MercuryNews

Re. “House votes to repeal 2002 Iraq War authorization,” Page A6, June 18:. Let’s celebrate the passage of the Repeal of the 2002 Iraq War Authorization (H.R. 256) that happened June 17 in a bipartisan 268-161 vote in the House of Representatives. Nineteen years ago, Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland...

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experts said Wednesday that COVID-19 vaccines remain far less risky to youths than the disease itself, despite rare but concerning reports of heart inflammation in some teens and young adults after getting the shots. “Currently, the benefits still clearly outweigh the risks for...

SAN JOSE — The Santa Clara County Superior Court has extended into next year its emergency $0 bail schedule, meant to slow the influx of low-level arrestees from crowding South Bay jails and increasing COVID-19 risks, officials announced Wednesday. The extension order, issued by Presiding Judge Theodore Zayner, is the...

Movie theaters are clearing a path for “F9,” the latest entry in the “Fast and Furious” franchise. Wise decision. But if you’re looking for something other than that hot-roddin’ hit, here are alternatives that include some that debuted at the recent Tribeca Film Festival, one that’s streaming via the Frameline film festival, and a horror/comedy that works on both counts. There’s even a rom-com that’s not your average rom-com on Netflix. Read on.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the U.S. emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, Missouri is becoming a cautionary tale for the rest of the country: It is seeing an alarming rise in cases because of a combination of the fast-spreading delta variant and stubborn resistance among many people to getting vaccinated.

The fee for a REAL ID will be waived for the rest of the year for Californians who got a driver’s license during the pandemic, the Department of Motor Vehicles says. Because a REAL ID requires an office visit, many drivers who needed to renew a license after February 2020 got a regular license through the online process. The free upgrade will allow them to switch to REAL ID without paying another fee ($38 for most drivers).

Vaccine makers are preparing for a next possible phase of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout: booster doses. Currently three coronavirus vaccines are authorized for emergency use in the United States — the two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for people 12 and older, the two-dose Moderna vaccine and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines for everyone 18 and older.

Stanford researchers have found signs of inflammation, genetic changes and impaired circuitry in the brains of people killed by COVID-19, important clues to the mysterious “brain fog” and mental struggles reported by many patients. The research also reveals haunting similarities between the brains of those killed by COVID and other...

Americans have a moral and economic imperative to pass the Citizenship for Essential Workers Act, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 5 million people living here illegally who risked their lives on the COVID-19 front lines to keep the United States functioning. About 74% of undocumented...

Only around half of Los Angeles Police Department employees have received at least one vaccine dose protecting them against COVID-19, the chief of police said Tuesday. That rate lags far behind the general public — as of last week, 67% of L.A. County residents have had at least one dose, according to the most recent numbers from the Department of Public Health. At least 58% were fully vaccinated.

As the Bay Area continues to move closer to a pre-COVID-19 normal, officials are starting to disband many of the homeless encampments that had been allowed to stay in place — and expand — throughout the pandemic. But some camp residents aren’t going without a fight. A coalition of activists...

The huge development proposed for Seven Hills Ranch property next to Heather Farm Park is not housing for workers and families. In fact, it’s not really considered “housing,” so it will not include any market rate or below-market units. It is primarily a residential medical facility serving only a sliver...

California has reached a milestone with more than 70% of eligible residents at least partly vaccinated, driven by many Bay Area counties that have topped the 80% mark, yet immunization remains highly varied around the Golden State as it does across the rest of the country. Gov. Gavin Newsom on...

San Francisco Opera is coming back big for the 2021-22 season, the company’s first return to live performance since COVID-19 brought music to a halt at the start of 2020. A season-opening “Tosca,” a bold new production of Beethoven’s “Fidelio,” and the continuation of the company’s multi-year Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy with new stagings of “Cosi fan tutte” and “Don Giovanni” are some of the highlights of the company’s 99th season, announced June 22 by general director Matthew Shilvock.

WASHINGTON — Roughly 900 U.S. Secret Service employees tested positive for the coronavirus, according to government records obtained by a government watchdog group. Secret Service records show that 881 people on the agency payroll were diagnosed with COVID-19 between March 1, 2020 and March 9, 2021, according to documents obtained by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. More than 11% of Secret Service employees were infected.

Now you can head to a participating McDonald’s to get that little jab — and a free Big Mac or Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich or other menu item. California franchisees have partnered with the California Department of Public Health to offer pop-up vaccine clinics with an incentive. “People who receive...

Health officials are pouring their effort into convincing those still hesitant to get vaccinated against Covid-19, but none of the strategies appear to be a “Hail Mary pass” to get the US to reach President Joe Biden’s vaccination goal and curb spreading variants. “I just don’t know if there’s something...

Air travel can be difficult in the best of times, with cramped planes, screaming babies, flight delays and short tempers. Throw in a pandemic, and the anxiety level can rise quickly. That has led to confrontations with flight attendants and other unruly behavior, including occasional fights that get captured and...

Now that capacity restrictions have gone away across the country, what are the next great challenges facing the theme park industry as it looks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?. Staffing: Theme parks are not alone in scrambling to hire workers. Unprecedented demand for labor as businesses reopen has given...

SAN JOSE — As the Bay Area snaps back to life with almost all pandemic restrictions now in the rearview mirror, residents can’t seem to shake off the mask-wearing habit. When the state fully reopened last Tuesday, allowing vaccinated people to go out to restaurants, gyms, movie theaters and bowling alleys without face coverings for the first time in more than a year, many who viewed masks as a necessary evil greeted the news with a welcome sigh of relief.