Brief News
Portugal and Islands – Automated e-passport gates
If you are 18 and over and travelling with an American e-passport, you are now able to use the automated e-passport gates for entry into Portugal, within the system RAPID4All, which is fast and efficient. This new procedure applies to the international airports of Lisbon and Ponta Delgada, Azores, with the airports of Porto and Faro to follow soon.
Move to tackle inflation – Biggest interest raise in 28 years
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on Wednesday in an aggressive move to tackle inflation. It is the biggest increase in 28 years and will affect millions of American businesses and households by pushing up the cost of borrowing for homes, cars and other loans.
Many consumers who are already concerned about the soaring cost of living will now face higher mortgage rates that will make it harder to afford homes. However, weaker demand could cool off prices in the future. The goal of the Fed’s interest rate hikes is to get inflation under control while keeping the job market recovery intact, but experts say the war in Ukraine, supply chain issues, and Covid-19 could impact that progress.
FDA authorizes Covid vaccines – For children 5 years old and younger
Covid-19 vaccines could be available for children as young as 6 months as early as next week, according to the White House. FDA vaccine advisers voted unanimously on Wednesday to authorize the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines for emergency use in the youngest children.
The FDA, which typically follows the committee’s decisions, is expected to vote on the authorization this weekend. Children younger than five are the only age group not currently eligible to be vaccinated against Covid-19. About 17 million kids will become eligible for vaccines once they’re authorized for this age group.
Buffalo mass shooter – Potential death penalty sentence
The suspect in the racist mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket last month that killed 10 people faces multiple federal hate crime charges carrying the potential of the death penalty, the US Justice Department said Wednesday. The 18-year-old suspect is accused of shooting 13 people at the Tops Friendly Market on May 14.
Eleven were Black and two were White, Buffalo police said. During a search of the gunman’s home, federal authorities found a laptop with a document containing a detailed plan of the attack he had allegedly been plotting for years, according to a criminal complaint. Authorities believe he visited the store multiple times, including the day before the attack and again, hours before he allegedly fired about 60 shots.
44,000 pounds from Switzerland – Baby formula shortage
In a move to address the nationwide baby formula shortage, the Biden administration announced it is shipping 44,000 pounds of specialty formula from Switzerland to the US today. The supply “will be available primarily through a distribution pipeline serving hospitals, home health companies, and WIC programs around the US,” the White House said.
But even as the government airlifts tons of formula in from other countries, getting regular supplies back to retailers could take weeks, with some estimates from stakeholders that there might not be relief until mid-July. Meanwhile, Abbott Nutrition, the baby formula manufacturer that once produced a significant amount of the powdered formula sold in the US, is now experiencing more delays after flooding at its Michigan plant.
Negative pre-departure COVID-19 test results no longer required on air travel
On June 10 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rescinded the order titled “requirement for negative pre-departure COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 for all airline or other aircraft passengers arriving in the United States from any foreign country.”
This change took effect for flights departing to the United States from a foreign country.
This means that as of June 12, 2022, all air passengers, regardless of citizenship or vaccination status, are no longer required to show a negative viral COVID-19 test result, or documentation of recovery from COVID-19, before boarding a flight to the United States.
CDC will periodically reassess the need for a testing requirement based on the latest science, COVID-19 variants, and evolving state of the pandemic, and may reinstitute this measure if necessary to protect the public’s health. Under CDC’s amended order noncitizen nonimmigrants are still required to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 before boarding a flight to the United States.
