global Hindu Heritage Foundation “promotes antimuslim and anti-christian conspiracy theories, has raised funds to aid the demolition of churches in India, and provides direct funding for forcible conversions and harassment of religious minorities in India.”
Co-signers of the complaint include the Indian American Muslim Council, Hindus for Human Rights, the Council on American-islamic Relations’ DFW Chapter, the North American Manipur Tribal Association, the Ambedkarite Buddhist Association of Texas and World Without Genocide.
Global Hindu Heritage Foundation caused controversy in 2022 after it posted a flyer on Facebook advertising a gala fundraiser with an agenda that included the “Demolition of Illegal Churches in Tirupati,” a city in southern India. The flyer circulated on social media and raised alarm in the Dallas area’s Indian American Christian population.
Source: Tribune News Service