CDC releases 2021 holiday guidance to prevent spread of COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released its official public health guidance for the 2021 holiday season, offering up mostly general advice on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The recommendations urge people to get vaccinated ahead of the holidays if they haven't done so already. For young children who aren't yet eligible for the vaccine, the CDC suggests reducing risk of exposure by…

First lady Jill Biden stumps in New Jersey, Virginia to help elect Democratic governors

First lady Jill Biden hit the campaign trail Friday, hoping to help deliver victories for Democrats in two gubernatorial elections.

Biden stumped in New Jersey for Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday afternoon and later stopped in Virginia Friday evening to get out the vote for former Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

"I came here to ask the people of New Jersey to reelect Phil Murphy as your next governor. You…

US regulators weigh whether people can mix COVID booster shots

U.S. regulators are considering revising the rules for COVID-19 vaccines to allow people to opt for a different type of shot for their booster than what they originally received, a move that would enable people who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to receive the Moderna or Pfizer dose as their next shot.

Likewise, a person who got the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine might be able to boost with J&J or the other mRNA…

Biden: Get vaccinated, battle misinformation

President Joe Biden spoke out against misinformation surrounding COVID-19 vaccination mandates, encouraging the approximately 66 million unvaccinated Americans to get a shot.

"School board members, religious leaders and doctors across the country are fighting misinformation and educating people about the importance of vaccines," Biden said.

Speaking at the White House, Biden says employer requirements that their workers be…

Why experts say monoclonal antibodies aren't vaccine substitute

Despite more than 187 million Americans being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and data and attestations from researchers and public health officials that the vaccines are safe an effective, a small and in some cases vocal minority of Americans are reluctant to get the shot.

The reasons vary, but a number of those people are instead turning to treatments after they are diagnosed that have far less evidence to support…

President Biden to meet with port heads ahead of expected Christmas supply crunch

With global supply chain bottlenecks threatening the Christmas shopping season, President Joe Biden will highlight his administration's work with ports on Wednesday and try to stave off the potentially politically explosive headaches Americans may face as delays threaten holiday gift-giving.

The president plans to meet with the leaders of the two busiest ports in the United States - Los Angeles and…

House votes to temporarily raise debt limit

The House voted Tuesday to temporarily raise the debt ceiling by $480 billion after the Senate approved the stopgap measure late last week, putting off the risk of default until early December.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the lower chamber back to Washington from a two-week recess to pass the measure. The bill passed along party lines Tuesday evening in a 219–206 vote. It now heads to President Joe Biden's desk for signature.…

Infants of COVID-positive mothers have high rates of health complications, study finds

Infants born to mothers with COVID-19 are significantly more likely to experience health problems, such as difficulty breathing, compared to infants born to mothers without COVID-19, according to a new study published Monday.

The study, published in the Journal Of Maternal-Fetal And Neonatal Medicine, adds a new layer onto the growing body of research showing the potential complications…

Taliban says US will provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan

The Taliban say Washington has agreed to provide humanitarian aid to a desperately poor Afghanistan on the brink of an economic disaster, while refusing to give political recognition to the country's new rulers

ISLAMABAD - The U.S. has agreed to provide humanitarian aid to a desperately poor Afghanistan on the brink of an economic disaster, while refusing to give political recognition to the country's new Taliban rulers,…

Trump boasted of crowd size at Jan. 6 riot, new book says

While the Capitol was under attack on Jan. 6, former President Donald Trump remained out of sight from the public and watched TV in the White House private dining room, ABC News' chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl revealed on ABC's "This Week."

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called Trump to ask him to tell the rioters to leave the Capitol, Karl reports in his new book, "Betrayal: The Final Act of…

Health officials report uptick in children's rare COVID-related inflammatory syndrome following delta surge

A number of pediatric hospitals across the country are warning about an increase in the number of cases of multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, a rare condition in which different parts of the body, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs, become inflamed.

The uptick follows the country's most recent summer delta surge in…

Health officials report uptick in children's rare COVID-related inflammatory syndrome following delta surge

A number of pediatric hospitals across the country are warning about an increase in the number of cases of multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, a rare condition in which different parts of the body, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs, become inflamed.

The uptick follows the country's most recent summer delta surge in…

With COVID-19 mandates rolling out, what to know about religious exemptions

With COVID-19 vaccine mandates proliferating across the country in the public and private sectors as well as some school districts, the pushback from those unwilling or hesitant to get their shots is heating up.

The vaccination effort has raised new questions about exemptions because mandates for adults are generally rare outside of settings like healthcare facilities and the military, and the inoculations…

Democrats expected to take short-term debt ceiling increase, reject GOP reconciliation offer

Senate Democrats emerged from a closed door special caucus meeting on the debt ceiling on Wednesday and said they intend to take GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell up on his short-term debt ceiling increase.

Multiple senators and aides told ABC News Democrats are rejecting McConnell's other offer that would have Republicans expediting Democrats passing a longer-term debt ceiling increase…

Supreme Court takes up secret CIA black sites in 9/11 detainee's case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday will wrestle with the limits of the government state secrets privilege in a high-stakes case brought by the first al-Qaida suspect detained and harshly interrogated at a CIA "black site" after Sept. 11, 2001.

Abu Zubaydah, who was captured in Pakistan in 2002, was waterboarded 83 times, spent 11 days in a coffin-size confinement box and was subjected to "walling, attention…

Florida trying to block money Biden sent to school districts fined for mask mandates

Days after the Biden administration reimbursed two Florida school districts whose board members lost their salaries for mandating masks for students, the state's top education official is trying to strip the districts of the money.

In a series of memoranda, Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran recommended Monday that the Florida Board of Education, which meets Thursday, withhold…

Facebook reckoning comes as Jan. 6 inquiry heats up: The Note

It might almost look like bipartisanship is back on Tuesday, when a Senate subcommittee convenes a hearing with a former Facebook employee, as Democrats and Republicans are almost equally eager to use the hearing to blast the social media giant.

They're coming at their outrage from decidedly different angles, which could stifle efforts to pass meaningful regulations more than any perceived technological illiteracy in…

Fauci notes COVID-19 progress but warns more surges are possible

As the U.S. sees its first notable decline in COVID-19 metrics in more than three months, with coronavirus-related hospital admissions and average daily new cases dropping by more than 30% over the last month, Dr. Anthony Fauci says the country is making progress against the current surge, but warned we're not out of the woods yet during an interview on ABC's "This Week."

"We certainly are turning the corner on this…

Biden says he'll 'work like hell' to get infrastructure agenda across finish line

After multiple delays to a House vote on his infrastructure deal this week, President Joe Biden says he still believes his party can overcome disagreements to move the plan forward.

Speaking with reporters Saturday, Biden pledged to "work like hell" to get both the bipartisan and reconciliation infrastructure bills passed as his ambitious domestic agenda hangs in the balance.

"Everybody is…

Body believed to be missing 19-year-old Miya Marcano found: Police

A body believed to be 19-year-old college student Miya Marcano, who has been missing for just over a week, was discovered Saturday morning, the Orange County Sheriff's Office announced.

Authorities searched around the Tymber Skan apartments in Orange County, Florida, on Saturday and discovered a body in a wooded area nearby "that we believe to be that of Miya Marcano," Sheriff John Mina said.

Marcano, a student…