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Stimulus
The Senate passed the $ 1.9 billion relief bill on Saturday, but it must return to the House once again before it can reach President Biden’s desk and be implemented. The vote of the House is set for tomorrow, and it is expected to succeed again along the party lines. Biden would sign it shortly thereafter, and people could start getting stimulus checks within a few days. If all goes according to plan, it’s going to be a big win for Biden, especially since the president had to step up a biased drama on the hill and persuade moderate Democrats, like Senator Joe Manchin, to stay in line. More importantly, lawmakers hope it will be a major victory for the American people. When it comes to the $ 1,400 stimulus checks, recipients with information submitted to the IRS are likely to see the payments first. Others may receive paper checks or prepaid debit cards by mail.
2. Coronavirus
According to an expert, the US could be in the “eye of the hurricane” instead of riding on a steady decline in pandemic. Cases have stopped declining and are now very high, and the country has averaged about 60,000 new cases a day in the past week. Relaxed restrictions and massive spring holidays around the corner can pose serious danger. Plus, the B.1.1.7 variant, first found in the UK, can trigger more infections over the next six to 14 weeks. It is also important to note that the pandemic is still tough in many places. Brazil has just recorded its highest number of coronavirus cases in two months, with 80,000 new infections in one day.
3. Russia
Online platforms led by Russian intelligence are spreading disinformation about two coronavirus vaccines being used in the US, a State Department spokesman confirmed. The agency’s Global Engagement Center has identified three Russian stores that play risks and doubts, including one that shares exaggerated reports that the photos of Pfizer and Moderna have a high risk of a rare side effect. The GEC also found that the outlets had sown more disinformation about military conflicts, protests and ‘any divisive issue they could exploit’. Experts believe that the reason for the disinformation against vaccine is to promote the Russian rival Sputnik V. The Kremlin denied that its intelligence services were at the forefront of the disinformation campaign.
4. South Korea
The US and South Korea have agreed on a cost-sharing agreement for US troops in South Korea. Negotiations on this deal severely hampered the alliance during the Trump administration after then-President Trump demanded that Seoul pay up to 400% more for the presence of the 28,500 troops on the peninsula. The new benchmark fits in with President Biden’s aim to return to ‘ordinary order’, namely to restore alliances and enter into dialogue with them through established structures. One of the next issues on the agenda with South Korea is the decision on a joint strategy to deal with North Korea – not an easy task. Foreign Minister Antony Blinken will embark on his first international trip as the top US diplomat to South Korea and Japan next week.
5. Royal interview
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry have sat down with Oprah for a highly anticipated interview that now threatens to spark a racism scandal surrounding Buckingham Palace. Meghan, who is half black, told Oprah that an unnamed family member had ‘concerns’ while she was pregnant about how dark their baby’s skin would be. Harry confirms the conversation and says he’s a little shocked about it. Meghan also said that her life as a British kingdom was so separate that at one point she ‘did not want to live anymore’. The accusations come at a difficult time for the royal family, with Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, following a heart procedure. How to get help: call the National lifeline for suicide prevention at 1-800-273-8255.
BREAKFAST Browse
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott remarried
Wedding bells are just as sweet on repeat.
Team LeBron won the NBA All-Star Game, but the real winner was HBCUs
The league raised a cool $ 3 million for historic black colleges and universities.
Here is a complete list of the Critics Choice Award winners
Did the critics get it right? Rate away.
Grammys 2021 artists will include Taylor Swift, BTS and Billie Eilish
The complete list contains basically every artist you’ve ever heard of (and certainly some of which you have not yet).
You can buy the first tweet. Current bid: $ 2.5 million
Hmmm, we would love to make it free.
LATER HAPPENS
A historic case moves forward
The jury’s selection begins today in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, one of the officers charged with the murder of George Floyd in May last year.
TODAY’S NUMBER
$ 27 billion
That’s how much money Elon Musk lost last week when technology stocks were hammered and the amazing rise in Tesla shares was quickly unraveled. Musk has topped Bloomberg’s list of the richest people in the world with Jeff Bezos since January and is now a distant second place to Bezos’ fortune.
TODAY’S QUOTE
“(Hope is) more powerful than hatred and peace more powerful than war.”
Pope Francis, while praying amid the rubble of the Iraqi city of Mosul. The pope’s trip is the very first visit to Iraq and the first visit to the pope outside Italy since the pandemic began.
TODAY’S WEATHER
Check out your local forecast here >>>
AND FINALLY
Meet the world’s smallest owl
Let us all be just as diligent this week as this little owl. (Click here to see.)