Miss a day, miss a lot. Subscribe to The Defender's Top News of the Day. It's free.

Pennsylvania Legislature Passes Vaccine Passport Ban, Limits on Secretary of Health, Gov. Wolf Plans Veto

Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported:

Citing government overreach and intrusions into citizen privacy, the Republican-controlled General Assembly on Thursday passed a ban on many uses of “vaccine passports” and a halt to the secretary of health’s ability to issue masking, social-distancing and travel-limiting orders to people who are not sick.

The final approval in the Senate by a party-line vote of 29-21 included one independent senator siding with 28 Republicans, and all Democrats voting “no.”

The bill already has been approved in a similar party-line vote by the House. It will head to the desk of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who plans to veto it.

Ohio House Passes Controversial Bill to Ban Vaccine Requirements

WOSU Public Media reported:

The Ohio House on Thursday approved a controversial bill to ban employers from making workers get vaccinated. Although the bill was tweaked to satisfy critics.

Earlier this week, the bill that would prevent businesses and schools from requiring employees or students to get vaccinations stalled in committee. Now, the House has passed a similar measure by tacking an amendment onto a Senate approved bill.

College Vaccine Mandates Rile GOP States

Politico reported:

Conservative state lawmakers are moving to block public and private universities from requiring returning students to have proof of COVID vaccinations or get the vaccine itself, in a push that could complicate President Joe Biden’s effort to get shots to young adults.

Executive orders or legislation in states like Arizona and Florida ban universities from mandating students show proof of vaccination status and come as the more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus is surging. College-age Americans have the lowest vaccination rates and are least likely to make plans to get a shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

San Francisco Leaders Receive Backlash After Vaccine Mandate

KRON Channel 4 San Francisco reported:

San Francisco leaders are receiving backlash to its latest vaccine mandate for city employees.

A group that represents Black city employees calls the mandate harsh and insensitive.

They’re known as the Black Employee Alliance and Coalition Against Anti-Blackness and they represent more than 400 Black employees in the city.

They say their members shouldn’t have to choose between a vaccine and their job, especially considering the historical medical treatment of African Americans.

Google Delays Phase Out of Tracking Tech by Nearly 2 Years

AP News reported:

Google will delay by nearly two years the phase out of Chrome web browser technology that tracks users for ad purposes, saying that it needs more time to develop a replacement system.

The tech giant on Thursday moved its deadline to remove so-called third-party cookies to late 2023 rather than January 2022 as was initially planned.

Amazon and Google Are Being Investigated for Failing to Remove Fake Product Reviews

CNN Business reported:

British regulators are investigating whether Amazon and Google have broken consumer protection law by not doing enough to protect shoppers from fake product reviews.

The probe is the latest in a string of investigations piling up against tech giants around the world, as officials and policymakers scrutinize claims of anti-competitive behavior. The investigations could result in hefty fines and increase pressure on companies including Facebook (FB) and Apple (AAPL) to change the way they do business.

Russia Mandates Vaccinations for Some as Virus Cases Surge

AP News reported:

They tried grocery giveaways and lotteries for new cars and apartments. But an ambitious plan of vaccinating 30 million Russians by mid-June still has fallen short by a third.

So now, many regional governments across the vast country are obligating some workers to get vaccinated and requiring the shots to enter certain businesses, like restaurants.

Israel Prepares to Reinstate Mask Mandate as Delta Variant Drives New COVID Surge

Forbes reported:

Israel is set to reinstate an indoor mask mandate in a bid to contain outbreaks of COVID-19, the latest setback for one of the world’s most vaccinated countries as the infectious Delta variant drives a surge of cases in children and vaccinated people.

The mandate will be restored when the average number of daily COVID-19 cases over the course of a week exceeds 100, Israel’s health ministry said Thursday, a threshold its public health director Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis believes will be met Sunday.