“WASHINGTON — President Biden said Monday the White House will ‘make it clear’ that Americans on unemployment must take a job if offered a ‘suitable’ one or lose their benefits, wading into an issue that Republicans have seized on in the past week.
The White House said it is directing the Department of Labor to work with states on reimposing work search requirements for Americans collecting unemployment benefits. The Labor Department will soon issue a letter to ‘reaffirm’ the rules of unemployment to ensure that workers, employers, and states understand the program, the White House said.
In remarks in the East Room, Biden reiterated that the administration disputes GOP claims that April’s jobs data, released Friday, shows that unemployment benefits are too generous and causing workers to stay home rather than rejoin the workforce.” Read more at Boston Globe
“The cyberattack that forced the closure of the top U.S. fuel pipeline threatens to disrupt gasoline supplies for millions, as the conduit’s owner estimated Monday that restoring service would take at least through week’s end.
The new timeline for the Colonial Pipeline, a 5,500-mile system from Texas to New Jersey, came as the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it believed the attack involved a criminal gang with Eastern European ties known as DarkSide.
Colonial Pipeline Co. said Monday it hoped to substantially restore service on the pipeline, which it shut Friday, by the end of this week.
The Colonial Pipeline transports about 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast, according to the company’s website. The Alpharetta, Ga.-based company said that restoring its network, in coordination with the Energy Department and other federal agencies, will take time, and that it was bringing segments back online in stages.
DarkSide created the malicious code that resulted in the Colonial Pipeline’s shutdown, FBI officials said Monday. The organization is a relatively new hacking group that Western security researchers say is likely based in Eastern Europe, possibly in Russia.
The group posted a statement earlier Monday claiming that its sole goal was to make money and denied it was connected to a foreign government. It didn’t mention the Colonial Pipeline or how much money was being demanded. ‘We are apolitical, we do not participate in geopolitics,’ the group said in the statement.
The Biden administration issued an emergency waiver extending hours for truck drivers delivering fuel across 17 states, including several across the southeastern U.S. that depend on the pipeline for much of the fuel they consume. President Biden said Monday that he is prepared to take additional action, depending on how much time is needed for the pipeline to resume operations.
He said ransomware was a growing problem in need of a global response and that more investment in critical infrastructure was necessary to safeguard critical systems from debilitating cyberattacks.
Mr. Biden and others said the Russian government didn’t appear to have a hand in the attack, but he criticized Moscow for tolerating criminal hackers within its borders.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Jerusalem violence escalates. At least 20 Palestinians, including nine children, were killed in the Gaza Strip on Monday night by Israeli air strikes, after Hamas militants fired rockets toward Jerusalem. Violence erupted in Jerusalem earlier Monday when Israeli security forces entered the al-Aqsa mosque compound firing rubber bullets and stun grenades, leaving more than 300 Palestinians and dozens of police officers injured.
The brewing conflict came to a head on Monday, when a march for Jerusalem Day—which commemorates Israel’s capture of the Old City—was planned. Tensions have also risen in anticipation of a Supreme Court decision on forced evictions of Palestinians in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Israeli authorities changed the route of the march at the last minute to avoid Arab areas of the Old City, but Hamas followed through on its threat to retaliate if security forces did not leave the mosque and another area in East Jerusalem.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the attacks from Gaza need to stop ‘immediately’ and called for both sides to reduce tensions. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not mince his words in responding to the day’s events. ‘Israel will respond very forcefully,’ he said in a speech. ‘Whoever strikes us will pay a heavy price.’” Read more at Foreign Policy
“The Pfizer vaccine will now be available to kids ages 12 to 15 after the FDA expanded its emergency use authorization. Pediatricians and pharmacies could start administering the shots as early as Thursday. Experts say getting young teens vaccinated could make a huge difference in snuffing out the pandemic. In India, the country’s ongoing coronavirus catastrophe is threatening to impact the world economy. Analysts are rethinking their predictions for India’s growth this year, which is troubling after the country's recession last year. Not to mention, India and its ships and waterways are crucial for global supply chains. The country also typically produces more than 60% of all vaccines sold globally, but the largest vaccine maker there is shifting to focus on domestic needs.” Read more at CNN
“MOSCOW — At least seven students and a teacher were killed and 18 people were injured Tuesday in a school shooting in the Russian city of Kazan, according to the head of the Republic of Tatarstan.
Speaking to local reporters in Kazan, the Tatarstan capital, about 500 miles east of Moscow, Rustam Minnikhanov said the alleged shooter, whom he described as a ‘19-year-old terrorist,’ was detained. Minnikhanov said the alleged gunman had a weapon registered in his name and that ‘no accomplices have been established.’
Video footage shared on social media showed students hurling themselves from third-floor windows to escape the gunfire. Two children died jumping from the windows, according to the RIA news agency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a plane with medics, psychologists and equipment to be dispatched to Kazan to assist the victims. Putin has also instructed the head of the Russian National Guard to ‘urgently’ draft new regulation on what kind of weapons can be owned by civilians, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.” Read more at Washington Post
“The millionaire CEOs of some of the American companies with the lowest-paid workers saw an average pay raise of 29% in 2020 while their workers saw a 2% decrease, according to a report released Tuesday.
The Institute for Policy Studies calculated that the average CEO compensation in 2020 was $15.3m when looking at the 100 companies with the lowest median wage for workers in the S&P 500 index.
The median worker pay was $28,187. This means that CEOs saw a 29% pay raise compared to 2019, while workers saw a 2% decrease. For all 100 companies, median worker pay was below $50,000 for 2020.
The compensation hike came as companies gave their top leaders hefty bonuses and forgiving performance benchmarks during the pandemic, allowing the top executives to cash in while their low-wage employees were essential workers.” Read more at The Guardian
“A census released in Beijing this morning showed that the number working-age people in China fell over the past decade as growth dropped to near zero, adding to economic challenges for Chinese leaders.
The total population rose to 1.411 billion people last year in the once-a-decade census, up 72 million from 2010, AP reports.
‘China is facing a unique demographic challenge that is the most urgent and severe in the world,’ Liang Jianzhang, a Peking University demography expert told the N.Y. Times. ‘This is a long-term time bomb.’
‘Beijing is now under greater pressure,’ The Times writes, ‘to abandon its family planning policies, which are among the world’s most intrusive; overhaul an economic model that has long relied on a huge population and a growing pool of workers; and plug yawning gaps in health care and pensions.’” Read more at Axios
“State, city and county governments are set to begin receiving their first infusion of direct aid Tuesday — two months after President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law, which mandated the Treasury Department deliver the assistance within 60 days. The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package included $350 billion in direct aid to states and cities designed to replenish governments that experienced tax revenue shortfalls as businesses locked down during the coronavirus pandemic.” Read more at USA Today
“At 10 p.m., Virginia Republicans acknowledged Glenn Youngkin, 54 — a pro-Trump, first-time candidate who campaigned as a Christian outsider — as their nominee to take on Terry McAuliffe in this year's only open-seat governor's race.
Youngkin retiredlast year as co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, the private-equity firm co-founded by David Rubenstein.
Youngkin didn't acknowledge President Biden’s electoral win and made "election integrity" a centerpiece of his campaign, per the WashPost.
He won a complicated ‘unassembled convention,’ in which delegates voted at nearly 40 drive-thru sites.
The big picture: In a field of seven, Youngkin beat the two candidates who most closely aligned with Donald Trump — who didn't endorse anyone — giving the GOP hope for November, the N.Y. Times reports.
Republicans haven't won the Virginia Executive Mansion since 2009.” Read more at Axios
“The only woman in Republican Senate leadership complained about cancel culture on Monday, regarding the imminent removal of Liz Cheney, the only woman in Republican House leadership, because she opposes Donald Trump’s big lie that the presidential election was stolen.
The Iowa senator Joni Ernst told reporters: ‘I feel it’s OK to go ahead and express what you feel is right to express and, you know, cancel culture is cancel culture no matter how you look at it.’
‘Unfortunately, I think there are those that are trying to silence others in the party.’
‘Cancel culture’ has become a shibboleth of the modern Republican party, repeatedly invoked when public figures become embroiled in controversy regarding opinions or statements deemed to be racist, sexist or otherwise unacceptable.
On Monday, the trainer of the horse that won the Kentucky Derby but then returned a positive drugs test claimed to be a victim of cancel culture himself.
Cheney, of Wyoming, is expected to lose her No3 leadership role in a closed vote on Wednesday, to be replaced by Elise Stefanik of New York.” Read more at The Guardian
“The family of Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man who was killed by sheriff's deputies in North Carolina last month, will be shown limited footage of the fatal shooting . Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II said Brown's family ‘agreed to their suggestion to view the videos.’ North Carolina Superior Court Judge Jeff Foster also said he would specify in a written order which portions the family could view. The ruling limits the family to viewing less than 20 minutes of the nearly two hours of video that was recorded before and after Brown was killed.” Read more at USA Today
“Three prominent reporters who fled Myanmar for Thailand have been arrested and detained in the Thai city of Chiang Mai. Now, journalist groups worry they'll ‘face certain arrest and persecution’ if they are deported back to Myanmar. The case could be the biggest test yet for how Thailand decides to treat those fleeing persecution after the brutal coup by Myanmar’s military. Thailand has harbored tens of thousands of refugees from Myanmar in recent decades following armed conflicts, human rights abuses and persecution of ethnic minorities. In the 100 days since the coup, Myanmar’s military junta has cracked down on any perceived opposition to its rule. More than 780 people have been killed by security forces and almost 5,000 arrested, an advocacy group says.” Read more at CNN
“The families of veterans who were murdered by a nursing assistant at a Veterans Affairs hospital in West Virginia will confront their loved ones' killer in court Tuesday . Reta Mays, 46, admitted to giving seven veterans, aged 81 to 96, lethal doses of insulin, according to court records. The family members will deliver victim impact statements during Mays' sentencing hearing in federal court. Mays pleaded guilty last year to seven counts of second-degree murder for a string of killings from mid-2017 through June 2018 at the U.S. Veterans Affairs hospital in Clarksburg.” Read more at USA Today
“WASHINGTON — Eager to the turn the page on the Trump years, the Biden White House is launching an effort to unearth past problems with the politicization of science within government and to tighten scientific integrity rules for the future.
A new 46-person federal scientific integrity task force with members from more than two dozen government agencies will meet for the first time on Friday. Its mission is to look back through 2009 for areas where partisanship interfered with what were supposed to be decisions based on evidence and research and to come up with ways to keep politics out of government science in the future.” Read more at Boston Globe
“MEXICO CITY — In a rebuff to the Biden administration, political leaders in El Salvador and Guatemala have forced out several senior judges known for their independence and anticorruption zeal, underscoring the difficulties facing Washington’s new Central America policy.
President Biden has put the fight against corruption at the heart of that policy. US officials argue that graft is stunting Central American economies and driving citizens to attempt to migrate to the United States. The sidelining of the judges has raised concerns at the highest levels of the US government, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Vice President Harris protesting.
The administration is readying measures to increase pressure on El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, known as the Northern Triangle countries — including a name-and-shame list of corrupt politicians who would be denied US visas.
The efforts come as human rights groups warn of democratic backsliding in Central America, where the judiciary had emerged as a key check on presidential power.” Read more at Boston Globe
“The recent news from the Middle East makes for familiarly gloomy reading.
Palestinians and Israelis are clashing in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. U.S. and Iranian boats are in showdowns near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s supreme leader is tweet-storming the resistance against what he calls the ‘Zionist regime.’ Saudi Arabia is parrying attacks by air and sea from Yemen-based Houthis.
Yet beneath the surface, a growing wariness of long-running conflicts has given way to quiet diplomacy, and with it the promise of patching over deep rivalries.
Iraq, the poster child of Middle East instability for two decades, is playing the role of peacemaker, brokering talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia and seeking to mediate an end to the war in Yemen.
The Turks are working to patch up relations with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates after years of hostility that included backing opposite sides in regional wars and revolutions.
Qatar’s ruler and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince met in Jeddah this week, as the two nations at the heart of the rift that’s divided the Arab world work to fully restore diplomatic ties.
Covid-related travel restrictions aside, Israelis are now free to holiday in Dubai, and Emiratis in Tel Aviv. Sudan, Morocco, Oman and Bahrain are opening up to Israel as part of the Abraham Accords negotiated with the backing of the Trump administration.
Most importantly, the U.S. and Iran are inching closer to reviving the 2015 nuclear deal that Donald Trump abandoned.
If that succeeds, President Joe Biden could be looking at a very different Middle East from the one his predecessors faced — one where statesmanship and de-escalation are replacing conflict and rivalry.” — Benjamin Harvey Read more at Bloomberg
“Kids across the country are using summer school to catch up after more than a year of interrupted, unstable and inequitable virtual school, Axios' Erica Pandey writes.
But kids are demoralized and teachers are exhausted: It'll take more than one summer to fix pandemic damage.
Districts all over the U.S. are preparing for an influx of students. $30 billion in the latest COVID relief package was allocated for after-school and summer programs.
New York City is making summer school available to all students, and the city expects around 190,000 to attend, compared with the 115,000 who are typically required to attend for remedial learning, Chalkbeat reports.
Shocking estimate: American students from kindergarten to fifth grade have missed out on 20% of the reading and 33% of the math skills they would have learned in normal times, according to a McKinsey report.
What's next: Districts should think about catching students up as a multi-year process, says Aaron Dworkin, CEO of the National Summer Learning Association, a nonprofit that promotes summer programs.
The federal money lasts until 2023. If students are burnt out and not ready for academics this summer, they can get involved in the arts or sports to start, he says.” Read more at Axios
“Prominent Asian Americans have been hard to ignore: Kamala Harris became not only the first woman to serve as vice president but also the first Black personand first Asian American. Andrew Yang, fresh off a 2020 White House run, is now among the front-runners in the New York City mayoral race. Dr. Sanjay Gupta,CNN’s chief medical correspondent, has become even more of a fixture in living rooms because of the pandemic.
Yet in a recent online survey of 2,766 American adults in which participants were asked to name a well-known Asian American, the most common answer was ‘don’t know’ (42 percent), followed by Jackie Chan (11 percent), and Bruce Lee (9 percent).” Read more at Boston Globe
“Decades of failures on diversity and inclusion caught up with Hollywood yesterday, when NBC made the stunning decision to skip the Golden Globes next year, Axios Media Trends expert Sara Fischer writes.
NBC has aired the Globes exclusively for decades. The decision to pull back shows how big the backlash has grown against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which stages the event.
Leaders at Amazon, Netflix and WarnerMedia put out statements saying they refuse to work with the HFPA until reforms are enacted. Stars, including Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo, denounced the group.
Ahead of this year's Globes, the L.A. Times revealed in February that not a single HFPA member is Black.
The big picture: Hollywood is facing a slew of unprecedented business and cultural challenges following the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests last year.
A collapse in ratings for the industry's beloved award shows, and a slow recovery at the box office this year, show how much streaming has taken over the industry.
With streamers gaining power, more attention has been brought to shortcomings in diversity and inclusion.
The bottom line: Hollywood shut down in 2020, only to reemerge upside down in 2021.” Read more at Axios
“Americans are paying down their credit-card debt at levels not seen in years. That is good news for everyone but credit-card issuers.
Large card issuers that cater to borrowers ranging from the affluent to the subprime say that overall card balances—and thus the firms’ interest income—are falling. To make up for it, issuers are spending more on marketing and loosening their underwriting standards.
Discover Financial Services said on its earnings call last month that the share of card balances that were paid off at the end of the first quarter were at the highest level since 2000. Capital One Financial Corp. said that nearly half of the credit-card balances it had at the beginning of March were paid off by the end of the month, which the company described as historically high. The companies’ calculations are based on the credit-card balances that they packaged into securities and sold to investors.
Synchrony Financial, the largest issuer of store credit cards in the U.S., said payment rates have been higher than they averaged before the pandemic.
Card balances at the three companies were down 9%, 17% and 7% in the first quarter from a year prior, respectively.
The results reflect the pandemic’s topsy-turvy effect on consumer finances. A year ago, lenders expected delinquencies to surge and many borrowers to turn to credit cards to make ends meet. But then the government stepped in, issuing stimulus checks, expanding unemployment benefits and making it easy for borrowers to pause payments on many mortgages and student loans, and the expected jump in delinquencies didn’t happen.
Now, even as Americans return to spending on their credit cards, they are continuing to pay down their card balances. That signals many borrowers are faring well even during the pandemic. But many card issuers rely on growing card usage and balances for their revenue, and they are wondering if the pandemic trends will turn into a long-term shift.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“A man found himself clinging to a glass-bottomed suspension bridge330 feet over a mountain in northeast China after sudden winds blew away several pieces of the floor. Viral photos show the man trapped on the damaged bridge surrounded by holes leading to a steep drop. He was stuck for more than half an hour but reportedly suffered no physical harm. The incident raised concerns among commenters: Glass bridges are an especially popular tourist attraction in China, and this wasn’t anywhere near the tallest one.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“For the first time since the pandemic began, fewer than half of Americans (43%) see returning to their ‘normal’ pre-coronavirus lives as risky, Margaret Talev writes from the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
This tipping point comes as nearly two thirds of respondents in our weekly national poll say they've gotten at least one shot.
Democrats are still much more likely than Republicans to say they're wearing masks.
54% of Americans said they've gone out to eat — the first time that figure has passed 50% since we began asking the question a year ago.” Read more at Axios
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