“The full breach of a Florida wastewater reservoir could unleash hundreds of millions of gallons of polluted industrial water into the nearby area, a threat that prompted officials to issue an evacuation order for residents near Tampa Bay and the governor to declare a state of emergency.” Read more at USA Today
“Official Washington found consensus over the weekend: Labels and definitions, talking points, and decades of policy assumptions are complicated by President Biden’s plan to rebuild America, whether it’s arguing over the meaning of ‘infrastructure,’ a definition of bipartisanship or the economic perils of red ink.
A common vernacular, let alone legislative agreement, appears to be missing.
The Hill: Battle lines are drawn on Biden’s infrastructure plan.
Biden calls the $2.3 trillion plan he unveiled last week a ‘jobs plan.’ White House economic adviser Brian Deese on Sunday repeated that the president’s goal is sustained employment growth (The Hill).
Bipartisan, which used to describe lawmakers’ support across party lines for legislation, now means public support across party lines for major initiatives, according to the president’s reading of recent polling (The Hill).
Sen. Roy Blunt (Mo.), the No. 4 Republican in the Senate, who will retire after next year, used an appearance on ‘Fox News Sunday’ to urge the White House to drop parts of the president’s plan he argued are not about infrastructure. ‘I think there’s an easy win for the White House,’ Blunt said without defining what that would be.
The Hill: Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) assailed Biden’s infrastructure proposal on Sunday as a left-leaning incarnation of progressives’ Green New Deal.
Across the aisle, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) disagreed with Blunt’s appraisal that Biden’s plan is too much, arguing the president’s ideas are too modest (The Hill).
It “depends on what you call infrastructure,” the senator said, noting a “crisis in human infrastructure.”
“Roads and bridges and tunnels are infrastructure. But I think many of us see a crisis in human infrastructure. When a working-class family can't find good-quality, affordable childcare, that's human infrastructure,” Sanders continued. “I think now is the time to begin addressing our physical infrastructure and our human infrastructure, I want to see that happen as soon as possible,” he added.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, one of the president’s surrogates tasked with helping sell the plan this spring and summer, told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ that the proposal, which Biden says would be offset by higher corporate taxes spread out over 15 years, would begin to trim federal deficits 16 years from now. That would be 2037.
Republican lawmakers oppose Biden’s plan to raise corporate taxes. The challenge for GOP lawmakers, however, is that they supported deficit spending when former Presidents George W. Bush and Trump were in the White House.
Fox News host Chris Wallace on Sunday questioned Blunt about the GOP’s ‘credibility’ on the national debt after the party approved tax cuts in 2017 that lowered the corporate rate. ‘I don't think anybody has a very good record,’ Blunt replied (The Hill).
More than three and a half years ago, Blunt joined his GOP colleagues and Trump in supporting the GOP’s new tax ‘reform’ law: ‘There’s a chance here to make a generational change that will last, I would hope, at least a generation as the structure. We can do that by lowering corporate rates,’ he said, as a way to bolster ‘international competition.’
Corporate rates are now back on the table as one avenue to provide a revenue stream for Democratic policies over at least eight years, offset in the budget over nearly twice as long, or 15 years, according to Biden’s plan.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Sunday said the administration is open to moving Democrats’ ideas through the 50-50 Senate with a simple-majority vote and a budget tool known as reconciliation. ‘As he has said, he was sent to the presidency to do a job for America, and if the vast majority of Americans, Democrats and Republicans, across the country support spending on our country and not allowing us to lose the race globally, then he's going to do that,’ Granholm told CNN (The Hill).
Reconciliation, to be successful among Democrats, requires the narrow majority to move in lockstep on a mammoth spending bill. That’s a tall order. Fallback ideas: Break the president’s plan into separate measures that might attract some GOP backers, or scrap the filibuster and live with the consequences.
Paul Kane, The Washington Post analysis: Even without the Senate filibuster, Democrats lack votes for ambitious parts of their agenda. The two most likely bills to get approved in a simple-majority Senate are the DREAM Act, which would grant permanent status to millions of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.” Read more at The Hill
“The U.S. administered a record 4 million COVID-vaccine doses in one day, the CDC said. The milestone came as coronavirus cases continue to surge in parts of the country.” Read more at CNN
“Just like experts predicted, coronavirus cases are ticking back up around the world. India has recorded its highest number of Covid-19 cases in a single day since the pandemic began, with more than 100,000 confirmed infections yesterday. South Korea’s health leaders are warning of another surge after the country recorded more than 500 new cases for the fifth straight day. In Europe, a third wave of hospitalizations and deaths has already arrived. Covid-19 variants are mostly to blame for the new rises, but as US officials have warned, lax safety measures are giving these variants even more strength. Now, we have more to worry about, like how long coronavirus vaccines may actually protect people. Doctors are worried that coronavirus may end up being like influenza, which requires a new vaccine every year because the strains mutate so quickly.” Read more at CNN
“Online disinformation is sowing vaccine distrust among evangelicals. Nearly half of white evangelical adults in the U.S. say they will not be vaccinated.” Read more at New York Times
“The Republican governors of Florida and Mississippi voiced opposition to ‘vaccine passports,’ credentials that would show a person’s vaccination status.” Read more at New York Times
“The stage is set. Monday night’s national championship game between Gonzaga and Baylor is the most anticipated men's basketball title game in years , matching teams that have been No. 1 and No. 2 most of the season with the Zags trying to finish the first perfect season in the sport since 1976. For both Gonzaga and Baylor, this NCAA Tournament has been about unfinished business. The pathway to the 2021 national championship – not 2020's – began when March Madness was canceled on March 12 of last year, as both teams returned a chunk of their rosters for 2020-21. What Gonzaga didn't have last year, though, is freshman standout Jalen Suggs, who is fresh off of etching himself into college basketball history with his incredible overtime buzzer-beater to down upset-minded UCLA in the Final Four on Saturday. Tip-off for the national championship will be at 9 p.m. ET at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The game will air on CBS.” Read more at USA Today
“Jurors will return to the courtroom Monday to hear more testimony from witnesses in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin , charged with George Floyd's murder. Jurors heard from 19 people last week, including several who witnessed Floyd's death and broke down in tears on the stand as they described their attempts to intervene on his behalf. Several Minneapolis police officers, including Chauvin's supervisor at the time of Floyd's death, testified about what they saw at the scene after Floyd was arrested, police training and the officers' use of force on Floyd. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Floyd, a Black man, died in police custody on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who is white, pinned his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.” Read more at USA Today
“A historic night at the Screen Actors Guild Awards was highlighted by the late Chadwick Boseman's win for best lead actor in a film for his role in ‘Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.’ Boseman was one of the four actors of color who earned individual acting honors Sunday — the first time that has happened at the SAG Awards.” Read more at USA Today
“Ending a nearly three-decade national championship drought, Stanford won the NCAA women's national championship game Sunday night, and coach Tara VanDerveer made history.” Read more at USA Today
Photo: Morry Gash/AP Above, Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer cuts down the net after the Cardinal beat Arizona, 54-53, in a women's national championship that came down to the final shot.
“VanDerveer this season passed Pat Summitt to become the all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history (now 1,125 career wins).VanDerveer won two titles in her first three appearances in the Final Four, starting in 1990, The (San Jose) Mercury News reports.” Read more at Axios
“The personal information of about half a billion Facebook users, including their phone numbers, have been posted to a website used by hackers, cybersecurity experts say. This includes more than 32 million accounts in the US, 11 million in the UK and 6 million in India. Possible details exposed on the site include things like full names, locations, birthdays, email addresses, phone numbers, and relationship statuses. Facebook says the data was shared in 2019, and the issue leading to the leak was fixed later that year. However, the data could still be of value to hackers and cyber criminals like those who engage in identify theft.” Read more at CNN
“After the pandemic-induced economic slump comes potentially the biggest global boom in more than half a century. Many countries may not benefit.
Prospects are ‘diverging dangerously’ in the world economy, according to Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, which holds its semi-annual meeting online this week.
As Rich Miller and Enda Curran write, the U.S. is bouncing back via trillions of dollars of budgetary stimulus. China, the only major economy to expand in 2020, is enjoying a V-shaped recovery after taming the coronavirus (and could be on track to overtake America as the world’s biggest economy by 2028 on some forecasts).
Buoyed by a successful inoculation campaign, the U.K. plans to trial Covid-19 passports to kick start an economy still reeling from its deepest recession in 300 years.
Still, countries in Europe are mired in new lockdowns as the European Union’s immunization program stumbles. And emerging markets such as Brazil, Turkey and Russia are squeezed by a slow pace of vaccination and pressure to hike interest rates to counter inflation or prevent capital outflows.
So while the two biggest economies power ahead, large parts of the world may continue to struggle. The IMF estimates global output will still be 3% lower in 2024 than was projected before the pandemic.
Covid-19 has laid bare social and political tensions that may show up in elections this year in key countries including Germany, Russia and Mexico.
The risk now is an uneven recovery deepens international divisions between Covid ‘winners’ and ‘losers,’ fueling instability the world can ill afford. —Tony Halpin Read more at Bloomberg
“The pandemic has pushed teachers out of the workforce in droves, and many schools don't have a safety net to fill the gaps as children come back into classrooms, Axios' Erica Pandey reports.
Why it matters: Teaching has been one of the toughest pandemic-era jobs, with the pivot to remote learning, then the stress of reopening.
Teacher retirements are up 44% in Michigan since August, Crain's Detroit Business reports. School in Long Beach, Calif., saw teacher leaves of absence spike 35% this year, according to EdSurge.
73% of districts said their need for substitute teachers was more dire in 2020 than in 2019, Education Week found in a survey of principals and school administrators.
74% said the number of applicants for sub positions dropped.
What to watch: Schools are hiring. While many industries are still recovering from the initial pandemic crash, job openings for teachers are 2% higher than pre-pandemic levels, AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist at the job-search site Indeed, tells Axios.” Read more at Axios
“Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen today will use her first major address to argue for a global minimum corporate tax rate, Axios' Hans Nichols has learned.
Why it matters: Yellen is acknowledging the risks to the American economy if it acts alone in raising corporate rates.
Convincing other countries to impose a global minimum tax would reduce the likelihood of companies relocating offshore, as Biden seeks to increase the corporate rate from 21% to 28%.
The average corporate rate in the G7 is 24%, with some nine countries around the world recently lowering their corporate rate, according to the Tax Foundation, a conservative tax group.
Yellen will also challenge the world’s economic powers to focus on climate change, and on ways to improve vaccine access for the world’s poorest countries.” Read more at Axios
“The Open Society Foundations are pledging $20 million+ for grassroots organizing to rally progressives around President Biden's infrastructure and social welfare proposals, Axios' Hans Nichols scoops.
Why it matters: Backing from the George Soros-founded group is a call to action for Democratic donors and activists, who want Biden to go bigger with his $2 trillion+ infrastructure plan.” Read more at Axios
“Former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee came under criticism Saturday for a tweet attacking Major League Baseball and several corporations that many found bigoted and insensitive.” Read more at USA Today
“Lives Lived: Winfred Rembert survived a near-lynching in rural Georgia in 1967. He learned to carve figures into leather while in prison, and later became a renowned artist whose work told the story of the Jim Crow South. He died at 75.” Read more at New York Times
“A prayer vigil is planned for Monday outside of the hospital in White Plains, New York, where DMX, whose legal name is Earl Simmons, was rushed late Friday night after suffering a heart attack, his family announced. The 50-year-old rapper's family released a statement through publicist Angelo Ellerbee on Sunday afternoon saying: ‘our brother, son, father’ was admitted to White Plains Hospital ‘facing serious health issues.’ DMX's longtime lawyer Murray Richman also told The Associated Press on Saturday evening that the hip-hop star was on life support, but could not confirm reports the heart attack was caused by a drug overdose.” Read more at USA Today
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial swings into high gear today, with his political future also on the line after a fourth inconclusive election.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Russia is amassing major military power in an unexpected location: The Arctic. New satellite imagery reveals the country is testing its newest weapons in a region freshly ice-free due to climate change in a bid to secure its northern coast and open up a key shipping route from Asia to Europe. Weapons experts have expressed particular concern about one Russian "super-weapon," the Poseidon 2M39 torpedo. This unmanned stealth torpedo could cause radioactive waves that would render parts of the target coastline uninhabitable for decades. The climate crisis is quickly and dramatically changing the geography of areas to Russia’s north, which has US military officials concerned that the country will continue to stake a claim over emerging land, and gain control over sea routes and tactical ground.” Read more at CNN
“Jordan's government has accused former crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein, the half-brother of the country's current ruler King Abdullah II, of plotting to ‘destabilize’ the country. The nation's deputy prime minister said the government has intercepted communications from Hamzah, his inner circle, and foreign entities that allegedly show the former crown prince trying to mobilize Jordan’s public against the state. Between 16 and 18 people have already been arrested over the alleged plot, and Hamzah says he has now been forced into isolation with his family. The situation reveals a big rift among Jordan’s ruling family, but some of the most powerful countries in the world are on the current king’s side. The US and a growing list of Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, have voiced their backing of King Abdullah.” Read more at CNN
“Rutte’s ructions. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s grip on power may be loosening as a key prospective coalition partner ruled out joining a government led by him. The leader of ChristenUnie, one of Rutte’s four coalition partners up until last March’s election, said they ‘cannot be part of a fourth Rutte government’ in an interview with a Dutch newspaper over the weekend. It adds more pressure on Rutte to step aside, after two other allied parties filed a motion of no confidence in him last Friday. The Dutch parliament is to appoint an independent coordinator to jump start the process of forming a government this week.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Ghani’s plan. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is set to propose a three-phase peace roadmap for Afghanistan during U.N.-backed talks in Turkey, expected some time within the next two weeks. Ghani’s plan would see a cease-fire agreement precede a presidential election, with a new constitutional framework decided afterward. The plan differs from Washington’s, which would see Ghani sidelined by an interim administration that would include Taliban representatives. The plan comes as the Taliban has threatened to resume attacking foreign troops if the United States does not withdraw its military personnel before a May 1 deadline.” Read more at Foreign Policy
Protesters in Mawlamyine, Myanmar, last month. The New York Times
“Myanmar’s security forces have killed hundreds of civilians since a February military coup. At least 40 were children.” Read more at New York Times