The Full Belmonte, 12/21/21
“Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S., accounting for 73% of new infections last week, federal health officials said.” Read more at USA Today
“President Joe Biden is expected to announce Tuesday the purchase of a half-billion, at-home rapid COVID-19 tests and the mobilization of 1,000 military medical personnel to overburdened hospitals in an effort to confront surging COVID-19 infections and the new, highly-transmissible omicron variant. Biden will reassure Americans that the administration is prepared for the rising case levels, while issuing a ‘stark warning’ to unvaccinated individuals who continue to drive hospitalizations and deaths, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. An administration official who outlined the plans to reporters declined to say how many free, at-home tests Americans will be able to access through a new website but said they would be delivered through the mail.” Read more at USA Today
Former President Donald Trump smiles as he pauses while speaking to supporters at a Turning Point Action gathering in Phoenix, July 24, 2021. Trump has revealed he received a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, drawing boos from a crowd in Dallas.
Ross D. Franklin—Associated Press
“(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump revealed he received a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, drawing boos from a crowd in Dallas.
Trump made the disclosure Sunday night during the final stop of ‘The History Tour,’ a live interview show he has been doing with former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly.
‘Both the president and I are vaxxed,’ O’Reilly said at the American Airlines Center, drawing some jeers from the audience, according to video shared online by O’Reilly’s ‘No Spin News.’
‘Did you get the booster?’ he asked the former president. ‘Yes,’ Trump responded. ‘I got it, too,’ O’Reilly said, eliciting more hectoring.
‘Don’t! Don’t! Don’t! Don’t! Don’t!’ Trump told the crowd, waving off their reaction with his hand.
While Trump has expressed opposition to vaccine mandates, he has long taken credit for the vaccines developed on his watch. At the same time, he has refused to urge his supporters to take them, even though Republicans remain far less likely than Democrats to be protected.
For instance, while other world leaders, including former Vice President Mike Pence, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, received their doses publicly to promote the lifesaving medicine, Trump chose to receive his in private — an acknowledgement of the unpopularity of the vaccine with large swaths of his base. And while he has blamed the Biden administration for high levels of vaccine skepticism, he repeatedly undermined public health recommendations while in office, encouraging the use of unproven treatments and playing down the threat the virus posed as he tried to prioritize economic recovery and secure a second term.” Read more at USA Today
“Donald Trump is suing New York Attorney General Letitia James. The complaint accuses her of having a political vendetta and abusing her office to launch investigations into him, his company and his family. James, a Democrat, is investigating the former Republican president and his businesses for alleged corruption.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Donald Trump is increasingly agitated by the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack, according to sources familiar with the matter, and appears anxious he might be implicated in the sprawling inquiry into the insurrection even as he protests his innocence.
The former president in recent weeks has complained more about the investigation, demanding why his former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, shared so much material about 6 January with the select committee, and why dozens of other aides have also cooperated.
Trump has also been perturbed by aides invoking the Fifth Amendment in depositions - it makes them look weak and complicit in a crime, he has told associates - and considers them foolish for not following the lead of his former strategist Steve Bannon in simply ignoring the subpoenas.
When Trump sees new developments in the Capitol attack investigation on television, he has started swearing about the negative coverage and bemoaned that the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, was too incompetent to put Republicans on the committee to defend him.” Read more at The Guardian
“The House committee investigating Jan. 6 is seeking documents from a sitting member of Congress: Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican.” Read more at New York Times
“WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are struggling to pick up the pieces after Sen. Joe Manchin effectively crushed President Joe Biden’s big domestic policy bill. But they face serious questions whether the $2 trillion initiative can be refashioned to win his crucial vote or the party will be saddled with a devastating defeat.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed on Monday that the chamber would vote early in the new year on Biden’s ‘Build Back Better Act’ as it now stands so every senator ‘has the opportunity to make their position known on the Senate floor, not just on television.’ That was a biting reference to Manchin’s sudden TV announcement against the bill on Sunday.
Biden and Manchin spoke later Sunday, according to a person familiar with the call, first reported by Politico. It was cordial and respectful, said the person who spoke only on condition of anonymity.
But the conservative West Virginia Democrat and his party are so far apart, his relationships so bruised after months of failed talks, it’s unclear how they even get back to the negotiating table, let alone revive the sprawling more than 2,100-page social services and climate change bill.
‘We’re going to work like hell to get it done,’ said White House press secretary Jen Psaki, repeating the phrase several times at a briefing but never saying how.
The setback throws Biden’s signature legislative effort into deep doubt at a critical time, closing out the end of the president’s first year and ahead of congressional midterm elections when the Democrats’ slim hold on Congress. is at risk.
Coupled with solid Republican opposition, Manchin’s vote is vital in the 50-50 split Senate on this and other initiatives, including the Democrats’ priority voting rights legislation that Schumer also promised would come to an early vote.
From the White House, Psaki struck a more conciliatory tone than her weekend hardball reaction to Manchin, saying Biden is a ‘longtime friend’ of the senator and the president is focused on moving forward.
Vice President Kamala Harris told CBS News ‘the stakes are too high’ for this to be about ‘any specific individual.’ She said, ‘This is about let’s get the job done.’
Steeped in the politics of a state that Biden lost decisively to Donald Trump, Manchin has little to gain from aligning too closely with fellow Democrats, raising fresh questions over whether he still has a place in the party.” Read more at AP News
“WASHINGTON — A day after announcing that he would not support his party’s signature domestic policy legislation, Senator Joe Manchin III, the centrist Democrat from West Virginia, offered an unsparing critique of the efforts by the Biden administration and senior Democrats on Capitol Hill to pass the sprawling $2.2 trillion climate, spending, and tax bill.
In a 14-minute interview with a local West Virginia radio station, Manchin directly faulted White House staff and top Democrats for what Manchin described as a misplaced assumption that he could be pressured into accepting such a large package. He said that over six months of negotiations, they failed to adequately respond to his concerns and sufficiently cut down the scope and size of the measure.” Read more at Boston Globe
“WASHINGTON — Stymied by Republicans on voting rights legislation, Senator Chuck Schumer on Monday gave the clearest sign yet that he would try to force a fundamental change in Senate rules if needed to enact federal laws to offset voting restrictions being imposed by Republican-led legislatures around the country.
In a letter to colleagues, Schumer, a New York Democrat and the majority leader, said that the Senate would take up stalled voting rights legislation as early as the first week of January and that if Republicans continued to filibuster, the Senate would ‘consider changes to any rules which prevent us from debating and reaching final conclusion on important legislation.’” Read more at Boston Globe
“The E.P.A. will require new cars to get 55 miles per gallon starting in 2026.” Read more at New York Times
“California sued Walmart yesterday, alleging the retail giant has been disposing of hazardous waste at a rate of ‘more than one million items each year.’ The lawsuit alleges Walmart has illegally dumped 159,600 pounds of hazardous waste a year in landfills in the state that aren't equipped to handle the materials, including lithium batteries, pesticides and cleaning supplies. The complaint also alleges Walmart has been breaking California environmental law for the past six years. When toxic waste is in landfills, it can make its way into drinking water or into the air. Walmart said in a statement that it intends to defend itself against the lawsuit, which it called ‘unjustified.’” Read more at CNN
“Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) delivered a hammer blow to President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better spending package Sunday, announcing on Fox News that he couldn’t vote for it because he thinks it’s too expensive. However, according to HuffPost, Manchin was heard in Congress discussing another problem he has with Biden’s domestic spending plan—that it would give low-income parents money that they might waste on drugs. Two unnamed sources said to be familiar with the alleged comments told the site that the senator was heard speculating that parents might buy drugs with monthly child tax credit payments instead of providing for their kids. He is also reported to have said that Americans might fake an illness to claim paid sick leave to go on hunting trips. According to HuffPost, Manchin’s purported comments ‘shocked several senators.’ His office declined to comment on HuffPost’s report.” [Daily Beast] Read it at HuffPost
“The Pentagon is updating its personnel policies to address a concerning rise of extremism within the military and hold service members accountable for the views they express on social media, officials said Monday.
The rules stem from revelations that military personnel and veterans were among those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Upon taking office this year, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pledged to study how prevalent the problem may be and take steps to eliminate it.
Senior U.S. defense officials said the Pentagon’s approach will not expressly prohibit membership in extremist groups — and does not target particular ideologies or political leanings, despite the prevalence of right-wing groups that participated in the Capitol attack. Instead, it focuses on addressing ‘actions’ and will rely in large part on individual service members or outside law enforcement agencies to report concerning behavior.” Read more at Washington Post
“The jury tasked with considering whether Ghislaine Maxwell is a dangerous predator who recruited teens to be sexually abused by financier Jeffrey Epstein – as prosecutors put it – or the ‘innocent woman’ a defense attorney described her as, will continue deliberating Tuesday . The closings in Maxwell's sex-trafficking trial came after two dozen prosecution witnesses testified, including the four women who say they were abused by Epstein with the help of Maxwell when they were teenagers. The defense rested its case on Friday after Maxwell told the judge she wouldn't testify.” Read more at USA Today
“After meeting for about five hours Monday, a jury will resume deliberations Tuesday in the manslaughter trial of Kim Potter, a former police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, who fatally shot 20-year-old Black motorist Daunte Wright while yelling ‘Taser’ during an April traffic stop in April.
The panel must determine if prosecutors proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Potter ‘recklessly’ handled her firearm and caused Wright's death through her ‘culpable negligence’ – charge elements that experts say leave much to jurors' interpretation.” Read more at USA Today
“‘Moderate to strong shaking’: A strong magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit Northern California Monday, likely causing minimal damage to the sparsely populated area.” Read more at USA Today
“Another retiring Dem: Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) won't seek re-election next year, bringing the total number of Democratic retirements to 21, compared to 12 Republicans. Chart.” Read more at Axios
“Rep. Mo Brooks leaves little doubt about how he hopes to win the Republican primary for Alabama’s open U.S. Senate seat next year. The words ‘Endorsed by Trump’ precede his name in his campaign logo, and the same message is printed in his Twitter handle.
But eight months after receiving the former president’s highest blessing in one of the nation’s reddest states, Brooks is still struggling to win Trump’s approval behind the scenes, and his standing has begun to fade in the state amid fierce competition.
As a result, Alabama is once again set up to host one of the most suspenseful Senate primaries in the country, with outside groups and candidates preparing to spend millions in a contest that will help shape the tone and tenor of the Republican caucus and the future face of conservative governance in the Deep South.” Read more at Washington Post
“Oracle will buy Cerner, one of the largest vendors of electronic health record systems, for $28.3 billion in cash.” Read more at Axios
“Millions have signed a petition calling for a reduced sentence for the truck driver behind a 28-car pileup in Colorado in 2019 that killed four. Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos was sentenced to 110 years. The judge said he didn't think Aguilera-Mederos deserved life in prison, but Colorado does not allow for sentences to be served concurrently.” Read more at NPR
“The long-awaited James Webb Space Telescope is set to launch Christmas Eve on a journey to reconstruct the history of the universe, Axios Space author Miriam Kramer writes.
Why it matters: The telescope, billed as the Hubble Space Telescope's successor, is designed to peer into atmospheres of distant alien planets, and see some of the first galaxies formed after the Big Bang.
The Webb telescope is expected to launch Friday at 7:20 a.m. ET from Kourou, French Guiana.” Read more at Axios
“A staff member at a D.C. elementary school made third-graders pretend to die in gas chambers and shoot their classmates in ghoulish reenactments of the Holocaust, according to The Washington Post. The instructor, who went unnamed in an email to the students’ parents from Watkins Elementary School’s principal, was placed on leave last week. The third-graders, who had been sent to a library class on Friday for a different self-directed project, were made to simulate the scenes by the instructor during allotted research time, Principle MScott Berkowitz wrote.
When asked by the students why the Germans had committed genocide, a parent told the Post, the school employee reportedly replied it was ‘because the Jews ruined Christmas.’ The staff member also reportedly cast one student, identified as Jewish by another parent, as Adolf Hitler. The student was told to pretend to commit suicide at the end of the exercise. Another third-grader allegedly had to pretend to be on a train to a concentration camp.
The staff member apparently asked the students not to tell anyone about the reenactments once they were done, but they reported it to their homeroom teacher, according to a parent. ‘I want to acknowledge the gravity of this poor instructional decision,’ Berkowitz wrote, ‘as students should never be asked to act out or portray any atrocity.’” [Daily Beast] Read it at The Washington Post
“The World Economic Forum—the exclusive annual get-together of the global elite in Davos, Switzerland—has been canceled for the second year running as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to spiral out of control once more. The group said in a statement Monday morning that the gathering of political leaders and billionaires, which is normally held in January, is being pushed back until later in 2022. The statement said: ‘The World Economic Forum will defer its Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in the light of continued uncertainty over the Omicron outbreak... It is now planned for early summer.’ Organizers said an online series of ‘State of the World’ sessions will be held in January in place of the in-person event ‘to focus on shaping solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.’ The 2021 session was canceled at the beginning of this year.” [Daily Beast] Read it at CNBC
“The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year has surpassed 300 as humanitarian agencies warned the true scale of destruction remains unknown, partly because rescue workers can't access some disaster-hit areas. Super Typhoon Rai, known locally as Odette, has now claimed at least 375 lives since it ripped through the archipelago late last week, and more deaths are expected to be confirmed as rescue operations continue. Rai, the 15th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, made landfall Thursday on Siargao Island, packing winds of up to 160 mph and bringing with it heavy rains.” Read more at CNN
“More than a year into Ethiopia’s brutal civil war, Tigrayan rebel forces have announced plans to withdraw all troops from Afar and Amhara, two highly contested regions.
“We trust that our bold act of withdrawal will be a decisive opening for peace,” Debretsion Gebremichael, the leader of Tigray, said in a letter to the United Nations. “We propose an immediate cessation of hostilities followed by negotiations.”
The war, which broke out in November 2020, has taken a deadly toll. For months, Ethiopians have faced mounting humanitarian crises: ethnic cleansing campaigns in Tigray; widespread famine conditions; aid blockades; and the weaponization of sexual violence. Throughout the conflict, all parties—the Ethiopian central government, allied with neighboring Eritrea, and the opposing Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)—have been suspected of committing atrocities.
In the letter, Gebremichael called for a no-fly zone over Tigray and arms embargoes on the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments, while denouncing the international community’s humanitarian inaction throughout the conflict.
By issuing the letter, ‘the TPLF has reset the narrative,’ said Cameron Hudson, a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. ‘They’ve been able to put responsibility on the international community for failing to defend them, and they’ve now put the ball in the government’s court.’
Sharp turn. Just a month ago, Tigrayan forces appeared to have the upper hand. In November, the government declared a state of emergency as it braced for the TPLF’s advance on Addis Ababa, even going so far as to call on citizens to defend the city from a military assault. But after being armed with a steady supply of Emirati, Turkish, and Iranian combat drones, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s fortunes slowly shifted….
What’s next? With the Tigrayans’ terms now on the table, much now rests on how Abiy chooses to respond. In recent weeks, the government reportedly closed schools to support the war effort, while thousands of civilians left their jobs to enlist in the army.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Growing concerns. Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis star who disappeared from public life after making #MeToo allegations against a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party official, has now denied making the accusations. ‘I’ve never claimed, or written about anyone having sexually assaulted me,’ she said in a video interview, while insisting that she was ‘very free’ and wasn’t coerced into making any statements. She added: ‘There’s been a lot of misunderstanding.’
Her remarks did little to allay fears over her current status or whether she could speak freely. ‘These appearances do not alleviate or address the WTA’s significant concerns about her wellbeing and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion,’ the Women’s Tennis Association said.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“BEIRUT (AP) — The U.N. chief called on Monday for an impartial and transparent investigation into last year’s massive Beirut port explosion to ensure justice, after paying tribute to the victims of the blast.
The Aug. 4, 2020 blast has been described as one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in the world. It devastated the Lebanese capital, killing at least 216 people and injuring thousands.
Standing under the rain, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is visiting Lebanon, laid a wreath at a memorial bearing the names of the victims at the Beirut Port site of the explosion.
The blast was caused by the detonation of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse at the port for years, apparently with the knowledge of senior politicians and security officials who did nothing about it.” Read more at Boston Globe
“Cairo cracks down. In the latest blow to Egyptian civil society and human rights, authorities sentenced three well-known activists to several years in prison for ‘spreading false news undermining national security.’ The three men—political activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, human rights lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer, and popular blogger Mohamed Ibrahim—have been detained since the government cracked down in 2019. Under Egyptian law, they cannot appeal their sentences.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Turkey’s collapsing currency. Turkey’s currency, the lira, plunged to record low values on Monday after falling for months. Since September, the lira lost an estimated 40 percent of its value as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan consistently cut interest rates, despite climbing inflation and warnings over his economic policy.
Ankara’s currency crisis may soon fuel a global Nutella shortage. Turkey dominates in hazelnut production, a key ingredient in Nutella, producing an estimated 70 percent of the world’s hazelnuts. The lira’s plunge, however, has driven up essential production costs, thereby straining hazelnut farmers—and the supply of the creamy spread.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Tit-for-tat expulsions. After Berlin expelled two Russian diplomats last week, Moscow retaliated with two diplomatic expulsions of its own on Monday. The original source of friction was the 2019 murder of Chechen rebel in Germany: last week, a German court ruled that the Kremlin was behind the assassination, and ordered Russia’s diplomats out.
‘This move comes as no surprise, but it is completely unwarranted from the federal government’s perspective,’ the German Foreign Ministry said. ‘Today’s decision by Russia’s Foreign Ministry puts renewed strain on the relationship.’” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Due to the rising number of positive COVID-19 cases, the National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association agreed to start their Christmas break early . The NHL plans to pause its season Wednesday, two days before the originally scheduled break. So, the final two games on the NHL's schedule — the Washington Capitals at the Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m. ET) and the Tampa Bay Lightning visiting the Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET) — are both a go Tuesday, pending any additional positive tests.
Meanwhile, two National Football League matchups originally scheduled for Sunday will be played Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET (both airing on FOX) due to COVID concerns. The Washington Football Team is traveling to Philadelphia to play the Eagles in an NFC East rivalry game and the Los Angeles Rams will host the Seattle Seahawks in a key NFC West matchup.” Read more at USA Today
“‘Welcome to the White House’: A new member has joined the first family! President Joe Biden has a new puppy named Commander.” Read more at USA Today
Meet the new White House puppy, Commander. This photo from President Joe Biden's Twitter account shows the first family's newest member, a German shepherd romping on the law with a tennis ball. The pup joins the president and first lady Jill Biden's rescue dog, Major, after their older dog, Champ, died in June at age 13.Handout/White House/AFP via Getty Images