Category: National Issues

Blinken Scraps Trump Administration’s Global Attack On Gay Human Rights

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The Biden administration has thrown out a report from the Trump administration that human rights groups criticized for devaluing LGBTQ rights across the globe.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the announcement during a press conference on Tuesday to discuss a 2020 report on the status of human rights that includes some 200 countries and territories.

“There is no hierarchy that makes some rights more important than others,” Blinken said. “Past unbalanced statements that suggest such a hierarchy, including those by the recently disbanded State Department advisory committee do not represent a guiding document for this administration.” Continue reading.

White House unveils $2 trillion infrastructure and climate plan, setting up giant battle over size and cost of government

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Ahead of speech in Pittsburgh, Biden administration releases sprawling effort to revamp U.S. transit, broadband, housing and more

The White House’s unveiling of a $2 trillion jobs, infrastructure and green energy proposal to reshape the U.S. economy met a chorus of opposition late Wednesday, with Republicans panning it as a partisan wish-list, some liberals challenging it as not sufficient to combat climate change and business groups rejecting its proposed tax hikes.

Under what the administration calls the American Jobs Plan, President Biden aims to tackle some of the nation’s most pressing problems — from climate change to decaying water systems to the nation’s crumbling infrastructure.

In a speech Wednesday afternoon at the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Pittsburgh Training Center, Biden pitched his plan as a transformative effort to overhaul the nation’s economy. He called it the most significant federal jobs investment since World War II, saying it would put hundreds of thousands of electricians and laborers to work laying miles of electrical grid and capping hundreds of oil wells. He said the plan’s research funding would make America the global leader in emerging sectors such as battery technology, biotechnology and clean energy. Continue reading.

U.S. women won’t reach pay equity with men for at least 60 years

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Despite some progress, it will take women in North America approximately 61.5 years to have economic parity with men according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report for 2021. 

Why it matters: Women in the U.S. have made strides in political representation, but they still lag behind men in job market participation and income, according to the report.

  • The COVID-19 pandemic has widened disparities, both in the U.S. and abroad, with women exiting the workforce at higher rates “partly due to their disproportionate representation in sectors directly disrupted by lockdowns,” the report says. Continue reading.

GOP Congressman ‘Happy’ To Tout COVID-19 Stimulus Funds That He Voted Against

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, like every other Republican in Congress, opposed the American Rescue Plan.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) sent out a tweet Tuesday touting some funds that community health centers in his district will be receiving ― even though he voted against the legislation that made the money possible.

Cawthorn wrote that he was “happy” to announce that North Carolina’s 11th District received a number of grants from the Department of Health and Human Services.

“Proud to see tax-payer dollars returned to NC-11,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet.  Continue reading.

Consumer confidence surges in March to highest point in year

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer confidence surged in March to the highest reading in a year, helped by increased vaccinations and more government economic support.

The Conference Board said Tuesday its consumer confidence index rose to 109.7 in March, the best showing since it stood at 118.8 in March of last year as the pandemic was beginning to hit the United States. The index stood at 90.4 in February.

The present situations index, based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions, rose to 110.0, up from 89.6 in February. The expectations’ index, based on consumers outlook for income, business and labor market conditions six months into the future, also improved, rising to 109.6 in March, up from a reading of 90.9 in February. Continue reading.

NY court rules Trump must face “Apprentice” contestant defamation suit

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The New York State Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled that former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos’ defamation lawsuit against former President Trump could proceed.

Why it matters: The case could be the first time Trump will have to answer questions in court under oath since he took office in 2017, the New York Times reports.

Context: Zervos filed the defamation lawsuit in 2017, saying that Trump lied when he denied ever groping or kissing her without her consent in 2007, with the former president specifically tweeting that Zervos’ accusations were “made up events THAT NEVER HAPPENED.” Continue reading.

Rand Paul gets schooled by scientists — including one he cited — after lashing out at Anthony Fauci again

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“Sorry Dr Fauci and other fearmongers, new study shows vaccines and naturally acquired immunity DO effectively neutralize COVID variants. Good news for everyone but bureaucrats and petty tyrants!”

— Sen. Rand Paul in a tweet, March 21, 2021

That Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky often disagrees with infectious-disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci is well known.

Recently, the pair clashed at a Senate hearing when Paul, a Republican, argued against mask recommendations for people who have had covid-19 or have been vaccinated against it.

At the hearing, Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, pushed back against Paul’s characterization of wearing masks as “theater.” Continued caution is advised, Fauci said, as scientists study the new variants now circulating in the U.S. and other countries. Continue reading.

Ethics upholds Gohmert’s $5,000 metal detector fine

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The House Ethics Committee said Tuesday that it is upholding the $5,000 fine levied against Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) for bypassing a security screening to enter the House chamber.

Gohmert had appealed the fine issued by the House sergeant-at-arms on Feb. 5, days after House Democrats voted to enact the punitive measure to enforce compliance with the metal detector screenings established following the Jan. 6 insurrection.

But a majority of the House Ethics Committee declined to agree to the appeal, meaning Gohmert is now obligated to pay the $5,000 fine. The panel is evenly split with five Democrats and five Republicans. Continue reading.

Mother of injured DC officer unloads on the GOP after Trump claims Capitol rioters were ‘hugging and kissing’ police

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Speaking to CNN’s Don Lemon this Monday, the mother of a DC Police officer who was brutally assaulted during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 said that she and her family are outraged at former president Donald Trump’s claim that the rioters posed “zero threat” and were even “hugging and kissing” police.”

“For us, for our family, and for each and every police officer that I know that Michael’s in touch with constantly, it’s outrageous. It’s so dehumanizing. It’s so devaluing,” Terry Fanone said.

“The thing that is so profound is after [Trump] made those statements, the silence that followed — and where was the outrage from other people who were there … and the silence to me implies indifference, and I could be wrong, but indifference and complicity,” she said. Continue reading.

COVID-19’s fourth wave is hitting the US hard

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A fourth wave of coronavirus infections is beginning to mount in states across the nation as health experts and officials beg pandemic-exhausted Americans to stay vigilant.

The United States has reported an average of 65,000 new cases in the last seven days, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), up about 10,000 cases per day since the most recent nadir two weeks ago.

Those figures are well below the January apex of the third wave of infections, when a quarter-million people a day were testing positive for the virus.  Continue reading.