Biden says he will decide on federal gas tax holiday ‘by the end of the week’
President Joe Biden is considering a gas tax holiday as pump prices hover around $5 – a move that could lower prices by 18.3 cents per gallon. He announced Monday that he hopes to make a decision on it by the end of the week as the administration looks for ways to ease record fuel prices in a midterm election year. He said he is considering a pause on the federal gas tax, which some lawmakers in his party have pushed as a way to reduce prices at the pump for Americans. The 18.4 cents per gallon comes from 18.3 cents in excise tax plus 0.1 cent in a storage fee. For diesel, it is 24.3 cents plus the 0.1-cent fee. The national average price for a gallon was $4.981 on Monday, according to AAA.
Americans honor Juneteenth and promote social justice
Many Americans gathered Sunday for Juneteenth celebrations and parades to observe Black freedom. Juneteenth commemorates the official end of slavery in the USA, when people in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom on June 19, 1865, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The inaugural commemoration was in 1866, and Juneteenth was officially recognized as a federal holiday in 2021.
CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccines for youngest Americans
A federal advisory panel Saturday strongly recommended that young children receive COVID-19 vaccines, and the director of the CDC signed off on the shots – paving the way for 10 million doses to be delivered and distributed. Vaccines will be available Tuesday for children as young as 6 months old. The vaccines are safe and trigger the same immune response that has protected older children and adults, the advisory panel decided Saturday. The shots will be free in pharmacies, pediatricians’ offices, clinics and other locations.
Real quick:
Zelenskyy urges Ukraine to keep fighting on Father’s Day
As Ukraine’s outmanned forces slowly give way in the critical battle against Russia for the Donbas region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged his country’s citizens Sunday in a poignant Father’s Day message to keep battling. A Ukrainian medic who treated soldiers on both sides of the war was freed by Russian forces three months after she was taken captive on the streets of Mariupol, a development Zelenskyy announced this weekend. Sunday, Germany’s economic minister said the country will limit the use of natural gas for electricity production amid concerns about possible shortages caused by a cut in supplies from Russia.
Matt Fitzpatrick wins 122nd US Open for first career major championship
Matt Fitzpatrick won the 122nd U.S. Open championship Sunday, becoming the second man to win a U.S. Amateur and the Open on the same course. The Englishman outdueled Americans Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler at the Country Club to win, closing with a 2-under-par 68 to finish at 6 under. Zalatoris signed for a 69 and World No. 1 Scheffler a 67, as both wound up at 5 under.
‘Travel armageddon’ continues as flight delays, cancellations pile up: What’s going on?
For a third day in a row, travelers faced high numbers of flight delays and cancellations over the weekend. More than 3,300 U.S. flights were delayed and 775 were canceled Saturday, according to FlightAware, which tracks flights in real time. Travel issues continued to pile up for flyers Sunday as flight delays and cancellations topped 10,000 – a tumultuous weekend for holiday travel blamed on staffing shortages, packed planes and the ripple effects from bad weather.
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This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Contributing: The Associated Press
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