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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Quite an announcement: “Covid is no longer a global public health emergency, the World Health Organization said Friday. The WHO issued the declaration more than three years ago, on Jan. 30, 2020. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he made the decision following a recommendation from the WHO’s emergency committee, which met on Thursday for the 15th time.”
* In related news: “Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who has played a vital role in the administration’s pandemic response over the past two years, is leaving as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a job she has held since President Joe Biden came into office in January 2021. Her departure was confirmed on Friday by the White House in a statement from Biden that said Walensky ‘has saved lives with her steadfast and unwavering focus on the health of every American.’”
* Today’s shooting in Maryland: “Three people are dead in an apparent murder-suicide after gunfire erupted outside a Maryland hotel on Friday afternoon, police said. A gunman opened fire on a man and woman on the 2000 block of Somerville Road in Annapolis a little after 2 p.m., Anne Arundel County police Lt. Jacklyn Davis told reporters. The shooter then turned the gun on himself and he and the woman were pronounced dead on the scene, Davis said.”
* SCOTUS: “The Supreme Court on Friday blocked the execution of an Oklahoma death row inmate who claims he is innocent in an unusual case in which the state’s attorney general agreed that the underlying conviction was unsound.”
* Joint Chiefs: “President Joe Biden is expected to nominate a history-making Air Force fighter pilot with years of experience in shaping U.S. defenses to meet China’s rise to serve as the nation’s next top military officer, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the decision. If confirmed by the Senate, Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. would replace the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Mark Milley, whose term ends in October.”
* Ken Paxton strikes again: “A Texas hospital’s care for transgender minors is being investigated by state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who said Friday he’s seeking evidence of alleged ‘potentially illegal activity’ but did not elaborate.”
* A bad bill, approved the wrong way: “North Carolina lawmakers on Thursday approved a ban on nearly all abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, down from the current 20 weeks, in response to last year’s overturning of Roe v. Wade at the U.S. Supreme Court. The ban is one of the least onerous of a slew of bills Republican-led assemblies have pushed through in recent months since the high court stripped away women’s constitutional protections for abortion.”
* A fight we’ve been following closely: “Gov. Brian Kemp is set to sign a measure Friday to create a state commission with powers to investigate, sanction or remove local prosecutors.”
Have a safe weekend.