>>Maria Jimenez Moya, Campbell Robertson, Erin Coulehan and James Dobbins, The New York Times
Published: 04 Mar 2021 12:00 PM BdST
Updated: 04 Mar 2021 12:00 PM BdST
US President Joe Biden speaks to the press before a bipartisan meeting on cancer legislation in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, March 3, 2021. Brendan Smialowski/Pool via REUTERS
President Joe Biden on Wednesday strongly criticised the decisions by the governors of Texas and Mississippi to lift statewide mask mandates, calling the plans “a big mistake” that reflected “Neanderthal thinking,” as his administration tries to manage the pandemic while state leaders set their own plans.