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1. Stimulus
President-elect Joe Biden has unveiled a $ 1.9 trillion proposal to boost the United States economy and provide aid to those struggling with the pandemic. Called the American Rescue Plan, it includes enhanced stimulus checks, improved unemployment benefits, an eviction moratorium and more assistance for small businesses, states and schools. The detailed plan will be one of Biden’s first power tests. Conservatives are likely to resist its cost, especially as Biden plans to reveal a follow-up recovery plan that will include billions more in spending. But Biden’s more progressive colleagues are likely to maintain pressure for more spending and widespread aid.
2. Coronavirus
When Biden takes office as president next week, 400,000 people across the country could be killed by Covid-19, predicts the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Some hospital systems are completely overloaded and health professionals are struggling to find places to store the remains and begging their communities to stay home to contain the flow of patients and the growing death toll. In the UK, hospitals are so crowded that nearby hotels are turning floors into Covid-19 recovery wards. The United Kingdom also prohibited the arrival of some countries in Latin America and Portugal after reports of a new variant of the coronavirus in Brazil.
3. Capitol Riot
“FBI agents are coming to find you.” That’s the message that FBI Director Chris Wray gave yesterday to the Capitol’s violent rebels. The Justice Department announced about 10 new charges in connection with last week’s riot, including two people who allegedly injured police officers and a man who shocked many by carrying a Confederacy flag inside the Capitol. Police officers at the Capitol violation scene shared harrowing accounts of the violence. One said the protesters grabbed his gun and shouted, “Kill him with your own gun”. In the aftermath, some members of Congress said they received threats and fear for their lives. At the Department of Defense, longstanding efforts to end extremism among the military took on a new urgency after it became clear that veterans were involved in last week’s violence.
4. Federal enforcement
Another federal death row inmate was executed yesterday after the Supreme Court denied his legal team’s last effort to suspend execution. Corey Johnson’s lawyers argued that he had an intellectual disability and that executing him while he recovered from Covid-19 would be a cruel and unusual punishment. Johnson was sentenced to death after being convicted of killing seven people in 1992 as part of the drug trade in Virginia. As Biden prepares to take office, dozens of members of Congress are pushing to abolish the death penalty in all jurisdictions. Biden himself pledged to abolish the federal death penalty, which was renewed in practice by the Trump administration. One more person, Dustin Higgs, is scheduled to be executed during Trump’s presidency. Higgs’s execution is scheduled for today.
5. Belgium
Violent protests broke out yesterday in the Belgian capital, Brussels, over the death of a man in police custody. The Brussels prosecutor’s office said it opened an investigation into “involuntary manslaughter” after a 23-year-old black man lost consciousness at a police station shortly after being arrested. He later died in a hospital. The cause of man’s death is not clear. His family was informed that he had a “cardiac abnormality”, but that the condition would not be the only cause of death. The toxicological reports also revealed nothing that could explain the death. Some protesters carried Black Lives Matter signs and shouted, “We want the truth.” About 100 people were arrested during the demonstrations.
BREAKFAST RESEARCH
Jacksonville Jaguars signs Urban Meyer as head coach
Hereafter known as THE Jacksonville Jaguars.
A statue of Dolly Parton can be erected at the Tennessee Capitol
It would be an inspiration for every time you encounter an unglamorous problem and think, “What would Dolly do?”
Patrick Dempsey reveals details about ‘Enchanted’ sequel
The details don’t matter, just give it to us. Give it to us now!
Electric eels hunt in packs, according to research
“Alexa, add ‘Being hunted by a bunch of electric eels’ to my list of irrational fears.”
The number of new skyscrapers fell amid the pandemic’s slowdown
A pity, because they look like they would be great to distance themselves socially.
THIS ONLY IN …
North Korea displays submarine missile
Pyongyang, during a military parade, unveiled a new ballistic missile launched by submarine. North Korea’s state news agency called the missile “the most powerful weapon in the world”. Leader Kim Jong Un likes to show off or discuss his country’s weapons – as a show of strength or as a threat.
TODAY’S NUMBER
9
That’s the number of Chinese companies that the U.S. Department of Defense has added to a list of companies that the agency claims are owned or controlled by the Chinese military. The companies on the list are subject to severe restrictions, including a ban on American investments. This latest round of companies includes smartphone maker Xiaomi.
TODAY’S QUOTES
“I didn’t want to be the next George Floyd.”
Jacob Blake, the black man who was shot and seriously injured in August by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Blake was paralyzed from the waist down after the meeting, and the incident drew widespread protests. Blake described the ordeal during his first interview since the shooting, with “Good Morning America”.
TODAY’S CLIMATE
Check your local forecast here >>>
AND FINALLY
You always just want …
It’s Friday! It’s time for a well-deserved nap. (Click here to view.)