Biden touts infrastructure law in Minnesota visit
ROSEMOUNT, Minn. — President Joe Biden used his first Minnesota stop since being elected to trumpet the new bipartisan infrastructure law focused on improving roads, bridges and public transportation throughout the United States.
Speaking at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Biden said he and others in his administration will travel around the country in the coming weeks to highlight how "these investments will change lives." The president said the law "will help rebuild the backbone of this nation," including making high-speed internet available to every Minnesotan.
Biden, a Democrat, signed the legislation into law earlier this month that will bring billions to Minnesota. Prior to the president's remarks, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the infrastructure bill "one of the most important pieces of legislation" Congress has passed in the last several decades.
Former Democratic New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu, recently picked by Biden as senior advisor and infrastructure coordinator, said in a phone interview that Minnesota has "661 bridges and over 4,000 plus miles of highway in poor condition and some of the funding that's coming down to you guys should be coming down sooner rather than later."
Hundreds of people gathered across from Dakota County Technical College to protest Biden's visit, ranging from supporters of former President Donald Trump to Ethiopians on all sides of the country's civil war asking the president to re-examine his foreign policy in Ethiopia.
—Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Targeting overdose deaths, NYC opens safe injection sites
NEW YORK — Hard drug users will now be able to inject heroin and other drugs at two so-called safe injection sites in upper Manhattan, making New York City the first in the nation to officially sanction such services.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and top city health officials announced the creation of the safe injection sites Tuesday as the city struggles to deal with a growing crisis of overdose deaths.
In the first three months of 2021 alone, 596 people died of overdoses in the city — the highest rate of such drug-related deaths in a three-month span since the city began keeping such data in 2000. In 2020, more than 2,000 people died from overdoses throughout the five boroughs — another all-time high, according to city records.
“After exhaustive study, we know the right path forward to protect the most vulnerable people in our city. And we will not hesitate to take it,” de Blasio said in a written statement. “Overdose Prevention Centers are a safe and effective way to address the opioid crisis. I’m proud to show cities in this country that after decades of failure, a smarter approach is possible.”
The city-sanctioned shooting galleries are located in East Harlem and Washington Heights, according to a spokesman for de Blasio.
The aim is to prevent drug users from overdosing by providing them with a safe place to get their fix. The operators of the facilities will offer clean needles and addiction treatment options, as well as naloxone, which is used to reverse overdoses.
—New York Daily News
Court upholds California ban on large-scale gun magazines
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court decided Tuesday to uphold California's ban on large-scale ammunition magazines in a ruling that is likely to lead to the court's approval of the state's ban on assault weapons.
In an en banc decision, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 8-3 that a state law that limits the size of magazines that may be used with firearms does not significantly interfere with the right to self defense. The court noted that there was no evidence that a person has been unable to defend a home because of a lack of large-capacity magazines.
During the past 50 years, the court said, large-capacity magazines have been used in about three-quarters of mass shootings that resulted in 10 or more deaths, and in 100% of massacres with 20 or more deaths.
Two other gun control cases have been put on hold pending a decision in the magazine case. Tuesday's decision indicates that California's ban on assault weapons, which a lower court had struck down, is also likely to be ruled constitutional.
California's ban on large-capacity magazines affects those that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
—Los Angeles Times
Quantum computing would get boost in Senate defense bill
As the Senate takes up its version of the annual defense policy bill this week, one of the provisions tucked into the legislation would boost funding for U.S. quantum computing efforts.
The Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act would add $100 million on top of the $430 million the Pentagon sought for information and communications technology programs.
In explaining the need for the extra money, the report accompanying the Senate bill said the funds would go toward “acceleration of the deployment of large-scale quantum computing systems to help ensure the United States remains the world leader in quantum computing capabilities.”
The money would go to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, and the legislation asks the agency’s director to “make one or more large awards to entities who present credible plans for development of functioning large scale quantum computing systems.” The House version of the defense bill doesn’t have a matching provision for quantum computing, and the subject would have to be addressed during conference negotiations between the two chambers.
The goal of accelerating U.S. quantum computing efforts comes as experts worry that China is investing significant resources and aims to become a global leader in the technology. Quantum computers process information differently from traditional computers and are capable of solving some problems much more efficiently than normal computers.
—CQ-Roll Call
