Covid vaccines okayed for six-months and up: Following Saturday”™s signoff from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease control and Prevention, Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines this week will begin being offered for children as young as six months. Since last November, Covid vaccination has been available to children as young as five years old.
Far-right party gains seats in France: The French far-right National Rally party headed by Marine LePen, who ran for president but was defeated by French President Macron, won an additional 81 seats in the French Parliament elections held yesterday. Le Pen called it a seismic event in French politics. In addition to her far-right party, the country”™s far-left party gained seats, leaving Macron”™s centrist party without enough seats for majority control of the parliament.
Chinese test: China says it has successfully tested an anti-ballistic missile system. The Chinese said that the test was defensive in nature while providing few details about the anti-ballistic missile system.
Yellowstone reopening: U.S. Parks Department officials plan to reopen part of Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday as efforts continue to recover from severe flooding that forced about 10,000 people to be evacuated and the park closed. They say most of Yellowstone should be reopened to the public in about two weeks.
Commentator Mark Shields dies: Mark Shields, the political commentator who was familiar to viewers of “The PBS News Hour,” died over the weekend at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He was 85. Shields had been a speechwriter for Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire and worked on Senator Robert Kennedy”™s presidential campaign. He appeared on CNN”™s program “Capital Gang” as well as the PBS series “Inside Washington.”
Raffensperger slated to testify: Tomorrow”™s televised hearing by the House Jan. 6Â committee is expected to focus of pressure exerted by Donald Trump and others on state officials to get them to change vote counts and slates of electors. Brad Raffensperger, Georgia”™s Secretary of State, is expected to testify about Trump”™s phone call in which Trump asked him to find more than 11,000 votes and overturn the results of the election in Georgia. That”™s the phone call that Raffensperger recorded.
