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1. Stimulus
President-elect Joe Biden has unveiled a $ 1.9 trillion proposal to boost the US economy and help those struggling with the pandemic. Called the American Rescue Plan, it includes strengthened incentive controls, improved unemployment benefits, an eviction moratorium, and more help for small businesses, states, and schools. The detailed plan will be one of the first tests of Biden’s power. Conservatives are likely to recoil at the expense of costs, especially as Biden plans to unveil a follow-up recovery plan that will include billions more in spending. But Biden’s more progressive colleagues are likely to continue to push for more spending and widespread aid.
2. Coronavirus
By the time Biden is sworn in as president next week, 400,000 people across the country could be dead from Covid-19, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts. Some hospital systems are now completely overwhelmed and health workers are rushing to find places to store remains, begging their communities to stay at home to stop the influx of patients and the rising death toll. In the UK, hospitals are so crowded that nearby hotels are turning floors into Covid-19 recovery wards. The UK has also banned arrivals from some Latin American countries and Portugal following reports of a new coronavirus variant in Brazil.
3. Capitol riots
“FBI agents are looking for you.” That’s the message from FBI Director Chris Wray yesterday for violent insurgents in the Capitol. The Justice Department announced about 10 new charges in connection with last week’s riot, including for two people who allegedly hurt police officers and a man who shocked many by carrying a Confederate flag in the Capitol. Police officers at the site of the Capitol breach have shared poignant accounts of the violence. One of them said rioters grabbed his weapon and shouted, “Kill him with his own gun.” In the aftermath, some members of Congress have said they have received threats and fears for their lives. At the Defense Department, protracted efforts to eradicate extremism among military members have taken on a new urgency after it became clear that veterans were involved in last week’s violence.
4. Federal execution
Another federal death row inmate was executed yesterday after the Supreme Court denied its legal team’s last-ditch effort for a stay of execution. Lawyers for Corey Johnson argued that he was mentally challenged and that executing him while he was recovering from Covid-19 would amount to a cruel and unusual punishment. Johnson was sentenced to death after being convicted in 1992 of killing seven people as part of the Virginia drug trade. As Biden prepares to take office, dozens of members of Congress are pushing for the abolition of the death penalty in all jurisdictions. Biden himself has pledged to abolish the federal death penalty, which was extended in practice by the Trump administration. One more person, Dustin Higgs, will be executed during Trump’s presidency. Higgs’s execution is scheduled for today.
5. Belgium
Yesterday violent protests broke out in the Belgian capital Brussels over the death of a man in police custody. The Brussels prosecutor’s office says it has opened an investigation into “involuntary manslaughter” after a 23-year-old black man lost consciousness at a police station shortly after his arrest. He later died in a hospital. The cause of death of the man is not clear. His family was told he had a “heart defect,” but that this condition would not be the only cause of death. Toxicology reports also revealed nothing that would explain death. Some protesters wore Black Lives Matter signs and shouted, “We want the truth.” About 100 people were arrested during the demonstrations.
BREAKFAST LEAF
Jacksonville Jaguars hire Urban Meyer as the head trainer
Henceforth known as THE Jacksonville Jaguars.
A Dolly Parton statue can be erected in the Tennessee Capitol
It would be an inspiration to all those times when you run into a non-glamorous problem and think, “What would Dolly do?”
Patrick Dempsey details the sequel to ‘Enchanted’
The details don’t matter, just give it to us. Give it to us now!
Electric eels hunt in packs, research finds
Alexa, add, ‘Getting hunted by a bunch of electric eels,’ to my list of irrational fears. “
The number of new skyscrapers has fallen due to a slowdown in the pandemic
Shame as they seem to be great for socializing.
THIS ONLY IN …
North Korea shows off submarine missiles
Pyongyang unveiled a new submarine-launched ballistic missile during a military parade. North Korea’s state-run news agency considered the missile “the most powerful weapon in the world.” Leader Kim Jong-un likes to show off or argue about his country’s weapons – as a show of power or as a threat.
TODAY’S NUMBER
9
That’s the number of Chinese companies the US Department of Defense has added to a list of companies the agency claims are owned or controlled by the Chinese military. Companies on the list are subject to severe restrictions, including a ban on US investments. This latest line of companies includes smartphone maker Xiaomi.
TODAY QUOTE
“I didn’t want to be the next George Floyd.”
Jacob Blake, the black man who was shot and seriously injured by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin in August. Blake was paralyzed from the waist down after the meeting and the incident provoked much protest. Blake described the ordeal during his first interview since the “Good Morning America” shooting.
TODAY’S WEATHER
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AND FINALLY
You ever just want …
It is Friday! Time for a well-deserved nap. (Click here to view.)