Monday, January 25, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Biden WH Starts Talking COVID Relief Package


Top aides to President Biden began talks yesterday with a bipartisan group of at least a dozen moderate U.S. senators on Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. Republican lawmakers are questioning the size of the package, particularly sending everyone a new $1,400 payment, while some Democrats are urging the president not to spend too much time trying to reach bipartisan consensus amid the coronavirus crisis, including the ongoing economic fallout. 


Independent Senator Angus King of Maine said there was, quote, "absolute consensus" during the talks that the top priority was speeding up vaccine distribution and expanding Covid-19 testing and contract tracing.

➤HOUSE SENDING TRUMP IMPEACHMENT ARTICLE TO SENATE TODAY, MORE REPUBLICANS OPPOSE: House Democrats will bring the sole article of impeachment that was passed against former President Donald Trump to the Senate this evening ahead of a Senate trial that is expected to begin in two weeks. That comes as a growing number of Republican senators are saying they're opposed the having a trial with Trump no longer in office, lowering the chances that enough Republicans would side with the Democrats to convict, or on a separate vote that would bar Trump from holding federal office again. The Democratic-led House impeached Trump on one charge of "incitement to insurrection" one week after the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Threats Against Lawmakers: Meanwhile, AP cited a U.S. official as saying federal law enforcement is looking at number of threats aimed at members of Congress as Trump's impeachment trial gets closer, including talk of killing or attacking lawmakers outside the Capitol. That has led Capitol Police and other federal law enforcement to say they want some of the more than 25,000 National Guard troops that were brought into Washington, D.C., ahead of President Biden's inauguration to remain. AP cited the Guard Bureau as saying all but 7,000 will have gone home in the coming days, and that their number will continue to go down in the coming weeks to about 5,000 guardsmen, who are expected to remain until mid-March. 


➤CDC REVIEWING DATA SUGGESTING U.K. CORONAVIRUS MUTATION COULD BE MORE DEADLY AFTER ALL: Health officials have been saying that the new mutated coronavirus variation first seen in the U.K. and which has been detected in several places in the U.S. is more contagious, but not more deadly. But now, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conferring with British health officials about a new report from the U.K. that now suggests it could be deadlier after all. However, the data is not conclusive.

Vaccine Supply Concerns: Top health officials in the new Biden administration expressed concern yesterday about vaccine shortages, but expressed optimism that the situation would be improve. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said on Fox News Sunday, "I think that the supply is probably going to be the most limiting constraint early on, and we’re really hoping that after that first hundred days we will have much more production." She said she hoped the supply problems would be eased by March as more vaccines get delivered.

Biden to Reinstate Travel Restrictions, Add South Africa: President Biden will today reinstate coronavirus travel restrictions on non-U.S. travelers from the U.K., Ireland, Brazil and 26 other European countries, and add South Africa to the restricted list because of a worrisome virus mutation that's shown up there. Trump is reversing an order former President Donald Trump issued in his final days in office that called for easing the travel restrictions. 

➤THIS YEAR’S FLU NUMBERS ARE KIND OF STUNNING: There’s an upside to the pandemic you might not have considered: hardly anyone is getting the flu this year. Popular Science notes that in 2019 the US had 65,000 recorded cases of the flu between September and late December, and in 2020 that number dropped to just 1,000. All of the precautions people are taking to not catch COVID-19-- including wearing masks, increased hand-washing, social distancing, and avoiding indoor social activities—are also helping people avoid catching the flu. In addition, more people are getting flu shots than before. Researchers are studying the theory that there’s some type of complex interplay between COVID and the flu, and there is also a fear that the flu will come back stronger next season. The experts note that scary scenario could be avoided if people adapt COVID safety protocols more permanently, or perhaps make more of a point to get their flu shots. The flu typically kills hundreds of thousands of people annually worldwide.

➤PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO SOCIAL DISTANCE IF FRIENDS, FAMILY DO IT, TOO: It turns out we’re influenced by our friends and family when it comes to following social distancing recommendations during the pandemic. British researchers looked at data from thousands of people from hundreds of countries and found that those who thought their close social circle adhered to distancing guidelines were more likely to do the same. The influence of others even outweighed whether people personally thought distancing was the right thing to do. Researchers say using social media to let family and friends know that you’re following COVID-19 safety guidelines could encourage them to do the same, and also that public health messages from trusted people could emphasize collective values, such as doing things for the benefit of loved ones and the community. 



➤FIVE KILLED, INCLUDING PREGNANT WOMAN, IN INDIANAPOLIS MASS SHOOTING: Five people were killed in a mass shooting in Indianapolis early Sunday, among them a pregnant woman whose unborn child also died. Police responded to a report of someone shot just before 4 a.m. and found a "juvenile male" with gunshot wounds. They then got information that led them to a home less than a block away, where they found five people who'd been shot to death, including the pregnant 19-year-old woman, a 13-year-old girl, and an 18-year-old man. The other two victims, one male and one female, were both 42 years old. All the victims except the pregnant woman had the same last name. The juvenile is expected to survive. Police said it didn't appear to be a random shooting. They didn't as of yesterday have any named suspects, but said they believed more than one attacker could have been involved.

➤CHICAGO TEACHERS VOTE AGAINST RETURNING TO CLASSROOM, DESPITE DISTRICT ORDERS: The Chicago Teachers Union said Sunday that its members voted against returning to in-person classes over coronavirus concerns, despite district officials having ordered them to go back to classrooms and contending that refusing to return would amount to an illegal strike. Chicago public school officials wanted kindergarten through eighth grade teachers and other staffers to go back to schools today to get ready for some 70,000 students to come back for part-time in-school classes starting on February 1st. But the teachers' union said it's concerned about the health of its members, believing the district's coronavirus safety plan isn't good enough and that vaccinations should be more widespread before they go back. They therefore called on their members to continue teaching from home instead.
 

➤WHEEL FALLS OFF PLANE LANDING AT O’HARE AIRPORT, LANDS IN CHICAGO FAMILY’S YARD: You never know what might fall from the sky. The wheel of a small plane bound for O’Hare International Airport landed in a Chicago family’s backyard on Thursday evening (January 21st.) The wheel belonged to a single-engine aircraft operating Boutique Air flight 835, and luckily did not injure anyone in the neighborhood when it crashed down. The flight landed a short time later “without incident” at O’Hare, and all seven people aboard were uninjured according to the FAA. But the aircraft did send a “considerable amount of sparks” flying down the runway when it touched down. Those living in the home closest to where the tire landed said they initially thought the tire was just junk someone had dumped there, and neighbors said they heard it hit the ground with a “big boom.” The FAA says it will be investigating the incident along with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB.)


🏈CHIEFS, BUCCANEERS TO FACE EACH OTHER IN THE SUPER BOWL: The Super Bowl teams are now set after yesterday's conference championship games, with the Kansas City Chiefs to try to repeat as NFL champions against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by quarterback Tom Brady, who'll be trying to win his seventh Super Bowl in his 10th trip to the championship game, but not with the New England Patriots this time. The Super Bowl will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on February 7th, making the Buccaneers the first team to play a Super Bowl in its home stadium. 

Chiefs Beat Bills: The Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills 38-24 in the AFC title game, with Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, not showing any ill effects from the concussion he suffered last week, finishing with 325 yards passing and three touchdowns. The loss for the Bills came after reaching their first AFC title game since 1994.


Bucs Top Packers: The Buccaneers defeated the Green Bay Packers 31-26 for the NFC title, with Brady throwing for 286 yards and three touchdowns, but also three interceptions, as the Packers gave up an 18-point lead. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked five times, and there was an instantly-questioned call by head coach Matt LaFleur with just over two minutes left to play. Tampa Bay was ahead 31-23 and the Packers were at fourth-and-goal from the eight when LaFleur called for a field goal, which they made, instead of going for the touchdown. He said after the game, "The way I was looking at it is we essentially had four timeouts with the 2-minute warning, we knew we needed to get a stop." But Tampa Bay ran out the clock. 


 

🏀WIZARDS PLAY FOR FIRST TIME IN 13 DAYS: The Washington Wizards played for the first time in 13 days last night, with multiple games having been postponed after they had six players test positive for the coronavirus and three others having to miss games because of contact tracing. They lost to the San Antonio Spurs 121-101. Meanwhile, the Memphis Grizzles had their scheduled Wednesday game canceled, after their games last night and tonight had previously been postponed because of Covid-19 concerns, and they now won't play until at least Saturday.

⚾CLOSER HAND AGREES TO DEAL WITH NATIONALS: Closer Brad Hand has agreed to a one-year, $10.5 million deal with the Washington Nationals, according to reports Sunday (January 24th). The 30-year-old led the majors with 16 saves during last year's pandemic-shortened season with the Cleveland Indians.

➤UNIV. OF MICHIGAN STOPS ALL SPORTS AFTER CORONAVIRUS VARIANT FOUND: The University of Michigan has suspended all sports after it had several positive tests for the new, more contagious Covid-19 variant in people linked to the athletic department. The entire department could be in quarantine for two weeks, according to AP. The school said the state's Department of Health and Human Services had called for a more aggressive strategy against the virus for the new mutation, however the department made clear Sunday that it had issued recommendations for the school, but not an order.

🏒HOCKEY HALL OF FAMER GEORGE ARMSTRONG DEAD AT 90: Hockey Hall of Famer George Armstrong, who was the captain of four Toronto Maple Leafs teams that won Stanley Cups in the 1960s, had died of heart complications, the team announced Sunday. He was 90. Armstrong played 21 seasons for the Maple Leafs, 12 of them as team captain, and is still the franchise leader in games played. He was also one of the first players of Indigenous descent to play professional hockey.
Posted

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)