Biden administration poised to lift monkeypox emergency declaration

The Biden administration plans to end the public health emergency for monkeypox, officials said Friday, as new cases of the viral disease plummet.

Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services issued a 60-day notice to lift the emergency declaration, which had gone into effect in August.

Nearly 30,000 Americans have been infected by the monkeypox virus since the start of a global outbreak in the spring, and 17 people have died. Cases largely have been concentrated in gay men who contracted the virus during sex.

The virus has not spread widely among the broader public, as authorities feared. Fewer than 10 cases a day are being reported, compared with more than 450 a day in early August.

Health officials stressed that the end of an emergency declaration does not mean the threat of monkeypox has passed. And they noted they may keep the emergency in place if there is a resurgence of infections.

Man arrested in fatal shooting of Takeoff

A 33-year-old man was arrested on a murder charge in the shooting of rapper Takeoff, who police on Friday said was an “innocent bystander” when he was struck by gunfire outside a Houston bowling alley.

Patrick Xavier Clark was taken into custody peacefully Thursday night, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said. Mr. Clark’s arrest came one day after another man was charged in connection with the Nov. 1 shooting, which authorities said followed a dispute over a dice game and wounded two other people.

Mr. Clark was being held in jail Friday awaiting a bond hearing.

Born Kirsnick Khari Ball, Takeoff was the youngest member of Migos, the Grammy-nominated rap trio from suburban Atlanta that also featured his uncle Quavo and cousin Offset.

G-7 joins EU on Russian oil price cap

The Group of Seven nations and Australia agreed Friday to adopt a $60-perbarrel price cap on Russian oil, acting shortly after the European Union reached unanimous agreement on the same price earlier in the day.

The move is a key step as Western sanctions aim to reorder the global oil market to prevent price spikes and starve President Vladimir Putin of funding for his war in Ukraine.

Europe needed to set the discounted price that other nations will pay by Monday, when an EU embargo on Russian oil shipped by sea and a ban on insurance for those supplies take effect.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement that the agreement will help nations participating in the plan achieve the goal of restricting Mr. Putin’s “primary source of revenue for his illegal war in Ukraine while simultaneously preserving the stability of global energy supplies.”

“Today’s announcement is the culmination of months of effort by our coalition, and I commend the hard work of our partners in achieving this outcome,” she said.