Monday, Sept. 27

· President Joe Biden publicly received a COVID-19 booster shot and encouraged the American public to get vaccinated. “Please, please do the right thing,” Biden said. “Please get the shots. It can save your life and save the lives of those around you and it’s easy, accessible and it’s free.”

· The World Health Organization criticized the United States and other wealthy countries for failing to distribute their large supplies of coronavirus vaccines to other countries without vaccine access, and urged them to hold off on booster shots until 2022 or until every country has at least 40% of its population inoculated.

· The FBI released data showing killings in the U.S. increased 30% in 2020, the largest one-year increase since the federal government began keeping national statistics in the 1960s. 2021 is showing a further increase in killings, although not as extreme as 2020.

Tuesday, Sept. 28

· Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee, where they both acknowledged the U.S.’s “strategic failures” in Afghanistan that allowed the Taliban to take control. Milley said that the “accelerated withdrawal without meeting specific and necessary conditions” contributed the Taliban’s quick takeover.

· Milley said former President Donald Trump knew about the calls Milley made to his Chinese counterpart General Li Zuocheng assuring China that the U.S. was not going to suddenly go to war with the Asian country, actions which have recently spurred questions regarding whether Milley overstepped his bounds or not.

· Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, warning lawmakers of the “devastating” consequences of a government shutdown and debt fault if Congress fails to pass a bill funding the government and raising the country’s debt ceiling soon.

Wednesday, Sept. 29

· The House overwhelming passed the Libya Stabilization Act, which permits sanctioning “foreign persons leading, directing, or supporting certain foreign government involvement in Libya,” foreign people threatening peace and stability in Libya and foreign people responsible for or complicity in violations of human rights in Libya.

· The Taliban threatened “negative consequences” if the U.S. did not stop flying drones over Afghan airspace, a practice which it claims violates “all international rights and laws as well as its commitments made to the Taliban.”

· General Frank McKenzie, head of Central Command, told the House Armed Services Committee that the collapse of Afghanistan’s government was rooted in Trump’s deal with the Taliban in 2020, saying that the deal had a “really pernicious effect on the government of Afghanistan and its military.”

· The Department of Fish and Wildlife Services announced the extinction of 23 types of birds, fish and other species including the ivory-billed woodpecker and the tubercled-blossom pearly mussel that government scientists say they have exhausted their efforts to find.

· The Treasury Department announced sanctions against a network of financial institutions based in the Gulf region that it accuses of facilitating and providing materials to the militant Lebanese Shia Islamist group Hezbollah.

· The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol issued subpoenas to organizers of a rally of Trump supporters held just before the riot began.

· The Trade and Technology Council, a transatlantic political body formed in June that serves as a forum between the U.S. and the European Union, held its first meeting, which focused on digital policy developments.

Thursday, Sept. 30

· Without congressional agreement on a long-term government funding, Biden signed a stopgap bill passed by Congress to prevent a government shutdown due to lack of funding. The bill includes $6.3 billion in assistance to pay for the military’s airlift operation out of Kabul, Afghanistan and for Afghan refugee resettlement. “Passage of this bill reminds us that bipartisan work is possible and it gives us time to pass longer-term funding to keep our government running and delivering for the American people,” Biden said.

· In response to a question from Reuters on the U.S.’s response to Jordan fully reopening its main border crossing with Syria, the State Department said it has no plans to “normalize or upgrade” diplomatic relations with the Syrian government and does not encourage others to do so.

· Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced new guidelines for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, saying they will target immigrants who pose a threat to national security or public safety but that being undocumented “should not alone be the basis” for deportation. He also instructed agents to avoid targeting immigrants because they spoke out against employers or at public protests.

Friday, Oct. 1

· A University of Washington study published in The Lancet showed that the National Vital Statistics System, the federal government’s main database for recording domestic police violence, mislabeled or undercounted a vast amount of police killings in the U.S. — not accounting for about 55% of deaths where police violence played a role.

· Congressional Democrats withdrew a planned vote on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill to find compromise amid disputes between the party’s left and centrist wings. Biden said he is going to “work like hell” to get the bill, as well as its twin social spending bill, passed through Congress.

· A Supreme Court spokesperson announced that Justice Brett Kavanaugh tested positive for the coronavirus.

· Biden said that his $1 billion infrastructure bill will be put on hold for now so he and Congressional Democrats can work together to first pass his ambitious $3.5 billion social policy and climate change package.

Saturday, Oct. 2

· Biden signed a bill reviving key transportation programs that lapsed two days earlier, bringing back about 3,700 furloughed workers. The measure was originally part of the infrastructure bill stalled in the House.

Sunday, Oct. 3

· Facebook urged the Federal Trade Commission to drop its latest antitrust suit against the tech giant, claiming that it failed to “make a valid claim” that Facebook is a monopoly.