Miss a day, miss a lot. Subscribe to The Defender's Top News of the Day. It's free.

New York Subway Still Requiring Masks, DC Metro Makes Them Optional

The Hill reported:

New York City’s subway system is still requiring masks for passengers in the wake of a federal judge’s decision to halt the federal mandate on public transportation while the Metro in Washington, DC, made them optional.

“Masks continue to be required on NY public transit for now pursuant to NYS Health Dept determination,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) spokesman Tim Mitton tweeted late Monday, linking to a March 2, 2022 determination by the New York State Department of Health.

The judge said she ruled against the mandate because the CDC went past its authority, did not follow the rulemaking process and did not provide a good enough reason for continuing the mandate.

DeSantis Calls for Special Session That Will Address Threat of Big Tech Censorship

The Daily Wire reported:

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a proclamation on Tuesday calling for a special session that will include addressing its 2021 law held up in court that would protect citizens from censorship from social media platforms.

Near the end of his speech, the governor addressed the importance of moving forward with the current legal challenges to Florida’s law against big tech censorship.

“Some of the things we did in that bill was not allow big tech companies to ban candidates for office because you really could have a situation where someone down the stretch, you have all these Senate races or something, and what are they going to do? They’re going to de-platform all the Republican nominees to be able to help their party?” the governor said.

DeSantis also noted that the law “gave individual Floridians the opportunity to use Florida’s unfair and deceptive trade practices act to sue big tech if they are censored or deplatformed.”

Delta Air Lines Edits Mask Mandate Statement After Calling COVID ‘Ordinary Seasonal Virus’

Fox Business reported:

Delta Air Lines edited its statement announcing the end of the federal mask mandate to call COVID-19 a “more manageable respiratory virus” on Tuesday.

Delta’s original statement had stated that COVID-19 “has transitioned to an ordinary seasonal virus.” Delta and a slew of other airlines announced masking was now optional on flights after a federal judge in Florida struck down the Biden administration’s national mask mandate covering airplanes, airports and public transportation.

“We are relieved to see the U.S. mask mandate lift to facilitate global travel as COVID-19 has transitioned to an ordinary seasonal virus,” Delta’s original statement read. “Thank you for your support in complying with the federal mask mandate and keeping each other, and our customers, safe during the pandemic.”

These Airlines Are Making Masks Optional After Mandate Struck Down

CNN Business reported:

After a federal judge in Florida struck down the Biden administration’s mask mandate for airplanes and other public transport methods, airlines are starting to act.

Several U.S. airlines announced Monday that masks are now optional on their aircraft — Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue.

Meanwhile on the ground, Amtrak said it will no longer require face masks for passengers and employees.

White House Urges Travelers to Keep Wearing Masks After ‘Disappointing’ Ruling

The Hill reported:

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday the Biden administration still recommends that individuals wear masks on public transit after a judge struck down the federal mask mandate for travel on planes, trains and buses.

Psaki told reporters during the daily briefing that administration officials are “still reviewing” the ruling from a federal judge in Florida, which she called “disappointing.” The press secretary left the door open to the administration appealing the ruling.

Supreme Court Rules Against Air Force Officer Who Refused COVID Vaccine

Axios reported:

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Pentagon can take disciplinary action against a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve who refused to follow the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate due to religious objections.

Jonathan Dunn had said he sought emergency relief to protect himself from “further punishment, including a discharge.” He was removed from his command after he refused the vaccine, believing it violates his faith.

The unsigned order did not provide the court’s reasoning but noted that Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented with the decision to deny the application for an injunction.

Hochul Needs to Back up Her Words on COVID Shutdowns

New York Post reported:

Gov. Kathy Hochul swears, “I’m not going to shut down [New York state] again, you can count on that” — even as COVID cases here begin another inevitable rise. Good to hear. Too bad Hochul’s struggled so hard to get to that conclusion.

She was way overdue on lifting ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s useless business and school-mask mandates — and never finished the job. For example, any individual school in the state can still demand masks if the COVID anxieties of its administrators get out of control. So while she’s promising no shutdowns, she hasn’t made any real commitment to that beyond the rhetorical.

Nor admitted that New York’s restrictionist responses to COVID wrought utter disaster, pushing us to lead the nation in out-migration. They wrecked the state’s economy. We’re still massively lagging the rest of the nation in recovery, with a 4.9% unemployment rate vs. the national 3.6%. We’re still missing hundreds of thousands of pre-pandemic jobs.

New Mexico State University Ending Option of COVID Testing; Vaccination Required

Associated Press reported:

New Mexico State University will require all students on campus to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by July 1, ending the option of submitting weekly tests as an alternative, the university announced Monday.

Chancellor Dan Arvizu also said in a memo to students, faculty and staff that NMSU no longer will require weekly testing for students and employees who decided against getting a booster or received an exemption from vaccination.

The new policy, which also applies at all branch colleges, reflects a similar change in October for staff. It requires new and/or transfer students to provide their COVID-19 vaccination records or an approved exemption by Aug. 1.

Arvizu cited the time-consuming nature of the test-monitoring process and uncertainty about the future availability of free tests as reasons for dropping the weekly testing requirement, which will end May 5.

Uber Ends Mask Requirements, Says Anyone Uncomfortable Can Cancel Trip

Newsweek reported:

Uber has scrapped its requirement for passengers to wear face masks during their journeys in the United States with a major update to its pandemic safety rules.

The company made the announcement on its website on Tuesday, saying: “As of April 19, 2022, riders and drivers are not required to wear masks when using Uber. However, the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] still recommends wearing a mask if you have certain personal risk factors and/or high transmission levels in your area.

“Remember: many people still feel safer wearing a mask because of personal or family health situations, so please be respectful of their preferences. And if you ever feel uncomfortable, you can always cancel the trip.”

Why Red Sox’s Tanner Houck Can’t Pitch at Blue Jays? Canada’s COVID Vaccine Policy, Explained

The Sporting News reported:

The Boston Red Sox will be without one of their early season stars when they travel to Toronto to take on the Blue Jays this week. The reason why: Canada’s vaccination policy.

Right-handed pitcher Tanner Houck will be unavailable for Boston’s series against Toronto, according to manager Alex Cora. Houck told the Boston Globe he remains unvaccinated against COVID-19 before the Red Sox’s 8-1 win over the Twins on Sunday.“I think it’s a personal choice for everyone whether they get it or not,” Houck said.

Cora said more Boston players will be unavailable due to Canada’s vaccine mandate. Those players will placed on the MLB’s restricted list. According to ESPN, players sidelined due to an unwillingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine are not paid during their time off and do not accrue service time.

Shanghai Prepares to Ease COVID Lockdown as Factories Reopen

The Guardian reported:

Shanghai is preparing to ease its lockdown over the city’s 25 million people with authorities hoping COVID transmissions will mostly be limited to quarantine facilities.

Factories are returning to production in closed-loop systems, with Tesla staff reportedly told to sleep on site.

Amid China’s worst outbreak since Wuhan at the start of the pandemic, Shanghai continues to report tens of thousands of cases a day, with the majority among people in quarantine or isolation. On Monday, Reuters reported officials had set a target of reaching “zero-COVID at the community level” by Wednesday.

Your iOS App May Still Be Covertly Tracking You, Despite What Apple Says

Ars Technica reported:

Last year, Apple enacted App Tracking Transparency, a mandatory policy that forbids app makers from tracking user activity across other apps without first receiving those users’ explicit permission. Privacy advocates praised the initiative, and Facebook warned it would spell certain doom for companies that rely on targeted advertising. However, research published last week suggests that ATT, as it’s usually abbreviated, doesn’t always curb the surreptitious collection of personal data or the fingerprinting of users.

At the heart of ATT is the requirement that users must click an “allow” button that appears when an app is installed.

Last week’s research paper said that while ATT in many ways works as intended, loopholes in the framework also provided the opportunity for companies, particularly large ones like Google and Facebook, to work around the protections and stockpile even more data. The paper also warned that despite Apple’s promise for more transparency, ATT might give many users a false sense of security.

Elon Musk Is Correct — Big Tech Platforms Are Digital Public Squares

Newsweek reported:

Elon Musk’s announced intent to “buy” Twitter has provoked some mixed reactions. Some celebrate it as an opportunity to reshape the social media site into a more politically balanced platform. Others take the opposite view, seeing it as Elon trying to turn democracy on its head. But both perspectives seem to miss the billionaire’s point — Big Tech companies, like Twitter or Facebook, are now, as Musk puts it, our “de facto town square,” and they have not been living up to their obligations. Unfortunately, he’s right on both counts.

Public squares play a very special role in our society. They are a cradle for free expression where we, the public, can express approval or dissent, campaign or simply convene with friends with little interference. On Big Tech platforms these features are frequently missing, given the companies’ penchant to “moderate” political content they don’t like. They send more conservative campaign emails to spam folders than liberal ones, remove conservative-leaning apps from app stores, shut down the New York Post’s account for reporting on Hunter Biden and more.