Good morning.
Joe Biden unveiled a “once-in-a-generation” investment in US infrastructure yesterday, with $2tn for the American Jobs Plan. Biden said the plan would hit some of the biggest problems facing the US in one sweep; tackling the climate crisis, wealth inequality and increasing US competitiveness around the world.
What will the plan include? The proposal would rebuild roads and highways and repair the 10 most economically important bridges and includes plans to improve clean drinking water, the electric grid, and the reach of high speed broadband. It would also rejuvenate community care facilities, schools, and homes and offices, while introducing new initiatives for training workers and strengthening labour unions.
Biden said the plan would enable “transformational progress” in tackling the climate crisis by increasing investments in clean energy and electric vehicles, and improving home building. It also takes a swipe at emissions caused by transport – the US’s largest source of greenhouse gases. Read more about the package’s plan for the climate here.
How is he going to pay? Biden is proposing a significant increase in corporation taxes, from 21% to 28%, which he said would offset the spending over 15 years. He would also make multinational corporations pay more tax in the US on profits made abroad.
If the coronavirus relief package is anything to go off, Biden still has a long way to go before his expansive package becomes reality, writes David Smith.
Georgia is repealing the citizen’s arrest law
Lawmakers in Georgia have approved a bill that would remove its citizen’s arrest law, becoming the first state to do so. Civil rights advocates have welcomed the bill and are pushing for similar reforms across the US. All 50 states have some form of citizen’s arrest statute.
The law enables citizens to detain others under certain circumstances, and has its origins in slavery, allowing white citizens to capture slaves fleeing north. But it continues to be influential: in 2020, it was cited by the prosecutor who refused to arrest the killers of Ahmaud Arbery – a Black man who was jogging when he was chased and shot to death by three white men who said they thought he was committing a robbery.
The bill would still allow security officers, private investigators, and off-duty officers to detain someone they believe has committed a crime, but would strike the citizen’s arrest from state law.
Four people have been shot dead in California
Four people, including one child, were killed in a shooting in a California office building. Another person was injured, and the suspected shooter was also wounded by police and taken to hospital. It is unclear what condition they were in.
Little is known at the moment about the shooting, which occurred at about 5.30pm on Wednesday in Orange, south of Los Angeles, or what the motivation was. Police said there was no threat to the public.
A man who allegedly threatened “shoot Chinese people” has been arrested in San Francisco. Police said the man repeatedly threatened an Asian American woman inside a bakery, returning several days in a row to cause a disruption.
In other news…
A woman sentenced to five years in prison for voting while ineligible will appeal in Texas’ highest criminal appeals court. Crystal Mason said she did not realise she could not vote during the 2016 incident, and officials testified during her trial that they never informed her she was ineligible.
The cashier who took a $20 counterfeit bill from George Floyd has spoken of his guilt and disbelief about his role in the incident. Floyd was arrested when he refused to go back into the shop after the manager found out the bill was counterfeit. Martin said that while Floyd appeared to be high, he was not threatening and was “very approachable”.
Stat of the day: children have been accessing trans medicine and transition for more than 90 years
Prof Jules Gill-Peterson has found extensive evidence that shows that trans young people have been fighting to live as themselves for many decades – and that despite coming under a harsher spotlight recently, the issue is by no means new. In this interview she reveals how trans medicine and transitioning has been accessed by children since the 30s, and social transitions happened long before.
Don’t miss this: how authorities tried to tackle Mexico’s morgue crisis ... and created new horror
Mexico’s drug wars have pushed morgues to breaking point, as the number of unidentified bodies continues to grow while desperate families seek information. Matthew Bremner tells the story of how, as they tried to tackle the crisis, a state government brought a lorry carrying 273 bodies to the outskirts of a Mexican city.
Last thing: inside the world of competitive chilli eaters
In this highly-entertaining piece, Kate Robinson opens the door to the bizarre world of competitive chilli eating; one of thrill, fame and physical pain. “I think there’s this innate morbid curiosity and fascination with peppers, just like there is with rock’n’roll,” said one pepper developer.
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