1 Biden’s Massive Stimulus Package Passes, Will Hit His Desk Tomorrow
President Biden is cheering final House passage of the massive stimulus bill. Speaking at the White House, he called it a “historic victory for the American people.” He’s expected to sign the bill in a White House ceremony tomorrow. Biden said the nearly two-trillion-dollar measure will help boost vaccine supplies, testing and efforts to get schools re-opened. As we’ve been telling you, the bill includes direct 14-hundred-dollar checks for Americans under certain income levels. It also extends unemployment benefits during the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Speaking of cheering, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ‘dance’ as she announced the passage of the stimulus package is going viral. In a clip posted to Twitter by her daughter, political strategist Christine Pelosi, the Speaker is seen – as Christine puts it – doing “a little shimmy at the end.”
2 Officials Stopped 100k At Border In February
Arrests at the Mexican border have been described as being in a “free fall” since President Biden took office. And while the White House has declined to refer to the growing number of illegal immigrants crossing as a “crisis,” officials say the more than 100-thousand stopped in February alone suggests something else. Apparently, it’s the highest monthly total since mid-2019 in what was called a “a historic surge” at that time. To put that in perspective? The February total is nearly triple the number of contacts reported in February, 2019. As far as the ‘official’ White House position, however – the situation is former President Trump’s fault. Press Secretary Jen Psaki says it will take time to "fix the mess" left behind by the prior administration. She also accused the Trump team of having a "morality problem" on immigration. Psaki noted that unaccompanied migrant children are no longer being turned away and that Biden inherited a "broken, dismantled system" and is trying to craft more orderly, humane policies. Officials say that more than three thousand ‘unaccompanied minors’ have been taken into custody in the last three weeks alone.
3 U.S. Approaching 100-Million Administered COVID Vaccine Doses
It’s officially been a year since the coronavirus was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Today? The United States is nearing a major milestone in the fight against COVID-19. According to the CDC, nearly 96-million vaccine doses have been administered – about 75% of what's been distributed. The numbers show nearly 19% of Americans have received at least one dose, which means close to ten percent of the population has been fully vaccinated. As you’ll recall, President Biden pledged to have 100-million shots administered in his first 100 days in office and while we’re closer to that goal, he’s got something else to be excited about. At a press event, Biden announced a plan to get 100-million new doses of the coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. This is after Biden brokered an arrangement for Merck to help turn out the single-dose coronavirus vaccine Johnson and Johnson developed.