News Wrap: 900 Secret Service employees tested positive for COVID-19 since March 2020

• Judy Woodruff:

  In the day's other news: Thousands of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. will get a second chance. The U.S. Homeland Security Department says the shift affects at least 40,000 people whose claims were turned aside in the Trump era.

  The Associated Press reports that, starting tomorrow, they are eligible to wait in the U.S., instead of Mexico, while their cases are heard.

  The White House acknowledged today that President Biden will miss his goal of vaccinating 70 percent of American adults with at least one shot by July 4. Instead, officials said that they expect to hit that mark a few weeks later.

  The White House COVID Task Force said younger people 18 to 26 years old are the biggest challenge.

• Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator:

  The reality is, many younger Americans have felt like COVID-19 is not something that impacts them, and they have been less eager to get the shot.

  However, with the Delta variant now spreading across the country, and infecting younger people worldwide, it's more important than ever that they get vaccinated.

• Judy Woodruff:

  More than 16 states have vaccinated 70 percent of their adult populations. But many states, especially across the South and the Midwest, are lagging.

  It turns out that some 900 U.S. Secret Service employees tested positive for COVID-19 from March 2020 to March 2021. Records show about half were agents protecting the president and vice president, their families, and other officials. The group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington obtained the records.

  Voters in New York City cast ballots today in primary elections for mayor. The campaign focused largely on crime and recovery from the pandemic. Democrats chose from among 13 candidates, while Republicans had two. Winners will face off in the general election this fall. It could be July before the Democratic nominee emerges, due in part to a new ranked choice voting system.

  In California, a federal appeals court panel has blocked a lower court ruling that overturned the state's ban on assault weapons. Monday's appeals court action means the assault weapons ban remains in effect as legal proceedings continue.

  The chair of the Federal Reserve acknowledged today that inflation is running hotter than expected, but he said again it is likely to recede. Jerome Powell appeared at a hearing of the House — U.S. House Oversight Committee, and argued again the spike is temporary.

• Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chairman:

  These are factors that will wane over time, and then inflation will move down toward our goals. And we will be monitoring that carefully. Of course, we're prepared to use our tools, as appropriate, if that turns out not to be the case, to guide inflation to 2 percent.

• Judy Woodruff:

  The Fed is now predicting a 3.4 increase in prices for this year.

  There is word that the United States today seized and took down roughly three dozen Web sites linked to Iran. Iran's state-run news agency announced the seizures. U.S. officials reportedly said they are tied to Iranian disinformation efforts. They included Iran's Arabic and English-language state TV channels, among others.

  Regulators in the European Union have launched a new antitrust investigation into Google. They are looking at whether the company favors its own ad buying services and restricts rivals. The E.U. already fined Google nearly $10 billion in three other cases.

  Australia says it will oppose listing the Great Barrier Reef, off of its northeast coast, as endangered. A U.N. committee proposed that change Monday, citing climate change. Any downgrade of the reef's status could cut tourism revenue.

  And on Wall Street today, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 68 points to close at 33945. The Nasdaq rose 111 points to a new record high, and the S&P 500 added 21.

  Still to come on the "NewsHour": tribal universities begin the long recovery from the pandemic; what it means to see the first openly gay active NFL player; and more.

from:pbs