With so many crazy things happening, sometimes things fall through the cracks. Here are some headlines that you may find interesting and worth discussing.
Biden Administration:
- The push to pass a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package through Congress escalated Wednesday as President Joe Biden made clear to Democrats that the need for aid is urgent and lawmakers prepared to use a special budget process to allow the Senate to advance the measure with only a simple majority vote. “We need to act — we need to act fast.”
- Two weeks into the presidency of Joe Biden, a majority of Americans say, 61 – 34 percent, that they are generally optimistic about the next four years with Biden as president, according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-peaack) University national poll of 1,075 adults released today. However, there are sharp divisions by party identification.
- The United States formally extended a critical nuclear accord with Russia on Wednesday for five years, opting to prolong limits on the arsenals of both nations two days before the treaty’s expiration date and bringing a measure of stability to U.S.-Russia relations on nuclear matters.
Congress:
- Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) wants to be named California’s next attorney general — and he has House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s blessing, according to four Democratic sources familiar with the matter.
- House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Wednesday that the House of Representatives would vote Thursday on whether to strip embattled Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., of her committee assignments after Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy failed to take action against her.
- If only!
COVID-19 Updates:
- The federal government is partnering with the state of California to open COVID-19 community vaccination sites in Oakland and Los Angeles this month as part of the Biden administration’s push to ramp up the rate of vaccinations across the country.
Riots/White ISIS/Wing Nut Watch:
- When it comes to domestic extremists such as those who stormed the Capitol, a longtime CIA officer argues that the U.S. should treat them as an insurgency.
- Election workers weren’t surprised by the Capitol riot. Trump’s supporters targeted them first.
- The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has opened an investigation into Steve Bannon, who was a senior adviser to former President Donald Trump, in connection with his role in a charity that was supposed to use private funds to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall, according to a senior law enforcement official.
- Canada on Wednesday declared the Proud Boys a terrorist entity, adding the far-right group to a list that includes al-Qaeda, ISIS and al-Shabab in an effort to crack down on “ideologically motivated violent extremism,” described by the country’s public safety minister as the “most significant threat to domestic security.”
- Proud Boys and Black Lives Matter activists clashed in a Florida suburb. Only one side was charged.
- Spoiler Alert: But only the Black Lives Matter protesters were cited.
Other headlines:
- The Navy on Wednesday released nearly 60 recommendations in an attempt to quell racial and gender-based discrimination among its sailors.
- A new study concludes that unrest caused by police violence and the coronavirus pandemic attributed to a significant increase in the number of homicides in the U.S. last year.
- The National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice (NCCCJ) released the report on Monday, which found that homicide rates across the nation were 30 percent higher from 2019 to 2020.
