Trump accused of using migrants as ‘pawns’ – follow live

Utah’s Republican governor Spencer Cox has signed new legislation that requires a pornography filter on cellphones and tablets sold in the state.

Supporters of the legislation say it is vital in protecting children from porn, but critics say it is an intrusion on free speech.

Maroosha Muzaffar reports

Nearly half of the nation’s elementary schools were open for full-time classroom learning as of last month, but the share of students learning in-person has varied greatly by region and by race, a new survey conducted by the Biden administration shows.

Among schools that enroll fourth graders, 47% offered full-time classroom learning in February, while for schools that teach eighth-graders, the figure was 46%.

In total, about 76% of elementary and middle schools were open for in-person or hybrid learning, according to the survey, while 24% offered remote learning only.

But there were stark differences based on where students live, reflecting the regional battles that have played out as cities debate how and when to reopen schools.

And In a further illustration of the pandemic’s uneven impact, the survey found striking differences based on students’ race.

Among fourth graders, almost half of white students were learning fully in-person, with just over a quarter learning online. Among Black and Hispanic students, by contrast, nearly 60% were learning entirely remotely.

The difference was even wider among students of Asian descent, with 68% remote and just 15% attending fully in-person.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa who is accused of killing 10 people at a Boulder grocery store on Monday, took off his clothes and asked to speak to his mother, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. 

The 21-year-old, who also did not answer questions, faces 10 counts of first-degree murder and an attempted murder charge.

The Boulder shooting was the seventh mass killing in the US this year and came less than a week after the Atlanta slayings that left eight people dead at three massage businesses, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

Two Democratic senators, who had expressed their anger over the lack of nominees of Asian American descent in the Biden administration, backed down after an assurance from the White House of elevating voices from the community.

Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, the first congresswomen of Thai descent, had raised the issue of the lack of Asian American diversity in president Joe Biden’s pick of cabinet secretaries.

Speaking to CNN Ms Duckworth said: “To be told that you have Kamala Harris, we are very proud of her, you don’t need anybody else, is insulting.”

Stuti Mishra has the details

Texas, Georgia and Indiana have joined a growing list of states that are making adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine, as reported by The New York Times.

President Biden earlier this month set a deadline of May 1 for all states to ensure adults could receive the inoculation, as part of his ambition to get the country beyond the pandemic and back to normal life,

On Tuesday Mr Biden tweeted about his meeting with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and said they discussed the response to the global problem.

President Joe Biden has urged Congress to move rapidly in order to pass tighter restrictions on gun ownership after two mass shootings, in Atlanta and Boulder, within the last week.

“We are considering a range of levers, including working through legislation, including executive action,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.

Donald Trump’s policies at the border helped turned migrants into ‘political pawns’ say lawyers who visited unaccompanied children at a facility in Texas.

Last year the Trump administration ordered thousands of migrants being held at the border back to Mexico citing concerns over coronavirus, despite critics asserting they had a legal right to claim asylum.

Melissa Adamson told The Independent that poor conditions at migrant facilities holding children were a “direct result of what happens when children’s lives are used as political pawns.”

Andrew Buncombe has the details

Hello and welcome to another day on The Independent’s US politics blog, bringing you the latest news and analysis straight from the White House and beyond.