3 Things to Know Today

1 State of Emergency In Miami Beach As Officials Extend Curfew

People who thought they were going to enjoy all-day, all-night parties in Miami Beach for Spring Break are getting shut down in a big way. In a situation that Mayor Dan Gelber says has gotten chaotic, he’s extending curfews to curb rowdy spring break crowds. From now until April 12th, an overnight curfew will be in effect, which means everyone needs to be off the streets by 8pm. Officials say it’s gotten so bad that Miami Beach had to declare a state of emergency Saturday night because of the large crowds descending on the city. Not only that, police had to use pepper balls against groups of partiers to get them to disperse after the curfew went into effect – something police say they wouldn’t have done had the crowd not come at them. For some, the force police are using has a racial tinge. “I think when they’re young Black people [on South Beach],” says Stephen Hunter Johnson, chairman of Miami-Dade’s Black Affairs Advisory Committee. “The response is, ‘Oh my God, we have to do something.’”

2 Secretary Mayorkas To Migrants: "Do Not Come"

The head of Homeland Security has a simple message for anyone looking to come to the U.S. from Central America: "The border is closed." On ABC's “This Week,” HHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says they are ‘building up assets’ to care for children who are coming to the border. He added that his team is trying to "rebuild" a system that he claims was "dismantled" by the Trump administration. That’s a debatable point, considering the surge underway is something not seen in decades. Mayorkas hit a number of talk shows yesterday – all to further the point that Border Patrol agents are focused on securing the Border and processing the children that are coming in safely and humanely. He pushed back at the question of a "gag order" being put on rank-and-file members talking to the media. But that’s not the only lack of transparency being questioned – the media has been locked out of viewing conditions. Mayorkas maintains the administration isn’t hiding anything.

3 Rapid Vaccine Rollout Backfired In Some States

Sure, officials want everyone vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible, but such a rollout hasn’t been without issues. A new analysis suggests that to put it differently, slower roll-outs are winning the race. Why? Researchers say that rolling things out too quickly has caused such a log jam, that systems are crashing and that leads to vaccines not getting into arms. Meanwhile, Rite Aid is apologizing after two illegal immigrants were denied COVID vaccinations at two pharmacies in the Los Angeles area. The chain admitted the women were turned away – though in separate incidents earlier this month. A company spokesman says Rite Aid has invited both women back to be vaccinated. The spokesman called both cases isolated incidents resulting from employees not following the company's protocols for vaccine eligibility according to state, local, and federal guidelines.


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