Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Senate Passes Infrastructure Bill

After weeks of negotiations that sometimes appeared might go off the rails, the Senate yesterday passed the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure legislation, a centerpiece of President Biden's agenda. There were 19 Republicans joining with all the Democrats in the 69-30 vote, providing rare bipartisan agreement in today's Congress. Biden said from the White House after the midday vote, "Today, we proved that democracy can still work. We can still come together to do big things, important things, for the American people."

The measure provides funding for items like roads, bridges, water pipes, public transit and airports, as well as protecting utility systems from cyberattacks, modernizing the electrical grid, and shoring up coastlines against climate change. The bipartisanship won't hold, however, for the next part of what Democrats have planned, a $3.5 trillion package that includes things like child care, elder care and other more partisan programs that is expected to take into the fall to get done and be passed using reconciliation without any Republican votes.




➤CUOMO RESIGNS UNDER IMPEACHMENT THREAT: New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday that he will resign, as he faced a looming impeachment threat in the wake of an investigation concluding that he sexually harassed 11 women, among them state employees, including by touching them inappropriately, commenting on their appearance or making suggestive comments about their sex lives. 

Even as he said that he would step down in 14 days, saying it was "the best way I can help now . . . and let government get back to governing," Cuomo still denied any intentional wrongdoing, portraying the incidents as misunderstandings, and called the probe politically motivated, "unfair" and "untruthful." Taking over will be Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, who's also a Democrat and will be New York's first woman governor. She called the third-term governor's resignation "the right thing to do and in the best interest of New Yorkers." Cuomo is still facing the possibility of criminal charges over the allegations, with at least one accuser having filed a criminal complaint.

➤VACCINATIONS NEARLY DOUBLED FROM LAST MONTH: The average pace of people getting first doses of a coronavirus vaccine in the U.S. has nearly doubled from a month ago, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The increase comes as Covid-19 has surged again in the country, driven by the highly-contagious delta variant. Some of the biggest increases are in states that had lower vaccination rates and are having some of the worst Covid surges. Also having an effect is getting vaccinations, which are approved in those age 12 and over, done before the school year.

➤U.S. SECURITY OFFICIALS IN MEXICO FOR TALKS ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: Senior administration members, including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, met with their counterparts in Mexico yesterday for talks about illegal immigration to the U.S. The intent is to discuss working together to slow crossings at the U.S. border, as well as other economic and security issues and Covid-19 response. Migrants have been arriving at the border in large numbers, despite the hot summer weather that usually deters people from coming.

➤CHRISTINA APPLEGATE DIAGNOSED WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS:  Christina Applegate announced on Twitter Tuesday that she has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

The Anchorman star wrote, “A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some ass**** blocks it.”

This isn’t the first serious health problem the Dead To Me actress has had to face. In 2008, she battled breast cancer after which she had a double mastectomy and had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.

The Married With Children alum received well wishes online from fans and actors like Josh Gad, Jamie Lee Curtis and her former The Sweetest Thing costar Selma Blair, who also has MS. Blair wrote, “Loving you always. Always here. As are our kids. Beating us up with love.”

➤MARRIAGE ON THE RISE FOR OVER 65s: Over 65 and divorced? There’s hope yet. A report by the Office for National Statistics shows a significant boost in “silver splitters” getting remarried. Dating apps may be behind this trend. While the ONS reports that marriage has generally been on the decline for those in the younger age bracket, tying the knot increased by 46% between 2004 and 2014 for those aged 65 and older. This occurrence has steadily been on the rise since 2009. Access to dating websites and financial independence are believed to be the causes.

➤VOTING MACHINE MAKER DOMINION SUES NEWSMAX, OANN, EX-OVERSTOCK CEO OVER ELECTION CLAIMS: Voting machine maker Dominion Voting Systems filed defamation lawsuits yesterday against right-wing broadcasters Newsmax and One America News Network, their executives and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne over their false claims that Dominion rigged last November's presidential election for Joe Biden. The suits contend the claims have cost Dominion $1.6 billion in lost profits, company value and reputational damage. CEO John Poulos said in a statement, "We are filing . . . because the defendants named show no remorse, nor any sign they intend to stop spreading disinformation." Dominion filed similar defamation suits earlier this year against Fox News and Donald Trump allies Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

➤NSA INSPECTOR GENERAL TO PROBE ALLEGATION OF 'IMPROPERLY TARGETING' TUCKER CARLSON: The National Security Agency's inspector general announced yesterday that it would investigate allegations that the NSA, quote, "improperly targeted the communications" a U.S. news media member after Fox News host Tucker Carlson charged the agency tried to shut down his show. Carlson hasn't provided evidence for the claim. Carlson first claimed in June that a whistleblower had contacted him and that the NSA was, quote, "monitoring our electronic communications and is planning to leak them in an attempt to take this show off the air." The agency released a rare statement in response denying the accusation, saying, "Tucker Carlson has never been an intelligence target of the Agency and the NSA has never had any plans to try to take his program off the air."

➤GOOGLE'S REMOTE WORKERS WILL TAKE PAYCUTS BASED ON LOCATION: Google employees who work from home indefinitely may face a pay cut. Those who live father away would likely take the biggest cut, with those still located closest to headquarters maintaining more of their pay. Google spokesperson told Reuters, “Our compensation packages have always been determined by location, and we always pay at the top of the local market based on where an employee works from." Facebook and Twitter are also testing out similar pay models.


➤UPTICK IN PEOPLE WHO WOULD QUIT OVER VACCINE MANDATES: Employers are going to have a hard time keeping workers happy. New research from Qualtrics found that the portion of Americans who say they would consider leaving their jobs if their workplaces made vaccination necessary has ticked upward, from 39% in March to 44% in August. However, the same survey shows that 38% of workers would consider leaving their current employer if the organization did not enact a vaccine mandate. Gen Z workers are the most likely to leave if vaccines are not mandated with Boomers being the least likely to quit over the lack of a mandatory vaccination policy.


➤MAJORITY OF DIETS AMONG CHILDREN AND TEENS CONSIST OF “ULTRA-PROCESSED” FOOD:  Wondering what’s for dinner? According to research published by the medical journal JAMA, two-thirds of the food children and teens in the U.S. consume is ultra-processed. “Frozen pizza, microwaved meals, packaged snacks and desserts” made up 67% of diets in 2018, compared to 61% in 1999. Black, non-Hispanic children and teens consumed more ultra-processed foods than their White counterparts, while Mexican American children and teens consumed less, “which authors said could reflect more home cooking among Hispanic families.” Meanwhile, efforts to cut back soda consumption have been successful, as the drinking of “sugar-sweetened beverages dropped from 10.8% to 5.3%.”



🏀DONCIC SIGNS $207 MILLION EXTENSION WITH MAVERICKS: Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic signed a $207 million rookie supermax extension yesterday, doing so in his native Slovenia, where Mavericks bigwigs had traveled for the occasion. Speaking at a news conference with Dallas owner Mark Cuban next to him, the 22-year-old Doncic said, "I still kind of don’t know what to say because I never imagined this happening. I was only dreaming of only playing in the NBA." New general manager Nico Harrison and new head coach Jason Kidd also made the trip to Slovenia.

 🏀SCHRODER AGREES TO ONE-YEAR DEAL WITH CELTICS AFTER REJECTING LAKERS EXTENSION: Point guard Dennis Schroder has agreed to a one-year, $5.9 million deal with the Boston Celtics, according to reports yesterday (August 10th), which were confirmed by the 27-year-old in a social media post. The agreement came after Schroder apparently took a gamble and lost, with ESPN reporting he turned down a four-year, $84 million contract extension with the L.A. Lakers, hoping to get a contract of close to $100 million in free agency.

⚽MESSI SIGNS WITH PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN: Less than a week after the shocking news that soccer great Lionel Messi wouldn't be returning to FC Barcelona, where he'd been for his entire 17-year career, because of financial issues, the 34-year-old signed with Paris Saint-German last night (August 10th). The French club said Messi signed a two-year deal with an option for a third season, and AP cited a source as saying he's set to earn about $41 million annually.


🥊SPENCE OUT OF PACQUIAO FIGHT DUE TO EYE INJURY: Errol Spence Jr. has dropped out of his planned August 21st pay-per-view fight against Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas due to a retinal tear in his left eye that was discovered in his pre-fight medical exam. Promoters said yesterday that WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas will step in to fight Pacquiao on the same date.

🏒HOCKEY HALL OF FAMER TONY ESPOSITO OF BLACKHAWKS DEAD AT 78: Hockey Hall of Famer Tony Esposito, who spent nearly his entire 16-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1970s and '80s, died of pancreatic Monday. He was 78. Esposito, who was a goalie, won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year as well as the Vezina Trophy given to the top goaltender in 1972 and 1974. He is Chicago’s career leader with 418 wins and 74 shutouts and his overall record of 423-306-151 ranks 10th in league history. Esposito was chosen by the league in 2017 as one of the "100 Greatest Players in NHL History."
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