Buy American order - Transgender military rule reversal - Scottish independence drive

Biden's order "immediately prohibits involuntary separations, discharges, and denials of reenlistment or continuation of service on the basis of gender identity or under circumstances relating to gender identity," the White House said. The order also directs the immediate "correction of" military records for any who had been affected by Trump's ban.
...
While the Trump administration maintained its policy was not a “ban,” it did prevent transgender people who plan to pursue gender-affirming hormones or surgery from enlisting. Transgender individuals who were already serving openly were grandfathered in, meaning they could continue to serve. But those service members who came out as trans after the policy could not pursue transition and were required to serve as their assigned sex at birth.
...
A 2016 Department of Defense survey estimated that 1 percent, or 8,980, active duty troops were transgender. Using the same data, the Palm Center, which studies LGBTQ people in the military, estimated that an additional 5,727 transgender people were in the Selected Reserve, bringing the total estimated number of transgender troops serving in 2016 to 14,707.

The federal government spends nearly $600 billion a year on contracts, which is money the administration says can spur a revitalization of the nation’s industrial strength and create new markets for new technologies. Federal law requires government agencies to give preference to American firms when possible, but critics say those requirements haven't always been implemented consistently or effectively.
...
Right now, loopholes in federal law allow products to be stamped "Made in America" for purposes of federal procurement even if barely 51% of the materials used to produce them are domestically made. Administration officials did not say how much Biden intends to increase that threshold.
...
The order calls for a central review of requests for waivers to Buy American rules and the creation of a website that will be available to the public. The order also will create a senior director's position in the Office of Management and Budget whose focus will be on the Made In America campaign and making sure the new rules and procedures are followed.

The [the latest opinion polls], which now show a consistent lead for independence, have followed a bleak year for the United Kingdom in which it has suffered one of the highest coronavirus death tolls and worst recessions of any country in the world. It has also coincided with Britain's exit from the European Union, which a clear majority of Scots voted against.
...
[Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon] pledged to push ahead with a referendum [on independence] after the coronavirus pandemic, regardless of whether permission is granted by [UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson]. With the upcoming Scottish Parliament elections potentially set to deliver Sturgeon with an absolute majority on a pro-independence ticket, it will become increasingly difficult for Johnson to resist another vote.
...
Johnson has so far refused to consider any such vote, pointing instead to the decisive victory for the union in the last independence referendum in 2014. Such a legal fight would likely be won by Johnson given that powers to call referendums are legally reserved by the UK government.

Hundreds of people were detained during unrest in Amsterdam, Eindhoven and at least eight other cities after the start of a 9 p.m. curfew on Saturday, the police said. Officers used tear gas, attack dogs and water cannons to disperse crowds in the southern city of Eindhoven, where shops were looted and cars set on fire. In Urk, a staunchly protestant fishing village, young people burned down a Covid test facility.
...
[Prime Minister Mark Rutte's] caretaker government implemented harsh new lockdown measures last week, vetted by Parliament, to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Flights to Britain, South Africa and most of South America were halted on Saturday. It also implemented a nationwide curfew, the first since World War II.
...
Protests also erupted over the weekend in Denmark. Around 1,000 protesters gathered to demonstrate against what they said were limitations of their freedoms, after a call for protest by a Facebook group. Protesters tied an effigy of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to a pole and burned it, Danish channel TV2 reported.

California is lifting stay-at-home orders for all regions in the state, including Southern California, the Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley — the three regions that had still been under the order — citing a drop in intensive care unit projections. California announced its regional stay-at-home order in early December, saying it would apply to any region where ICU availability is projected to fall below 15%.
...
California has emerged as a new epicenter in the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., reporting more than 3.1 million cases and nearly 37,000 deaths in its most recent bulletin. As COVID-19 patients overwhelmed emergency rooms, California recently took the extraordinary step of overriding its own law that puts a limit on the number of patients each nurse can be assigned to look after.
...
The state has administered 2,199,908 vaccine doses – the most in the country. But that's far less than half the 4,906,525 doses it has received, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Per capita, the number of doses California received is on par with or higher than many other states. But its rate of doses administered per capita is much lower than in other highly populous states such as Florida, Texas and New York.