On Thursday night, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced she would not seek a second term as Atlanta’s mayor during a private call with staffers and friends. Bottoms, the second Black woman to lead Atlanta, was first elected in 2017, beating then-Atlanta City Councilwoman Mary Norwood after the election went …
Read More »Biden Administration Supports Waiving Vaccine Intellectual Property Rules
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced its support for waiving intellectual property protections for coronavirus vaccines with the aim of getting “as many safe and effective vaccines to as many people as fast as possible.” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai wrote in a statement that the coronavirus pandemic calls for …
Read More »Cheney Doubles Down As House GOP Seeks To Remove Her From Leadership
Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, whose leadership role is under threat from her fellow Republicans, laid out a grim assessment for her party: The GOP has reached “a turning point,” and if it doesn’t break from former President Donald Trump‘s claims about the 2020 election, there will be long-lasting harm. In …
Read More »IRS To Start Sending Unemployment Benefit Tax Refunds This Month
The IRS will start issuing extra refund checks on 2020 unemployment benefits later this month. The American Rescue Plan, which President Joe Biden signed into law on March 11, retroactively waived federal taxes on the first $10,200 worth of unemployment aid received per person in 2020. Married taxpayers filing jointly …
Read More »President Biden Raises U.S. Refugee Cap to 62.5K for 2021
In a policy reversal Monday, President Joe Biden announced his administration will raise the refugee admissions cap to its previously announced goals of 62,500 for the fiscal year 2021 and 125,000 in 2022. Biden announced the decision after receiving widespread criticism over a move last month to leave the 2021 refugee …
Read More »South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem Sues Biden Administration Over Mount Rushmore Fireworks Ban
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration over National Park Service officials’ decision to cancel a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore this coming Independence Day. The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday, April 30, in U.S. District Court, invokes past fireworks celebrations and words …
Read More »Senate Passes $35 Billion Water Infrastructure Bill
The Senate passed the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 on Thursday. The bipartisan passed Senate 89-2. The two “no” votes were Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee(R-Utah). “Access to clean water is a human right and every American deserves access to clean water no matter the color …
Read More »Biden To Launch Biggest Summer Food Program In U.S. History
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new effort on Monday that will feed more than 30 million children over the summer by expanding the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) benefits funded by President Joe Biden‘s American Rescue Plan. P-EBT was established in March 2020 to provide food dollars …
Read More »Republicans Unveil $568 Billion Infrastructure Package
Senate Republicans on Thursday unveiled a $568 billion infrastructure package that, at about a quarter of the price of President Joe Biden‘s proposal, seeks to narrow what is defined as infrastructure. The proposal focuses on roads and bridges, public transportation, railways, drinking water, wastewater, safety, waterways, airports, water storage, and …
Read More »Speaker Pelosi Formally Invites Biden To Address Joint Session of Congress
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday invited President Joe Biden to attend a joint session of Congress later this month. The address is not an official State of the Union because a president’s first speech before Congress is not considered a State of the Union. In a letter to Biden, Pelosi …
Read More »Biden Promises Help To Tackle Drug Addiction Crisis
The Biden Administration revealed its first-year plan to address the nation’s addiction crisis, with 7 priorities highlighted and a focus on the inequality of treatment access. In a video message delivered during the 10th annual Drug and Heroin Summit, President Biden noted that fatal opioid overdoses surged last year as …
Read More »U.S. Gun Background Checks Broke One-Month Record In March
The rate of gun background checks in the United States—a rough correlator to how many guns are being sold here—shattered records in March, breaking four million checks for the second time in history and blowing past the earlier one-month record set in January. The FBI performed nearly 4.7 million background …
Read More »Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Includes $100 Billion To Close Digital Divide
President Joe Biden has proposed investing $100 billion in an effort to make high-speed internet available throughout the country and affordable for every American. Likening the investment to the 1936 Rural Electrification Act, which brought power to farms and country towns throughout the heartland as part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s …
Read More »The Bidens Encourages Americans To Get Vaccinated In Easter Message
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden delivered a message of hope on Easter Sunday as they encouraged Americans to get vaccinated. From our family to yours, we wish you health, hope, joy, and peace. Happy Easter, everyone! pic.twitter.com/3NHPrbFCVt — President Biden (@POTUS) April 4, 2021 In a video …
Read More »Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Wants To Ban Vaccine Passports
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order on Friday prohibiting vaccine passports. A vaccine passport is proof that you’ve tested negative for or been protected against certain infections, COVID-19 in this case. It can be digital, like a phone app, or physical, such as a small paper card. “Today …
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