Presented by The AIDS Institute Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. Today is Friday and the last one in February! We get you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver are the co-creators. Readers can find us on Twitter @asimendinger and @alweaver22. Please recommend the Morning Report to friends and let us know what you think. CLICK HERE to subscribe! Total U.S. coronavirus deaths each morning this week: Monday, 498,901; Tuesday, 500,310; Wednesday, 502,660; Thursday, 505,890; Friday, 508,307. House Democrats today are expected to pass legislation that would spend nearly $2 trillion to tackle the coronavirus crisis with direct payments to Americans and money for schools to reopen, small business loans and extended unemployment benefits for some of the 10 million people who are struggling without paychecks. Passage will give President Biden Joe Biden Biden 'disappointed' in Senate parliamentarian ruling but 'respects' decision Taylor Swift celebrates House passage of Equality Act Donald Trump Jr. calls Bruce Springsteen's dropped charges 'liberal privilege' MORE ’s 100-day agenda a significant, but short-lived boost as the narrowly divided Senate next week will start to wrestle with the mammoth measure. Most if not all House Republicans are expected to oppose the Democrats’ bill today. The White House has approached Biden’s ambition to enact a stimulus sized to the national emergency as a public relations and lobbying challenge, fast-tracked with a budgetary tool that clears a path for Senate passage with 50 votes, plus support from Vice President Harris . Bloomberg News describes the administration’s focus on building public support for the relief bill in 13 targeted states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Georgia and Arizona. Biden, through a spokeswoman, said he was “disappointed” that the ...
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Jobless claims fall sharply to 730K as weather, fraud distort data
Initial jobless claims for the week ending on Feb. 20 dropped dramatically to a seasonally adjusted 730,000, one of the lowest readings since the pandemic began and well below expectations. Dow Jones economists expected 845,000 new claims, similar to the 841,000 seen the previous week. The figure remains higher than the highest pre-pandemic record for weekly claims. ADVERTISEMENT An additional 451,402 people signed up for an emergency unemployment program, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, bringing the total number of claims to near 1.2 million. That program, along with a weekly $300 benefit increase and a program to extend benefits, is set to expire on March 14 if Congress does not act. That could end benefits for more than 11 million people and reduce benefits for as many as 8 million others. Democrats are promising to extend all of the programs before the deadline as part of President Biden Joe Biden Biden 'disappointed' in Senate parliamentarian ruling but 'respects' decision Taylor Swift celebrates House passage of Equality Act Donald Trump Jr. calls Bruce Springsteen's dropped charges 'liberal privilege' MORE 's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, expected to advance in the House on Friday. While the numbers saw a sharp decline, federal watchdogs have warned that claims data is extremely vulnerable to being distorted by processing errors. That raises questions about the true size of last week's decline, especially as treacherous winter weather disrupted much of the U.S. "Seasonal related distortions caused a larger than expected decline in first time jobless claims to 730K. Policymakers should take the decline in claims with a grain of salt, which is more than was available for the roads in Texas which froze over during that week," tweeted Joseph Brusuelas , chief economist at audit and tax firm RSM. Ohio's jobless claims have also been driven higher by scammers, according to state officials , artificially ...
LIVE COVERAGE: House votes to impeach Trump after Capitol insurrection
The House will vote Wednesday to impeach Trump for his role in the mob attack at the Capitol one week ago, which interrupted the Electoral College count in a joint session of Congress and forced the evacuation of lawmakers. Passage is not in doubt: Every Democrat is expected to vote for the single article, which charges Trump with inciting violence against the U.S. government. But a big question Wednesday will be how many Republicans vote to impeach the president. Rep. Liz Cheney Elizabeth (Liz) Lynn Cheney Conservatives go after Cheney for Trump CPAC remarks The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by The AIDS Institute - Ahead: One-shot vax, easing restrictions, fiscal help Senate GOP works to avoid having '22 war with Trump MORE (Wyo.), the third-ranking GOP leader, said Tuesday that she would vote to impeach, and a handful of others have already announced they're joining her. An overwhelming majority of Republicans will oppose impeachment, and their arguments are likely to focus in large part on the division they say it will cause in the country. ADVERTISEMENT A week ago, a majority of the House GOP voted to throw out the Electoral College votes of two states, Arizona and Pennsylvania, citing allegations of fraud. But numerous courts across the country, state and federal, had previously dismissed those charges, and every state had certified its election results. Wednesday's vote will put Trump in the history books as the only president to be impeached twice in the country's history. It remains unclear, however, when Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy Pelosi Minimum wage setback revives progressive calls to nix Senate filibuster House Democrats to keep minimum wage hike in COVID-19 relief bill for Friday vote Schiff sees challenges for intel committee, community in Trump's shadow MORE (D-Calif.) will deliver the article to the Senate, given the disruption it would surely cause President-elect Joe Biden Joe ...
Biogen Conference Linked To 20,000 Massachusetts Coronavirus Cases, Researchers Estimate
BOSTON (CBS) – A new study shows just how far-reaching the coronavirus outbreak at the Biogen conference in Boston last February spread throughout the world. “I do think it speaks to the power of that virus to move from one person to another, to another, to another,” said Governor Charlie Baker. The Broad Institute study shows about 20,000 COVID-19 cases can be traced to the conference that took place at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf. It shows the virus moved very quickly from Boston to Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, Michigan, and even Australia. It somehow spread from the conference to Boston’s homeless community, and contributed to case-loads in hot-spots like Everett, Revere, and Chelsea. “In this particular event is was sort of like a perfect storm for a virus like this to spread that quickly,” said Tufts Medical Center Infectious Disease physician, Dr. Gabriela Andujar Vasquez. She said the study offers insight for schools and colleges planning on reopening. “Maybe with more people in the indoor setting, if masks and hygiene and social distancing happen in that setting, then we mitigate that risk.” Biogen employees helped researchers with the study. In a statement, Biogen executives said, “February 2020 was nearly a half year ago, and was a period when general knowledge about the coronavirus was limited…We never would have knowingly put anyone at risk.” ...
