What we’re reading: Biden to unveil gun control plans, MLB moves All-Star Game to Colorado

By Logan Orsini

Published Apr 8, 2021

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris arrives for an event about gun violence prevention in the Rose Garden at the White House, Thursday, April 8, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Biden to reveal new executive order on gun control

President Joe Biden plans to release executive actions to address gun violence on Thursday, according to Politico.

“The president will not wait for Congress to act before the administration takes our own steps – solely within the administration’s authority and the Second Amendment – to save lives,” a senior administration official told reporters Wednesday evening.

Among the executive actions, the process of buying guns will require a background check within 60 days, which will regulate concealed assault style firearms, according to the White House.

This decision comes after the U.S. experienced another mass shooting in Boulder, CO.

Brazil records 4,000 COVID-19 deaths in a day

A new surge of COVID-19 in Brazil is causing daily death counts to spike, according to NPR.

The country has been battling a variant of the virus that spreads more easily. Hospitals and intensive care units have been at near capacity for the past weeks.

The federal government let the states control the virus and set lockdown measures, but President Jair Bolsonaro has been openly against lockdown restrictions, saying they have damaged the economy.

A local mayor told NPR she received death threats for putting a lockdown in place.

MLB All Star games moves to Colorado

A drink holder hangs from the rail in front of seats in the upper deck as a light rain descends on Coors Field Tuesday, April 6, 2021, before the Colorado Rockies host the Arizona Diamondbacks in a baseball game in Denver. Major League Baseball announced that Coors Field will be the venue for the 2021 All Star Game after the Midsummer Classic was moved out of Atlanta because of sweeping changes to voting rights established in the state of Georgia. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Major League Baseball officially announced that the 2021 All Star Game will move from Atlanta to Colorado’s Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, according to USA Today.

The decision came after voting laws in Georgia were passed that critics said may be restricting voting access for people of color.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was grateful to the Colorado Rockies for their support of the All-Star Game.

“We appreciate their flexibility and enthusiasm to deliver a first-class event for our game and the region,” Manfred said. “We look forward to celebrating our sport’s best players ad entertaining fans around the world.”

A quarter of the country is now vaccinated

FILE – In this April 3, 2021, file photo, a health worker prepares a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine during a COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Pamplona, northern Spain. A patchwork of advice is emerging from governments across Europe and farther afield, a day after the European Union’s drug regulator said there was a “possible link” between the AstraZeneca vaccine and a rare clotting disorder. Regulators in the United Kingdom and the EU both stressed that the benefits of receiving the vaccine continue to outweigh the risks for most people. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos, File)

New data shows that close to 25% of US adults have now been fully vaccinated, according to NBC News.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40% of adults and 75% of seniors have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

New Mexico, South Dakota and Alaska have fully vaccinated more than 30% of their adult populations.

Vaccine efforts began in December when Pfizer released its vaccine after an emergency authorization. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson released theirs shortly after, which accelerated the effort.