An employee of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent an email Wednesday that mistakenly included plans to terminate more than 150 research grants related to child and family well-being. The grants are administered by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation and distributed across the country. A spokesperson for HHS said the list contained “outdated and pre-decisional information” but did not deny that some grants could be cut. The grants had been awarded to more than 50 universities, as well as nonprofits and some state and local agencies. Many of them were studying issues like improvements to the Head Start program for low-income children, child care policy and child abuse prevention.

The Lynchburg Police Department is investigating after a bomb threat was made toward Heritage High School on Monday.

Migrants are processed at the intake area of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, the main detention center for unaccompanied children in the Rio Grande Valley, in Donna, Texas, Tuesday, March 30, 2021. Oscar Escamilla, acting executive officer of the U.S. Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley, said 250 to 300 kids enter daily and far fewer leave. Border Patrol agents asked them if they had a contact in the U.S. and allowed the child to call that person. The Border Patrol generally is not supposed to detain children for more than three days, but Health and Human Services lacks space. More than 2,000 kids have been at the Donna facility for more than 72 hours, including 39 for more than 15 days.

These emergency sites don't have to be licensed by state authorities or provide the same services as permanent HHS facilities. HHS’ inspector general warned then that FBI fingerprint checks “provide a unique safeguard” over most commercial background checks that search a person’s name. “While the various background checks could identify some past criminal convictions or sexual offenses, these checks were not as extensive as the FBI fingerprint background checks,” the inspector general found. The Red Cross and HHS for several days refused to acknowledge that the volunteers weren’t given FBI fingerprint checks. The Red Cross first said that all of its volunteers underwent background checks when they joined the group.

WASHINGTON – Up soon for President-elect Joe Biden: naming his top health care officials as the coronavirus pandemic rages. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus made a fresh push during a virtual conference call Thursday for Biden to nominate Lujan Grisham as HHS secretary. Biden is expected to announce his choice for HHS secretary next week. In the running for a top health job is former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, co-chair of Biden's coronavirus task force. Alongside his health secretary, Biden is expected to name a top-level White House adviser to coordinate the government’s extensive coronavirus response.