Summary
- Joe Biden addressed the nation in a primetime speech on the one-year anniversary of the pandemic in the US. The president mourned those who have died and offered hope – suggesting that the US could regain a sense of normalcy by 4 July. “After this long hard year,” he said, “that will make this Independence Day something truly special.”
- Biden also said his administration will push states and local governments to make all adults eligible for the vaccine by 1 May. The administration will double down on vaccination efforts by releasing vaccines to more community health clinics and pharmacies, opening more federally managed vaccination centers, and deploying active-duty troops to help administer doses.
- Earlier today, Biden signed into law his $1.9tn stimulus plan. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Americans could start receiving their stimulus checks as early as this weekend.
- The Senate voted to advance the nominations of Xavier Becerra and Deb Haaland to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of the Interior respectively. The votes all-but guarantee they will be confirmed next week, despite significant Republican opposition to their nomination.
- House speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to keep pushing to raise the minimum wage after an attempt to include it in the Democrat’s stimulus bill was scrapped. The House also passed a pair of gun-control bills that would expand universal background checks and extend the window for the FBI to run background checks. All these measures face an uphill climb in the Senate.
- Donald Trump’s Pentagon chief, acting defense secretary Chris Miller, directly linked the former president’s incendiary speech on 6 January to US Capitol riot. “Would anybody have marched on the Capitol, and tried to overrun the Capitol, without the president’s speech? I think it’s pretty much definitive that wouldn’t have happened,” Miller said on Vice.
– Maanvi Singh and Lauren Gambino
Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga is set to meet with Joe Biden in April.
This will be the US president’s first in-person meeting with a foreign leader. Until now, Biden has met with world leaders on the phone, or, as he did with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, “hosting” them virtually at the White House.
BREAKING | Japan PM Suga to meet Biden in US in Aprilhttps://t.co/zlZtYRg7af
— Nikkei Asia (@NikkeiAsia) March 12, 2021
Analysis: Biden's $1.9tn Covid relief bill marks an end to four decades of Reaganism
Joe Biden reflected recently on the last time a Democratic administration had to rescue an economy left in tatters by a Republican president.
“The economists told us we literally saved America from a depression,” Biden told the House Democratic Caucus last week. “But we didn’t adequately explain what we had done. Barack was so modest; he didn’t want to take, as he said, a ‘victory lap’. I kept saying, ‘Tell people what we did.’ He said, ‘We don’t have time. I’m not going to take a victory lap.’ And we paid a price for it, ironically, for that humility.”
The 46th US president is often lauded for his humility but don’t expect him to repeat Obama’s mistake. Once his $1.9tn coronavirus relief bill is signed, he is set to take an extended victory lap by travelling the country to promote it.
Biden will have short and long sales pitches. First, that help is on the way after the hellish year of a pandemic that has killed more than 528,000 people in the US and put many millions out of work.
The stimulus, among the biggest in history, includes $400bn to fund $1,400 direct payments to most Americans (unlike Donald Trump, Biden’s signature will not appear on the cheques), $350bn in aid to state and local governments and increased funding for vaccine distribution.
Politically, it is an open goal. The risks of inaction were immense; the risks of action are modest. Opinion polls show that three in four Americans support the stimulus, making congressional Republicans’ implacable opposition all the more jarring. But given that voters tend to have short memories – academic research and midterm election results suggest that Obama got little credit for the 2009 rescue – Biden is wise to press home his advantage.
Read more:
Biden’s speech today was an opportunity to boast about the massive stimulus package his administration helped usher through.
The administration is making a purposeful push to sell the stimulus accomplishment this year, after realizing that Democrats missed an opportunity to take credit for the Obama administration’s 2009 stimulus package.
The $1.9tn stimulus package that Biden signed into law today is extremely popular among Americans who identify as Democrats, Republicans, and independents.
Here’s what it includes:
Biden has concluded his speech.
The president ended on a hopeful note.
By 4 July “small groups” should be able to get together for barbecues, Biden said – not only to mark Independence Day, but also to mark “independence from this virus”.
“After this long hard year,” he said, “that will make this Independence Day something truly special.”
Updated
“It’s never, ever, ever a good bet to bet against the American people. America is coming back,” Biden said.
With this speech, the president is not only offering a policy update but also seizing the moment to boast his accomplishments and sell the $1.9tn stimulus package that his administration helped pass.
“I need you, the American people. I need you. I need every American to do their part,” Biden said – urging all residents to continue wearing masks.
The plea comes as the leaders of some states and counties have rushed – against public health guidelines – to lift mask mandates. In Texas, the state’s attorney general has been threatening local jurisdictions who’ve chosen to keep local mask mandates in place after the government lifted the requirement. Although Biden did not explicitly mention Texas, he earlier called the actions of the officials who are overeager to reopen fully before everyone is vaccinated “neanderthal thinking”.
“If we don’t stay vigilant, and conditions change, we may have to reinstate restrictions to get back on track,” Biden said. “But please, we don’t want to have to do that again.”
“We’re actually on track to reach this goal of 100 million shots on my 60th day in office,” Biden said, noting that the US will likely surpass the president’s initial goal of 100m “shots in arms” within his first 100 days in office.
He officially announced the goal of having each state and local government make all adults eligible to be inoculated by 1 May.
As more and more adults, including teachers and public transportation employees, are vaccinated, “we can accelerate the massive nationwide effort to reopen our schools safely”, Biden said – within the next 50 days.
“I will not relent until we beat this virus,” he said.
Updated
The president condemned the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans in the aftermath of the pandemic.
The “vicious hate crimes against Asian Americans who’ve been harassed, blamed and scapegoated” are “wrong, it’s un-American and it must stop”, he said.
My colleagues Vivian Ho and Abené Clayton reported on the issue recently – read on for context:
Updated
“We all lost something,” Biden said. “I know it’s been hard. I truly know.”
As he has done before, Biden mentioned that he carries with him a piece of paper with the number of Americans who have died of Covid-19. He offered sympathy, and empathy – mentioning the pain of losing his son Beau Biden.
But the president also struck a hopeful tone: “Finding light in the darkness is a very American thing to do – in fact, it may be the most American thing to do.”
Updated
Joe Biden begins primetime address on US pandemic anniversary
“A year ago we were hit with a virus that was met with silence, and spread unchecked,” Biden began, 50 days into his presidency, and a year into the coronavirus pandemic.
The president will be announcing a series of steps to speed up vaccine distribution, with the goal of having the country return to a sense of normalcy by the 4 July holiday.
Watch the live address:
Tune in as President Biden addresses the nation on the anniversary of the COVID-19 shutdown. https://t.co/EYhEaYRdzN
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 12, 2021
Matthew McConaughey has announced he is “seriously considering” a run for Texas governor, a year before the state election.
The actor revealed his intention on a recent episode of Crime Stoppers of Houston’s The Balanced Voice podcast on Wednesday. He told the host, Rania Mankarious, that running for governor was a “true consideration”.
“I’m looking into now again, what is my leadership role?” he said. “Because I do think I have some things to teach and share, and what is my role? What’s my category in my next chapter of life that I’m going into?”
If McConaughey launches a gubernatorial campaign, he will face Greg Abbott, a Republican who is up for re-election.
This isn’t the first time the 51-year-old Oscar winner has hinted at the idea. When asked in November 2020 by the conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt whether he would consider a bid, he responded, “It would be up to the people more than it would me.” He called politics a “broken business” and said it would only garner more interest when it “redefines its purpose”.
McConaughey’s political affiliation is unknown, and many online are speculating whether he would run as a Republican or Democrat. While there is no clear indication of which side he falls on, his past comments on hot-button issues such as gun violence, masks and defunding the police can offer some clarity.
Read more:
$1,400 stimulus checks and vaccine funds: what the Covid relief bill contains
The US House on Wednesday passed the huge $1.9tn coronavirus relief and economic stimulus package that represents Joe Biden’s first major legislative victory.
The massive legislation is a broadly popular bill with the public yet it received no Republican support. It aims to fulfill Democrats’ campaign promise to combat the coronavirus and revive a pummeled economy.
A majority of Americans – as many as 85% of US households, according to Democrats – will receive direct payments of $1,400 per person. Individuals making less than $75,000 and married couples making less than $150,000 collectively would receive the checks.
The bill would temporarily increase financial assistance for health coverage purchased through marketplaces established by the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
The bill also provides tens of billions of dollars to speed up vaccine distribution and administration, as well as increase coronavirus testing and enhance contact tracing and genomic sequencing.
Read more:
Gun control groups praise House for passage of background check bill
Earlier today the House passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act which would require an FBI background check virtually every gun sale and transfer. The bill was originally introduced two years ago and was blocked by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Former Congresswoman, assassination survivor, and gun control advocate Gabrielle Giffords said that the bill’s passage represents a “courageous step towards ending our country’s gun violence epidemic.”
“Ten years ago, on January 8th, 2011, I nearly lost my life to gun violence... We can be a safer, healthier, more just nation. We can protect our children not only in the classroom but also on the streets to and from school, and raise a generation free from the fear of gun violence,” Giffords said in a statement.
Some House Republicans vehemently oppose the bill. Representative Clay Higgins argued that gun control bills can’t curb violence, referencing the biblical murder of Abel by his brother Cain.
Here's Rep. Clay Higgins suggesting on the House floor that gun control laws aren't necessary because Biblical figures killed each other without firearms (ht @owillis) pic.twitter.com/it3fupB1Ym
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 11, 2021
Updated
During his primetime national address, Biden will aim to get “the nation closer to normal by July 4th, Independence Day”, the White House said.
The administration will not only push states and local jurisdictions to make all adults eligible by 1 May, it will also deliver more vaccines directly to community health centers in underserved neighborhoods, double the number of pharmacies in the federal vaccine distribution program, and double the number of federally managed mass vaccination sites.
The president will also announce that he is deploying more than 4,000 troops to assist in vaccination efforts.
Biden to push vaccine eligibility for all American adults by 1 May
The president will direct state and local governments to make all adults eligible for vaccines by 1 May, per multiple reports.
Biden had earlier announced that there would be enough vaccines available to inoculate all Americans by May. The goal will be to help the country reopen more fully by 4 July.
BREAKING: President Biden will announce tonight during his primetime address that all adult Americans will be eligible for the vaccine no later than May 1 pic.twitter.com/jJtq7KJDFT
— The Beat with Ari Melber on MSNBC 📺 (@TheBeatWithAri) March 11, 2021
Biden to address nation on anniversary of pandemic in US
Later this evening, Joe Biden will address the nation on the one-year anniversary of the pandemic in the US.
Having signed the $1.9tn stimulus package to help the country navigate out of the pandemic’s economic fallout. Speaking from the White House, the president is expected to tout the stimulus plan and deliver a hopeful message, one year after Donald Trump first announced European travel restrictions.
Before I took office, I promised you that help was on the way. Today, I signed the American Rescue Plan into law, and can officially say: help is here. pic.twitter.com/uuEZAkGloz
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 11, 2021
Read more about the stimulus here:
The New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has authorized the state’s Judiciary Committee to begin an impeachment investigation into governor Andrew Cuomo.
The Democratic governor has been under intense scrutiny amid multiple accusations of sexual misconduct and harassment. The governor has also been criticized for the administration’s handling of data on deaths in nursing homes.
“The reports of accusations concerning the governor are serious. The committee will have the authority to interview witnesses, subpoena documents and evaluate evidence, as is allowed by the New York State Constitution,” said Heastie. “I have the utmost faith that Assemblymember Lavine and the members of the committee will conduct an expeditious, full and thorough investigation.”
Read more about the latest allegations against Cuomo:
This week, the House passed the PRO Act, which would allow people classified as independent contractors, including gig workers at companies like Uber, Lyft and DoorDash, to organize unions. The legislation is unlikely to pass through the Senate, where Republicans staunchly oppose it.
The move to expand labor protections comes amid unprecedented levels of workplace risks and abuse for gig employees, as my colleague Abené Clayton reports, from Oakland:
An Uber driver in San Francisco who was assaulted by an unmasked passenger has spoken out about the incident, saying that he was attacked after asking the woman to get out of the vehicle and taunted because of his race and job.
Video of the incident went viral, prompting a police investigation an outpouring of support for the driver, Subhakar Khadka. In an interview with the Guardian, Khadka, who is from Nepal, said that between constant feelings of anxiety, fielding calls from media outlets and talking to family and friends back home, he has only gotten about three hours of sleep each night since the footage came out.
Khadka described himself as a private person who just wants to work and support his family overseas. And while the recognition he is receiving is overwhelming, he was glad to have video evidence of abuse that often goes unacknowledged.
“It’s not just the people in Ubers and Lyfts, it’s also people who work in gas stations. People from all over the world reach out to tell me they’ve experienced and report this type of behavior but because of lack of evidence it doesn’t go anywhere and people learn to live with it,” Khadka said.
“I hope this can serve as an example so we can raise enough awareness so that when someone is assaulted hopefully they speak up and justice can be served,” he added.
Merrick Garland sworn in as attorney general
Kamala Harris has sworn in Merrick Garland as attorney general.
“We are united by our commitment to protecting our country as our oath says, from all enemies, foreign and domestic. And by our commitment to enforcing our country’s laws and to ensuring the civil rights and the civil liberties of our people,” Garland said earlier today in a speech at the Justice Department. “The only way we can succeed and retain the trust of the American people is to adhere to the norms that have become part of the DNA of every Justice Department employee since Edward Levi’s stint as the first post-Watergate attorney general.”
The Senate confirmed Garland 70-30.
The @VP ceremonially swears in Merrick Garland as Attorney General of the United States. pic.twitter.com/DbvkADDHO1
— Peter Velz (@PeterVelz46) March 11, 2021
Summary
It’s been a busy day in Washington ahead of Biden’s prime-time address this evening. Before we hand over the reins to Maanvi Singh in California, here’s a look back at what happened on this unusually warm spring day in the nation’s capital.
- Donald Trump’s final Pentagon chief, acting defense secretary Chris Miller, has linked the incendiary speech given by the then-president on 6 January near the White House directly to the deadly insurrection that took place at the US Capitol, saying the attack wouldn’t have happened without the speech.
- Joe Biden signed into law his $1.9tn coronavirus relief package, the first major legislative achievement of his presidency. He plans to speak more about the bill during his speech this evening and will hit the road with the vice president and their spouses to promote the plan next week.
- Jen Psaki said Americans could start receiving their stimulus money as early as this weekend.
- The Senate voted to advance the nominations of Xavier Becerra and Deb Haaland to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of the Interior respectively. The votes all-but guarantee they will be confirmed next week, despite significant Republican opposition to their nomination.
- House speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to keep pushing to raise the minimum wage after an attempt to include it in the Democrat’s stimulus bill was scrapped.
- The House passed a pair of gun-control bills that would expand universal background checks and extend the window for the FBI to run background checks. Both measures face an uphill climb in the Senate.
Updated
In an astonishing piece of attempted backside-covering, former acting defense secretary under the outgoing Donald Trump, Chris Miller, tried to explain in an interview with Vice that the delay in National Guard troops deploying to the US Capitol on the afternoon of 6 January to help overwhelmed police was basically because “it’s complicated”.
Miller said: “It’s not like a video game” ie going up and down the chains of government and command to deploy troops is a complex process.
But in a neat splice, this tweet then has a clip of congressional testimony from William Walker, who commands the District of Columbia National Guard, saying that in dire moments, decisions can be made to call out troops “in minutes”.
Grab a listen:
Chris Miller translator: " Hey, I had to take orders from the White House on this." https://t.co/ihRrvlvjGc
— TreasonWeaselhunter (@Treasonweaselhu) March 11, 2021
Updated
Chris Miller, the former acting defense secretary said he did not speak to Donald Trump on 6 January, the day thousands of the-then president’s supporters left a rally where Trump whipped them into a frenzy and overran the US Capitol, causing members of the House and Senate to run for their lives.
Miller told Vice he was alarmed when Trump, in his rally speech, was urging the huge crowd to go down Pennsylvania Avenue (from the White House to the Capitol) and “fight like hell” to “stop the steal” – as he referred to his incorrect claims that Joe Biden had been wrongly elected president.
Vice further reports:
Recalling the events of that day, Miller said he wasn’t sure whether Trump was aware that his speech might have such extreme consequences, but he was certain the attack wouldn’t have happened without them. Listening to the remarks that morning, he said he found some of the comments “concerning” and that they set off alarm bells.
“It seems cause-and-effect,” Miller said, referring to Trump’s speech and the violent riot that left five people dead. “The question is, did he know he was enraging people to do that? I don’t know.”
Miller was ultimately in charge of the military’s response that day so it seems shocking that he didn’t talk to the president in the hours during which the insurrection was occurring and law enforcement were completely outnumbered at the Capitol.
The rioters rampaged through the halls of the Capitol, some yelling “Hang Mike Pence” because the-then Veep had indicated he would not follow Trump’s pleas and block the certification of Biden’s victory.
Updated
Former acting defense sec says attack on US Capitol wouldn't have happened without Trump's big speech that day - report
Donald Trump’s final Pentagon chief, acting defense secretary Chris Miller, has linked the incendiary speech given by the then-president on 6 January near the White House directly to the deadly insurrection that took place at the US Capitol that same afternoon, after Trump urged his supporters to march on Congress to try to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.
In an interview with Vice on Showtime, Miller asked: “Would anybody have marched on the Capitol, and tried to overrun the Capitol, without the president’s speech? I think it’s pretty much definitive that wouldn’t have happened.”
Miller replaced Mark Esper.
Trump was impeached for inciting insurrection and ultimately acquitted by the Senate last month, but with half a dozen Republicans supporting Democrats in voting for conviction.
“Would anybody have marched on the Capitol, and tried to overrun the Capitol, without the president’s speech? I think it’s pretty much definitive that wouldn’t have happened.”
— VICE News (@VICENews) March 11, 2021
See @sebwalker's interview with Trump’s Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller Sunday at 8PM #VICEonSHO pic.twitter.com/jmFNliL9uh
Updated
A lawyer for New York governor Andrew Cuomo referred a groping allegation to police after the female aide who made the allegation declined to press charges, according to the Associated Press.
Beth Garvey, the governor’s acting counsel, said she was obligated to report the incident under state law.
“In this case the person is represented by counsel and when counsel confirmed the client did not want to make a report, the state notified the police department and gave them the attorney’s information,” Garvey said.
The allegation was first reported by the Times Union of Albany. According to the paper, the aide, who it did not identify, said she was summoned by Cuomo to the Executive Mansion to assist with a technical issue. When they were alone together in his residence, the governor reached under her blouse and began to grope her.
Several women have come forward in recent days to accuse Cuomo of inappropriate behavior, as calls mount for his resignation. Cuomo said he never touched anyone inappropriately, and has repeatedly said he won’t resign.
Senate votes to advance Haaland's nomination for interior secretary
The Senate voted on Thursday to advance the nomination of Deb Haaland to be the next interior secretary, bringing her one step closer to becoming the first Native American cabinet secretary.
The final vote was 54-42, with four Republicans joining all Democrats.
By a vote of 54-42, #senate invoked cloture on Executive Calendar #31 Debra Haaland to be Secretary of the Interior.
— Senate Press Gallery (@SenatePress) March 11, 2021
Republicans voting yes: Senators Collins, Graham, Murkowski & Sullivan.
Not voting: Senators Burr, Cassidy, Kennedy & Moran.
Schumer said he plans to hold a final vote on her nomination on Monday.
Updated
Pressed repeatedly on the ongoing crisis of migrant children at the US-Mexico border, Psaki said she doesn’t want to “play games with what it’s called.” She refused to call the situation a “crisis” even as a record number of children and teens are being held in detention cells for far longer than legally allowed. Instead she referred to it as “a vital human challenge at the border.”
She also pushed back on claims by Texas governor Greg Abbott, who has said some of these migrants are bringing the coronavirus into the US.
“We stand by what we feel is a more humane approach to what is happening at the border and ... we are looking for ways to expedite the process,” she said of efforts to move children out of the custody of the Customs and Border Protection.
Updated
She said there would be “news” during Biden’s primetime speech on Thursday night, marking the first anniversary of widespread covid-19 lockdowns in the US.
Psaki said Biden has spent the last week “line-item editing” his speech as he tries to strike a careful balance between acknowledging the more than 500,000 Americans who have died from the coronavirus, while offering a “sense of hope and what’s possible” if Americans abide by the public health guidelines and get the vaccine when it becomes available to them.
Psaki added later that Biden is an “anti-acronyms advocate” and would try to deliver a speech that is as clear and accessible as possible about the state of the pandemic and what to expect in the coming weeks and months.
Updated
Asked why Biden purchased an additional 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Psaki said he wanted to be “over-prepared and over-supplied.” She specifically noted that scientists aren’t sure which vaccine works best on children, and that the doses could potentially be used as a booster against emerging Covid variants.
Psaki: Americans could see stimulus check money 'as early as this weekend'
The White House press briefing has begun, with press secretary Jen Psaki outlining a plan for Biden, the vice president and their spouses to visit states across the country next week as part of a campaign to promote the $1.9tn coronavirus relief bill he signed just moments ago.
Psaki said Americans can expect to start seeing direct deposits in their bank accounts as early as this weekend, after Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan. The $1,400 payments would continue to be sent in waves “throughout the course of the next several weeks,” she added.
Updated
Biden signs $1.9tn 'American Rescue Plan'
With the flick of his pen, Biden signed into law a $1.9tn coronavirus relief package, cementing the first major legislative victory of his presidency.
“This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country and giving the people of this nation, working people, the middle class folks, people who built the country a fighting chance,” Biden said in brief remarks before signing the landmark legislation.
The bill will send $1,400 stimulus checks to most Americans, extend unemployment benefits, provide federal assistance for housing, food and health care, dramatically expand the child tax credit. It also spends tens of billions of dollars on vaccine distribution and Covid testing.
Touting the bill’s broad public support, Biden said the plan’s passage by the House of Representatives on Wednesday ensured that “their voices were heard.”
Biden signed the bill into law a day ahead of schedule, and hours before he was due to give the first prime-time address of his presidency, during which the president vowed he would have “more to say” about the legislation.
Explaining the scheduling change, Ron Klain, the White House chief of staff, said the president wanted to “move as fast as possible.” Klain said the White House still planned to hold a celebratory ceremony with members of Congress on Friday.
The enrolled bill arrived last night -- so @POTUS is signing it today -- we want to move as fast as possible. We will hold our celebration of the signing on Friday, as planned, with Congressional leaders! https://t.co/4Z1N9WQroN
— Ronald Klain (@WHCOS) March 11, 2021
Updated
Biden and Harris to travel to Georgia next Friday
Biden and his vice president, Kamala Harris, are headed to Atlanta next Friday to promote the administration’s $1.9tn stimulus aid package.
The destination is significant because the bill’s passage, the first major legislative feat of his presidency, was made possible by the election of two Democratic senators from Georgia in January, which gave Democrats control of both chambers of Congress. The relief package was passed without any Republican votes.
The Georgia senators, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff both promised to deliver $2,000 stimulus checks if the state delivered Democrats the majority.
The bill Biden will sign into law shortly will send $1,400 direct payments to most American families, which Democrats say comes in addition to the $600 checks provided for in the last relief bill, enacted by Trump before he left office.
The promotional push around the legislation is part of a recognition by Democrats that they didn’t do enough to sell their economic recovery plan in 2009, when Barack Obama took office in the depths of the economic meltdown. Many Democrats now believe their reticence to claim credit for the massive stimulus package allowed Republicans to cast it as federal overreach and led to their crushing losses during the midterm elections of 2010.
Biden will discuss the plan during his first prime-time address on Thursday night. He will travel to Delaware County, Pennsylvania, to promote the bill on Tuesday, while Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff will be dispatched to Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico next week to help educate the public on what’s in the measure.
Updated
Arizona is part of a push by Republican-controlled legislatures across the country impose new voting restrictions after Trump’s unexpected loss in the state.
Speaking to CNN about the efforts underway in Phoenix, which would restrict the state’s vote-by-mail system which has been used by voters of both parties for years, Republican lawmaker John Kavanuagh said there was a “fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans” when it came to the franchise.
“Democrats value as many people as possible voting, and they’re willing to risk fraud,” he said. “Republicans are more concerned about fraud, so we don’t mind putting security measures in that won’t let everybody vote – but everybody shouldn’t be voting.”
He continued: “Quantity is important, but we have to look at the quality of votes, as well.”
The comment has sparked significant backlash online.
Our voting rights reporter, who has been covering the rise of efforts to curtail voting access across the country following the 2020 election, said his comments amount to a “dog-whistle idea” that is often used to justify curtailing voting access.
This is an appalling, dog-whistle idea that runs in the background of a lot of anti-voting measures. Barriers aren't such a big deal because they will sort out people who don't really want to vote. The people who want to vote will find a way to cast a ballot https://t.co/M2hhaQX4Ee
— Sam Levine (@srl) March 11, 2021
Updated
Senate advances Becerra's nomination
The Senate on Thursday voted to proceed with the nomination of Xavier Becerra to lead the Health and Human Services, a procedural step that paves the way for his confirmation next week. The final tally was 51-48.
As noted earlier, a Senate panel deadlocked over his nomination, forcing Schumer to bring it to the floor for a full vote on whether to move his confirmation forward.
Some Republicans have argued that Becerra is unqualified to lead the department of Health and Human Services, but their opposition has so far failed to derail his nomination.
Schumer, who used his powers to force the nomination out of a deadlocked committee, defended Becerra during a speech on the Senate floor earlier today.
I’m perplexed that none of my Republican colleagues would vote for him. He’s a capable man. He’s worked hard to make sure that people get healthcare. Some have said: well, he’s not a doctor. Neither was the previous Trump nominee for HHS, who happened to be a pharmaceutical company executive. What would Americans prefer?
With the support of Manchin and Collins, who announced their intention to vote for him earlier on Thursday, Becerra is all but guaranteed to be confirmed as the nation’s first Latino secretary of Health and Human Services.
House passes bill to close "Charleston loophole"
The House narrowly approved a bill that would close the so-called Charleston loophole that allows dealers to complete gun sales if a buyer’s background check has not been completed by the FBI in three days.
The measure would extend the window for conducting background checks from three days to 10 days.
The final vote was 219 to 210 with two Democrats voting against the measure and two Republicans voting for it.
Like the universal background check bill passed earlier, the legislation faces a difficult path in the Senate.
Updated
Biden to sign $1.9tn stimulus plan Thursday
Biden will sign his $1.9tn coronavirus aid package into law today, a day after Congress gave final approval to the bill.
The White House initially said that Biden would sign the bill on Friday following his prime-time address on Thursday night.
Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, announced her support for Xavier Becerra.
INBOX: GOP Sen Susan Collins says she'll vote to confirm Xavier Becerra to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services
— Laura Litvan (@LauraLitvan) March 11, 2021
Her support, along with Manchin’s, effectively guarantees his confirmation, which is expected next week.
After Pelosi took a victory lap over the passage of Biden’s stimulus bill, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy opened his press conference by assailing the aid package as misguided and bloated with liberal priorities that are not directly related to controlling the pandemic.
“The only bipartisan vote was the vote against the bill,” McCarthy said, before turning to the growing humanitarian crisis at the US-Mexico border. He said he’ll be leading a delegation to the border on Monday.
Republicans have seized on the issue to attack Biden, blaming his more humanitarian approach to immigration for encouraging migrants from Central America to travel north.
Responding at her earlier press conference, Pelosi said the Republican focus on immigration was only the latest iteration of their strategy to stoke culture wars.
“I guess their Dr Seuss approach did not work for them so now they’ve had to change the topic,” she said.
Updated
Pelosi expressed a lot of enthusiasm – and few details – about a forthcoming push to pass a sweeping infrastructure bill.
“We see this as a tremendous opportunity,” she said.
Pelosi asked how large an infrastructure bill should be.
— Erica Werner (@ericawerner) March 11, 2021
“I thank you for the question, it’s one of my favorite topics,” Pelosi says.
Talks about jobs, commuting, farm country, roads and bridges, water systems, housing, and also Trump.
Does not say how large bill should be.
As a candidate, Biden proposed a $2tn plan that aims to combat climate change and tackle longstanding racial disparities.
Biden has said he wants the next bill to be bipartisan, and has already convened a handful of meetings with lawmakers of both parties. There are already signs that this may be an all-but impossible task.
Some Democrats have tossed out figures like $3tn or even $4tn – enormous sums that are sure to be a nonstarter for Republicans, who want a narrow, targeted bill focused on roads, bridges and waterways.
But with the Senate filibuster preventing action on much of the Democrats’ agenda, progressives view a public works bill as perhaps the last best chance of notching major victories before next year’s midterm elections. Among the provisions Democrats and activists have suggested should be included in an infrastructure bill: immigration reform, lowering the Medicare eligibility, a public option, and an permanent version of the expanded child tax credit that was passed in Biden’s stimulus bill.
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Pelosi on $15 minimum wage push: 'We're not giving up on that'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened her weekly press conference by touting the House’s passage of a universal background checks bill and making the case for a $15 federal minimum wage. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25.
Pointing to a chart that shows the incremental increase of the minimum wage over the next five years, she says advocates of a $10 or $11 minimum wage should back the plan because it would only gradually rise above those thresholds. A minimum wage provision was ultimately stripped from the Senate-version of the $1.9tn stimulus plan approved by Congress on Wednesday.
“We’re not giving up on that,” Pelosi said of the push for a $15 minimum wage. She also promised to continue to fight for action on gun control.
At the end of her press conference, she pointed again to the placard and asked reporters to consider whether they could live on the current federal minimum wage.
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Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer says the chamber will vote on the nomination of Deb Haaland to be interior secretary, after Republicans forced additional debate on her candidacy.
If confirmed, as expected, Haaland, who currently serves as a congresswoman from New Mexico, would the nation’s first Native American cabinet secretary.
House passes universal background checks bill
The House approved a bill to expand background checks for all firearm sales or transfers in the country, a top priority for advocates of stricter gun-control.
In a 227 to 203 vote, eight Republicans joined all but one Democrat in supporting the measure.
This is the first action Democrats have taken on the issue since winning control of both chambers of Congress and the White House, but the bill faces an uphill climb in the Senate.
Nevertheless, gun-safety advocates celebrated its passage.
In a statement, Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, said: “This is the moment to act on gun safety, and that starts with background checks on all guns sales.”
Expressing hope that the new Democratic majority in the Senate might finally pave the way for legislative action, she added: “Now, with Minority Leader McConnell out of the way, we look forward to the Senate taking action.”
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Senator Joe Manchin announced in a statement that he will vote to confirm Xavier Becerra, Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
NEW: Manchin will vote for Becerra to HHS, a clear sign he will be confirmed to the post
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 11, 2021
The Senate Finance Committee was deadlocked along party lines over advancing his candidacy to the floor for a vote by the full Senate.
The result reflected the sharp partisan split over Becerra, who currently serves as the attorney general of California, and forced Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring it to the floor for a vote, in accordance with the power-sharing rules governing the 50-50 Senate.
Manchin’s support is a strong signal that Democrats will have the votes to overcome Republican opposition.
.@Sen_JoeManchin confirms he will vote for Becerra despite "very different records on issues like abortion and the 2nd Amendment." He said Becerra "committed to me that he will uphold the law in regards to the Hyde Amendment."
— Jennifer Haberkorn (@jenhab) March 11, 2021
All but assures Becerra's nomination will be approved
If a simple majority of senators agree, the chamber is expected to move forward to a final vote on his confirmation next week.
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The House is voting now on two gun-control measures: a universal background checks bill, and a measure that would close the so-called Charleston loophole, which the gunman used to buy a gun before murdering nine African Americans during a bible study at a historic black church.
That bill, introduced by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, would extend the window for background checks to 10 days from three days. Currently, someone can purchase a weapon if the requisite criminal background check isn’t completed within three business days.
At a press conference, @WhipClyburn said “I get a little emotional when I think about the ‘Charleston Loophole.’”
— Thomas Novelly (@TomNovelly) March 11, 2021
Clyburn recalls the 2015 tragedy at Emanuel AME Church and said this legislation marks major change.
“If you aren’t safe at a bible study, you aren’t safe anywhere”
Both bills are expected to pass the chamber, which is controlled by Democrats. The Senate has introduced similar bills, but there is little hope of forging a consensus with Republicans on the legislation after falling short so many times before.
Still, Democrats are hopeful that times have changed since the last time Congress seriously considered enacting gun-control legislation.
Sen. Chris Murphy sounding quite optimistic here: "I don't think we should accept that there aren't 60 votes in the Senate for universal background checks."
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) March 11, 2021
In 2013, Dems had 55 seats, Manchin-Toomey polled up to 90-10%, got filibustered.
Murphy says it's "a different world." pic.twitter.com/BtUG2qGGmy
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Further from Minneapolis in the trial of ex-cop Derek Chauvin, charged with murdering George Floyd last year, Hennepin county judge Peter Cahill added the third degree murder charge to the docket after Chauvin failed to persuade appellate courts to block it.
Cahill had earlier rejected the charge as not warranted by the circumstances of Floyd’s death but an appellate court ruled last Friday as part of the appeal by another former police officer, Mohamed Noor in the 2017 shooting death of Australian Justine Ruszczyk Damond in Minneapolis.
Legal experts told the AP that the additional charge helps prosecutors by giving jurors one more option to convict Chauvin.
However prosecutors had also been worried that rushing the charge back onto the docket could either give Chauvin more grounds for appeal or even cause the case to collapse.
Any prospect of Chauvin being acquitted, the case falling through or him being convicted on the lesser charge is likely to spark total uproar in the Twin Cities and ripple out across the country.
Here’s a previous report from reporters Amudalat Ajasa and Jackie Renzetti in Minneapolis on the communities there braced and craving justice.
And below is a vivid personal account from Ajasa on the last year in her Minnesota home during unprecedented upheavals of a pandemic and the biggest civil rights uprising since the 1960s.
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George Floyd: third degree murder charge to be reinstated in Chauvin trial
In the murder trial in Minneapolis of former police officer Derek Chauvin, in the death of George Floyd, the judge has just granted a motion to reinstate the third degree murder charge, following an appeals court ruling last Friday.
The jury is in the process of being seated in the trial. Chauvin was already facing second degree murder and second degree manslaughter.
He kneeled on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes on 25 May last year on the street in Minneapolis. The killing spurred nationwide and international protests and a massive resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Here’s our piece about that ruling:
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This isn’t directly political, at least, not party political, but enough presidents and prominent figures have been thrown into the toxic transatlantic saga of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell over the years (Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, businessmen and academics, to name a few) that the blog takes an interest.
In the last 24 hours, news has emerged that the late sex offender Epstein’s infamous Manhattan mansion has been sold for about $51mn and his past girlfriend and alleged accomplice Maxwell has made yet another bid for bail.
The mansion was sold to an undisclosed buyer earlier this week, an attorney for the estate said and CNN reported last night.
Funds from the sale will be transferred to the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program so new claims can be issued, Dan Weiner said.
CNN previously reported that the independent administrator of the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program (EVCP), Jordy Feldman, suspended claim payouts from the program on February 4 when she said the estate was too low on cash to support it. Feldman said she will lift the suspension once she evaluates the financial situation.
“We are eager to resume issuing compensation offers as soon as possible,” Feldman said in a statement to CNN. “Once we have more information about the amount of funds that will be made available to the Program and when, I will decide when we can lift the suspension and get back to full Program operations.”
Epstein had pleaded not guilty to federal charges stemming from an indictment accusing him of running a sex-trafficking ring of underage girls, some as young as 14.
The 66-year-old multimillionaire financier was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in August 2019, where he was awaiting trial. New York City’s chief medical examiner said the cause of death was suicide by hanging.
In 2019, during a raid on the mansion, where Epstein was accused of sexually abusing minors, authorities found a “locked safe” containing cash, diamonds and an expired passport apparently with Epstein’s picture but a “name that was not his”. The passport, from the early 1980s, was from a “foreign country” and listed Epstein’s country of residence as “Saudi Arabia”, the Guardian reported at the time.
Meanwhile, The Associated Press reports from New York:
Prosecutors urged a judge to reject a third quest for bail by a British socialite charged with soliciting teenage girls in the 1990s for financier Epstein to sexually abuse.
There are multiple reasons to deny Ghislaine Maxwell’s effort at freedom before her July trial, prosecutors said in a Tuesday filing in Manhattan federal court.
Last month, the 59-year-old Maxwell argued through her lawyers that bail should be granted because she is willing to renounce her citizenship in England and France. Prosecutors called Maxwell an “extreme flight risk”.
She’s been held in the same federal detention center in Brooklyn as Epstein since her arrest last summer.
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Derek Chauvin trial: jury selection resumes as officer faces possible new charge
Potential jurors in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial return Thursday to continue a selection process moving more quickly than expected. Meanwhile, the former policeman charged in George Floyd’s death faced the prospect of an additional third-degree murder charge.
Five jurors have been seated after just two days of screening by attorneys and Peter Cahill, the judge who had set aside at least three weeks to fill the panel.
Cahill was expected to start Thursday’s proceeding by discussing next steps in the state’s effort to add a third-degree murder charge. Cahill rejected the charge twice before an appellate ruling in an unrelated case provided new grounds for it right before the trial began. On Wednesday, the state’s supreme court rejected Chauvin’s effort to block the charge.
Attorneys have given considerable attention to the jury pool’s attitudes toward police in the first two days of questioning, trying to determine whether they’re more inclined to believe testimony from law enforcement over evidence from other witnesses to the fatal confrontation.
Read more here: Derek Chauvin trial – jury selection resumes as officer faces possible new charge
712,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the last week
Evidence that more action of Covid economic relief was needed comes this morning as it is confirmed that last week 712,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time.
The number is down, and lower than the 750,000 forecast by economists, but still represents a much higher level of weekly job loss than before the pandemic.
Lucy Bayly at NBC News reminds us that:
Last month’s jobs report showed that 70 percent of the jobs added in February — 355,000 positions — were in the leisure and hospitality sector, which has been decimated by the coronavirus as eateries and hotels were forced to close or operate at reduced capacity to contain the spread of the virus.
The lifting of mask mandates and other public health measures in states such as Texas, Mississippi and Iowa also means that hiring is likely to see an uptick, especially with warmer weather on the way.
One of the balancing tricks for Joe Biden to maintain support for his Covid recovery measures is convincing the progressive wing of his own party that it is doing enough to tackle structural inequality in the US, while reassuring more centrist Democrats that he has a tight enough rein on the nation’s finances. It also cuts a little against Biden’s history as a politician. However, as the New York Times reports this morning:
The new role as a crusader for the poor represents an evolution for Biden, who spent much of his 36 years in Congress concentrating on foreign policy, judicial fights, gun control and criminal justice issues by virtue of his committee chairmanships in the Senate. For the most part, he ceded domestic economic policy to others.
But aides say he has embraced his new role. Biden has done so in part by following progressives in his party to the left and accepting the encouragement of his inner circle to use Democratic power to make sweeping rather than incremental change. He has also been moved by the inequities in pain and suffering that the pandemic has inflicted on the poorest Americans, aides say.
“We all grow,” said Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina, the No. 3 House Democrat. “During the campaign, he recognized what was happening in this country, this pandemic. It is not like anything we have had in 100 years. If you are going to address Covid-19’s impact, you have to address the economic disparities that exist in this country.”
Read more here: New York Times – With relief plan, Biden takes on a new role: crusader for the poor
One provision in the Covid-19 relief bill passed this week could help states to reduce their overall number of maternal deaths. Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar reports for the Associated Press that:
The legislation gives states the option of extending Medicaid coverage to women with low to modest incomes for a full year after childbirth. States are currently required to provide only 60 days of coverage, but medical experts point to research showing that women can die from pregnancy-related conditions up to a year after giving birth, and that three in five of all such deaths are preventable.
The provisions make it easier for states to cover new mothers for a full year by cutting the time and paperwork needed to obtain approval from Washington under Medicaid, as well as the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Maternal health advisory groups in 19 states, from Texas to Massachusetts, and Washington to Tennessee, have recommended such an extension.
Last year a bipartisan bill to do so cleared the House but failed to advance in the Senate.
The issue is particularly serious for Black women, whose pregnancy-related death rate is three to four times that of white women, according to the CDC.
A recent report from the Commonwealth Fund found the US to have the highest maternal mortality rate among 11 developed nations.
During his 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden pledged to “reduce our unacceptably high maternal mortality rate, which especially impacts people of color.”
Again Joe Biden’s White House team have been very vocal on social media this morning about new poll numbers suggesting that, away from Congress at least, there is bipartisan support for the $1.9 trillion Covid rescue package that Joe Biden will sign into law later this week.
According to the network’s figures, three in four Americans approve of Congress passing the American Rescue Plan, including nearly half of Republican voters.
NEW FROM @CBSNewsPoll: Three in four Americans approve of Congress passing the American Rescue Plan. Large majorities of Democrats and independents, along with nearly half of Republicans, approve of passage. pic.twitter.com/9Y1b8K6htV
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) March 11, 2021
Akin Olla writes for us this morning, saying that the trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer who killed Floyd, has begun - and Minneapolis looks like a police state:
For a while it seemed that Minneapolis was headed on a better path. A veto-proof majority of city council members previously promised to dismantle the police department and build something better to replace it. Their attempts were dashed by a state oversight commission that shut down a ballot initiative that would have given voters the chance to abolish the police department in favor of a proposed department of community safety and violence prevention.
By this winter, the summer’s ambitions had been replaced by a renewed commitment to the status quo. The police budget was cut by a mere $8m – out of a total budget of $179m – and a proposal to modestly reduce the size of the police force was shot down by city council members and Mayor Jacob Frey. While the cut is a step towards disinvesting in police, it pales in comparison to the city council’s more genuinely radical rhetoric.
[Now]…the state of Minnesota, and Minneapolis more specifically, prepare for protests in response to a potential acquittal of yet another police officer caught executing someone on camera. Governor Tim Walz has issued an order authorizing national guard troops to be sent into Minneapolis at the request of Frey. The governor has also proposed $35m in state aid to fund the deployment of police officers from across the state to support the Minneapolis police department in the case of “extraordinary public safety events”. The state is also coordinating with the FBI, the federal joint terrorism taskforce, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Hennepin county government center, the location of the trial, is being turned into a fortress. Several layers of high-security barbed-wire fences line the area around the center and a few buildings around it; they are reinforced with large concrete barriers which, combined with up to 2,000 national guard soldiers, give the impression that the city is ready to fight its own people.
Read more here: Akin Olla – Minneapolis promised change after George Floyd. Instead it’s geared up for war
'It is risky': Fauci cautions against states rushing to end Covid restrictions
Dr Anthony Fauci has been on television this morning, echoing President Joe Biden’s words that there is “light at the end of the tunnel” on the coronavirus pandemic, but also cautioning against a rapid re-opening of th eeconomy by states eager to drop Covid restrictions. Speaking on MSNBC’s Today programming, the leading expert on infectious diseases said:
The virus is still very much circulating in the community and then you get the possibility of another surge. That’s one of the things we’re concerned about. [Case numbers are] plateauing but I hope it starts to start going down at a less steep decline, but continues to go down.
I believe every day as we get two million or more people vaccinated, and if people continue to abide by the public health measures, we should be okay. As you know we have variants circulating in this country that are a bit different than the original virus. We don’t want them to take off on us, and give us another surge”.
Speaking to Savannah Guthrie, he urged the nation to “keep putting our foot to the pedal when it comes to public health measures.”
Questioned over states like Texas dropping mask mandates and New York planning to re-open outdoor dining, Fauci said:
It is risky. I understand why they want to do it, no doubt about it. I don’t want to be critical of it in the sense of saying that they’re doing something bad, but I think they really better be careful.
You remember when we tried to open up the country, open up the economy, we gave the different guidelines. Some states just turn the switch on and opened everything up and we had a big surge. We’ve got to be careful. At a minimum, people need to continue to wear masks.
You can watch the clips here:
“At a minimum, people need to continue to wear masks.” -Dr. Anthony Fauci says it’s “risky” for states to lift all COVID-19 restrictions right now pic.twitter.com/0e6PKqqEUP
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 11, 2021
Donald Trump requested a mail-in ballot for Palm Beach county’s municipal election in Florida earlier this week, despite a long record of attacks against what he has labeled a “fraudulent” voting method.
The local election marked the third instance of the former president voting by mail since changing his residency from New York to Florida in October 2019.
Trump’s private resort and club, Mar-a-Lago, is in Palm Beach and he flew there from the White House on his last day in office on 20 January, before his successor, Joe Biden, was even inaugurated.
His latest action further undermines the talking point, advanced by him and others, that mail-in ballots cost him the November election.
In July last year during the presidential election and the coronavirus pandemic, Trump tweeted: “With Universal Mail-In Voting, 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA.”
But during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, it was clear voters would choose an alternative to in-person voting, and the number of voters by mail soared.
The November election was ultimately described by officials at all levels as the most secure in US history.
Read more of Jada Butler’s report here: Trump once again requests mail-in ballot despite repeatedly attacking method
Yesterday Secretary of state Antony Blinken and Defense secretary Lloyd J Austin III announced that their first ventures overseas for the Biden administration would be a joint trip to South Korea and Japan.
This morning, Robert Burns reports for Associated Press on how the new president is trying to shore up alliances tested by the unpredictible foreign policy initiatives of his predecessor Donald Trump.
A new agreement with South Korea on sharing the cost of keeping US troops on the peninsula is early evidence Biden will cut allies a break to build unity in competition against China and Russia.
Trump had demanded South Korea pay billions more to keep American troops on its soil. In his view, the United States was getting fleeced by what he suggested were freeloaders masquerading as allies. Initially, Trump insisted the South Korean government pay five times as much as it previously had. Seoul balked, diplomacy went nowhere, and relations with a treaty ally began to fray.
Biden, by contrast, has settled for a 13.9% boost and follow-on increases that put the issue to rest. Biden’s view is that well-functioning alliances are central to competing with China, which his administration sees as America’s biggest long-term security challenge, along with Russia.
In what the White House called a sign of Biden’s commitment to partnering in the Asia-Pacific region, on Friday he will meet virtually with the leaders of three other regional powerhouses — India, Australia and Japan.
Japan and South Korea for decades have been linchpins of the US defense strategy in the broader Asia-Pacific region, which the top US commander there, Admiral Philip Davidson, has called “the most consequential region for America’s future.” Last month, the US and Japan agreed to a one-year extension of their cost-sharing agreement for the US troop presence; the State Department said this allowed more time to negotiate a longer deal.
Joe Biden will address the nation on 'next phase' of fight against Covid this evening
The Miami Covid exhibition may be looking back at a year of coronavirus in the US, but tonight President Joe Biden will be trying to direct the nation forward to a more hopeful future with a national address at 8pm EST (0100 GMT Friday)
Zeke Miller writes for Associated Press that Biden will use this first prime-time address since taking office to steer the nation toward the “next phase” of the fight against the pandemic. Previewing his remarks, Biden said he would “talk about what we’ve been through as a nation this past year, but more importantly, I’m going to talk about what comes next.”
Biden’s challenge tonight will be to honor the sacrifices made by Americans over the last year while encouraging them to remain vigilant despite “virus fatigue” and growing impatience to resume normal activities given the tantalizing promise of vaccines. Speaking on the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization’s declaration of a pandemic, he’ll mourn the dead, but also project optimism about the future.
“This is a chance for him to really beam into everybody’s living rooms and to be both the mourner in chief and to explain how he’s leading the country out of this,” said presidential historian and Rice University professor Douglas Brinkley.
“This is a big moment,” Brinkley added. “He’s got to win over hearts and minds for people to stay masked and get vaccinated, but also recognize that after the last year, the federal government hasn’t forgotten you.”
Biden said he would focus his remarks on what his administration plans to deliver in the coming months, but also reiterate his call for Americans to continue to practice social distancing and wear face coverings to hasten the end of the pandemic.
“I’m going to launch the next phase of the Covid response and explain what we will do as a government and what we will ask of the American people,” he said.
Almost exactly one year ago, then-President President Donald Trump addressed the nation to mark the WHO’s declaration of a global pandemic. He announced travel restrictions and called for Americans to practice good hygiene.
That came just a few days after he’d said on 26 February 2020: “When you have 15 people [with Covid], and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.”
The US total caseload now stands at over 29 million, with over 529,000 people losing their lives.
From months of lockdown to seemingly endless mask wearing, homeschooling and the tedium of Zoom meetings, there are few aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic that those living through it will want to remember.
But in Miami, at least, it is going to be impossible to forget. Artifacts and memories of the deadliest global pandemic in a century are on display at what is probably the nation’s first comprehensive coronavirus museum exhibition, forming an enduring testament to an unprecedented era.
Highlights of the collection at the downtown HistoryMiami museum include personal protective equipment (PPE) worn by doctors who treated Covid-19 patients at a local hospital; an emergency beach closure order sign from Miami Beach; a sign from a closed, open, then closed again restaurant; a high school student’s mortarboard from her drive-through graduation ceremony; and a younger student’s school workbook from online learning.
There are colorful handmade posters from drive-by birthday celebrations and first responder appreciation parades; vials of two of the first Pfizer vaccines administered at Jackson Memorial hospital; and a jar of hand sanitizer produced by Toast, a vodka company that switched operations at its Miami distillery early in the pandemic.
Arguably the star exhibit is the gown and scythe belonging to the Grim Reaper, an outfit worn by a Florida attorney on several of the state’s crowded beaches last spring as he protested against the refusal of Governor Ron DeSantis to close them down.
Daniel Uhlfelder, who is from Miami and majored in history before going on to practice law in Florida’s Panhandle, said the preservation of his costume was a powerful reminder of the politicization of the pandemic.
“I hope people look at it and see what our elected officials and other people were doing wrong, and ignoring and lying and politicizing and scapegoating,” he said. “And I hope they see that there were people that decided to do something peacefully and creatively and honestly and courageously, and took things into their own hands. It’s a symbol of trying to get the public’s attention in a powerful way to get leaders to do the right thing.”
Read more of Richard Luscombe’s report here: ‘The year that transformed the world’ – US museum launches Covid exhibition
Joe Biden’s administration is set to unveil a new national emissions reduction target at a climate meeting it has convened with other major economic powers on Earth Day, 22 April, and he has already faced calls to cut 50% of emissions by 2030 to spur other countries into action.
Reuters today have news of an analysis that suggests the road to zero emissions by 2050 will need an even steeper cut. The US needs to set a target to slash its greenhouse gas emissions between 57% and 63% below 2005 levels by 2030 in order to achieve the Biden administration’s longer-term goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, according to the new analysis which came out today.
Climate Action Tracker (CAT) analyzed President Joe Biden’s plans to decarbonize the electricity sector, commercial buildings and new vehicle fleet and found that in order for the United States to do its share to limit the rise of global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius - the goal of the Paris Agreement - it needs to cut at least 57% of its emissions by the end of the decade.
Biden’s climate team, led by National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy and Climate Envoy John Kerry, is working with all government agencies and holding meetings with utilities and car companies as it crafts its new goal.
The CAT report says that the Biden administration plan to decarbonize the US power sector by 2035 is consistent with a Paris Agreement pathway but it needs to strengthen plans to slash emissions in buildings and vehicles.
Michael Regan, who has served as North Carolina’s top environmental regulator since 2017, was confirmed to lead the Environmental Protection Agency yesterday. He will be at the forefront of Joe Biden’s efforts to address climate change and advocate for environmental justice. Rolling Stone magazine have published this profile and interview with him:
Regan, who will be the first black man to run the EPA, tells Rolling Stone that rebuilding the agency is his first priority. “We have world-renowned experts at EPA,” he says. “We should be listening to them, and we will.”
With the Biden administration vowing to use every bit of executive power to tackle climate change, a revitalized EPA will be at the center of its ambitious targets to reduce emissions. “I will be laser-focused on how we limit methane emissions,” Regan says of the potent greenhouse gas released in natural-gas operations.
He lists environmental justice and water quality as his other priorities, but guiding his approach on all of these ambitions is the belief that what’s good for the planet can also be good for workers and for business — a conviction Biden shares. “All of those priorities that I just laid out will be good for people, the planet, and profit,” Regan says.
His personal philosophy is one “of trying to meet people where they are, understand everyone’s challenges, whether it’s an individual or a company, and then think through, ‘How do you get to the solution in a way that can possibly work?’ ”
Read more here: Rolling Stone – How Michael Regan Plans to Fix the EPA
A data breach at the fringe social media site Gab has for the first time offered a picture of the user base and inner workings of a platform that has been opaque about its user base and the operation of the site.
The breach, news of which first emerged in late February, allowed hackers to extract Gab databases that appear to show user accounts and a history of public posts and direct messages.
The user lists appear to mark 500 accounts, including neo-Nazis, QAnon influencers, cryptocurrency advocates and conspiracy theorists, as investors. They also appear to give an overview of verified users of the platform, including prominent rightwing commentators and activists. And they mark hundreds of active users on the site as “automated”, appearing to indicate administrators knew the accounts were bots but let them continue on the platform regardless.
Finally, the data appears to contain direct messages between the Gab CEO, Andrew Torba, and a user who has been identified as a high-profile QAnon influencer, showing the entrepreneur seeking direct feedback on site design from a member of a group that promotes a “spiderweb of rightwing internet conspiracy theories with antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ elements”, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The breach was the first of two hacks targeting Gab in recent weeks. On Monday, the platform went dark after a hacker took over the accounts of 178 users, including Torba and the Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. In messages sent from the pirated accounts, the hackers claimed they had obtained 831 “verification documents” from the site and asked for Bitcoins in exchange for returning them.
Read more of Jason Wilson’s report here: Gab hack gives unprecedented look into platform used by far right
Yesterday President Joe Biden pledged that surplus vaccines will be shared with the rest of the world, after he announced the purchase of an additional 100m Johnson & Johnson doses.
“If we have a surplus, we’re going to share it with the rest of the world,” he said. “This is not something that can be stopped by a fence no matter how high you build a fence or a wall. So we’re not going to be safe until the world is safe. And so, we’re going to start off making sure Americans are taken care of first, but we’re then going to try and help the rest of the world.”
The president reiterated plans to have all American adults vaccinated by the end of May and revealed the country hit a record of 2.9m vaccinations in one day on Saturday.
At least 62.5 million people in the US have received one or both doses of the vaccine. This week, having vaccinated over 25% of the adult population, Alaska became the first state to open up vaccination to any adult aged 16 or over.
Here’s a reminder from our Lauren Gambino on what the Covid stimulus bill contains:
$1,400 stimulus checks: A majority of Americans – as many as 85% of US households, according to Democrats – will receive direct payments of $1,400 per person. Individuals making less than $75,000 and married couples making less than $150,000 collectively would receive the checks. The payments would gradually decrease for those earning more.
Unemployment benefits: The bill extends through early September the $300-a-week federal unemployment benefits approved in a previous aid package. It also included a provision to make the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits received in 2020 tax-free for households earning less than $150,000.
Child tax credit: The legislation significantly increases – and expands eligibility for – the child tax credit. Under the bill, the tax credit would jump from $2,000 a child under 17 to $3,600 for children up to age five and $3,000 for children aged between six and 17.
Health insurance subsidies: The bill would temporarily increase financial assistance for health coverage purchased through marketplaces established by the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Vaccine distribution and testing: The bill provides tens of billions of dollars to speed up vaccine distribution and administration.
Pandemic response: The bill sends $350bn to state, local and tribal governments, to help offset deep budget shortfalls as a result of efforts to combat the pandemic.
Rental, mortgage and food assistance: The legislation also includes a number of other provisions that would provide assistance for food and housing, including money for low-income Americans to afford rent and pay their utilities, and aid to homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages because of the pandemic.
Read the details in full here: $1,400 stimulus checks and vaccine funds – what the Covid relief bill contains
“I’m from the government and I’m here to help” has been the punchline to conservative jokes since the Reagan era. Democrats this week are anxious to reset that expectation with their $1.9 trillion Covid relief plan.
Help is on the way:
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 11, 2021
For direct checks for people and families
For vaccines
For schools
For significantly reducing child poverty
And so much more! #AmericanRescuePlan pic.twitter.com/cXfN98cSlb
Welcome to our live coverage of US politics for Thursday. Here’s where we are, and what we might expect to see later in the day…
- The House passed the $1.9tn coronavirus relief package, delivering Joe Biden his first major legislative victory as president.
- The bill passed by the House includes sweeping measures to try to tackle deep-rooted racial, gender and class inequalities in the US.
- The US will purchase another 100m doses of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine. Biden celebrated the increased production of vaccines and the passage of the relief bill. “There is light at the end of this dark tunnel of the past year,” the president said. “There is real reason for hope, folks.”
- The Senate confirmed two more of Biden’s cabinet nominees, Merrick Garland and Marcia Fudge. Garland was confirmed as the next US attorney general, and Fudge was confirmed to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
- Governor Andrew Cuomo faces his most serious allegation yet as an aide says that he groped her. The New York Democrat has been accused of harassment by five other women and is under investigation by state attorney general
- Jen Psaki’s press briefing is at 12.30 today.
- Tonight at 8pm (0100 GMT Friday) Joe Biden will address the nation to mark the anniversary of the Covid-19 shutdown.
