The New York Times reporter who went viral for claiming that the coronavirus lab-leak theory has “racist roots” has deleted her own Twitter account. 

Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and health reporter who spent much of the past year covering the pandemic, tweeted on Wednesday, “Someday we will stop talking about the lab leak theory and maybe even admit its racist roots. But alas, that day is not yet here.” 

She eventually deleted it, but she didn’t back off from her argument.

NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER APOLOGIZES FOR CRITICIZING LAB LEAK CORONAVIRUS THEORY AS RACIST

“A theory can have racist roots and still gather reasonable supporters along the way,” Mandavilli responded to a critic. “Doesn’t make the roots any less racist or the theory any more convincing, though.”

The Times reporter later claimed that the notion the virus escaped from a lab was “possible” but not “plausible.”

“And almost impossible to disprove, meaning it will probably not go away till people lose interest,” Mandavilli wrote.

She later issued an apology, writing “I deleted my earlier tweets about the origins of the pandemic because they were badly phrased. The origin of the pandemic is an important line of reporting that my colleagues are covering aggressively.”

However, Mandavilli appeared to have completely scrubbed her Twitter account on Thursday. 

The Times did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment. 

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Mandavilli’s tweets faced an intense backlash with critics saying that they captured how members of the media were so dismissive of the lab-leak theory a year ago.

Now, many media outlets have changed their tune after the Wall Street Journal reported that US intelligence believes at least three Wuhan scientists were hospitalized with COVID-like symptoms back in November 2019.  

Fox News’ David Rutz contributed to this report. 

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-york-times-apoorva-mandavilli-twitter-account

California has become the latest state to offer a vaccine lottery to incentivize getting the coronavirus vaccine – launching the nation’s most valuable single prize draw: $1.5m.

The state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, announced on Thursday that residents will be eligible for a total of $116.5m in prize money giveaways, a windfall aimed at getting millions more vaccinated before the nation’s most populous state fully reopens next month.

The state’s reopening is pegged for 15 June, and on that day a drawing will be held to award 10 vaccinated people the top prize.

Another 30 people will win $50,000 each, with those drawings starting 4 June. Anyone 12 and older who has received at least one shot will be eligible. And the next 2 million people who get vaccinated will get $50 gift cards.

The state estimates about 12 million Californians 12 and older have not been vaccinated. About 63% of the 34 million eligible have gotten shots, though the pace has slowed markedly in recent weeks as infection rates have plummeted to record lows.

Ohio this week announced the first $1m winner of its “Vax-a-Million” contest, as well as the first child to win a full college scholarship. The scheme saw more than 2.7 million adults register for a chance to win.

Colorado and Oregon also offered $1m prizes.

New York is raffling 50 full scholarships to children 12 to 17 to public universities and colleges in the state, selecting 10 winners each of the next five Wednesdays.

That California is turning to cash prizes to encourage vaccinations marks a major turnaround from earlier this year, when Californians clamored for shots, with some driving or waiting in line for hours to get one.

“Some Californians weren’t ready to get their Covd-19 vaccine on day one, and that’s OK. This program is designed to encourage those who need extra support to get vaccinated and help keep California safe,” Dr Tomas J. Aragon, the director of the state’s department of public health, said in a statement.

Newsom’s office said the program would be aimed at reaching people in communities hardest hit by the pandemic – mainly the poor, and Black and Latino people – though it wasn’t immediately clear how the money would be tailored to fit that goal.

California uses a “vaccine equity metric” to track vaccination progress that splits zip codes into four quartiles from least to most advantaged. Nearly half of people in the least advantaged neighborhoods still haven’t been vaccinated, according to the state. By contrast, less than a quarter of people in the most advantaged areas haven’t been vaccinated.

Among all Latinos, 57% are not yet vaccinated. That’s the highest percentage of any racial or ethnic group. Forty per cent of white Californians are not vaccinated, according to state figures.

Source Article from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/27/california-covid-19-vaccine-lottery

“It would be so much better if we had an independent outside commission,” the Maine Republican said.

Conservative objections to moving forward on an unrelated competitiveness bill pushed the Jan. 6 bill into Friday. The vote on the commission will take place after the Senate completes its work on that bill.

Collins has a familiar ally in speaking out against the minority leader’s push. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) argued Thursday night that her party should look “critically” at the decision to block the commission bill, warning against “making a decision for the short-term political gain at the expense of understanding and acknowledging what was in front of us on Jan. 6.”

She acknowledged that an outside inquiry into the pro-Trump attack on Congress could be a painful — and political — exercise, but still a worthwhile one.

“I don’t want to know. But I need to know. And I think it’s important for the country that there be an independent evaluation,” Murkowski said. “Is that really what this is about, that everything is just one election cycle after another?”

Several undecided Republicans came down against advancing the commission ahead of the vote, despite Collins’ work for changes to strengthen the proposed commission’s bipartisan staffing and trim its timetable. The growing tide against the House bill, which passed with 35 Republican votes, came as McConnell dismissed the commission idea on Thursday.

“I do not believe the additional extraneous commission that Democratic leaders want would uncover crucial new facts or promote healing. Frankly I do not believe it is even designed to do that,” he said on Thursday morning.

McConnell has argued that advancing the commission is unlikely to reveal things not already dug up by existing probes, including those by lawmakers themselves. And he’s also argued internally to his conference that a lengthy commission wouldn’t be good politics heading into the midterms, contending it could uncover damaging revelations related to former President Donald Trump that would hurt Republicans.

The GOP leader turned up his effort to stop the commission eight days ago, after saying his party was undecided on the House bill. By Thursday, Senate Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota said in an interview that his party is not willing to provide the 10 votes needed to start debate on the bill: “The House-passed version won’t have 10,” Thune said.

The expected GOP blockade will cloud the atmosphere in Washington. Republicans have not blocked any of Democrats’ bills on the Senate floor so far this year, until the commission vote.

Democrats say they have made major concessions to the GOP on the structure of the commission, with their party’s House leaders even blessing Collins’ changes. The resulting frustration is palpable, among even the most amiable Democrats.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said he believes there will be a future Jan. 6-style attack on the Capitol and “the outcome is going to be far worse.”

“We’ve got to get to the bottom of this shit,” Tester said. “Jesus. It’s a nonpartisan investigation of what happened. And if it’s because they’re afraid of Trump then they need to get out of office. It’s bullshit. You make tough decisions in this office or you shouldn’t be here.”

McConnell seemed to lock up the 41 votes against that he needed despite a last-minute pro-commission lobbying push by the mother and girlfriend of fallen Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after responding to the siege. Collins and Murkowski were among the Republicans they met.

Murkowski recalled meeting with the women close to Sicknick after they spoke with a senator who opposed the commission; she told them she was “heartsick that you feel that you need to come and advocate to members of Congress.”

Sens. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia both said they will not support the commission.

“We have other committees looking at this. We’ll get our answers,” Capito said.

Even Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, who voted to convict Trump of inciting an insurrection, was unsure where he would come down. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, who also backed convicting Trump, has argued inside the GOP conference against the commission and said that, even with an expiration date of Dec. 31, it would drag into the midterms.

Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, who has considered supporting Collins’ changes, said he wanted a commission to have the “legitimacy and the trust of the American people by being fair. If it’s not fair. It’s not going to be effective.”

He declined to say how he would vote. The Senate is currently considering a China competitiveness bill but is expected to vote on the commission before going on Memorial Day recess.

Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who supports the House-passed commission bill, said his colleagues were entitled to their opinions. “I have a different point of view than some of my colleagues, but we’re entitled to do that and I’m not frustrated by it,” he said.

Once the commission is blocked, several congressional committees will still be looking at the matter. But Collins said the thinks there will still be a new panel in Congress.

And that entity won’t be as credible to her as the one her party chose to reject.

“The most likely outcome, sadly, is probably the Democratic leaders will appoint a select committee. We’ll have a partisan investigation. It won’t have credibility with people like me, but the press will cover it because that’s what’s going on,” Collins said.

Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/27/republicans-to-block-january-6-commission-491162

WASHINGTON — After weeks of defending his economic policies against critics who blame them for overheating the economy, President Joe Biden went on the offensive Thursday, arguing that rising wages are a sign his agenda is boosting the fortunes of working Americans.

“The bottom line is this: The Biden economic plan is working,” said the president in a speech at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio. “We’ve had record job creation, we’re seeing record economic growth, we’re creating a new paradigm. One that rewards work — the working people in this nation, not just those at the top.”

Republicans and business groups claim that the enhanced federal unemployment benefits in Biden’s American Rescue Plan, his signature domestic accomplishment, are to blame for a “labor shortage” that has forced corporations like McDonald’s and Bank of America to raise their minimum hourly wage.

Biden rejected this view of the economy: “When it comes to the economy we’re building, rising wages aren’t a bug, they’re a feature,” he said.

The president on Thursday renewed his call for Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Biden credited the American Rescue Plan and his ambitious vaccination program with jump-starting a U.S. economy battered by the Covid pandemic.

The bill passed with no Republican votes, but several Republicans later sought to take credit for it with their constituents despite having voted against it.

“I’m not going to embarrass anyone, but I have here a list of who, back in their districts, they’re bragging about the rescue plan,” said Biden, holding up a list of Republicans who touted the relief funding.

“I mean, some people have no shame,” he added. “I’m happy they know that it benefited their constituents, that’s okay with me. But if you are going to try to take credit for what we’ve done, don’t get in the way of what we still need to do.”

As Biden seeks to build support for more than $3 trillion in additional economic stimulus programs, Republican opposition is solidifying.

As the economy improves, conservatives are arguing that Biden’s proposed stimulus is no longer necessary.

Private sector wages rose 3% in the first quarter of this year, the fastest pace in at least 25 years, according to economist Mark Zandi. This has made it harder for employers to attract workers willing to work for minimum hourly wages.

“We want to get something economists call full employment, where instead of workers competing with each other for jobs that are scarce, we want employers to compete to attract workers,” Biden said.

Biden rejected the growing alarm among some businesses and economists that higher wages and full employment will lead to runaway inflation. Instead, he said, corporations can afford to pay workers more without passing on higher prices to consumers.

“A lot of companies have done extremely well in this crisis, and good for them,” he said. “The simple fact is, though, corporate profits are the highest they’ve been in decades. Workers’ pay is at the lowest it’s been in 70 years. We have more than ample room to raise worker pay without raising customer prices.”

In addition to supporting higher wages, Biden pressed for a corporate tax increase to 28%, revenue he will need to fund his ambitious infrastructure proposal. The American Jobs Plan proposes to spend around $2 trillion over the next decade revitalizing the country’s infrastructure and manufacturing sector.

The president also made it clear that he sees these tax hikes as more than just a necessary evil to fund his big plans: They’re a key part of reestablishing a sense of shared responsibility and shared burden across the American economy.

“We have a chance to seize the economic momentum of the first months of my administration, not just to build back, but to build back better,” he said. “And this time we’re going to deal everyone in.”

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/27/biden-says-rising-wages-are-a-sign-his-economic-agenda-is-working-.html

Another lineman who was killed, Timothy Romo, 49, was “a big, friendly, jolly guy,” said Michael Ortiz, Romo’s neighbor in Tracy, Calif., a 60-mile commute from the VTA rail yard.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/san-jose-victims/2021/05/27/ec59f318-bef7-11eb-83e3-0ca705a96ba4_story.html


Presented by the Alzheimer’s Association

With Andrew Desiderio.

MAKING THEM DANCE: Republicans with high hopes that their party might be able to ride Donald Trump’s voter base to victory next year without all the chaos that accompanies the former president himself might be out of luck.

Trump is confiding in allies that he intends to run again in 2024 with one contingency: That he still has a clean bill of health, two sources close to the ex-president have told me. Trump is going to dangle his potential bid over the GOP like a water balloon over a freshly styled head of hair.

And despite congressional Republicans mostly praising him in public — apart from the handful of usual suspects — he’s actually facing skepticism from surprising corners of the GOP.

“President Trump did a lot of good. But he squandered a lot of his legacy after what happened after Nov. 3. And I think that’s a shame,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who was the GOP whip for Trump’s first two years in office, told Burgess. “Running for president, you’re under a lot of scrutiny. And all I can say is there’s a lot to talk about.”

Burgess and I found in our interviews with 20 House and Senate Republicans that there were certainly mixed opinions about whether Trump should run again in 2024. They largely fall into four buckets:

1. Republicans who are burning for Trump to run again. Members like Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) or Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), who told me: “Why have a carbon copy?… Why would we not support the original?”

2. Republicans who pick political viability — they want whoever stands the best chance of winning back the White House. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) when asked who he wants to run in 2024, replied: “The person that can best save this country — whoever that is.”

3. Quite a few Republicans want fresh skin in the game. They will privately say that they would prefer that Trump take a back seat and help the party, but not seek to be the GOP nominee again (paging the 400 2024 hopefuls).

4. Then there are the GOP lawmakers who are essentially thinking: Dear lord, please not again. Members like Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) have already made their position clear, but this is a sentiment shared by some who are keeping quiet about their disapproval — at least for now.

The other headache for Republicans: Trump claiming he is running again helps him stay relevant and influential in the GOP. But some fear that if he is not serious about running again, he is putting the growing field of potential 2024 candidates who want to challenge President Joe Biden at a disadvantage.

Lots more here from yours truly and Burgess: https://politi.co/3hXBu2m

ALMOST GAME TIME: Remember those standardized tests where the teacher would call “time!” and you had to drop your pencils, staring at the sad abyss of multiple choice questions that felt more like guesses than answers? Well no one has officially called “time” on Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), but she appears to be furiously scribbling to get changes made to the Jan. 6 commission bill that seems all but doomed to fail without the needed 10 GOP votes.

She dotted her i’s and crossed her t’s on her revisions to the House-passed commission bill yesterday afternoon. Collins’ biggest change: The chair and vice chair of the committee would “jointly” appoint staff.

Collins is hoping her proposed changes can convince a few more of her GOP colleagues to support the creation of an independent investigative body. But she is still going up against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has publicly and privately come out against the bill.

Collins isn’t the only one making a final push. Gladys Sicknick, the mother of fallen Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, has been requesting meetings with every single GOP senator to urge them to support the commission legislation, emphasizing the “importance” of having an independent body to investigate that deadly day, Melanie scooped: https://politi.co/3bXjW2d

The timing of the vote is fluid right now. The Senate is expected to vote on the commission bill today, though timing is unclear and will depend on what happens with the China-focused U.S. Innovation and Competition Act.

If your Huddle host had to make a prediction, the commission bill appears DOA in the Senate. And we are all but likley to see Senate Republicans deploy the filibuster for the first time in the Biden administration. Buckle up. As Burgess highlights: “If Republicans filibustered the bill it would not only sink the chances of a bipartisan commission but also ramp up calls by progressive Democrats who want to ax the filibuster entirely.”

More here from Burgess on Collins’ last-minute push: https://politi.co/3bRPGGb

Related: After skirting filibuster fight for months, Democrats near a first battle, by NYT’s Carl Hulse: https://nyti.ms/2SBwmq0

HAPPY THURSDAY! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill on this May 27, where Jon Stewart clearly appreciates the D.C. summer humidity.

WEDNESDAY’S MOST CLICKED: Cleveland.com’s story on how Rep. Jim Jordan will publish a political memoir in November was the big winner.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Huddle will not publish on Monday, May 31. We’ll be back on our normal schedule on Tuesday, June 1.

THIN ICE: Last-minute drama in the Senate is threatening to derail the bipartisan China competitiveness bill that’s been on the floor for two weeks now. On Wednesday, Republicans hinted that they might block the legislation from advancing as they continue to demand additional amendment votes on the floor.

And Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) is looking to deny Democrats the votes to cut off debate on the bill over what he describes as Democrats’ refusal to allow a vote on his bipartisan trade proposal with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). Crapo even implored his fellow Republicans to vote “no” on cloture during yesterday’s GOP lunch, we’re told. Democrats see this as an effort by the GOP to extract additional concessions from Schumer, who promised and has largely delivered on his promise for a “robust” amendment process. “It’s too big to fail,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said of the bill.

Just ask Sen. Todd Young, Schumer’s GOP counterpart on the China bill. Young said the majority leader “kept his word.” Young said he’s “on the cusp” of securing 60 votes for final passage. The bill, as we’ve explained before, is dear to Schumer, who has long advocated for a more confrontational posture toward China’s economic and geopolitical ambitions. Senators and aides said they were optimistic that the chamber can finish up its work on the bill on Thursday.

In the meantime, senators have been marveling at the return to the Senate’s institutional traditions — however fleeting that may be. “I just love to see the Senate working,” Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said. “We’re actually doing a bill on the floor and offering amendments and having debate.” What a concept!

Andrew and Gavin Bade have more: https://politi.co/3uq8t1B

MEANWHILE: Changes to qualified immunity in policing deal face Senate GOP resistance, by CNN’s Manu Raju and Jessica Dean: https://cnn.it/3wA1bKe

PICKING UP STEAM: Democrats are jumping on board with the idea of probing the origins of the pandemic, joining their GOP counterparts in what has become a remarkable bipartisan agreement to attempt to analyze how Covid came about, particularly as the virus to date has killed 3.5 million people across the globe.

There is renewed interest among China hawks that the virus leaked from a Wuhan lab. While it is to be determined what the congressional inquiry would look like, particularly whether the Covid origin question would be part of a broader review of the global crisis and the U.S. response, after the WSJ reported that three scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were hospitalized in late 2019 after experiencing symptoms that were consistent with the Covid outbreak.

The Senate unanimously passed a bill led by Hawley and Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) that requires the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to declassify information it has about the origins of Covid, including the theory that it leaked from a lab. So that gives you a good idea of where the Senate is on this. The House may be another story.

Lots more here from Andrew and Erin Banco: https://politi.co/2ROjZqn

Related: Biden: Intelligence community split on Covid-19 origin, by our Ben Leonard: https://politi.co/3yJizxS

CHA CHA TIMELINE SLIDE: That soft Memorial Day deadline for the Biden administration and Senate Republicans to reach an agreement is sliding — but only just a little. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) and a group of other Senate Republicans are slated to unveil their counter proposal this morning at 9:05 a.m. to be specific, but Democrats are basically preparing to plow ahead if this latest offer is not up to snuff.

Per my colleagues: “White House aides and Democrats say they’re giving Republicans ample time to put forward their offers on ‘hard’ infrastructure — money to build roads, repair aging bridges and expand broadband. Barring breakthroughs on a long list of sticking points, Biden advisers and Democrats are preparing to wind down talks within a week or possibly two, three people familiar with the discussions told POLITICO. At that point, they will start shifting their focus to what it will take to pass a bill on a party-line vote.”

More here from Chris Cadelago and Laura Barrón-López: https://politi.co/3hXFG22

Related: White House to face key decisions on climate, elder care if bipartisan deal with GOP emerges, by WaPo’s Jeff Stein and Tony Romm: https://wapo.st/3bYBgE3 | Biden’s infrastructure bill is already moving, per the National Journal’s Brian Dabbs, Zach Cohen and Brendan Bordelon: https://bit.ly/3urC1vI

CAMPAIGN CENTRAL: Demings is taking on Rubio. Now Florida’s other big 2022 races are jumbled, by our Gary Fineout and Matt Dixon: https://politi.co/3uqOnnS

YELLIN’ AT YELLEN: “House Small Business Chair Nydia Velázquez on Wednesday slammed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for declining to appear at a committee hearing, saying the Biden administration’s top economic official was showing “complete disregard” for the law,” Zachary Warmbrodt reports: https://politi.co/3uw9cyA

COMING TO THE TABLE: Biden administration backs Alaska oil project approved under Trump, by Anthony Adragna and Ben Lefebvre: https://politi.co/3i2S8xz | Blinken leaves Middle East with cease-fire intact but aid uncertain, by NYT’s Lara Jakes: https://nyti.ms/3vt7b7x

QUICK CLICKS: Judge rejects public access to search warrant in Richard Burr insider trading probe, by our Josh Gerstein: https://politi.co/3vsQPf8 | Ibuprofen and ulcers: What Rep. Debbie Dingell’s emergency surgery can teach us, by WaPo’s Allyson Chiu: https://wapo.st/3yBQTeB

TRANSITIONS

Mary Owens is now comms director for Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.). She most recently was press secretary for Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.).

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House is out.

The Senate is in at 10 a.m.

AROUND THE HILL

9:05 a.m.: Senate Republicans will hold a press conference to roll out their latest infrastructure counteroffer.

11 a.m.: Yellen and USAID Administrator Samantha Power are expected to testify before House Appropriations subcommittees today.

12 p.m.: The House Financial Services Committee will have top bank executives like JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon and Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan testify.

1 p.m.: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Mark Milley will testify before a House Appropriations subcommittee.

1 p.m.: Energy Secretary Jennifer Grahholm will testify before the House Science Committee.

TRIVIA

WEDNESDAY’S WINNER: Wilson Golden was the first person to correctly guess that 1996, or Fiscal Year 1997, was the last time all Appropriations bills passed on time.

TODAY’S QUESTION: From Wilson: Former Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) holds the record as the longest serving Member of Congress. Whose House service record did he break and by how many years?

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answer to [email protected].

GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning.

Follow Olivia on Twitter: @Olivia_Beavers

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/newsletters/huddle/2021/05/27/the-gops-four-camps-on-a-trump-2024-campaign-493026

The Senate has unanimously approved a measure requiring the federal government to declassify intelligence on the origins of COVID-19.

The bill, offered by Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), was passed late Wednesday evening by unanimous consent, a method which expedites proceedings if no present member of the Senate objects.

The rare moment of bipartisan agreement came one day after President Biden ordered US spy agencies to do a 90-day investigation into whether COVID-19 was released by a Chinese lab.

The White House said Wednesday it isn’t ruling out any possibilities, including the deliberate release of the virus.

Speaking from the Senate floor after the measure passed, Hawley argued that, “the American people deserve to know about the origins of COVID-19.”

Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli inside the P4 laboratory in Wuhan, China.
AFP via Getty Images

“They deserve to know how this terrible pandemic that has ravaged the globe and our country, how it got started, and what China’s role was in starting it.”

“Now that it is clear that the lab leak theory is completely viable, Americans need real answers,” Braun said in his own remarks from the Senate floor.

“We will not get those answers from another botched investigation from the World Health Organization, or more cover-ups by China’s Communist regime.”

Should the measure also pass the House and be signed by Biden into law, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence would be given 90 days to declassify “any and all information relating to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of the coronavirus disease.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that three employees at the Wuhan Institute of Virology fell so ill that they were hospitalized in November 2019.
AFP via Getty Images

The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on the measure’s passage in the Senate.

Biden made the abrupt pivot on Tuesday, following weeks of the administration on defense about deferring to the World Health Organization for answers on how the pandemic started.

In a statement, Biden revealed that two theories predominate current US official thinking. Those theories are that the virus emerged naturally from animals or escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China.

President Biden says US officials are focused on two differing COVID origin theories.
AP

“Here is their current position: ‘while two elements in the [intelligence community] leans toward the former scenario and one leans more toward the latter – each with low or moderate confidence – the majority of elements do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.’”

Speaking to reporters at a briefing Wednesday, White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that no explanation was being ruled out by the president.

“We haven’t ruled out anything yet,” Jean-Pierre said when asked if the Biden administration had ruled out a “deliberate” release of the virus.

Sen. Hawley said on the Senate floor that, “the American people deserve to know about the origins of COVID-19.”
AP

The president said in his statement that he had given the intelligence community 90 days to get back to him with more information “that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion.”

“As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China.”

The lab leak theory gained traction more recently, hitting the mainstream media this week after The Wall Street Journal reported that three employees at the Wuhan Institute of Virology fell so ill that they were hospitalized in November 2019.

The article cited “a previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report.”

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2021/05/27/senate-approves-measure-forcing-declassification-of-covid-intel/

The steadiness of the numbers belie the fact that some Biden administration officials, including Ms. Yellen, have acknowledged as recently as Thursday that there would be high rates of inflation throughout the rest of the year.

The inflation benchmark in the budget will be a key one to watch as Republicans, including former President Donald J. Trump, have seized on the rising prices to argue that Mr. Biden has been bad for consumers.

To help pay for its proposals, the Biden administration is preparing an overhaul of the tax code, the brunt of which will be felt by large corporations.

The budget details the White House’s plan for a $2 trillion corporate tax hike, which would be achieved by raising the corporate income tax rate to 28 percent from 21 percent and imposing tougher measures to curb offshoring. The proposals for the corporate tax code reverse or change many of the provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was Mr. Trump’s signature legislative achievement.

One key provision in that law that is not addressed, however, is the fate of the individual income tax cuts for low- and middle-income taxpayers that are set to expire before 2026. Mr. Biden’s budget proposal assumes that they will, in fact, sunset.

That puts the onus on the administration to propose a plan for additional tax cuts in order to keep the president’s pledge that no taxpayer who earns less than $400,000 will have their taxes go up.

The Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee, which led the drafting of the 2017 law, took note of the omission.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/business/economy/biden-budget.html

Nine employees were slain at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail yard in California on Wednesday, marking the latest mass shooting in America.

The suspect, also a VTA employee, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Everyone who was shot died from their injuries.

“Many of these folks worked here for 20, 30 years, so yes, we do become a family,” VTA light rail maintenance operations manager George Sandoval said at a news conference Thursday. “Our staff respond to emergencies on the rail and there’s a bond.”

Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63

Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, who went by Abdi, was a substation maintainer who worked at the VTA for about two decades, according to the company.

Adrian Balleza, 29

Adrian Balleza started at the Valley Transit Authority in 2014 and most recently worked as a maintenance worker and light rail operator, the VTA said.

Alex Ward Fritch, 49

Alex Fritch, a substation maintainer, was the final victim of the massacre, dying hours later in a hospital.

“We got to say goodbyes,” his wife, Tara Fritch, told KTVU.

He leaves behind a daughter, two sons and his wife of 20 years.

“Alex was everything to this family,” Tara Fritch told KTVU. “He was our rock.”

Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35

Jose Hernandez was a substation maintainer who worked at VTA since 2012.

Lars Kepler Lane, 63

Lars Lane had worked at VTA since 2001.

The father, husband and grandfather died three days before his 64th birthday, reported KTXL.

While waiting for the victims’ names to be released, Lane’s brother, Edward Lane, told KTXL, “It’s horrible … not knowing is horrific.”

Paul Delacruz Megia, 42

Paul Megia started at VTA in 2002 and most recently worked as an assistant superintendent.

Timothy Michael Romo, 49

Timothy Romo, a power foreman, spent over 22 years with the VTA, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The Air Force veteran and his wife had been planning a trip to visit their son, according to the Chronicle.

Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40

Michael Rudometkin worked at VTA since 2013.

Rudometkin was a “lifelong” friend of San Jose City council member Raul Peralez.

“My heart is broken,” Peralez said at a Thursday news conference.

“I unfortunately get to know personally how these nine families have felt … with just a sense of disbelief. With a hope that your loved one is still gonna come home. And knowing that’s just never going to happen again,” he said. “It has been painstaking and heartbreaking.”

Taptejdeep Singh, 36

Light rail operator Taptejdeep Singh leaves behind his wife and children: a three-year-old son and one-year-old daughter.

“We are beyond devastated by the loss of Taptejdeep, a beloved father, husband, brother, son, and nephew,” his brother, Karman Singh, said in a statement. “Taptejdeep spent his final moments trying to keep others safe. From what we have heard, he reacted quickly to get colleagues into secure offices, and was frantically calling others who would have been coming in for a shift change to warn them about the shooter. We understand that he was attempting to secure his building when he was killed.”

He went on, “Even in these moments of chaos, Taptejdeep was living by the values of Sikhi: living in service and protection of others. We believe that if the shooter had ever asked our brother for help, Taptejdeep would have gone above and beyond for him like he did for everyone he crossed paths with; he never harmed anyone, and no one who knew him would ever want to harm him. We choose to remember Taptejdeep as the hero he was, both in those final moments and throughout his life of service.”

Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/US/san-jose-mass-shooting-victims-killed/story?id=77937447

“The House-passed version won’t have 10,” Thune said.

The expected blockade will cloud the atmosphere in Washington. Republicans have not blocked any of Democrats’ bills on the Senate floor before Thursday.

And Democrats believe they have made major concessions to the GOP on the structure of the commission, with their party’s House leaders even blessing Collins’ changes designed to make the commission more bipartisan. The resulting frustration is palpable, among even the most amiable Democrats.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said he believes there will be a future Jan. 6-style attack on the Capitol and “the outcome is going to be far worse.”

“We’ve got to get to the bottom of this shit,” Tester said. “Jesus. It’s a nonpartisan investigation of what happened. And if it’s because they’re afraid of Trump then they need to get out of office. It’s bullshit. You make tough decisions in this office or you shouldn’t be here.”

Collins acknowledged that even her proposed changes might not get the bill over the finish line. They could help sway some Republicans, she said, but for those standing against a commission “in any form,” her amendment would not “change their underlying opposition.”

McConnell seemed to lock up the 41 votes against that he needed despite a last-minute pro-commission lobbying push by the mother and girlfriend of fallen Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died after responding to the siege. Sens. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia both said they will not support the commission.

“We have other committees looking at this. We’ll get our answers,” Capito said.

Even Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, who voted to convict Trump of inciting an insurrection, was unsure where he would come down. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, who also backed convicting Trump, has argued inside the GOP conference against the commission and said that, even with an expiration date of Dec. 31, it would drag into the midterms.

Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, who has considered supporting Collins’ changes, said he wanted a commission to have the “legitimacy and the trust of the American people by being fair. If it’s not fair. It’s not going to be effective.”

He declined to say how he would vote. The Senate is currently considering a China competitiveness bill but is expected to vote on the commission before going on Memorial Day recess.

Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who supports the House-passed commission bill, said his colleagues were entitled to their opinions. “I have a different point of view than some of my colleagues, but we’re entitled to do that and I’m not frustrated by it,” he said.

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/27/republicans-to-block-january-6-commission-491162

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will propose $5 trillion in new federal spending over the next decade on Friday, part of his fiscal year 2022 budget request, a source familiar with the proposal tells CNBC.

The new spending would be paid for in part by $3.6 trillion in additional revenues over the same period. The result would be a net deficit of $1.4 trillion, which would begin shrinking after 2030.

Biden will include $300 billion of the $5 trillion total in his budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2022. This will bring the president’s total budget request for next year to $6 trillion, the source said.

Biden’s budget also projects that inflation will reach no more than 2.3% annually over the next 10 years, reflecting the administration’s belief that concerns among some economists about runaway inflation are overblown.

Like in all presidential budgets, the vast majority of the money in Biden’s 2022 budget request will be spent on programs that the federal government is obligated to fund, including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

Beyond those, Biden has requested $1.5 trillion in discretionary funds, half of which is slated for defense.

The president’s new spending, the $5 trillion over 10 years, is intended to fund the twin pillars of his sweeping domestic agenda: the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan.

The former would make major investments in both traditional infrastructure and in green technology, which Biden argues is crucial to making America competitive in the global economy. It would also shore up the U.S. electrical grid, expand broadband access and bolster care for the elderly and disabled.

This second piece contains additional funding for two years of free universal pre-K and two years of free community college. It also funds heavily subsidized child care for middle-class families, federal paid family leave and expanded child tax credits.

The combined cost of these two programs is $4.1 trillion over the next decade and would be paid for primarily through higher taxes on corporations and the wealthiest taxpayers.

The White House is currently negotiating with Senate Republicans on a potential bipartisan infrastructure deal, but this negotiation is separate from the FY 2022 budget request.

Presidential budgets are typically one part plan and one part wish list, designed to illustrate the president’s policy priorities as much as they are to inform congressional appropriators.

Presidential budget requests are also dependent upon Congress to pass them. But with Democrats in control of both chambers this year, Biden has a far better chance of seeing his budget enacted into law than most of his recent predecessors.

In former President Barack Obama’s final year in office in 2016, Republicans who controlled both the House and Senate disregarded his budget altogether.

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/27/bidens-budget-will-include-5-trillion-in-new-federal-spending-over-the-next-decade.html