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Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Infrastructure Debate Vote Set For Wednesday

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer yesterday set a vote for Wednesday to begin debate on bipartisan infrastructure legislation that members from both parties have been negotiating for several weeks. Schumer said yesterday, "They have been working on this bipartisan framework for a month already. It's time to begin the debate." However, Senate Republicans are threatening to use the filibuster to block allowing debate to begin unless the agreement is finalized by then. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "We need to see the bill before voting to go to it. I think that's pretty easily understood."


 ➤SENATE DEMS CONSIDERING LOWERING MEDICARE ELIGIBILITY AGE: In addition to the bipartisan infrastructure legislation that is being negotiated in the Senate, Senate Democrat are working on a second $3.5 trillion infrastructure package that they would pass under special rules that would require only 50 votes in the Senate, so it couldn't be blocked by Republicans using the filibuster. As part of that second package, however, Democrats are eyeing things that wouldn't traditionally be considered infrastructure, and one of them is lowering the age of eligibility for Medicare to 60. Although it wasn't in the original package that President Biden endorsed last week, some progressive Democratic senators, including Senator Bernie Sanders, are pushing for it to be included, which could put the support of centrist Democratic senators at risk.

➤MCCARTHY PROPOSES FIVE REPUBLICANS FOR HOUSE'S JANUARY 6TH COMMITTEE: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has selected five Republicans for the House's new select committee to investigate the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, indicating the GOP intends to participate even though they opposed the creation of the committee. The members chosen are Rep. Jim Banks, Rep. Jim Jordan, Rep. Rodney Davis, Rep. Kelly Armstrong and Rep. Troy Nehls. However, Speaker Nancy Pelosi must give her approval for the names. Pelosi named eight members of the committee earlier this month, seven Democrats and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney.


➤FIRST SENTENCE GIVEN FOR FELONY CHARGE IN JANUARY 6TH CAPITOL ATTACK: A 38-year-old Florida man who went onto the Senate floor during the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol while carrying a Trump campaign flag was sentenced to eight months behind bars yesterday in the first punishment for a January 6th felony charge. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss said in sentencing Paul Allard Hodgkins, "That was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a protest. It was . . . an assault on democracy." However, Moss imposed a lower sentence than the 18 months requested by prosecutors, in part because Hodgkins didn’t assault anyone, didn’t damage government property, and wasn’t among the lead attackers. Hodgkins, who pled guilty last month to obstructing an official proceeding, apologized to the court, and said he felt ashamed of his actions. More than 500 people have been charged so far for their participation in the attack.

➤2,500 AFGHANS WHO HELPED U.S. TO BE BROUGHT TO VIRGINIA MILITARY BASE: The Biden administration said Monday that some 2,500 Afghans who worked for the U.S. government during the long war in Afghanistan, many of them translators, and their family members will be evacuated to the Fort Lee military base in Virginia pending approval of their visas. As the U.S. moves to complete it withdrawal from Afghanistan, there has been concern about the fate of Afghans who worked for the U.S. over the past two decades of the war, particularly because the Taliban has been seizing control of major parts of the country. Some of them have faced threats from the Taliban. The group, who will be brought to Fort Lee starting next week, include 700 Afghans who worked for the U.S. and some 1,800 family members. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said they are expected to stay there for only a few days before being resettled by the State Department and refugee assistance groups. Another 4,000 applicants and family members who have finished most of the visa application process will be sent to non-U.S. locations to wait for it to be completed.

➤GITMO DETAINEE SENT HOME TO MOROCCO: Guantanamo Bay detainee Abdullatif Nasser was sent home to Morocco yesterday, after he'd been held without charge almost since the facility opened 19 years ago. The transfer was the first of a Gitmo detainee by the Biden administration. A review board had recommended that Nasser be returned home in July 2016, but he had remained under former President Donald Trump, who was opposed to closing the Guantanamo Bay detention site. In announcing the transfer yesterday, the Pentagon cited the board's determination that Nasser's detention is no longer necessary to protect U.S. national security. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the administration was considering all options for safely transferring out the last detainees, a few dozen of whom are left, and shutting down Gitmo.

➤DOW JONES FALLS MORE THAN 700 POINTS AMID DELTA VARIANT FEARS: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 725 points on Monday, or 2.1 percent, its biggest drop since a 943-point decline last October, amid rising fears that the spreading coronavirus delta variant could threaten the U.S. economic recovery. Companies whose stocks were hit the hardest included those in the airline and hospitality industries.

➤PRINCE HARRY TO PEN MEMOIR ABOUT ROYAL LIFE:  Prince Harry has secretly been writing a memoir for a year, according to multiple reports. He’s sold it Penguin Random House, and it’s expected to be quite the page turner.

Harry has reportedly been working with the Pulitzer Prize winner J.R. Moehringer, who has worked on books with tennis legend Andre Agassi and Nike co-founder Phil Knight. The manuscript is due in August, but the deadline has been pushed back to October.

“I’m writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become,” Harry said in a statement after the news broke. “I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story— the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned — I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to share what I’ve learned over the course of my life so far and excited for people to read a firsthand account of my life that’s accurate and wholly truthful.”

A blurb from the publisher, seen by Page Six, says, “In an intimate and heartfelt memoir from one of the most fascinating and influential global figures of our time, Prince Harry will share, for the very first time, the definitive account of the experiences, adventures, losses, and life lessons that have helped shape him.”

The book will reportedly cover “his lifetime in the public eye from childhood to the present day, including his dedication to service, the military duty that twice took him to the frontlines of Afghanistan, and the joy he has found in being a husband and father” and promises “an honest and captivating personal portrait.”

Harry will be donating the proceeds from the book to charity, according to Page Six. The tentative release date is late 2022.

Topics observers desperately want covered include his and wife Megan Markle's tortured exit and their rifts with the royal family members. An insider told Page Six: “Insiders are already discussing how much he’ll go in detail about his family after a huge fallout with William and accusing William and Charles of being trapped in their roles on the bombshell Oprah interview. He last saw William a few weeks ago at the Diana statue unveiling where, despite sharing a laugh with William, he jumped on a plane that afternoon to go home.”

➤VACCINATED AMERICANS CAN ENTER CANADA STARTING AUGUST 9TH: Canada announced Monday that U.S. citizens who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will be allowed to go to Canada starting on August 9th, with the 14-day quarantine requirement waived. However, the U.S. isn't yet changing its current restrictions at the land border for Canadians coming to the U.S.. Canadians are able to fly into the U.S. with a negative Covid-19 test. About 80 percent of eligible Canadians have gotten at least their first dose of vaccine, and 50 percent of those eligible are fully vaccinated.

➤BEN & JERRY'S TO STOP SELLING ICE CREAM IN WEST BANK, EAST JERUSALEM: Ben & Jerry’s said Monday that it will stop selling its ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in contested east Jerusalem, territories sought by the Palestinians, saying doing so is, quote, "inconsistent with our values." Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett slammed the move, calling it "an immoral decision" and saying, "I believe that it will turn out to be a business mistake, too." The Israeli foreign ministry called the decision "a surrender to ongoing and aggressive pressure from extreme anti-Israel groups." The BDS movement, a Palestinian-led movement that advocates boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israeli institutions and businesses, applauded Ben & Jerry’s decision.

🚀BEZOS LAUNCHING INTO SPACE TODAY: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will be launching into space this morning in an 11-minute ride on his own company Blue Origin's rocket, on the 52nd anniversary of the first Moon landing. On board the New Shepard craft with Bezos will be his brother, Mark Bezos, as well as an 18-year-old who'll be the youngest ever in space and an 82-year-old who'll be the oldest. They'll lift off at 8:00 am. CT from a facility in the west Texas desert, and the event will be live streamed on BlueOrigin.com, starting 90 minutes before launch.

➤PASSPORT BACKLOG SURGING:  If you’re planning to travel this summer and your passport is expired you might have an issue. Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) says the passport application backlog has surged to 2.2 million as a security measure’s “operational issues” adds several weeks to wait times. This is because when the government receives a passport application, the file enters a “lockbox” and is given a secure number—a process that usually takes 24 hours and is now delaying applications up to six weeks, according to Lankford. In his letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, he writes, “We must address the problems at this stage by applying pressure and providing resources to Citibank to restore the turnaround time to 24 hours.” A Citibank source says the delays are all COVID- and staff-related. The State Department offered no comment on the issues. It is known that in March 2020, the State Department dramatically reduced its passport operations to protect staff from spreading COVID-19. Now, as Americans begin traveling internationally once again, those without a valid passport will likely need to delay any summer trips abroad. The State Department says that more than 150 passport processing employees are returning to 21 agencies across the country, and that wait times for regular passports are 12 to 18 weeks. Lankford claims the processing time is up to 24 weeks. Pre-pandemic it took four to six weeks to get a regular passport.


➤STUDY...COFFEE CONSUMPTION CUTS RISK FOR HEART ARRHYTHMIA:  Coffee consumption might do some good things for your heart—the opposite of what science has said for a while. Published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, study authors argue that the common advice to avoid caffeine related to heart arrhythmia and AFib is based on a few studies using a small number of individuals. Study co-author Dr. Gregory Marcus, with the University of California, says “Given other potential health benefits of coffee, and the importance of simply enjoying a cup of coffee, broad-based prohibitions against coffee to reduce the risk of arrhythmias are likely unwarranted.” Still, he says you shouldn’t start drinking coffee with the intention of reducing an arrhythmia, and says for most people, one to two cups of coffee per day is likely a safe amount to drink.


🏀BUCKS EYEING POSSIBLE NBA FINALS VICTORY IN GAME 6 TONIGHT: The Milwaukee Bucks are eyeing a possible NBA championship for the first time since 1971 if they win Game 6 of the NBA Finals tonight, which they are leading 3 games to 2. The Phoenix Suns, meanwhile, are hoping to stave off elimination and force a deciding Game 7, in which they'd be vying for the franchise's first-ever title. The teams will be facing off in Milwaukee, where the Bucks have a 9-1 postseason record.
 

➤U-S MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM GOES TO TOKYO WITHOUT LAVINE, WHO'S IN HEALTH PROTOCOLS: The U.S. men's basketball team headed to Tokyo Monday for the Olympics, but they were without guard Zach LaVine, who was put into health and safety protocols yesterday. USA Basketball said it was, quote, "out of an abundance of caution" that LaVine didn't travel with the team, and it's hoped he can rejoin them later this week. He's the third player to be affected this week by the Covid protocols, with Bradley Beal having to leave the team and Jerami Grant in contact tracing quarantine for four days.

➤U.S. WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS TEAM ALTERNATE EAKER POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS: U.S. women's gymnastics team alternate Kara Eaker has tested positive for the coronavirus in an Olympic training camp in Japan. The 18-year-old Eaker was vaccinated two months ago. Eaker and fellow alternate Leanne Wong have been placed in isolation. USA Gymnastics said, "The entire delegation continues to be vigilant and will maintain strict protocols while they are in Tokyo."

🏒NHL'S PREDATORS' PROSPECT COMES OUT AS GAY: A 19-year-old prospect for the Nashville Predators, Luke Prokop, came out as gay yesterday, making him the first player signed to an NHL contract to do so. Prokop, a third-round pick in the 2020 draft last fall, made the announcement on Twitter, saying, "It has been quite the journey to get to this point in my life, but I cannot be happier with my decision to come out." NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman commended Prokop for, quote, "sharing his truth and for being so brave," saying, "We do not take the meaning and importance of this announcement lightly." The Predators said in a statement that they are proud of Prokop, quote, "for the courage he is displaying in coming out today," and said they will support him "unequivocally."

🏈RAIDERS PRESIDENT BADAIN RESIGNS AFTER 30 YEARS WITH TEAM: Las Vegas Raiders president Marc Badain resigned on Monday, 30 years after he began with the NFL team as a training camp intern in 1991, an announcement AP said was met with shock in the organization. The 51-year-old said it was time to, quote, "focus on my family and look ahead to new pursuits," and thanked owner Mark Davis. After moving up in the organization, Badain became interim president in 2013, and then permanent in the position in 2015.
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