Good morning! Here is your news briefing for Monday March 8, 2021
1.) THE DAILY SIGNAL
March 8 2021
Good morning from Washington, where CNN and other media outlets fault Mike Pence for straight talk about House Democrats’ top legislative priority. The facts are with the former VP, Hans von Spakovsky argues. And that bill actually would strengthen the left, a Texas congressman writes. On the podcast, Rob Bluey interviews Trump campaign communications chief Tim Murtaugh about the turns in that trail. Plus: the U.S. slips again in economic freedom; President Biden’s Iranian challenge; and your letters on the “canceling” of a “Star Wars” actress. On this date in 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, carrying 239 passengers and crew to Beijing, drops from contact within an hour of takeoff from Kuala Lumpur, veers off course, and disappears.
The so-called “mainstream” media, including CNN, is apoplectic over former Vice President Pence’s op-ed in The Daily Signal in which he says that “election integrity is a national imperative.”
HR 1 would require states to automatically register voters, make it harder to verify voter information, and expand mail-in voting without safeguards in place to catch fraud.
“The media was, I think, jealous of the fact that [President Trump] could go around them and speak right to the American people,” says Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump campaign.
The United States fell three places since last year and now ranks 20th in the world among countries evaluated, with an economic freedom score of 74.8 out of 100.
Iran has escalated its coercive pressure campaign on the Biden administration on two major fronts—the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program and terrorist attacks by Iranian proxies.
“Walt Disney would be appalled at what his vision has become. The behavior of today’s leadership at the Walt Disney Co. … seems to be totally committed to helping China destroy America,” writes Donald…
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2.) THE EPOCH TIMES
MARCH 8, 2021 READ IN BROWSER
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3.) DAYBREAK
Your First Look at Today’s Top Stories – Daybreak Insider
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State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Saturday it will take one more accuser before she agrees to push for a resignation (Daily Wire). The next day, she apparently changed her position and called for him to resign (NY Times). Sunday, Governor Cuomo said “there is no way” he will resign (CBS News). Hugh Hewitt called it “Going ‘full Northam’” (Twitter).
2.
Biden Uses Executive Orders to Push Voting Rights for Inmates
From the story: President Biden on Sunday issued executive orders for federal agencies to promote voting access including registering voters and helping inmates in federal prisons to vote.
As the cuts to police has led directly to the deaths of those they once protected (AP News). Shootings are on the rise in other cities for the same reasons (NY Post).
4.
Concerns in Minneapolis as Officer Trial Set to Begin
From the story: Fortified fencing, barbed wire and concrete barricades have gone up around the courthouse and police stations in Minneapolis in preparation for the landmark murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd (ABC News). From Andy Ngo: Various #antifa accounts on social media are promising violence if the Derek Chauvin trial in Minnesota doesn’t end the way they want. #AntifaRiots (Twitter). From Andrew McCarthy: It has gotten more complicated due to the trial judge’s lawless attempt to defy a flawed higher-court ruling that, in effect, forced the reinstatement of a controversial murder count — a charge of “depraved-indifference” homicide, which the trial judge had thrown out in October. At this point, the Minnesota Supreme Court may need to sort it all out, which could delay matters for months. Or perhaps Chauvin’s trial will proceed under a cloud of uncertainty (National Review).
5.
Biden Cuts Sanctions on Iran, Releases Billions to Our Enemies
Meghan and Harry Tell All in Controversial Oprah Interview
As they accused the royal family of blatant racism, among other things (Washington Times). Many aren’t believing much of what the pair said (NY Post). From Erick Erickson: So essentially Harry and Meghan have joined Woke-o Haram and want to cancel the Royal Family for not being woke (Twitter). From the Screen Actors Guild: We are still here for you, Meghan. Everyone deserves the protection of a union (Twitter).
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6400 N. Belt Line Rd., Suite 200, Irving, TX 75063
— What they’re reading on the Plaza level: As Florida’s Governor continues to defend himself against various slays related to his COVID-19 response and, now, vaccine rollout, The Wall Street Journal is highlighting how Ron DeSantis‘ role in the virus has been vindicating. The state’s numbers are lower than places with Democratic Governors, like New York and California, but its economy, saved from extended lockdowns, is thriving. No doubt Team DeSantis is already prepping news conference quips to tout their success.
Ron DeSantis gets vindicated. Image via AP.
— Two reasons Republicans outperformed polls: We know the 2020 election was so last year, but the Monday morning quarterbacking persists, nonetheless. FiveThirtyEight ponders two theories on why polls underestimated GOP success: former President Donald Trump capitalized on Republicans’ growing mistrust in government institutions and/or Republican voters fear ostracizing for their votes. On the latter point, FiveThirtyEight ponders what many already have: that secret some Trump supporters, or supporters of those like him, might have opted out of polls or answered differently than they actually voted. Now the question remains whether the next political cycle will see polling figure out what’s ailing them and get it right.
— A beautiful must-read: PatrickHidalgo was a healthy 41-year old before he died suddenly more than a year ago after frantically calling his family one night, sounding the alarm that he was having trouble breathing. Now, The New York Times documented how his family, initially told Hidalgo died of complications related to heart disease, is trying to find out whether COVID-19 was the actual culprit. It’s a touching story of loss, mystery and intense family ties.
— What we’re reading to Ella Joyce: A Girl Scout troop in Iowa has sold more than 20,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. A feat in and of itself, but especially since this troop is extra special. It’s a troop of just six girls, all of whom face chronic housing instability. The feat has already shattered their initial goal, which was to sell 1,000 boxes. Thin mints, anyone?
Situational awareness
Tweet, tweet:
—@CarlosGSmith: Breaks my heart to see all these medically vulnerable people turned away from the vaccine in Florida City because @GovRonDeSantis mandated a BIG GOVERNMENT FORM they can’t get signed when they try. Doc offices are overwhelmed, some are charging. Millions don’t have a doctor. WTF
—@MayorDaniella: Our top priority must be to get shots in arms as fast as possible and ensure no available vaccine supply goes unused. I urge the Governor to expand eligibility requirements to meet the great demand in our community and across the state.
Tweet, tweet:
Tweet, tweet:
—@NewsBySmiley: Michael Putney ends This Week in South Florida by calling out @marcorubioand @SenRickScott for he says “refusing” to come on the show to be interviewed. Asks viewers who want to see the interviews to contact the Senators’ offices
—@Foswi: Can you even call yourself a lawyer in Tallahassee if you haven’t driven two hours one way to Alabama to get vaccinated? Yesterday the Tally bar association had enough members in a Bama Walmart to hold a meeting?
Tweet, tweet:
Days until
Municipal elections in Broward and south Palm Beach County — 1; 2021 Grammys — 6; Zack Snyder’s ‘Justice League’ premieres on HBO Max — 10; ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ premieres — 18; 2021 Florida Virtual Hemp Conference — 18; 2021 Florida Derby — 19; MLB Opening Day — 24; RNC spring donor summit — 32; ‘Black Widow’ rescheduled premiere — 60; Florida Chamber Safety Council’s inaugural Southeastern Leadership Conference on Safety, Health and Sustainability — 63; ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ rescheduled premiere — 81; ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ rescheduled premiere — 116; Disney’s ‘Shang Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings’ premieres — 125; MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta — 127; new start date for 2021 Olympics — 137; ‘Jungle Cruise’ premieres — 145; St. Petersburg Primary Election — 159; ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ premieres (rescheduled) — 200; ‘Dune’ premieres — 207; MLB regular season ends — 209; ‘No Time to Die’ premieres (rescheduled) — 215; World Series Game 1 — 232; St. Petersburg Municipal Elections — 239; Disney’s ‘Eternals’ premieres — 242; Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ premieres — 277; ‘Spider-Man Far From Home’ sequel premieres — 284; ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ premieres — 382; ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ premieres — 424; ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ sequel premieres — 578.
Moves
Mike Hernández to lead LSN Partnerscomms shop — Political communications veteran Hernández joins LSN Communications as a partner to bolster the firm’s communication and messaging practice. He will be leading the newly formed LSN Communications Division, which will provide bilingual public relations, public affairs, media relations, crisis communications, and issue advocacy. Hernández brings more than 15 years of experience in corporate and political messaging, as well as campaign communications. He also served as an on-air political analyst for WSCV Telemundo 51, a highly rated South Florida news program. Before joining the private sector, Hernández served as senior adviser and Director of Communications for former Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez.
___
Technology company SAS Institute continued expanding its footprint in Florida with the addition of Nick Alvarez.
Alvarez was hired as a Florida Account Executive in SAS’ Government & Public Sector practice, working with well-known players including Ben Stuart, Beth Nunnally and Brian Logan.
“Nick’s talent, experience and track record of success is a perfect fit for the SAS team as we partner with Florida local and state government to tackle many of our state’s most complex public policy issues,” said Public Sector National Director Ben Stuart.
Congrats: SAS Institute is expanding its Florida footprint with the hire of Nick Alvarez.
Alvarez is known to Florida Politics readers as he was recently named one of Florida’s “30 Under 30 Rising Stars” in INFLUENCE Magazine.
He began his political career as a grassroots field organizer for Mitt Romney in Miami-Dade during the 2012 presidential campaign and has since served as campaign manager and political consultant to numerous members of the Miami-Dade Legislative Delegation.
Alvarez was the Political and Hispanic Director for former Sen. Dana Young’s campaign before serving as a legislative aide to Florida Senate President Pro-Tempore Anitere Flores for three years. Most recently, he worked on the campaigns for Rep. Anthony Rodriguez and Rep. Danny Perez, a future House Speaker.
“Nick is an invaluable asset to any team he joins. His work ethic, tenacity, and connections will allow him to thrive at SAS. I am excited to see this next chapter in his career,” Perez said.
___
One of Florida’s top medical cannabis companies has hired Taylor Ferguson as their state government and regulatory affairs director.
Ferguson comes to Parallel with nearly a decade of experience in Florida government. He was a senior legislative aide to former Senate Appropriations Chair Rob Bradley and former Rep. Jake Raburn. He also served as campaign manager to Sen. Ed Hooper in the 2018 election cycle.
Earlier in his career, Ferguson worked as the communications coordinator for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. He is a graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University, where he earned a degree in political communications.
More congrats: Taylor Ferguson is bringing considerable talent to Parallel.
Most recently, he was a partner at a consulting firm he co-founded to help connect state and local governments to third-party PPE and testing providers to help mitigate fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parallel is one of the largest privately held, vertically integrated, multistate cannabis companies in the world. and operates retail dispensaries in four medical and adult-use markets: Florida, Texas, Massachusetts and Nevada. Its Florida brand is Surterra Wellness.
Parallel operates approximately 50 locations nationwide, including 42 retail stores and cultivation and manufacturing sites.
Through its wholly-owned Parallel Biosciences subsidiary, the company conducts advanced cannabis science and R&D for new product development in its facilities in Texas, Massachusetts, Florida and Budapest, Hungary.
Dateline Tallahassee
“Ron DeSantis’ ‘anti-riot’ bill advances in House, but it may be dead on arrival in the Senate” via Trimmel Gomes of Florida News Connection — A controversial anti-rioting bill championed by DeSantis is moving quickly toward passage in the House but is likely to stall in the Senate. Triggered by the mostly peaceful protests after the police killing of George Floyd, sponsor Sen. Danny Burgess said HB 1 would protect against agitators who destroy properties during public disorder. Opponents say it’s intended to silence and criminalize Black protesters and allies. Sen. Brandes said lawmakers can file any bill they want, which doesn’t mean it will become law. The bill’s Senate companion has yet to be heard, and its chances are slim since Brandes chairs two and sits on the other of its three committee stops.
Ron DeSantis’ ‘anti-riot’ bill may be DOA in the Senate. Image via AP.
“Wilton Simpson says he will not hinder EAA reservoir project” via Max Chesnes of TCPalm — The Florida Senate will not hinder progress on the EAA reservoir, the president said this week, after his previous comments criticizing the project cast doubts about its future. “Let me be clear,” Sen. Simpson said Tuesday, in his opening remarks on the first day of the legislative session. Over the past three months, Simpson has criticized the Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir being built south of Lake Okeechobee, designed to curb harmful discharges to the St. Lucie River, which sometimes carry toxic algae blooms to the coast. In February, Simpson also urged Congress and the Army Corps of Engineers to expedite water storage projects north of Lake O by approving funding.
“Chris Sprowls punts on state employee pay raise question” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — State employees will need to wait for now to learn if they’ll get another raise this year. Speaker Sprowls said his chamber would consider pay raises, a perennial issue for state workers. Even though Senate leadership is eager to give raises, employees will sit in suspense until April, when lawmakers hash out the budget. “That’s a budget question, and obviously, we have to take into account the entire budget,” Sprowls said. Florida may be recovering economically faster than expected from the COVID-19 pandemic, but budget chiefs in the Legislature still expect to keep the budget more conservative than usual. Yet Senate President Simpson told reporters Tuesday he hopes to set aside $30 million to $40 million to raise state employee salaries.
“Florida was a 2020 election star. So why are lawmakers messing with success?” via Antonio Fins of The Palm Beach Post — Partisan rigidity aside, Florida Republicans and Democrats agree on at least this much: The Sunshine State in 2020 pulled off the smoothest election this century, even amid a once-in-lifetime pandemic. So, why are GOP state lawmakers in Tallahassee now lining up to mess with success in promulgating a series of, critics say, dubious if not harmful election reforms? Putting it bluntly, some say, former President Donald Trump. “That would be part of it,” said Palm Beach Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo. Rizzo said the legislation in Tallahassee is a proverbial “solution in search of a problem that doesn’t exist,” and that will disadvantage Florida’s legions of elderly voters.
“Student opposition mounts against scaling back Bright Futures scholarships” via Andrew Atterbury of POLITICO Florida — Florida students are rallying against a proposal from Senate Republicans that would dramatically reshape the state’s widely popular Bright Futures college scholarship. In one week, an online petition fighting the measure eclipsed 53,000 signatures, with the bill teed up for its first hearing on Tuesday. Top GOP lawmakers this week were doubling down their plans for retooling the $650 million scholarship program. FL SB86 introduces wide-scale policy shifts that could mark the most substantial Bright Futures cutback since the Great Recession, altering how much money students can receive for the awards currently earned by some 119,925 students.
Florida students will descend on the Senate to save the popular Bright Futures scholarship. Image via Colin Hackley.
“House panel to weigh pot potency” via News Service of Florida — The House Professions & Public Health Subcommittee is scheduled to consider the proposal (HB 1455), filed by Republican Rep. Spencer Roach of North Fort Myers. A similar bill (SB 1958) was filed this week in the Senate by Estero Republican Ray Rodrigues. In part, Roach’s bill would place a 10% THC cap on smokable marijuana. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the main psychoactive component of marijuana that makes users feel high. Medical-marijuana advocates and industry officials are fighting the proposals, arguing caps would force patients to spend more money to achieve the same effects from their medical treatment. Supporters of caps contend that high-potency marijuana has negative mental-health effects, especially on the developing brain.
Tally 2
Assignment editors — Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and Rep. Ramon Alexander will hold a news conference regarding “red tape for the medically vulnerable” regarding COVID-19 vaccines in Florida, 2:15 p.m., outside the Al Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center, Florida A&M University, 1800 Wahnish Way, Tallahassee. The press should RSVP to Comms@FDACS.gov.
“Michele Rayner responds to racist voicemail left over anti-riot bill vote” via Kelly Hayes of Florida Politics — Pinellas County Rep. Rayner is responding to a racist voicemail left at her personal law practice Thursday morning amid the first week of this year’s Legislative Session. The message, which was left on the Democrat’s direct line in her law practice in Clearwater, said: “Michele Rayner is nothing but a f***ing n***er freak.” Rayner said the voicemail came from a restricted number, but it was in a woman’s voice. “I get it through work on Twitter and on Facebook, but it’s another thing to kind of have your personal space invaded a little bit more,” Rayner said. “You’re able to detach when it’s online.”
Michelle Rayner-Goolsby refuses to be intimidated by racist voicemail messages.
“Florida Democrats propose $543M in rent relief for small businesses left out of eviction bans” via Caroline Glenn of The Orlando Sentinel — Left out of state and national eviction moratoriums, Florida businesses could find relief in a bill that would set up a $543 million rent stabilization fund and put a stop to commercial evictions. Filed by Democrats Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Sen. Annette Taddeo, House Bill 1469 and Senate Bill 2002 seek to help small businesses that make less than $250,000 a year in profits that have gotten behind on rent. The fund would cover half a business’ back rent; the business would agree to pay 25% of what it owes, and the landlord would agree to forgive the other 25%.
“Lawmakers take steps to limit students’ grades being shared with law enforcement” via Kirby Wilson and Kathleen McGrory of the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times — A Senate panel this week advanced a proposal that would require Florida school districts to obtain written consent from parents before releasing their children’s grades to law enforcement. St. Pete Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes said he introduced the measure in response to Tampa Bay Times reporting on a Pasco County program. The Times found the Pasco school district shares student grades, attendance records, and disciplinary histories with the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, which uses the data to determine which kids might become future criminals. “Parents should be notified before their (child’s) school grades are being used in this fashion and should have to affirmatively consent to that use,” he told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
The comic strip series follows a neighborhood pharmacist’s struggles to help their patients while “Papa PBM” shakes him down daily. The comic strip series marks the official launch of the marketing campaign the coalition will be investing in to bring attention to this issue that “drives up prescription drug costs for Floridians.” The comic strip series will follow heavy digital advertising spend to help bring attention to the practices of prescription drug middlemen that the state continues to allow.
Lobby regs
New and renewed lobbying registrations:
Jeff Atwater, Abigail Vail, Ballard Partners: Florida Peninsula Insurance Company
Slater Bayliss, Chris, Sarah Suskey, Jeffrey Woodburn, The Advocacy Group at Cardenas Partners: Binti
Louis Betz, Louis Betz & Associates: More Transplants More Life
Jim Daughton, Warren Husband, Douglas Bell, Allison Liby-Schoonover, Aimee Diaz Lyon, Andrew Palmer, Metz Husband & Daughton: 23andMe
Helena Delmonte: The Association for the Development of the Exceptional
Violet Gonzalez, GrayRobinson: MACtown
James Harris Jr.: Manatee Harvesting
Deno Hicks, River North Strategies: RedSpeed USA
Jason Holloway, DLT Consulting: Bay Area Arborist Consulting Group, Florida Business Blockchain Association
Jim Horne, Tara Reid-Cherry, Strategos Public Affairs: Affinity Waste Solutions
Nick Iarossi, Andrew Ketchel, Scott Ross, Chris Schoonover, Capital City Consulting: Hearing Industries Association
Joe Mantilla, Reed Smith: TrueCore Behavioral Solutions
Will McKinley, Erik Kirk, PooleMcKinley: Carahsoft Technology
Kathleen Orlowsky: BAE Systems
Evan Rosenthal, Nabors Giblin & Nickerson: Wakulla County
Leg. sked
The House Finance & Facilities Subcommittee meets to consider HB 1157, from Rep. Traci Koster, to prevent free-standing hospital emergency departments from holding themselves out as urgent care centers, 10 a.m., Reed Hall, House Office Building.
The House Regulatory Reform Subcommittee meets to consider HB 6073, from Rep. Chip LaMarca, to repeal the regulation limiting the sizes of wine containers sold in Florida, 10 a.m., Room 404, House Office Building.
The House Government Operations Subcommittee meets to consider HB 947, from Rep. Scott Plakon, to change the process for deducting union dues from public employees’ paychecks, 10 a.m., Morris Hall, House Office Building.
Happening today — House Minority Co-leader Evan Jenne and Rep. Fentrice Driskell will host a virtual media availability, 10 a.m. Zoom link here.
The House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee meets for an update on federally funded reading initiatives, 11 a.m., Room 212, Knott Building.
The House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee meets to consider HB 231, from Rep. Ardian Zika, to establish a program to provide referral services to veterans and family members for help for mental health and substance abuse issues, 1 p.m., Room 404, House Office Building.
The House Public Integrity and Elections Committee meets to workshop HB 155, from Rep. Cyndi Stevenson, to create a public records exemption for voters or voter-registration applicants, 1 p.m., Morris Hall, House Office Building.
The Joint Select Committee on Collective Bargaining meets for a public hearing about deadlocked issues, 1 p.m., Reed Hall, House Office Building.
The Senate Select Committee on Pandemic Preparedness and Response meets for an update from Deloitte Consulting on its role in developing Florida’s troubled unemployment compensation system, 3:30 p.m., Room 412, Knott Building.
The House Children, Families and Seniors Subcommittee meet to consider HB 1473, from Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera, to make changes in Florida’s child-welfare system, 3:45 p.m., Room 404, House Office Building.
The House Environment, Agriculture and Flooding Subcommittee meets to consider PCB EAF 21-01 to focus on the effects of rising sea levels because of climate change, 3:45 p.m., Morris Hall, House Office Building.
The House Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee meets to consider HB 1273, from Rep. Patt Maney, to allow high-performing students who live outside of Florida to pay in-state tuition rates at public universities if their grandparents reside in the Sunshine State, 3:45 p.m., Reed Hall, House Office Building.
The House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee meets to consider HB 67, from Rep. Juan Alfonso Fernandez-Barquin, to prevent a public defender from being appointed if a private attorney represents the same defendant in a case, 3:45 p.m., Room 212, Knott Building.
The Senate Special Order Calendar Group meets to set the special-order calendar, 4:30 p.m., Room 401, Senate Office Building.
“Florida GOP may use stimulus to help businesses avoid unemployment taxes, but will workers benefit?” via John Kennedy of The Sarasota Herald-Tribune — Florida’s unemployment system is putting more heat on DeSantis and ruling Republicans, who are looking to quiet their worried political donor base with the help of President Joe Biden and the Democratic-led Congress’ $1.9 trillion federal stimulus package. Last spring, the state’s problem-plagued online CONNECT system repeatedly crashed under an unprecedented rush of jobless Floridians seeking to apply for benefits. DeSantis mocked the system as a “jalopy” sputtering along in the Daytona 500, but people out of work still had to wait weeks to receive payments. Now, though, powerful business groups that finance GOP campaigns are putting pressure on leaders over higher unemployment tax payments they face next month.
“State tax revenues top forecast in January” via News Service of Florida — In the new report on revenues, the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research said the $3.001 billion collected in January exceeded by $246.7 million a revised revenue forecast for the month. That revised forecast was issued in August, after months of businesses struggling with the pandemic. But the January revenue total was below tax collections in January 2020, which was before the pandemic crashed into the state. The January figure exceeding the revised forecast by $246.7 million came after the state saw bigger bumps during the previous three months. The state was $336.7 million over the forecast in December, $277.3 million over the forecast in November, and $313.5 million over the forecast in October.
2022
“Sunshine State dims for Dems amid election losses, cash woes” via Bobby Caina Calvan of The Associated Press — Democrats may delight in their brightening prospects in Arizona and Georgia and may even harbor glimmers of hope in Texas, but their angst is growing in Florida, which has a reputation as a swing state but now favors Republicans and could be shifting further out of reach for Democrats. As the jockeying begins to take on DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Rubio in 2022, Democrats’ disadvantage against Republicans is deeper than ever, as they try to develop a cohesive strategy and rebuild a statewide party deep in debt and disarray. Trump’s brand of populism has helped power a GOP surge in Florida, where Trump defeated now-President Biden by more than 3 percentage points last fall.
Florida is not looking so good for Democrats. Image via AP.
“From vote to virus, misinformation campaign targets Latinos” via Will Weissert of The Associated Press — Tom Perez was a guest on a Spanish-language talk radio show in Las Vegas last year when a caller launched into baseless complaints about both parties, urging Latino listeners not to cast votes at all. Perez, then chairman of the Democratic Party, recognized many of the claims as talking points for #WalkAway, a group promoted by a conservative activist, Brandon Straka, who was later arrested for participating in the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In the run-up to the November election, that call was part of a broader movement to depress turnout and spread disinformation about Biden among Latinos; it was promoted on social media and often fueled by automated accounts.
“Nick DiCeglie raises $176K in February for SD 24 bid” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics — Rep. DiCeglie raised more than $176,000 in February for his bid for Senate District 24, his campaign announced Friday. The haul also includes fundraising activity on Mar. 1, the final day before the 2021 Legislative Session. Lawmakers are prohibited from fundraising during the 60-day Session, meaning his one-month haul set his campaign up well ahead of a long lull. Prominent local contributors include St. Pete City Council members Ed Montanari and Robert Blackmon, real estate investor Jim Holton, developer Jonathan Stanton and attorney Brian Aungst Jr. DiCeglie officially announced he was running for SD 24 Mar. 1.
Daniel Perez committee pulls in $192K via News Service of Florida — A political committee led by Miami Republican Rep. Perez raised $192,000 in February while also funneling $200,000 to the Republican Party of Florida, according to a newly filed finance report. The committee, Conservatives for a Better Florida, had about $513,000 in cash on hand as of Feb. 28. Perez is in line to become House Speaker in 2024. According to the report posted on the report, the contributions to the committee in February were $25,000 from the auto firm JM Family Enterprises, $10,000 from a Florida Medical Association PAC, and $10,000 from Dosal Tobacco Corp state Division of Elections website. The committee reported spending $227,986 during the month, with $200,000 of that going to the state GOP.
Daniel Perez makes bank. Image via Colin Hackley.
Corona Florida
“Florida adds 4,098 coronavirus cases, 66 deaths Sunday” via Romy Ellenbogen of The Tampa Bay Times — Florida recorded 66 deaths Sunday, the lowest single-day total in months. Sunday’s addition dropped the weekly death average to about 123 people announced dead per day. In Florida, 32,266 people have died from coronavirus. The state also added 4,098 coronavirus cases Sunday, bringing the weekly average to about 5,111 cases announced per day. Statewide, 1,944,995 cases of coronavirus have been identified since last March. About 84,000 coronavirus tests were processed Saturday, resulting in a single-day positivity rate of 5.84 percent. As of Sunday afternoon, 3,550,139 people in Florida have been vaccinated against coronavirus, with more than half those vaccinated having completed their immunization series.
“DeSantis done with vaccinating by job; leaving out farmworkers called cruel” via Jane Musgrave of The Palm Beach Post — Despite pressure from farmworker advocates, DeSantis said Friday that he won’t prioritize any more groups for coronavirus vaccines, leaving hard-hit agricultural workers at the mercy of systems many can’t access. Days after he agreed school employees, police and firefighters age 50 and up could get vaccinated alongside seniors; he said he is done giving priority by profession. “We’re not doing any more occupation changes,” he said during a news conference in Ocala. “We’re going to do an age-based approach going forward.” While not surprised that DeSantis ignored their pleas, those who have seen the deadly toll the virus has taken in farming communities called the decision shortsighted and cruel.
Ron DeSantis stops vaccinations by occupation; leaving farmworkers struggling.
“Hospital system contradicts DeSantis on COVID-19 vaccine delivery to luxury Keys enclave” via David Fleshler and Skyler Swisher of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel — Baptist Health on Friday disputed DeSantis’ claim that his administration had nothing to do with the decision to send 1,200 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Ocean Reef Club, the luxury Key Largo community at the center of controversy over whether the wealthy received privileged access to vaccines. Democrats have pounced on the issue, calling on the FBI to investigate whether vaccines were improperly directed to DeSantis’ political allies. They say it’s part of a pattern in which Florida’s wealthy have been able to get the shots, while vaccination rates lag among Blacks and Hispanics.
“DeSantis administration ‘reeks of corruption,’ say Democrats calling for investigation after vaccines linked to political donations” via Dara Kam of Orlando Weekly — As DeSantis travels the state boasting of Florida’s “seniors first” policy, Democratic leaders are calling for investigations into the allocation of coveted COVID-19 vaccines. The political fight over the vaccines flared Thursday, with Fried saying she has requested an FBI investigation into the issue and Florida Senate Minority Leader Gary Farmer asking the U.S. Department of Justice to probe “potential wrongdoing” by the Republican Governor. The vaccines have become a flashpoint after reports that shots have been made available to seniors in wealthy neighborhoods and have been linked with campaign contributions to DeSantis, reports that the Governor disputes.
“FEMA vaccine site abandoned state rules, gave vaccines to any resident 18 and older” via Devoun Cetoute of The Miami Herald — A FEMA site suddenly deviating from state rules may have allowed possibly hundreds of Floridians to get the COVID-19 vaccine without needing to be part of one of DeSantis’ eligible groups. On Saturday, the FEMA satellite vaccine site in Florida City gave vaccines to anyone who was a Florida resident and was 18 and over, according to sources at the site. Marty Bahamonde, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the site should be following the same criteria established by DeSantis that all other FEMA sites do. Why the Florida City site deviated from the rules is being looked into.
In Florida City, FEMA ditched the state rules and began giving vaccines to anyone over 18.
“Unlike the rich donors DeSantis vaccinated first, I had to hustle for my vaccine” via Fabiola Santago of The Miami Herald — If DeSantis can dispense the first COVID-19 vaccines to his wealthy donors at the Ocean Reef Club in the Keys, if he can continue to use the deadly virus as a political fundraising tool at whim, I’m getting the shot in the arm I deserve under new eligibility guidelines. No more waiting, thanks to the under 65 “extreme vulnerability” category and the new FEMA site opened by Biden in Northwest Miami-Dade. Armed with a two-page letter from my doctor outlining a qualifying condition that made me more vulnerable to COVID-19 complications, I drove to the newly opened walk-up FEMA vaccination site at the Miami Dade College North campus.
Corona local
A harrowing must-read — “A family’s search for answers: Did their brother die of COVID-19?” via Patricia Mazzei of The New York Times — The Hidalgo siblings buried their younger brother, Patrick, six days after he had texted them in the middle of the night last March to say that something was wrong: He was gasping for air. Two days after that, paramedics found his body in his Miami Beach apartment. One of his hands still held a rosary. In the following days of March 2020, the coronavirus brought life in the United States to an abrupt halt. Only then, as their shock subsided and grief deepened, did the Hidalgo family start to wonder if Patrick had died of COVID-19. As the first COVID-19 deaths were recorded across the country, families like his found themselves in a state of haunting uncertainty that has never gone away.
“‘Real-life monopoly.’ Eligible residents turned away at Miami-Dade vaccine sites amid chaos” via Bianca Padró Ocasio of The Miami Herald — While hundreds of ineligible residents are now showing up to vaccination sites in hopes of scoring a leftover dose of a vaccine, Vázquez is one of many Floridians who are eligible to get the vaccine but are being turned away at vaccine sites that are imposing arbitrary thresholds for eligibility, even as facilities are not always meeting the daily allotment of available doses. At the federally-run facilities in Florida City and Miami Dade College’s North Campus, those who waited in line said the measures became even stricter on Sunday, after news spread of the free-for-all approach at the Florida City site on Saturday.
Chaos at a Miami vaccination site caused many who were eligible to be turned away. Image via AP.
“COVID-19 pandemic stakes its place as watershed event in Jacksonville history” via David Bauerlein of The Florida Times-Union — When historians look back on the deadly pandemic that arrived in Jacksonville in March 2020, it will go down as one of the most impactful and mobilizing events that Jacksonville has ever faced. Nearly one out of every 10 Duval County residents of all ages has tested positive at some point for the COVID-19 virus since the first confirmed case on March 12, 2020. At its most devastating, the virus has claimed 1,193 lives of Duval County residents, which is 124 deaths out of every 100,000 residents, based on a Times-Union analysis using data from the state health department and U.S. Census.
“Putnam County part of Florida’s pilot program to expand vaccines in rural areas” via Francine Frazier of News4Jax — A new pilot program in Florida aims to increase vaccines in rural counties in the state, including Putnam County. The state is partnering with Health Hero Florida, an immunization provider, to implement the program in Putnam and several other counties, including Highlands, Glades, Levy, Dixie, and Gilchrist. “Our mission remains clear: we are ensuring that every senior who wants a shot, gets a shot,” DeSantis said. DeSantis has been traveling around the state, focusing efforts on increasing vaccinations for seniors in counties running behind the state average, which he said is nearing 60% statewide.
“Orlando trial tests COVID-19 vaccine in teens” via Kate Santich of the Orlando Sentinel — When Dr. Salma Elfaki signed on to lead Moderna’s only COVID-19 vaccine trial for teens, the Lake Nona pediatrician thought she might have trouble finding kids — or parents — willing to participate. “Even before the news really got out, over 400 patients enlisted,” she said. “It has been surreal.” Some wanted to help society reclaim a sense of normalcy. Others were kids with health problems that made them more vulnerable to COVID-19 complications. Others were from Black and Hispanic families who sought to ensure racial equity. “Different people had different reasons, but they all were excited to become sort of pioneers in the field, if you will,” Elfaki said. “They wanted to be part of history.”
“Community Health Northwest Florida holding walk-in vaccine clinic” via The Pensacola News Journal staff reports — Community Health Northwest Florida is holding a walk-in vaccination clinic from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday at Brownsville Community Center for all residents of Florida who qualify. DeSantis’ amended order expands the groups eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida to include persons under 65 who are “medically vulnerable,” as well as those who hold specific jobs that put them at high risk, including firefighters and law enforcement officers age 50 and older. All participants will be required to show a photo ID as well as proof of qualifying condition/job when they arrive.
“What COVID-19 pandemic? Northwest Florida festivals gear up for a busy season” via Tony Judnich of the Northwest Florida Daily News — In Okaloosa County, at least, the show(s) must go on. In late February, the number of Americans killed by COVID-19 topped 500,000, more than the total number of American lives lost in World Wars I and II and the Vietnam War combined. That somber milestone led many government officials to lower U.S. flags to half-staff in respect for the pandemic victims. Now, as spring inches closer, the routine budding of plants is joined by announcements of major festivals and concerts as many people look forward to “getting back to normal” as soon as possible. The announcements about the crowd-attracting events come when Okaloosa County is still far from being safely out of the coronavirus woods.
“COVID-19 adds more ‘chaos’ to South Beach Spring Break as tourists flee lockdowns, cold” via Martin Vassolo of The Miami Herald — One year after the novel coronavirus cut spring break short, the party is back on in Miami Beach, and this time COVID-19 isn’t keeping the young tourists away. If anything, it’s making Miami more of a destination for people looking to relax or let loose after being bottled up for months. Even with some colleges canceling their midsemester breaks, students from more than 200 schools are expected to visit South Beach during spring break, which runs from late February to mid-April. Police anticipate the largest crowds this month. The number of visitors is still expected to be down compared to previous years, but police are already seeing throngs of tourists fleeing to Florida from states gripped with cold weather or under strict COVID-19 measures.
COVID-19 makes Spring Break in Miami more chaotic than ever. Image via AP.
“Spring Break crowd storms Fort Lauderdale beach, COVID-19 or not” via Susannah Bryan of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel — Thong bikinis, cold beer, and maskless throngs. That’s how Spring Break looked Thursday on the famous Fort Lauderdale strip, just days into the start of the popular college pastime that lasts into April. Universities across the country canceled Spring Break to discourage college coeds from spreading the coronavirus. But judging from the crowds hitting the beach, the kids are here in full force, pandemic or not. On Wednesday, an anonymous critic reported Café Ibiza on the county’s COVID-19 complaint dashboard for not enforcing social distancing or mask-wearing. As of Wednesday afternoon, no code officers had paid a visit to check out the complaint.
Like the Super Bowl? — “‘We’re very concerned:’ Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber worried spring break crowds could cause COVID-19 super spreader events” via CBS Miami staff reports — The sun and sand of South Beach are synonymous with Spring Break, and as travelers from across the country begin flocking to Florida for Spring Break, there are fears that there may be an uptick in coronavirus cases again. “We’re very concerned. You know, a lot of things are happening simultaneously. You have the variant down here, and we still are having sometimes dozens of deaths a day in our county,” Miami Beach Mayor Gelber said. Gelber said DeSantis had hampered his ability to give out fines, so police officers and ambassadors handed out masks.
Corona nation
“One year in: How does COVID-19’s toll compare with other causes of death?” via Louis Jacobson of the Tampa Bay Times — Now that the coronavirus has been in the United States for roughly a year, new numbers are revealing the scale of COVID-19-19′s impact on American health: COVID-19 has become the country’s third-leading cause of death, and isn’t far behind cancer. According to Johns Hopkins University data, through March 3, a total of 518,796 Americans have died of the coronavirus. And a closely watched model from researchers at the University of Washington projects this number will rise past 574,062 by June 1. “The toll of death is simply staggering — worse than I would have predicted,” said Arthur L. Caplan, founding head of the division of medical ethics at the New York University School of Medicine.
COVID-19 is catching up to cancer as one of the leading ways to die in America. Image via AP.
—“Year of loss, sorrow” via Zachary Sampson, Claire McNeill and Lane DeGregory of the Tampa Bay Times
“Where is the CDC’s guidance to vaccinated Americans?” via Leana S. Wen of The Washington Post — First, the CDC guidance on what fully vaccinated people can safely do was expected on Thursday. Then the release got pushed back. On Friday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said it would not happen that day, either, but that guidance would come “soon.” These unacceptable delays illustrate a larger communication problem about the coronavirus vaccines: Public health officials have chosen caution over celebration. If this doesn’t change, Americans could be dissuaded from being vaccinated, and our country might never achieve the goal of herd immunity.
“US could reach herd immunity by summer through vaccinations alone, CNN analysis finds” via Deidre McPhillips of CNN — Bad actors at home and abroad sow mistrust in our system, and they are succeeding. These threats are not just to public perception; in very close elections, it is crucial that each vote be counted fairly, equally, and without dilution by fraud. To that end, Republicans should aim to shore up faith in the system and seek reasonable Democrats to join them. Not so long ago, even after the 2000 recount, bipartisan common ground was possible. Those days are gone. To stoke the fears of their voting base, today’s Democrats persistently cast advocacy of accurate voter lists and identification as racist voter suppression.
“Joe Biden team plots the country’s first national COVID-19 testing strategy” via David Lim of POLITICO — The Biden administration is preparing to launch the first of several COVID-19 testing hubs to coordinate and oversee a $650 million expansion of testing in K-8 schools and congregate settings like homeless shelters. The Department of Health and Human Services hopes to open the first hub in April, as part of a public-private partnership that could eventually add up to 25 million tests per month to the nation’s testing totals. Administration officials discussed the program’s details on Tuesday during a call with industry, government agencies and state and local health departments. The effort is the first attempt at formalizing a national testing strategy, something public-health experts have wanted for months.
The Joe Biden administration is launching the nation’s first coordinated vaccine program. Image via AP.
“Americans are getting fewer coronavirus tests. Here’s why that’s bad.” via William Wan of The Washington Post — Coronavirus testing sites in Los Angeles County were overrun in January. Within minutes of opening online, appointments for the entire day would be fully booked. The lines outside testing sites stretched for blocks. But demand for testing has dropped so dramatically that anyone walking off the street nowadays can almost instantly get a test. “It’s crazy how fast and far the drop in testing has been,” said Clemens Hong, a physician leading the county’s testing efforts. The average number of tests being conducted every day in America has plummeted by 33.6 percent since January. That statistic has many experts deeply concerned because it comes just as America’s recent decrease in infections and deaths is stalling at a worrisome high level.
“When will America’s cities come back from the pandemic?” via Megan McArdle of The Washington Post — This is the story in a lot of American cities right now: The suburbs and residential neighborhoods seem positively lively, while downtown has more pigeons than people. Since New York City is like other cities, only much more so, it’s a good proxy for a larger question: How long until cities are back to where they were? Unfortunately, full recovery will probably take years, not months and, really, things may never be what they were. Midtown will still be noticeably emptier. In 2018, about 20 percent of New York visitors came from abroad. With most countries running well behind our vaccination rate, we should not expect many foreign tourists to return this year.
Corona economics
“Who qualifies for a third stimulus check? Here’s how it will work this time” via Laura Davison of Bloomberg — The U.S. Congress is slated to approve the third round of direct stimulus payments in less than a year, meaning that most Americans can expect another cash infusion in the coming weeks. Once Biden signs the measure into law, the IRS will send more than $410 billion to low- and middle-income households, the largest batch of direct household payments yet during the pandemic. Democrats say that these $1,400 payments, combined with $600 approved in December, fulfill a pledge made late last year to send $2,000 checks to American households. The hope is that the payments can help families cover costs while hundreds of millions of people wait to be vaccinated and return to more normal daily routines.
Who gets a stimulus check? Things are going to be a little different this time. Image via AP.
“People in U.S. illegally can get rent relief, but it’s not well-known” via Lautaro Grinspan of the Miami Herald — Funded through the federal stimulus bill passed in December, the rental assistance program will cover up to 12 months of back rent and, potentially, an additional three months’ worth of future rent, with a cap set at $3,000 per month per household. Applications for rent relief opened will remain open until March 15. One piece of ID is required when applying for the program. Among the documentation tenants can show are U.S. government-issued IDs and driver’s licenses as well as foreign passports; noncitizens are eligible for relief whether they are in the country legally or not. “We are not seeking to ascertain the legal status of applicants,” said Annette Molina, spokesperson for Miami-Dade Public Housing and Community Development.
“Remote work won’t be going away once offices are open again” via Adam Blenford of Bloomberg — After joining U.K. insurance group Aviva Plc last year, Danny Harmer spent just a few weeks with her new team before the first COVID-19 lockdown. If she has her way, that will be the most time the group ever spends together. Harmer, Aviva’s personnel chief, is figuring out the post-COVID-19 working environment for the company’s 16,000 British employees, spread among 14 offices from London to the Scottish city of Perth. And what she’s found is that while many miss the collaboration that can happen in the office, they also like the freedom of working remotely. “There’s a change in mindset brought on by the pandemic,” she says.
More corona
“Scientists underestimated the coronavirus — and are racing to keep up with evolution” via Carolyn Y. Johnson of The Washington Post — For much of 2020, most people weren’t particularly worried about the virus’s ability to evolve. SARS-CoV-2 was changing, but so far, that hadn’t amounted to anything especially concerning. Then, in late fall, it jumped. Distinctive new versions of the virus sparked alarming surges in Brazil, South Africa and the United Kingdom. In a few short months, variants have become a global preoccupation. Nearly every time public health experts talk about the trajectory of the health crisis, they dwell on the variants, the loose cannon that could wreck hard-won progress.
Scientists are rushing to keep up with the mutating COVID-19 virus. Image via AP.
“WHO investigators to scrap plans for interim report on probe of COVID-19 origins” via Betsy McKay, Drew Hinshaw and Jeremy Page of The Wall Street Journal — A World Health Organization team investigating the origins of COVID-19 is planning to scrap an interim report on its recent mission to China amid mounting tensions between Beijing and Washington over the investigation and an appeal from one international group of scientists for a new probe. The group of two dozen scientists is calling in an open letter on Thursday for a new international inquiry. They say the WHO team that last month completed a mission to Wuhan had insufficient access to adequately investigate possible sources of the new coronavirus, including whether it slipped from a laboratory.
“Some children’s hospitals see a surge in rare C-19 complication MIS-C” via Jen Christensen of CNN — The novel coronavirus doesn’t usually cause severe disease in children, but for those few kids that do go on to develop MIS-C, the condition seems to inflame different parts of the body, and it can be serious. Doctors know that various children’s hospitals around the country have reported seeing a higher number of cases these past few months, even though MIS-C is considered rare. In an update on Friday, the CDC said there had been 2,617 MIS-C cases in the United States before March 1, and 33 children died. That’s up from early February when 2,060 cases and 30 deaths had been reported.
“Are you procrastinating more? Blame the pandemic.” via Nicole Johnson of National Geographic — Are you staying up too late to squeeze in some leisure activities after a long day, leaving you tired and behind the next day? Are you cleaning the bathroom instead of responding to work emails? Odds are you aren’t alone. COVID-19 has spawned a global mental health crisis, and that’s feeding one of our more harmful human tendencies: procrastination. People don’t necessarily procrastinate because they are lazy. Procrastination has roots in our evolutionary development, with two key parts of the brain vying for control. “Procrastination is an emotion-focused coping strategy,” says Tim Pychyl, a psychology professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and author of “Solving the Procrastination Puzzle.”
Relief
“Senate approves Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan” via Marianne Levine of POLITICO — The Senate passed Biden’s nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package Saturday morning after a grueling overnight session, delivering on the White House’s first major legislative priority. The 50-49 vote, entirely along party lines, came after the Senate remained in session for more than 24 hours of marathon votes. Senate Republicans sought to amend the legislation, but Senate Democrats largely stuck together to defeat any major changes to the bill, one of the largest federal aid packages in history. Chuck Schumer managed to keep his 50-member caucus mostly united throughout the process, but it was not without some last-minute drama: Senate Democrats reached a last-minute deal with Sen. Joe Manchin on the size of federal unemployment insurance benefits.
“Biden stimulus showers money on Americans, sharply cutting poverty and favoring individuals over businesses” via Heather Long, Alyssa Fowers and Andrew Van Dam of The Washington Post — Biden’s stimulus package … represents one of the most generous expansions of aid to the poor in recent history, while also showering thousands or, in some cases, tens of thousands of dollars on Americans families navigating the coronavirus pandemic. The roughly $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan … spends most of the money on low-income and middle-class Americans and state and local governments, with very little funding going toward companies. The plan is one of the largest federal responses to a downturn Congress has enacted.
Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan will slash poverty by showering people with money. Image via AP.
“‘We need the government’: Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief plan reflects seismic shifts in U.S. politics” via Jeff Stein of The Washington Post — A new Democratic administration facing down a massive economic crisis pushes an $800 billion stimulus package. A bloc of centrist Democrats balk at the price-tag, and Republicans are thrown into a frenzy warning about the impact on the federal deficit. A little more than a decade later, another new Democratic administration takes office, facing a different economic crisis. This time, it proposes spending an additional $1.9 trillion in spending, even though the federal deficit last year was $3.1 trillion, much larger than during the last crisis. Centrist Democrats unify behind passing the measure, and the GOP rejects it but in a more muted fashion.
“Senate Democratic campaign arm slams Marco Rubio for no vote on COVID-19” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics — The U.S. Senate on Saturday approved the American Rescue Plan: a $1.9 trillion package targeted toward COVID-19 relief and various forms of economic stimulus, without a single Republican vote. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is rolling out what it calls a five-figure buy on YouTube targeting at least one of those Senators, a Florida Republican up for reelection in 2022. The 30-second spot highlights the vote from second-term Sen. Rubio “against COVID-19 relief.” Against a tense instrumental background and devoid of narration, the creative speaks in graphics, closing with an assertion that seven of 10 voters support the Democratic relief plan and positing the question: “Why won’t Marco Rubio stand up for us?”
For Our Future Florida applauds Senate passage of American Rescue Plan — Progressive advocacy group For Our Future Florida lauded the U.S. Senate after it voted in favor of the American Rescue Plan, the latest coronavirus relief bill. “Floridians have come off one of the toughest years in our state’s history. Thousands have gotten sick and many are still unemployed. And we have a Governor who has taken his leadership guidance from FOX News instead of experts and scientists,” state director Jenn Whitcomb said. “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ rescue plan could not be more important right now for the communities in Florida who have been tested over this past year, and the front-line workers who have worked tirelessly to keep us all safe and healthy.”
Assignment editors — U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Frederica Wilson, Darren Soto and Crist will hold an online discussion about the upcoming House vote on the American Rescue Plan, 10 a.m., Zoom link here. RSVP at michael.liquerman@mail.house.gov.
AP poll
Biden’s approval rating is riding high, and Americans are even more bullish on how the new Commander in Chief is handling the nation’s coronavirus response.
A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows Biden with a 60% approval rating among American voters. In comparison, 70% say he’s doing a bang-up job on the virus specifically.
Joe Biden’s popularity is riding high. Image via AP.
His net job approval rating comes in at plus-20, thanks to near-universal support among Democrats, 94% of whom give him high marks. Just 22% of Republicans approve.
On the pandemic, he has 97% support from Democrats and 44% support from Republicans for a plus-30 rating overall.
Also, about six in 10 Americans say Biden is doing a good job on race relations and health care.
However, he still faces skepticism on the economy, with 55% of American adults approving of his work thus far. The top-line, again, is largely thanks to strong support from his own party — 88% of Democrats approve while only 11% disapprove. Just one in six Republicans approve.
Americans are overall pessimistic on the economy, regardless of their views on the President.
AP-NORC found more than three-fifths of Americans believe the economy is in poor shape. Just 41% of Democrats and 35% of Republicans describe the economy as good.
Epilogue: Trump
“America rebalances its post-Donald Trump news diet” via Sara Fischer and Neal Rothschild of Axios — Nearly halfway through Biden’s first 100 days, data shows that Americans are learning to wean themselves off news and especially politics. The departure of Trump’s once-ubiquitous presence in the news cycle has reoriented the country’s attention. Nearly every big news site saw its traffic decline in February, compared to a tumultuous January that included the Capitol insurrection and Biden’s inauguration. Publishers’ traffic was down across the board, and many major sites saw traffic dip more than 20%. Politics consumption dropped most dramatically, tumbling 28%.
Donald Trump’s exit is forcing many to reevaluate their media diet. Image via AP.
“Trump vows to campaign against ‘disloyal’ Lisa Murkowski” via Alex Isenstadt of POLITICO — Trump is making official his plans to target Republican Sen. Murkowski, vowing to travel to Alaska to campaign against her ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. In a statement to POLITICO on Saturday, Trump said: “I will not be endorsing, under any circumstances, the failed candidate from the great State of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski. She represents her state badly and her country even worse. I do not know where other people will be next year, but I know where I will be: in Alaska campaigning against a disloyal and very bad Senator.” Murkowski, who has held her seat since 2002, has been a longtime critic of the former president and was one of seven Republican Senators to vote to convict him in last month’s impeachment trial.
Crisis
“‘It is a trap!’: Inside the QAnon attack that never happened” via Tina Nguyen of POLITICO — In a joint intelligence bulletin earlier this week, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security delivered a jarring warning to state and local law enforcement: violent domestic extremists “motivated by the QAnon conspiracy theory” might be mobilized to action because they believed Trump would be inaugurated on March 4. But the date came and went without serious incident. It wasn’t that the false and sprawling conspiracy theory that accuses “Deep State elites” of running a secret pedophile ring was losing steam. Rather, it was at least in part because QAnon followers smelled a trap. QAnon influencers discouraged their massive audience to avoid attending any event on that day, suggesting that any planned gatherings would be “false flag operations” designed by the government to make them look bad.
The highly touted March 4 attack never materialized. Image via AP.
“Report scrutinizes social media posts of Matt Gaetz, others ahead of Capitol riot” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — A California Congresswoman has scoured colleagues’ social media posts for rhetoric that may have contributed to the Capitol riots. Her findings include hundreds of posts by Florida congressional members, including dozens from U.S. Rep. Gaetz spreading conspiracy theories about the General Election. U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, chair of the House Administration Committee, released extensive findings on Friday. While a dozen members of Florida’s House delegation voted to object to Biden’s Electoral College victory, Lofgren’s report spotlights social media activity for eight of them, all Republicans. That includes Kat Cammack, Byron Donalds, Gaetz, Brian Mast, Bill Posey, John Rutherford, Greg Steube and Daniel Webster.
“Board to begin search for permanent Capitol Police chief” via Michael Balsamo, Lisa Mascaro, and Nomaan Merchant of The Associated Press — The board that oversees the U.S. Capitol Police is beginning a search for a permanent police chief, a person familiar with the matter said, as the fallout from the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol continues. Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman has faced scrutiny from Capitol Hill leaders and congressional committees over law enforcement failures that allowed thousands of rioters to overtake police officers during the insurrection. The search for the force’s permanent leader, which has more than 2,300 sworn officers and civilian employees, will be nationwide. While Pittman can apply for the position, she is not guaranteed it, according to the person, who had direct knowledge of the search.
The search for a permanent leader of The Capitol Police is on. Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman is not a shoo-in. Image via AP.
“Niceville man charged for alleged role in riot and siege at U.S. Capitol” via the Northwest Florida Daily News — Andrew William Griswold, 28, of Niceville, turned himself in Friday, according to the Jacksonville Field Office of the FBI. Griswold is charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; obstruction of justice/Congress; and knowingly engaging in disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building. His initial court appearance was at 4 p.m. Friday. The government will not seek pretrial detention. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will prosecute Griswold’s case for the District of Columbia.
“Georgia family sues grocery clerk for posting about their alleged involvement in Jan. 6 insurrection” via Kim Bellware of The Washington Post — From her Washington hotel on Jan. 6, Kathryn Cagle asked for prayers and assured friends and family via Facebook that she and her mother were safe. “I thought Kate Cagle [was] on the planning committee; I hope she doesn’t plan to make a career out of planning riots,” Rayven Goolsby later wrote on Facebook. In late February, the exchange jumped from social media to a superior court in Pickens County, Georgia, when the Cagles sued Goolsby for defamation and libel. Goolsby’s attorney, Andrew Fleischman, characterized the Cagles’ suit as an example of a prominent family active in local politics using the courts’ heft to intimidate his client, who works at a local grocery store, into silence.
D.C. matters
“Scoop: Japan’s prime minister first to visit White House” via Hans Nichols of Axios — Biden is planning to host Japan’s prime minister at the White House as soon as this April, the first in-person foreign leader visit of his presidency. An invitation to Yoshihide Suga would telegraph to allies and potential adversaries, including China, that the U.S.-Japan alliance will remain the linchpin of the post-World War II security framework in the Pacific. The invite also would signal a partial return to normalcy as to how the Biden administration conducts foreign policy during the pandemic, with the new president beginning face-to-face meetings with foreign leaders in the Oval Office.
“Rubio brings back the Foreign Influence Transparency Act targeting Confucius Institutes” via Kevin Derby of Florida Daily — Rubio reintroduced the “Foreign Influence Transparency Act,” which would require organizations, such as the Chinese government-run programs known as Confucius Institutes, to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The bill would also amend the Higher Education Act to “require universities to disclose donations, contracts, or the fair market value of in-kind gifts, from any foreign source if the amount is $50,000 or greater.” Rubio has been pushing this bill in recent years, including in February 2020. U.S. Sens. Rob Portman, Tom Cotton and Bill Hagerty are backing Rubio’s proposal. Over in the U.S. House, U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson has introduced the companion measure.
Marco Rubio once again is seeking transparency for Chinese influence at the Confucius Institutes.
“Kathy Castor Introduces PREVENT HPV Cancers Act” via Kevin Derby of Florida Daily — U.S. Rep. Castor introduced the “Promoting Resources to Expand Vaccination, Education and New Treatments for HPV (PREVENT HPV) Cancers Act.” With U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier backing the proposal, Castor showcased the bill on Thursday, which was International HPV Awareness Day. “The human papillomavirus (HPV) causes six types of cancers, which leads to nearly 36,000 cases of cancer each year in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We have a vaccine that can help prevent these cancers, and it’s the goal of the PREVENT HPV Cancers Act to increase vaccination rates with an eye toward health equity,” Castor said. So far, there is no companion measure over in the U.S. Senate.
“Democrats fracture over Puerto Rico statehood” via Gary Fineout of POLITICO — A divide has formed among Democrats over an issue of high sensitivity in New York and Florida: Puerto Rico statehood. Democratic Rep. Darren Soto, Florida’s first Congressman of Puerto Rican descent, accuses Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of reversing his stance on statehood for the island out of fear of political fallout in New York. This comes as liberal firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is pressing her own measure that urges “self-determination” for Puerto Rico. Florida and New York are both home to sizable populations of Puerto Ricans and they have played an ever-growing role in politics, especially in the Central Florida region. Statehood is also an issue that could create division between Ocasio-Cortez and Schumer, who is up for reelection in 2022.
“USDA projects record U.S. exports in 2021” via Dan Grossman of WFTS Tampa Bay — The United States Department of Agriculture is projecting a record $157 billion in farm exports during the fiscal year 2021. Experts say much of the bump comes from China’s involvement in the U.S. market. In 2018, China only committed to purchasing $9.1 billion in exports from the United States, but this year, they have committed $38 billion after Trump signed a phase one trade deal with the country in January of 2020. 2021’s projection marks a steep increase from years of fluctuating export numbers. In 2015, the USDA reported $139.8 billion in exports, $129.6 billion in 2016, $140.2 billion in 2017, $143.4 billion in 2018, $135.5 billion in 2019, and $135.7 billion in 2020.
Local notes
“Wildlife chief says he’ll drop lagoon development plan and will sell Singer Island land” via Tony Doris of The Palm Beach Post — Blasted for his plans to fill and develop 19 wildlife-filled acres of Lake Worth Lagoon, the state’s top wildlife conservation official backed down and said he would sell his mostly submerged land on the northern tip of Singer Island. Rodney Barreto, who chairs the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), instructed his lawyer to sell the site rather than fight the outpouring of opposition that arose after The Palm Beach Post revealed his development plans last week. “It’s under contract. I’m getting out of it, and the property will no longer be a part of my portfolio,” he told the Herald. “It goes with the territory.”
Rodney Barreto is fed up with the pushback on his Singer Island development and is selling the land.
“Governments clash in Silver Bluff as Miami police block county from reopening streets” via Douglas Hanks of The Miami Herald — Two of the largest local governments in South Florida clashed Friday when Miami dispatched police to try and stop Miami-Dade County from removing traffic barriers on a side street off U.S. 1. The skirmish unfolded in Silver Bluff, home of a long-running battle over traffic shortcuts and demands that elected officials intervene to close some entrances to keep cars on main roads. Miami backed the cause, and Miami-Dade did not. The drama built this week when Miami’s Mayor was barred from addressing county commissioners on the matter on March 2 as Miami-Dade prepared to approve a rule change making it harder to close streets.
“Public corruption charges still hang over ex-Boca Mayor Susan Haynie” via Marc Freeman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel — Boca Raton is on the cusp of another election Tuesday for council seats, now three years removed from a scandal that rocked its leadership. Haynie was bounced from office after being stung by seven criminal charges resulting from a public corruption investigation. While the city has largely moved on with Haynie’s successor firmly in control, she and her friends and supporters are left to wait for the outcome of her case. The allegations remain pending as the coronavirus pandemic has caused an indefinite delay in her trial. Also unresolved are similar claims against Haynie by the Florida Commission on Ethics, which could lead to a fine. She is accused of failing to report outside income and disclosing conflicts of interest as Mayor.
“Thousands of young people, minorities, may vote for first time in PBC city elections” via Chris Persaud of The Palm Beach Post — Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and the heated 2020 presidential election, Sarang Hentz and thousands of Palm Beach County citizens, especially those who are younger or people of color, are eligible to do something they likely have never done before, vote in a city election. But will they? Unlike national elections, municipal races usually attract few voters. This month’s city elections may be different. Hentz, along with about 388,000 voters countywide, cast their ballots by mail in last year’s presidential election, state records show.
“In Safety Harbor, ‘townies versus the developers’ dominates City Commission races” via William March of The Tampa Bay Times — The perennial political argument in Safety Harbor, development vs. preserving what everyone calls “small-town charm,” is again dominating city commission campaigns in this community of about 17,000, known as the cutest town around Tampa Bay. Safety Harbor is one of 10 small Pinellas municipalities that will hold elections on March 9, with four Mayor’s offices and 19 Council or Commission seats on the ballot. Most appear noncontroversial, but at least a couple of the Mayor’s races and the Safety Harbor Commission races generate some heat.
“Doug Underhill will not run for third term on Escambia County Commission” via Jim Little of the Pensacola News Journal — The Escambia County Commission will have one open seat in 2022 after District 2 Commissioner Underhill announced he was not seeking another term for office. “My supporters sent me here on a message of reform, and their continued support is the best indication that I have lived up to that expectation and have not succumbed to the constant pressure to do things ‘the way they’ve always been done,'” Underhill said. He has been one of the most controversial members of the County Commission, drawing fierce criticism with comments on national politics and legal trouble for his comments about local politics. He is suing the county over his legal fees in a libel suit.
Doug Underhill, the center of much controversy, will not be running for reelection. Image via Facebook.
“Escambia County hires attorneys to take Skanska to court if settlement talks fall through” via Jim Little of the Pensacola News Journal — The Escambia County Commission unanimously approved retaining the partnership of the three law firms of Levin Papantonio Rafferty; Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz; and Beggs & Lane to “pursue all civil remedies” to recover the damages the county suffered from the loss of the Pensacola Bay Bridge. The county has been in talks with Skanska since November to try to reach a settlement to reimburse the county for its increased costs because of the loss of the bridge, including paying the $28 million needed to replace the fishing pier at Wayside Park in Pensacola. Mark Bartlett, risk manager for the county, told the commission they were still in talks with the insurance group representing Skanska.
“Jeff Siegmeister ordered back to Florida in U.S. Marshal custody” via Jamie Wachter of the Lake County Reporter — labeled a flight risk, Siegmeister was denied bond in federal court in Alabama. Siegmeister, the former state attorney for Florida’s 3rd Judicial Circuit, was indicted by a grand jury on Feb. 24 on charges of conspiracy to commit extortion, aiding and abetting extortion, federal program bribery, conspiracy to commit federal program bribery conspiracy to use a facility of commerce for unlawful activity, wire fraud and filing false tax returns. He was arrested in Arizona on Feb. 26. In all, Siegmeister faces a maximum sentence of 129 years.
Jeff Siegmeister is looking at nearly 130 years in prison. Image via News4Jax.
Fantastic idea — “Hillsborough wants a ‘large-scale’ film studio to lure blockbusters” via Paul Guzzo of The Tampa Bay Times — Area film, television and commercial production leaders say Hillsborough County has almost everything needed to become a national hub for their industry, diverse locales, qualified crew and warm weather. But they say Hillsborough is hurt by the lack of a major film studio in the county. There is a new push for one to be created through a public-private partnership. Last year, the county film commission funded a study on the matter. The county sent the study to industry professionals throughout the state for feedback last week. Input is due by March 18 and will influence a request for proposal for a public-private studio partnership.
Top opinion
What Peter Schorsch is reading — “The rise of the Biden Republicans” via Zack Stanton of POLITICO — Trump accelerated the rise of a new voting bloc that is, in many ways, the mirror image of the Reagan Democrats. Call them the Biden Republicans. Like the Reagan Democrats, they’re heavily white and live in suburbs. Biden Republicans are seen as more affluent, highly educated and supportive of diversity. Historically, they identified with the Republican Party as their political home. But the leaders who were supposed to fight for them seem to care more about white grievance and keeping out immigrants; seem to care more about social issues and “owning the libs” than about child care payments and college tuition.
Opinions
“Republicans aren’t fighting Democrats. They’re fighting democracy.” via Dana Milbank of The Washington Post — The Republican Party’s dalliance with authoritarianism can be explained in one word: race. Trump’s overt racism turned the GOP into, essentially, a White-nationalist party, in which racial animus is the main motivator of Republican votes. But in an increasingly multicultural America, such people don’t form a majority. The only route to power for a White-nationalist party is to become anti-democratic: to keep non-White people from voting and discredit elections themselves. In short, democracy is working against Republicans — and so Republicans are working against democracy.
“The Republican Party isn’t in trouble” via Hugh Hewitt for The Washington Post — In American politics, renewal and comebacks are never far away. Redistricting in the next two years will advantage the GOP. Most people in both parties assume that Biden will not be leading the Democratic ticket in 2024, so there will likely be a nasty battle to replace him on the Democratic side. Trump complicates the picture. The GOP has been in stronger positions, but this is no crisis. Look at the current breakdown; the Democrats’ hold on power is razor-thin. Redistricting will narrow it further, as will the inevitable midterm losses for the party that holds the White House.
“Florida blocked public access to COVID-19 data. Now there’s even more it wants to keep secret from taxpayers” via The Miami Herald editorial board — For a whole year, as Floridians suffered and died by the tens of thousands from COVID-19, Florida’s government routinely kept the public from seeing detailed information about the course and intensity of the pandemic, often until the trend line had changed to better match the Governor’s sunnier version. That disgraceful behavior by a state known for its broad public-records laws is detailed in a story. That important reporting shows that Florida’s government spent a year stonewalling, obfuscating and evading requests for information about such vital matters as the number of COVID-19 deaths recorded by medical examiners’ offices, details about contact tracing to see where transmission was occurring and which eldercare facilities had seen outbreaks among staff and residents.
“State employee pension change a surefire way to worsen teacher shortage” via Nancy Hosie of The Tallahassee Democrat — In Florida, we have thousands of educators, school, police, public and fire employees enrolled in the Florida Retirement System pension fund. The FRS is one of the best-funded in the country. When state employees retire, their pensions help support the economic health of our communities and state. However, a new bill in the Florida Senate, SB 84, will remove choice and force new-hire state employees into 401(k)-type defined contribution plans. New hires will no longer be allowed to enter the defined benefit or pension fund. It would be a mistake that, as has happened in other states, could cause taxpayer costs to skyrocket and hurt Florida’s ability to recruit/retain high-quality teachers.
On today’s Sunrise
At the end of Week One of the 2021 Legislative Session, the House passed two COVID-19 bills: One targets scammers, the other offers businesses protection from COVID-19 liability lawsuits.
Also, on today’s Sunrise:
— It’s now Week Two of Session, and lawmakers will be dealing with a full slate of issues: a post-mortem on the state’s failed unemployment system, bills to limit voting by mail, guns at churches, and efforts to limit the strength of medical marijuana, among other topics.
— Gov. DeSantis is hinting he’ll be lowering the age limit for a COVID-19 shot this week. His “Seniors First” policy limits vaccinations to folks 65 and up, but the Governor says they’re going to start rolling back the age.
— When the Miami Herald reported last week on a wealthy enclave in the Florida Keys that received thousands of doses of vaccine in January when almost no one else was getting shots, DeSantis tried to defend himself by saying it was not a state site. That may be true, but officials at Baptist Health and the Monroe County Commission say the state authorized the pod, and they were ordered to provide vaccines for the Ocean Reef Club.
— DeSantis was in Winter Haven Friday when a special vaccination site opened for sworn law enforcement officers over the age of 50. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd had a message for anti-vaxxers.
— And finally, stories of two Florida Men — including a guy known as the Naked Cowboy.
“‘Miami is on fire.’ New York restaurants swoop into South Florida despite the pandemic” via Carlos Frías of The Miami Herald — Miami, what New Yorkers like to call the Sixth Borough, has seen a stream of New York City-based restaurants open around the county in the last two months. Pastis Miami, an outpost of the impossible-to-get-into Manhattan original, announced opening a second location in Wynwood. There are 11 new restaurants in Wynwood alone, according to the business improvement district. New York has led the way, with restaurants from San Francisco, Portland, Los Angeles and even Vancouver and Montreal, Canada, rushing to stake their claim in South Florida. Six new restaurants from New York-based companies have opened in the last month alone.
The venerable Pastis restaurant in New York City is coming to Miami; pandemic be damned.
Happy birthday
Happy birthday, belatedly, to Reps. Juan Fernandez-Barquin and Joe Geller, Alexis Haridopolos and FP contributor Rochelle Koff. Celebrating today are state Rep. Michael Bileca, Lance Block, Meagan Hebel, an aide to Sen. Danny Burgess, and Ryan Smith(apalooza).
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Good morning. This is one of those intros you are going to want to read, because today we are launching one of the coolest projects in the history of Morning Brew.
Think March Madness, but for business: a tournament to determine the Greatest Product of All Time, aka the “GPOAT.” We’ll explain how to play further down in the newsletter, but just to get you excited we’ll reveal the top seeds of the tournament up here: Microsoft Windows, the iPhone, Coca-Cola, and Google Search.
Energy: Oil prices shot up after Saudi Arabia said that key energy facilities were targeted by a drone and a missile Sunday. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are backed by Saudi Arabia’s nemesis, Iran, claimed responsibility.
Covid: More good news. US hospital numbers are declining across all regions, and Dr. Fauci said vaccine supply will be “dramatically increased” in the next few weeks. The US is now administering more than 2 million vaccine doses per day.
Markets: As you can see from our year-to-date figures above, the major stock indexes are just barely in the green for 2020. Inflation worries have put the brakes on the post-election rally.
For the second straight March, the Senate passed an enormous bill aimed at providing relief to Americans suffering financially from the coronavirus pandemic. This one, introduced by President Biden before he took office, amounts to $1.9 trillion.
This bill wasn’t quite the bipartisan effort Biden had originally hoped for. It squeaked through the Senate with a 50–49 vote, with every Democrat voting in favor and every Republican giving it the thumbs down.
Quick note on process: The House originally passed the stimulus bill, then the Senate tweaked it and passed its own version this weekend. Now, the House will vote on the Senate version (likely tomorrow) before it heads to Biden’s desk for his signature.
What’s inside the bill?
$1,400 stimulus checks: Individuals earning up to $75,000 and couples making up to $150,000 qualify for the entire amount. It phases out at $80k for individuals and $160k for couples.
More unemployment benefits: The government is tacking on $300/week to existing benefits through early September.
Child tax credit: The bill expands the child tax credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000.
Other highlights: $160 billion for vaccine and Covid testing programs, $360 billion for state, local, and territorial governments, and $170 billion for school reopening efforts.
Zoom out: Notice we haven’t written the word “companies” yet. Much of the aid in the bill is directed toward low- and middle-income families rather than businesses; the WaPo calls it “one of the most generous expansions of aid to the poor in recent history.” Economists at Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy calculate this bill will reduce the number of Americans living in poverty by about a third.
What the politicians are saying
Dems are psyched, declaring they delivered on their promise to send more stimulus checks to people. Republicans pointed to improving economic data to argue the bill was too fast, too furious. “This isn’t a pandemic rescue package. It’s a parade of left-wing pet projects that they are ramming through during a pandemic,” said Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Bottom line: Workers and families will have received $2.2 trillion from all of the coronavirus stimulus measures, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Three people so famous they don’t require last names—Oprah, Harry, and Meghan—sat down for a blockbuster interview last night.
Everything about it was big. The licensing fees, for instance: CBS paid about $8 million to Oprah’s production company just to broadcast the interview, per the LA Times. And the network was seeking $325k for a 30-second ad spot, about double the normal rate for that time slot.
The revelations, too, were big. Meghan told Oprah that her life as a British royal was so suffocating that she contemplated suicide.
Zoom out: Having stepped back from their official royal duties, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are transitioning to a new life as celebrity business moguls. So far, they’ve mostly followed the traditional playbook:
Deal with Netflix: Last September, they announced a content deal with the streamer worth a reported $100 million.
Deal with Spotify: Then in December, they said they’ll make exclusive podcasts under their Archewell Audio banner.
Venture capital: Meghan made her first startup investment in Clevr Blends, which makes instant oat-milk lattes.
SPAC: Just kidding, but…it’s only a matter of time, right?
Bottom line: With book deals, fashion collabs, and speaking gigs on the horizon, Harry and Meghan could soon become a billion-dollar brand, Brand Finance CEO David Haigh told WWD.
If your answer was, “absolutely nothing, it’s just a tweet,” then you probably haven’t been following the recent NFT craze.
That tweet, the first one ever sent on Twitter, is currently up for sale by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
The high bid at the time of writing? $2.5 million.
A quick NFT refresher
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are unique, verifiable digital assets that can represent a GIF, image, video, music album, and more. Anything that exists online can be purchased as an NFT, theoretically.
Tweets fall under this umbrella and have already gained traction as popular digital collector’s items. So it’s not entirely unsurprising that the OG tweet would fetch a small fortune.
Bottom line: Dorsey’s tweet will remain on Twitter and will be free to look at. Seriously, it’s right here. But once bidding comes to a close, only one person will be the “owner” of it. If that sounds crazy to you, someone paid $6.6 million for a 10-second video at a Christie’s auction last week.
In a world where spending money is easy, finding the right bank can be hard. So when we heard about all the perks that come with Radius, we knew “easy” had come full circle.
Named “Best Bank for Online Experience 2021” by NerdWallet, Radius lets you earn unlimited 1% cash back on everyday debit card purchases. And for a limited time, cardholders can earn 1.5% on categories like health, subscription services, and dining—even if it’s delivery or takeout.
That means when you treat yourself to a slice of pie, you also score some pie for later. And when you order dim sum, you win some.
Plus, Radius has no monthly or hidden fees, an award-winning mobile app, and friendly US-based customer service, so you can bank from anywhere, anytime.
Quote: “This is an active threat still developing and we urge network operators to take it very seriously.”
A White House official warned we’re not out of the woods yet following a massive hack of Microsoft’s Outlook email program that compromised more than 20,000 US organizations, reports Reuters. Microsoft, which applied an emergency software patch last Tuesday, has blamed China for the hack.
Stat: 434 books about climate change were published in the US in 2020, up from just 19 in 2010, according to NPD Group.
Read: Speaking of climate change books…here’s a review of one that discusses tech’s role in the climate crisis. (The Guardian)
Earnings: A grab bag of names (Stitch Fix, Oracle, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Ulta Beauty) all report earnings this week. Bumble will also drop its quarterly financials for the first time as a public company.
“The Quad”: President Biden is expected to hold the first-ever quadrilateral summit with Japan, India, and Australia in a show of geopolitical force to counter China’s growing influence.
Some big anniversaries on Thursday:
It marks 1 year since the WHO declared Covid-19 a global pandemic. Can’t decide whether this year went by super quickly or very, very slowly…
Thursday also marks 10 years since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan following an earthquake and a tsunami.
Everything else:
Today is International Women’s Day.
The America’s Cup sailing race begins on Wednesday. First held in 1851, it’s the oldest international sports competition in existance.
Sunday is Pi Day and the Grammys.
WHAT ELSE IS BREWING
NY Governor Andrew Cuomo said he wouldn’t resign following multiple allegations of sexual harassment and calls from members of his own party to step down.
Chamath Palihapitiya, billionaire investor and SPAC pioneer, confirmed he sold $213 million worth of shares in Virgin Galactic, which he helped take public in 2019.
GE is close to striking a deal worth more than $30 billion to combine its aircraft leasing unit with Ireland’s AerCap, reports the WSJ.
British students are returning to school today for the first time in two months.
MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire philanthropist and ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, has married a Seattle science teacher who has pledged to help donate most of their wealth to charity.
BREW’S BETS
The corporate card that means business. Divvy gets you the cashflow you need with ease—plus flexible rewards, no fees, and software to view it all. Have 20+ employees? They’ll pay you $50 to take a demo of their corporate card. Try Divvy today.*
Good news you can use: The Upbeat is a weekly newsletter with the sole purpose of spreading good vibes, from food deals to feel-good stories to helpful how-to guides. We love it. Sign up here.
Windows revolutionized personal computing. Google Maps has saved us the embarrassment of asking random people for directions. Bud Light makes you drunk and have to pee a lot. Some products truly are great.
But…which product is the greatest? We’re about to find out. Over the next two weeks, Morning Brew readers will have the opportunity to select the Greatest Product of All Time (GPOAT).
How it works
We’ll start with 64 products, separated into four different “regions” of 16 products. Each region has a #1 seed all the way down to a #16 seed. Over the course of the tournament, products will “play” each other in head-to-head matchups until we crown the GPOAT.
How does a product advance through the bracket? We’ll hold a series of polls on our Twitter account. The product with more votes when the polls close will advance to the next round.
[Top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said] while the numbers of daily new infections are significantly less than January, they have plateaued at a high number. “And if you look at what happened in Europe a few weeks ago, they’re usually a couple of weeks ahead of us in these patterns, they were coming down too, then they plateaued. And over the last week or so, they’ve had about a 9% increase in cases.”
…
[Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy told NBC] on Sunday the current vaccination rate just isn’t fast enough to stop the spread of the new variants. Osterholm said the U.K. variant has grown from 1% to 4% of all U.S. cases about a month ago to about 30% to 40% now. “What we’ve seen in Europe, when we hit that 50% mark, you see cases surge.”
…
Fauci said the U.S. is on the right track, though. “Every day that goes by that we keep the lid on things will get better and better, because we’re putting now at least 2 million vaccinations into the arms of individuals each day. … So we’re going in the right direction. We just need to hang in there a bit longer.”
All votes are anonymous. This poll closes at: 9:00 PST
YESTERDAY’S POLLIs this stimulus bill good or bad for the economy?
Good
41%
Bad
42%
Unsure
17%
529 votes, 249 comments
BEST COMMENTS“Good – Individuals and families need funds in order to boost the economy. The stimulus checks for lower income people is going right back into the economy, not into the bank as it would be for those who had enough to live off of through the pandemic.”
“Bad – The cost is astronomically high. Why do those that are still employed at the same level as before the pandemic need money government assistance? …”
“Unsure – My understanding is every new dollar printed makes my existing do…”
Derek Chauvin’s trial begins today with jury selection. Charged with the murder of George Floyd, the former police officer’s trial is expected to bring protests. The downtown Minneapolis courthouse is wrapped in fences and razor-wire, and National Guardsmen are due to take position later today. The scene is perhaps reminiscent of the U.S. Capitol.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex described their falling out with the Royal Family. Meghan describes how her child was “denied” an official title. So far, no media outlets have picker her up on the fact that Archie is 7th in line for the throne and not of the first-born line of succession.
George Floyd Jury Selection Begins: Minneapolis Braces for Chaos
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that he will sign a bill limiting his emergency powers. He will be able to extend or amend existing regulations but not bring in new ones. He has also declared that he will not be resigning in the wake of the fifth sexual harassment claim against him.
The filibuster is on the line as the House sends a mounting number of bills to the Senate which have no realistic chances of passing. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said that if enough members of his party agree, “we’ll change the rules.”
With just over a week to go before the deadline, organizers of the Recall petition against California Governor Gavin Newsom say they have almost two million signatures; more than enough to pass the signature verification.
Trump Leaves Us Hanging: Will He or Won’t He? – LN Radio Videocast
Something political to ponder as you enjoy your morning coffee.
The media – or, at least, the left-wing media – has been in denial about the complete lack of press accessibility to Joe Biden. None of Biden’s 15 predecessors have spent this long in the White House without speaking with reporters, according to CNN. It is worth noting that even the Democrat-friendly news network reported this as a matter of fact, rather than as a criticism of Biden. If any Republican president had shunned the media for this long, reporters would, by now, be hysterically bloviating about transparency, cover-ups, conspiracies, and dictatorships. Perhaps, though they would never admit it, journalists are relieved that Biden has not allowed himself to be paraded before the cameras, where there’s always the danger that he will say something idiotic.
Richard Burkhauser, Kevin C. Corinth, and Douglas Holtz-Eakin | AEI Economic Working Paper Series
What policies can lawmakers pursue to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic? As debate continues, Richard Burkhauser, Kevin Corinth, and Douglas Holtz-Eakin point out lessons to learn from the Great Recession.
Child allowances are an increasingly discussed policy to reduce child poverty, and support for them has become a litmus test of whether someone cares about child poverty. But child allowances run the risk of increasing the number of single-parent families in which no one is employed.
“Six Dr. Seuss books — including ‘And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street’ and ‘If I Ran the Zoo’ — will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy said [last] Tuesday.” AP News
Last week, “Online marketplace eBay Inc… said it is working to prevent the resale of six Dr. Seuss books that were pulled earlier this week by the company in charge of the late author’s works because they contain offensive imagery.” Wall Street Journal
From the Left
The left is generally supportive of the decision, arguing that publishing decisions are not censorship and that children should not be exposed to racist caricatures.
“To be clear: There have been no anti-Seuss laws passed, no public campaigns to denounce Dr. Seuss, no boycotts, no books burned or banned, no ‘canceling,’ and no one saying that everyone should stop reading the many Dr. Seuss books that don’t contain racist imagery. It was the decision of a publisher to no longer publish a few books that most people had never heard of, the kind of decision publishers make every day.” Paul Waldman, Washington Post“[This is] an example of ‘the marketplace of ideas’ at work. People have rejected these books with their wallets, which is what Republicans generally tell us is the only thing that matters. Nobody actually reads If I Ran the Zoo or And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street…“There shouldn’t be any problem at all with the people who profit off of Dr. Seuss’s legacy deciding that some aspects of his legacy are bad (and could hurt their profits!) and trying to move forward in a world that rejects stereotypes and racist caricatures in children’s books.” Elie Mystal, The Nation“As a child, I was led to believe that Blackness was inferior. And I was not alone. The Black society into which I was born was riddled with these beliefs… [There are] doll tests in which very young children were presented with a white doll and a Black one and asked to describe each. Most of the children preferred the white dolls and described them positively…“About 30 years ago, in my own version of the experiment, I grabbed an old yearbook from a school I attended whose student body was roughly evenly split between white and Black students. I gave it to my nephew who was 4 or 5 years old and told him to point to the people he thought were pretty. Every face on which that little brown finger landed was white…“It underscored for me that the things that we present children with, believing them innocent, can be highly corrosive and racially vicious… Racism must be exorcised from culture, including, or maybe especially, from children’s culture.” Charles M. Blow, New York Times“Taking Aunt Jemima off of a syrup bottle, rebranding Mr. Potato Head or changing the name of the Washington football team, doesn’t tell us anything foreboding about our culture other than the fact that, like all cultures, it evolves…“An 11-year-old boy froze to death in Texas last month when the state’s power system failed; the Biden administration is currently worried that their infrastructure package will face vast right-wing opposition. Our health care system is so broken that a 7-year-old girl in Alabama has started a lemonade stand to pay for the brain surgery she needs; the GOP continues to attack the Affordable Care Act and undermine any effort to move toward a universal health care system. And conservatives think the top story is Dr. Seuss? If that’s where we all turn our attention, how convenient for them.” Jill Filipovic, CNN
“The conservative movement’s wonks have lost all the major economic arguments in the U.S. over the past decade. The fiscal crisis that deficit and inflation hawks spent years prophesying never materialized. Donald Trump and Jerome Powell turned loose fiscal and monetary policy into objects of bipartisan consensus. The CARES Act alerted the American public to their government’s capacity to make their lives easier through direct cash support. And it also left Republicans less equipped to proclaim a principled opposition to large deficit-financed pandemic relief packages as such…
“But there is another reason why conservatives are devoting less bandwidth to the tyranny of Democratic government than to that of ‘woke’ capital: It’s hard to get conservative voters that worked up about an old white guy trying to send them checks.” Eric Levitz, New York Magazine
From the Right
The right is critical of the decision, arguing that it is wrong to censor works even if they are offensive according to contemporary, ever-changing standards.
“The indubitably racist depiction of ape-like Africans in ‘If I Ran the Zoo,’ the canceled Seuss that most deserves it, gets the same treatment as ‘On Beyond Zebra!,’ whose apparent crime is a Seussian picture of an Arab-looking man on a camel-like beast. And a single problematic image seems to be enough to make an entire book disappear: One chopstick-wielding Chinese man in ‘And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,’ apparently, means the first major work of an American master can’t be published anymore…
“The Seuss cancellations also illustrate how a disappearance can happen without a legal ‘ban’ being literally imposed. One day, the Seuss estate decides to self-censor; the next, that decision becomes the justification for eBay to delist used copies of the books. In a cultural landscape dominated by a few big companies with politically uniform management, you don’t need state censorship for books to swiftly vanish.” Ross Douthat, New York Times
“The list of banned books includes his first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, published in 1937, which involves a boy imaginatively recounting an increasingly elaborate parade he claims to have seen while walking home. Mulberry Street is apparently canceled for a single image of ‘a Chinaman who eats with sticks,’ drawn in traditional Chinese costume and a stereotypical style characteristic of the 1930s… McElligot’s Pool seems to be targeted just for a harmless drawing of an Eskimo…
“So far as I can tell, [On Beyond Zebra!] is ‘canceled’ for a vaguely Arab-looking character on one page, the ‘Nazzim of Bazzim.’ Recall that one of the charges against Seuss is that his books feature too few non-white people, and you can understand the inherent absurdity of also banning his books for depicting non-white people…
“For whatever reason, eBay has decided it must intervene now to protect customers from Dr. Seuss, even as far more racist and offensive products are still available for purchase… And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street will no longer be available for resale on eBay, but you can still buy Birth of a Nation. You can still buy David Duke’s Jewish Supremacism. Hell, you can still buy Mein Kampf…
“You will no longer be able to sell or buy If I Ran the Zoo, but you can still purchase vintage Third Reich memorabilia. In fact, you can still buy any number of items bearing the hated Nazi swastika.” Becket Adams, Washington Examiner
“The old liberal idea says that if even one person was to hold an opinion, he should have the right to express it since society might benefit if only in rejecting it. Whatever you think of the philosophy of John Stuart Mill, that principle seems worth defending today. There’s a corollary too: ban that one-person opinion and you might suddenly find it catching on…
“Here’s something no teenager has ever said: Mom told me I’m not allowed to watch this so better change the channel to PBS. There’s nothing quite like breaking a taboo; some people even elected a president in part because he stomped all over them. In which case, for its own good, maybe the left ought to recognize that argument is better than censorship.” Matt Purple, American Conservative
A libertarian’s take
“Much of the current pushback against Dr. Seuss is based on a 2019 paper by Katie Ishizuka and Ramón Stephens that consistently interprets his work in the most negative light and peddles extreme ideological dogma. Take Dr. Seuss’s 1961 book The Sneetches, which has been widely praised for its anti-racist message: Birdlike creatures with stars on their bellies scorn and bully their plain-bellied cousins until a wily salesman brings a device that can add or remove stars, and all the sneetches change so many times they get thoroughly mixed up and decide to treat everyone equally. But Ishizuka and Stephens attack the poem as insidious because it teaches that color shouldn’t matter…“They also read a sinister racist subtext into The Cat in the Hat: The magical cat supposedly resembles images from Black minstrelsy and exists only to entertain two white children… Should children’s literature adapt to a more racially and ethnically diverse, more gender-equal society? Of course. But the way to do that is to add new classics, not discard old ones.” Cathy Young, The Week
♀️ Good Monday morning. It’s International Women’s Day. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,126 words … 4½ minutes.
💻 Please join Axios executive editor Sara Kehaulani Goo and managing editor Alison Snyder tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. ET for a virtual event on the impact of COVID-19 on women of color, featuring San Francisco Mayor London Breed and activist Brittany Packnett Cunningham. Sign up here.
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1 big thing: Manchin’s next power play
Photo: “Axios on HBO”
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), America’s ultimate swing voter, told me on “Axios on HBO” that he’ll insist Republicans have more of a voice on President Biden’s next big package than they did on the COVID stimulus.
Manchin said he’ll push for tax hikes to pay for Biden’s upcoming infrastructure and climate proposal, and will use his Energy Committee chairmanship to force the GOP to confront climate reality.
Why it matters: My conversation yielded the most extensive preview yet of how Manchin — a Democrat from a Trump state, in a 50-50 Senate, who relishes standing up to a Democratic White House — will use his singular power.
Manchin, 73, said Biden expects, and understands, the pushback: “He’s the first president we’ve had to really, really understand the workings of the Senate since LBJ.”
Manchin said he’ll block Biden’s next big package — $2 trillion to $4 trillion for climate and infrastructure — if Republicans aren’t included.
“I’m not going to do it through reconciliation,” which requires only a simple majority, like the COVID stimulus, Manchin said. “I am not going to get on a bill that cuts them out completely before we start.”
Photo: “Axios on HBO”
Manchin said the infrastructure bill can be big — as much as $4 trillion — as long as it’s paid for with tax increases. He said he’ll start his bargaining by requiring the package be 100% paid for.
He talked up an array of tax increases, including raising the corporate tax rate from the current 21% to 25% “at least,” and repealing “a lot of” the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy.
Manchin warned fellow Democrats about ramming through legislation by simple majority: “I would say this to my friends. You’ve got power … Don’t abuse it. And that’s exactly what you’ll be doing if you throw the filibuster out.”
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s trial for the murder of George Floyd, which begins today with jury selection, stands out because it’s so rare for officers to face any charges for deadly force — even for actions caught on video, Axios’ Russell Contreras and Torey Van Oot write.
Why it matters: Current stateand federal laws protect officers from facing criminal charges for excessive force because of high legal standards to pursue cases. Local district attorneys also typically put up lukewarm prosecutions.
The big question: Richard Frase, a professor of criminal law at the University of Minnesota Law School, said officers in some lethal force cases can make a plausible claim of self-defense. The George Floyd case could be different.
“This case has nothing to do with self-defense. That is clearly not at all plausible defense.”
Sign up for Axios Twin Cities for trial coverage all week
3. Harry, Meghan accuse palace of racism
Joe Pugliese/Harpo Productions via AP
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle delivered a devastating indictment of the monarchy in their conversation with Oprah Winfrey: Both said unnamed members of the royal family had expressed concern about what the skin tone of their baby would be, Sara Fischer writes.
Why it matters: An institution that thrives on myth now faces harsh reality. The explosive two-hour interview on CBS gave an unprecedented, unsparing window into the monarchy: Harry said his father and brother “are trapped,” and Markle revealed that the misery of being a working royal drove her to thoughts of suicide.
The Times of Londonsummed up the global reaction with the headline: “Revelations worse than Palace could have feared.”
Both said that before their son, Archie, was born, Harry was asked in family conversations about, as paraphrased by Winfrey, “how dark your baby is going to be.”
Harry said the conversation was: “What will the kids look like? … At the time it was awkward and I was a bit shocked.”
In describing the treatment of Markle, whose mother is African American, Harry said: “Over 70 members of Parliament … called out the colonial undertones of articles and headlines written about Meghan. Yet no one from my family ever said anything over those three years. … That hurts.”
The prince spoke of what he said is described “behind closed doors” as “the invisible contract” between the family and U.K. tabloids — press access in exchange for better coverage.
Leisure and business travel remains slow on usually lucrative transatlantic destinations, but airlines are upgrading routes that immigrants use to visit home, the Financial Times reports (subscription).
United launched new nonstop long-haul routes to cities in south Asia and Africa, including Johannesburg, Lagos and Bangalore. The airline “has hubs in Chicago and near New York, with significant immigrant populations, and travelers want to be able to visit friends and family in Africa and India without connecting through Europe.”
Virgin Atlantic is tapping into demand for flights to Pakistan, India and Lagos, Nigeria. These routes have been up to 90% full.
British Airways said long-haul flights to south Asia, west Africa and Latin America have been more resilient than those over the Atlantic.
President Biden will sign executive orders today establishing a Gender Policy Council and directing the Department of Education to review controversial Title IX provisions enacted under former President Trump, Axios’ Sarah Mucha reports.
Why it matters: The Biden administration is signaling its priorities to advance gender equity and equality as women, particularly women of color, have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
New York Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D) called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign: “We have allegations about sexual harassment, a toxic work environment, the loss of credibility surrounding the COVID-19 nursing home data.”
Why it matters: The lead story of today’s N.Y. Times calls it a “potentially crippling defection” (subscription).
Cuomo said on a call with reporters: “No, there is no way I resign.”
Republicans in at least 25 states have introduced over 60 bills targeting transgender children — a legislative boom since January that has beaten 2020’s total number of anti-trans bills, Axios’ Orion Rummler reports.
8. Russians target U.S. vaccine confidence
Russian intelligence agencies have mounted a campaign to undermine confidence in Western vaccines, using online publications as fronts to amplify false and misleading claims, The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription).
Why it matters: “The foreign efforts to sow doubts about the vaccine exploit deep-seated anxieties… already prevalent in some communities.”
9. 🥾 National park visits plunge
The pandemic pushed people outdoors, but temporary closures and restrictions led the national park system to record its lowest visitation numbers since 1980, Axios’ John Frank reports.
Sign up here for Axios Denver or any of our other Axios Local destinations — Charlotte, Des Moines, Tampa Bay, Twin Cities.
10. 1 smile to go: Cinemas coming back
“Raya and the Last Dragon.” Photo: Disney+ via AP
This weekend’s box office revenue was the best since the pandemic forced theater closures, narrowly beating Christmas weekend and the opening of “Wonder Woman 1984,” The Hollywood Reporter writes.
Cinemas reopened at 25% capacity this weekend in New York City — the nation’s No. 2 moviegoing market behind L.A., “where theaters are expected to flip on the lights in the next few weeks.”
Along with the proposal for an interim power-sharing arrangement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that a U.S. departure remains under active consideration and could lead to “rapid territorial gains” by the Taliban.
States are taking the lead on regulating Big Tech platforms such as Facebook and Google, advancing rules regarding censorship, data privacy, algorithms, and advertisements.
A key factor in who wins the House majority, how lines are drawn for the bulk of its 435 districts, may not be clear until later this year. And that’s adding an element of chaos to the 2022 election cycle.
New York Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, both Democrats, called for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign from office on Sunday after two additional women stepped forward on Saturday night accusing the New York Democratic governor of inappropriate behavior.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday that “there’s no way” he would “resign” after two more women came forward to accuse the embattled Democrat of sexual harassment.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw posted videos of himself taking a helicopter tour of the southern border, saying the situation there is “unstable,” and footage showing large stretches of unfinished border wall.
If the deaths of two congressional-level Republicans after contracting coronavirus are grim markers of the virus’s toll, their two widows campaigning to take their place may be symbols of perseverance and renewal after the pandemic.
Republicans have two tasks ahead of them in next year’s midterm elections: to hold on to the working-class voters former President Donald Trump attracted to the party while also trying to win back some of the college-educated suburbanites he repelled.
Each of President Biden’s nominees for the big three energy and environment agencies should be installed in their jobs any day now, giving the administration more firepower as it progresses on an aggressive climate change agenda it began implementing without key personnel in place.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki claims Texas Gov. Greg Abbott “declined” money provided by the federal government to pay for coronavirus testing for illegal immigrants, adding that the administration hopes “he’ll reconsider.”
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18.) ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 08, 2021
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AP Morning Wire
As dawn approaches in the United States, some of The Associated Press’ top journalists across Europe will be alternating each weekday to create your Morning Wire. They’ll scour our global news report for the most significant and most relevant stories and imagery – and a few unexpected things as well.
Until then, please enjoy this selection of stories from the AP’s global news report. And thank you for reading.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a wide-ranging interview aired Sunday, Harry and Meghan described painful palace discussions about the color of their son’s skin, losing royal protection and the intense pressures that led the Duchess of Sussex to contemplate…Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — With President Joe Biden on the verge of his first big legislative victory, a key moderate Democrat says he’s open to changing Senate rules that could allow for more party-line… …Read More
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — In his first public address since the end of the Trump administration, former Vice President Mike Pence is traveling to South Carolina, set to speak to a conservative… …Read More
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The fate of a former Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee into George Floyd’s neck as the Black man said he couldn’t breathe will be decided by 12 Hennepin County… …Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s sleepy by Donald Trump’s standards, but the former president’s century-old estate in New York’s Westchester County could end up being one of his bigger legal… …Read More
BAGHDAD (AP) — Pope Francis on Monday wrapped up his historic whirlwind tour of Iraq that sought to bring hope to the country’s marginalized Christian minority with a message …Read More
TOKYO (AP) — The images still hold the power to shock. Dazed survivors walk beneath huge sea tankers deposited amid an expanse of rubble and twisted iron that was once a busy …Read More
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Chloe Zhao’s success — she’s the first Asian woman and the second woman ever to win a Golden Globe for best director for her film “Nomadland” — has not b…Read More
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan keeps the screenshot his daughters sent him as a tease one year ago. Now it’s a reminder of how quickly celebr…Read More
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Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Senate approved President Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic stimulus plan. The bill still needs to be given final approval from the House before it goes to Biden for his signature. Here’s what to know about it and where the money is going.
And, it’s been almost a year since COVID-19 shut down Illinois. How has your life changed? We want to hear from you.
Here’s more coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
Guidance on who can register for the United Center mass vaccination site is changing to focus on Chicagoans after the majority of early appointments were made by those who live outside the city, officials said Sunday.
In a shift announced by officials citing guidance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to make vaccine distribution more equitable and reach communities most vulnerable to the coronavirus, appointments on Zocdoc will be restricted to Chicagoans.
When a fraction of Brady Tilghman’s eighth grade students return to in-person learning Monday while the rest continue remote learning, someone else will be teaching all of them. As of Friday, he didn’t yet know who.
Tilghman, an eighth grade math and science teacher at Oglesby Elementary in Chicago’s Gresham neighborhood, just got his second COVID-19 vaccine dose, and is waiting the proscribed two weeks for maximum protection to kick in before joining students in the classroom. For CPS educators like Tilghman who don’t have approved accommodations to teach remotely, that choice means taking an unpaid leave of absence.
Schools can’t skip standardized tests this spring, Biden administration says. But Illinois educators want a pass because of pandemic disruptions.
In the Land of Lincoln, it might be hard for some to imagine what could tarnish the legacy of “Honest Abe,” the nation’s 16th president, who led the country through perhaps its most challenging moral and political crisis. Or that of Ulysses S. Grant, who helped win the Civil War and whose monument towers above, yes, Lincoln Park.
Yet five statues of Abraham Lincoln, as well as the one of Grant, were among 41 “problematic” monuments flagged by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration as part of a review following last year’s late-night removal of Christopher Columbus statues from two city parks.
A lot of information was covered and revealed on Sunday’s broadcast of “Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special.” A lot. Meghan was both forthcoming and discreet — no names were named, but circumstances were described and palace aides do not come out of this looking well. As it turns out, the royal flop sweat that was in evidence shortly after the interview was announced was warranted, writes the Tribune’s Nina Metz.
First, the bleak butterfly news: The population of monarchs passing the winter in Mexico appears to have fallen. Now, the good news for Illinois’ state insect: The Field Museum is trying to figure out what makes a successful urban monarch garden, and it’s not too early to start preparing for this summer.
With Illinois’ historic vaccine rollout expected to kick into overdrive this week thanks to the United Center being used as the city’s largest mass vaccination site, officials on Sunday announced major changes to who’s eligible to receive shots at the Near West Side arena in an attempt to ensure doses are equitably available to the communities most impacted by the pandemic. Madeline Kenney has the story…
The governor’s latest defeat — backing the losing candidate in the race to succeed Mike Madigan as chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois — has some questioning whether he is destined to be a one-termer.
With the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continuing to pick up steam, Illinois on Sunday also announced its smallest daily caseload and single-day death toll in months.
As schools open widely for the first time in a year, Jackson sat down for a wide-ranging interview about the pandemic’s educational impact, families’ trust in the system and the outlook for the rest of the year.
“This weekend, the adults behind the scenes have been trying to say, what’s going on? And there’s been no answers,” said Joe Trost, an advocate for student athletes.
Students are suffering from more intense symptoms of depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses, and a higher percentage of emergency room visits for teens are mental health-related, experts said.
Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. Today is Monday and it is International Women’s Day! We get you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver are the co-creators. Readers can find us on Twitter @asimendinger and @alweaver22. Please recommend the Morning Report to friends and let us know what you think. CLICK HERE to subscribe!
Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported as of this morning: 525,035.
As of this morning, 17.2 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 9.2 percent are fully vaccinated, according to the Bloomberg News global vaccine tracker.
The Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package is on the verge of becoming law, pending action by the House and White House in the coming days, as health experts warn that the current level of cases in the U.S. is untenable and the nation races to vaccinate the masses.
The House is set to follow the Senate’s lead and OK the nearly $2 trillion stimulus blueprint on Tuesday, with President Biden’s signature coming shortly after to check a big-ticket item off the administration’s 100-day to-do list.
Among other things, the package provides another round of stimulus checks, aid for state and local governments — an issue that had stalled out in previous rounds of relief negotiations — and more help for small businesses and schools. Despite cries from across the aisle that the bill is laden with Democratic pet projects, wasteful spending and provisions unrelated to the ongoing pandemic, the GOP has to contend with a major political issue: the bill’s popularity.
Multiple polls conducted prior to the legislation’s passage in the upper chamber on Saturday show that the $1.9 trillion plan enjoys broad support. According to a recent Monmouth University survey, 62 percent of respondents were in favor of the bill, while 71 percent gave a thumb up to the plan when polled by Morning Consult.
Adding to the good news for Democrats, Biden continues to receive high marks for his handling of the pandemic. According to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll, 68 percent approve of Biden’s handling of the pandemic (ABC News).
As The Hill’s Morgan Chalfant and Alexander Bolton write, Democrats remain ever-aware of what happened last decade after the 2009 stimulus package became law, with Republicans bludgeoning that and the Affordable Care Act en route to massive wins in the 2010 midterms. Biden last week encouraged House Democrats to “speak up and speak out” about the rescue plan, suggesting that the Obama administration “paid a price” for not taking enough of a victory lap after the 2009 recovery package.
“Any of my colleagues at the time would say that we didn’t do enough to explain to the American people what the benefits were of the rescue plan and we didn’t do enough to do it in terms that people would be talking about at their dinner tables,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday. “That’s one of the reasons we, of course, have been trying to break down the impact of the American rescue plan into the key components that will impact people directly.”
The New York Times: What’s in the stimulus bill? A guide to where the $1.9 trillion is going.
The Washington Post: “An essential service”: Inside Biden’s struggle to meet his school reopening promises.
Meanwhile, the efforts to corral the pandemic are reaching a critical phase as public health officials fret that the current level of daily infections remains too high and that another wave of the virus could be in the offing due to the rise of variants, even with the national effort to vaccinate Americans.
As of Sunday, the U.S. is averaging 60,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, a steep decline from the dead of winter when the U.S. averaged more than 200,000 new infections daily. However, As The Hill’s Reid Wilson reports, case totals have plateaued over the past week, raising fears that a new wave is just around the corner.
“We could not have made a more wonderful environment for this virus to take off than we have right now,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Prevention at the University of Minnesota. “We are not driving this tiger. We’re riding it. And the first time we may be able to drive it is with widespread use of the vaccine, and we’re not there yet.”
The Hill: Former Biden COVID-19 adviser: “We are in the eye of the hurricane right now.”
The Wall Street Journal: Republican governors diverge over COVID-19 restrictions as experts urge caution.
The Hill: Scott Gottlieb: “Probable” that high schoolers will get coronavirus vaccines this year.
Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, called the current state of daily infections “unacceptable” and warned governors against the expeditious rollback of mask mandates and reopenings.
“Historically, if you look back at the different surges we’ve had, when they come down and then start to plateau at a very high level, plateauing at a level of [60,000] to 70,000 new cases per day is not an acceptable level. That is really very high,” Fauci told “Face the Nation” (The Hill).
According to Bloomberg News’s daily tracker, the U.S. is averaging 2.2 million vaccinations per day over the past week, with Saturday’s total of 2.9 million doses administered setting a new single-day total.
The Wall Street Journal: Russian disinformation campaign aims to undermine confidence in Pfizer, other COVID-19 vaccines, U.S. officials say.
The Hill: White House COVID-19 coordinator: Administration focused on expanding vaccine access.
CONGRESS: The coronavirus relief efforts will soon be in the rearview mirror, prompting attention to be refocused toward the rest of the Biden administration’s legislative priorities and raising questions about the viability of passing many of the items on the Democratic wish list in the coming months.
As The Hill’s Jordain Carney points out, the upper chamber is threatening to derail the bold agenda laid out by Democrats, with progressives training their fire at the unlikely elimination of the filibuster. The passage of a number of major items in the House is putting a spotlight on the fact that without structural changes, many of the party’s campaign promises are heading for the Senate graveyard.
Senate Majority Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is pledging to put the bills on the floor, daring Republicans to vote against them, effectively turning them into messaging votes. Progressives are hoping that the expected GOP blockade of Democratic bills could help sway the few Democratic senators who have voiced opposition to getting rid of the 60-vote threshold.
The Associated Press: With virus aid in sight, Democrats debate filibuster changes.
Chief among that group is Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) (seen below). The West Virginia moderate was the center of attention on the Sunday show circuit, reiterating his belief that the filibuster is a tool for good overall and a necessity to a functioning Senate.
“I’m not going to change my mind on the filibuster. I will change my mind if we need to go to a reconciliation to where we have to get something done once I know they have process into it,” Manchin told “Meet the Press.”
“But I’m not going to go there until my Republican friends have the ability to have their say also,” Manchin said. “And I’m hoping they’ll get involved to the point to where we have 10 of them that’ll work with 50 of us or 15 of them that’ll work with 45 of us” (The Hill).
Manchin also received some backup from the White House. Communications director Kate Bedingfield told CNN’s “State of the Union” that Biden remains committed to winning Republican support even after GOP lawmakers voted unanimously against the massive relief bill (The Hill).
The Sunday Shows: Manchin in the spotlight after pivotal role in coronavirus aid debate.
The Washington Post: Narrow relief bill victory provides warning signs for broader Democratic agenda.
The Hill: Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (R-N.J.), after flipping parties, bashes bills he once backed.
The Hill: Lawmakers gird for spending battle over nuclear weapons.
*****
POLITICS: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) maintained on Sunday that he will not resign after two additional women accused him of sexual harassment or unwanted advances and more high profile New York Democrats called for his ouster, saying that he will allow state Attorney General Letitia James (D) to complete her investigation into the claims.
“I was elected by the people of the state. … I’m not going to resign because of allegations,” Cuomo told reporters on a conference call. “There is no way I resign” (Fox News).
On Saturday, Karen Hinton, a former aide to Cuomo, accused him of making an unwanted advance in a hotel room in 2000. The governor forcefully disputed the allegations, calling Hinton a “longtime political adversary.”
“Every woman has a right to come forward. That’s true. But the truth also matters. What she said is not true,” Cuomo said of the allegation.
The Wall Street Journal also reported on Saturday of another allegation from Ana Liss, a former staffer who said that Cuomo made her uncomfortable by inquiring about her dating life and kissing her on the hand in 2013.
The new revelations also brought forth a potential political deathblow as Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the head of the New York state Senate, called for his resignation, saying it would be “for the good of the state.”
“Every day, there is another account that is drawing away from the business of government,” Stewart-Cousins said in a statement. “We need to govern without daily distraction. Governor Cuomo must resign.”
As The New York Times notes, Cuomo is following the same track as former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D), who saw his standing evaporate when political leaders in Albany called for him to step down amid his 2008 prostitution scandal.
Politico: Cuomo leans on crisis management playbook as walls close in.
> Lone Star uprising?: It’s been a rocky start to 2021 for Texas Republicans, boosting hopes among Lone Star State Democrats that they can bounce back from a poor 2020 cycle that saw them lose a number of key congressional races, fall in their bid to flip the Texas state House and fail to unseat Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).
As The Hill’s Jonathan Easley writes, the once-in-a-blue-moon power grid failure that led to a humanitarian crisis last month drew attention to the GOP’s leadership in a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office in nearly a quarter-century. Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) brief jaunt to Cancun, Mexico, during the crisis also ignited anger and severe blowback.
Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced he was lifting the statewide mask mandate and fully reopening Texas for business despite lagging vaccination rates and a higher coronavirus infection rate than the national average, eliciting a response from the president in the process.
Texas Democrats are still picking themselves up off the mat after a dismal 2020 showing. But the rough two months in the national spotlight for Texas Republicans has Democrats optimistic about 2022 as they seek to win in swing districts where they were defeated last cycle.
The Hill: Nevada looks to shake up presidential primary calendar.
The New York Times: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) Is “not going anywhere.” How did he get here?
Washingtonian: 250 of the most influential experts and advocates who shape policy debates (working outside of government), organized by subject categories.
Bloomberg News: Researchers have found a stronger correlation between political instability and rising homicide rates than prevailing hypotheses, such as economic distress and prevalence of guns.
IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES
ADMINISTRATION: The president signed a new executive order on Sunday to leverage federal resources in an effort to protect and strengthen access to the ballot, a response to ongoing effort by GOP state legislatures to restrict voting rights after the 2020 election (The Hill).
Biden’s order, which directs agencies to increase access to voter registration materials and reduce barriers to voting for certain groups, comes amid a push by congressional Democrats to pass H.R. 1, a sprawling bill the House passed last week to reform voting processes and elections. House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) acknowledged on Sunday the reality that the bill will likely die in the Senate because of the filibuster, adding that the result will be “catastrophic.”
“There’s no way under the sun that in 2021 that we are going to allow the filibuster to be used to deny voting rights. That just ain’t gonna happen. That would be catastrophic,” Clyburn told The Guardian.
The president’s executive action coincided with the 56th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma, Ala., which served as a catalyst for the passage of the Voting Rights Act. As The Hill’s Marty Johnson notes, Sunday’s commemoration of the 1965 violent clash between 600 civil rights marchers and white police officers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge was the first to take place without the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who died in July.
The Associated Press: Biden marks “Bloody Sunday” by signing voting rights order.
The Hill: Biden to formally establish new Gender Policy Council.
> Border: The Biden administration is faced with a burgeoning crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border as officials have seen the number of unaccompanied minors crossing into the U.S. rise steadily over the first six weeks of the nascent presidency.
Thousands of migrants have crossed into the U.S. since Biden took office, many of them unaccompanied minors, testing the administration’s resources and ability to quickly implement its own strategy at the border in the face of criticism from across the aisle. According to The Hill’s Brett Samuels and Jonathan Easley, the Biden administration is rapidly adapting its approach to meet the growing need for space and manpower in a reflection of the seriousness of the situation.
The Hill: Political landmines await Merrick Garland at Department of Justice.
Axios: Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga set to become first foreign leader to visit Biden in White House.
OPINION
The road to reopening won’t be a straight line, by Scott Gottlieb and Mark McClellan, opinion contributors, The Wall Street Journal. https://on.wsj.com/3tbfDqz
Do liberals care if books disappear? By Ross Douthat, columnist, The New York Times. https://nyti.ms/3v3gpaI
WHERE AND WHEN
The House meets at noon.
TheSenate convenes on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and will resume consideration of the nominations of Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) to become secretary of Housing and Urban Development and Garland to lead the Department of Justice.
The president and Vice President Harris will receive the Presidential Daily Brief at 9:50 a.m. Biden and Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough at 1 p.m. will visit the D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where the administration of COVID-19 vaccines to veterans is taking place. Biden, Harris and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will also deliver remarks on International Women’s Day from the White House at 4:20 p.m.
First lady Jill Biden at 10 a.m. will address the 2021 International Women of Courage Award ceremony hosted by the State Department and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The event is live streamed HERE.
The White House press briefing is scheduled at 11:30 a.m.. The White House COVID-19 response team will brief the news media at 11 a.m.
The National League of Cities Congressional City Conference begins today through Wednesday, including virtual remarks from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Schumer, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, Fauci and more. Information is HERE.
➔ INTERNATIONAL: Two protesters were shot dead in Myanmar on Monday by security forces as demonstrations continue to take place across the country in response to the military coup that took place last month. Two people were shot and killed in Myitkyina in Kachin State, with the military using tear gas and some automatic gunfire in an attempt to disperse the crowd. Protests also took place in Naypyitaw, the capital city, and Mandalay (The Associated Press).
➔ TECH: Silicon Valley giants are drawing battle lines over personal data collection practices and targeted ads. Google was the latest to take a step toward data privacy by announcing plans this week to phase out its own tracking features used for personalizing ads. That move came after Apple drew Facebook’s ire with its anticipated anti-tracking feature. Experts and pro-privacy advocates say that while Google’s update may be a small step toward giving users more control over their data protection, the change may hurt Google’s rivals more than the company itself (The Hill).
➔ UN-ROYALED: Prince Harry and wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, told Oprah Winfrey during a much-ballyhooed interview on CBS on Sunday that they struggled mightily with life in the Royal Family, including Harry saying that he felt “trapped” and Meghan making a number of allegations that could rock the British royals. The Duchess made two stunning revelations: that she had suicidal thoughts after marrying Harry and that the royals did not give her access to mental health resources, and that there were conversations within the family about “how dark” their son Archie’s “skin might be” (The Associated Press).
And finally … Dogs are good. Sports are good. Dogs and sports together though? Of course they’re good!
The fabulous combo came together on Sunday as the 49th edition of the Iditarod kicked off (or mushed off?) in Deshka Landing in Alaska. Like other sporting events these days, it has been modified to comply with COVID-19 restrictions. The mushers — of which there are a limited number this year — are wearing masks from start to finish, and social distancing is being adhered to at all times.
The course has also been shortened to 852 miles, and organizers have asked fans to stay home. The event will also end in Deshka Landing, marking the first time in the Iditarod’s history that it will end somewhere other than Nome, Alaska.
Last year, the Iditarod was the final sporting event to be completed before the worldwide shutdown took place (Anchorage Daily News).
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Via The Washington Post’s Lena H. Sun and Lenny Bernstein, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC just released guidance for Americans who have been fully vaccinated. https://wapo.st/3bqdmS4
What to know once you are vaccinated: “People who are two weeks past their final shot face little risk if they visit indoors with unvaccinated members of a single household at low risk of severe disease, without wearing masks or distancing. That would free many vaccinated grandparents who live near their unvaccinated children and grandchildren to gather for the first time in a year.”
On gathering indoors: “The CDC also said fully vaccinated people can gather indoors with those who are also fully vaccinated.”
On quarantining: “They do not need to quarantine, or be tested after exposure to the coronavirus, if they have no symptoms.”
It’s Monday — welcome back! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.
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“Sen. Roy Blunt (Mo.), a member of GOP leadership, announced on Monday that he won’t run for reelection in 2022 — marking the latest high-profile retirement for Senate Republicans.” https://bit.ly/3t4PLfV
Blunt said in a video: “After 14 general election victories — three to county office, seven to the United States House of Representatives, and four statewide elections — I won’t be a candidate for reelection to the United States Senate next year.” Watch his 2-minute announcement video: https://bit.ly/3c9RkCl
For context: Blunt is the fifth Senate Republican to announce retirement.
The other Republicans not expected to run for reelection: Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), RobPortman (R-Ohio) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) has also suggested he won’t run.
Via The Hill’s Marty Johnson, “The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis Police officer who is charged with murdering George Floyd — a Black man whose death last May sparked a nationwide movement calling for police reform and the end to systemic racism — began Monday, but was quickly paused as an additional charge against Chauvin is being considered.” https://bit.ly/2Ozx6tq
How long the trial has been delayed: At least until Tuesday
The Senate-passed coronavirus relief bill will head over to the House this week where House Democrats are poised to pass the $1.9 trillion relief package. https://bit.ly/38hlfr2
When the House is expected to vote on the bill: Tuesday
Didn’t the House pass this bill on Feb. 27?: “The House initially passed the coronavirus bill on Feb. 27. But the Senate swapped in its own legislation, which while largely mirroring the House bill, included several changes to key components of the coronavirus legislation.”
The changes: The Senate pulled the $15 minimum wage, decreased the weekly unemployment benefits from $400 to $300, lowered the cutoff for the stimulus payment and made $10,200 of unemployment benefits in 2020 exempt from federal income taxes for some households. https://bit.ly/38hlfr2
ASSUMING EVERYTHING GOES TO PLAN, WHEN COULD AMERICANS START RECEIVING STIMULUS CHECKS?:
Via CBS News’s Aimee Picchi, “After the bill is signed into law, the IRS could begin delivering the checks within days to one week, based on the timeframe for the previous round of checks — potentially as early as the weekend of March 13.” https://cbsn.ws/2OcTGID
Via The New York Times’s Jason DeParle, “Obscured by other parts of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which won Senate approval on Saturday, the child benefit has the makings of a policy revolution. Though framed in technocratic terms as an expansion of an existing tax credit, it is essentially a guaranteed income for families with children, akin to children’s allowances that are common in other rich countries.” https://nyti.ms/3qqFwkb
Is the benefit permanent? Not yet.: “The plan establishes the benefit for a single year. But if it becomes permanent, as Democrats intend, it will greatly enlarge the safety net for the poor and the middle class at a time when the volatile modern economy often leaves families moving between those groups. More than 93 percent of children — 69 million — would receive benefits under the plan, at a one-year cost of more than $100 billion.”
Via The Hill’s Jordain Carney, Senate Democrats are nearing a pressure point on nixing the filibuster. https://bit.ly/3t16S2c
Why: “Without structural changes in the Senate, progressives warn that many of Biden’s big campaign promises are effectively doomed.”
The straw that broke the camel’s back: “The filibuster has come back in the spotlight after the parliamentarian ruled recently that an increase of the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour didn’t comply with rules governing what could be included in the coronavirus legislation.”
But Democrats expect it to become an even bigger issue: “But there are bigger tests awaiting Senate Democrats as the House sends them a growing number of bills that likely can’t pass with the filibuster intact and wouldn’t meet the requirements of being squeezed into reconciliation.”
Background checks: “The House is slated to take up the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021, which aims to extend the amount of time federal investigators have to perform background checks for firearm purchases and to close the ‘Charleston loophole.’”
Labor: The House is expected to take up the Protecting the Right to Organize Act. The gist: “The bill … would implement penalties on companies that violate labor law and tamp down right to work laws in 27 states by blocking laws that protect employees from not paying union dues. The legislation would also change the way workers are classified and takes strides to ensure workers aren’t denied rights due to their immigration status.”
Confirmation of Biden nominees: “The Senate will hold procedural votes on two nominations on Tuesday evening: First on Rep. Marcia Fudge’s (D-Ohio) nomination to be secretary of Housing and Urban Development and then Merrick Garland’s nomination to be attorney general. Schumer has also teed up Michael Regan’s nomination to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.”
Context and details for each from The Hill’s Jordain Carney and Juliegrace Brufke: https://bit.ly/38mC5ot
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an explosive interview on the British Royal Family. That interview aired on CBS News last night. https://cnn.it/3kTuNxE
13 TAKEAWAYS FROM THE BOMBSHELL INTERVIEW:
Here are a few of the notable takeaways:
“Meghan was having thoughts of suicide … When Meghan asked to get professional help outside of the palace, she was told she was not allowed.”
“The royal family ‘had concerns’ about Archie’s skin color.”
“The royal family didn’t want to give Archie a title (and the security that comes with it).”
“Things between Harry and his family are tense … The couple is still talking to the queen, though.”
The House and Senate are in. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C.
9:50 p.m. EST: President Biden and Vice President Harris received the President’s Daily Brief.
1 p.m. EST: President Biden visits a veterans’ medical center in Washington, D.C., that is administering COVID-19 vaccines.
3 p.m. EST: The Senate convenes.
6:30 – 8:30 p.m. EST: First and last votes in the House. The House’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/2Obt7DG
WHAT TO WATCH:
11 a.m. EST: The White House COVID Response Team held a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3kX2Ip9
11:30 a.m. EST: White House press secretary Jen Psaki held a press briefing. Co-Chair of the Gender Policy Council and Chief of Staff to the First Lady Julissa Reynoso, and Co-Chair and Executive Director of the Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein also attend. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3rEOVpy
2:15 p.m. EST: Vice President Harris delivers virtual remarks to the National League of Cities’ Congressional City Conference. Livestream: https://bit.ly/30kpVYO
4:20 p.m. EST: President Biden, Vice President Harris and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin deliver remarks on International Women’s Day. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3qybdZ6
NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF…:
Today is National Peanut Cluster Day.
And because you made it this far, here’s a puppy with a new favorite toy: https://bit.ly/3v8nCpR
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A “perfecting amendment” the Senate adopted just before final passage of a $1.9 trillion aid package would add billions of dollars for local governments, restaurants and child care grants to states. The changes came in a 58-page amendment from Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer covering various sections of the relief bill. Read more…
Senate Democrats’ campaign arm is launching its first ads of the 2022 election cycle with new digital spots targeting Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for voting against a sweeping COVID-19 relief bill. Read more…
OPINION — Recent media attention to retail investing presents an opportunity to remind the public that the derivatives markets are unique, and distinct from the stock market, writes CFTC Commissioner Dawn D. Stump. Read more…
Click here to subscribe to Fintech Beat for the latest market and regulatory developmentsin finance and financial technology.
Senators were prepared for a long day and night of voting, but on Friday the chamber stalled out on the very first vote of an anticipated vote-a-rama and the single question dragged on to become the longest Senate vote in modern history. Read more…
Congressional Republicans ramped up calls to the Biden administration and Democratic leaders for meetings on the rising number of migrant children crossing the U.S. border, pushing back on the administration’s claim that the border is not in “crisis.” Read more…
Sen. Cory Booker joked about a power trip while he briefly sat in Sen. Richard J. Durbin’s chair, and an objection Thursday afternoon from Sen. Ron Johnson resulted in Senate floor staff reading a 600-plus page amendment until the wee hours of Friday morning. Read more…
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25.) POLITICO PLAYBOOK
Does Fox care more about Dr. Seuss or stopping Biden’s agenda?
Presented by
DRIVING THE DAY
Congress is about to pass and President JOE BIDEN is about to sign into law the greatest expansion of the welfare state since LBJ.
The bill extends far beyond stimulus payments and unemployment benefits that have received most of the attention: It would expand the child tax credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit, provide more generous support for child-care expenses and bolster Obamacare to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.
The government expansion is so broad that WaPo, reflecting the sensibility of most liberals, says it augurs “seismic shifts in U.S. politics” because the pandemic made Americans more pro-big government and more anti-austerity — perhaps permanently.
Meanwhile, the WSJ editorial page, a little late to the fight, decries “the Covid Welfare State,” and warns that the “$1.9 trillion Democratic bill provides a guaranteed income unlinked to work.”
As the bill moves through the House for a final vote this week, two big questions are on our minds: 1) How did Democrats win this fight over welfare while barely firing a shot? 2) Can they do it again?
On the first question, the conventional wisdom is sound: The twin crises of disease and recession boosted support for government intervention well beyond what has been tolerated for decades; DONALD TRUMP and the GOP’s own support for the last two bills depolarized the fight over this one; Biden’s opposition was distracted by internal divisions (Jan. 6, impeachment, McCarthy vs. Cheney, Trump vs. McConnell); and the conservative media was distracted by juicier fare than tax policy.
If you’ve watched Fox Newsevery night during the Biden presidency (we have), it’s that last point that’s the most notable. We’ve learned a couple of things: 1) The MyPillow guy has really expanded beyond pillows, and 2) Fox’s most-watched hosts care a lot more about cancel culture, Dr. Seuss and antifa’s alleged (but, according to the FBI, nonexistent) role on Jan. 6 than they do about Biden’s American Rescue Plan.
That seems wrong because it suggests that Biden can control the conflict knob. When faced with an economic crisis in 2009, BARACK OBAMA did not dial up the conflict. It’s just that he faced a united GOP that closely coordinated with a powerful media echo chamber that helped create a massive backlash to federal policies.
Can the White House replicate the successful Covid relief strategy with its coming jobs bill, which may have a similar price tag and even more ambitious policy goals? Given the role that conservative media plays in American politics, a lot depends on whether Fox and similar outlets start to realize that what’s being pushed through Congress is a lot more consequential than whether you can still buy “If I Ran the Zoo.”
GOP WON’T QUIT USING TRUMP’S NAME — We reported Saturday that Trump’s lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to the RNC, NRSC and NRCC telling them to stop using his name to fundraise or sell merchandise. But they don’t seem to be taking the warnings seriously. The NRSC advertised a T-shirt for “Trump Supporters ONLY!” with his face and the words “Miss Me yet?” on Facebook. The landing page for the donation was still active as of Sunday night. As Alex Isenstadt noted, the RNC doesn’t seem to be backing off, either. Trump was referenced in fundraising emails Saturday and Sunday even though the letter was delivered to the committee lawyers Friday. The NRSC declined to comment and the RNC did not get back to us.
BIDEN’S MONDAY — Per the White House, Biden will sign two executive orders today “establishing the White House Gender Policy Council” and one “ensuring education free from sexual violence.”The president and VP KAMALA HARRIS will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 9:50 a.m. Biden and VA Secretary DENIS MCDONOUGH will visit the VA Medical Center in D.C. at 1 p.m. to see the administration of vaccines there. At 4:20 p.m., Biden, Harris and Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN will deliver remarks in the State Dining Room for International Women’s Day. Harris will also speak virtually to the National League of Cities’ Congressional City Conference at 2:15 p.m.
— The White House Covid-19 response team and public health officials will brief at 11 a.m. Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at 11:30 a.m. along with JULISSA REYNOSO, co-chair of the Gender Policy Council and chief of staff to the first lady, and JENNIFER KLEIN, co-chair and executive director of the Gender Policy Council.
THE HOUSE will meet at noon for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business.
THE SENATE will meet at 3 p.m.
PLAYBOOK READS
CONGRESS
MANCHIN’S FILIBUSTER TAKE — The man who runs the Senate made (big?) news on the Sunday shows with a subtle shift on the filibuster. Some on the left took his words as a sign he might not be as implacable on the issue as he’s led people to believe. NYT on Manchin’s comments cracking open the door
N.Y. Mag’s Jonathan Chait was perhaps the most bullish about what Manchin’s latest filibuster musings might portend, tweeting during the Harry and Meghan special Sunday night: “This interview is mind-blowing! I’m referring, of course, to Joe Manchin’s interview about the filibuster.” The understated headline on his take: “Joe Manchin Says He Might Reform the Filibuster and Save American Democracy.”Wrote Chait: “Ironically, it is the misleading nature of pro-filibuster propaganda that has enabled Manchin to co-opt its themes. Filibuster advocates present the device as a requirement to allow ‘debate,’ likening it to a kind of free-speech right for senators. …
“In fact, the modern filibuster inhibits rather than enables debate. So Manchin can propound on the need to allow consideration of bills, and permit Republicans to speak on them extensively, because those are not the actual goals of filibuster supporters. The real purpose of the mechanism is to impose a 60-vote requirement (one that has already been eliminated for executive-branch appointments, fiscal policy, and judges).”
THE WHITE HOUSE
REOPENING REALITIES — “‘An essential service’: Inside Biden’s struggle to meet his school reopening promises,”WaPo: “The promise was clear and hopeful: With strong public health measures, then-President-elect Joe Biden declared in early December, ‘the majority of our schools can be open by the end of my first 100 days.’ The reality has been far more complicated. …
“Unlike many of his other vows and directives — pledging 100 million coronavirus vaccine doses in his first 100 days or mandating that all Americans wear masks on federal property — reopening schools is a daunting task over which the federal government has little authority. Local and district leaders, and sometimes state officials, control how and when schools reopen, with guidance from Biden and his team on the margins.”
PANDEMIC
TRACKER: The U.S. reported 839 new Covid-19 deaths and 41,000 new coronavirus cases Sunday.
WHAT WE SAW COMING —“Diplomats Warned of a Coronavirus Danger in Wuhan — 2 Years Before the Outbreak,”by Josh Rogin in POLITICO Magazine, excerpted from his new book, “Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi and the Battle for the Twenty-First Century” ($25.91 on Amazon): “To some inside the government, the name of the laboratory was familiar. Its research on bat viruses had already drawn the attention of U.S. diplomats and officials at the Beijing Embassy in late 2017, prompting them to alert Washington that the lab’s own scientists had reported ‘a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to safely operate this high-containment laboratory.’
“But their cables back to Washington were ignored. … As the pandemic set in worldwide, the origin story was largely set aside in the public coverage of the crisis. But internal government debate continued, now over whether the United States should release more information about what it knew about the lab and its possible connection to the outbreak.”
BEYOND THE BELTWAY
IN MINNEAPOLIS — “Boarded up and lined with barbed wire, Minneapolis braces for murder trial in George Floyd’s death,”WaPo: “Everywhere, there are signs seen and unseen that Minneapolis is bracing for the landmark trial of the former police officer charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death. Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the case, which is poised to be a defining moment in the history of a nation that is grappling with a racial reckoning.
“However, the judge is considering a last-minute addition of a third-degree murder charge that would give prosecutors another avenue for conviction, but with a shorter prison term. The addition — or a decision to not add the charge — could trigger an appeal from either side. The judge’s decision, which might not come until Monday morning, has injected even more uncertainty into the case, heightening tension in a city already on edge.”
RECALLING NEWSOM — “Newsom recall leaders say they have enough signatures to trigger an election,” Sacramento Bee: “Leaders of the effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday they’ve collected 1.95 million signatures a little more than a week before the deadline, a number they believe will be more than enough to trigger a special recall election. County and state elections officials still need to verify that nearly 1.5 million are valid signatures from registered California voters before the recall can qualify for the ballot. But recall supporters said Sunday that they’re confident they’ve collected enough.
“The most recent signature verification numbers from the Secretary of State’s Office found that about 83% of the signatures counted by early February were valid. There’s no guarantee that validity rate will hold for the remaining signatures, but if it does, proponents would reach the threshold needed to trigger a special recall election.”
CUOMO UPDATE — “Top State Leader Says ‘Cuomo Must Resign.’ Governor Says ‘No Way.’”NYT: “In a potentially crippling defection in Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s efforts to maintain power amid a sexual harassment scandal, the leader of the New York State Senate declared on Sunday that the governor should resign ‘for the good of the state.’ …
“‘I’m not going to resign because of allegations,’ the governor said, calling the notion ‘anti-democratic,’ and a violation of the due process clause of the Constitution. ‘There is no way I resign.’”
AMERICA AND THE WORLD
A WARNING TO AFGHANISTAN — “Blinken Proposes New Steps to Peace, Keeps May 1st Pullout Option,”TOLOnews: “US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a letter to President Ashraf Ghani seen by TOLOnews put forth suggestions to the Afghan government to accelerate the peace process, including convening a UN-facilitated conference with international stakeholders, proposals to facilitate discussion between the two sides to form a negotiated settlement and ceasefire, a meeting in Turkey between both sides to finalize a peace agreement, and a revised proposal for a 90-day reduction in violence.
“However, along with these proposals, Blinken made clear that the United States is considering all options regarding Afghanistan, including the May 1st deadline for full withdrawal.” The letter
AGREEMENT REACHED — “U.S., South Korean Negotiators Reach a Cost-Sharing Accord on Troops,” WSJ: “The U.S. and South Korea have reached agreement on a new accord that would resolve a yearslong dispute on how to share the cost of American troops based on the Korean Peninsula, officials from the two countries said Sunday. … The new accord, which would last through 2025, would provide for a ‘meaningful increase’ in the South Korean contribution, said a State Department spokesperson, who didn’t provide details.
“The breakthrough on Sunday came during face-to-face talks in Washington, which were led by State Department negotiator Donna Welton and Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea’s chief negotiator on the issue. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the two sides were closing in on an agreement that would remove a major irritant in relations between Washington and its Asian ally.”
“An official with the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, which monitors foreign disinformation efforts, identified four publications that he said have served as fronts for Russian intelligence. The websites played up the vaccines’ risk of side effects, questioned their efficacy, and said the U.S. had rushed the Pfizer vaccine through the approval process, among other false or misleading claims.”
POLITICS ROUNDUP
FOR YOUR RADAR — “Pence to give speech in SC, his 1st since leaving office,” AP: “In his first public address since the end of the Trump administration, former Vice President Mike Pence is traveling to South Carolina, set to speak to a conservative Christian nonprofit in the state that plays a crucial role in the presidential nominating process.
“Next month, Pence will keynote a dinner hosted by the Palmetto Family Council, a Pence aide told The Associated Press on Sunday. … The Pence aide described the former vice president’s speech as one that will focus on traditional conservative talking points but will also tout what Pence sees as the accomplishments of the Trump administration.”
MEDIAWATCH
NEW SERIES — “CNN and New York Times Plan Documentary Series on Rupert Murdoch,”Bloomberg: “CNN and the New York Times are collaborating on a multipart documentary series about Rupert Murdoch, according to people familiar with the matter, turning a lens on one of the most influential media executives of the past half-century.
“Jonathan Mahler and Jim Rutenberg, who profiled the Murdoch media dynasty for the New York Times Magazine, are working on the effort, with the goal of releasing it in 2022, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the project hasn’t been announced yet. Their story, ‘Planet Fox,’ won an award for best feature from the Gerald Loeb Awards in the past year.”
PLAYBOOKERS
SPOTTED: DONALD TRUMP, “outside Trump Tower in first NYC trip since leaving office,” via NY Post: “Upon his arrival, he waved to a lone Trump supporter who was across the street next to the media.”
KNOW A GOOD INTERIOR DECORATOR? — Town & Country: “Few jobs in interior design are as coveted as the plum assignment to decorate the White House of a new administration. The Kennedys had Sister Parish, the Reagans had Ted Graber—he came up as assistant to Billy Haines, the revered Hollywood decorator—and the Obamas had Michael S. Smith. …
“[T]he Bidens have not yet selected an interior designer. … The Oval’s decoration is a signal of an administration’s values and even its embrace of American industry and design, but it’s also fraught with risk. At a time not unlike the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Biden will have to be mindful of appearances.”
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK —Zac Petkanas and Ryan Thomas are launching Repair Our Democracy, a rapid response project focused on promoting the For the People Act and fighting disinformation about it. Petkanas will lead the team and currently is president of Petkanas Strategies. Thomas will oversee comms and currently is national press secretary for Stand Up America.
— Michael Ahrens is joining Bullpen Strategy Group as a VP in its strategic comms and public affairs advisory practice. He most recently was comms director for the RNC, and is a Marco Rubio campaign alum.
— Leticia Mederos is now a senior managing director in Clark Hill’s government and regulatory affairs practice, where she’ll be a registered lobbyist. She most recently was chief of staff for House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.).
TRANSITIONS — Amy English is now foreign policy adviser to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). She most recently was director of advancement and external affairs at Pathfinder International. … Angela Ebiner is now policy adviser to Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.). She most recently was a VP at Cassidy & Associates. … Anna Bukowski is joining MVAR Media as an SVP, heading digital operations. She most recently was digital campaign services director at the DSCC.
ENGAGED — Natasha Dabrowski, comms director and senior adviser at the New Democrat Coalition, and Josh Fendrick, legislative assistant for Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), got engaged at the National Arboretum with their puppy Cosmo over the weekend. The Michigan natives met in D.C. when Natasha asked Josh out on a “networking” coffee. Pic… Another pic
— Bethany Aronhalt, spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute, and Dave Williams, financial adviser at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, got engaged Friday at Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards in Charlottesville, Va. They first met at the Wharf. Pics
BIRTHWEEK (was Saturday): James Waters
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) (8-0) and Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) … Adrian Saenz of the White House … Lester Holt … World Bank President David Malpass (65) … Kristian Denny Todd … Robert Wolf … Andrew Hughes … Joe Slade White … George Allen … Taylor Lustig … Jesse Thomas … Evan Feigenbaum … POLITICO’s Emily Solomon … Sarah Henning … Bethany Pritchard … E&E’s Andrew Holmes … Mallory Quigley … Drew Nirenberg … Bill Pendergast … Tajikistani PM Kokhir Rasulzoda (6-0) … Andrew Koneschusky … Brittney Bain … Nathaniel Sobel … Inez Tenenbaum … Tom Cellucci … Amanda Schoch, assistant DNI for strategic comms … Club for Growth’s Ben Decatur … Brian Looser
Henry Knox moved cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights in “one of the most stupendous feats of logistics” – American Minute with Bill Federer
At age 23, while hunting birds on Noddle Island, his fowling piece misfired, taking off two fingers of his left hand. From then on, when in public, he covered that hand with a handkerchief.
A young woman who frequented Henry’s book shop was Lucy Flucker, whose father was Thomas Flucker, the Royal Secretary of the Province of Massachusetts.
To her father disapproval, Henry and Lucy fell in love,
Her parents considered Henry in a lower class, and were put off by him associating with patriotic rebels.
They tried to entice Henry to take a commission serving the King in the British Artillery, but he refused.
When Henry and Lucy were married, June 16, 1774, her parents disowned her.
Henry Knox witnessed the Boston Massacre in 1770.
During the Boston Tea Party in 1773, Henry, who was six feet tall and over 250 pounds, served on guard duty to make sure no tea was unloaded from the ship Dartmouth until the night Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty arrived.
On May 13, 1774, British General Thomas Gage arrived as Military Governor of Massachusetts.
On June 1, 1774, Gage commenced a blockade of Boston’s Harbor by British ships.
Thomas Jefferson drafted a day of fasting for sister colony of Virginia to be observed the same day the blockade began.
Knox experienced the city’s deprivation.
With 4,000 British troops, Gage imposed a military occupation, confiscating over 2,000 muskets from the citizens.
He prohibited town hall meetings, complaining that “democracy is too prevalent in America.”
Gage had Knox’s name put on a list of the most dangerous persons.
Gage made Boston a prison.
No one was permitted to leave.
The British looted Henry’s bookshop and used his home to lodge soldiers.
On night in the spring of 1775, 25-year-old Henry, and his 19 -year-old wife, fled on horseback out of Boston. Lucy had sewn his sword inside her cape.
In March of 1775, Parliament replaced Thomas Gage with British Commander William Howe.
Howe filled Boston with 4,500 more troops,
The Battle of Bunker Hill soon followed on June 17, 1775.
Henry Knox volunteered to serve in the American military.
General George Washington, age 43, made Henry Knox a colonel.
On December 1, 1775, General Washington sent Colonel Henry Knox to Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York near Canada to bring 59 cannons to Boston to drive out the British.
Knox and his men arrived at Fort Ticonderoga, put the cannons on big flat-bottomed boats, and rowed them through freezing weather to the southern end of Lake George.
Knox dragged the cannons across the snow, as he reported to Washington, December 17, 1775:
“I have had made 42 exceedingly strong sleds and have provided 80 yoke of oxen to drag them as far as Springfield where I shall get fresh cattle to carry them …
I hope in 16 or 17 days to be able to present your Excellency a noble train of artillery.”
They arrived at the Hudson River, but the ice was not thick enough to support the sleds and one sank.
On January 8, 1776, Knox wrote in his diary that local pastors organized farmers to help:
“Went on the ice about 8 o’clock in the morning and proceeded so carefully that before night we got over 23 sleds and were so lucky as to get the cannon out of the River, owing to the assistance the good people of the city of Albany gave.”
The 3 month endeavor of dragging the cannons over 300 miles from Ft. Ticonderoga to Boston was called by historian Victor Brooks “one of the most stupendous feats of logistics.”
On the night of March 4th, a diversionary attack was made to distract the British, while Washington’s men wrapped wagon wheels with straw to muffle the noise and frantically moved the cannons up to a strategic point on Dorchester Heights overlooking Boston Harbor.
To make it appear even more impressive, they painted some logs to look like cannons.
The next morning an astonished British General William Howe looked up at Dorchester Heights and remarked:
“The rebels did more in one night than my whole army would have done in one month.”
On March 6, 1776, from his Cambridge Headquarters, General Washington ordered:
“Thursday, the 7th … being set apart by this Province (Massachusetts) as a Day of Fasting, Prayer and Humiliation,
‘to implore the Lord and Giver of all victory to pardon our manifold sins and wickedness, and that it would please Him to bless the Continental army with His divine favor and protection,’
all officers and soldiers are strictly enjoined to pay all due reverence and attention on that day to the sacred duties to the Lord of hosts for His mercies already received, and for those blessings which our holiness and uprightness of life can alone encourage us to hope through His mercy obtain.”
Coincidentally, on that Day of Fasting, March 7, 1776, General Howe was assembling 3,000 troops to land and charge up Dorchester Heights, but a violent snowstorm arose causing the sea to be too turbulent for the attack.
General Washington wrote his younger brother, John Augustine Washington, March 31, 1776:
“Upon their discovery of the works (cannons on Dorchester Heights) next morning, great preparations were made for attacking them; but not being ready before the afternoon, and the weather getting very tempestuous, much blood was saved and a very important blow … prevented.
That this most remarkable Interposition of Providence is for some wise purpose, I have not a doubt.”
Rev. Alexander MacWhorter, who was a chaplain with Henry Knox’s brigade, wrote December 12, 1799:
“General Washington … attended divine services with his brigades …
He … considered the distinction of the great denominations of Christianity rather as shades of differences, than anything substantial or essential to salvation.”
On March 8, General Howe sent word to Washington that if the British were allowed to leave Boston unmolested, they would not burn the city on their way out.
Eights days passed, and on March 16, 1776, the Continental Congress approved without dissent a Day of Fasting resolution by General William Livingston:
“Congress …. desirous … to have people of all ranks and degrees duly impressed with a solemn sense of God’s superintending providence, and of their duty, devoutly to rely … on his aid and direction … do earnestly recommend … a Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer;
that we may, with united hearts, confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and, by sincere repentance and amendment of life, appease God’s righteous displeasure,
and, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain this pardon and forgiveness.”
The next day, March 17, 1776, British General Howe finally gave the order to his troops to board their ships and evacuate Boston.
Sailing away with the British forces were nearly a thousand British loyalists.
Among them were Lucy Knox’s parents, the Fluckers.
She never saw them again.
Being newlyweds when the war started, Henry was separated from his wife, Lucy, for months at a time. He wrote to her:
“I maledict … this war only because it separates me from my Love …”
“No man on earth separated from all that he holds Dear on earth has ever suffer’d more than I have suffer’d in being absent from (my Love) whom I hold dearer than every other object …”
“I think of rarely any thing else. Indeed, my dear Girl, I love you too well to be separated from you at all.”
Henry wrote to Lucy, August 25, 1777:
“I shall reserve myself … until I have the ineffable pleasure of seeing you,
When that will be I can’t say, but please God at all events before Christmas …
May God soon bring us together again and I sincerely beg Him to bless you … your affectionate husband …
H Knox.”
Henry Knox went on to fight in the New York, where Washington told his army after receiving a copy of the Declaration of Independence, July 1776:
“This important event will serve as a fresh incentive to every officer, and soldier, to act with fidelity and courage, as knowing that now, the peace and safety of his country depends, under God, on the success of our arms.”
Knox fought in the New Jersey campaign.
He arranged Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River with John Glover’s seamen from Marblehead, Massachusetts, rowing the boats.
It was Knox’s artillery that helped defeat the Hessian mercenaries at the Battle of Trenton.
Knox as promoted to Brigadier General, and fought at Princeton, in the Philadelphia campaign, Germantown, Monmouth, and Yorktown.
George Washington wrote to Henry Knox, March 2, 1797:
“It is not for man to scan the wisdom of Providence.
The best he can do, is to submit to its decrees. – Reason, Religion & Philosophy teaches us to do this, but ’tis time alone that can ameliorate the pangs of humanity, & soften its woes.”
In 1782, Knox was promoted to be the army’s youngest major general.
In 1785, he was chosen as the nation’s second Secretary of War.
Named for him are:
Knoxville, Tennessee, Knox County,
Knoxville, Illinois, Knox County,
Knoxville, Maryland,
Knoxville, Iowa,
Knox, Maine;
Knox, Indiana,
Knox Place, Bronx, New York,
Knox County, Indiana,
Knox County, Kentucky
Knox County, Maine,
Knox County, Missouri
Knox County, Nebraska,
Knox County, Ohio,
Knox County, Texas.
In 1985, the U.S. Post Office issued a stamp honoring Henry Knox.
For nearly 20 years, Henry and Lucy did not have a home of their own, living in military encampments and army bases.
In the midst of the Revolution, Knox wrote to his wife, Lucy:
“We want great men, who when fortune frowns will not be discouraged. God will I trust in time give us these men.”
Summary: President Joe Biden will receive his daily briefing Monday morning. Later, the president will visit the Veterans Medical Center and participate in an event celebrating International Women’s Day. President Biden’s Itinerary for 3/8/21: All Times EST 9:50 AM Receive daily briefing – Oval Office1:00 PM Visit Veterans Medical Center – Washington, D.C.4:20 PM Participate …
Speaking on Sunday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) says that he will support more of the Democratic Party initiatives as the Biden agenda moves forward. This announcement came as many in his party were frustrated with Manchin after he delayed the COVID “relief” bill that was being negotiated. That bill passed along party lines without any …
Last week, the woke Left took on Dr. Seuss and the beloved children’s book icon became the latest victim of the cancel culture. Most said that the books were canceled, while the publisher has argued that the books were simply recalled. Either way, the books are being pulled from circulation over their “racism.” One person …
Conservatives scored their first victory against the Biden administration when former Center for American Progress (CAP) President Neera Tanden’s nomination to direct the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) was blocked. George Soros and his Open Society Institute is a primary funder of CAP. Tanden declared twitter war on Republicans and progressives over the past …
On Saturday, the internet was set ablaze with the discussion surrounding an article from The New York Times about a cartoon character named Pepe Le Pew. The author talks about the recent statements that Dr. Seuss books were racist and how many cartoons normalized racism and bias. For Pepe Le Pew, he said the skunk …
Never in history has a government found an easier way to control its population and keep everyone in a state of fear than America’s Democrats party and its use of a virus to keep people at home, masked, and quaking in fear at certain death outside their doors if they see a person not wearing …
esterday, Democrats passed their abomination of an alleged “COVID Relief” bill that occurred on a party-line vote. Even RINO Senators Lisa Murkowski (‘R’-AK) and Mitt Romney (‘R’-UT) saw fit to break ranks this time because that’s how crappy this piece of legislation is! In fact, only 9 percent of the bill goes to direct assistance for …
The editorial board of the Albany Times-Union, which has endorsed Andrew Cuomo for governor three times, called on the New York Democrat to resign from office Saturday for his misleading statements about coronavirus-related nursing home deaths. “First Gov. Andrew Cuomo hid the truth about deaths of nursing home residents from the public. Then his administration …
The State of the Union, usually given by the sitting President to a joint session of Congress in the early days of the year, is not mandatory and is initiated by an invitation by the Speaker of the House to the President. Do not hold your breath that you will see President Biden at the …
Media’s Credibility Crisis Continues with Chris Cuomo Conundrum In this installment of our weekly conversation, PF Whalen and Parker Beauregard of The Blue State Conservative consider the complete evaporation of the mainstream media’s credibility in the wake of CNN’s handling of Chris Cuomo’s reporting on his brother Andrew’s ongoing scandals. PF: It’s been years since …
Happy Monday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. I spent the weekend polishing my privilege. It was delightful.
I was also thinking about this time last year. It was the last few days before the plague became the overwhelming theme of our lives. The week began with all of us being aware that things were getting worse and ended with universities shutting down, my daughter’s college athletic career being over in the blink of an eye, and chaos beginning a lengthy, worldwide reign. I was trying to remember what those last few days felt like and my plague year brain found it impossible to do.
It feels like it’s always been masks and talk of social distancing now.
The new normal, indeed.
Former President Trump has been getting back in the game the last couple of weeks, to the delight of many of us. Those of us who are among the over 74 million actual Trump voters that the Democrats and the Republican squish fringe have been trying to wish away hope that he gets even more active and does it soon.
We’ve been subjected to countless wearisome hot takes about the future of the GOP and what role Trump will play in it. The only reason Trump wouldn’t have a major role in it would be that he didn’t want it. Thankfully, he does.
In a recent interview, Sen. Lindsey Graham said that Trump can make the GOP “bigger,” “stronger,” and “more diverse.” Trump has already accomplished all of that, of course, which is the reason he needs to keep remaking the party so that those gains aren’t lost.
Sources tell The Hill that Donald Trump’s attorneys sent cease-and-desist letters Friday to the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) to stop using his name and image for fundraising.
The three groups are the largest fundraising groups in the Republican Party.
From Trump’s point of view, the letters make perfect sense. Any use of his likeness and name is money in the bank. Better yet, he can use that money to fund his political activities or his personal lifestyle.
Trump has made no secret about the fact that he wants to only support Republicans who are supportive of him. He no doubt wants to avoid having his name used to raise money for the party that will then be spent on those who he deems turncoats, like Lisa Murkowski.
As The Hill article noted, this seems to be an attempt by Trump to “solidify his standing as a top kingmaker in the GOP.” “The” top kingmaker would be more like it. Who else in the Republican party has that kind of power? The MSM hacks are still lost in a dreamland where they think the Romney wing of the party is respected and has some clout.
The Republican party’s future is directly tied to Donald Trump and what he’s done with it since winning in 2016. Should it inexplicably revert to its pre-Trump ways, it won’t be a dying party, it will be a dead party.
The Trump Train is still chugging along, despite the voting irregularity attempts to derail it. Smart money Republicans will stay on it and see where Trump leads them.
US Set to Power Global Economic Recovery From Covid-19 pandemic . . . The US could help drive a powerful global economic recovery this year, as it plays a more central role in the comeback than after the financial crisis, reflecting the unusual nature of the Covid-19 shock and the flexibility of the American economy. The world economy is likely to grow by around 6% this year, according to Oxford Economics, the fastest rate in almost half a century, as vaccine campaigns allow pandemic restrictions to be lifted and businesses to snap back. For the first time since 2005, the U.S. is expected this year to make a bigger contribution to global growth than China, said the research firm. After the 2008 financial crisis, the global economic recovery was powered by China, as the U.S. experienced the weakest revival since the Great Depression. Wall Street Journal
Americans start millions of new businesses under Covid-19 pandemic . . . More than 4.4m new businesses have been created in the US since last March, according to the Census Bureau. The number far exceeds the expected uptick that occurs during a recession, when older businesses shut and more people find themselves unemployed. “One thing we tend to see is a countercyclical self-employment pattern during deep recessions,” said John Haltiwanger, economics professor at the University of Maryland. “[People] can’t get a job so they employ themself. What’s unusual about this pandemic is the magnitude, not the direction.”
The upsurge that began during the tumult of the early pandemic has continued since the start of 2021. In January, alone there were nearly half a million new business starts in the US. “I think the economic community has underestimated the resilience of working-class individuals,” said Swati Bhatt, economics professor at Princeton University Financial Times
Capitalism and the unbeatable “can-do” attitude that is engrained in the American culture are responsible for this miracle. Socialism with its confiscation of the peoples’ fruits of labor would have produced the opposite effect. There’s no question which system is superior and humane, at least for those of us with first-hand experience living under socialism.
Coronavirus
COVID tests on migrants dropped in Texas town find 25% infected . . . A quarter of the illegal immigrants dropped off in one Texas town tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the man who runs the homeless shelter where Border Patrol agents are bringing the migrants they’re catching and releasing. Bill Reagan, director of Loaves and Fishes, the food bank and shelter in Harlingen, Texas, said more cases are likely but are not being detecting because, given the conditions, testing is “almost useless.” “We can’t quarantine them,” Mr. Reagan told commissioners. “Even though they test positive, they’re going to leave the next day. The first group that came through had 25% positivity test rate, he said. Washington Times
Politics
Biden to formally establish new Gender Policy Council . . . President Biden will sign an executive order on Monday establishing the Gender Policy Council within the White House to focus on uplifting the rights of women and address gender-based discrimination and violence. He will also sign an executive order directing the Department of Education to review the Title IX regulation issued by the Trump administration to determine whether it is consistent with the policy of the Biden administration that students be “guaranteed education free from sexual violence,” administration officials said.
The orders come on International Women’s Day and he will sign them alongside Vice President Harris, the nation’s first female vice president. Biden and Harris had announced plans before their inauguration in January to establish the Gender Policy Council. The Hil
Biden administration releasing families from Texas migrant centers in 72 hours . . . The Biden administration will transform two Texas facilities where detained migrant families are held into Ellis Island-style rapid processing centers, meaning adults and children who cross the border will be housed for a maximum of 72 hours before being released into the U.S. In a court filing Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said families will continue to be detained at a 2,400-bed detention center in Karnes City and an 839-bed detention center in Dilley in Texas, but the U.S. government intends to hold adults and children at those sites for three days or less. New York Post
Biden Admin First to Invite Rejected Asylum-Seekers to Reapply: Texas Sheriff . . . A sheriff in Texas is voicing concern that Americans will have to “pay a price” for the total chaos unfolding at the southern border. “This is the first time in U.S. history where the federal government has gone back on rejected asylee applicants, in the last year or so, and they’re reaching out to them to bring them back into the United States,” Sheriff A.J. Louderback told The Epoch Times of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. He said Biden’s reforms have seen U.S. government employees contact asylum-seekers rejected during the Trump administration and encourage them to reapply for asylee status under the Biden administration. Epoch Times
Former ICE Chief Says Biden Admin Has Turned Border Detention Centers Into ‘Welcoming Centers’ . . . Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan said Saturday that border detention centers have been turned into “welcoming centers” through President Joe Biden’s open border polices accepting illegal immigrants. “They are changing these detention centers to what they call ‘reception centers,’” Homan said on “Fox & Friends” Saturday.Daily Caller
GOP stumbles give Democrats new hope in Texas . . . Texas Republicans have endured a rocky start to the year, raising hopes among Lone Star Democrats that they can regain momentum after a disappointing 2020 cycle. The power grid failure during a rare polar vortex that led to a humanitarian crisis last month drew attention to the GOP’s leadership in a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office in nearly a quarter century. Sen. Ted Cruz’s brief trip to Cancun during the crisis ignited anger and severe blowback, potentially doing further damage to a political career that had been hobbled by his involvement in challenging the Electoral College vote count on the day of the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill. The Hill
Iranian Dissidents Slam Nominee for Top Defense Post . . . President Joe Biden’s nominee for a top Pentagon post, Colin Kahl, is coming under fire from Iranian dissidents for his close ties with advocates for the Iranian regime. Kahl, nominated to be the undersecretary of defense for policy, is a White House and State Department veteran who spoke at multiple events for the National Iranian American Council, an organization that helped arrange meetings between U.S. and Iranian government officials. In 2012, NIAC lost a defamation suit against Iranian-American activist Hassan Dai, who had called the organization a lobbying group for the Iranian regime. During the case, a federal judge ruled that NIAC leader Trita Parsi’s work was “not inconsistent with the idea that he was first and foremost an advocate for the regime.” Washington Free Beacon
Eric Swallwell, compromised by a Chinese spy, sues Trump for “emotional distress” over Capitol riot . . . In this new age of sensitivity over every little slight and negative comment, some of our leaders feel they have license to become wimps. And the world must be laughing, or in the case of China and Russia, watching. News of former presidential candidate Swalwell’s suit against Trump for emotional distress comes a day after the House fled Washington and stayed out of session Thursday over fears that there might be some protests, which never materialized. And of course there was the cry-in on the House floor among House lawmakers traumatized by the Jan. 6 events. White House Dossier
Biden, lawmakers take step to limit president’s authority to go to war . . . President Biden and a bipartisan caucus on Capitol Hill may have just taken the first step toward a deal that has eluded Washington for more than a decade: the establishment of clear, narrow limits on a commander in chief’s authority to take the country into war. Mr. Biden on Friday committed to working with Congress to replace war-making authorities that have underpinned US military action in the Middle East and beyond for the nearly two decades since the shock of the September 11 attacks in 2001. Despite the readiness for change, laying down new rules will likely prove a tough task on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. Washington Times
Trump Presses GOP Entities to Stop Using His Name, Likeness . . . Former President Donald Trump sent cease-and-desist letters demanding that Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) stop using his name and likeness to raise funds, a Trump adviser told The Epoch Times. In a speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando on Feb. 28, Trump instructed supporters to donate to his campaign website and the Save America political action committee (PAC). The move suggested Trump aims to build financial leverage over the RNC, a theory that seems to gain credence because of the cease-and-desist letters. Epoch Times
Graham: Trump can make GOP bigger, stronger, or he ‘could destroy it’ . . . Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in an interview that aired Sunday that he thinks former President Trump can make the GOP “bigger” and “stronger,” or he “could destroy it.”
Graham, who has been considered an ally and defender of Trump since his election, told “Axios on HBO” that Trump encompasses a “bigger-than-life deal,” describing the former president as “sort of a cross between Jesse Helms, Ronald Reagan and P.T. Barnum.”
“He could make the Republican Party something that nobody else I know could make it,” the Republican senator said. “He could make it bigger. He could make it stronger. He could make it more diverse. And he also could destroy it.” The Hill
Trump Promises To Go To Alaska To Campaign Against ‘Disloyal’ Sen. Murkowski . . . Former President Donald Trump promised to visit Alaska to personally campaign against Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is up for reelection in 2022. “I will not be endorsing, under any circumstances, the failed candidate from the great State of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski,” Trump said in a Saturday statement to Politico. “She represents her state badly and her country even worse. I do not know where other people will be next year, but I know where I will be — in Alaska campaigning against a disloyal and very bad Senator.” Murkowski, a frequent Trump critic, was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict the former president on impeachment charges in February. Daily Caller
National Security
Russia deploys covert cyber ops to undermine confidence Western Covid vaccines . . . Russian intelligence agencies have mounted a campaign to undermine confidence in Pfizer Inc.’s and other Western vaccines, using online publications that in recent months have questioned the vaccines’ development and safety, U.S. officials said. An official with the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, which monitors foreign disinformation efforts, identified four publications that he said have served as fronts for Russian intelligence. The websites played up the vaccines’ risk of side effects, questioned their efficacy, and said the U.S. had rushed the Pfizer vaccine through the approval process, among other false or misleading claims. Wall Street Journal
US deploys B-52 bombers to Middle East, for the fourth time this year, in warning to Iran . . . The U.S. military on Sunday delivered a pair of clear warnings to Iran, with the Air Force dispatching two B-52H “Stratofortress” bombers to the Middle East while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed to “hold people accountable for their acts” if Americans are targeted. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military operations in the region, said that aircraft from Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar joined the B-52 bombers during their flights. It’s the fourth time this year the Pentagon has sent B-52s to the Middle East, and it comes as the Biden administration weighs how best to respond to yet another recent rocket attack on U.S. troops believed to have been launched by Iran-backed militias. Washington Times
International
Russia’s Covid-19 Vaccine Is Embraced Abroad, Snubbed at Home . . . Last summer, Russia was the first nation to announce its approval of a Covid-19 vaccine. Dozens of countries from Mexico to Iran have since ordered millions of doses of the shot, known as Sputnik V. But at home, Russia’s vaccination campaign has sputtered in the midst of one of the world’s highest levels of vaccine hesitancy. While the vaccine is free and widely available, only 3.5% of Russians have received at least one shot, compared with 17.1% in the U.S. and 32.1% in the U.K. Recent surveys show that less than a third of Russians are willing to get the Sputnik V vaccine. Behind the skepticism are lingering doubts about Sputnik V’s rapid development and an ingrained distrust of authorities stemming from the country’s Soviet past. Wall Street Journal
When you lie to your citizens for over seventy years, they don’t believe you, even when told the truth. Something that USG should also be aware of.
Money
Goldman Sachs reportedly set to make $200M off Texas winter storm . . . Traders at Goldman Sachs may reap huge profits from the winter storm last month that left many across Texas and other Southern states without electricity, clean water and heat. The Wall Street bank could make up to $200 million from the physical sale of power and natural gas and from financial hedges after spot prices jumped, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. New York Post
Foreclosure in your future? Here are four ways to save your home . . . In 2020 the number of homeowners who have fallen at least three months behind on their mortgage payments has increased 250 percent, a level not seen since the height of the Great Recession in 2010. As federal and state moratoriums blanket the country, more Americans have fallen behind on their mortgage payments at levels not seen since the Great Recession. However, if you fall into one of these groups, there are ways to save your home and avoid being foreclosed on if you act now. Here are my four top suggestions: 1. Call Your Lender: Lenders Are Making Record Deals; 2. Sell Your Property and Price It Right; 3. Read All of Your Mail Every Day; 4. Save Your Money. The second greatest enemy against paying the mortgage besides unemployment is blowing a paycheck on other bills and expenses. Fox Business
These Social Security changes affect your retirement age, taxable benefits and eligibility . . . Here’s how the program has changed over time. Since President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act in 1935, the program has been one of the most important sources of income for retirees. Still, many people don’t really understand the nuances of it or how it’s changed over time.
Specifically, there have been three big shifts you may not be aware happened but that could have a profound impact on the money you receive from this nearly 86-year-old entitlement program. 1. Full retirement age was moved higher for younger people; 2. A portion of benefits became taxable for some recipients; 3. Eligibility for benefits was expanded. USA Today
You should also know
Fox Nation to premiere new series on Rush Limbaugh, narrated by Mike Pence . . . Fox Nation is set to premiere “The Age of Rush,” a four-part series showcasing the life and times of Rush Limbaugh, narrated by former vice president Mike Pence — who once was a talk radio host himself. “The program will document Limbaugh’s childhood beginnings in the hometown of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to his eventual place as the most powerful radio talk show host of all time,” Fox Nation said in advance production notes. Fox News hosts and anchors Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and Newt Gingrich are included in the cast, as are radio hosts Mark Steyn and Larry Elder. Washington Times
eBay purges Dr. Seuss books while still allowing Nazi manifestos . . . Ebay this week is working to purge from its servers the listing of six disputed Dr. Seuss books, even as it continues to allow the listing and sale of works such as Hitler’s antisemitic Nazi manifesto “Mein Kampf” and pro-slavery books. Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced this week that it would cease production of half a dozen Seuss books it claimed contain “hurtful” and “wrong” portrayals.” Ebay shortly thereafter announced that it would be scrubbing listings of those books from its online marketplace. Copies of the discontinued children’s stories were being listed and sold for significantly inflated prices following the books’ cancellations. Just the News
Guilty Pleasures
Turkey crashes through window into California dentist’s office . . . An employee at a dentist’s office in California received a scare when a large turkey came crashing through a window and into the patient consultant area. Donna McDonald, office manager at Gregory Hailey DDS in Fair Oaks, said she was the only person in the building when she heard the crashing sound that she initially thought might be an earthquake. The turkey crashed through the window and clawed up multiple walls. The wildlife rescue dispatched to evict the animal, said the turkey did not appear to be seriously injured and will be released back into the wild. The rescue personnel said the turkey may have saw its own reflection in the window and attacked it, confusing it for a romantic rival amid the mating season for the birds. UPI
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President Biden speaks following the passage of the American Rescue Plan.(Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images.)
Happy Monday! Apparently the losers of the Revolutionary War are in some hot water? We were busy watching a very mediocre Slam Dunk Contest.
(Unfortunately, the best Slam Dunk Contest of all time took place before your Morning Dispatchers were born.)
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
The Senate voted entirely along party lines Saturday to pass President Joe Biden’s sweeping $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which includes $1,400 checks to millions of Americans, $350 billion in state and local aid, and an extension of federal unemployment benefits. The House is expected to take up and pass the Senate’s bill on Tuesday.
The U.S. economy added 379,000 jobs in February, according to the Department of Labor. The unemployment rate remained relatively stable month-over-month, dropping from 6.3 percent to 6.2 percent.
A memo obtained by Axios shows that the Centers for Disease Control will allow child migrant shelters to operate at full capacity amid a growing immigration crisis on the United States’ southern border, reversing its previous requirement that they stay at 50 percent to slow the spread of COVID-19.
President Biden issued an executive order Sunday directing federal agencies and departments to expand voting access, particularly among historically disenfranchised groups. The largely symbolic order will modernize Vote.gov and promote voting access and registration for military members, the federally incarcerated, and Native Americans.
New York state lawmakers voted Friday to strip Gov. Andrew Cuomo of his emergency pandemic powers. The governor reiterated yesterday that he will not step down, despite anothertwo women coming forward with allegations of sexual harassment over the weekend and the top two Democrats in New York’s state legislature demanding his resignation.
The United States and South Korea reached a cost-sharing agreement over the weekend regarding American troops based on the Korean Peninsula. A State Department spokesman said the new deal—in effect through 2025—will result in a “meaningful increase” in South Korea’s contributions.
Pope Francis toured areas of war-torn Iraq over the weekend, paying homage to Christian areas affected by ISIS and taking part in a historic meeting with Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s leading Shiite leader, in a call for peace.
The European Union and the United States announced they will lift tariffs on luggage, wine, jetliners, food goods, and other products for four months in an effort to “restore confidence and trust” between the two parties.
The United States confirmed 37,270 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday per the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard, with 3.2 percent of the 1,156,241 tests reported coming back positive. An additional 668 deaths were attributed to the virus on Sunday, bringing the pandemic’s American death toll to 524,987. According to the COVID Tracking Project, 40,212 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 2,439,427 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered yesterday, bringing the nationwide total to 90,351,750.
Biden Gets His $1.9 Trillion
On January 14, then-President-elect Biden addressed the nation, outlining his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP). The plan, he argued, would “prevent long-term economic damage” from the coronavirus pandemic.
“A growing chorus of top economists agree that, in this moment of crisis, with interest rates at historic lows, we cannot afford inaction,” he said. “We need more action, more bipartisanship, and we need to move fast.”
Fifty-one days later, Biden got his action—almost exactly the $1.9 trillion he asked for, the second-largest appropriations bill in history—but it wasn’t bipartisan: The Senate voted entirely along party lines on Saturday to approve the ARP, 50-49 (Sen. Dan Sullivan was absent due to a family emergency). The Senate bill will now go back to the House for final approval, which it is expected to receive on Tuesday. Biden could sign it into law by the middle of the week.
“When I was elected, I said we were going to get the government out of the business of battling on Twitter and back in the business of delivering for the American people,” the president said in prepared remarks on Saturday afternoon. “And passing the American Rescue Plan will do that.”
The process was not without hiccups—and your Morning Dispatchers are glad our publishing schedule didn’t require us to stay up until 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning covering them. Earlier Friday, Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced an amendment to the stimulus package that would have overruled the Senate parliamentarian and appended a nationwide $15 per hour minimum wage to the legislation. Not only did every Republican vote against it, eight Democrats—including Sens. Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, and Chris Coons—did as well.
The $1.9 trillion is coming, but the ARP will be signed into law in a very different world than the one in which it was first pitched. On the Thursday in January that Biden outlined the package, more than 240,000 new coronavirus cases were reported and nearly 4,000 deaths were attributed to the virus. Last Thursday, those numbers were 39,876 and 1,900, respectively.
Due in large part to vaccination efforts and the slowdown of the virus, economic conditions have dramatically improved as well. The Department of Labor Friday morning announced the U.S. economy added 379,000 jobs in February, beating expectations and driving the unemployment rate down a tenth of a percentage point to 6.2 percent. The economy added 166,000 jobs in January, after losing 306,000 jobs in December.
The month-over-month growth was the largest since October, and was driven almost entirely by gains in the leisure and hospitality sector as states across the country loosened restrictions on restaurants and bars. About 286,000 jobs were added in “food services and drinking places,” while employment in “accommodation” grew by 36,000 and “amusements, gambling, and recreation” by 33,000.
Sen. Rob Portman cited the data in his statement explaining his vote against the stimulus. “America’s economy is improving. The economy added 379,000 jobs in February and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said recently that without any additional stimulus the economy will recover to pre-pandemic levels by mid-year,” he said. “This makes it even more troubling that Democrats have passed this partisan and expensive bill, which even one of their own prominent economists warned could cause inflation and undermine our economic recovery going forward.”
The economist in question, Larry Summers—the Obama administration’s director of the National Economic Council—praised the “ambition” of Biden’s plan before rattling off a series of misgivings about its size in an op-ed last month. “There is a chance that macroeconomic stimulus on a scale closer to World War II levels than normal recession levels will set off inflationary pressures of a kind we have not seen in a generation, with consequences for the value of the dollar and financial stability,” he wrote.
The ARP is well on its way to becoming law. But Steven Rattner, a former Treasury Department official in the Obama administration, argued in the New York Times over the weekend that policymakers need to take inflation seriously, despite a seemingly benign monthly price index. “Some commentators, and White House advisers, dismiss inflation fears on the grounds that the economy has fundamentally changed since the 1970s,” he writes. “But let’s not be so blasé about how hard it would be to put that tiger back in its cage. Forty years ago, curbing the painful hike in prices took the Fed raising interest rates to 20 percent, forcing the economy into a brutal recession. … Congress is on the verge of injecting an additional $1.9 trillion into an economy that has already received more than $4 trillion in boosts from Washington. According to several estimates, the measure’s spending far exceeds the extent of the shortfall in economic output caused by the pandemic.”
On Friday’s Dispatch Podcast, Sarah and Declan spoke with Oren Cass of American Compass about his think tank’s challenges to conservative orthodoxy, and what a post-Trump GOP could and should look like. “What has been missing from American politics and policymaking,” Oren argued, “is a conservatism that takes seriously the ways that public policy could really take on and address failures in our markets and things that are not going well in the economy.”
Friday’s G-File is on a subject near and dear to Jonah’s heart: Blogging. Since their golden age 20 years ago, he argues, blogs have devolved into hot takes and Twitter commentary primarily focused on attacking traditional media. “Blogging encouraged writers to focus less on the news than on the way it was presented and those who presented it. Commenting intelligently and quickly on actual news is pretty hard. Finding fault in others is much easier—and more fun,” Jonah writes. “The mainstream media is weaker than it has ever been. Yet many conservatives today would have you believe it isn’t just powerful, but tyrannical.” Jonah expands on this—and discusses a whole lot more—in an extra-long Ruminant.
Polling shows Americans’ willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine continues to increase, but white Evangelicals remain the religious subgroup least likely to want the jab. In his Sunday French Press, David argues Evangelical vaccine hesitancy is both an information problem and a spiritual problem. But there’s a path forward. “We must understand that they’re trusting voices they truly believe love them, care for them, and have their best interests at heart,” he writes. “This approach requires us to listen, to hear exactly why someone is concerned and to respond—again, without condescension—to their fears. In that atmosphere of trust and respect, you’ll often find that you can easily allay their concerns.”
Taking a break from political news and punditry, TMD’s Audrey Fahlberg reviewed the recent AppleTV+ Billie Eilish documentary.
William Jacobson: “WHERE HAVE I BEEN? — I haven’t been able to post much lately. I’ve had a lot going on behind the scenes. Hoping to return to normal soon.”
Kemberlee Kaye: “So looking forward to spending time with extended family this week and watching our kids play together. The blessings of parenthood and family are numerous.”
Mary Chastain: “I had the COVID vaccination last Thursday. With three autoimmune disorders, I am not surprised I have so many side effects. The nausea and fatigue suck, but it’s getting better. I get the second shot at the end of the month. PLEASE get the vaccine when you can. Also, get your FLU SHOT. Always get the flu shot and pneumonia shot (if you qualify b/c not everyone needs this one) every single year.”
Leslie Eastman: “While NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo is on the fast-track to being America’s worst pandemic governor, Governor Greg Gianforte is one of the best. You have to love his response to Biden’s “Neanderthal” assessment of states loosening the restrictions: “If making data-driven decisions to reopen, loving freedom, and trying to get back to normal is what a Neanderthal would do, then well, I guess you can count me as one.”
Stacey Matthews: “Connecticut announced Thursday that they’d be easing their COVID restrictions by doing away with capacity limits on restaurants, retail stores, libraries, personal services, gyms, museums, offices & churches. Think Joe Biden will accuse their Democratic governor Ned Lamont of being a ‘Neanderthal‘?”
Vijeta Uniyal: “President Joe Biden’s administration is “pleased” that the European powers have dropped the plan to censure Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting. Last week, France spearheaded a European effort to condemn Iran’s recent nuclear violations at a summit hosted by the IAEA, the Vienna-based U.N. atomic watchdog. “We are pleased with the outcome of the IAEA Board of Governors meeting with respect to Iran,” U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said, hoping to restart nuclear talks.”
David Gerstman: “Vijeta Uniyal blogged that the Biden administration is pleased that the EU has dropped plans to censure Iran for nuclear violations because the administration is looking “forward with strong interest for Iran’s willingness to engage in a way that leads to credible, concrete progress.” Coming in the face of stepped-up Iranian aggression, this “engagement,” is appeasement by another name. And it smells just as rotten.”
Samantha Mandeles: “In researching the controversy over the NBC program Nurses and its wildly inaccurate, anti-Semitic depiction of Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews, I found an interesting wrinkle: The credited writer of the episode in question has long been deeply involved with the anti-Israel NGO Human Rights Watch. Kind of gives her careless portrayal of Jews a new dimension, doesn’t it?“
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Blue Collar Workers Are Going Red
It wasn’t just a 2016 phenomenon. A recently released poll from NBC News shows that over the last 30 years, the most significant voter trend has been blue collar workers leaving the Democratic Party. Who would have thought they cared more about manufacturing, trade, and energy independence than gender politics, being forced to confess to racism, and Drag Queen Story Hour?
Don Feder of FrontPage Mag wrote, “The poll shows that between 2010 and 2020, the Republican share of blue- collar votes rose from 45% to 57%. Within the same demographic, its Hispanic vote went from 23% to 36%, while its black working-class vote went from 5% to 12%.”
As we get deeper into the Biden-Harris era, it’s likely that this trend will continue. More from Feder:
“The geezer in the White House is becoming a job-killing machine. On Day One, the Keystone XL-Pipeline was axed. And that’s just a down-payment on Biden’s debt to the Greenies. But, not to worry. As John Forbes Kerry assured us, unemployed pipeline workers can get good-paying jobs manufacturing solar panels – in China.
…Unlike their white-collar counterparts, blue-collar workers didn’t have an opportunity to be indoctrinated by their college professors – but Biden wants them to pay the debts of those who were. They are less likely to heed the so-called experts. They don’t get their news from The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN. They’re not afraid to voice views that get conservatives banned by Facebook and Twitter.
While the GOP is becoming the party of labor, the Democrats are firmly in the hands of coastal elitists.”
When Do We Stop Wearing Masks? With the news last week that Texas, Mississippi, and Arizona will be allowing all businesses to open and some ending mask mandates Dr. Anthony Fauci criticized states lifting mask mandates as “inexplicable.” As has become pandemic tradition before a holiday, Dr. Fauci warns of another spike despite the current plateau and availability of numerous vaccines. By contrast, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner, supports a mask mandate and says he would continue avoid indoors at restaurants, but that businesses should ease restrictions.
Madeline Orr, staff editor at The Federalist and BRIGHT guest editor, writes:“So the question is, if it’s not safe now, then when? When will it be acceptable, according to science, to breathe unfiltered air? What will it take for us collectively, as a society, to believe the virus is “under control”?
Is it when the entire country is vaccinated? Half the population? That will take years. When we “flatten the curve”? We’ve done that twice now in Texas. When we prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed? We’ve done that twice now too. The pop-up hospital at Dallas’s Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center was never used. Maybe when the CDC says everything is OK? The CDC advises you to not eat raw cookie dough or rare steak, as Robby Soave points out.
The logic of those in favor of mask mandates is that without them, people will die. The data, however, does not support this logic.
This is not to argue whether the science of mask-wearing works, but rather whether mask mandates actually make a difference in community spread. A comparison of COVID-19 numbers in states with mask mandates to states without mask mandates shows that this supposedly “life-saving” policy does not make a measurable difference. Florida never had a mask mandate, yet when adjusted for population, Florida has had fewer cases and deaths than New York or California, which are both under mask mandates and lockdown orders.”
More Weekend Reads
Salena Zito: Nothing says ‘America is back’ like taking someone’s job away (DC Examiner)
Thaddeus McCotter: How the Left Intends to Preserve Its Press Fiefdom (American Greatness)
Chris Barron: When It Comes To 2024: Rest Assured, The America First Bench Is Deep (The Political Insider)
Gov. Abbott Deploys Texas National Guard, State Troopers to Counter Biden’s ‘Open Border Policies’ (Breitbart)
Did you watch Oprah’s interview with Harry and Meghan? I didn’t, but my friend Kinsey Schofield will have the dish on her blog (To Di For Daily)
What Young Women Should Be Reading This Week
Out this week is Dana Perino’s new book, Everything Will Be Okay: Life Lessons for Young Women (from a Former Young Woman). Given that I’m almost in my mid-40s like Dana, I’m more of a former young woman, but I do recommend BRIGHT readers who could benefit from this book check it out! From the description:
“Young women seek out advice from Dana Perino every day—at work, through friends, and on social media. The story of her own quarter-life crisis, And the Good News Is… Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side, brought countless readers to her inbox looking for guidance. Through her mentorship program, “Minute Mentoring,” Dana quickly realized that quarter-life crises have begun following young women well into their thirties. Many of them are distressed but conceal it with a brave face. Unfortunately, too much of that can be—and is—exhausting.
…
For everyone from the job-seeker fresh out of college to the ambitious career woman looking to make her next big jump up the ladder, EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY has tips, advice, and reassurance for young women everywhere.”
A Case of the Mondays
Governor Cuomo Capitalizes On Sex Scandal With New Romance Novel (The Babylon Bee)
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Mar 08, 2021 01:00 am
Today, the rest of the world is viewing, with alarm, an American elite class that has lost its mind and self-control. The current American ruling class is the laughingstock of the planet. Read More…
Mar 08, 2021 01:00 am
Once COVID is in the rear-view mirror conservatives and libertarians — the pro-freedom forces — need to seize the narrative from the Left to make certain that policies like these never happen again. Read More…
Mar 08, 2021 01:00 am
On college campuses all across the United States, the First Amendment rights of commencement speakers have been repeatedly violated. Read More…
Mar 08, 2021 01:00 am
The Biden Administration and Democratic Party leaders in Congress and other progressives are attacking Poland for its supposed violations of freedom of the press.It’s nonsense. Read More…
Is it right to kill to protect mere property?
Mar 08, 2021 01:00 am
Leftist legislators live in a world of theory and ideology and fail to make the distinction between those and the realities that the rest of us are stuck with. Read more…
Cancel culture run amok
Mar 08, 2021 01:00 am
Canceling the history and culture of the freest and most prosperous nation in history as preparation for canceling that nation itself. Read more…
The Swamp’s paranoid tendencies
Mar 08, 2021 01:00 am
Our federal government is now suffering from what one might call Mass Paranoid Disorder of Psychotic Proportions. Read more…
Four decades of Iranian gender apartheid
Mar 08, 2021 01:00 am
If the western democracies seek a peaceful Middle East, safe from nuclear arms, terrorism, death and destruction, they must stand with the women of Iran who strive for their liberation from the totalitarian political Islamist regime. Read more…
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CNN host Chris Cuomo found himself on the receiving end of backlash over the weekend after recently claiming that he is “black on the inside.”What happened?While speaking with friend and fellow CNN host Don Lemon on Friday, Cuomo began singing the theme song for “Good Times,” a CBS sitcom that aired in the 1970s. The show … Read more
In a totalitarian regime, children’s books are not meant to bring joy or inspiration. Their sole purpose is to instill the correct political ideology in the young mind.
The Archdiocese of Washington has seen fit to set aside millions of dollars for a man known for wasting egregious sums and for perpetuating sexual abuse.
Although many lament the dark times for conservative ideas and the death of free speech, they should see this as an opportunity to break free of corrupted institutions.
It is ludicrous that cartoon drawings containing outdated stereotypes are treated as more dangerous than overtly racist works openly calling for violence.
The Transom is a daily email newsletter written by publisher of The Federalist Ben Domenech for political and media insiders, which arrives in your inbox each morning, collecting news, notes, and thoughts from around the web.
“You must read The Transom. With brilliant political analysis and insight into the news that matters most, it is essential to understanding this incredible moment in history. I read it every day!” – Newt Gingrich
The trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd is due to begin today with the screening of jurors to weigh murder and manslaughter charges in a case seen as a referendum on police violence against Black Americans.
From the crack of the baseball bat in Florida to clinking of cocktails in San Francisco bars, the sounds of spring are in the air as Americans start to return to many of the beloved pastimes they were forced to abandon 12 months ago.
The two top Democrats in New York’s state legislature say that sexual harassment allegations leveled against Governor Andrew Cuomo by five women, most of them former aides, have undermined his ability to lead and he should resign.
Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, has accused Britain’s royal family of raising concerns about how dark their son’s skin might be and pushing her to the brink of suicide, in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. It was their first major TV interview since stepping back from the royal family a year ago – read the reactions here.
↑ Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey
WORLD
↑ A combination picture shows healthcare workers in north west England
Yemen’s Houthi forces have fired drones and missiles at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, including a Saudi Aramco facility vital to petroleum exports, in what Riyadh has called a failed assault on global energy security.
A far-right proposal to ban facial coverings in Switzerland has won a narrow victory in a binding referendum instigated by the same group that organized a 2009 ban on new minarets.
Humans have degraded or destroyed roughly two-thirds of the world’s original tropical rainforest cover, new data reveals – raising alarm that a key natural buffer against climate change is quickly vanishing.
BUSINESS
Deliveroo has announced plans to launch what could be the biggest London listing in more than seven years, after the British food delivery firm’s business surged during the pandemic.
Iran has quietly moved record amounts of crude oil to top client China in recent months, while India’s state refiners have added Iranian oil to their annual import plans on the assumption that U.S. sanctions on the OPEC supplier will soon ease.
When Elon Musk’s Tesla became the biggest name to reveal it had added bitcoin to its coffers last month, many pundits were swift to call a corporate rush towards the booming cryptocurrency. But there is unlikely to be a concerted crypto charge any time soon – we explain why.
COVID-19 insurance policies are increasingly joining passports and sunscreen as vacation staples, creating opportunities for insurers as more countries require mandatory coverage in case visitors fall ill from the coronavirus.
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47.) ABC
March 8, 2021 – Having trouble viewing this email? Open it in your browser.
Morning Rundown
Senate passes $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill: After more than 25 hours of debate and votes, Senate Democrats passed a sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Saturday aimed at helping lower-income Americans, small businesses, schools, and the hard-hit hospitality and tourism industries, as well as state and local governments. The bill — which will also help front-line pandemic workers and vaccine, testing and tracing plans — passed on a party line vote and will now head back over to the House, which will have to reconcile several key changes before it heads to President Joe Biden’s desk just days before unemployment benefits expire for millions of Americans. The Senate passing the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill comes as the U.S. marked one year since stay-at-home orders began. While the U.S. has turned the corner since then with the development of several COVID-19 vaccines, there’s still a long way to go until all Americans are vaccinated. As states including Texas and Mississippi eased COVID-19 rules despite health warnings last week, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine emphasized on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday that “people can’t give up” when it comes to mask-wearing. “We have found that these masks work exceedingly well,” he said. “We know that this makes a huge, huge difference.”
Jury selection begins for Derek Chauvin trial in George Floyd’s death: As the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin begins today with jury selection, tension is mounting between government officials and the Minneapolis community as the city takes necessary preparations for unrest that could accompany the trial. Ahead of the trial, fortified fencing, barbed wire and concrete barricades have gone up around the courthouse and police stations. While this serves as a plan to avoid a repeat of the widespread destruction that occurred when violence erupted during protests in the city in the immediate aftermath of Floyd’s death, some are frustrated and say it’s meant to be an intimidation tactic. “State officials have been responding in some ways by basically preparing to go to war with folks,” Kandace Montgomery, a local community activist and director of the nonprofit activist group Black Visions Collective, told ABC News. Meanwhile some, including Los Angeles defense and civil trial lawyer Joseph H. Low IV are saying that the ramped-up security in Minneapolis could have a chilling effect on the potential jury pool. “This is not making them feel any calmer,” Low said. “That will be something that a specialist who picks and selects [jurors] will be aware of.”
Duchess Meghan says she considered suicide before stepping back from royal family: In their highly anticipated tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey on Sunday night, Prince Harry and Meghan addressed a plethora of things. From their decision to step away from their roles as senior working members of Britain’s royal family to their life in California and awaiting the arrival of their daughter, their no-holds-barred conversation with Winfrey touched on many topics. Meghan told Winfrey there was a point where she considered suicide before she and her husband left the royal family. “I just didn’t see a solution,” Meghan told Winfrey. “I would sit up at night, and I was just like, I don’t understand how all of this is being churned out… and I realized it was all happening just because I was breathing.” She added, “I just didn’t want to be alive anymore, and that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought.” Meghan alleged she went to human resources to get help for her mental health, but was told there was nothing that could be done. Buckingham Palace has not yet responded to claims made by Meghan and Harry. Watch “Good Morning America” at 7 a.m. for more on this story.
Mom meets daughter for first time after being on ventilator for 75 days: A mother and her newborn daughter have reunited after COVID-19 kept them apart. In November, Kelsey Townsend’s husband, Derek, took his wife to the hospital when her condition worsened due to COVID-19. “She was 39 weeks pregnant at the time with our fourth child, Lucy,” Derek told “GMA.” “Within an hour being there, they induced her into a coma and delivered Lucy via C-section.” On that same day, his wife was also placed on a ventilator. For 75 days, Kelsey was on life and lung support at the hospital. “There was many times that we thought we were going to lose her,” he said. But after nearly three months, Kelsey’s condition improved, and she was able to go home and meet her daughter for the first time. “Family is everything to me,” Kelsey said. “I have everything to live for right here.”
GMA Must-Watch
This morning on “GMA,” Zara Larsson joins us live to chat and perform her song, “Talk About Love.” And on International Women’s Day, we meet three generations of women at Walt Disney Imagineering who have created Disney Parks magic worldwide. Plus, designer Diane von Furstenberg joins Robin Roberts to talk about her new book, “Own It: The Secret To Life.” All this and more only on “GMA.”
After a week of tantalizing tidbits, some feared there was nothing left for Prince Harry and Meghan to say in their much-hyped interview with Oprah Winfrey. They were wrong.
Here’s the latest on the bombshell royal interview and everything else we’re watching this Monday morning.
Life as a member of the British royal family was so emotionally unbearable that Meghan contemplated suicide, she revealed during last night’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Prince Harry’s wife said she had pleaded with officials at Buckingham Palace for medical help but they refused, saying it would damage the monarchy.
In the wide-ranging interview, which aired on CBS, the couple also revealed a troubling allegation about the royal family’s views on race.
In the months leading up to their son’s birth, Meghan said she and Harry were told that royal insiders had expressed “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.” (Video)
That revelation even floored veteran broadcaster Winfrey, who responded: “What?”
Harry confirmed that he was questioned about the skin tone of his son, but neither of them would identify who made the remarks.
Meghan also refuted a tabloid-fueled rumor that she made her sister-in-law, Kate, cry before her wedding, telling Winfrey that actually “the reverse happened” and she was the one in tears.
While Meghan said Kate had apologized at the time and she had forgiven her, she said the palace choosing not to correct the tabloid stories was a “turning point.”
It was not all bad news. Harry revealed that the baby they are expecting is a girl and she is due this summer. “To have a boy and then a girl what more can you ask for, we have our family,” he said.
The debate over the minimum wage has shuffled norms, divided the business community and made strange bedfellows out of populists on the right and the left. With an increase to $15 an hour left out of the massive Covid relief bill the Senate passed this weekend, President Joe Biden has promised to try again.
The former Minneapolis police officer who was seen on video kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for several minutes, faces second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Jury selection begins Monday in what is expected to be one of Minnesota’s highest-profile trials ever.
The pandemic turned nursing homes into death traps, but it also revealed how America’s system for long-term care is fundamentally broken in ways that will continue long after the pandemic fades away. But is anyone going to take the once-in-a-generation opportunity to confront the issues of caring for our elderly?
We met the amazing mother and daughter duo, Dr. Cynthia Kudji-Sylvester and daughter Dr. Jasmine Kudji when they both graduated from medical school last spring.
NBC News’ Kate Snow checks in on the pair now that they have started their new careers at the same hospital in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
From NBC’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Carrie Dann and Melissa Holzberg
FIRST READ: A massive Covid relief bill is now set for final passage. Here’s what’s in it.
By now, you probably know the price tag of the Covid relief bill the Senate passed over the weekend ($1.9 trillion), the partisan split over it (no Republican voted for it) and what’s NOT in the legislation ($15 minimum wage increase).
Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images
But here are the policies that are IN the bill, per NBC’s Sahil Kapur:
$1,400 stimulus checks capped at individuals making less than $80,000 per year and households earning $160,000;
$300 per week jobless benefits through September;
$350 billion for states and local government;
Payments up to $3,600 per child;
$34 billion to expand Obamacare subsidies;
and $14 billion for vaccine distribution.
The legislation, which now heads back to the House for final passage, also includes $130 billion for schools.
“For [Biden], the plan is more than just a stimulus proposal. It is a declaration of his economic policy — one that captures the principle Democrats and liberal economists have espoused over the past decade: that the best way to stoke faster economic growth is from the bottom up,” Tankersley says.
“Mr. Biden’s approach in his first major economic legislation is in stark contrast to President Donald J. Trump’s, whose initial effort in Congress was a tax-cut package in 2017 that largely benefited corporations and wealthier Americans.”
Decoding Manchin on the filibuster
Looking ahead to future legislation, one of us on Sunday asked Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., if he’d support ending the Senate filibuster on legislation like H.R. 1’s election reform.
Manchin’s answer:
“The Senate is the most unique body of government in the world – governing body in the world. It’s deliberate. It’s basically designed, Chuck, to make sure the minority has input… And now if you want to make it a little bit more painful, make him stand there and talk, I’m willing to look at any way we can. But I’m not willing to take away the involvement of the minority.”
He also said:
“I’m not willing to go into reconciliation until we at least get bipartisanship or get working together or allow the Senate to do its job. Just by assuming that, ‘Hey, they’ll never work with us. That’s the other side. This is tribal. Republicans will never agree on anything’ or ‘Democrats will never agree.’ I don’t subscribe to that. I don’t buy into that. There’s no need for us to go to reconciliation until the other process has failed.”
Bottom line: Manchin still supports the filibuster, because he says it’s important to protect the minority party’s rights.
BUT: He’s willing to reform it (by actually forcing objecting senators to talk), and he’s willing to use reconciliation on budget-related bills after a bipartisan approach has failed.
“Manchin is — and always was — unlikely to break on filibuster. But as long as he’s ok with 50-50 reconciliation votes, you’re talking potentially trillions of dollars worth of progressive priorities going through. That’s why this is a BIG interview,” NBC’s Benjy Sarlin tweeted.
Data Download: The numbers you need to know today
$1.9 trillion: The amount of the massive Covid relief bill that passed through the Senate on Saturday
More than 93 percent: The share of American children who will benefit under the bill’s expanded aid for kids
29,125,075: The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, per the most recent data from NBC News and health officials. (That’s 168,040 more than Friday morning.)
527,569: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far, per the most recent data from NBC News. (That’s 4,439 more than Friday morning.)
40,212: The number of people currently hospitalized with coronavirus in the United States.
363.8 million: The number of coronavirus tests that have been administered in the United States so far, according to researchers at The COVID Tracking Project.
90,351,750: Number of vaccine doses administered in the U.S.
30,686,881: People fully vaccinated in the U.S.
52: The number of days left for Biden to reach his 100-day vaccination goal.
TWEET OF THE DAY: Panic on the streets of London
Biden celebrates Senate bill’s passage
President Biden on Saturday celebrated Senate’s passage of the $1.9 trillion Covid relief package. “It wasn’t always pretty. But it was so desperately needed, urgently needed.”
He added, “This nation has suffered too much for much too long, and everything in this package is designed to relieve the suffering and to meet the most urgent needs of the nation and put us in a better position to prevail.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spiked the football, too. “Everyone knows, especially with 50 votes, we all have to pull together. Everyone knows. You know I have a leadership team that meets on Monday nights, and it has lifted Warren and Bernie Sanders and Joe Manchin and Mark Warner and people in between. And that’s because we all have to– we have to talk to each other, realize we need each other. And that is the secret to the success here, every person realizing that we needed every other person to have this victory.”
MTP COMPRESSED
Catching up on Meet the Press? Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) joined the show to discuss the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill that passed in the Senate as well as the future of bipartisanship on major legislation. Plus, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients explained the necessity of equity in the administration’s race to get Americans vaccinated.
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world?
A new Biden executive order could change how colleges handle allegations of sexual misconduct.
More top lawmakers in New York are calling for Andrew Cuomo’s resignation.
The politics of the minimum wage don’t break down on party lines anymore.
Trump’s lawyers sent cease-and-desist letters to top Republican groups asking them to stop using his name and likeness in fundraising appeals.
Plus: Virginia’s vote for the ERA is too late, South Carolina moves to relax birth control prescription requirements, and more…
No, the COVID bill won’t end poverty or “snuff out the pandemic.” With a $1.9 trillion spending package passed by the Senate over the weekend—bringing (among many other things) a round of $1,400 stimulus checks to most Americans—right-leaning media outlets have been taking heat for focusing on the royal family, on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s creepiness, on China, on random outrage bait… basically, anything else. You can see it on their front pages yesterday afternoon and again this morning. Since there’s a lot to criticize in the recent spending package, it’s strange that instead of taking this opportunity to actually engage in a little conservative analysis, conservative media outlets would rather serve up fluff and manufactured scandals. But whatever—these are explicitly ideological publications, and I have a hard time getting worked up about how they choose to spin.
Much more disturbing is fawning coverage of the COVID-19 relief bill from ostensibly neutral news outlets.
The bill does a whole lot more than extend federal unemployment benefits and send Americans money, and only about 5 percent of the spending is actually going toward pandemic-related public health efforts, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB). But you wouldn’t know this from reading most mainstream coverage, which merely describes the coronavirus relief parts in glowingly positive terms and gives Biden credit for all of it.
The Washington Postheadline and tweet about the bill passing read more like propaganda from an authoritarian country than the kind of thing we should be seeing in a free press, saying that the bill “showers money on Americans, sharply cutting poverty in defining move of presidency.”
Not to be outdone, Bloomberg credits the spending package with having the ability to “snuff out the pandemic” entirely.
Bloomberg also lauds Biden’s “quiet style” that “belies a deep agenda for reshaping the U.S.” One might expect Bloomberg to at least lay out some pros and cons of reshaping the country, but the article presents Biden proposals exactly as they’re described in Democratic press releases. It offers no hint of awareness that the Biden administration saying something targets (insert bad thing here) doesn’t always mean it lives up to the hype. It touts the number of executive orders Biden has signed without detailing the content of those orders, without mentioning that former President Donald Trump took a lot of flack for wielding executive power in this way, and without questioning whether executive governance by fiat is really the best thing. The only thing the article really faults Biden for is not reshaping the country more quickly.
In a piece purporting to be a simple explainer about what the COVID-19 package will do, The New York Times celebrates “President Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic stimulus plan” for the $1,400 checks, unemployment benefits extension, child tax credit, Affordable Care Act subsidies, and sending money to local governments and schools. It faults the package only for not including a federal minimum wage hike.
The Times explainer does not note that state and local governments are actually doing pretty well during the pandemic and don’t need a federal cash infusion. It does not note that most of the money for schools won’t actually go toward helping them reopen. (As Reason‘s Eric Boehm notes, “the bill spends $129 billion on K-12 education” but most of it won’t be distributed until after 2021 and some not until 2024.)
It does not say anything about the massive tax hike on businesses like Airbnb and Etsy, nor the new privacy concerns it will raise for people who use these websites.
It does not mention the massive bailout for failing pensions (that’s tucked away in a separate article on the Times business page), nor note that roughly 95 percent of the spending has nothing to do with public health and the pandemic.
“Tucked inside the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that cleared the Senate on Saturday is an $86 billion aid package that has nothing to do with the pandemic.”
Virginia vote on Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) doesn’t count, says judge. A group of Democratic attorneys general sued to try and force the feds to recognize Virginia’s vote to ratify the ERA, even though the deadline for ratification came and went decades ago. From the Associated Press:
The lawsuit dismissed by a federal judge Friday sought to add the amendment to the Constitution.
After Virginia became the 38th to ratify the amendment that supporters say will guarantee women equal rights under the law, the archivist of the United States declared he would take no step to certify the amendment’s adoption….
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says he’s considering an appeal.
FREE MARKETS
South Carolina considers making it easier for women to buy birth control. “A bill that would allow pharmacists to directly give birth control to women in South Carolina without a prescription is heading to the Senate floor,” reports A.P.
The Senate Medical Affairs Committee approved the bill Thursday.
Senators said they expect to discuss a few changes to the bill on the floor, including whether pharmacists will be required to discuss birth control directly with women before handing it over or if the information can be in written form.
QUICK HITS
Like most shorthands, “woke” and “antiWoke” are flawed and we should instead talk about the valuable projects of being anti-censorship and anti-authoritarian. https://t.co/kvgrBxnjBG
Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a senior editor at Reason, where she writes regularly on the intersections of sex, speech, tech, crime, politics, panic, and civil liberties. She is also co-founder of the libertarian feminist group Feminists for Liberty.
Since starting at Reason in 2014, Brown has won multiple awards for her writing on the U.S. government’s war on sex. Brown’s writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Beast, Buzzfeed, Playboy, Fox News, Politico, The Week, and numerous other publications. You can follow her on Twitter @ENBrown.
Reason is the magazine of “free minds and free markets,” offering a refreshing alternative to the left-wing and right-wing echo chambers for independent-minded readers who love liberty.
Team Biden is sending even more billions our way. Gov. Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio and lawmakers should use part of this money to support restaurants and retailers through the most direct way possible: a sales-tax holiday.
By Nicole Gelinas New York Post
March 7, 2021
HIGHER ED
Photo by Linda Davidson/Washington Post/Getty Images
Like her predecessor, New York City’s new schools chancellor uses racial demagoguery to distract from a record of educational failure.
By Bob McManus
City Journal Online
March 5, 2021
In brisk, cinematic prose reminiscent of the author’s own, Richard Greene shows his subject both fair criticism and sympathy.
By Edward Short
City Journal Online
March 5, 2021
Over the last year, New York City has seen a spike in violent transit crime and disorder, reminiscent of the city’s darker days. What will it take to turn this downward spiral around? NYC Transit Interim President Sarah Feinberg, local transit union president Tony Utano, Professor Dorothy Moses Schulz, and Nicole Gelinas will discuss how we arrived at this precarious situation and what it will take to turn it around.
Join MI Director of State and Local Policy Michael Hendrix on March 12 for a conversation with Keith Rabois and Mayor Francis Suarez on Miami’s future as an innovative city, tech migration, and where we should expect tomorrow’s great businesses to be born.
Manhattan Institute is a think tank whose mission is to develop and disseminate new ideas that foster greater economic choice and individual responsibility.
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People are losing their damn minds over masks. This story would be ridiculous if we were at day two after fifteen days to flatten the curve as opposed to day three hundred and sixty-five. Starbucks … MORE
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55.) REALCLEARPOLITICS MORNING NOTE
03/08/2021
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Carl Cannon’s Morning Note
Abrams’ Clout; RCP Takeaway; the Other DiMaggio
By Carl M. Cannon on Mar 08, 2021 09:15 am
Good morning, it’s Monday, March 8, 2021. Two U.S. presidents and Joe DiMaggio passed away on this date in American history. Guess which one we remember more? Okay, that’s not really fair. Millard Fillmore and William Howard Taft went to the great Oval Office in the sky in 1874 and 1930, respectively, which is to say before television. Not so with Joltin’ Joe, who died in 1999. We knew his face, just as we knew his exploits as the New York Yankees centerfielder, husband of Marilyn Monroe, and vigilant defender of his legacy as “greatest living ballplayer” — an unofficial title Joe clung to years after it ceased being the consensus.
But that is not to say that we knew the man. The Yankee Clipper was a famously private person, right up until the end. His funeral in the glorious Catholic church overlooking San Francisco’s iconic Washington Square was attended by just 30 souls — family only. The eulogy was delivered by Dominic DiMaggio, the last surviving sibling among the nine DiMaggio kids — three of whom played centerfield in the major leagues. I’ll have a brief word on Dom, the youngest of them, in a moment.
First, I’d direct you to our front page, which aggregates, as it does each day, an array of columns and stories spanning the political spectrum. This morning’s lineup includes Bhaskar Sunkara on racism (The Guardian); Karol Markowicz on Andrew Cuomo’s comeuppance (New York Post); Sharyl Attkisson on the U.S.-Mexico border (“Full Measure”); and Rachel Cohen on reopening schools (The New Republic). We also offer a complement of original material from RCP’s reporters and contributors, including the following:
* * *
Can Georgia Republicans Stop Stacey Abrams? A.B. Stoddard details the force Abrams has become for Democratic candidates in the once-red Peach State, and how the GOP hopes to counter her effectiveness come 2022.
Conservatives’ “Election Integrity” Effort Must First Reject Big Lie. Chris Crawford advises Ken Cuccinelli and the groups he’s leading to admit Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump. Then he can press for voting reforms.
RCP Takeaway Podcast. In the new episode, Phil Wegmann joins Tom Bevan, Andy Walworth and me to discuss what’s happening on the U.S.-Mexico border, voting rights, and Marco Rubio’s version of “Common Good Conservatism.”
Federal Employees Get 600 Hours Paid Leave Under Relief Bill. At RealClearPolicy, Adam Andrzejewski spotlights a provision allowing workers with kids in full-time remote learning to take time off and receive $1,400 per week for 15 weeks.
Five Facts on the Debt and Deficit. No Labels has this primer, also at RCPolicy.
Myths About the Texas Power Crisis. At RealClearEnergy, Tony Clark compiled this list.
The Innovative Upside to the Pandemic. At RealClearEducation, Stephen J. Blackwood praises the development of new models for higher learning that better serve the diverse needs of young people.
Tiger Woods Reminds Us That the Unequal Lift Us All. RealClearMarkets editor John Tamny argues that the golfing great made the sport healthier while also making it much more financially viable.
Why Young Adults Are Having Casual Sex Less Often. RealClearScience editor Ross Pomeroy considers a study exploring what’s driving this new wave of sexual abstinence.
* * *
Dom DiMaggio patrolled centerfield in Fenway Park from 1940 to 1952, missing three seasons while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He batted leadoff and in the outfield gracefully covered up for leftfielder Ted Williams’ slow-footedness and indifference to fielding.
Williams appreciated it. “When he yelled, ‘Mine!’ you didn’t have to worry about the rest of that play,” Williams said. Both Sox players were keenly aware that Williams’ main rival in the sport was Dom’s older brother Joe. But Dom and Ted didn’t mesh well despite that rivalry — or because of it. They did so because Dom got along with almost everyone.
The youngest DiMaggio brother was a living refutation of the notion that athletic excellence necessitates being a jerk. Dom made the American League All-Star team in seven of his 10 full seasons, and despite being considered mainly a defensive star, hit .300 four times and led the league at least once in triples, stolen bases, and runs scored. Nicknamed “the Little Professor” because of the eyeglasses he wore and his relatively diminutive stature, Dom DiMaggio was described by author David Halberstam as “probably the most underrated player of his day.”
He was just as good a person off the field. As a family man, he certainly wasn’t underrated: In that realm, he was better than Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams combined. When he died, his daughter Emily recalled what it was like having Dom for a father growing up. Neighborhood kids gravitated toward their Wellesley home, knowing for one thing that there was always extra baseball equipment available for use in pickup games.
Once, when they were having trouble finding a baseball, they simply used one they found in Dom’s study, a ball covered with signatures. I can’t tell you who signed it — Ted Williams, almost certainly, and perhaps Sox stars Johnny Pesky and Bobby Doerr from the 1946 pennant-winning Boston team — for the simple reason that Dom never made a big deal of it.
Arriving home that evening, he spotted the soiled ball, with the names smudged, and asked what had happened. Belatedly realizing what they’d done, the kids told him the truth — and braced themselves. “We were waiting for the reaction,” Emily recalled. After a brief pause, Dom DiMaggio merely said, “So, did you win?”
“That’s who he was,” his daughter said. “An incredible dad.”
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62.) 1440 DAILY DIGEST
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Good morning. It’s Monday, March 8, and we’re covering a trial in Minneapolis, an interview with Harry and Meghan, and more. Have feedback? Let us know at hello@join1440.com.
Jury selection in the trial of Derek Chauvin is expected to begin today. The former Minneapolis police officer has been freed on bond since October after being arrested for the May killing of George Floyd.
Chauvin currently faces two counts: second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter. The former count requires prosecutors to demonstrate Chauvin caused Floyd’s death beyond a reasonable doubt, while the latter count requires demonstrating Chauvin was negligent and took an unreasonable risk while detaining Floyd. See a breakdown here.
The trial may be delayed—a state appeals court ruled Friday a lower court must reconsider whether to add a third-degree murder charge. The lower count requires that prosecutors demonstrate Chauvin acted recklessly.
The city has beefed up security ahead of the trial.
Senate Passes Stimulus
The US Senate passed a modified version of the Biden administration’s $1.9T economic stimulus package over the weekend. The bill was approved 50-49 along a party-line vote.
Among the changes, $1,400 direct payments will be distributed to individuals making $75K per year ($150K for couples) but drop to zero for those making $80K annually ($160K per couple), down from a phase-out at $100K for individuals in the House-passed bill. The threshold is raised to $120K for single parents.
Reports suggest payments will be assessed based on 2019 tax returns, unless your 2020 returns are filed before the IRS processes the stimulus checks. Analysts say those who lost their jobs (or if your income decreased below the thresholds) during the pandemic should file as quickly as possible.
The Senate version ($$, WashPo) also lowered weekly unemployment boosts from $400-per-week to $300-per-week, dropped a controversial rail project, and added a clause that exempts student loan forgiveness from being taxed through 2025. A raise to the federal minimum wage was left out.
The updated bill now heads back to the House for a final vote, expected tomorrow, and is likely to be signed into law by midweek.
A Royal Sit Down
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle gave an extensive sit-down interview yesterday, their first since a high-profile split from the British royal family last year. The interview, led by Oprah Winfrey, contained a number of revelations, including Markle saying that the nature of palace life drove her to contemplate suicide.
The couple also alleged a number of racist incidents, both from tabloid coverage and within the palace—Markle said there were discussions about concerns over how dark their son Archie’s skin might be. See highlights from the interview here.
Harry and Meghan, who still retain their titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex, stepped back as senior members of the royal family in April. Under the agreement, the couple would become financially independent and end public appearances where they represented the crown. Before the break, the couple had been candid about the stress from public scrutiny—Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, was killed in a 1997 car crash after being chased by paparazzi.
The interview comes as Harry’s grandfather, 99-year-old Prince Philip, recovers from heart surgery.
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Have sustainable or eco-friendly products that you can’t live without? We have a hunch that Public Goods carries them. New to the sustainability game, but not sure where to start? Public Goods makes it easy to shop guilt-free because they’ve done their research. And when we say they’ve done their research, we really mean it. The Public Goods team is obsessive about searching the globe for sustainable and environmentally friendly products to make it easy for buyers like you to live cleaner. They also package all of their goods in eco-friendly packaging that’s easy on the eye, if we do say so ourselves.
>Team LeBron tops Team Durant 170-150 at 2021 NBA All-Star Game; Giannis Antetokounmpo wins game MVP(More) | Anfernee Simons wins Slam Dunk Contest, Stephen Curry takes home his second 3-Point Contest crown(More)
>The US weekend box office revenue of $25M is highest since pandemic forced theaters to close (More) | New York Times columnist David Brooks resigns from Aspen Institute think-tank over conflict of interest (More)
>“Nomadland” wins Best Picture at 2021 Critics Choice Awards(More) | Taylor Swift, South Korean pop group BTS among artists tapped to perform at this weekend’s Grammy Awards (Sunday, March 14, 8 pm ET, CBS) (More)
From our partners: Level the playing field: Introducing The GIST—a free, 3x-weekly sports newsletter that gives you “the gist” of what’s up in men’s and women’s sports. But this isn’t your regular sports newsletter. Written by women, The GIST provides a witty voice and fresh perspective on sports. Check it out for free today.
Science & Technology
>NASA’s Perseverance rover makes first test drive, travels roughly 21 feet (More)
>Engineers demonstrate 3D printing of organs 10 times faster than industry standard (More)
>Scientists pinpoint how cells known as astrocytes malfunction in patients suffering from bipolar disorder, linking the disorder to the secretion of an inflammatory molecule (More)
Business & Markets
> US economy adds 379,000 jobs in February, unemployment rate falls to 6.2%; leisure and hospitality industries represent 355,000 of added jobs (More)
>At least 30,000 US organizations reportedly hacked by a Chinese espionage group exploiting a flaw in Microsoft’s email servers; extent of damage unknown, victim list includes small businesses and local governments (More)
>Security software founder John McAfee charged with securities fraud after “pump and dump” cryptocurrency scheme; McAfee was previously indicted on tax evasion (More)
Politics & World Affairs
>Pope Francis wraps historic visit to Iraq, including meeting Iraqi Shiite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and holding mass in Erbil soccer stadium (More) | See photos (More) | At least 17 dead, 400 injured in blast in Equatorial Guinea (More)
>Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) backs inquiry into New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) after two more aides come forward with allegations of sexual harassment; claims bring the total to five (More)
>The US administers more than 5 million vaccine doses over the weekend; almost 59 million people have received at least one dose (More) | The US reports 525,035 total COVID-19 deaths; see averages here (More)
Clickbait: Ohio man lives on nothing but beer during Lent (for a cause).
Historybook: New York Stock Exchange established (1817); American actress Claire Trevor born (1910); RIP president William Taft (1930); RIP baseball great Joe DiMaggio (1999); Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappears, 239 people die (2014).
“A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example.”
– Joe DiMaggio
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63.) AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH
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March 8, 2021
Another Bungled CDC Study on Restaurants and Masks
By Robert E. Wright | “The CDC is now citing a new study that shows that Covid ‘case’ and death rates were lower in US counties with mask mandates and higher where on-site dining was allowed. The study is flawed because it doesn’t account for…
By Jeffrey A. Tucker | “The longer lockdown policies last – in practice especially but also when defended by public health authorities – the more that elites in government and media risk a devastating loss of credibility. The rebuilding of…
By Donald J. Boudreaux | “My failure to understand isn’t a sufficient warrant for me to criticize those who remain silent. I will respect their choices. Showing such respect is what Leonard Read would have done. It’s what my ever-wise Friend does…
By Ethan Yang | “Economic freedom allows us to do everything from building awesome financial systems capable of moving billions of dollars to intimate cultural experiences such as purchasing home-cooked meals from a local restaurant.
Concerned About Amazon Workers? Here’s How To Really…
By Art Carden | I saw a sign in a park recently that said “our community supports Amazon workers. Vote union yes!” Will a union help Amazon workers? Maybe. Will it help workers in general? Almost certainly not, for two reasons.
By Edward Peter Stringham | “Please do not give up hope. In the Spring of last year, all seemed lost. As the Spring comes again, we are again reminded that history is nothing more than what we make of it. We are not its victims but its authors…
Edward C. Harwood fought for sound money when few Americans seemed to care. He was the original gold standard man before that became cool. Now he is honored in this beautiful sewn silk tie in the richest possible color and greatest detail.
The red is not just red; it is darker and deeper, more distinctive and suggestive of seriousness of purpose.
The Harwood coin is carefully sewn. Sporting this, others might miss that you are secretly supporting the revolution for freedom and sound money, but you will know, and that is what matters.
The lockdowns in response to the Covid-19 pandemic have taught many lessons. One is that politicians either don’t understand, or care, about maintaining the integrity of the wellspring of prosperity: private commerce, rooted in individual liberty and private property rights. A second is that an enshrined, protected and inviolable right—a human right—to private commercial dealing, on whatever scale or basis it may take, can no longer be overlooked.
About a month ago, news consumers were belatedly informed that New York governor Andrew Cuomo was not a pandemic hero, the Lincoln Project was not filled with noble Republican idealists who were effectively persuading conservatives to stop supporting Donald Trump, and progressive policies were not helping the least fortunate in California. This week, the media belatedly recognize that the evidence for soaring hate crimes against Asian Americans is much less reliable than initially reported, that the survey data reveal that liberal perceptions of police shootings are wildly at odds with the verifiable facts, and that recent headlines exaggerated the conclusions of a CDC report on government mask mandates.
Some days I feel as if I might as well rename this newsletter, “Here’s what the data actually say . . .”
A Lot of What the Media Told You Was Wrong, Part One
In an announcement that instantly shook up Missouri’s political landscape, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt said Monday morning he would not run for reelection in 2022, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports.
Jonathan Chait: “Ironically, it is the misleading nature of pro-filibuster propaganda that has enabled Manchin to co-opt its themes. Filibuster advocates present the device as a requirement to allow ‘debate,’ likening it to a kind of free-speech right for senators.”
“In fact, the modern filibuster inhibits rather than enables debate. So Manchin can propound on the need to allow consideration of bills, and permit Republicans to speak on them extensively, because those are not the actual goals of filibuster supporters. The real purpose of the mechanism is to impose a 60-vote requirement (one that has already been eliminated for executive-branch appointments, fiscal policy, and judges).”
Reuters: “The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on Wednesday on a pair of bills to expand background checks before gun purchases, two years after a similar House effort failed to make it through the Senate.”
Julian Zelizer notes that in March 2020, every Senate Democrat voted for President Trump’s pandemic relief bill. And in December 2020, nearly every Senate Democrat voted for Trump’s second relief bill.
In March 2021, no Senate Republicans voted for President Joe Biden’s relief package.
The Supreme Court on Monday denied a bid by former President Trump to nullify his electoral loss in Wisconsin, rejecting the former president’s final pending appeal over the results of the 2020 election, The Hill reports.
“Democrats passed an unapologetically progressive stimulus bill through the Senate this weekend, one that Sen. Bernie Sanders has called ‘the most significant piece of legislation to benefit working families in the modern history of this country,’” Vox reports.
“This bill would not be on the brink of becoming law if Democrats did not have a governing trifecta in the White House, the Senate, and the House. And that trifecta in turn would not have been possible were it not for the defection into the Democratic column of a particular, and perhaps surprising, demographic: suburban whites with college degrees.”
“These voters, once a reliably Republican constituency, switched in large numbers in 2018, handing Democrats decisive House seats in places like California’s Orange County. In 2020, they helped elevate Joe Biden to the White House by turning out for him in places like Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County.”
“The U.S. is on course for an employment boom this year once pandemic restrictions ease and the economy reopens, according to economists at Goldman Sachs,” Bloomberg reports.
NBC News: Yellen hopes Covid relief bill can help country get “back to full employment.”
“Despite the United States’ reputation as the most stable democracy in the world, most of the political parties born in this country, including major ones, have ceased to exist. The Republican Party itself was built on the ruins of the Whigs, a party that broke apart in the tempests leading to the Civil War. Considering that history, it’s worth asking whether the party of Lincoln, now the party of Trump, is engaged in conflicts so intense that it will go the way of the Whigs.”
Washington Post: The “magic” Donald Trump brought to Republican politics is not a mystery.
Wall Street Journal: “The U.S. and South Korea have reached agreement on a new accord that would resolve a yearslong dispute on how to share the cost of American troops based on the Korean Peninsula, officials from the two countries said Sunday.”
“The new accord, which would last through 2025, would provide for a ‘meaningful increase’ in the South Korean contribution.”
Playbook: “The twin crises of disease and recession boosted support for government intervention well beyond what has been tolerated for decades; Donald Trump and the GOP’s own support for the last two bills depolarized the fight over this one; Biden’s opposition was distracted by internal divisions (Jan. 6, impeachment, McCarthy vs. Cheney, Trump vs. McConnell); and the conservative media was distracted by juicier fare than tax policy.”
“If you’ve watched Fox News every night during the Biden presidency (we have), it’s that last point that’s the most notable. We’ve learned a couple of things: 1) The MyPillow guy has really expanded beyond pillows, and 2) Fox’s most-watched hosts care a lot more about cancel culture, Dr. Seuss and antifa’s alleged (but, according to the FBI, nonexistent) role on Jan. 6 than they do about Biden’s American Rescue Plan.”
Last June, 60% in a USA Today/Ipsos Poll described George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police as murder; that percentage has now dropped by double digits to 36%.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) told Axios that he’ll block President Joe Biden’s next big legislative package — $2 trillion to $4 trillion for climate and infrastructure — if Republicans aren’t included.
Said Manchin: “I’m not going to do it through reconciliation. I am not going to get on a bill that cuts them out completely before we start trying.”
Manchin added the infrastructure bill can be big as long as it’s paid for with tax increases. He said he’ll start his bargaining by requiring the package be 100% paid for.
“After 15 years allowing voters to cast absentee ballots without excuses, Georgia Republicans say the practice has got to go,” NBC News reports.
“The Republican-controlled state Senate votes Monday on a package of legislation that would, among other things, limit mail-in voting primarily to Georgians who are elderly, disabled or out of town on Election Day — one of dozens of restrictive election-related measures under consideration in state legislatures.”
CNN: “The bill comes as Georgia has become ground zero for election law changes in the wake of the 2020 election.”
Washington Post: “Everywhere, there are signs seen and unseen that Minneapolis is bracing for the landmark trial of the former police officer charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death. Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the case, which is poised to be a defining moment in the history of a nation that is grappling with a racial reckoning.”
“However, the judge is considering a last-minute addition of a third-degree murder charge that would give prosecutors another avenue for conviction, but with a shorter prison term. The addition — or a decision to not add the charge — could trigger an appeal from either side. The judge’s decision, which might not come until Monday morning, has injected even more uncertainty into the case, heightening tension in a city already on edge.”
Axios: Convicting police officers is rare, even when caught on video.
Washington Post: “The promise was clear and hopeful: With strong public health measures, then-President-elect Joe Biden declared in early December, ‘the majority of our schools can be open by the end of my first 100 days.’ The reality has been far more complicated.”
“Unlike many of his other vows and directives — pledging 100 million coronavirus vaccine doses in his first 100 days or mandating that all Americans wear masks on federal property — reopening schools is a daunting task over which the federal government has little authority. Local and district leaders, and sometimes state officials, control how and when schools reopen, with guidance from Biden and his team on the margins.”
“President Joe Biden is set to mark International Women’s Day Monday by signing two executive orders creating a Gender Policy Council and reviewing Trump-era changes to Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education,” USA Today reports.
Associated Press: “President Joe Biden is the first executive in four decades to reach this point in his term without holding a formal question and answer session. It reflects a White House media strategy meant both to reserve major media set-pieces for the celebration of a legislative victory and to limit unforced errors from a historically gaffe-prone politician.”
“Biden has opted to take questions about as often as most of his recent predecessors, but he tends to field just one or two informal inquiries at a time, usually in a hurried setting at the end of an event.”
“Former President Donald Trump was spotted outside Trump Tower Sunday night in his first visit back to the Big Apple since leaving office,” the New York Post reports.
“He was seated in a backseat of a black SUV. Upon his arrival, he waved to a lone Trump supporter who was across the street next to the media.”
After taking office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order reversing former President Trump’s ban on transgender personnel in the U.S. military. However, Americans are as deeply divided over the new policy as they were over the previous policy.
Thirty-seven percent (37%) of Likely U.S. Voters think the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey for the week ending March 4, 2021.
Multiple major missile strikes reportedly on a convoy of oil tanker trucks and a refinery in northern Syria lit up the night sky on Friday. Initially there was confusion as to who was behind the devastating attack which obliterated multiple…
Update (1530ET): The day just keeps getting worse for embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), after the state’s Senate Majority Leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins demanded his resignation . ” Everyday there is another account that…
The passing, by The Senate, of the Biden admin’s $1.9 trillion package of pork and payoffs has apparently triggered Senator Ted Cruz. Having attempted to insert an amendment that would disallow the $1400 handouts to illegal immigrants…
Iran has responded to a Fox News interview from late last week wherein Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that Israel is currently updating its plans to strike Iran’s nuclear program and is prepared to act independently if the…
Last week was an emotional and P&L rollercoaster for every trader, and even though stocks closed almost unchanged from where they opened, what happened in the past five days was anything but smooth sailing… …. as the following daily…
A hotly awaited upgrade to the Ethereum network that lowers the volatility of transaction fees has been scheduled for Ethereum’s next major hard fork. As Decrypt reports , the upgrade, called EIP-1559 (EIP stands for Ethereum Improvement…
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Democrat New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy stood by his decision to send sickly Covid patients back into nursing homes. Democrat Murphy was one of the… Read more…
George Floyd protestors marched through downtown Minneapolis Sunday on the eve of the jury selection for Derek Chauvin’s trial. George Floyd died last spring after… Read more…
Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe joined Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures this morning. During the interview, Bartiromo asked Ratcliffe about the intelligence… Read more…
What a mess the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (MCBOS) have gotten themselves into. After refusing to provide ballots to the Arizona Senate for months,… Read more…
The Mainstream Media or ‘Big Media’ are truly the enemies of the state. There are too many examples that support this belief. In February 2017… Read more…
Switzerland narrowly voted to ban face coverings in public, including burkas and niqabs worn by Muslim women. Several groups including the right-wing Swiss People’s Party… Read more…
Reporters at Australia’s ABC Tasmania have been told not to use the term pedophile to describe child predators because “not all pedophiles abuse children.” In… Read more…
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To celebrate International Women’s Day, the Director of the Hoover Institution and the 66th Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, is hosting a conversation with four of our leading female national security and foreign policy scholars: Elizabeth Economy, Rose Gottemoeller, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and Amy Zegart on March 8 from 2:15 – 3:30PM PT.
Yes, I blurbed it—and I like it. Yes, a visitor to our home, a worldly and skeptical sort, hefted it and looked at the title and asked me “Isn’t that awfully thick for a book about optimism regarding American public education?”
Reagan, in His Own Hand, edited by Hoover Institution fellows Kiron Skinner, Annelise Anderson, and Martin Anderson is chosen as one of the top five books concerning US elections.
The Hoover Institution at Stanford University is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jendayi E. Frazer as the Peter J. and Frances Duignan Distinguished Visiting Fellow. Frazer is a policy leader and expert on African affairs, having worked in the areas of international development, international security, and public policy.
It is always a great pleasure, and an important part of my job, to speak to students. It is essential for students to hear ideas from many sources, especially ideas they may not agree with. That is a key part of learning how to think critically – and critical thinking is the most important lesson to learn in college, in my opinion.
I was brought up to think of a university as a haven for free thought and free inquiry; a place where established scholars and students communicate ideas, in both directions; a place where old thoughts and new are subjected to rigorous examination.
How should long-term investors form portfolios in our time-varying, multifactor and friction-filled world? Two conceptual frameworks may help: looking directly at the stream of payments that a portfolio and payout policy can produce, and including a general equilibrium view of the markets’ economic purpose, and the nature of investors’ differences.
A young correspondent posed the following question: I was wanting to know your opinion on the “work or starve” argument often made my leftists. …they’re essentially saying that the exchange between the [worker] and the employer isn’t truly voluntary since if the worker doesn’t have a source of income, they can’t live. What would be your objection to this..?
Leon Kass, long-time teacher of classic works at the University of Chicago and now Dean of Faculty at Shalem College in Jerusalem, talks about human flourishing with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Drawing on an essay from his book, Leading a Worthy Life, Kass gives a broad overview of Aristotle’s ideas on how to live. This episode also discusses the listeners’ survey votes for their Top 10 EconTalk podcast episodes for 2020.
A professor of Education Policy at the University of Arkansas, Patrick J. Wolf, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Wolf’s new research, which finds that charter schools in seven U.S. cities are more cost effective than their traditional public school counterparts, according to test results.
Nicholas Kristof in Sunday’s New York Times asks a pressing — often quite pressing — question. Why are there no public toilets in America? He is right. He calls for a federal infrastructure plan to fix the problem: “Sure, we need investments to rebuild bridges, highways and, yes, electrical grids, but perhaps America’s most disgraceful infrastructure failing is its lack of public toilets.”
In two Defining Ideas articles in 2009, “Who’s Afraid of Budget Deficits? I Am” and “Furman, Summers, and Taxes,” I criticized Lawrence Summers and Jason Furman, two prominent economists who worked in the Obama administration, for their dovish views on federal debt and deficits. They had argued that we shouldn’t worry much about high federal budget deficits and growing federal debt. Of course, that was before the record budget deficit of 2020. Now even Summers is worried.
interview with Shelby Steele via Colors: A Dialogue On Race In America
Hoover Institution fellow Shelby Steele says Black Americans have won the “good will” of the American people. Continually complaining about racism, he says, is a disservice to the race.
Hoover Institution fellow Raghuram Rajan joins a panel to take a close look at the Union Budget, and in particular, on the word privatization. The panel will also discuss the importance of global ratings.
Risk management should be the core of investing and “not a small afterthought,” writes John Cochrane in “Portfolios for Long-Term Investors.” The senior fellow at the Hoover Institution adds in his recently published paper: “If this century has taught us anything, it ought to be that unexpected things will happen, they will be financially painful, and resilience is more important than a few basis points of alpha.”
This week marks one year since school buildings in Florida closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. National experts are raising alarms that a generation of students could face negative impacts from virtual learning that last a lifetime.
All India Nationalised Banks Officers Federation (AINBOF) has opposed privatisation of public sector banks as it will lead to increase in service charges and will take banking beyond the reach of common man.
The battle to pass a COVID-19 relief bill demonstrated how hard things will be for U.S. President Joe Biden’s Democrats in Congress, facing opposition from right and left as they try to score big wins with small majorities.
The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.
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71.) DAILY INTELLIGENCE BRIEF
Daily Intelligence Brief:
Good morning, it’s March 8, 2021. On this day in history, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier met at Madison Square Garden for the “Fight of the Century” (1971), and Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished with more than 200 people onboard (2014).
KINDNESS DURING ADVERSITY
Good Deeds During Texas’ Energy Crisis
Last month, DIB analysts provided insights and analysis on the energy crisis in Texas. For today’s DIB, we spoke to Texans about the good deeds they witnessed on the ground and how neighbors stepped up to help one another in their critical time of need.
Mike Loose, who lives in Jarrell, Texas, shared what things were like for him and how he saw people in the neighborhood serving one another.
Loose said, “We had rolling blackouts, but we were able to keep the house heated. We had random frozen pipes but maintained water. Some of our neighbors were not as lucky. My next-door neighbor filled buckets of water for the neighbors across the street then had to turn off their water due to a pipe bursting.”
“My wife traded coffee for flour with a lady who was baking bread for those who could not make it to the store in time. Everyone did what they could to help their neighbors. We even had a few friends over for dinner and let them use our hot shower because they had lost power and water, and had not showered for a week.
“I even met a few neighbors that we had not met yet on our block. We were all out to check on each other and offer assistance to those who may need it. My neighbor even shoveled an elderly man’s driveway so he could reach his vehicle without slipping on the ice.”
Felicia Cravens, who lives in Katy, Texas, said her church helped her with a broken pipe, which would have taken two weeks to repair without their assistance.
Cravens said, “We lost power on and off, which wasn’t the worst. The worst was losing water to a broken pipe (nothing we could have done to prevent it), and a two-week minimum wait for a plumber. Our church deployed a team of volunteers who fixed the problem so we could have water again. This was especially helpful since we take care of my mom, and we don’t know how we would have managed for two weeks without water.”
Wendy Moskalyk of Fort Worth, Texas, said she saw people helping get cars out of ditches. Moskalyk said, “Well, I was without power for three days. I was lucky after the first day. I was able to go sleep at my son’s house after -2 temps. Getting to my son’s house, we saw people helping people by getting cars out of ditches and helping them travel on the ice. I also witnessed some people picking up water and food for people that did not have ways to cook or get out to get supplies.”
Moskalyk emphasized how she was moved by the Good Samaritan attitudes in her neighborhood. She said, “Honestly, it was really nice seeing people helping people. I do have to say the government and ERCOT let us down, but not the people.”
Marsha Moran of Georgetown, Texas, made a point about how Texans didn’t loot during the crisis. She said, “TikTok is FULL of videos asking why Texans haven’t looted stores and burned things down for heat — BECAUSE neighbors made casseroles, shared firewood and water, brought strangers into homes — all while taking the kids out sledding!”
During the Texas energy crisis, an estimated 4.5 million people were without power. And based on comments from the Texans interviewed by the DIB, the thing they will remember most are the random acts of kindness and selflessness displayed during a time of dire need.
The Daily Intelligence Brief, The DIB as we call it, is curated by a hard working team with a diverse background of experience including government intelligence, investigative journalism, high-risk missionary work and marketing.
This team has more than 68 years of combined experience in the intelligence community, 35 years of combined experience in combat and high-risk areas, and have visited more than 65 countries. We have more than 22 years of investigative reporting and marketing experience. Daily, we scour and verify more than 600 social media sites using more than 200 analytic tools in the process. Leveraging the tools and methods available to us, we uncover facts and provide analysis that would take an average person years of networking and research to uncover. We are doing it for you every 24 hours.
From All Things Possible, the Victor Marx Group and Echo Analytics Group, we aim to provide you with a daily intelligence brief collected from trusted sources and analysts.
Sources for the DIB include local and national media outlets, state and government websites, proprietary sources, in addition to social media networks. State reporting of COVID-19 deaths includes probable cases and probable deaths from COVID-19, in accordance with each state’s guidelines.
Thank you for joining us today. Be safe, be healthy and
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Welcome to the FEE Daily, your go-to newsletter for free-market news and analysis, authored by FEE.org Opinion Editor Brad Polumbo. If you’re reading this online, click here to make sure you’re subscribed to the email list.
You’re probably sick of hearing about the latest stimulus news, and understandably so. But the whole saga could soon come to an end, after a slightly modified version of Biden’s $1.9 trillion “COVID stimulus” package passed the Senate over the weekend. It now goes back to the House for a second approval vote and then will just need the president’s signature to become law.
A few points that bear repeating. This legislation isn’t really about COVID-19 and won’t actually stimulate anything other than, perhaps, inflation. Here’s some of our FEE.org coverage in case you missed it:
Trial Begins for Officer Involved in George Floyd Death (More Riots to Follow?)
We all remember the tragic death of George Floyd in March of last year. It prompted a national reckoning with issues of race and criminal justice, and, unfortunately, widespread rioting and violent looting that soon overshadowed peaceful protest.
This could all come bubbling up again—soon. The officer involved in Floyd’s death, Derek Chauvin, who infamously kneeled on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes on video, has been charged with second-degree murder. His trial starts this week, CBS reports.
More crucially, though, rioting and looting destroy the economic vitality of the same minority communities activists ostensibly want to uplift. Last year, 1,500 businesses—many minority-owned—were destroyed in the Minneapolis area, and the scars from the riots will haunt the community’s economy for decades to come.
Americans on either side will understandably have strong emotions that stem from the trial’s outcome. But we should all agree that destructive behavior like rioting only makes everything worse and hurts innocent people.
Data of the Day: More than 50% of states saw double-digit job growth in February, Fox Business reports.
You don’t always have time to read a full in-depth article. Thankfully, FEE Fellow Patrick Carroll is here to give you the key takeaways from one highlighted article each day.
After nearly a year of crushing lockdowns, the federal government is pushing forward with their latest COVID relief legislation, which comes in at $1.9 trillion. The package is ostensibly meant to help those who are struggling in these hard times, but it also contains a fair amount of pork and handouts for special interest groups.
So how are they going to pay for it all? Well, partly by cracking down on the working class, as Brad Polumbo reports in his latest article on FEE.org.
“A last-minute insert by Democrats looking to offset the cost of their coronavirus aid package would send tax collectors into the gig economy, eventually costing Uber and DoorDash drivers, Airbnb hosts and others about $1 billion annually,” Roll Callreports.
This tax crackdown would be egregious enough in the best of times, but it will be particularly harmful in these difficult times, because many people have turned to the gig economy and freelance work to make ends meet.
“It’s mind boggling to think that after a year of depriving workers of their incomes and strangling the economy with government lockdowns, politicians would really shoulder billions more in taxes onto working Americans’ backs,” Brad writes. Indeed, this change is truly infuriating, especially considering just how much of the $1.9 trillion will be wasted on pet projects.
But if there’s one silver lining from all this, it’s that many workers might finally realize just how damaging taxes can be.
There are a number of ways to spend a $19.3 billion annual budget; we could pay for 1.94 million young adults in the United States to attend a public 4-year university, we could provide 1.87 million people with health care, or we could use the money to fund the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for one year.
The Myth that Americans Were Poorly Educated before Mass Government Schooling
by Lawrence W. Reed
When I think of the many ways that government deceives us into its embrace, one in particular really stands out: It seeks to convince us how helpless we would be without it. It tells us we can’t do this, we can’t do that, that government possesses magical powers beyond those of mere mortals and that yes, we’d be dumb as dirt and as destitute as drifters if we didn’t put it in charge of one thing or another.
The FEE Store has the books, magazines, and merchandise you’re looking for to begin or deepen your knowledge of the economic, ethical, and legal principles of a free society. 100% of the proceeds go to advance FEE’s mission. Support by shopping now!
If you’ve ever wondered how that cookware ad happened across your internet browser window after you’d spent ten minutes searching for a turkey baster last Thanksgiving, the answer is that you – or more precisely, the devices you use to surf the net – have been microtargeted.
A French farmer who can no longer perform his routine farming duties because of permanent pesticide injuries has had his day in court, literally, and the perpetrator of his injuries found guilty of chemical poisoning. The French court in Lyon ruled that Monsanto’s Lasso weedkiller formula, which contains the active ingredient alachlor, caused Paul Francois to develop lifelong neurological damage that manifests as persistent memory loss, headaches, and stuttering during speech.
A new article from the New York Times claims that instead of engaging with someone that challenges your worldview, you should “resist the lure of Rabbit Holes” and go to more authoritative sources such as Google and Wikipedia.
More than 40 different organizations are calling on the Biden Administration to bypass a bill calling for a “virtual wall” with mass surveillance along the U.S. border with Mexico.
Former secretary of state Henry Kissinger has advised President Joe Biden’s administration to continue to uphold the “brilliant” policy in Middle Eastern politics achieved under the Trump administration.
The over-indebted, overcapacity global economy an only generate speculative asset bubbles that will implode, destroying the latest round of phantom collateral.
Twitter announced on Monday it will put warnings on posts that contain what the platform considers to be misleading information about the CCP virus vaccines, as well as put into practice a strike system that would see users who repeatedly break their rules banned.
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Welcome to the Monday edition of Internet Insider, where we dissect the weekend online. Today:
‘Lovecraft Country’ accused of colorism after extra reveals her skin was darkened on TikTok
TikToker saves girl from ‘creepy’ man asking about her toes
Can animals get the COVID-19 vaccine?
BREAK THE INTERNET
‘Lovecraft Country’ accused of colorism after extra reveals her skin was darkened on TikTok
Employees exposing their workplaces through TikTok is nothing new. Sometimes the exposé is as frivolous as a McDonald’s worker revealing the recipe to the McRib, and sometimes it’s as attention-warranting as a Papa John’s employee highlighting unsanitary working conditions during a state of emergency.
We saw TikTok videos on both ends of the spectrum this weekend.
On one end, a Nothing Bundt Cakes worker showed how the chain’s iconic frosting is made, leaving viewers feeling less than impressed and worried for the TikToker’s job security. On the other end, an extra on HBO’s Lovecraft Countryalleged the show’s makeup artists darkened her skin tone while main cast members sat by, sparking accusations of colorism and blackface as well as a vital conversation online.
Meanwhile, notable Republicans are getting roasted for “embarrassing” themselves in videos that went viral over the weekend. A resurfaced video of freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) “beating up” a tree is leaving viewers wondering, “What did the tree ever do to him?” And House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy posted a video of himself dramatically reading Green Eggs and Ham in defense of Dr. Seuss, who some conservatives are painting as a victim of liberal wokeness and “cancel culture.” The book isn’t among the six Dr. Seuss books going out of circulation, a decision made solely by the company managing the author’s estate.
From cloth to surgical to N95, there are a ton of masks on the market today. But slapping a covering over your face doesn’t mean you’re automatically safe. Not all masks offer equal protection. We’ll break down the differences between reusable and disposable face masks, and help you understand which is best for you.
TikToker saves girl from ‘creepy’ man asking about her toes
A woman on TikTok recorded herself helping another girl who looked like she was in an uncomfortable situation with a “creepy” man.
“I’m literally about to go out, but she looks really uncomfortable,” she says, referring to the girl who’s being talked to by a man. “OK, I’m from New York, girls supporting girls. I’m just going to go up to her.”
The woman then walks across the street. As she gets closer, she pretends as if she knows the other woman. She then asks who the man is and what he wants.
The man responds by saying he was talking to the other woman about her feet. “Just asking her if her … toes are long,” he says. Clearly disturbed, the TikToker tells the other girl, “We gotta go.” The two run off together, and the TikToker offers her a ride to wherever she needs to go.
The video of the encounter has been liked nearly 8 million times since being posted on Friday. Many people are now praising the filmer for stepping up.
“You probably just saved a girl from getting kidnapped,” one said.
Ever since the first known COVID-19 infection in a dog was discovered in Hong Kong in February 2020, many have wondered if animals can get the COVID-19 vaccine to fight off the potential sickness.
While animals cannot receive the same vaccines that humans get, a COVID-19 vaccine made especially for animals has successfully been developed. Produced by the veterinary pharmaceutical company, Zoetis, the vaccine has so far shown to work with dogs, cats, and potentially apes.
Scientists are not concerned about domestic pets getting COVID-19 because it doesn’t appear to spread easily from pets to humans, and domestic animals don’t live in clusters, Science Mag reports. However, scientists are concerned about how COVID-19 could impact endangered species that live in groups, like great apes and minks.
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A “perfecting amendment” the Senate adopted just before final passage of a $1.9 trillion aid package would add billions of dollars for local governments, restaurants and child care grants to states. The changes came in a 58-page amendment from Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer covering various sections of the relief bill. Read more…
Senate Democrats’ campaign arm is launching its first ads of the 2022 election cycle with new digital spots targeting Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for voting against a sweeping COVID-19 relief bill. Read more…
OPINION — Recent media attention to retail investing presents an opportunity to remind the public that the derivatives markets are unique, and distinct from the stock market, writes CFTC Commissioner Dawn D. Stump. Read more…
Senators were prepared for a long day and night of voting, but on Friday the chamber stalled out on the very first vote of an anticipated vote-a-rama and the single question dragged on to become the longest Senate vote in modern history. Read more…
Congressional Republicans ramped up calls to the Biden administration and Democratic leaders for meetings on the rising number of migrant children crossing the U.S. border, pushing back on the administration’s claim that the border is not in “crisis.” Read more…
Sen. Cory Booker joked about a power trip while he briefly sat in Sen. Richard J. Durbin’s chair, and an objection Thursday afternoon from Sen. Ron Johnson resulted in Senate floor staff reading a 600-plus page amendment until the wee hours of Friday morning. Read more…
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March 08 2021
Episode 342: Everything Will Be… 
Sanders’ $15 Minimum Wage… 
19 West 44th Street, Suite 1701, New York, NY, 10036, USA
