In Florida, Publix is a big player in COVID vaccines — but it won’t give them to kids younger than 5
MIAMI — Since COVID-19 vaccines first became available, Publix has played a major role in tackling the public health emergency in Florida by offering vaccines to adults and, later, children as young as 5.
But the Lakeland grocery company says it will not offer the vaccine approved for children ages 4 and under “at this time.”
Spokesperson Hannah Herring said that Publix will not release a statement explaining its decision. The company’s website indicates that it is still accepting COVID-19 vaccine appointments for children ages 5 and up.
The company still offers other child vaccinations, including the flu shot for babies as young as 6 months.
—Miami Herald
California lawsuit leads Biden Education Department to erase $6 billion in debt for 200,000
WASHINGTON — A group of federal student loan borrowers agreed on Wednesday night to settle a class-action lawsuit they filed against the United States Education Department.
If approved, the settlement will cancel $6 billion in federal loans for roughly 200,000 people who attended schools that were deemed to have defrauded students or otherwise flouted certain state laws.
An additional approximately 64,000 borrowers who did not attend one of the 153 named schools will get a timely review of their situations to see whether they can have their loans wiped too.
“We are pleased to have worked with plaintiffs to reach an agreement that will deliver billions of dollars of automatic relief to approximately 200,000 borrowers and that we believe will resolve plaintiffs’ claims in a manner that is fair and equitable for all parties,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement on Wednesday.
—McClatchy Washington Bureau
Denver man survived 29 days in a coma, but 3 years later was killed when a vehicle ran a red light
DENVER — Family and friends of the late Victor Hallcy Sr. released balloons and doves on Sunday in Denver in a bittersweet Father’s Day tribute. Hallcy died on Easter Sunday in a two-vehicle crash when the vehicle he was in was hit by a driver who allegedly ran a red light.
“He was a great man, lovable man,” said Ebony Walker, of Oklahoma, who came to Denver to honor her dad.
Hallcy, 60, was in a Lincoln SUV with his son, Victor Hallcy Jr., when another driver allegedly ran a red light and hit the SUV. Victor Hallcy Jr. survived the crash. His father died at the scene. “While my brother was able to crawl out of the vehicle, our father was not so lucky,” Walker said.
In recent years, Hallcy Sr. experienced health issues, including a long hospital stay — 93 days — in which he went into a coma for 29 days. He was, however, in recovery, working with a support network of family, friends and professionals, walking and enjoying being a grandfather. He had gone back to work.
—The Denver Post
Boris Johnson’s Tory chair quits after double election blow
The chairman of Boris Johnson’s ruling Conservatives resigned after the party lost two key parliamentary seats in one night, raising fresh concerns about Johnson’s leadership and his faltering popularity with voters.
The elections “are the latest in a run of very poor results for our party,” Oliver Dowden said in a letter to Johnson posted on Twitter. “We cannot carry on with business as usual.”
The Liberal Democrats overturned a huge Conservative majority to take Tiverton and Honiton, a rural constituency in southwest England held by the Tories since its creation in 1997.
And the UK’s main opposition Labour Party won back the district of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, one of swathes of seats in the so-called Red Wall of Labour heartlands in northern England that switched to Johnson’s Tories in 2019.
—Bloomberg News
