Summary
- The trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin continued in Minneapolis. Witnesses who saw Chauvin keep his knee on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes testified about the events of 25 May. Donald Williams told the court that he called 911 after seeing the violence because “I believed I witnessed a murder.”
- The Republican governor of Arkansas announced he is lifting the statewide mask mandate. The announcement came a day after Joe Biden urged state and local leaders to maintain or reinstate mask orders, due to the country’s recent uptick in coronavirus cases. “I’m reiterating my call for every governor, mayor, and local leader to maintain and reinstate the mask mandate,” the president said yesterday. “Please, this is not politics. Reinstate the mandate if you let it down.”
- Biden is set to outline his proposed infrastructure package in a speech in Pittsburgh tomorrow. The president is expected to call for spending more than $3tn to improve the nation’s infrastructure systems. Congressional committees are reportedly being briefed on the proposal today.
- The US and the UK signed on to a statement criticizing the World Health Organization’s report on the origins of coronavirus. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that China had “not been transparent” with the WHO about the early days of its coronavirus outbreak. She urged the WHO to take further steps to better understand the origins of the virus.
- Biden outlined a series of new actions to address the recent surge in anti-Asian violence across the US. The president said his administration will establish a coronavirus equity task force focused on ending xenophobia against Asian Americans and launch a justice department cross-agency initiative to address anti-Asian violence.
- The justice department is investigating Matt Gaetz. The New York Times reported that investigators are looking into whether the Republican representative of Florida had a sexual relationship with a minor and whether he violated sex trafficking laws by paying her to travel with him, the New York Times reports.
- States are lifting mask mandates, against federal advice. Arizona and Arkansas are the latest Republican-led states to lift mask requirements even as the CDC urges people to continue wearing masks to slow spread to unvaccinated people.
– Joan E Greve and Maanvi Singh
Updated
In a keenly awaited memoir, Joe Biden’s son Hunter attacks Donald Trump as “a vile man with a vile mission” who plumbed “unprecedented depths” in last year’s US presidential election.
Hunter, 51, is a lawyer and businessman who has been the focus of Republican bile ever since Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani sought information on his business dealings in Ukraine to use in the 2020 campaign.
On the page, Biden insists he did nothing wrong in joining in April 2014 the board of Burisma, the gas company at the heart of the Ukraine affair. He dismisses the controversy as “remarkable for its epic banality”. But he says he would not do so again.
He found the company’s role as a bulwark against Russian aggression under Vladimir Putin “inspiring”, though the five-figures a month fee was also a factor. Biden acknowledges that his famous surname was considered “gold” by Burisma. “To put it more bluntly,” he writes, “having a Biden on Burisma’s board was a loud and unmistakable fuck-you to Putin.”
Giuliani’s search for dirt saw Trump impeached – and acquitted – for the first time. Republican attacks on Hunter Biden have continued, focusing on his business dealings and also his troubled personal life, including well-known struggles with drink and drug addiction and recently a decision to purchase a gun which became part of a domestic dispute.
Biden’s memoir, Beautiful Things, deals with such personal issues as well as the deaths of his mother and sister in a car crash in 1973 and that of his older brother, Delaware attorney general Beau Biden, from brain cancer in 2015. The book will be published next week. The Guardian obtained a copy.
Read more:
Ever so slightly, the Atlanta Falcons broke with most other major companies in Georgia and issued a statement supporting voting rights in Georgia.
“Every voice and every vote matters and should be heard through our democratic process in Georgia. The right to vote is simply sacred. We should be working to make voting easier, not harder for every eligible citizen,” said Arthur Blank, the team’s owner, in a statement.
“To that end, AMBSE leadership, along with our nonprofit partners, conveyed that ideal directly to state officials in recent weeks. Our businesses and family foundation will continue to actively support efforts that advance voting access for the citizens of Georgia and across the nation.”
Georgia governor Brian Kemp signed a sweeping measure last week that requires voters to provide ID when they vote by mail, shortens the mail-in voting period, allows for unlimited voter challenges, and bans providing food or water to people standing in line to vote.
Georgia activists for weeks have been pressuring major companies in the state, including Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Home Depot, UPS, Aflac and Southern Company to take a stand opposing the bills. Many of those companies have declined to forcefully speak out against the measure, saying they support balancing voter access with election integrity. Some activists have recently begun calling for a boycott of Coca-Cola over its stance.
Updated
Matt Gaetz has confirmed that he is under federal investigation.
The Trump-allied Republican representative of Florida told Axios: “The allegations against me are as searing as they are false. I believe that there are people at the Department of Justice who are trying to criminalize my sexual conduct, you know when I was a single guy.”
Gaetz, 38, is being investigated by the justice department over whether he violated federal sex trafficking laws, and whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old, the New York Times reported.
The representative claimed the allegations against him were false and that he was being extorted, Axios reported. The outlet had earlier reported earlier today that Gaetz had been mulling resignation.
Updated
US vaccine distribution: track your state's progress
Rashida Kamal and Alvin Chang report:
The Guardian has visualized the proportion of vaccinated population in each state from data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The represented proportions reflect the overall state population. Children are not eligible to be vaccinated, though scientists believe they can spread Covid-19.
Read more:
The Justice Department is investigating whether Matt Gaetz, the Republican representative of Florida, had a sexual relationship with a minor and whether he violated sex trafficking laws by paying her to travel with him, the New York Times reports.
Based on interviews with three people briefed on the matter, the Times reports:
Investigators are examining whether Mr. Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws, the people said. A variety of federal statutes make it illegal to induce someone under 18 to travel over state lines to engage in sex in exchange for money or something of value. The Justice Department regularly prosecutes such cases, and offenders often receive severe sentences.
It was not clear how Mr. Gaetz met the girl, believed to be 17 at the time of encounters about two years ago that investigators are scrutinizing, according to two of the people.
The investigation was opened in the final months of the Trump administration under Attorney General William P. Barr, the two people said. Given Mr. Gaetz’s national profile, senior Justice Department officials in Washington — including some appointed by Mr. Trump — were notified of the investigation, the people said.
The three people said that the examination of Mr. Gaetz, 38, is part of a broader investigation into a political ally of his, a local official in Florida named Joel Greenberg, who was indicted last summer on an array of charges, including sex trafficking of a child and financially supporting people in exchange for sex, at least one of whom was an underage girl.
Mr. Greenberg, who has since resigned his post as tax collector in Seminole County, north of Orlando, visited the White House with Mr. Gaetz in 2019, according to a photograph that Mr. Greenberg posted on Twitter.
No charges have been brought against Mr. Gaetz, and the extent of his criminal exposure is unclear.
Read more from the Times’ Michael S Schmidt and Katie Benner here.
Updated
Today so far
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- The trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin continued in Minneapolis. Witnesses who saw Chauvin keep his knee on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes testified about the events of 25 May. Donald Williams told the court that he called 911 after seeing the violence because “I believed I witnessed a murder.”
- The Republican governor of Arkansas announced he is lifting the statewide mask mandate. The announcement came a day after Joe Biden urged state and local leaders to maintain or reinstate mask orders, due to the country’s recent uptick in coronavirus cases. “I’m reiterating my call for every governor, mayor, and local leader to maintain and reinstate the mask mandate,” the president said yesterday. “Please, this is not politics. Reinstate the mandate if you let it down.”
- Biden is set to outline his proposed infrastructure package in a speech in Pittsburgh tomorrow. The president is expected to call for spending more than $3 trillion to improve the nation’s infrastructure systems. Congressional committees are reportedly being briefed on the proposal today.
- The US and the UK signed on to a statement criticizing the World Health Organization’s report on the origins of coronavirus. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that China had “not been transparent” with the WHO about the early days of its coronavirus outbreak. She urged the WHO to take further steps to better understand the origins of the virus.
- Biden outlined a series of new actions to address the recent surge in anti-Asian violence across the US. The president said his administration will establish a coronavirus equity task force focused on ending xenophobia against Asian Americans and launch a justice department cross-agency initiative to address anti-Asian violence.
Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Updated
States, president at odds over Covid risks, restrictions
Several states are pointedly ignoring the latest coronavirus warnings and fears voiced by Joe Biden and the government’s public health experts, as they disagree with the White House and amongst themselves.
Earlier today, Arkansas announced it would lift its statewide mask mandate, which has been in place to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, despite the US president pleading with state and local leaders to maintain or reinstate mask mandates as US infections rise again.
But other moves are afoot. The Republican-controlled Arizona senate voted yesterday to rescind its mandatory mask policy, the Associated Press reported.
Alabama governor Kay Ivey intends for her state’s mask mandate to end on 9 April as planned, though she urged people to wear masks as a matter of personal responsibility.
“We have made progress, and we are moving towards personal responsibility and common sense, not endless government mandates,” said Gina Maiola, Ivey’s spokeswoman.
Meanwhile, the Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, said he would appeal to his Republican counterpart in neighboring Tennessee, Governor Eric Holcomb, to reconsider his move to drop that state’s mask mandate.
“Kentuckians are going to be more at risk if Tennesseans are not under a mask mandate,” Beshear said.
Infections are currently rising in around 30 US states, compared with 20 states last week.
Updated
Arkansas governor lifts mask mandate as Biden urges states to remain vigilant
The Republican governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, announced today that he is lifting the statewide mask mandate.
Hutchinson said recent data on coronavirus case numbers in the state had led him to conclude that the mandate was no longer necessary.
“Please be respectful and mindful that while the mask mandate is lifted, many will continue to wear it and many businesses will continue to require it,” Hutchinson said at a press conference. “We need to honor those decisions.”
President Biden yesterday: Masks, please.
— The Recount (@therecount) March 30, 2021
Gov. Asa Hutchison (R-AR) today: pic.twitter.com/m20KMNVedE
The announcement comes one day after Joe Biden pleaded with state and local leaders to maintain or reinstate mask mandates, due to recent alarming trends in US coronavirus case numbers.
“I’m reiterating my call for every governor, mayor, and local leader to maintain and reinstate the mask mandate,” the president said. “Please, this is not politics. Reinstate the mandate if you let it down.”
The president echoed concerns shared by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hours earlier.
“I’m going to lose the script, and I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom,” Dr Rochelle Walensky said at a briefing from the White House coronavirus response team.
“We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are, and so much reason for hope. But right now I’m scared.”
During her press briefing this afternoon, Jen Psaki also criticized the World Health Organization’s report on the origins of coronavirus.
The White House press secretary said China had “not been transparent” about the early days of its coronavirus outbreak.
“They have not provided underlying data,” Psaki said of China.
WATCH: @PressSec says the @WHO COVID-19 origins report "doesn't lead us to a closer understanding or greater knowledge than six months ago about the origins", adding that China has "not been transparent, they have not provided underlying data" on the virus. pic.twitter.com/6KRK7112zn
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 30, 2021
She added that the WHO report “doesn’t lead us to any closer of an understanding or greater knowledge than we had six to nine months ago about the origin” of the virus.
Psaki urged the WHO to take further steps to better understand how coronavirus started spreading among humans in late 2019.
“There’s a second stage in this process that we believe should be led by international and independent experts,” Psaki said. “They should have unfettered access to data. They should be able to ask questions of people who are on the ground at this point in time, and that’s a step the WHO could take.”
UK and US criticise WHO's Covid report and accuse China of withholding data
The US and the UK have sharply criticised a World Health Organization report into the beginnings of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan, implicitly accusing China of “withholding access to complete, original data and samples”.
The statement, also signed by 12 other countries including Australia and Canada, came hard on the heels of an admission on Tuesday by the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, that the investigation was “not extensive enough” and experts had struggled to access raw information during their four-week visit to Wuhan in January.
Tedros also said there should be continued examination of the theory that the virus had escaped from a Wuhan institute of virology laboratory, even though the report deemed it “extremely unlikely” as a source of the pandemic – a theory promoted by some in the Trump administration.
The long-awaited report by experts appointed by the WHO and their Chinese counterparts said the global pandemic probably came to humans from animals.
The statement by the 14 countries, which criticised delays in the investigation, called for timely access for independent experts early in future pandemics, and once again underlined the highly contentious politics around the investigation during which WHO experts gained access to China after months of fraught negotiations.
The Biden administration is briefing congressional committees today on the president’s proposed infrastructure package, according to Punchbowl News.
🚨NEW … The White House is briefing committees on Capitol Hill today about @JoeBiden’s infrastructure bill.
— Punchbowl News (@PunchbowlNews) March 30, 2021
From @JakeSherman and @bresreports
Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver a speech outlining his proposal tomorrow in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The White House has signaled it hopes the package will attract bipartisan support, but Democrats are also making plans to go it alone if Republicans oppose the bill, as is widely expected.
Witness at Chauvin trial: 'I felt like there wasn’t anything I could do as a bystander'
The prosecution’s questioning of witnesses through the second day of the Derek Chauvin murder trial has sought to establish several themes.
One is that police officers did nothing to help George Floyd, despite his growing distress and struggle to breathe as Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.
Prosecutors also sought to head off defence claims that Chauvin’s actions were influenced by threats to his and other officers’ safety from an increasingly alarmed crowd of bystanders.
A succession of witnesses described attempts to intervene, and admonitions from the crowd directed at Chauvin and other officers, as intended to help Floyd, not threaten the police.
The fourth witness of the day, a young woman who was identified on the public feed of the trial only by her first name, Alissa, because she was 17 at the time of Floyd’s death, told the court she started to film the incident because she was aware the situation was deteriorating.
“A lot of people looked in distress on the sidewalk. And George [Floyd] looked in distress,” she said. “He looked like he was fighting to breathe.”
Alissa said she appealed to Chauvin to stop when she saw the officer pushing his knee deeper into Floyd’s neck.
“His eyes were starting to roll to the back of his head and he had saliva coming out of his mouth,” she said.
Alissa testified about the content of the phone video she recorded as it was played back to her in bursts. At times the distress in the voice of members of the public can be heard as some demand that the police check Floyd’s pulse.
At one point in her testimony, Alissa paused because she was crying, and said it was difficult to talk about because of the emotional toll of what she witnessed.
“I felt like there wasn’t anything I could do as a bystander. I felt like I was failing him,” she said.
Senator Ben Cardin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate small business committee, applauded Joe Biden for signing the PPP Extension Act into law.
“PPP has supported millions of small businesses through the pandemic, and it is clear that the program must continue to be a lifeline for small businesses and nonprofits,” Cardin said in a statement.
“It is vital that we in Congress continue working in a bipartisan manner to fine-tune PPP in the weeks ahead to make the program more fair and equitable.”
The Paycheck Protection Program was created by the first coronavirus relief package to help small businesses that were forced to close their doors because of the pandemic.
The program has received some criticism for distributing funds to large companies, and the Biden administration has worked to get PPP money to small businesses.
Biden signs bill to extend deadline for small business loan program
Moments ago, Joe Biden signed a bill extending the deadline to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program, a small business loan program created by the first coronavirus relief package.
The bill also grants the Small Business Administration additional time to process PPP applications.
Biden signed the legislation in the Oval Office, as Vice-President Kamala Harris and SBA administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman looked on.
The president described the bill as “a bipartisan accomplishment,” noting that 90,000 businesses are waiting in line to receive PPP assistance.
He specifically thanked Senators Ben Cardin, Jeanne Shaheen, Marco Rubio and Susan Collins for championing the legislation.
The president did not answer any of the questions shouted by reporters as they were escorted out of the Oval Office.
Chauvin trial – morning report
A key prosecution witness this morning told the trial of the former police officer accused of killing George Floyd that he called the emergency services during the incident because “I believed I witnessed a murder”.
Donald Williams, a mixed martial arts fighter, said that as a bystander he pleaded with the then Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, to stop what he termed a dangerous “blood choke” as he knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.
“You could see that he was going through tremendous pain,” Williams said of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man. “You could see his eyes go back in his head … You could see he was trying to gasp for air.”
Chauvin, 45, who is white, has denied charges of second- and third-degree murder, and manslaughter, over the death of Floyd last May. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges.
Updated
The Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, a leading Trump ally in the fight against Republicans who turned, a persistent media troll and a prodigious owner of libs, is reported to be considering dropping out of Congress to go work for Newsmax.
According to Axios, “Gaetz has told some of his allies he’s interested in becoming a media personality, and floated taking a role at Newsmax. One [source] said Gaetz has had early conversations with the network about what a position could look like.”
Newsmax is the Trumpier-even-than-Fox-News network which surged among rightwing viewers around Trump’s election defeat. Unlike Fox News, it has not yet been sued by Dominion Voting Systems over Trump’s lies about electoral fraud, lies which Gaetz has backed, including voting against certifying Joe Biden’s electoral college win.
Gaetz is apparently considering a decision not to run for re-election himself next year. He has previously considered running for higher office. Axios reports that a move to Newsmax could be meant to boost his chances of so doing.
Here’s David Smith, meanwhile, on a Florida Republican who seems to be ahead of Young Matt in the queue – although, one supposes, should Ron DeSantis run for the presidential nomination in some Trump-free 2024 primary, maybe that will leave an opening for a Governor Gaetz…
Updated
Today so far
The White House press briefing has now ended. Here’s where the day stands so far:
- The trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin continued in Minneapolis. Witnesses who saw Chauvin keep his knee on George Floyd’s neck for several minutes testified about the events of May 25, 2020. Donald Williams told the court that he called 911 after seeing the violence because “I believed I witnessed a murder.”
- Joe Biden is set to outline his proposed infrastructure package in a speech in Pittsburgh tomorrow. The president is expected to call for spending more than $3 trillion to improve the nation’s infrastructure systems.
- Biden outlined a series of new actions to address the recent surge in anti-Asian violence across the US. The president said his administration will establish a coronavirus equity task force focused on ending xenophobia against Asian Americans and launch a justice department cross-agency initiative to address anti-Asian violence.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Jen Psaki announced that the Biden administration is expanding the pause on student loan interest and collections to the more than 1 million Americans who are in default on a loan that was made by a private lender.
The press secretary said that action would particularly help 800,000 borrowers who are at risk of having their tax refunds seized because of their loans.
WH Press Sec. Jen Psaki announces the Biden admin is expanding a pause on federal student loan interest and collections for about 800,000 borrowers with defaulted loans.
— The Recount (@therecount) March 30, 2021
She adds: “The president continues to call on Congress to cancel $10k in debt for student loan borrowers.” pic.twitter.com/mND5AdHhxl
Psaki added, “The president continues to call on Congress to cancel $10,000 in debt for student loan borrowers.”
A number of progressive lawmakers, including Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, have called for canceling $50,000 in student loan debt for borrowers, but Biden has stuck to his $10,000 proposal.
A reporter asked Jen Psaki why Joe Biden’s latest actions to address anti-Asian violence did not include appointing more AAPI community members to senior leadership roles.
The reporter noted that Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat of Illinois, has called on Biden to nominate more AAPI community members to key posts. Duckworth recently said she was “offended” by the White House’s assertion during a call with her that Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris, who is Indian-American, as vice-president met those requests for AAPI representation.
Psaki said the White House has had a “range of conversations” with Duckworth since that initial call, and she pointed to the White House’s creation of a senior-level AAPI liaison role as a key step forward.
Jen Psaki was pressed on how Joe Biden plans to address gun violence in America, after the recent mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder.
The reporter noted that today marks 40 years since a shooter attempted to assassinate then-President Ronald Reagan.
The White House press secretary said Biden is working with Congress on background checks bills and is still considering potential executive orders aimed at ending gun violence.
Asked whether Biden plans to visit Boulder anytime soon, Psaki said the White House is still trying to coordinate a trip with local officials.
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, is now holding her daily briefing with reporters.
Psaki noted that Joe Biden will today sign a bill extending the Paycheck Protection Program, a small business loan program established by the first coronavirus relief package.
The press secretary also highlighted the president’s announcement yesterday that 90% of American adults will be eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine by April 19.
Joe Biden will also reestablish the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to confront the recent rise in anti-Asian violence.
“Across our nation, an outpouring of grief and outrage continues at the horrific violence and xenophobia perpetrated against Asian American communities, especially Asian American women and girls,” the White House said in its statement about the initiatives.
“As President Biden said during his first prime time address, anti-Asian violence and xenophobia is wrong, it’s un-American, and it must stop.”
Biden announces new actions to address anti-Asian violence
Joe Biden has announced a series of new initiatives to address the recent rise in anti-Asian violence in America.
According to a statement released by the White House, the Biden administration will invest nearly $50 million in programs to assist survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
The president is also establishing a coronavirus equity task force focused on ending xenophobia against Asian Americans, as well as a justice department cross-agency initiative to address anti-Asian violence.
The announcement from the White House comes amid a surge in the number of hate-related incidents reported by Asian Americans. Two weeks ago, a gunman carried out a series of shootings at three Atlanta spas, killing eight people, six of whom were Asian women.
The next four witnesses at Derek Chauvin’s trial are not being shown on camera because of their age.
Instead, those watching the trial can only hear the voices of the young witnesses, who are testifying about George Floyd’s final moments as Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck.
Darnella Frazier, who filmed the attack on Floyd, became emotional as she recounted seeing him “terrified, scared, begging for his life.” She said she escorted her cousin into a nearby store because she didn’t want her to see the violence unfold.
“It wasn’t right,” Frazier said. “He was suffering. He was in pain.”
Chauvin trial witness too young to be broadcast, in tears, says she told her younger cousin to flee the scene when she saw George Floyd:
— The Recount (@therecount) March 30, 2021
“It wasn’t right. [Floyd] was suffering, he was in pain.” pic.twitter.com/mJLJI9dXby
PBS reporter Yamiche Alcindor reflected upon these four young people being asked to testify at a murder trial:
The next four witnesses, who watched George Floyd plead for his life as Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck, are not being shown on camera because they are so young.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) March 30, 2021
Let that sink in.
Too young to be shown on camera but witnesses in a murder trial.
Updated
Former secretary of state Mike Pompeo has offered his endorsement to a legislative candidate in New Hampshire, which just so happens to be the first presidential primary state.
“Honored to support Bill Boyd for the New Hampshire State Legislature. He is a man of action and will serve Merrimack with excellence,” Pompeo said in a tweet.
Honored to support Bill Boyd for the New Hampshire State Legislature. He is a man of action and will serve Merrimack with excellence. #NHPolitics @NHGOP @BillBoydIII @Mowers
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) March 30, 2021
Pompeo, who served as a fierce defender of Donald Trump’s “America first” agenda while leading the state department, has been named as a likely Republican presidential candidate in 2024.
Last week, Pompeo also paid a visit to Iowa, where the first presidential caucuses are held, sparking more 2024 speculation.
Joe Biden’s infrastructure package, which he will lay out in a speech tomorrow in Pittsburgh, is expected to cost more than $3 trillion.
The president hopes the proposal can attract bipartisan support, but Republicans have already signaled some opposition to the scope of the package, as well as Biden’s ideas about paying for the legislation by rolling back some Trump-era tax cuts.
The AP has more details on the administration’s legislative strategy:
Though the White House is emphasizing the urgency, it also insists this will not be considered an emergency response like the $1.9 trillion virus relief bill that Biden signed into law over Republican objections earlier this month. The administration wants to see progress on the new legislation by Memorial Day and have it passed over the summer, White House officials said. ...
As the committees in Congress begin to tackle individual provisions — including those on transportation, China and others — the White House will encourage those efforts. Then it will work through the tax increases separately, according to officials.
Administration officials are sending signals that the White House will listen to suggestions and criticism alike from both parties and that significant changes could occur during the legislative process.
At the same time, congressional leaders are preparing a go-it-alone strategy, much as was done in the virus aid package, in case Congress hits a wall of GOP opposition.
Michael Sainato reports for the Guardian:
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, the telecoms giant AT&T has announced permanent closures of hundreds of retail stores around the US and laid off thousands of workers.
The closures and losses include 320 company-owned retail stores announced in November and December 2020 and 250 stores announced in June 2020, including an estimated 3,400 cuts in technician, clerical, managerial and executive roles.
The moves come despite the company’s keen support for a major corporate tax cut under Donald Trump, which it claimed would spur it to create jobs – not cut them.
AT&T is also closing dozens of retail stores this spring around the US, including three stores in the Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota, area where workers and their union, the Communications Workers of America Local 7250, are pushing back against the cuts.
“It’s a move that will erase living wage jobs replaced by non-union, substandard jobs in terms of wages, benefits and safety,” said the CWA Local 7250 president, Kieran Knutson. “It’s an attack on this group of workers, the communities that they’re in and on our union.”
Witness at Chauvin trial: 'I believed I witnessed a murder'
The second day of Derek Chauvin’s trial has now started in Minneapolis, where the former police officer is facing murder charges in connection to the killing of George Floyd.
Prosecutors are now questioning Donald Williams, who saw Chauvin put his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes.
In the video of Floyd’s final moments, Williams can be heard yelling angrily at Chauvin, pleading with the officer to stop.
Asked why he was yelling at Chauvin, Williams said it was because Chauvin offered “no response” to his pleas and he was worried for Floyd’s safety.
Williams confirmed that he made a 911 call after he saw the violence unfold. Asked why he called 911, Williams said, “Because I believed I witnessed a murder.”
Williams wiped tears from his eyes as he heard his 911 call played in court.
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, noted that four of the judicial nominees announced by Joe Biden today are members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
In addition to being among the brightest minds in the American legal profession, 4 nominees have served as public defenders, 4 are members of the AAPI community, if confirmed 1 nom would be the first Muslim-American judicial nominee in history.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 30, 2021
Biden has been criticized by fellow Democrats for not nominating more AAPI community members to senior roles in his administration.
Last week, Democratic Senators Tammy Duckworth and Mazie Hirono threatened to oppose Biden’s nominees unless he named more AAPI community members to key leadership positions. Their comments came days after a shooter in Atlanta killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women.
The senators backed off their threat after the White House announced it would appoint a senior-level liaison to the AAPI community.
I welcome the appointment of a senior level White House liaison to the AAPI community to further strengthen our voice.
— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) March 24, 2021
I had a productive conversation with the White House today to make clear my perspective about the importance of diversity in the President’s cabinet. https://t.co/yq2MAUXBl5
Arkansas lawmakers on Monday passed the most sweeping ban on transgender healthcare in the US, with legislation that restricts trans kids’ access to gender-affirming care and punishes doctors who treat them.
It’s one of dozens of states where Republicans are pushing legislation that seeks to restrict trans youths’ access to sports teams that match their gender and outlaw gender-affirming healthcare. As the bills advance, trans kids are increasingly speaking out on the effects these efforts have on their lives, with some traveling to their state capitals to demand a voice in the debate.
Here, trans kids and their families reflect on their experiences, the role sports and trans healthcare play in their lives, and their fight for equality:
The progressive group Demand Justice has released a video praising Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who has been nominated to serve on the influential US appeals court for the DC circuit.
The video highlights Jackson’s work overseeing cases involving subpoenas of Trump administration officials, such as former White House counsel Don McGahn.
“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is a former public defender, an unflinching champion for justice, and Joe Biden’s nominee to the second highest court in the United States,” Demand Justice said in a tweet.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is a former public defender, an unflinching champion for justice, and Joe Biden's nominee to the second highest court in the United States. pic.twitter.com/O6bvsFE1JQ
— Demand Justice (@WeDemandJustice) March 30, 2021
A group of Democrats launched Demand Justice after Senate Republicans refused to grant Merrick Garland a hearing in 2016, after Barack Obama nominated him to the supreme court.
Jackson has been nominated to fill the seat of Garland, now the attorney general, on the appeals court, and she has been named as a potential supreme court nominee if Stephen Breyer retires.
Trial of George Floyd's killer continues in Minneapolis
The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd, will continue today, after lawyers delivered their opening statements yesterday.
The Guardian’s Chris McGreal and Amudalat Ajasa report on the first day of the trial from Minneapolis:
Prosecutors accused [Chauvin] of killing a defenceless George Floyd by ‘grinding and crushing him until the very breath, the very life, was squeezed out of him’, at the opening on Monday of a murder trial regarded by millions as a litmus test of US police accountability.
The prosecutor, Jerry Blackwell, told the jury that the death of Floyd last May, which reignited the Black Lives Matter movement and set off months of protests across America and around the world, was caused by Chauvin keeping his knee on the neck of the dying man for more than nine minutes even after he stopped breathing.
‘What Mr Chauvin was doing, he was doing deliberately,’ Blackwell said as he outlined his case to the jury in the court room in Minneapolis, the city where Floyd was killed. ...
Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, told the jury in his opening statement that the evidence will show that Floyd was under the influence of drugs and that the force used against him was reasonable because of his behaviour.
Chauvin is facing charges of murder in the second and third degree as well as manslaughter. If convicted on the most serious charges, he could be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison.
Biden announces 'trailblazing' slate of judicial nominees
Joe Biden has announced a “trailblazing” set of federal judicial nominees, 11 picks including three Black women.
Ketanji Brown Jackson, a US district judge, was nominated on Tuesday to replace attorney general Merrick Garland on the influential US appeals court for the District of Columbia circuit.
In 2016, Garland was nominated for the supreme court by Barack Obama but blocked from even receiving a hearing by Republicans determined to fill the vacancy themselves.
On the campaign trail last year, Biden pledged to name the first Black woman to the supreme court. Jackson, who regularly clashed with the Trump administration, now moves into that spotlight. Many liberals are eyeing retirement for Stephen Breyer, at 82 the oldest member of the court, for whom Jackson once clerked.
In December, Biden asked senators for a diverse slate of possible judicial picks.
“We are particularly focused on nominating individuals whose legal experiences have been historically underrepresented on the federal bench,” he said, “including those who are public defenders, civil rights and legal aid attorneys and those who represent Americans in every walk of life.”
His first picks, which the Washington Post called “the largest and earliest batch … by a new administration in decades”, also include the first Muslim named to a district court, Zahid Quraishi, a New Jersey judge.
In a statement to the Post, Biden said: “This trailblazing slate of nominees draws from the very best and brightest minds of the American legal profession.
Biden pivots to infrastructure as coronavirus cases rise in the US
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
Joe Biden is expected to launch the next phase of his “Build Back Better” agenda tomorrow, with a speech scheduled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The White House has said the president will use the speech to outline his proposals to improve the nation’s infrastructure systems, which Biden has promised will create jobs.
As Biden pivots to the next stage of his legislative agenda, coronavirus cases are on the rise in the US, sparking alarm among public health experts.
Dr Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said yesterday that she is “scared” about the trends she is seeing, despite encouraging data on vaccination rates.
“I’m speaking not necessarily as your CDC director, and not only as your CDC director, but as a wife, as a mother, as a daughter to ask you to just please hold on a while longer,” Walensky told Americans.
Biden delivered a similar message hours later, urging state and local leaders to reinstate mask mandates if they rescinded them.
“We still are in a war with this deadly virus, and we’re bolstering our defense, but this war is far from won,” Biden said.
The blog will have more on Biden’s infrastructure package and coronavirus case numbers coming up, so stay tuned.
