Three things for April 6
1. Biden to move vaccine eligibility deadline to April 19
President Joe Biden will announce Tuesday that he requires all states to make all adults eligible for COVID-19 vaccines by April 19, rather than his original deadline of May 1.
A White House official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Biden’s plans before the president’s formal announcement.
Biden is also expected to announce 150 million doses of the vaccine have been distributed since his inauguration on Jan. 20, following through on his new goal of 200 million shots administered by April 30 — his 100th day in office. Biden’s original goal was 100 million doses by the end of his first 100 days, reports AP News.
The White House said Monday nearly one in three Americans, including 40% of adults, have received at least one shot, and nearly one in four adults are fully vaccinated. Among older people, 75% have now received at least one shot, and more than 55% of them are fully vaccinated.
2. Police arrest suspect in Van Gogh thefts
Dutch police said Tuesday they arrested a suspect for the theft of two valuable paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Frans Hals. The paintings were stolen from two separate museums last year and remain missing.
“The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884” by Van Gogh was stolen from the Singer Laren museum east of Amsterdam on March 30, 2020. The museum was closed at the time due to a COVID lockdown.
The Hals work, “Two Laughing Boys,” was stolen five months later from Museum Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden in Leerdam.
In a statement posted on Twitter, police spokesperson Maren Wonder said a 58-year-old man was arrested at his home in the Dutch town of Baarn. His identity was not released.
“Unfortunately, we haven’t yet recovered the paintings, and the investigation is continuing,” Wonder said. She called the arrest “a really important step in the investigation.”
3. Harvey Weinstein appeals conviction
On Monday, former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein asked a New York state appeals court to throw out his conviction for sexual assault and grant a new trial. Weinstein claims the trial judge made several errors, denying him an impartial jury.
Weinstein, 69, was originally sentenced in March 2020 by Justice James Burke of Manhattan criminal court to 23 years in prison for assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and Jessica Mann.
Weinstein’s lawyers argued he was denied a presumption of innocence when Burke allowed the jury to hear testimony from three women who alleged Weinstein assaulted them even though their accusations did not result in a criminal charge.
At the time, jurors were instructed that the three women’s testimony could only be used as evidence of Weinstein’s intent to assault rather than evidence of additional crimes.
According to Reuters, even if his conviction is overturned, Weinstein still faces charges in Los Angeles involving five alleged victims from 2004 to 2013. Weinstein faces up to 140 years in prison if convicted in that case.
