Republicans respond with hostility following masking guidance from public health officials

(AP) – Republicans are responding with hostility to new masking guidance from public health officials. It’s opening a new front in the cultural war over COVID-19 restrictions just as efforts to try to persuade large swaths of unvaccinated Americans to get the shots appeared to be making headway. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday recommended that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors if they live in areas with high rates of virus transmission. Republican governors from Texas to South Dakota slammed the advice as wrong-headed. And on Capitol Hill, clashes between members devolved into insults and screaming matches.