5 things to know for March 5: Coronavirus, stimulus, immigration, Hong Kong, Ethiopia

The Senate debate on the Covid-19 emergency relief bill, called the U.S. Recovery Plan, will begin in earnest today after some theatrical action on the Senate floor yesterday. GOP Senator Ron Johnson forced Senate clerks to read the 628-page bill, a hiatus that lasted for hours, and now Republicans will try to shell out Democratic votes in a process known as’ vote -a-rama ‘. Actually, every amendment to the bill is introduced and discussed in a few minutes, then members get ten minutes to vote. It’s part of the Democrats’ plan to get the bill passed quickly, but Republicans hope to split Dems on parts of the bill. Regardless, Democrats want to pass it this weekend with their narrow majority in the Senate. Want to know what you can earn from the account? Here is an overview of the offers for different situations.

The Biden government is appealing to the Supreme Court to dismiss pending cases concerning ‘sanctuary cities’, restricting co-operation between local law enforcers and federal immigration authorities. The filing is another push to change the position of the Trump administration, which has waged a long battle against sanctuary cities. Lower courts were divided over a Trump-era policy that ordered the Department of Justice to withhold federal money from jurisdictions because of cooperation with immigration enforcement. Eventually, an appeals court ruled that the government could indeed detain such seven states, as well as New York City. There are three cases like this on the high court, and the justice department says it has been agreed with all parties involved.

China’s political elite met this week for a summit in Beijing and Hong Kong’s future is in the balance. During the opening of twin meetings of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee and the National People’s Congress, the NPC spokesman said recent unrest in Hong Kong “showed that the electoral system needs to improve” to ensure “patriots rule.” Proposed changes include the expansion of the Election Commission, a body dominated in Beijing, and the election of the Hong Kong leader. It is likely to dilute the influence of any pro-democracy members and hand over almost all nomination and electoral power to Beijing. The introduction of a national security law and loyal oaths for officials in Hong Kong has caused great unrest in the city. Last weekend, 47 pro-democracy activists were charged under the new law.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says war crimes may have been committed in the Tigray region of Ethiopia after details of a massacre in the city of Dengelat were released last year. Witnesses told CNN that Eritrean soldiers opened fire during a religious festival, claiming the lives of priests, women, entire families and more than 20 Sunday school children. (Eritrea is a neighboring country and an ally of the Ethiopian government.) Amnesty International also claimed that Eritrean forces killed hundreds of unarmed civilians in the city of Axum in November by indiscriminate shelling and extrajudicial killings that could amount to ‘ a crime against humanity. The Eritrean government has denied involvement in the atrocities reported by Amnesty, but has not responded to CNN’s request for comment on the Dengelat massacre. Thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military operation against leaders in the Tigray region.

Isn’t it great that the space is always something cool to look at?

Sit in the front row? Out. Sit in front Lane? In.

“A little less fast, equally furious”

They will buy it on their phone, and buy it at their home.

What is something that feels illegal, but not?

That’s how much Square, the payment company founded and managed by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, agreed to pay to acquire a majority stake in Tidal, the struggling music streaming service owned by Jay-Z.

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, which says former President Trump’s report will be restored when the threat of violence subsides

Let this bird with golden tongues sing to you this weekend. (Click here to see.)