US Domestic News Roundup: Former U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale dies at 93; U.S. CDC expands COVID-19 vaccine and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. will boost 'Do Not Travel' advisories to 80% of world

The U.S. State Department said on Monday it will boost its "Do Not Travel" guidance to about 80% of countries worldwide, citing "unprecedented risk to travelers" from the COVID-19 pandemic. The State Department already listed 34 out of about 200 countries as "Level 4: Do Not Travel," including places like Chad, Kosovo, Kenya, Brazil, Argentina, Haiti, Mozambique, Russia, and Tanzania.

'The last responders:' U.S. mass shootings take toll on coroners' offices

After a gunman killed eight workers and himself at an Indianapolis FedEx center last week - the city's third mass shooting this year - the chief deputy coroner spoke of the toll the deaths had taken on her coworkers. "It is a very difficult job," said Alfarena McGinty of the Marion County Coroner's Office. "The staff is definitely suffering and is going to need long-term counseling."

Former U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale dies at 93

Walter Mondale, a leading liberal Democratic voice of the late 20th century who was U.S. vice president under Jimmy Carter and lost in a landslide to Ronald Reagan in the 1984 presidential election, died on Monday at age 93, his family said. "Well my time has come. I am eager to rejoin Joan and Eleanor," Mondale said in a statement to his staff and released to the public after his death, referring to his late wife Joan, who died in 2014, and daughter Eleanor, who died in 2011 at age 51. "Before I go I wanted to let you know how much you mean to me."

Killer in Indianapolis FedEx shooting browsed white supremacist websites - police

The gunman who killed eight workers at an Indianapolis FedEx facility appeared to browse white supremacist websites about a year before the attack, police said. The attacker, Brandon Hole, also killed himself in last Thursday's attack, and four of his victims were members of the Sikh religious community.

Exclusive: Why a U.S. hospital and oil company turned to facial recognition

Deployments of facial recognition from Israeli startup AnyVision show how the surveillance software has gained adoption across the United States even as regulatory and ethical debates about it rage. The technology finds certain faces in photos or videos, with banks representing one sector that has taken interest in systems from AnyVision or its many competitors to improve security and service.

U.S. State Department says COVID-19 vaccines shipped for all overseas workforce

The U.S. State Department has delivered COVID-19 vaccines to all of its eligible workforce deployed abroad as of Sunday and is expecting its entire workforce to have been fully vaccinated by mid-May, State Department officials said. Earlier this year, the department came under fire from its staff as it struggled to vaccinate thousands of diplomats stationed in 220 overseas locations, considered a key human resource in advancing America's national security interests.

Biden administration strikes deal to offer 22,000 extra seasonal guestworker visas: Bloomberg Law

Two Biden administration agencies have struck a deal to offer 22,000 extra seasonal guestworker visas to employers in the coming months, Bloomberg Law reported on Monday. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh agreed late last week to lift the cap on H-2B visas, the report https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/biden-agencies-pact-boosts-seasonal-visas-in-blow-to-unions said, citing two sources familiar with the process.

U.S. CDC expands COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to 16 and older

Everyone in the United States aged 16 years and above is now eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday. People aged 16 years and above who have underlying medical conditions that increase the risk of serious, life-threatening complications from COVID-19, should be among those offered the vaccine first, according to the U.S. health agency's latest recommendations.

Jurors to resume deliberations in Derek Chauvin murder trial

Jurors are due to begin the second day of deliberations on Tuesday in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder and manslaughter after kneeling on the neck of a dying George Floyd during an arrest last May. The 12 sequestered jurors were expected to consider three weeks of testimony from 45 witnesses, including bystanders and medical experts, along with hours of video evidence that make up the most high-profile U.S. police misconduct case in decades.

Minneapolis, other cities boost security ahead of Chauvin verdict

Minneapolis and other U.S. cities were ramping up security measures on Monday, girding for possible protests after a jury delivers a verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, charged with murdering George Floyd by kneeling on his neck. Citing the "threat of civil unrest," Minnesota Governor Tim Walz declared a preemptive state of emergency in the Minneapolis metropolitan area and requested security assistance from other states. Local officers were stretched, he said, having policed a week of protests over the fatal police shooting of a Black man in a Minneapolis suburb and bracing for more protests over the Chauvin trial verdict.