A complicating factor in combating Covid hot spots: Heat
Heat, environmental problems and the pandemic concentrate in certain neighborhoods. Here’s a new idea for what to do about it.
Today's Liberal News
CDC delays guidelines for vaccinated people
The CDC guidelines were expected to be released Thursday but the CDC was told to hold their publishing.
Senate panel deadlocks on advancing Biden’s pick for health secretary
Still, barring any unexpected Democratic defections, Xavier Becerra is likely to be confirmed as early as next week.
Biden’s bubble risk: A reckoning in markets as the economy recovers
“I mean, Shaq has a SPAC. What could go wrong?” one economist says of the euphoria rippling through Wall Street and raising a new round of worries.
Biden targets smallest businesses with exclusive aid window
Only businesses with fewer than 20 employees will be able to apply for aid through the massive Paycheck Protection Program.
Biden’s economic point man draws praise — and pushback
Allies laud Brian Deese’s leadership on the stimulus negotiations, but he’s rubbed some the wrong way.
Biden aims to isolate China on coal — but it could blow back on the U.S.
The U.S. wants to stop new coal projects, but risks losing poor countries to Beijing’s “Belt and Road” agenda.
‘Clearly not healthy’: Markets are giddy about reopening — and that’s the problem
Investors are pumping up bubbles across markets, with excitement growing about more stimulus and widespread vaccinations.
Harris kicks off Senate debate on COVID-19 relief, Republicans make nuisance of themselves
The Senate voted Thursday afternoon to begin debate on President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan with the assistance of Vice President Kamala Harris to make the vote 51-50. Yes, Republicans unanimously opposed even moving forward on providing essential aid to the American people to get out of this pandemic.
Meanwhile, Republican Sen.
Not every Republican is as bone-headed as Greg Abbott, as vaccinations exceed 2 million per day
On Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott decided to toss a big fat distraction on how Republicans turned that state’s energy market into a scheme that generates billions in instant profit from pure human misery. Abbott was just one of several Republican governors who have decided that, now that there’s reasonable leadership in Washington, there’s no longer any need for them to even pretend to be reasonable back at home.
DeSantis is giving vaccines meant for Black communities to wealthy white Floridians
It’s no surprise that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis cares more about the rich than the economically vulnerable. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, DeSantis has not only downplayed the virus, but prioritized the health and safety of those he can profit from.
Citing harm to tribal lands and wildlife, groups call on Biden admin to remove certain border wall
Nearly 70 indigenous rights, wildlife, and civil rights groups are calling on the Biden administration to tear down nearly 60 miles of border fencing erected by the previous administration in Arizona, as well as some fencing along other regions of the border.
Congressional Republicans flip all Trump’s blue-collar union voters the bird
On election night, the same party that added some $2 trillion to the national debt in order to deliver a giant tax break to the rich and corporate-y celebrated the inroads Donald Trump had made with blue-collar voters.
“We are a working class party now. That’s the future,” tweeted Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.
Ultimately, Trump had won some 40% of union households, according to The New York Times.
Charlotte Bennett Recounts Disturbing Exchanges With Gov. Cuomo In CBS Interview
“The fact is that he was sexually harassing me, and he has not apologized for sexually harassing me,” the former aide to Andrew Cuomo said.
Why a Prominent Group of Catholic Bishops Is Objecting to the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
What will the impact be?
West Virginia’s GOP Governor Calls Lifting Mask Mandates An Ill-Advised ‘Macho Thing’
“I don’t know really what the big rush to get rid of the mask is, because these masks have saved a lot of lives,” said Jim Justice.
Republicans Who Voted To Overturn Election Say Congress Should Stay Out Of Elections
GOP lawmakers didn’t care about leaving elections to the states when they tried to hand victory to Trump on Jan. 6.
The Pandemic’s Future Hangs in Suspense
COVID-19 cases dropped about 5 percent this week, while testing rose 12 percent as backlogs in reported tests—always a little slower to recover than reported cases—rolled in following disruptive mid-February storms. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 dropped almost 16 percent week over week, making this the seventh straight week of sharp declines in hospitalizations.
Why Republicans Might Be Open to a Minimum Wage Hike
The issue used to be a nonstarter for the GOP. Here’s what changed.
Senate Advances $1.9 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Bill Despite GOP Opposition
Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has vowed to delay final passage for hours by making the Senate’s clerk read the entire bill aloud.
Keep Your Locks Nourished Between Cuts With This Popular Hair Mask, Now on Sale
The Brigeo “Don’t Despair, Repair!” Deep Conditioning Mask is now $29, or 20 percent off.
J&J vaccine the ’accelerant’ to reopening schools in New Jersey, Murphy says
It’s been nearly a year since New Jersey’s 1.4 million K-12 students have been in classrooms full-time.
Insurrectionist Photographed In Nancy Pelosi’s Office Says It’s Unfair He Remains Jailed
“They’re dragging this out. They’re letting everyone else out,” Richard Barnett yelled during a court hearing.
The Atlantic Daily: The Future of American Voting Rights Is on the Line
Every weekday evening, our editors guide you through the biggest stories of the day, help you discover new ideas, and surprise you with moments of delight. Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox.The future of voting rights in America is on the line. “It’s no exaggeration to say that future Americans could view the resolution of this struggle as a turning point in the history of U.S. democracy,” my colleague Ronald Brownstein explains.
How Female Frogs Tune Out Useless, Noisy Males
Before frat parties, there were frog ponds.Literal breeding grounds for some of the world’s noisiest bachelors, these lusty pools are where amphibians gather to woo mates. And as any frog researcher will tell you, they’re “super, super, super loud,” says Valentina Caorsi, a bioacoustician at the University of Trento in Italy.
This Black Hole Probably Shouldn’t Exist
There’s a spot in space, thousands of light-years from here, that might best be described as a cosmic amusement park. A supergiant star, so hot that it glows electric blue, and a black hole spin around each other at extraordinary speeds, orbiting so closely that some of the star’s material is pulled toward the black hole. The stellar particles swirl around the invisible object in a tilt-a-whirl of luminous reds and oranges.
America’s Legalistic Culture Is About to Become a Problem
As vaccine production and distribution accelerate, a new set of challenges around what Americans can and should demand of one another is emerging. And we’re not ready for them. The public has been told for the past year that we need to mask up, physically distance, and lock down for the greater good.
Abbott: Texas mask mandate rollback ‘isn’t going to make that big of a change’
The Republican governor also criticized President Joe Biden for accusing him of “neanderthal thinking.
Mumia Abu-Jamal Tests Positive for COVID, Prompting Urgent Call to Release Elder Political Prisoners
Renowned political prisoner and journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal’s lawyers confirmed Wednesday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and also has congestive heart disease. Abu-Jamal also suffers from the preexisting conditions of liver disease, which advocates say is directly related to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections’ failure to treat his hepatitis C in a timely fashion. Mumia’s doctor, Dr. Ricardo Alvarez, says the only appropriate treatment is freedom.
Marc Lamont Hill & Mitchell Plitnick on ICC Probe & the “Palestine Exception” in Progressive Politics
Israel and the United States blasted the International Criminal Court’s decision to open a probe into Israeli war crimes in the Palestinian territories, as well as crimes committed by Palestinian militant groups. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted that the Biden administration “firmly opposes” an investigation.