Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
Search and rescue personnel work yesterday at the partially collapsed building in Surfside, Florida.
“Nearly 100 people remain unaccounted for Friday morning, a day after a 12-story beachfront condominium building just north of Miami collapsed, killing at least one person.
A wing of the residential building in Surfside, Florida, came down with a roar around 1:30 a.m. Thursday. On video footage captured from nearby, the center of the building appeared to fall first, with a section nearest the ocean teetering and coming down seconds later as a huge dust cloud swallowed the neighborhood.
ABC News reported the death toll had risen to three people, but calls to fire and police officials were not returned Friday morning.
Fire Rescue personnel and others worked through the night Thursday in hopes of finding survivors.
Early Friday, President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency authorizing funding and other disaster relief to Surfside, a small, tight-knit community with about 6,000 residents.” Read more at USA Today
“We’re learning more about the bipartisan infrastructure deal struck between the White House and Senate lawmakers. The $1.2 trillion plan includes $109 billion for roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects, $55 billion for water infrastructure and $73 billion for the nation's power structure. Other areas of spending include transit, airports, broadband internet and electric vehicles. The bill still falls far short of President Biden’s original $2.25 trillion plan, and how to fund and pass it is still being worked out. Still, the deal is seen as a big win in Washington because of the hard-won bipartisan cooperation. More promising news: Congressional negotiators working to overhaul the nation's policing laws say they've ‘reached agreement on a framework’ for a bill.” Read more at CNN
“WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris faces perhaps the most politically challenging moment of her vice presidency Friday when she visits the U.S. southern border as part of her role leading the Biden administration’s response to a steep increase in migration.
While in El Paso, Texas, she will tour a Customs and Border Patrol processing center, hold a conversation with advocates from faith-based organizations as well as shelter and legal service providers and deliver remarks.
The vice president has faced months of criticism from members of both parties for declining to make the trip thus far and for her muddied explanations as to why.
Republicans have seized on the absence of both Harris and President Joe Biden from the border to paint the administration as weak on border security, seeking to revive a potent political weapon against Democrats in time for the 2022 midterm elections. With former President Donald Trump visiting the area less than a week after Harris, Republicans will be watching the vice president’s visit closely for fodder for further attacks.” Read more at AP News
“MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin learns his sentence Friday for murder in George Floyd’ s death, closing a chapter in a case that sparked global outrage and a reckoning on racial disparities in America.
Chauvin, 45, faces decades in prison, with several legal experts predicting a sentence of 20 to 25 years. Though Chauvin is widely expected to appeal, he also still faces trial on federal civil rights charges, along with three other fired officers who have yet to have their state trials.
The concrete barricades, razor wire and National Guard patrols that shrouded the county courthouse for Chauvin’s three-week trial are gone, and so is most of the tension in the city as it awaited a verdict in April. Still, there’s a recognition that Chauvin’s sentencing will be another major step forward for a city that has been on edge since Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020.” Read more at AP News
“A court suspended Rudy Giuliani’s law license over ‘false and misleading statements’ about the 2020 election results.” Read more at New York Times
“The White House is drawing up a plan that would aid Afghans who have helped the U.S. over the past two decades by getting them out of Afghanistan and ultimately moving them to the U.S. Interpreters, drivers and others have become possible targets of retaliation by the Taliban as the U.S. prepares to withdraw its remaining forces from the country. Up to 18,000 Afghans have worked for the U.S. and may be interested in moving along with thousands of family members. The Biden administration also plans to deliver three million doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose coronavirus vaccine next week to Afghanistan. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the country’s chief peace negotiator, are set to visit the White House today.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“More than 1 in 10 people who got one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine in the US have missed their second dose, according to CDC data. That could leave people more vulnerable to dangerous coronavirus strains like the Delta variant.” Read more at CNN
“MOSCOW (AP) — They tried grocery giveaways and lotteries for new cars and apartments. But an ambitious plan of vaccinating 30 million Russians by mid-June still has fallen short by a third.
So now, many regional governments across the vast country are obligating some workers to get vaccinated and requiring the shots to enter certain businesses, like restaurants.
As many Western countries lift coronavirus restrictions and plan a return to normal life after mass vaccinations, Russia is battling a surge of infections — even though it was the first in the world to authorize a vaccine and among the first to start administering it in December.
Daily new cases have grown from about 9,000 in early June to about 17,000 on June 18 and over 20,000 on Thursday, with Moscow, its outlying region and St. Petersburg combining for about half of all new infections.
Officials have blamed Russians’ lax attitude toward taking necessary precautions and the growing prevalence of more infectious variants. But perhaps the biggest factor is the lack of vaccinations.
Only 20.7 million people, or 14% of its population of 146 million, have received at least one shot as of Wednesday, and only 16.7 million, or about 11%, have been fully vaccinated.
Experts say those numbers are due to several factors, including the public’s wariness of the rushed approval and rollout of the Sputnik V vaccine; an official narrative that Russia had tamed its outbreak; criticism on state TV of other vaccines as dangerous; and a weak promotional campaign that included incentives such as consumer giveaways.
In light of the surge, at least 14 Russian regions — from Moscow and St. Petersburg to the remote far-eastern region of Sakhalin — made vaccinations mandatory this month for employees in certain sectors, such as government offices, retail, health care, education, restaurants, fitness centers, beauty parlors and other service industries.
Moscow authorities said companies should suspend without pay employees unwilling to get vaccinated, and they threatened to temporarily halt operations of businesses that don’t meet the goal of having 60% of staff get at least one shot by July 15 and both shots by Aug. 15.
As of Monday, all Moscow restaurants, cafes and bars will admit only customers who have been vaccinated, have recovered from COVID-19 in the past six months, or can provide a negative coronavirus test from the previous 72 hours. City officials also limited most elective hospital care to those who are fully vaccinated or can provide tests showing they have antibodies to fight the infection.
The moves seem to be an act of desperation by authorities.” Read more at AP News
“SYDNEY — Sydney will go into a partial lockdown on Friday as officials in Australia’s most populous city try to stamp out a growing outbreak of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus.
The new cluster, which began last week with an airport limousine driver, has expanded to 65 cases, with the number expected to rise. Contact tracers have plotted the virus’s path through venues that include a shopping mall, nail salons, hairdressers and cafes in the city’s center and eastern suburbs.
The New South Wales state government is hoping the week-long lockdown will act as a circuit breaker, avoiding the need for tougher restrictions.” Read more at Washington Post
“New anti-LGBTQ crackdowns in Hungary and Malaysia are drawing international condemnation. Hungary's parliament this month passed legislation banning all educational materials and programs for children that are considered to promote homosexuality, gender reassignment or similar concepts. The Dutch Prime Minister now says Hungary ‘has no place in the EU anymore’ because of the new law. In Malaysia, a government task force has proposed amendments that would allow social media users to be punished for ‘promoting the LGBT lifestyle,’ as well as insulting Islam. Same-sex acts are illegal under Islamic law in the Muslim-majority country, though convictions are rare.” Read more at CNN
“Lives Lived: As a teenager in Auschwitz, David Wisnia stole moments of romance with a fellow prisoner named Zippi. The two were separated when the Nazis retreated, but they found each other again — 72 years later. Wisnia died this month at 94.” Read more at New York Times
Mike Pence speaks to the Faith & Freedom Coalition convention in Kissimmee, Fla., last week. Photo: Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP
“Former Vice President Pence, in a significant speech at the Reagan Library in California last evening, declared that the Constitution ‘affords the vice president no authority to reject or return electoral votes submitted to the Congress by the states.’
‘I understand the disappointment many feel about the last election,’ Pence said. ‘I can even relate. Remember, I lost re-election too. But there's more at stake than our party or our political fortunes.’
Why it matters: This is Pence directly addressing — even leaning into — what he did on Jan. 6 in the context of a speech about the future of the Republican Party and the conservative movement, Jonathan Swan writes.
Pence is attaching his actions on Jan. 6 to his vision of the future of the party — drawing a clear line between his vision and former President Trump's.” Read more at Axios
“As crime spikes, cops are quitting nationwide, often blaming the constant harassment and stress of ordinary people and powerful politicians turning against their profession.
Why it matters: The killings by police in 2020 turned many Americans — including liberal activists and many in the media — into harsh critics of law enforcement, with loud calls to defund the police. A year later, there’s a cop shortage, and Democrats are scrambling to reverse their rhetoric and some policies.
An eye-opening front-page New York Times story today, ‘Why Police Have Been Quitting in Droves in the Last Year’, found that Asheville, N.C., has lost 80 of 238 cops:
Chief David Zack, 58, said that officers were pushed to quit because the protests were directed at them. 'They said that we have become the bad guys, and we did not get into this to become the bad guys.'
A survey of 194 police agencies, released this month by the Police Executive Research Forum, found that for the year ending in April, retirements were up 45% — and resignations up 18% — from the previous year.” Read more at Axios
“Half of younger Americans hold a positive view of capitalism — and socialism's appeal in the U.S. is growing, driven by Black Americans and women, Felix Salmon writes from a poll by Axios and Momentive (formerly SurveyMonkey).
Why it matters: The pandemic has caused millions of Americans — including many younger Republicans — to re-evaluate their political and economic worldview.
The online poll (2,309 adults; margin of error ± 3 points) also found shifts on the right:
Just 66% of Republicans and GOP-leaners ages 18-34 have a positive view of capitalism, down from 81% in January 2019, when we first polled on these questions.
56% of younger Republicans say the government should pursue policies that reduce the wealth gap, up from just 40% two years ago.
In 2019, 58% of Americans ages 18-34 reacted positively to the word ‘capitalism.’ That's fallen to 49% today.
Socialism has positive connotations for 60% of Black Americans, 45% of American women and 33% of non-white Republicans.
The bottom line: Politicians looking to attack opponents to their left can no longer use ‘socialist’ as an all-purpose pejorative. Increasingly, it's worn as a badge of pride.” Read more at Axios
“After a 28-year run on NBC and TBS, Conan O’Brien, 58, hosted his late-night finale last night — and now will take a breather before mapping out a weekly HBO Max variety show expected in 2022.
O'Brien's run was second only to Johnny Carson's 30 years.
As part of the sendoff, O'Brien's former colleagues at ‘The Simpsons’ whipped up an ‘exit interview’ with Homer from HR (above).
When O'Brien said he was a talk-show host, Simpson replied: ‘Wow, a dying breed. There’s only like 800 of you left.’
Watch Homer's exit interview ... Watch finale's last 14 minutes, including Conan's thank-yous.
Manhattan mural, seen in 2015, salutes Gil Scott-Heron, who died in 2011. Photo: Bill Tompkins/Getty Images
“A spoken-word tune that tackled police brutality, inequality, racism, consumerism, and the shortcomings of the media became an anthem a half-century ago, Axios' Russell Contreras writes.
With the 50th anniversary of its release, Gil Scott-Heron's ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ (YouTube) is being celebrated for its enduring influence on slam poetry, hip hop and modern protests
Why it matters: People in communities of color began mimicking Scott-Heron's spoken-word style to music, helping give birth to modern rap music and earning him the title ‘Godfather of Rap.’
Scott-Heron's writing partner, Brian Jackson, recalls in a new Apple TV series, ‘1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything’: ‘We wanted to write about what it meant to be young, Black men in America.’ Read more at Axios