With so many crazy things happening, sometimes things fall through the cracks. Here are some headlines that you may find interesting and worth discussing. Please feel free to post ‘headlines’ you would like to share that we may have missed.
President Biden/Biden Administration:
- Garland launches gun trafficking strike forces in 5 cities
- The effort will step up enforcement in so-called supply areas — cities and states where it’s easier to obtain firearms that are later trafficked elsewhere.
Congress:
- House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Thursday did not rule out booting Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from the powerful Armed Services Committee amid a partisan brawl over who should serve on the special committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
COVID-19 Updates/COVIDIOTS:
How to trigger a *fullish* wing nut:
- Trust in health agencies and Fauci remains strong, a poll finds, but personal doctors score higher.
- Encourage people to get a freaking vaccine and have a screenshot of your comment posted a zillion time because encouraging people to get vaccinated is just so bad!
- House GOP leaders on Thursday expressed confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine’s effectiveness against the virus but said it shouldn’t be mandated for Americans as cases surge in pockets of the U.S.
Voter Suppression/Voting Rights:
- Eighteen states have enacted 30 new laws that make it harder to vote, according to a new tally by the liberal-leaning Brennan Center for Justice that tracks state activity through July 14.
- Among the most common provisions, according to Brennan’s researchers: Measures in seven states that either expand officials’ ability to purge voters from the registration rolls or put voters at risk at having their names improperly removed. Those laws were enacted in Arizona, Iowa, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Texas and Utah, the center found.
- Three of the 18 states with new voting restrictions have passed sweeping, omnibus bills that cover a broad range of voting activity: Florida, Georgia and Iowa.
The Economy:
- States cutting unemployment benefits didn’t get people back to work, study finds.
- Weekly jobless claims unexpected moved higher last week despite hopes that the U.S. labor market is poised for a strong recovery heading into the fall.
- Initial filings for unemployment insurance totaled 419,000 for the week ended July 17, well above the 350,000 Dow Jones estimate and more than the upwardly revised 368,000 from the previous period, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
