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The House has finally passed the Equality Act which includes LGBTQ rights and they are no longer allowed discrimination. After a little bit of debate, all came to the agreement to pass the act.

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The House on Thursday passed the Equality Act, a top agenda item for President Joe Biden that would prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ Americans in a 224-206 vote.

Three Republicans voted with all Democrats on the measure, which the House also passed two years ago but languished in the then-GOP-controlled Senate. In 2019, eight House Republicans supported the bill.

The measure would extend the protections of the Civil Rights Act to LGBTQ Americans to block discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Tom Reed, R-N.Y., and John Katko, R-N.Y., voted with Democrats in support of the proposal on Thursday.

The vote followed two days of emotional and -- at times -- personal debate in the House between Democrats and Republicans, with some lawmakers speaking from their own life experiences on the floor.

"None of us should be evicted, fired or denied accommodations and services simply because of who we are and whom we love," said Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., who is one of the first openly gay Black men to serve in Congress.

Rep. Marie Newman, D-Ill., who spoke on the House floor on Monday in support of her transgender daughter, came under attack from Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a conservative who told Newman on Twitter that "your biological son does NOT belong in my daughters' bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams," and unsuccessfully tried to delay Thursday's vote by forcing the House to vote twice on a dilatory motion to adjourn.

Newman, whose Washington office is across the hall from Greene's, put up a transgender flag outside her door. Greene, in response, put up a poster that read: "There are TWO genders: Male & Female - Trust the Science!"

Republicans opposing the bill cited concerns that it would infringe on their religious beliefs and irrevocably impact women's sports across the country.

"When men or women claim to be able to choose their own sexual identity, they are making a statement that God did not know what he was doing when he made them," said Rep. Greg Stuebe, R-Fla. "You are going to singlehandedly destroy women's sports in the name of equality, how ironic."

Democrats and LGBTQ advocacy groups condemned the rhetoric from Greene and other Republicans in opposition to the bill.

"Their attacks on trans people and the transgender community are just mean, mean," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said of the "despicable comments."

Alphonso David, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, called the comments "dangerous and transphobic."

"These comments actually create additional stigma against communities that need to be protected," he said.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, 44 transgender or gender non-conforming Americans were killed last year, the highest tally the organization has ever recorded.

"(The attacks are) not based on fact, they're based on fear," he said.

The Equality Act will need to garner the support of 60 senators to get to Biden's desk for his signature, which would require the support of at least 10 Republicans, assuming all Democrats back the package.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a critical swing vote who cosponsored the legislation in 2020, told the Washington Blade this week that she would not do so this year, pointing to unspecified changes she requested that were not made. She did not say what changes she had sought.

"Sen. Collins supports ensuring fairness and equal treatment of all Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and she is considering all possible options to do so, including introducing her own bill," Collins' spokeswoman Annie Clarke told the Washington Blade.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will take up the measure, but has not yet scheduled a meeting to do so.
ABC News' Trish Turner contributed to this report.

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House passes bill that would prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ Americans after days of heated debate

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The House on Thursday passed the Equality Act, a top agenda item for President Joe Biden that would prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ Americans in a 224-206 vote. Three Republicans voted with all Democrats on the measure, which the House also passed two years ago but languished in the then-GOP-controlled Senate.

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The Queen of England encourages people to get the vaccine saying that it is painless and quick.

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By DANICA KIRKA, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is encouraging people to be vaccinated against COVID-19, saying the shot is quick, harmless and will help protect others against the disease.

In a video call with the officials responsible for rolling out the vaccine, the 94-year-old monarch compared the effort that's gone into Britain's national vaccination campaign to the way people worked together during World War II.

"Well, once you've had the vaccine you have a feeling of, you know, you're protected, which is, I think, very important," the queen said on a tape of the call broadcast Friday. "And as far as I can make out it was quite harmless, very quick. And I've had lots of letters from people who've been very surprised by how easy it was to get the vaccine."

The queen also highlighted the fact that being vaccinated helps protect everyone, not just the person who gets the shot.

"It is obviously difficult for people, if they've never had a vaccine, because they ought to think about other people rather than themselves," she said.

Some 18 million people have been vaccinated in the U.K., but worries persist that some of the groups most at risk, such as Black and Asian people and members of other minority groups, are hesitating to get their shots.

Though the queen had made her vaccination known earlier, her comments during a video call with health leaders recorded Tuesday will get the word to more people who might be hesitating, and could possibly prove persuasive given Elizabeth's huge name recognition.

French President Emanuel Macron cast doubt last month on the effectiveness of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine developed in Britain, citing a lack of data on its effectiveness on older people. Macron has since said European health authorities have guaranteed the vaccine is "safe" and "efficient."

The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, 99, received their first dose of the vaccine last month. In an unusual move, the palace made the information known to prevent speculation about their health.

The call with health officials this week showed the queen continuing with her duties even as Philip rests at King Edward VII's Hospital in what royal officials called a precautionary measure. Buckingham Palace said Tuesday that he was being treated for an infection.

During the conversation, the queen described COVID-19 as a "plague" that has swept across the globe. She urged the vaccination drive leaders to "keep up the good work."'

She likened the community spirit to get vaccinations done to the experience of the country during World War II.

Derek Grieve, who heads the Scottish government's Vaccinations Division, raised the example of how people from the Isle of Benbecula, in the Outer Hebrides, rallied together with the Coast Guard to set up a vaccination center in a community hall within days.

"So my lasting reflection, ma'am, would be if I could bottle this community spirit and use it, not just for the vaccination program but for other things, I think the job would be done." he said.

The queen said: "Wouldn't it be nice."

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Queen Says COVID Vaccine Is Quick, Painless and Helps Others

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By DANICA KIRKA, Associated Press LONDON (AP) - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is encouraging people to be vaccinated against COVID-19, saying the shot is quick, harmless and will help protect others against the disease.

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The house passed the Equality act recently with both republicans and democrats agreeing in the act.

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The House voted Thursday to pass the Equality Act, a Democrat-backed bill meant to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The bill passed by a 224-to-206 vote along party lines. Three Republicans joined Democrats to vote in favor of the legislation.

"The LGBT community has waited long enough," Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., who is gay and co-sponsored the bill, said ahead of the vote. "The time has come to extend the blessings of liberty and equality to all of Americans regardless of who they are and who they love."

The Equality Act updates existing civil right and labor laws to strengthen protections for the LGBTQ community. The protections would apply to a broad array of categories ranging from education to housing to credit and other areas.

The House approved the same measure in 2019, but it failed to pass the GOP-controlled Senate. Republicans and religious groups have widely opposed the bill, arguing the changes could infringe upon the religious beliefs of some citizens.

Opponents have also raised concerns about the bill's potential impact on women's sports. GOP critics argue that allowing transgender youth to participate in girls' sports would be harmful to competition.

The razor-thin vote signals the bill will face difficulty passing the Senate, even as the Democrats hold an effective majority. At least 60 senators would have to vote in favor of the measure to bypass a legislative fillibuster.
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The House vote marked a victory for President Biden, who took executive action on his first day in office aimed at preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity at federally funded institutions. As far back as June 2019, Biden identified passage of the Equality Act as one of his top priorities if elected president.

"The Equality Act provides long overdue federal civil rights protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, locking in critical safeguards in our housing, education, public services, and lending systems - and codifying the courage and resilience of the LGBTQ+ movement into enduring law," Biden said in a statement last week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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House passes Equality Act expanding LGBTQ rights amid GOP concerns, including effect on girls' sports

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The House voted Thursday to pass the Equality Act, a Democrat-backed bill meant to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill passed by a 224-to-206 vote along party lines. Three Republicans joined Democrats to vote in favor of the legislation. "The LGBT community has waited long enough," Rep.

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NASA put a secrete code on the parachute of the new rover. This was meant for a puzzle solving activity for people watching the rover land.

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Amateur puzzle fans delighted this week when NASA revealed it had hidden a secret color-coded message on the parachute for the Perseverance rover that landed on Mars last week.

The message, written by systems engineer Ian Clark in binary code through alternating white and orange strips on the 70-foot chute, spelled out the NASA motto "Dare Mighty Things," which comes from a Theodore Roosevelt quote.

Clark, the lead developer of the parachute, had an interesting problem in encoding the message - he couldn't use any colors that had not already been tested for Mars' atmosphere. Different color dyes might weaken its integrity inside its harsh environment.

"There's all kinds of second-guessing questions," Clark said, according to The New York Times. "Like could having more white than orange, or vice versa, mean that the parachute was going to warm up differently and maybe that would change its behavior?"
BUZZ ALDRIN REACTS TO NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER LANDING ON MARS
Clark said when he asked deputy project manager Matt Wallace if he could put a message in the parachute, his only guidance was to "make sure it was appropriate and couldn't be misinterpreted."

Only about six people knew about the encoded message before last Thursday's landing, Clark, a crossword puzzle enthusiast, who called creating the message "super fun," said.

He said it only took puzzle solvers a few hours to figure out the binary-coded missive after it was teased during Monday's news conference.

"I'll have to be a little bit more creative" next time, he said.
HOW WILL NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER ENGINEERS PILOT FIRST HELICOPTER ON MARS?
Clark also included the GPS coordinates of the mission's headquarters at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, in the message - "34°11'58" N 118°10'31."

During the news conference, engineer Allen Chen, who was in charge of the landing system, told space fans "Sometimes we leave messages in our work for others to find for that purpose. So we invite you all to give it a shot and show your work."

Alternating black and white - or orange and white in this case - is often a hint that something is in binary code, giving enthusiasts their first clue.

Eventually internet detectives realized the series of ones and zeros fit into groups of 10 and spelled out the inspirational message on the parachute's three inner rings, according to The Times.

Within hours, IT student Maxence Abela posted his answer on Twitter. He and his father were among others who were able to solve the mystery.

"It looks like the internet has cracked the code in something like 6 hours!" Adam Steltzner, chief engineer for the mission, tweeted, showing a graph of the answer.

A message was also written on a plaque that will be used to calibrate a camera on the rover, according to The Times.

It says, "Are we alone? We came here to look for signs of life, and to collect samples of Mars for study on Earth. To those who follow, we wish a safe journey and the joy of discovery."

The plaque also includes depictions of all five of NASA's Mars rovers in increasing size over the years.

And Wallace has promised more Easter eggs associated with the rover.

He said they should be visible once Perseverance's seven-foot arm is deployed in a few days and starts photographing under the vehicle, and again when the rover is driving in a couple weeks.
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"Definitely, definitely should keep a good lookout," he urged.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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NASA leaves hidden message on parachute of Mars rover

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Amateur puzzle fans delighted this week when NASA revealed it had hidden a secret color-coded message on the parachute for the Perseverance rover that landed on Mars last week. The message, written by systems engineer Ian Clark in binary code through alternating white and orange strips on the 70-foot chute, spelled out the NASA motto "Dare Mighty Things," which comes from a Theodore Roosevelt quote.

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D.I.Y. covid treatments are threat that continues to grow. Many people keep attempting to make a vaccine and are ultimatley poisoning themselves. It started when former President Trump hyped up hydroxychloriquine, which is unproven and now unsafe. Health experts continue to warn people against self remedys.

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Since the beginning of the pandemic, toxicologists across the country have reported an uptick in poisonings as more people have begun trying at-home coronavirus remedies -- to both prevent catching the virus and to attempt to cure it.

It's been months since former President Donald Trump hyped unproven treatments such as hydroxychloroquine, and social media companies have since taken steps to curb the spread of medical misinformation, but doctors say some people are still trying unproven, dangerous methods.

"Poison centers are still responding to events related to COVID-19," said Julie Weber, president of the American Association of Poison Control Centers and director of the Missouri Poison Center. "On average, we are getting over 40 to 50 calls per day in addition to what we would normally get pre-pandemic."

According to Weber, the threats keep changing. Recently, there's been an increase in the number of calls for ivermectin -- a drug used to treat parasite infections that people began trying as a COVID-19 remedy.

She said there's limited information available about using the drug to treat COVID-19, but consumers aren't waiting to get medications through the proper channels, adding: "We just had a case of someone using a veterinary source of ivermectin, a horse medication, that contains a significantly larger dose of the drug."

Health experts continue to warn members of the public to think carefully about where they get medical information and to rely only on proven treatments and therapies recommended by doctors and federal agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Experts also warn against trusting companies that are offering dubious cures. Since January, the FDA has delivered warning letters to at least four companies for allegedly peddling unproven COVID-19 therapies -- from tea to tinctures.

Since March 2020, the daily number of calls to poison centers for exposure to cleaners or disinfectants have increased by about 20%, mostly because of bleach exposure, according to the CDC.

Weber said calls linked to bleaches, hand sanitizers and cleaning products are still up, and sanitizers continue to be of particular concern.

"People are drinking hand sanitizer" and "taking almost any kind of cleaner or sterilant and using it on their skin because they think it will kill the virus, but these substances can be harmful to people as well," said Dr. Joshua Nogar, the medical toxicology fellowship director at Northwell Health and an emergency medicine physician.

The FDA issued a strong warning last month about toxic, imported hand sanitizers that are especially dangerous if consumed.

"There have been some notable, very unfortunate occurrences of people who have fatally ingested pool cleaner because they were told it could kill COVID-19," Nogar told ABC News.

In an effort to curb the spread of harmful misinformation pertaining to the virus, the World Health Organization and the FDA have launched campaigns to investigate fraudulent claims and to help people identify and report potentially false information.​

The World Health Organization has an entire webpage dedicated to debunking at-home remedies.

"There is so much information available to us, and no accountability for 'facts' that are being put out there," Nogar said. "We should take all of the information that we consume on the internet with a grain of salt."

"Everyone is desperate for a cure," explained Dr. Nima Majlesi, the director of medical toxicology at Staten Island University Hospital and an emergency medicine physician, but "there is no such thing as completely eliminating our risk of severe illness from COVID-19."

Majlesi added that it's important for people to understand exactly what they are exposing their bodies to, weighing risk and reward, and discussing all potential options with a doctor.

"There are things that have been scientifically proven to substantially decrease our risk of illness from COVID-19," Majlesi added, "such as eating a health y diet, maintaining a healthy weight and getting a vaccination when it becomes available."
If you or someone you know needs help, call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222 or usePoisonHelp.org. Services are free, confidential, available 24/7. Dr. Stephanie Widmer, an emergency medicine physician and medical toxicology fellow in New York, is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.

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Do-it-yourself COVID treatments an evolving threat

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Since the beginning of the pandemic, toxicologists across the country have reported an uptick in poisonings as more people have begun trying at-home coronavirus remedies -- to both prevent catching the virus and to attempt to cure it.

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USA gymnastics coach John Geddert was found dead yesterday after 24 charges of sexual assault and human trafficking were filed. His death was ruled a suicide.

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Geddert was accused of physically and sexually abusing gymnasts at his gym.

Former USA gymnastics coach John Geddert, who led the 2012 U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team to win gold, died by suicide Thursday after charges of human trafficking and sexual assault were announced against him.

Attorney Chris Bergstrom's office, which represents Geddert, and the Michigan attorney general's office confirmed his death to ABC News.

"My office has been notified that the body of John Geddert was found late this afternoon after taking his own life," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement Thursday afternoon. "This is a tragic end to a tragic story for everyone involved."

The 63-year-old coach was charged with 24 felonies Thursday in Eaton County, Michigan. He was accused of physically, emotionally and sexually abusing gymnasts he coached at his gym, Twistars gymnastics club in Dimondale, Michigan, according to the complaint.

His young athletes were allegedly subjected to "excessive physical conditioning, repeatedly being forced to perform even while injured, extreme emotional abuse and physical abuse, including sexual assault," Nessel said at a Thursday press conference announcing the charges.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. ABC News' Rachel Katz contributed to this report.

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Former USA gymnastics coach John Geddert dead after trafficking, assault charges filed

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Geddert was accused of physically and sexually abusing gymnasts at his gym. Former USA gymnastics coach John Geddert, who led the 2012 U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team to win gold, died by suicide Thursday after charges of human trafficking and sexual assault were announced against him.

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The stock GME or Game stop has spiked again. This comes after the monumental raise last month. The stock doubled in the last hour Wednesday and went up another 35 points on Thursday.

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Investors have pared back their bearish bets a full month after the GameStop frenzy took off, showing the lasting effects of the Reddit-fueled saga on funds that make money by shorting.

Firms across the hedge-fund industry unloaded short positions that gain when stock prices fall, after a handful of stocks touted on Reddit and other social media platforms surged in January. They feared other stocks might experience the same meteoric rise.

The result: U.S. stock-picking hedge funds, which bet on and against stocks, are more tilted toward bullish bets than in any other period since 2010, Morgan Stanley 's prime brokerage unit said in a note this week.

Short interest relative to the shares available to trade for stocks in the broad Russell 3000 index fell to 5.6% on Feb. 22 from 7.5% on Jan. 19, according to S3 Partners, a data-analytics firm. That follows a year-long pattern of hedge funds reducing their short bets as markets soared after March.

"This is the equivalent of the hack on Sony , " said Bob Sloan, managing partner of S3, referencing the 2014 hack of the Hollywood studio that brought down its email and leaked sensitive data. "Everyone has looked around and said, 'Wow, this could be me.'"

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GameStop Resurgence Reinforces New Reality for Hedge Funds

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Investors have pared back their bearish bets a full month after the GameStop frenzy took off, showing the lasting effects of the Reddit-fueled saga on funds that make money by shorting. Firms across the hedge-fund industry unloaded short positions that gain when stock prices fall, after a handful of stocks touted on Reddit and other social media platforms surged in January.

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President Biden goes to to Texas to assess the damage of the winter storms. President Biden will meet with state and local officials to discuss storm relief efforts and also talk about more Covid-19 relief as well.

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WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden is heading down to Texas, one week after the state was ravaged by a winter storm that left millions without electricity and clean water for days.

It will be his first trip as president to a disaster zone and his first trip to the state since becoming president.

Biden during a call with governors on Thursday told Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that he was looking "forward to coming down tomorrow to Houston to be with you."

"I want you and the residents to know that we're here to provide the federal assistance you need to support your state, your local and tribal response efforts," Biden said of his trip.

Biden will visit Houston with first lady Jill Biden, and meet with local leaders to discuss the storm, relief efforts and recovery. The president will also visit a COVID-19 health center where vaccines are being distributed. Biden will spend much of his day with Abbott.
More: Sen. John Cornyn wants to join Bidens on Houston trip to examine storm aftermath
At least 4.3 million Texans lost electricity last week during the winter storm. Millions more lost water or were under a boil advisory. Texas is not part of the national power grid, and has its own electrical grid that covers nearly the entire state. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas operates Texas' electrical grid, and has come under fire due to the outages."This is not a partisan issue," press secretary Jen Psaki said of Biden's trip during an appearance on ABC's "The View" on Thursday. "This is not just impacting Democrats or Republicans, it's impacting all the people in the state."

At least one of the state's U.S. senators, Sen. John Cornyn, said he would like to accompany the president on his trip. Psaki, however, said Thursday there will be limited room on the plane and she does not know of any senator of any party traveling with president for his trip.

Sen. Ted Cruz, who has not said if he would like to accompany Biden on the trip, came under fire after briefly flying to Cancun, Mexico, with his family last week after they lost power during the storm. Cruz flew back to Texas after his trip became public.
More: Winter storm blackouts plagued Texas in 2011, too. Recommendations made afterward went unenforced.
Biden has approved a major disaster declaration for over 100 counties in the state. Psaki said that the president's trip comes as Texas is entering the recovery stage.

"There obviously was a period of time where we needed to make sure that people were safe," Psaki said on The View. "Now we're at the recovery stage, where we need to make sure people have access to clean water, access to places to live and to stay. So the president wants to survey the damage, so he can tap into all the resources and the federal government."

This trip will likely be a continuation of Biden's message of empathy, which defined his campaign.
More: Houston mayor calls power disaster 'foreseeable and preventable' as Texas warms up after historic storm
"Joe Biden's calling card has been empathy and a desire and ability to connect with people, particularly people that have experienced hardship or trauma," said Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. "It's going to be the day where we can expect to see more of the Joe Biden that people have become accustomed to."
Contributing: Asher Price, Austin American-Statesman Reach Rebecca Morin at Twitter @RebeccaMorin_
Henson noted that Biden's predecessor, former President Donald Trump, didn't often display empathy during his presidency. For example, Trump was heavily criticized after visiting Puerto Rico in 2017, which had been ravaged by back to back hurricanes. During that visit, Trump helped distribute supplies and went on to throw a paper towel like it was a basketball. At the time critics said the president was downplaying the destruction, as thousands of Puerto Ricans were without power, had lost their homes and many had died from the storms.

Brandon Rottinghaus, professor of political science at University of Houston and author of Inside Texas Politics, noted that Biden's approval rating in the state is "respectable for a Democratic president." According to a poll conducted by the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs, Biden's approval rating in the Lone Star State is at 41%.

"This is a good moment for him to come to take advantage of that approval," Rottinghaus said. "There's a bit of a halo around the Biden White House, and it's a moment that the President could possibly, you know, use to to sell the Democratic brand in Texas at this moment."

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President Biden heads to Texas to assess damage after horrific winter storm left millions without power

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WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden is heading down to Texas, one week after the state was ravaged by a winter storm that left millions without electricity and clean water for days. It will be his first trip as president to a disaster zone and his first trip to the state since becoming president.

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The pancake mix, formerly known as Aunt Jemima has a new name. The product company, Pearl Milling Company, is replacing the logo that was long considered racist.

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The pancake mix formerly known as aunt Jemima has a new name the new product Maine is pearl milling company replacing the logo and brand that was long considered racist. Parent company PepsiCo called the change the start of a new day. Pearl milling what's the nineteenth century company that created the original pancake mix the new brand is set to launch in June. Alex for Beck's wardrobe is living on to help people in need hundreds of items of clothing that belong to early jeopardy host. Hoffman donated to the New York City charity called the doe fund. It helps people looking for jobs after dealing with addiction homelessness and prison time. The collection includes fourteen suits dozens of dress shirts and 300 ties. The donations were the suggestion of his son not feel. Matthew has a couple of businesses and Harlem and east has close ties to the do find and he actually treated out that his father would be all for this here. Yeah definitely ready willing and able is what he said there to help out that do fund.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

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The pancake mix formerly known as aunt Jemima has a new name the new product Maine is pearl milling company replacing the logo and brand that was long considered racist. Parent company PepsiCo called the change the start of a new day.

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US carried out airstrikes in eastern Syria in response to an attack towards American troops in Iraq that took place Feb. 15. The US targeted facilities used by Iran-backed militias in Iraq. American officials claimed the attacks were small and calculated just over the border in order to avoid diplomatic problems from the Iraqi government.

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WASHINGTON - The United States on Thursday carried out an airstrike in eastern Syria against structures belonging to what the Pentagon said were Iran-backed militias responsible for recent attacks against American and allied personnel in Iraq.

The strikes were authorized by President Biden in response to the recent attacks in Iraq and to continuing threats to American and coalition personnel, said John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, who spoke with reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III in California.

A rocket attack on the airport in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil this month killed a civilian contractor with the American-led military coalition and wounded six others, including a U.S. service member and four American contractors.

American officials said the military response was essentially a tiny demonstration strike: one bomb dropped on a small cluster of buildings on the Syria-Iraq border used to transit militia fighters and weaponry in and out of the country.

The strike was just over the border in Syria to avoid diplomatic blowback to the Iraqi government. The Pentagon offered up several larger groups of targets but Mr. Biden approved the smallest option, American officials said.

The American airstrikes on Thursday "specifically destroyed multiple facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militia troops, including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada," Mr. Kirby said.

"This proportionate military response was conducted together with diplomatic measures, including consultation with coalition partners," Mr. Kirby said. "The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel."

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Roof damage in Erbil after a rocket attack last week. The attack killed a civilian contractor with the American-led military coalition and wounded six others. Credit... Azad Lashkari/Reuters

Mr. Kirby said the American retaliation was meant to punish the perpetrators of the rocket attack but not to escalate hostilities with Iran, with which the Biden administration has sought to renew talks on a nuclear deal that President Donald J. Trump had shelved.

"We have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq," Mr. Kirby said.

Mr. Biden authorized the strikes on Thursday morning, as his defense secretary was at a hotel in San Diego, preparing to visit the aircraft carrier Nimitz, which was returning home from the Persian Gulf.

Mr. Austin expressed confidence that the facilities targeted were used by militia groups responsible for the attacks. Speaking to reporters aboard his plane Thursday evening, he said that the Biden administration had been "deliberate" in its approach.

"We allowed and encouraged the Iraqis to investigate and develop intelligence, and it was very helpful to us in refining the target," he said.

The administration has taken a more measured response to the rocket fusillade in Erbil than Mr. Trump's pitched campaign against Iran and past actions of its proxies in Iraq - one that often caught the Iraqi government in the crossfire.

Administration officials have said since the Erbil attack that the United States would respond at a time and place of its choosing.

Even so, the deliberateness of the new administration's approach has raised questions both in Washington and in Baghdad about where Mr. Biden's red lines are when it comes to responding to attacks from Iran-backed militias that target Americans in Iraq.

Few details of the attack, or of the damage, were available Thursday night.

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U.S. Airstrikes in Syria Target Iran-Backed Militias That Rocketed U.S. Troops in Iraq

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WASHINGTON - The United States on Thursday carried out an airstrike in eastern Syria against structures belonging to what the Pentagon said were Iran-backed militias responsible for recent attacks against American and allied personnel in Iraq.

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More storms could be moving in and to hit many parts of the U.S. hard.

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A stationary front draped across the Southeast will bring several rounds of showers and thunderstorms Friday from the Mississippi Valley through the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys and then into the Mid-Atlantic.

Some snow will accumulate over interior sections of the Northeast and the Great Lakes.

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The Northwest will continue to be active this weekend with coastal rain and feet of snow over the mountain ranges.

Strong winds could cause white-out and blizzard conditions.

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Showers, thunderstorms to move through Southern and Eastern US

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A stationary front draped across the Southeast will bring several rounds of showers and thunderstorms Friday from the Mississippi Valley through the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys and then into the Mid-Atlantic. Some snow will accumulate over interior sections of the Northeast and the Great Lakes.

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Biden ordered an airstrike on Syria's border on Thursday calling it,"Defensive", even though the 22 people killed weren't even who America was targeting. Biden called for the airstrikes to send a message that America will do anything to protect their people.

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WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden on Thursday ordered airstrikes on buildings in Syria that the Pentagon said were used by Iranian-backed militias, in retaliation for rocket attacks on U.S. targets in neighboring Iraq.

The strikes killed at least 22 people, London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday, citing unconfirmed local reports.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby portrayed the bombing in eastern Syria as carefully calibrated, calling it "proportionate" and "defensive."

Kirby told reporters Friday the bombing caused "casualties" but said it was too early to say precisely how many militia fighters might have been killed or wounded.

"We have preliminary indications of casualties on site, I'm not going to go any further than that," Kirby said.

The operation was the first known use of military force by the Biden administration, which has for weeks emphasized plans to focus more on challenges posed by China.

The president's decision appeared aimed at sending a signal to Iran and its proxies in the region that Washington would not tolerate attacks on its personnel in Iraq, even at a sensitive diplomatic moment.

Three rocket attacks in one week in Iraq, including a deadly strike that hit a U.S.-led coalition base in the northern Iraqi town of Irbil, presented a test for Biden only weeks after assuming the presidency. The rocket assaults coincided with a diplomatic initiative launched by the administration to try to revive a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers.

Kirby said two F-15 fighter jets dropped seven precision guided munitions on buildings used by the Iranian-backed militias, totally destroying nine structures and partially destroying two. The buildings were located in Abu Kamal, near the Iraqi border, a location known as a hub for the Iraqi Shiite militias supported by Iran, he said.

"This location is known to facilitate Iranian-aligned militia group activity," Kirby said.

The airstrikes were ordered in response to a series of rocket attacks against American and coalition personnel in Iraq, "and to ongoing threats to those personnel," the Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday evening.

The buildings near the border were used by militias including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, according to the Pentagon.

Iranian officials did not immediately react to the strikes.

The Syrian government condemned the attack Friday, calling it "cowardly U.S. aggression" in a statement from the country's foreign ministry that was published by state media.

The strikes violate international law and "will lead to consequences that will escalate the situation in the region," the foreign ministry said, according to state news agency SANA.

Russia, one of Syrian President Bashar Assad's chief backers, said it was given just four or five minutes' warning before the strikes.

"This kind of notification does nothing when the strike is literally already on its way," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.

The U.S. was operating in Syria "illegally," he said, and called for better communication with the Biden administration.

The Pentagon defended the legality of the strikes, arguing Article II of the Constitution grants the president powers as commander in chief, and citing article 51 of the U.N. charter, providing countries the right to "self-defense" in response to an attack.

"I would tell you that the president acted well within his constitutional authorities under Article II as commander in chief of the United States to protect American service members involved in operations. Clearly, there's a constitutional authority here," Kirby told NBC News' Andrea Mitchell on Friday.

The Biden administration did inform Russia in advance of the air raid, Kirby said, but indicated it could not do so too far in advance without jeopardizing "operational security."

The strikes provoked criticism from some Democrats in Congress, who questioned the legal rationale and demanded to know why the White House did not consult with lawmakers more closely beforehand.

"The American people deserve to hear the Administration's rationale for these strikes and its legal justification for acting without coming to Congress," said Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees.

"Offensive military action without congressional approval is not constitutional absent extraordinary circumstances," he said. "Congress must be fully briefed on this matter expeditiously."

The administration said officials did brief congressional leadership before the air strikes.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said most of the 22 people killed in the bombings were members of Iraqi militias. The monitoring group did not provide details about how it obtained that figure but Rami Abdulrahman, head of the rights organization, told NBC News it was based on speaking to sources inside Syria.

He added that the death toll was expected to rise, due to the number of people seriously wounded.

Iran's state broadcaster IRIB news, meanwhile, said 17 "resistance fighters" were killed in the strikes, but also didn't provide detail about the source of that figure other than citing "reports."

A senior U.S. defense official told NBC News on Thursday evening that the target was a transit hub near the Iraqi-Syrian border used by the militia fighters, and it was too early to say what casualties might have been inflicted on the militants.
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"The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq," the Pentagon said on Thursday.

Shortly after the strike, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters travelling with him that the administration had been "very deliberate about our approach."

"We're confident that target was being used by the same Shia militia that conducted the strikes," Austin said, referring to the recent rocket attacks in Iraq on U.S. and coalition personnel.

The Pentagon had said previously that it was awaiting the results of an Iraqi investigation into the Irbil rocket attack.

"We allowed and encouraged the Iraqis to investigate and develop intelligence and that was very helpful to us in refining the target," said Austin, who spoke en route to Washington after a visit to California and Colorado.

Biden had approved the operation on Thursday morning, he said.

A civilian contractor was killed in the Irbil rocket assault, and a U.S. service member and others were wounded. At least two 107mm rockets landed on the base, which also hosts Irbil's civilian international airport.

NBC News had previously reported that Iranian-backed militias were most likely behind the Irbil rocket attack, and that the weapons and tactics resembled previous attacks by the Iranian-linked militias. However, it was unclear if Iran had encouraged or ordered the rocket attack.

An obscure group called Saraya Awliya al-Dam, or Custodians of the Blood, claimed responsibility for the Irbil attack. But former diplomats and regional analysts said the group was merely a front organization created by the main Shiite militias in Iraq.

Following the rocket attack on the Irbil base, Iraq's Balad air base came under rocket fire days later, where a U.S. defense firm services the country's fighter jets, and then two rockets landed near the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad.

Iran has rejected any connection to the rocket attacks.

In a phone call Tuesday between Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the two leaders agreed that "that those responsible for such attacks must be held fully to account," according to a White House readout of the conversation.

Dennis Ross, a former senior U.S. diplomat who worked on Middle East policy under several presidents, said the administration had lowered the risk of causing friction with the Iraqi government by hitting targets in Syria.

"By striking facilities used by the militias just across the border in Syria, the risk of blowback against the Iraqi gov is reduced," Ross tweeted.
Dan De Luce, Mosheh Gains and Kristen Welker reported from Washington; Ali Arouzi and Adela Suliman reported from London; Amin Hossein Khodadadi reported from Tehran; and Charlene Gubash reported from Cairo. The Associated Press contributed.

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Biden orders strikes in Syria, retaliating against Iran-backed groups

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WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden on Thursday ordered airstrikes on buildings in Syria that the Pentagon said were used by Iranian-backed militias, in retaliation for rocket attacks on U.S. targets in neighboring Iraq. The strikes killed at least 22 people, London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday, citing unconfirmed local reports.

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On Tuesday, Tiger Woods got into a car crash. He went to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center but was recently transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for "continuing orthopedic care and recovery."

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tiger woods accident: pro golfers express their support as he is transferred to another hospital - cnn

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Tiger Woods is transferred to a new LA hospital as fellow golfers express their hopes for full recovery

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Following a single-car accident Tuesday morning in California that resulted in significant leg injuries and requiring an extraction from his vehicle by first responders, Tiger Woods now begins the arduous process of rehabilitation after moving to another hospital.

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Beginning Wednesday, the Dunkin Donuts chain has added avocado toast to its menu at all US locations. Dunkin' said the $2.99 item features a "creamy, mouthwatering avocado spread" consisting of avocado, sea salt, black pepper and a hint of lemon juice.

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dunkin' is now selling avocado toast - cnn

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Dunkin' is certainly appeasing avocado-craving millennials with its new menu item.