😷 Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a law that bans mask mandates in the state’s public schools and cities.

It passed the Iowa House of Representatives by a 53-35 vote and passed the Senate by a 29-17, mostly along party lines. Reynolds signed the measure just a few hours later and it went into effect immediately.

The change passage prompted a number of Iowa school districts to modify their mask requirements for students

❗️ Newly surfaced video footage captured the exact moment on Thursday that an explosive device was ignited in New York City’s Midtown quarter and sent nearby locals running to safety.

The incident is said to have unfolded at approximately 7 p.m. local time in the city’s Diamond District, a commercial stretch along Manhattan’s 47th Street that encompasses about one block and also happens to have a strong Jewish presence.

Video footage of the blast shows dozens initially standing on a sidewalk and then suddenly turning to run away from the area before an explosive device goes off

👮‍♀️ Leaders in Kansas City, Mo., announced a proposal Thursday that would significantly reduce funding for the city's police department to the minimum allowed by state law and reallocate much of the remaining money to a community fund. 

Mayor Quinton Lucas, with the support of several city councilmembers, said he introduced two ordinances that will give the city more influence in how the Kansas City Police Department spends its money along with new crime prevention efforts

A huge ice block has broken off from western Antarctica into the Weddell Sea, becoming the largest iceberg in the world and earning the name A-76

Check out our brief summary of some of the latest news:

▪️ The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that it would close two detention facilities for illegal immigrants that are undergoing investigations amid allegations of abuse and mistreatment.

▪️ Thomas Massie and @RealMarjorieGreene threw out letters from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warning against violating the mask mandate in the lower chamber of the US Congress.

▪️ New York and Maryland announced lottery promotions tied to receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, following a programme introduced in Ohio last week that offers a similar incentive

🤔 Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has announced that she will only be giving one-on-one interviews to "black and brown" reporters to mark her two-year anniversary of her tenure as mayor.

Imagine if there was a white politician who said that they refused to speak with journalists of colour

😄 Joke Biden found himself in a peculiar situation after telling an anecdote, receiving only silence in response.

So, if you want to know how not to tell a joke, watch the president trying to repeat the same witticism Ronald Reagan told Coast Guard cadets over 30 years ago

🤨 Nancy Pelosi has been accused of "hypocrisy" after she attended a crowded White House ceremony without wearing a mask while the House of Representatives continues to fine members that choose not to wear masks

#BREAKING | White House says it pared down $2.25 trillion infrastructure proposal

❤️Several US online-dating sites, including Tinder, Badoo and Bumble, have introduced features to encourage vaccination among their users, Biden administration COVID-19 response team senior adviser Andrew Slavitt said on Friday.

💜Users can now display badges with their vaccination status and apply filters in order to see only people who have received coronavirus injections and offer premium content, Slavitt said.

💙According to one of the sites, OK Cupid, people who display their vaccination status are 14 percent more likely to get a match, the WH adviser said.

#URGENT | US imposes sanctions on 3 Russian entities, 13 vessels involved in construction of Nord Stream 2

🇺🇸 Progressive US lawmakers have penned a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to direct the $50 billion that would be saved from ending the war in Afghanistan to addressing the many social ills domestically.

Representatives Mark Pocan and Barbara Lee stressed that the “Peace Dividend” must be slashed from next year’s defense budget and would be enough to solve America’s homelessness crisis.

#URGENT | Evacuation underway in King County Courthouse, Washington, amid reports of bomb threat

#URGENT | US State Sec Blinken holds phone talks with Palestinian leader Abbas, discusses measures to ensure ceasefire between Israel, Hamas

#BREAKING | Biden: US, South Korea agree to establish comprehensive vaccine partnership

Former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard accused Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Friday of harboring anti-white racism and called for her to step down over her remarks this week about the city's media landscape.

In a tweet, Gabbard, a one-time Democratic presidential candidate from Hawaii, also called on President Joe Biden and other leaders to join her

🇺🇸🇰🇷 US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in during talks in Washington agreed their countries would boost cooperation on denuclearizing North Korea and fighting the pandemic.

"The most urgent common task that our two countries must undertake is achieving complete denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean peninsula," Moon said during remarks at the White House.

🔻The US president said both leaders are "deeply concerned" about North Korea's nuclear and missile program.

🔻Biden also said he appointed Ambassador Sung Kim as US special envoy for North Korea.

🔻The two leaders also agreed to enhance cooperation on space exploration, nuclear energy. 5G technology, and vaccine production.

#BREAKING | Guards looking after Jeffrey Epstein when he killed himself reportedly admit falsifying records

😢 A dead fin whale washed ashore on Bolsa Chica State Beach in Orange County, California, Thursday, drawing a crowd of fascinated spectators.

Biologists estimate that the adult creature, which reportedly also washed ashore with a calf, weighs more than 115,000 pounds — or the equivalent of about 765 human beings

🇺🇸 🇰🇵 In a Friday press conference at the White House, US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced a number of new joint initiatives, including their approach to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), with which both nations are technically still at war.

Biden said the two nations have a “shared approach” to the DPRK and that he is willing "to take pragmatic steps that will reduce tensions as we move toward our ultimate goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” but said he would only agree to sit down with DPRK State Affairs Commission president Kim Jong Un if he agreed to denuclearization beforehand