JUDY WOODRUFF: In the day's other
news: The White House announced
plans to expand access to rapid
COVID-19 tests for use at home.
The federal government is
also doubling the number of
pharmacies providing free testing.
The president's COVID
coordinator, Jeff Zients,
says demand for tests is growing,
even as new infections are falling.
JEFFREY ZIENTS, White House
COVID-19 Response Coordinator:
Today's billion-dollar investment
to further expand production
puts us on track to quadruple
the amount of at-home rapid tests
available for Americans by December.
So, that means we will have available a
supply of 200 million at-home rapid tests
per month, starting in December.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Also today, the
Los Angeles City Council approved
one of the country's strictest vaccine
mandates. Starting next month, it requires
proof of full vaccination for
anyone entering indoor public
spaces, including bars, gyms,
restaurants, and sports arenas. Businesses
argued that it will be unenforceable.
There's word that some of
the oil spill off Southern
California is starting to break up
naturally. A weekend pipeline
leak off Huntington Beach
spewed up to 126,000 gallons
of heavy crude. The Coast Guard says it's
being dispersed and pushed down the coast.
CAPT. REBECCA ORE, U.S. Coast
Guard: What we're seeing right now
is the oil that's showing up on the shore,
and putting in place those protective
strategies as a precaution,
ahead of oil continuing to
move in a southerly direction,
and the oil that's already
moved south from the original
location of the oil spill.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Officials
suspect that a ship's anchor
may have damaged the pipeline.
This year's Nobel Prize for chemistry
recognizes an environmentally
friendly way to build molecules
for commercial use with
less hazardous waste.
Scottish-born David MacMillan
based at Princeton University was
honored, along with Benjamin List
of Germany. Their discoveries are used in
everything from medicines to pesticides.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments
today over letting a Guantanamo detainee
question his former CIA contractors about
torture. Abu Zubaydah was held at a CIA
site in Poland after 9/11. A
U.S. Senate report found that
he was water-boarded more
than 80 times. So far, the Trump and Biden
administrations have blocked his requests.
In the Philippines, the son and
namesake of ex-dictator Ferdinand Marcos
filed today to run for president
next may, triggering protests.
Demonstrators burned effigies
of both Marcos and President
Rodrigo Duterte, an ally.
They accused the late President Marcos of
human rights abuses and outright theft.
CRISTINA PALABAY, Secretary-General,
Karapatan Alliance: The
Marcoses remain scot-free from
jail. They haven't returned all the money
that they got from the nation's coffers,
and now they are making a comeback
in the highest position in the land.
JUDY WOODRUFF: President Duterte is
not running again, but his daughter is.
Back in this country, the U.s.
Housing and Urban Development
Department moved today to
prevent evictions from public
housing. It follows the expiration
of a nationwide moratorium on all
evictions during the pandemic. The
new rule calls for giving public
housing tenants 30 days notice.
Meanwhile, the Education Department
temporarily eased rules on
forgiving student loan debt.
It could benefit teachers,
military members and other
public employees who already made
10 years of payments. Under
existing rules, the program helped
just 5, 500 borrowers since 2007.
On Wall Street today, stocks
recovered somewhat, as
hopes rose for a debt ceiling
deal in Washington. The Dow Jones
industrial average gained 102 points
to close at 34417. The Nasdaq climbed
68 points. The S&P 500 added 17.
And a bridge that became part
of the classic Winnie the Pooh
children's stories was put
up for auction today. The so-called
Poohsticks Bridge in Southern
England was built in 1907,
replaced in 1999, has since
been fully restored. Sealed
bids were submitted in advance.
Still to come on the "NewsHour": some
of the nation's largest pharmacies face
lawsuits over their role
in the opioid crisis;
the ongoing war in Tigray,
Ethiopia, exacerbates widespread
food shortages; how scientists are
genetically modifying mosquitoes
to combat the spread of deadly
diseases; plus much more.