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1. Stimulus
The Senate passed the $ 1.9 trillion relief bill on Saturday, but he needs to go back to the House for yet another vote before he reaches President Biden’s table and is put into action. The House vote is scheduled for tomorrow and is expected to pass through party lines once again. Biden would sign it soon after, and people could start receiving stimulus checks in a few days. If everything goes according to plan, it would be a big victory for Biden, especially since the president had to contain the party drama on the hill and convince 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 these $ 1,400 stimulus checks, recipients with information filed with the IRS are likely to see payments first. Others may receive paper checks or prepaid debit cards in the mail.
2. Coronavirus
The United States may be in the “eye of the storm”, according to one expert, instead of facing a steady decline in the pandemic. The cases have stopped falling and are now stabilizing at very high numbers, with the country averaging about 60,000 new cases a day last week. Loosened restrictions and massive spring break events just around the corner can mean serious danger. In addition, variant B.1.1.7, found for the first time in the UK, could fuel more infections in the next six to 14 weeks. It is also important to note that the pandemic is still strong in many places. Brazil has just registered the highest number of coronavirus cases in two months, with 80,000 new infections in a single day.
3. Russia
Online platforms run by Russian intelligence are spreading misinformation about two coronavirus vaccines used in the United States, a State Department spokesman confirmed. The agency’s Global Engagement Center identified three Russian vehicles that are presenting risks and doubts, including one that shares exaggerated reports that Pfizer and Moderna photos are at high risk for a rare side effect. The GEC also found that the media was sowing more misinformation about military conflicts, protests and “any controversial issue that they can explore”. Experts say the reason for the anti-vaccine misinformation is to promote Russia’s rival vaccine, Sputnik V. The Kremlin denied that its intelligence services were leading the disinformation campaign.
4. South Korea
The United States and South Korea reached an agreement on a cost-sharing agreement for US forces based in South Korea. Negotiations on this agreement seriously damaged the alliance during the Trump administration, after the then president Trump demanded that Seoul pay up to 400% more for the presence of the 28,500 soldiers on the peninsula. The new reference fits President Biden’s goal of returning to “normal order”, that is, repairing alliances and engaging with them through established structures. One of the next items on the agenda with South Korea will be to decide on a joint strategy to deal with North Korea – which is not an easy task. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make his first international trip as the United States’ top diplomat to South Korea and Japan next week.
5. Real interview
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry sat down with Oprah for a highly anticipated interview that now threatens to open a racism scandal around Buckingham Palace. Meghan, who is somewhat black, told Oprah that “concerns” were raised by an unidentified family member while she was pregnant about how dark her baby’s skin would be. Harry confirmed the conversation, saying he was “a little shocked” by this. Meghan also said that her life as a British royalty was so isolated that at one point she “no longer wanted to be alive”. The accusations come at a delicate time for the royal family, with Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, recovering after a cardiac procedure. How to get help: In the USA, call National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
BREAKFAST RESEARCH
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott remarried
Wedding bells are so sweet when repeated.
The LeBron team won the NBA All-Star game, but the real winner was HBCUs
The league generated an incredible $ 3 million for historically black colleges and universities.
Here is a complete list of Critics Choice Award winners
Did the critics get it right? Judge from a distance.
Grammy 2021 artists will include Taylor Swift, BTS and Billie Eilish
The full list contains basically all the artists you’ve heard of (and definitely some you’ve never heard of).
You can buy the first tweet. Current bid: $ 2.5 million
Hmmm, let’s limit ourselves to making them for free.
HAPPENING LATER
A striking case advances
Jury selection is scheduled to begin today at the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, one of the officers accused of the assassination of George Floyd last May.
TODAY’S NUMBER
$ 27 billion
That’s how much money Elon Musk lost in the past week, with technology stocks being down and the impressive rise in Tesla’s shares quickly dissolving. Musk did do-do-do-do with Jeff Bezos at the top of Bloomberg’s list of the richest people in the world since January and is now in a distant second place in Bezos’s fortune.
TODAY’S QUOTES
“(Hope is) more powerful than hatred and peace more powerful than war.”
Pope Francis, while conducting a prayer through the rubble of the Iraqi city of Mosul. The pope’s trip marks the first papal visit to Iraq and the pope’s first visit outside Italy since the pandemic began.
TODAY’S CLIMATE
Check your local forecast here >>>
AND FINALLY
Meet the smallest owl in the world
We’re all going to be as industrious this week as this little elf owl. (Click here to view.)