Government

House GOP Defies Trump, Blocks $2000 Stimulus Deal

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 …

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CA Doubles Case Count To 2 Million In Just Six Weeks

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 …

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CDC: 1M Americans Have Gotten First COVID Shot

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 …

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CA Sec. Of State Alex Padilla To Succeed Kamala Harris

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 …

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Ontario Province To Enter “Hard Lockdown” On 12/26

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 …

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Fauci And Azar To Get COVID Vaccine Tomorrow

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. …

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Saudi Arabia Closes Borders Over New COVID Strain

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 …

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Senate Reaches Deal On Stimulus Relief Package

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. …

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Warren Bill Would Ban Lawmakers From Trading Stocks

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 …

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Enlistees In The Space Force To Be Called “Guardians”

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 …

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Govt Shutdown Averted With Two-Day Spending Bill

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 …

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Obama Records Campaign Ads For Rafael Warnock

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 …

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Inhofe: Stimulus Deal Or Not, I’m Leaving Tomorrow

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 …

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Ailing Macron Blames Himself For Contracting COVID

Agence France-Presse reports: French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday blamed his COVID-19 on a combination of negligence and bad luck, urging his compatriots to stay safe as critics called out slip-ups in his behavior to prevent infection, from a close-quarters handshake to repeated big-group meals over the past week. In what looked like a self-shot video from the presidential retreat …

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Southern California Hospitals Report ICUs At 100%

Los Angeles’ ABC News affiliate reports: The ICU capacity in the 11-county Southern California region has dropped to 0% amid a dramatic surge in coronavirus cases, officials said Thursday. California hospitals are required to report the total number of all available staffed ICU beds each day. Regional ICU capacity is calculated by subtracting neonatal and pediatric intensive care beds from …

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GOP Senator Warns Of Govt Shutdown This Weekend

The Hill reports: Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) warned on Thursday that the government could briefly shut down over the weekend as talks over a sweeping deal to pass funding and provide coronavirus relief drag on. “I mean I’ve already — I know people who are gonna object to that, that want to keep pressure on the process until …

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French President Emmanuel Macron Tests COVID+

Reuters reports: French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for coronavirus, his office said on Thursday, sparking a track and trace effort targeting EU leaders and senior officials who met him in recent days. “The President of the Republic has been diagnosed positive for COVID-19 today,” Macron’s office said in a statement. “This diagnosis was made following a PCR test …

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NYC Gets Warning Of “Blizzard-Like Conditions”

Gothamist reports: Mayor Bill de Blasio gave an update this afternoon on the anticipated snowbonanza, relaying the NWS forecast of 8-12 inches of snow between Wednesday and Thursday, though he stressed that that number could change in the next 24 hours. It’s expected to begin snowing around 4 p.m., but Thursday morning is when there could be dangerous “blizzard-like conditions” …

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DC Asks Congress For $45M To Host Inauguration

The Washington Post reports: As District leaders prepare to shell out tens of millions of dollars on the presidential inauguration, they are sounding alarm bells over the federal government’s failure to repay them for the costs of Trump’s inauguration four years ago. The federal government is supposed to cover expenses related to federal activity in the District, but Congress has …

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FDA Approves First OTC Fully At-Home COVID Test Kit

Via press release from the FDA: Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first over-the-counter (OTC) fully at-home diagnostic test for COVID-19. The Ellume COVID-19 Home Test is a rapid, lateral flow antigen test, a type of test that runs a liquid sample along a surface with reactive molecules. The test detects …

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