Biden to Hold Moment of Silence

(Newser) – The US is within hours of hitting the grim milestone of 500,000 deaths from COVID-19, and President Biden plans to honor the half-million US victims of the coronavirus with a moment of silence Monday night. He'll first offer remarks at the White House, and after the moment of silence a candle-lighting ceremony will be held at sundown, sources tell Axios. "In the evening, the President will deliver remarks on the lives lost to COVID-19 in the Cross Hall. The First Lady, the Vice President, and the Second Gentleman will be in attendance," reads a White House statement cited by the Hill. The US has the most coronavirus deaths of any country in the world, followed by Brazil with roughly half. Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN on Sunday that Americans might need to be wearing masks into 2022. (Read more coronavirus stories.)