The White House is pulling the nomination of Neera Tanden to lead the Office of Management and Budget, according to an administration official. In a statement, President Joe Biden said Tanden requested to withdraw her name from consideration. “I have accepted Neera Tanden’s request to withdraw her name from nomination for Director of the Office…… MORE
Before the pandemic, Anne Leonard’s friends and family had only a cursory interest in her two decades of work manufacturing pharmaceuticals. But recently, when her grandmother learned that her work as the director of quality assurance at the Catalent facility in Indiana meant that her granddaughter was helping keep the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna…… MORE
Chief Justice John Roberts has singlehandedly slowed a conservative revolution at the Supreme Court in recent years, but he has for even longer — 40 years — opposed racial remedies and narrowly construed the landmark Voting Rights Act. During oral arguments Tuesday in an Arizona voting rights case with national implications, Roberts sounded ready to…… MORE
Leigh Oquendo welcomed her kindergarteners on Monday as they filed into her Hawthorne Scholastic Academy classroom in Chicago, as any teacher would. What made this day special was that, for many of the children, it was the first time they had seen a teacher or fellow students in-person since the pandemic closed schools last March…… MORE
Dolly Parton is showing everyone how it’s done by receiving her first Covid-19 vaccination shot. The country music star got the shot at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville and recorded the whole thing in a video posted to her Twitter account on Tuesday. The four-minute clip shows Parton sitting in a chair at the…… MORE
House progressives are strongly pushing to pass a $15 minimum wage now as they believe this moment is their best shot, and some are already signaling they are willing to withhold their votes if the final version of the Covid relief package does not include the provision. As the window for negotiations closes, and it…… MORE
Jahmil French, an actor known for his role as Dave Turner on the Canadian series “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” has died, according to his manager, Gabrielle Kachman. He was 29. “It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of a dear friend and client Jahmil French,” Kachman said in a statement. “He…… MORE
A bill in the Tennessee Legislature would officially make Dolly Parton’s version of “Amazing Grace” the state hymn, adding to its 10 state songs. The bill was introduced earlier this month. State Rep. Mike Sparks and Sen. Raumesh Akbari proposed the bill because they believe that the song has historical significance for their state. Argument…… MORE
Actor Will Smith teased the idea of running for political office one day during an interview on “Pod Save America.” On the episode released Monday, Smith joined hosts Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor to promote his new Netflix docuseries “Amend: The Fight for America,” but he also discussed his personal interest…… MORE
The long-awaited, one-dose Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine has now been administered in the United States. Barbara Schmalenberger, 86, was the first to receive the vaccine at the Schottenstein Center, in Columbus, Ohio, an arena where mass vaccines are taking place, just days after it was authorized. “It was really exciting,” Schmalenberger told CNN after…… MORE
