Month: July 2022

White House officials said in a briefing Thursday that President Joe Biden is taking an antiviral and isn’t expected to have serious illness, this after testing positive for COVID-19, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told reporters that Biden is fully up to date on his vaccines and has been prescribed Paxlovid to treat the virus.  Dr. Jha said during a White House briefing: “Because the president is fully vaccinated, double boosted, his risk of serious illness is dramatically lower. Our expectation is that he’s going to have mild illness.”

Biden has been tested for COVID-19 regularly since taking office, but has never had a positive result before Thursday. Earlier in the day, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement: “This morning, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms.nHe has begun taking Paxlovid. Consistent with CDC guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time.”  Additionally, Biden’s travel has been cancelled for at least the next five days; Jean-Pierre said: “Out of an abundance of transparency, the White House will provide a daily update on the president’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation.” 

Biden later posted a video on Twitter saying he’s “doing great” and continuing to work. “Keep the faith,” he said. “It’s going to be OK.”

Editorial credit: Marlin360 / Shutterstock.com

A federal judge sentenced former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane to 30 months in prison for violating George Floyd’s civil rights in his 2020 death. Lane was one of three officers charged with violating Floyd’s civil rights for not intervening when former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes, leading to his death. Lane was also convicted in February for depriving Floyd of medical care during his arrest. Prosecutors had asked for six-and-a-half years in prison.

Lane was only on his fourth day of the police force during Floyd’s arrest, and was heard on body camera video asking the other officers if they should turn Floyd over, and that he was concerned. The former officer pleaded guilty to the state’s charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. He agreed to three years behind bars and is expected to be sentenced for the state’s charge on Sept. 21.

Editorial credit: Fiora Watts / Shutterstock.com