1 North Korea Launches A Third Missile
North Korea launched another missile overnight – the third test in two weeks. While no one know why the first two took flight, it seems this one was the result of the United States imposing sanctions over North Korea's previous missile launches. On Wednesday, the Biden administration blacklisted six North Koreans, one Russian, and a Russian company – one of the five North Koreans targeted is based in Russia, while the other four are based in China. The administration accuses them of procuring goods for North Korea's missile programs from Russia and China. And if you’re thinking that these missiles are duds, don’t. In the moments after Tuesday’s launch, CNN is reporting that initial moments after launch were "ugly" and defense officials "didn't have a good feel for its capabilities" at first. The missile ended up landing in the sea between China and Japan not causing any harm – but as we told you before, the action also caused a temporary ground stop on the West Coast.
2 SCOTUS Blocks Biden's Workplace Mandate Except For Healthcare Workers
The U.S. Supreme Court has dealt a blow to the Biden administration by blocking enforcement of the vaccine mandate on large businesses. The 6-3 court majority argued the mandate is too broad. More than two dozen Republican-led states filed suit to block the mandate, which covered companies with 100 or more employees. Meantime, justices did give a green light to vaccine mandates for healthcare workers in facilities that receive federal funding. Understandably, President Biden is disappointed about the mixed decision – and released a statement saying the mandate covered "life-saving requirements" that were "grounded squarely in both science and the law." The President went on to say that large companies are still free to require vaccinations on their own, as many have already done. He applauded the high court's decision upholding a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in federally-funded facilities. Biden insisted that vaccine requirements work and help save lives.
3 Biden Pushes Dems On Election Reform
A usually optimistic President Biden isn’t exactly in the same frame of mind with regard to getting election reform legislation through Congress. Speaking to reporters after meeting with Democrats on Capitol Hill, he said he hopes to get election reform legislation done in the Senate, but he doesn't know if it will get done. Biden said it's necessary to combat new voting laws in many Republican-led states, which he called "election subversion." Thing is? He’s got two Senate Dems complicating matters for him – Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema and West Virginia’s Joe Manchin. Sinema spoke on the floor of the Senate before the Biden meeting, saying she supports the legislation, but will not vote to lift the Senate filibuster, requiring 60 votes to advance bills. Manchin also opposes removing the filibuster. Democrats have a razor thin majority in the Senate and have no votes to spare. No Republicans are expected to cross the aisle.