May 19, 2021

UPDATED: Biden calls for 'significant de-escalation' in call with Netanyahu

Source: The Hill

BY MORGAN CHALFANT - 05/19/21 10:01 AM EDT

President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday that he expects a “significant de-escalation” in the violence between Israel and Hamas to put the two sides on a path to a ceasefire, according to the White House.

“The two leaders had a detailed discussion on the state of events in Gaza, Israel’s progress in degrading the capabilities of Hamas and other terrorist elements, and ongoing diplomatic efforts by regional governments and the United States,” the White House said in a readout of the call between the two leaders. “The President conveyed to the Prime Minister that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire.”

Wednesday was the first time that Biden set a deadline on when he would like to see a reduction in violence, which has persisted in the Middle East for more than a week and led to Israeli and Palestinian civilian deaths. Biden has previously expressed support for a ceasefire in the region, after officials stopped short of doing so publicly.

--Developing

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/554289-biden-calls-for-significant-de-escalation-in-call-with-netanyahu

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UPDATE:

Biden tells Netanyahu he expects 'a significant de-escalation today' with path toward cease-fire

Deirdre Shesgreen
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – In his most forceful statement yet on the Israel-Gaza conflict, President Joe Biden told Israel's prime minister he expects "a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire," the White House said on Wednesday.

Biden has been quietly ramping up pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days to end Israel's bombardment of Hamas targets in Gaza — amid mounting international alarm over the rising death toll and growing demands from Democrats in Congress for a cease-fire.

The White House said Biden and Netanyahu spoke Wednesday and the two leaders "had a detailed discussion on the state of events in Gaza, Israel’s progress in degrading the capabilities of Hamas and other terrorist elements, and ongoing diplomatic efforts by regional governments and the United States."

The two men spoke after Israeli widened its strikes on Hamas targets, killing at least six people across the Gaza Strip and destroying the home of an extended family early Wednesday.

MORE
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/05/19/biden-says-he-expects-significant-de-escalation-today-gaza/5162735001/

May 19, 2021

Republicans say Jan 6 probe is redundant, but here's what we still don't know

May 19, 2021, 9:06 AM EDT

By Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann

WASHINGTON — Despite all of the previous congressional hearings, the reporting and the impeachment proceedings regarding the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, there’s always been a crucial missing piece from that day.

That missing part? An official accounting of Donald Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, especially once he returned to the White House after addressing his rallied supporters.

We know what the former president tweeted. (“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution. ... These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”)

We know what he told House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, at least according to colleague Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash. (“Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.”)

more
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/republicans-say-jan-6-probe-redundant-here-s-what-we-n1267902

May 19, 2021

The South could still become a summertime Covid-19 hot spot

America has made progress on Covid-19 vaccines. But that progress is unequal across the country.

By German Lopez @germanrlopez [email protected] May 19, 2021, 9:30am EDT

All of a sudden, it seems like America is on the verge of liberation from Covid-19. Nearly half of all Americans have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has loosened recommendations for the fully vaccinated, particularly its mask guidance. States have followed the CDC’s lead, loosening their mask mandates and social distancing requirements.

But experts are increasingly worried that, in the southern half of the country, the return to normalcy could be a mirage and that summer could bring another wave of the virus in parts of the country. “I’m definitely worried,” Saskia Popescu, an epidemiologist at George Mason University, told me.

The concern isn’t about another nationwide surge, but potential state or local spikes. That’s because southern states, including much of the Sun Belt and especially the Deep South, face three distinct disadvantages this summer that other parts of the country don’t.

1) Lower vaccination rates: As the US has pushed ahead in its vaccination campaign, a significant gap between southern states and others has developed. In the Northeast, at least 50 percent of people in each state have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with a few states surpassing 60 percent. In Arizona and Texas, less than 45 percent of people have. In the Deep South, most states haven’t surpassed 40 percent rates — and Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi are below 35 percent. That leaves many unvaccinated people who remain vulnerable to the coronavirus.

more
https://www.vox.com/22442307/covid-19-vaccine-south-sun-belt-coronavirus-cases-pandemic-summer

May 19, 2021

Trump spends post-presidency allowance on high priced aides as he builds out political machine

By Gabby Orr, CNN

Updated 9:31 AM ET, Wed May 19, 2021

(CNN)Former President Donald Trump has spent his first five months away from Washington surrounded by a generously paid group of staffers, at least one of whom received a $32,000 raise over their White House salary, according to Freedom of Information Act records obtained by CNN.

As of May 12, the compensation for aides kept on by Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, who received about 20% of the $2.6 million sum available to both men in accordance with the Presidential Transaction Act, totaled $1.26 million. The lump sum for transition activities, which is managed by the General Services Administration during a former president's first six months out of office, is typically applied toward rent for a suitable office space, staff salaries and benefits, and printing and postage expenses.

In Trump's case, the bulk of the funds available to him have been used to pay several ex-White House staffers who remained by his side at his Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida -- where he has been building out a post-presidential political machine -- before he relocated earlier this month to his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, where he and his team will spend the summer. The FOIA records, which the Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW) shared with CNN, show that everyone from Trump's post-presidential communications director Dan Scavino and adviser Stephen Miller to an unidentified personal aide are receiving six-figure salaries.

While some aides took double-digit pay cuts from what they were making inside the Trump White House, one press assistant whose name was redacted in the records saw their salary increase from $58,000 to $90,000 annually. Like others assisting Trump with his transition, the aide was expected to receive benefits totaling an additional several thousand dollars between January 21 and July 21. Some of these details were first reported by Business Insider on Monday.

more
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/19/politics/trump-post-presidency-allowance/index.html

May 19, 2021

Advocates push Biden to use his exec powers to grant clemency for hundreds of women in fed prisons

Advocates push for Biden to use his executive powers to grant clemency for hundreds of women in federal prisons

By Christina Carrega, CNN

Updated 8:02 AM ET, Wed May 19, 2021

-snip-

There are over 220,000 women serving time behind bars including over 10,000 in federal prison, according to 2019 data from a nonprofit organization, Sentencing Project, and current figures from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Many of those women -- mostly Black and Latinx -- are serving mandatory sentences or several decades behind bars for conspiracy crimes "that stem from strict 20th century war on drug crime bills," Andrea James told CNN.

James, the founder and executive director of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, has called on President Joe Biden to grant pardons or to commute the sentences for 100 women at the beginning of his term. To date, Biden has not granted pardons or clemency or commuted the sentences for any inmate in the US correctional system.

As of May 10, there were 3,211 pardon and 11,804 clemency petitions pending, according to the Justice Department. Of those, 14 pardons and 461 clemency petitions were "closed without presidential action," the DOJ statistics show.

CNN previously reported that the White House has informed activists that Biden will not wait until the end of his term to begin granting people clemency, and that they should be expected before the middle of this presidential term, according to a source. The White House is working with the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney to vet applicants.

-snip-

full article:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/19/politics/biden-clemency-advocates-push-women-federal-prisons/index.html

May 19, 2021

'My God makes no mistakes': Texas Senate OKs ban on gender-affirming care for young Texans

Source: USA Today/Austin American-Statesman


Chuck Lindell
Austin American-Statesman

AUSTIN. Texas — After debating the meaning of God's love, the Texas Senate voted along party lines to give final approval Tuesday to a bill that would ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender Texans who are 17 and younger.

The 18-13 vote sent Senate Bill 1311 to the House, which has one week to vote on the measure, and it came one day after the Senate gave initial approval to the bill, also with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed.

Sen. Beverly Powell, D-Burleson, opened Tuesday's debate by noting that religion played a role in the previous day's discussion of SB 1311.

"I'm concerned, and I don't want to let this go without saying, that transgender people will hear this argument and will conclude there is no place for them in the church, or worse that God doesn't love them exactly as they are," she said.



Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/05/19/after-debating-theology-senate-oks-gender-care-ban-young-texans/5161989001

May 19, 2021

GOP to Democrats: If you raise taxes now, we'll cut them back when we win power

"We don't like the taxes," said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

May 19, 2021, 8:23 AM EDT
By Sahil Kapur

WASHINGTON — Republicans are sending a pointed warning to congressional Democrats: If you raise taxes on corporations and top earners, we'll just cut them back when we regain power.

President Joe Biden is considering whether to strike a deal with Republicans on a modest infrastructure package that wouldn't raise taxes — a GOP red line — or to go it alone and pass a larger bill through a special process that can be done with only Democratic votes. Or to do both.

Either way, the two sides are headed for a showdown over taxes, which Biden sees as key to funding priorities like clean energy investments and money to care for children and the elderly. And Republicans are quick to say Democrats' gains may be short-lived.

"There's no doubt in my mind that anybody running next year should be talking about reversing what I think are going to be tax increases at the worst possible time," said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., arguing that raising taxes on corporations and capital gains would harm the economy.

more
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/gop-democrats-if-you-raise-taxes-now-we-ll-cut-n1267861

May 19, 2021

Pandemic Hit Less-Educated Workers Hardest

May 19, 2021 at 9:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard

A new Federal Reserve survey found the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic was concentrated among minorities, women and workers who hadn’t finished high school, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Three-fourths of U.S. adults reported doing at least OK financially in November 2020, a share that was unchanged from previous years… But that finding masked significant divergences in economic well-being between workers who retained their jobs and those who were laid off, households with more education and those with less, and those who have children versus those without.”

Meanwhile, Gallup reports that 72% of U.S. white-collar workers are still working remotely — compared to 14% of blue-collar workers.

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https://politicalwire.com/2021/05/19/pandemic-hit-less-educated-workers-hardest/

May 18, 2021

In Arizona, Republicans accidentally created a robust demonstration of the shoddiness of their fraud

Philip Bump 17 mins ago

Bill Gates is vice chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, one of four Republicans on that body. On Monday afternoon, he made his frustrations with the ongoing “audit” of votes from the 2020 general election in that county apparent.

“It’s time to say enough is enough,” Gates said. “It is time to push back on the ‘Big Lie.’ We must do this. We must do this as a member of the Republican Party, we must do this as a member of the Board of Supervisors. We need to do this as a country.”

In addition to his comments at the news conference, Gates was one of seven signatories (most of them Republican) to a brutally blunt letter offered in response to questions posed by Arizona state Sen. Karen Fann (R). Fann, as president of the Senate, has been the legislative face of the vote-counting effort that her Republican-led chamber authorized. The questions Fann posed were apparently inspired by the team leading the audit, a group called Cyber Ninjas, and centered on various vague allegations of improper handling of ballots or deleted material.

The response from Gates and his colleagues is unsparing.

“ …[T]he Arizona Senate is not acting in good faith, has no intention of learning anything about the November 2020 General Election, [and] is only interested in feeding the various festering conspiracy theories that fuel the fundraising schemes of those pulling your strings,” the letter to Fann reads. “You have rented out the once good name of the Arizona State Senate to grifters and con-artists, who are fundraising hard-earned money from our fellow citizens even as your contractors parade around the Coliseum” — the location of the vote-counting effort — “hunting for bamboo and something they call 'kinematic artifacts' while shining purple lights for effect. None of these things are done in a serious audit. The result is that the Arizona Senate is held up to ridicule in every corner of the globe and our democracy is imperiled.”

more/NO PAYWALL
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/in-arizona-republicans-accidentally-created-a-robust-demonstration-of-the-shoddiness-of-their-fraud-claims/ar-BB1gS8sk

May 18, 2021

Biden's aid programs help buttress McCarthy's district despite GOP leader's complaints about...

Biden’s aid programs help buttress McCarthy’s district despite GOP leader’s complaints about ‘socialist’ spending

Erica Werner, Andrew Van Dam, Yeganeh Torbati 7 hrs ago

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has spent months accusing President Biden of pushing excessive government spending, denouncing it as “socialism.” But a Washington Post analysis finds that McCarthy’s constituents are among those who have benefited most from the very programs he’s decried, with high poverty levels and a younger population creating acute needs for individual and family aid.

An unusually large share of children in McCarthy’s district stand to benefit from the expanded child tax credit included in the American Rescue Plan he opposed — more than 93 percent, the seventh-highest proportion in California, according to figures reviewed by The Post.

Even as McCarthy has railed against the extension of enhanced unemployment benefits in the law, his region has been among the slowest in the state to recover from the pandemic-induced economic crisis. The unemployment rate in his region was still at double digits in March, while it had fallen into the single digits in California and the nation as a whole, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.



The Washington Post
Biden’s aid programs help buttress McCarthy’s district despite GOP leader’s complaints about ‘socialist’ spending
Erica Werner, Andrew Van Dam, Yeganeh Torbati 7 hrs ago
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2 pilots ejected from an F-15QA fighter jet during an emergency on the runway…
In Arizona, Republicans accidentally created a robust demonstration of the…

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has spent months accusing President Biden of pushing excessive government spending, denouncing it as “socialism.” But a Washington Post analysis finds that McCarthy’s constituents are among those who have benefited most from the very programs he’s decried, with high poverty levels and a younger population creating acute needs for individual and family aid.

Kevin McCarthy wearing a suit and tie: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) holds a news briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 11.© Joshua Roberts/Reuters House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) holds a news briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 11.
An unusually large share of children in McCarthy’s district stand to benefit from the expanded child tax credit included in the American Rescue Plan he opposed — more than 93 percent, the seventh-highest proportion in California, according to figures reviewed by The Post.

Even as McCarthy has railed against the extension of enhanced unemployment benefits in the law, his region has been among the slowest in the state to recover from the pandemic-induced economic crisis. The unemployment rate in his region was still at double digits in March, while it had fallen into the single digits in California and the nation as a whole, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With high levels of poverty in the district, McCarthy’s constituents have also relied heavily on stimulus checks sent out under the American Rescue Plan and earlier coronavirus relief bills. Census Bureau income data indicates that a significantly higher-than-average share of families in McCarthy’s district were probably eligible to receive stimulus checks. In 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, the poverty rate of 15.6 percent in McCarthy’s district was well above California’s 11.8 percent rate and the national rate of 12.3 percent.

more/NO PAYWALL
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-s-aid-programs-help-buttress-mccarthy-s-district-despite-gop-leader-s-complaints-about-socialist-spending/ar-BB1gRiY0