➤TWO TOP N.Y. LAWMAKERS TURN AGAINST CUOMO, HE REFUSES TO RESIGN: New York's two top Democratic lawmakers turned against embattled Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday as further charges of sexual harassment emerged. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Cuomo should resign, becoming the first senior Democrat in the state to say so, and while Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie didn't come out and say the same, he said in a statement, "it is time for the Governor to seriously consider whether he can effectively meet the needs of the people of New York." But Cuomo said during a press conference yesterday that it would be, quote, "anti-democratic" for him to step down, saying, "There is no way I resign."
Two more women who'd worked for Cuomo accused him Saturday of inappropriate behavior, after three other woman previously accused him. Karen Hinton, a former press aide to Cuomo when he served as the federal housing secretary under President Bill Clinton, told the Washington Post that after a hotel room interaction when they were trying to mend issues they'd had Cuomo gave her a hug as she got up to leave that was, quote, "very long, too long, too tight, too intimate." She called it not sexual harassment, but a "power play" for "manipulation and control." The other woman, Ana Liss, who was a policy and operations aide from 2013 to 2015, told the Wall Street Journal Cuomo had called her "sweetheart," asked if she had a boyfriend, touched her on her lower back during an event, and once kissed her hand.
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MORE THAN 58.8 MILLION AMERICANS HAVE GOTTEN AT LEAST ONE DOSE OF COVID VACCINE: As the vaccine effort continues to ramp up across the country, passing more than two million vaccinations daily in recent days, more than 58.8 million Americans had received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine as of yesterday, according to CNN. About 30.6 million people -- or about 9.2 percent of the U.S. population -- have gotten two doses and are fully vaccinated. As the race between vaccinations and the coronavirus variants that are spreading continues, CNN cited Dr. Peter Hotez, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College, as saying the good news is that all three vaccines being used in the U.S. -- Pfizer's Moderna's and Johnson & Johnson's -- "work really well" against the U.K. variant, which is spreading the most so far and is more contagious.
➤HOUSE TO TAKE UP $1.9 TRILLION COVID PLAN AFTER PASSED BY SENATE: Final passage in the House of President Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan is expected on Tuesday after it was passed in the Senate on Saturday on a party-line vote. However, there could potentially be some pushback from progressive Democrats unhappy about a federal $15-an-hour minimum wage being removed from the package, as well as unemployment benefits being reduced. A central part of the bill is sending $1,400 to most Americans, and it also includes money for Covid vaccines and testing, aid to state and local governments, help for schools and the airline industry, and more.
➤JURY SELECTION BEGINS TODAY IN TRIAL OF OFFICER CHARGED IN GEORGE FLOYD'S DEATH: Jury selection will begin today in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd last May. Video showing Chauvin, who is while, with his knee on the neck of Floyd, who was Black, for nearly nine minutes as Floyd repeatedly said that he couldn't breathe sparked weeks of protests across the country against racial injustice and police brutality. Three other officers involved in the incident will go on trial in August on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder. All four were fired after Floyd's death.
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| The Daily Mail Online 3/8/21 |
➤MEGHAN MARKLE AND PRINCE HARRY TELL ALL: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a much-anticipated, much-teased
interview at 8 p.m. on CBS. The interview proved to be as filled with drama as many expected, touching on the racist reception Meghan got inside and outside the Palace, and how the constant criticism and harassment challenged both Meghan and Harry’s mental health and ultimately forced them to step away from royal life.
As many royal watchers know, Harry and Meghan announced on Instagram that they were stepping down from their royal roles in January of 2020. Under terms brokered by the palace, the couple had to step back from royal duties, drop their His and Her Royal Highness titles and would no longer receive funds for royal duties.
Among the wildest revelations from the interview: Meghan had to learn how to curtsy five minutes before meeting the Queen; Kate Middleton made Meghan cry the week before their wedding, as opposed to the opposite which was widely reported; Meghan and Harry got married in secret before their televised wedding; Meghan says the Queen has always been “warm” to her; Royals were worried about how dark her and Harry’s son Archie would be; a serious mental health crisis and the lack of Royal support led to them leaving; Meghan and Harry are happy and living a “really fulfilling” life in California; they are having a girl this summer, their second child; Harry and Meghan told the Queen and his father, Prince Charles, that they were leaving their senior royal roles before they announced it in public.
Going into the momentous interview, the Palace adhered to its standard protocol of not commenting on speculation surrounding royals. They did, however, announce that they were investigating allegations that Meghan bullied members of her staff. The claims were made anonymously in a British newspaper; the Sussexes said, through a spokesperson, that the report was “a calculated smear campaign” in response to their expected revelations.
QUEEN’S PERSPECTIVE
Queen Elizabeth, 94, attempted to share a softer side of the royal family ahead of the interview. Hours before their talk, she paid tribute to the heroes who came together in response to COVID-19. “Over the coming week, as we celebrate the friendship, spirit of unity and achievements of the Commonwealth, we have an opportunity to reflect on a time like no other," the Queen said at the start of her speech. "The testing times experienced by so many have led to a deeper appreciation of the mutual support and spiritual sustenance we enjoy by being connected to others."
The Queen also expressed hope that "we shall maintain this renewed sense of closeness and community."
"Looking forward, relationships with others across the Commonwealth will remain important, as we strive to deliver a common future that is sustainable and more secure, so that the nationals and neighborhoods in which we live, wherever they are located, become healthier and happier places for all," she said.
POLL...ONLY 18 PERCENT OF AMERICANS NOW SUPPORT CALLS TO 'DEFUND THE POLICE': Only 18 percent of Americans now support calls to "defund the police," according to a new Ipsos/USA Today poll, which has fallen since last August, after a summer of protests against racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police. While whites and Republicans were significantly more likely to oppose defunding the police, only 28 percent of Blacks and 34 percent of Democrats were in favor of it. There have been two different views of what defund the police means. When asked if police should be eliminated, one view of it, 67 overall said no, including a majority of Blacks and Democrats. But when asked if they favored the other view, in which some police funding would instead go to social services, so others with more targeted training could respond to things like calls for a mental health crisis or to interact with a homeless person, the numbers were a little more favorable. A majority of 57 percent was still against it, but 43 percent supported it.
➤STUDY...AN UNSTABLE WORKING LIFE AFFECTS THE FUTURE MENTAL HEALTH OF YOUNG PEOPLE: Transitioning from school into the working life isn’t easy. A new study by researchers in Spain finds that a precarious, unstable initiation by young people into working life is associated with poorer future mental health. The scientists found, for example, that people with a more stable working life (increasing job stability) tended to take fewer days off work due to mental disorders than people who had a more unstable working life. They also found that having worked in large companies at the start of their working life was associated with better mental health later on.
🏀TEAM LEBRON WINS ALL-STAR GAME OVER TEAM DURANT: Team LeBron James won the NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta last night, defeating Team Kevin Durant 170-150, with LeBron now 4-0 in All-Star games since the top vote-getters in each conference began picking their team members the last four years. Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was on LeBron's team, was the game’s MVP, going 16 of 16 for 35 points, the most baskets without a miss in All-Star Game history. LeBron himself played less than 13 minutes and scored just four points. On the other side, Durant didn't play because of a hamstring injury, and the leading scorer for his team was Bradley Beal. The stands were mostly empty due to the coronavirus, and two players, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers, were scratched from the game because a barber who gave them haircuts tested positive for Covid. Embiid, who was supposed to be a starter on Durant's team, was replaced by New Orleans’ Zion Williamson. Simmons was a reserve player.
Three-Point, Skills and Slam Dunk: Because of the pandemic precautions, the three-point shot, skills and slam dunk competitions were all held last night, the first two before the game and the latter during halftime. Golden State's Stephen Curry won the three-point contest, Indiana's Domantas Sabonis won the Skills Challenge, and Portland's Anfernee Simons was the winner of the Slam Dunk Contest.
🏀GRIFFIN AGREES TO DEAL WITH NETS: Blake Griffin has agreed to a deal to join the Brooklyn Nets for the rest of the season, his agent told ESPN last night. The six-time All-Star cleared waivers last night after agreeing to a buyout on the remaining $56.5 million left on his contract with the Detroit Pistons Friday. The 31-year-old had been with Detroit since January 2018, after being traded by the L.A. Clippers less than one season into a five-year deal.
➤NASCAR'S LARSON GETS FIRST WIN SINCE RETURNING FROM SUSPENSION: NASCAR driver Kyle Larson won the Penzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday (March 7th), earning his first victory since coming back from a nearly year-long suspension for using a racial slur during an online race last April. It was just Larson's fourth race for Hendrick Motorsports, who picked him up after he lost nearly all his sponsors and was dropped by Chip Ganassi Racing following last year's incident.
🏌DECHAMBEAU WINS ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL: American Bryson DeChambeau won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Golf Course in Orlando, Florida, yesterday (March 7th), getting a one-shot victory over England's Lee Westwood. He finished with an 11-under 277. DeChambeau became the first player this season with multiple victories, to go along with his U.S. Open title in September.
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