USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Biden administration official says the government is undertaking a new effort to help electric utilities, water districts and other critical industries protect against potentially damaging cyberattacks.

“Our aim is to ensure that control systems serving 50,000 or more Americans have the core technology to detect and block malicious cyber activity,” Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. “That’s it in a sentence. Clear, clean goal, but it’s going to take a lot of work to get there.”

(AP) --- The U.S. moved closer Thursday toward vaccinating 100 million Americans in a race against an uptick in COVID-19 cases that is fueling fears of another nationwide surge just as the major league baseball season starts and thousands of fans return to stadiums.

More than 99 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and more than 56 million people — 17% of the nation’s population — have been fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ORANGE, Calif. (AP) — A gunman who killed four people, including a 9-year-old boy, in a rampage at a Southern California office building knew all the victims and his motive may have involved personal or business relationships, police said.

“This was not a random act of violence,” Lt. Jennifer Amat said Thursday of the attack at a building that housed small businesses in Orange, southeast of Los Angeles.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With hopes rising for a powerful rebound in hiring this year, Friday’s jobs report for March will provide crucial insight into whether those rosy expectations may prove true.

The most optimistic economists are predicting that the government will report that as many as 1 million jobs were added in March — a blistering gain that would help recover a decent chunk of the 9.5 million jobs that remain lost to the pandemic. Still, the increase might not be quite that large: Overall, economists surveyed by data provider FactSet have forecast an increase of 615,000.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden set about convincing America it needs his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan on Thursday, deputizing a five-member “jobs Cabinet” to help in the effort. But the enormity of his task was clear as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s vowed to oppose the plan “every step of the way.”

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis police supervisory sergeant who was on duty the night George Floyd died testified that he believes the officers who restrained Floyd could have ended it after he stopped resisting.

David Pleoger testified Thursday at the trial of since-fired officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death. He noted that officers are trained to roll people on their side to help with their breathing after they have been restrained in the prone position.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 01 (APP): Climate change and loss of biodiversity is seen as the most pressing challenge over the decade, according to the World in 2030 Survey report published by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Xinhua) -- A new Phase 1 clinical trial has started in the United States to evaluate Moderna's investigational vaccine which is designed to protect against the B.1.351 coronavirus variant, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced on Wednesday.

The trial, led and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the NIH, will evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine, known as mRNA-1273.351, in adult volunteers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, a prominent, outspoken conservative and a close ally of former President Donald Trump who has been under federal investigation for a former relationship, would lose his House seat if convicted of a felony. But there are no rules addressing lawmakers under investigation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to overcome vaccine hesitancy, the Biden administration is unveiling a coalition of community, religious and celebrity partners to promote COVID-19 shots.