Government

The Hill reports: Republican Sen. Pat Toomey (Pa.) on Tuesday evening announced he would object to a request to swiftly pass House-approved legislation to increase the amount of direct stimulus checks to $2,000. Toomey is one of several Republican senators who would object to such a request, including Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), according to a Senate …

Politico reports: Congress’ attending physician informed lawmakers Monday night that two staffers in every House member and senator’s personal offices are now eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine. In addition, the Office of the Attending Physician is offering the vaccine to four staffers of every committee chair and every ranking committee member. The announcement, a memo from Brian Monahan to …

The Dallas Morning News reports: Texas has set a new record for how many of its residents are in the hospital because of coronavirus, with 11,351 as of Monday. The previous high of 10,893 was set on July 22. Twelve of Texas’ 22 trauma regions now have high hospitalization rates, triggering an automatic dial-back of restaurants and businesses to half-capacity, …

Gothamist reports: Health care providers who fraudulently obtain and distribute the coronavirus vaccine could lose their licenses and face up to $1 million in fines, under a new executive order announced Monday by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The threat comes amid a widening fraud investigation into ParCare Community Health Network, a chain of urgent care clinics catering to Orthodox Jews in …

USA Today reports: The House on Monday approved giving Americans weathering the coronavirus pandemic $2,000 stimulus checks, substantially boosting payments from the $600 checks that were set to be given out as part of a COVID-19 relief package that President Donald Trump signed into law Sunday evening. The bill, which passed in a 275 – 134 vote, needed need support …

The New York Daily News reports: New York’s COVID stats skyrocketed over the weekend, but it remains unclear if the spike is a post-holiday surge or due to a dip in testing, Gov. Cuomo said Monday. The percentage of New Yorkers who tested positive for the virus rose to 8.3% on Sunday, a 3% uptick from two days prior, which …

The New York Times reports: The New York Legislature is expected on Monday to pass one of the most comprehensive anti-eviction laws in the nation, as the state contends with high levels of unemployment and a pandemic that has taken 37,000 lives statewide. For months, tenants and advocacy groups have been dreading the end-of-year expiration of eviction bans that have …

The Washington Post reports: House Republicans on Thursday blocked an effort by House Democrats to approve $2,000 stimulus payments for millions of Americans. Democrats were seeking to advance the measure after President Trump demanded it on Tuesday night, breaking with many of his fellow Republicans. House Democratic leadership attempted to advance the measure by “unanimous consent,” but the effort was …

The San Jose Mercury News reports: It took more than nine months for California to record 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. It has taken less than six weeks to see 1 million more. Once regarded as a model for stopping the spread of COVID-19, California on Wednesday passed 2 million recorded cases of the deadly illness, reaching the milestone …

Politico reports: More than 1 million Americans have received Covid shots, but the government isn’t likely to make good on the goal of vaccinating 20 million people by the end of this month, federal officials said Wednesday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention touted breaking the 1 million mark 10 days after the start of the most ambitious immunization …

CNN reports: Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to fill Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ Senate seat on Tuesday, choosing the first Latino in state history for the role. “His appointment will make history. But the @AlexPadilla4CA I know is far more interested in changing history — especially for the working men and women of our state …

The Guardian reports: Canada’s most populous province is to enter a “hard lockdown” as Ontario experiences an alarming rate of new coronavirus cases before the Christmas holidays. “Thousands of lives are at stake now,” said Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, on Monday, as he announced a slate of new restrictions that go into effect on Boxing Day. “If we fail to …

1010 WINS reports: Dr. Anthony Fauci and U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will receive their COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday. In a tweet, Azar said he, Fauci and National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins would get vaccinated on Tuesday, without providing an exact time. Tomorrow I’ll receive my COVID-19 vaccine @NIH alongside @NIHDirector, @NIAIDNews Dr. …

Reuters reports: Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended international flights and closed its land and sea borders to prevent the spread of an infectious new coronavirus strain first identified in Britain. The covid-19 variant has now been detected in at least five other countries, prompting several countries to ban flights from Britain. In a report late Sunday, the official Saudi Press …

The Washington Post reports: Senate leadership announced a bipartisan deal on an approximately $900 billion economic relief package late Sunday afternoon that would deliver emergency aid to a faltering economy and a nation besieged by surging coronavirus cases. After months of contentious negotiations and seemingly intractable partisan gridlock, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. …

The Hill reports: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) announced Friday she’s reintroducing a bill to prohibit lawmakers from trading stocks as Democrats look to make the issue a key aspect of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs. The reintroduction of the bill by Warren and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) coincides with scrutiny Georgia Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R) and David Perdue (R) are facing …

Stars And Stripes reports: Troops serving in Space Force are now referred to as Guardians, Vice President Mike Pence announced Friday. “It is my honor on behalf of the president to announce henceforth the men and women of the United States Space Force will be known as Guardians,” Pence said during a ceremony to celebrate Space Force’s first birthday, which …

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump signed a two-day government funding bill into law Friday night as Congress tries to buy time to strike a spending and coronavirus relief deal. The president inked the legislation to keep the government running about an hour-and-a-half before a midnight deadline to pass spending legislation. The stopgap measure would fund federal operations through Sunday until …

The Hill reports: Former President Obama cut three digital ads in support of the Rev. Raphael Warnock ahead of the Georgia Senate runoffs in January that will determine control of the Senate. “John Lewis wrote that ‘Democracy is not a state. It is an act.’ Georgia, the time to act is now. Let’s send Raphael Warnock to the Senate to …

Mediaite reports: Senator James Inhofe (R- OK) said on Friday that he’s going to leave on Saturday and said Congress should get the stimulus deal done before then. Inhofe spoke on the Senate floor Friday, talking about a number of historical events that have happened in December 19th, before saying that day is his anniversary. And Inhofe made a point …