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Congress OKs $1.9T virus relief bill in win for Biden, Dems
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Congress riven along party lines approved the landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Democrats claimed a major triumph on legislation marshalling the government’s spending might against twin pandemic and economic crises that have upended a nation.
The House gave final congressional approval to the sweeping package by a near party line 220-211 vote precisely seven weeks after Biden entered the White House and four days after the Senate passed the bill. Republicans in both chambers opposed the legislation unanimously, characterizing it as bloated, crammed with liberal policies and heedless of signs the crises are easing.
"Help is here," Biden tweeted moments after the roll call, which ended with applause from Democratic lawmakers. Biden said he'd sign the measure Friday.
Most noticeable to many Americans are provisions providing up to $1,400 direct payments this year to most people and extending $300 weekly emergency unemployment benefits into early September. But the legislation goes far beyond that.
The measure addresses Democrats’ campaign promises and Biden’s top initial priority of easing a one-two punch that first hit the country a year ago. Since then, many Americans have been relegated to hermit-like lifestyles in their homes to avoid a disease that’s killed over 525,000 people — about the population of Wichita, Kansas — and plunged the economy to its deepest depths since the Great Depression.
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Biden immediately begins selling virus aid plan to public
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House began highlighting the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill immediately after it gained final congressional approval on Wednesday, wasting no time in selling the public on President Joe Biden’s first legislative victory.
The West Wing began an ambitious campaign to showcase the bill’s contents while looking to build momentum for the next, perhaps thornier, parts of the president’s sweeping agenda. Biden will sign the bill into law on Friday, but the White House didn’t wait, turning the bill signing into a three-day event.
The president tweeted moments after the House of Representatives passed the bill that "Help is here — and brighter days lie ahead." He later told reporters that "This bill represents a historic victory for the American people," while the White House also released a slickly produced video touting the passage, and Democrats on Capitol Hill staged an elaborate signing ceremony.
Biden will make the first prime-time address of his presidency on Thursday to mark the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdowns and will use the moment to pitch toward the future and how prospects will be improved by the nearly $2 trillion aid package.
Animating the public relations outreach is a determination to avoid repeating the mistakes from more than a decade earlier, when President Barack Obama’s administration did not fully educate the public about the benefits of its own economic recovery plan.
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After pandemic year, weary world looks back — and forward
No one has been untouched.
Not the Michigan woman who awakened one morning, her wife dead by her side. Not the domestic worker in Mozambique, her livelihood threatened by the virus. Not the North Carolina mother who struggled to keep her business and her family going amid rising anti-Asian ugliness. Not the sixth-grader, exiled from the classroom in the blink of an eye.
It happened a year ago. "I expected to go back after that week," said Darelyn Maldonado, now 12. "I didn’t think that it would take years."
On March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, few could foresee the long road ahead or the many ways in which they would suffer -- the deaths and agonies of millions, the ruined economies, the disrupted lives and near-universal loneliness and isolation.
A year later, some are dreaming of a return to normal, thanks to vaccines that seemed to materialize as if by magic. Others live in places where the magic seems to be reserved for wealthier worlds.
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US reports surge of kids at SW border, a challenge for Biden
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of migrant children and families seeking to cross the U.S. southwest border has surged to levels not seen since before the pandemic, a challenge for President Joe Biden as he works to undo the restrictive immigration policies of his predecessor.
Statistics released Wednesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed the number of children and families increased by more than 100% between January and February. Kids crossing by themselves rose 60% to more than 9,400, forcing the government to look for new places to hold them temporarily.
The surge has been seized on by Republicans and former President Donald Trump as a line of attack on Biden, though his administration is turning back nearly all single adults, who make up the majority of border-crossers, under a public health order imposed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Biden administration is temporarily holding children and families, mostly from Central America, for several days. They are generally then allowed to enter the U.S. while authorities evaluate their claims to asylum or see if they have any other legal right to stay in the country.
It is a challenge for an administration that has been working to restore an asylum system largely dismantled under Trump and likely to face increasing pressure. Factors driving the increase include widespread hunger in Central America due to recent hurricanes, the economic upheaval of the pandemic and more fundamental social problems dating back years.
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Japan marks 10th disaster anniversary while still recovering
TOKYO (AP) — Japan is marking the 10th anniversary Thursday of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that hit the northeastern region, where many survivors' lives are still on hold.
People, some carrying bouquets, walked to the coast or graves to pray for relatives and friends washed away by the tsunami. Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga are scheduled to observe a moment of silence at a memorial service later Thursday.
The magnitude 9.0 quake that struck on March 11, 2011, was one of the biggest temblors on record and set off a massive tsunami that swept far inland, destroying towns and causing meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. More than 18,000 people died, mostly in the tsunami, and nearly half a million people were displaced.
Ten years later, more than 40,000 people are still unable to return home, most of them from Fukushima, where areas near the wrecked plant are still off-limits due to radioactive contamination.
Roads, train lines, and other key infrastructure and housing have mostly been completed at the cost of more than 30 trillion yen ($280 billion), but land remains empty in coastal towns further north in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, where existing population losses were accelerated by the disaster.
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Invalidations of Meghan's claims of racism hurt Black women
CHICAGO (AP) — As Prince Harry and Meghan’s TV interview reverberates internationally, it’s left the more than 50 million viewers grappling with the couple’s claims of racism and lack of support that Meghan says drove her to thoughts of suicide.
But for many Black women worldwide, the headlines and social media discussions were painfully familiar. With social media conversations questioning whether racism affected Meghan's treatment by the British press and royal family, many Black women say it is yet another example of a Black woman’s experiences with racism being disregarded and denied.
"White supremacy seeks to isolate you, make you feel like no one is listening and no one is supporting you. It uses that as a tool to keep in power," said Gaye Theresa Johnson, associate professor in the Department of African American Studies at UCLA. "And so when you aren’t validated in your feelings or feel supported, that does real harm."
Meghan, the daughter of a white father and a Black mother, said that when she was pregnant with her son Archie, a member of the royal family expressed "concerns ... about how dark his skin might be." The former television star also said she sought mental health help through the palace’s human resources department but was told there was nothing it could do.
Almost as soon as the interview with Oprah Winfrey aired, many were quick to deny Meghan’s allegations of racism. The New York Post published a column titled, "Meghan Markle’s interview was full of bull." British television host Piers Morgan quit his job on "Good Morning Britain" after facing backlash for saying on air that Meghan lied about suffering suicidal thoughts in what he called a "two-hour trash-a-thon of our royal family."
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Report: Cuomo groped female aide in governor's residence
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — An aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he groped her in the governor’s residence, a newspaper reported Wednesday, in the most serious allegation made yet by a series of women against the embattled Democrat.
The Times Union of Albany reported that the woman, who it did not name, was alone with Cuomo late last year when he closed the door, reached under her shirt and fondled her. The newspaper's reporting is based on an unidentified source with direct knowledge of the woman's accusation. The governor had summoned her to the Executive Mansion in Albany, saying he needed help with his cellphone, the newspaper reported.
"I have never done anything like this," Cuomo said through a spokesperson Wednesday evening.
"The details of this report are gut-wrenching," Cuomo said, adding that he would not speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation, given an ongoing investigation overseen by the state attorney general.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said in a statement Wednesday night that no criminal complaint had been filed by the alleged victim to the Albany Police Department.
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Mexican lawmakers advance bill to legalize recreational pot
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s lower chamber approved a marijuana legalization bill Wednesday, setting the country on the path to becoming one of the world’s largest legal marijuana markets.
Deputies approved the legislation in general terms, but continued debating details late into the night. The approved legislation, which needs to return to the Senate, would permit recreational use of marijuana, but establish a system of licenses required for the entire chain of production, distribution, transformation and sales.
It would also require that individuals, and not just associations of users, have a permit to grow plants for personal use. Each individual would be allowed to have six plants with a maximum of eight per household.
Adults could use marijuana without affecting others or children, but if caught with more than one ounce (28 grams) they would be fined. They could face jail time if they had more than 12 pounds (5.6 kilograms).
Opposition parties did not support the legislation, which they say will lead to increased drug use.
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AP FACT CHECK: Biden admin wrong on vaccine pace, elderly
WASHINGTON (AP) — For an administration that prides itself on talking straight about the pandemic, the self-congratulation Wednesday went too far.
President Joe Biden wrongly claimed the U.S. vaccinated a record 2.9 million people on Saturday while his special adviser on the pandemic exaggerated the share of older Americans who've been fully immunized.
A look at how their statements compare with the facts:
BIDEN: "On Saturday, we hit a record of 2.9 million vaccinations in one day in America."
ANDY SLAVITT, special adviser to the White House virus task force: "On Saturday, we set an all-time, single-day record: nearly 3 million Americans vaccinated -- a pace seen nowhere else in the world." — leading off a task force briefing.
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Michelle Obama hooked on knitting, thinking about retirement
WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama is knitting and thinking about retiring from public life.
The former first lady says in a new People magazine interview that she picked up knitting needles to pass time during the coronavirus pandemic. And now she's hooked.
"Knitting is a forever proposition," she said. "You don’t master knitting, because once you make a scarf, there’s the blanket. And once you do the blanket, you’ve got to do the hat, the socks."
She's working on her first crewneck sweater for her husband, former President Barack Obama.
"I’m figuring out how to make sleeves and a collar," she said. "I could go on about knitting!"