1 Pelosi Is Expected To Pull Infrastructure Vote As Stalemate Continues
While stalemates are common in Congress, this one mostly involves the Democratic members of the House. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has scheduled a vote on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill for today, but it’s not certain she has the votes to pass it. Liberals in the Democratic party have said they won’t allow the infrastructure bill to pass until there’s agreement on the larger $3.2 trillion family benefits package. While Democratic leaders say there’s been progress on the package, it’s not clear if negotiations have reached a point that will satisfy the liberal members of the caucus. The infrastructure vote was originally scheduled for Monday but was delayed after liberals said they wouldn’t pass it without the larger package. That leaves Democratic leaders with two choices today: bring the infrastructure bill to the floor as planned, where liberals are likely to kill it, or delay the vote again, a move that will anger the moderates in the party that have threatened to revolt against the party leadership if the infrastructure vote is delayed again. Only seven House Republicans have publicly said they’ll vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which means Democrats will have to overcome the divisions within their party or delay the vote again. This stalemate comes as deadlines loom for congress to avoid a shutdown of the federal government Friday.
2 Dallas Apartment Building Partially Collapses After Explosion
Seven people, including four firefighters, were injured in an explosion at a two-story apartment building in Dallas yesterday morning. Firefighters arrived at the building around 10:30 a.m. to investigate a carbon monoxide leak and noticed an odor of gas around the building shortly before the explosion happened. Three firefighters were in critical condition, while the other victims are expected to be released from the hospital. The explosion caused the building to partially collapse; Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans told reporters yesterday afternoon “The damage is extensive, the collapse itself is extensive.” Residents of the apartments began reporting the smell of gas as early as Tuesday night, according to Evans. It’s still unclear what caused the explosion.
3 Massive Hurricane Sam Will Kick Up Dangerous East Coast Surf
Hurricane Sam is still making its way northward through the Atlantic ocean as a powerful major hurricane, and while it’s not forecast to make landfall in America, the storm is still powerful enough to affect the east coast in the form of rough surf and a strong risk of rip currents. Meteorologists are forecasting the most powerful storm on earth to remain a Category 3 or higher hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph or higher, as it continues to the north before making a northeasterly turn over the weekend. Coastal flooding along the East Coast at high tide is also a possibility.