Month: February 2022

On Wednesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul lifted the state’s “vaccine-or-mask” requirement for indoor businesses, citing “major improvement” in COVID-19 numbers.  Gov. Hochul said in a briefing that the rule — which mandates that workers either be vaccinated against the coronavirus or wear a mask at all times while on the job — will be dropped effective Thursday, January 10th.

Gov. Hochul said that since the peak of the Omicron surge on Jan. 7 when 90,000 state residents tested positive in a single day, “we’ve witnessed a 93% drop in cases and are now below where we were [before the surge]. That is what we were watching for, that is what we were waiting for, and it’s finally happening.”  Hochul instituted the mask-or-vaccine rule on Dec. 10 amid a surge in cases driven by the Omicron coronavirus variant.  The rule faced widespread criticism from the state’s businesses and political opponents, who asserted it was confusing.  Despite that, Hochul extended the mandate twice, and as she announced its lifting she defended her stance, saying: “we saw how quickly Omicron was spreading, studying what was happening around the globe and saying this was coming our way — we know this is coming to New York and we need to be prepared for that. It was a strong action to take at the time — we heard a lot about it. But I again stand behind that as a way to not have to shut down businesses when this variant ended up spreading like wildfire.”  When the mask-or-vaccine rule was implemented on December 10th, New York’s seven-day average of new cases stood at 51 per 100,000 residents, peaking at 382 per 100,000 a month later.  It has now dropped to 35 per 100,000, according to state health officials.

However, New York schools are still under a mask mandate until at least Feb. 21.  On Tuesday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said his mandate for schools will end in March, and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said he recommends ending the statewide mask mandate in schools effective February 28.

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On Wednesday, a second man charged in the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pleaded guilty and agreed to testify for the prosecution at the federal trial of four other defendants.

27-year-old Kaleb Franks of Waterford, Michigan admitted in U.S. District in Grand Rapids that he and other members of the ‘Wolverine Watchmen’ — a Michigan-based self-styled “militia” group — hatched the plot to abduct Whitmer at her summer home in 2020 because they were upset by the state’s COVID-19 restrictions. The plot, which allegedly included plans to use semiautomatic assault-type weapons and to bomb a bridge near Whitmer’s vacation home, was foiled by undercover law enforcement officers who infiltrated the group.

Franks admitted in court that the kidnapping plan originated solely with him and the others charged in the conspiracy.  25-year-old Ty Garbin, the other man charged in the case, pleaded guilty last year to firearms charges and conspiracy charges of providing material support for terrorists. Garbin was sentenced in August to 75 months in prison. Garbin is also expected to testify for the prosecution in the upcoming federal trial for Adam Fox, 40, Barry Croft Jr., 45, Daniel Harris, 24, and Brandon Caserta, 33.  In addition, eight other men face charges in state court stemming from the kidnap plot. Attorneys for those suspects filed a motion to dismiss the charges, arguing they were entrapped; the judge, however, rejected that motion.

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