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<title>15 April, 2021</title>
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<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<body>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Shooting of Daunte Wright and the Meaning of George Floyd’s Death</strong> - How much has changed since the events of last spring? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-shooting-of-daunte-wright-and-the-meaning-of-george-floyds-death">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Union Battle at Amazon Is Far from Over</strong> - Drives to organize steelworkers and autoworkers took decades but ultimately succeeded. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-union-battle-at-amazon-is-far-from-over">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Grim Compassion of Searching for Missing Migrants in the Desert</strong> - The humanitarian volunteer group Águilas del Desierto searches the hostile land near the U.S.-Mexico border for those who have disappeared. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-documentary/the-grim-compassion-of-searching-for-missing-migrants-in-the-desert">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What Will It Take to Pandemic-Proof America?</strong> - When the next virus strikes, we’ll look back on this moment as an opportunity that we either seized or squandered. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/science/annals-of-medicine/what-will-it-take-to-pandemic-proof-america">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Biden Finally Got to Say No to the Generals</strong> - Critics be damned, the President is ending the Forever War waged by Bush, Obama, and Trump in Afghanistan. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/biden-finally-got-to-say-no-to-the-generals">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>Moderate Republicans want Senator Biden back</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jT-bWm64kf_NSmg31jVC5LBDN3g=/127x0:2795x2001/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69129861/GettyImages_1231891875.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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President Joe Biden urges the Senate to pass a law requiring background checks for gun purchases on March 23. | Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg/Getty Images
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Biden’s long Senate history is looming over his administration’s next big legislative push.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fciLVd">
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Long-serving US senators have known President Joe Biden for decades. Lately, the most moderate ones are trying to reconcile two Joe Bidens.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QOBVrv">
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There is Sen. Joe Biden, who, over the course of a 36-year Senate career, was an evangelist of bipartisanship and compromise — a theme he talked about consistently throughout his 2020 campaign for president. Then there is President Joe Biden, who welcomes comparisons to New Deal progressive Franklin Delano Roosevelt, with policy ambitions to match.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8PnmFL">
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Biden’s presidency so far is decidedly more progressive than the one he campaigned on during the Democratic presidential primary, a shift prompted by Biden watching the nation weather <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/7/28/21318721/coronavirus-joe-biden-trump-election">multiple economic crises</a>. The president’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22231808/joe-biden-economic-stimulus-proposal">$1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill</a> included $1,400 checks to most Americans, an expanded child tax credit, and $130 billion toward reopening schools, among many other things. White House press secretary Jen Psaki recently bragged it was “the most progressive bill in American history.” But the bill passed without a single Republican vote, and Republicans on the Hill say the White House didn’t really try to get them.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AhkFVD">
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This came to the fore last week when reporters asked Biden about the Covid-19 bill negotiations with moderate Senate Republicans that faded out quickly.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8As3oX">
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“They started off at $600 billion and that was it,” Biden told reporters last week. “If they’d come forward with a plan that the bulk of it was $1 billion, three or four, two or three, that allowed me to have pieces of all that was in there, I would have been prepared to compromise, but they didn’t. They didn’t move an inch. Not an inch.”
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</p>
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<div class="c-wide-block">
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jGj3bs1f4ts8GyMZa4DKEAjfzV4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22444285/GettyImages_1231559218.jpg"/> <cite>Samuel Corum/Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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Biden answers questions from reporters after announcing the passage of the American Rescue Plan on March 6.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JCNx4S">
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As Biden’s administration begins conversations with lawmakers on the president’s potentially transformative investment of<strong> </strong>$2 trillion in<strong> </strong>infrastructure and jobs, the legacy of Sen. Biden looms large.<strong> </strong>Senators sometimes prefer to hear from Biden himself rather than his staff. On the other hand, an off-the-cuff comment from the president can also rile up Republicans, as it did last week.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eiaBt7">
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“I continue to believe that President Biden wants a bipartisan approach,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told Vox in a statement. “He served for decades in the Senate, and he was involved in numerous successful bipartisan negotiations. I have no reason to believe that his entire philosophy has changed, but I do think that there is a lot of pressure on him from his staff and from outside far-left groups.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jlruH5">
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“I would urge him to remember his past successes in negotiating bipartisan bills both as a senator and then later as vice president,” she added.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LikVEb">
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Some Democrats find this criticism from Republicans a little rich after the Trump administration. A senior Democratic aide said the current White House outreach is collaborative, especially compared to President Donald Trump’s legislative outreach, which the aide described as “nationally televised hostage meetings where he’d talk about border stuff or guns.”
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</p>
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<aside id="AdnUU9">
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<div>
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</div>
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</aside>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oVXmGC">
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The aide,<strong> </strong>who is familiar with conversations between congressional leadership and the White House,<strong> </strong>described frequent contact from the president, White House chief of staff Ron Klain, and members of the president’s Office of Legislative Affairs, run by Louisa Terrell.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iLJLXl">
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“It would be unfair for us to say we’re not being heard out because we are,” the aide said. “It doesn’t mean we’re winning every argument.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fAOg8v">
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Democrats are determined to go big on infrastructure. But<strong> </strong>razor-thin Democratic majorities in the House and Senate mean there could be limits to what they can get done using<strong> </strong>budget reconciliation. Democratic leaders want to pass a bill by July 4. The hitch in this plan is that moderate Democrats like Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia want Senate Republicans on board, which could mean compromising that bold vision quite a bit.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hcs849">
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How big the next federal investment in America is may rest on whether President Joe Biden or Sen. Joe Biden comes to the negotiating table.
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</p>
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<h3 id="x5twUi">
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Amid a flurry of White House outreach, Republicans are skeptical
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="K6HSoh">
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Republicans are in the minority in both chambers of Congress, which means Democrats need every vote they have to pass the next budget reconciliation bill.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZEzx3X">
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But several moderate Senate Democrats, including Manchin and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Tom Carper (D-DE), want to try to work with the GOP on infrastructure first.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vpRmf2">
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White House staff and key Cabinet members have been doing a lot of outreach to Democrats and Republicans alike on Capitol Hill; key Cabinet secretaries have made 27 calls to members, including seven Republicans. And the White House legislative affairs team has made around 139 calls to members, chiefs of staff, and staff directors, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki. Out of 99 calls to the House, 35 were to Republicans; out of 40 calls to the Senate, 15 were to Republicans.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mCPvyv">
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Last week, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, one of the main Cabinet secretaries leading discussions with members, said that the main disagreements between Democrats and Republicans on infrastructure are the scale of the plan and how to pay for it. Biden’s pay-for proposal is raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, which many Republicans see as an undoing of their 2017 tax cut bill. Republicans are also poised to unveil their own <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/14/republicans-infrastructure-counteroffer-481504">infrastructure counteroffer</a>, the price tag of which could be $600 billion to $800 billion and be paid for using a gas tax or other mileage fees.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qRJznw">
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“Most of the dialogue we’re having is around how we’re going to pay for it, and we’re really eager to hear the alternative suggestions for how to pay for it,” Buttigieg said.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F479xB">
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Some Republicans are wondering how serious Democrats are about making a deal.
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/SdlMZRKo3PuPldfcABpXChifZXw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22444296/GettyImages_1232204159.jpg"/> <cite>Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg/Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, and Pete Buttigieg, US secretary of transportation, arrive to brief reporters on April 9.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/suME8yi-78EyLgOQqf9FLXI1uaU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22444309/GettyImages_1231498210.jpg"/> <cite>Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg/Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) departs a bipartisan Senate luncheon on March 3.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q58u85">
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“The question before us is this: Is this outreach the beginning of a true negotiation, or is the administration so wedded to the details of its plan, including its exorbitant top line, that these are just courtesy briefings?” Collins, a leader of a group of 10 moderate Republican senators, with her own long working relationship with Biden, told Vox in a statement.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rbI99C">
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Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), echoed Collins in comments to Alaska Public Media reporter Liz Ruskin, saying she is concerned the White House and congressional Democrats are going well beyond the scope of fixing roads and bridges in their plan.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Hn3pRn">
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“If you’re advertising this as ‘this is an infrastructure package,’ let’s be honest about what we’re talking about,” Murkowski told Ruskin. “If this is going to be a significant stimulus bill, on top of an already significant stimulus bill that we saw with the American Rescue Plan, then let’s label it for what it is.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FkLXoE">
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White House overtures to moderate Republicans may have also been complicated by Biden’s own recent comments. When he defended his decision to go it alone on the Covid-19 relief package, it incensed the group of moderate Republicans, including Sens. Collins, Murkowski, and Mitt Romney (UT). A few hours later, the 10 senators released a statement saying it was the president, not them, who refused to budge.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ALKvSe">
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“The Administration roundly dismissed our effort as wholly inadequate in order to justify its go-it-alone strategy,” the group said in a statement, pointing out that they viewed their $618 billion proposal as a starting point to negotiate with Biden, later raising it to $650 billion.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WAfmHH">
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As Collins and other Republicans who have personal relationships with Biden are holding out some hope that the White House will come to the table with them, some Republican staffers on Capitol Hill are more skeptical.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dwVVkx">
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“Briefing senators on a fully-baked package is not negotiating with them,” one Republican aide told Vox. “It also doesn’t make what you’re pretending to sell them ‘bipartisan.’”
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</p>
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<h3 id="rPt5A7">
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Biden’s views were shaped as Obama’s vice president
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="r0RQpG">
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Biden is well aware that the US Senate was designed to curb the ambitions of presidents; he wrote about the institution with reverence in his 2007 autobiography <em>Promises to Keep</em>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OiOh33">
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“The Senate was designed to play this independent and moderating role, and it is a solemn duty and responsibility that transcends the partisan disputes of any day or any decade,” Biden wrote in his book. But several things happened between then and now to further shape Biden and his staff’s views of the same institution.
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/W3vDRuYKz85pS6Fc8UO5R24zeR8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22444369/GettyImages_513191886.jpg"/> <cite>Mark Wilson/Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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As former President Obama’s vice president, Biden was often called on to negotiate with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CV3AG9">
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As vice president, Biden saw that former President Barack Obama’s repeated attempts to work with GOP leadership on the Hill were often roundly dismissed. Biden was himself dispatched several times to try to strike deals with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell — who was intent on making Obama a “<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2010/11/04/131069048/sen-mcconnell-insists-one-term-for-obama">one-term president</a>.” Early on in his presidency, as Obama was en route to the Capitol to meet with Republicans to get them on board with a stimulus bill to save the economy from crisis, House Republican leadership sent out a message to their members telling them to vote against any proposal.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gSHFvI">
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Then, during Obamacare negotiations, Senate Democrats and Obama administration officials were met with repeated no’s from even the most moderate Republicans. As <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/15/14908524/obamacare-lessons-ahca-gop">Ezra Klein and Sarah Kliff detailed for Vox</a> in 2017:
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</p>
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<blockquote>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DC22HO">
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There wasn’t even a counteroffer to reject — the Senate’s moderate Republicans never laid out the price of their support. One reason there was no counteroffer? The GOP’s Senate leadership wanted to make sure there would be no agreement.
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</p>
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</blockquote>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="18ZCW0">
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“On most issues, that wasn’t productive, because Sen. McConnell wasn’t interested in finding common ground,” Obama’s legislative affairs director Phil Schiliro told me in an interview last year.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="N4f6A5">
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Biden’s presidency has been met with even less good faith. His inauguration was preceded by<strong> </strong>the January 6 insurrection and the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/07/us/elections/electoral-college-biden-objectors.html">147 Republican lawmakers</a> who still refused to certify the election after bloodshed in the nation’s Capitol. Many Democrats, particularly in the House, started the new congressional session downright angry and suspicious of their Republican colleagues.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KHZfHZ">
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“The fact they voted the way they did after the horror fundamentally forces you to recalibrate the relationship,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) told me outside the House chamber. “You’re no longer just my political adversary or colleague of the other side, you actually aligned yourself with the people who want to kill me. So I now see you differently, I kind of see you as a threat to my personal well-being and [that of] my family and my staff.”
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</p>
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<h3 id="owv42o">
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Republicans have a limited amount of time to make their offer
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UYVqa0">
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The Biden White House is already signaling that they care more about what Republican <em>voters</em> think, compared to Republicans in Congress. Their Covid-19 relief package remains extremely popular with voters, no matter their political party. And while the White House is pointing to polls showing infrastructure is also popular, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/10/politics/infrastructure-plan-analysis/index.html">CNN’s Harry Enten pointed out</a> that an average of polls showed around 54 percent voter approval for a big infrastructure package, a good 12 percentage points lower than the approval average for the already-passed Covid-19 bill.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eJ3xWW">
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“If you looked up ‘bipartisan’ in the dictionary, I think it would say support from Republicans and Democrats,” Biden senior adviser Anita Dunn <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-bipartisan/2021/04/11/65b29ad8-96f0-11eb-b28d-bfa7bb5cb2a5_story.html#click=https://t.co/rNsV3pUIOO">told the Washington Post</a>. “It doesn’t say the Republicans have to be in Congress.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rVBxyU">
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Republicans have a limited amount of time to try and make a deal before Democrats forge ahead with budget reconciliation. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), one of Biden’s close allies in the Senate, <a href="https://twitter.com/PunchbowlNews/status/1379777301437542404">told Punchbowl News</a> that Democrats don’t want bipartisan negotiations with Republicans to drag on for months.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Pu1NU0">
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“If we get to Memorial Day and there isn’t a clear ‘this group of Republicans is working on this menu with these pay-fors on this timeline,’ I think Democrats just roll it up into a big package and move it,” Coons said. “Is President Biden willing to wait until Labor Day for us to come together around some perfect bipartisan infrastructure package? No. Is he willing to wait until the Fourth of July? Maybe.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PvaXLw">
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The Biden administration very well may be more intent on making sure it has enough Democratic votes to pass a big bill through budget reconciliation, rather than getting the requisite 10 Republican votes for a watered-down version.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2DK0YI">
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The key partners for Biden in this endeavor are House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Schumer recently told Vox’s Li Zhou he has Klain’s number memorized, and that the White House is “very open to discussing things with us early on, to be available and accessible.”
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</p>
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<div class="c-wide-block">
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<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Hch8sygTWPLCTmqJQuFUEBBN91o=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22444381/GettyImages_1231672982.jpg"/> <cite>Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg/Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Biden, with Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, holds a press conference addressing vaccine distribution on March 12.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="q3hIk8">
|
||
House Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) told Vox that frequent conversations with the White House have been “a really good part of this administration.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="67UOxq">
|
||
“We’re constantly talking to people in all arenas of the White House, from the Economic Council to the Domestic Policy Council to the White House chief of staff to others involved with key priorities we’re interested in,” Jayapal said. “It’s been a great and productive relationship to share our ideas and make our priorities known as soon as possible.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="B54cC2">
|
||
Progressives in Jayapal’s wing of the party are already calling for a bigger bill. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and a number of other progressive lawmakers are calling for $10 trillion in spending over the next decade, and saying Biden’s proposed number falls short of the New Deal-style vision they were hoping for.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="B11kmj">
|
||
Meanwhile, a group of Democrats in the House representing blue states like California, New York, and New Jersey want to <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/4/14/22375306/salt-tax-deduction-repeal">insert a regressive tax deduction</a> known as the state and local tax credit into Biden’s tax plan. Others don’t want to give up on bipartisanship just yet.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BlzU5a">
|
||
Sen. Joe Manchin isn’t alone in his desire to work with Republicans. Sen. Carper, a moderate from Biden’s home state of Delaware and chair of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, has a close working relationship with the committee’s ranking Republican, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, and he wants to move forward with a bipartisan water infrastructure bill and five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill.<strong> </strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Fl4nfO">
|
||
But moderate Democrats shouldn’t be holding their breath; McConnell vowed his 50-member caucus wouldn’t vote for Biden’s infrastructure plan without drastic changes. And even the most moderate Republicans are skeptical of an infrastructure bill that doubles as a bold climate bill and contains $400 billion for long-term care workers and home health aides, an exclusionary zoning ban, and strong protections for unions.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="N7wjan">
|
||
Biden might make a bet that as long as the bill is popular enough, voters won’t care if it stretches the traditional definition of “infrastructure.”
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>What the megadrought in the West means for wildfire season</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/c00tnvwWYXmTpBGUXT_wjZQTTs8=/596x0:4204x2706/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69125687/1228573593.0.jpg"/>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
A fire truck in front of a home in Snow Creek after a fire started in the mountains west of Palm Springs, California, on September 18, 2020. | Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Get your air filter ready — wildfire season is likely to start early this year.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1YEB8c">
|
||
Just as the freshly vaccinated start to resume barbecues and vacation travel<strong> </strong>in the coming months, wildfires are likely to force residents of Western states back inside.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Lci3gl">
|
||
The warning signs are written in the parched landscape from New Mexico to California. This time last year, 27 percent of the West was in drought —<strong> </strong>now<strong> </strong>that has risen to <a href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Data/DataTables.aspx">76 percent</a>, turning forests into matchsticks.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sb3Jz6">
|
||
With the pandemic dominating headlines, the severe drought has gotten little attention. “This one threatens to catch people by surprise who are exhausted by the events of the past year,” said<strong> </strong>Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California Los Angeles.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="t5yp53">
|
||
But this latest episode in a two-decade megadrought is precisely what scientists like Swain have been warning about: Rising temperatures from climate change are making droughts more frequent and severe and increasing the likelihood of extended megadroughts. Heightened dryness, in turn, <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab83a7">is contributing</a><strong> </strong>to an increased risk of wildfires.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uZlDts">
|
||
These trends threaten all Western states, but California faces uniquely severe fire impacts due to its dry summers and population density. Here’s what the state and the rest of the Western US should be bracing for in the coming months and how you can start preparing.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="M7qx5C">
|
||
How we got to this drought: Two dry years and a hot summer
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oZ9AfH">
|
||
Before we talk about how bad this fire season could get, it’s important to understand just how severe the current drought is. It <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147655/the-drying-us-west">started building</a> last year when California experienced light winter precipitation and the Southwest had a weak summer rainy season, which typically brings strong monsoon thunderstorms. At the same time, intense heat waves rolled through the whole region.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sW62Jr">
|
||
“If I had to pinpoint one thing that really drove the drought to where we are right now, it was the heat of last summer,” Brian Fuchs, a climatologist at the University of Nebraska’s National Drought Mitigation Center, told Vox in March. These high summer temperatures evaporated the moisture from the soil, further drying out vegetation.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tDmeQI">
|
||
Then, over the past few months, the typical rainy season in California once again came up short. This was <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147655/the-drying-us-west">due</a>, in part, to <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ninonina.html">La Niña</a> — a weather pattern that occurs roughly every few years when cooler eastern Pacific ocean surface temperatures shift the trade winds, driving storms farther north.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vSSLaE">
|
||
But this drought is also being driven by larger climate trends. Scientists say that it is <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1062893013/print">part of a megadrought</a> — a decades-long dry spell, punctuated by severe droughts. This current megadrought began around 2000, and the majority of the land in the West has been at some level of drought ever since.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="f5yBX6">
|
||
And this striking drought bears the fingerprints of climate change. Using tree ring data, a study published in <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6488/314.full"><em>Science</em></a> in April 2020 found that<em> </em>“anthropogenic warming was critical for placing 2000–2018 on a trajectory consistent with the most severe past megadroughts,” and that megadrought has extended to today.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NLQlhO">
|
||
This fits in with a grim picture laid out by the latest <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/25/">National Climate Assessment</a>, authored by 13 US federal agencies in 2018. Rising temperatures will increase the likelihood of megadroughts in the Southwest and make droughts more frequent and severe, according to the scientific literature cited.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="TjoMSI">
|
||
This year’s drought has primed the landscape for big burns
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tloNf0">
|
||
As the latest drought episode within the larger megadrought has deepened, it has left plants and trees desiccated. And the biggest problem is forests.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IE545p">
|
||
“When talking about forest fires, for example, the link between dryness and more frequent and severe fires is just crystal clear,” said Swain.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rwD0eu">
|
||
In some ecosystems, the grass and brush growth will be stunted by the lack of moisture, creating less fuel for fires to burn. But that’s only a small silver lining, Swain said, because forests dominate land cover in the West.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="g5qVIZ">
|
||
The chart below shows how dire the situation has become this year. The current level of vegetation flammability in northern California (blue line) is at near the maximum levels recorded for this time of year (red line).
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div id="tB1EzV">
|
||
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
||
Following an exceptionally dry winter (and a record hot autumn & v. dry 2020), vegetation flammability across northern California is at/near record levels for the date (early April) & is approaching levels more typical of mid-summer (late July) levels in some areas. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAwx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CAwx</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAfire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CAfire</a> <a href="https://t.co/sUxhDTkZWn">pic.twitter.com/sUxhDTkZWn</a>
|
||
</p>
|
||
— Daniel Swain (<span class="citation" data-cites="Weather_West">@Weather_West</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/Weather_West/status/1379124085578338308?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2021</a>
|
||
</blockquote></div></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4yGvKj">
|
||
In its April 1 seasonal <a href="https://www.predictiveservices.nifc.gov/outlooks/monthly_seasonal_outlook.pdf">fire outlook</a>, the National Interagency Fire Center predicted that these dry materials are going to cause significant problems for the West — and soon. The drought will bring up the start date for fire seasons, they wrote.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ztfLWR">
|
||
As the map below shows, the worst of the drought has been concentrated in the Southwest so far, and that’s where the fire danger will spike soonest.<strong> </strong>A wildfire spanning more than 500 acres already <a href="https://apnews.com/article/fires-arizona-wildfires-evacuations-61a2c7955fc03e65e3b05a14b712bc52">broke out</a> north of Tucson,<strong> </strong>Arizona, last week.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Py4hbtDQHtXdByE10zMisCd3Rns=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22441837/20210406_usdm.jpg"/> <cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/jpg/20210406/20210406_usdm.jpg" target="_blank">National Drought Mitigation Center</a></cite>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UZ5tuX">
|
||
The Fire Center projects that the Southwest will see above-average fire potential through June until the monsoon (hopefully) arrives. But the region might still get relief from summer monsoon rains, whereas the coming months tend to be dry in central and northern California.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2N9Va3">
|
||
Starting in June, they project that parts of the Pacific Northwest will see heightened fire risk and then the fire season will pick up in California in July.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="f07ZXg">
|
||
The rapid melting of California’s snowpack is laying the groundwork for the early arrival of fires. Data from a <a href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/">snow survey</a> on April 1 showed that the water content in Sierra Nevada snow was only 59 percent of the average. And the snow is melting quickly — the chart below shows that this year’s water content levels (dark blue line) are well below average (aqua blue) and dropping across all three regions of the state to levels typically seen around mid- to late May. With snow disappearing sooner, higher-elevation landscapes will be at a greater risk of fires, the Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/04/10/drought-wildfires-california-west/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=120924247&_hsenc=p2ANqtz%E2%80%94Ez2eD-b_PsfiBzoUJFxHOkAIiaS5l3ZcPShHvE3wSnIfc1MBGMuydNrWXK5rjMvxapgxq06vvaq1Uu19Gx438ZNpwpA">reported</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div id="JlexSq">
|
||
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
||
With extremely dry conditions continuing across California, Sierra Nevada snow water equivalent has begun to fall rapidly in recent days. The seasonal peak in Feb was a modest 75% of average, but it’s now down to 46% statewide and southern Sierra is down to 30%. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAwx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CAwx</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAwater?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CAwater</a> <a href="https://t.co/qnXg2WsSoh">pic.twitter.com/qnXg2WsSoh</a>
|
||
</p>
|
||
— Daniel Swain (<span class="citation" data-cites="Weather_West">@Weather_West</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/Weather_West/status/1380557289027870723?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2021</a>
|
||
</blockquote>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VnB8Ks">
|
||
The wildfire risk is serious across the West, but California faces a unique set of threats: “a combination of climate and vegetation and intersection with highly populous areas that makes California sort of uniquely prominent in the wildfire impacts realm,” Swain said. And as the state continues to dry out and the winds pick up in the fall, the risks will continue to build.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<aside id="hANvCu">
|
||
<div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</aside>
|
||
<h3 id="LXtlAz">
|
||
It’s time to get your air filter out and keep those masks handy
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eC1rXY">
|
||
Even with dry landscape inviting fires, the ultimate severity of the fire season is hard to predict. For one thing, because the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/wildfire-causes-and-evaluation.htm">vast majority</a> of wildfires are human-caused, where those sparks are ignited will shape how damaging the fires are. But wind, heat, and other variables will also play a role — as last year highlighted.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2MpgUH">
|
||
It was a rash of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/08/23/california-record-wildfires-lightning/">rare dry lightning</a> that set off the major blazes that hit California in late August. Coupled with a <a href="https://www.vox.com/21430638/california-wildfires-2020-orange-sky-august-complex">record warm August</a> and dry winds, the fire season escalated quickly to record levels. “Last August and then into September, every single possible factor came together in the worst possible way,” said Swain.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PK5QUb">
|
||
It’s unlikely that we will see the same level of destruction this year, but not impossible, he said.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1GGp1c">
|
||
However, Swain also cautioned that the number of acres burned shouldn’t be the sole criterion for how severe a fire season is. Western states actually have a major backlog of land that needs to be burned, due to the history of limiting the use of fire to manage forests (“prescribed burning”) — an approach that American Indians have <a href="https://www.vox.com/21507802/wildfire-2020-california-indigenous-native-american-indian-controlled-burn-fire">historically practiced</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="11KAys">
|
||
“The goal is not to vanquish fire from the landscape. The goal really should be to decouple wildfire from catastrophe,” he said. Therefore, he suggests we judge our management of fires by their impact on structures and human health, rather than just acres burned.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<aside id="6zNSkJ">
|
||
<div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</aside>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ebmkQk">
|
||
Just two weeks ago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-04-08/california-wildfire-prevention-536-million-newsom-lawmakers">announced</a> a deal to allocate $536 million to help the state manage wildfires by staffing up fire crews, thinning forests, and hardening homes to withstand fires. Newsom has proposed a total of $1 billion in spending on fire management this year.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xu0LhZ">
|
||
“This is a good start, but this is only Year One,” Michael Wara, the director of the climate and energy policy program at Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment, told the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-04-08/california-wildfire-prevention-536-million-newsom-lawmakers">Los Angeles Times</a>. “We need sustained funding at this scale and maybe even larger for a decade.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6595SH">
|
||
With the fire season rapidly approaching, residents of Western states can get ahead of the smoke by dusting off their air filters, stocking up on N95 respirator masks, and consulting this preparation <a href="https://www.airnow.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/prepare-for-fire-season.pdf">checklist</a> from the Environmental Protection Agency. In the meantime, it’s a good time to get outside before the fire season truly descends upon us again…
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yfpopQ">
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Jyk7wd">
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="H90DXk">
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jBBpQI">
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DoP8iu">
|
||
</p>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><strong>Biden’s plan to invest $400 billion to make long-term care cheaper is really popular</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="Home Health Aide" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3Rqb8iMVnYZQun4k5xbTV5nFUWo=/100x0:2944x2133/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69129770/1231325558.0.jpg"/>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
A home health care aide steadies her client inside his home in Peabody, Massachusetts, on January 25, 2021. | Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The high costs of long-term care impacts everyone. Democrats and Republican voters want Biden to do something about it.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Pg7iX8">
|
||
A $400 billion investment into senior care and long-term caregiving in President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan may not fall into a traditional definition of “infrastructure,” but it’s one of the most popular provisions in the plan among Democratic and Republican voters alike, according to new polling from <a href="https://www.filesforprogress.org/datasets/2021/4/dfp-vox-american-jobs-plan-toplines.pdf">Vox and Data for Progress</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nAijqA">
|
||
The new poll, which surveyed 1,217 likely voters about various provisions of Biden’s $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan and has a 3 percentage point margin of error, showed that Biden’s investment to improve and lower the cost of long-term care for seniors and those with disabilities has broad support — 73 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat backed the proposal.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wmCFmkPwEa16OPJSBOcfOYC5mE4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22443564/image__8_.png"/>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IugBJz">
|
||
This provision enjoys strong support from voters across parties: 88 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of independents, and 55 percent of Republicans support the idea.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Oa72yQ">
|
||
A partisan debate over what exactly constitutes infrastructure is underway in Congress, with Republicans sticking to a more traditional definition of roads, bridges, airports, and broadband. But the findings of the Vox and Data for Progress poll show that some provisions like increased funding to make long-term care more affordable are popular with voters across party lines.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GERNp9">
|
||
Specifically, Biden’s plan calls for expanding long-term care under Medicaid,<strong> </strong>increasing access to home and community-based services, and giving more people the chance to receive care at home. The Biden administration’s plan aims to increase the quality of caregiving jobs and offer home health workers more chances to unionize and increase their wages.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6SALkH">
|
||
This wide swath of support underscores that the high cost of long-term care impacts many families across the country. With a large, aging population of baby boomers and <a href="https://www.axios.com/aging-baby-boomers-medicare-medicaid-home-care-cost-crisis-063f0439-d248-4d4b-815a-7d8d3c3cfab0.html">expensive long-term care</a> that doesn’t get covered by insurance, many families in the United States are scrambling to either pay for care or care for their loved ones themselves. And caregivers — many of whom are Black and brown women — are often <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/8/21/20694768/home-health-aides-elder-care">underpaid and work long hours</a> caring for patients.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hHL8HY">
|
||
Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, which represents many long-term care workers and home health aides, told Vox she sees Biden including caregiving in a wide-ranging infrastructure and jobs plan as a potential “sea change” for the profession, and for patients.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vww1ze">
|
||
Biden “is putting a stake in the ground about how we need as a nation to view caregiving as [being as] valuable as building roads and bridges,” Henry told Vox in a recent interview.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="62Jbqg">
|
||
Other provisions of Biden’s infrastructure and jobs are popular across parties
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ve7HJQ">
|
||
Overall, the American Jobs Plan enjoys broad support among likely voters, according to the Vox and Data for Progress poll.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jS8au5Q3O7lJt3_Wid9Gu83oqyA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22443902/image.png"/>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="euE8Fa">
|
||
Sixty-eight percent of all likely voters strongly or somewhat support the American Jobs Plan, compared to 25 percent who strongly or somewhat<strong> </strong>oppose it. Support for the bill is very strong among Democrats and independent voters; 88 percent of Democrats support the plan, and 69 percent of independents support it. Republican voters are more evenly split, with 41 percent supporting the plan and 50 percent opposing it.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7R74GN">
|
||
While the bulk of Biden’s plan is focused on rebuilding America’s roads and bridges, increasing manufacturing, and installing broadband, there are a number of other popular provisions in the plan, the polling found.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jjIvf4">
|
||
For instance, Biden’s proposal to eliminate all lead pipes and service lines from the nation’s drinking water systems is supported by 75 percent of all likely voters, and draws support from voters across party lines.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/S-f-_lni5VGaD-OuYVgirzzfEQU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22443933/image__1_.png"/>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4wzKS3">
|
||
Eighty-seven percent of Democrats support removing lead pipes from water systems, as do 74 percent of independents and 60 percent of Republicans. Cities and homes built before 1986 are most likely to have lead pipes, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. An estimated 9.2 million homes are serviced with lead pipes, according to the <a href="https://www.edf.org/health/lead-pipes-threat-kids-across-america">Environmental Defense Fund</a>, and lead seeping into water from corroded pipes can be especially harmful to children’s health.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="T5keh2">
|
||
In addition to supporting removing lead pipes from drinking water, the majority of voters also support Biden investing $100 billion into the US power sector to modernize the electric grid and put the US on a path to 100 percent clean electricity by 2035.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gH34S-FNQX_DbzC41BBujMnXhMs=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22444010/image__4_.png"/>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l1EZ3W">
|
||
But unlike the long-term care and lead pipe proposals, support for this provision is more divided along partisan lines. It’s<strong> </strong>supported by 84 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of independents, while a majority of Republicans oppose it.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nJjnl2">
|
||
Even though the majority of Republican voters oppose a clean electricity standard, they feel differently about electrifying the US Postal Service fleet, which is another provision in Biden’s American Jobs Plan to help decarbonize the federal government’s vehicle fleets.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GDs-5_ABdaxjFzmlUeN-K7cGJRA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22444025/image__2_.png"/>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="y50P64">
|
||
Eighty percent of Democrats support that provision, as do 62 percent of independents and 56 percent of Republicans.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="36uB63">
|
||
The American Jobs Plan still has several weeks before lawmakers turn it into legislative text, and more months before it could be passed through the House and Senate. But several of the president’s provisions that may not be considered “traditional” infrastructure by congressional Republicans still have broad support from Republican voters across the country.
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Cricket Corruption: Bitcoin transaction is new phenomenon, says ICC Integrity head Marshall</strong> - “It is a new phenomenon for us, but we have staff capable of investigating it.”</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Megasthenes claims the Stewards Cup</strong> - Mr. M.A.M.R. Muthiah’s Megasthenes (P. Sai Kumar up) won the Stewards Cup, the feature event of the races held here on Thursday (April 15). R. Ramana</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Viswanathan Anand’s father dies</strong> - Five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand’s father, K. Viswanathan, died in Chennai on Thursday following brief illness. He was 92 and breath</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Manchester City beats Dortmund for Champions League semifinal</strong> - Guardiola said Tuesday he expected to be labeled “a failure” if Dortmund became the fourth club in a row to eliminate City.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>U.S. women soccer players appeal decision against equal pay</strong> - The court asked players to submit their brief by July 23 and the USSF its brief by August 23</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Long-term arrangements needed to fight COVID-19, says Nitin Gadkari</strong> - The Lok Sabha MP from Nagpur was speaking after inaugurating a private 100-bed COVID-19 care centre at the National Cancer Centre in the city.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Foreign produced COVID-19 vaccines: Decision on emergency use applications to be taken in three days</strong> - Health Ministry issued regulatory pathways for foreign produced COVID-19 vaccines according to which the CDSCO has prepared detailed guidelines specifying regulatory pathway</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>There are no tests, oxygen or beds in hospitals. PM-CARES?: Rahul</strong> - BJP accuses Congress leader of “full-time lobbying for pharma companies making foreign vaccines”</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Coronavirus | Schools in U.P. shut till May 15, night curfew imposed in 10 districts</strong> - The new dates for the board examinations will be decided in the first week of May, an official said</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Bodies of 2 Colachel fishermen killed in boat-ship collision, brought back, buried</strong> - The Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard ships and helicopters have been pressed into action to locate and rescue nine fishermen who are still missing following the collision</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>US poised to impose sanctions on Russia for cyber-attacks</strong> - Dozens of entities may be targeted over attacks including alleged interference in the 2020 elections.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>France urges citizens to leave Pakistan amid anti-French protests</strong> - An email from the French embassy warns of “serious threats” after anti-blasphemy protests.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why Russia may not be planning the invasion that Ukraine fears</strong> - President Biden’s proposal for a summit with Russia’s leader means the risk of an escalation has faded.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Notre Dame: President Macron visits cathedral two years after fire</strong> - French President Emmanuel Macron speaks of the “collective pride” of the reconstruction efforts.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Mystery tree beast turns out to be croissant</strong> - Polish animal welfare officers responding to a call discover the creature is in fact a pastry.</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>CDC expert panel punts on deciding fate of J&J COVID vaccine</strong> - Experts brace for more clotting cases as 52% of doses were given in the last 2 weeks. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1757109">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The looming software kill-switch lurking in aging PlayStation hardware</strong> - Dying internal batteries and online timer checks make a disaster waiting to happen. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1757051">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What to expect from Apple’s “Spring Loaded” event on April 20</strong> - This event is mysterious, but we’re confident iPads will figure prominently. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1756980">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Comparing the actual US grid to the one predicted 15 years ago</strong> - Demand and carbon emissions are way down, renewables far more common than expected. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1757033">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>AT&T/Verizon workers’ union urges states to regulate ISPs as utilities</strong> - “Three decades of of industry-driven deregulation have failed us,” union says. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1756981">link</a></p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><strong>What’s the difference between USA and USB?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
One connects to your devices and accesses your data, and the other is a hardware standard.
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Chainsmoker88"> /u/Chainsmoker88 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mqydxt/whats_the_difference_between_usa_and_usb/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mqydxt/whats_the_difference_between_usa_and_usb/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>A man walks into his bedroom carrying a sheep. His wife looks horrified…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“See? See what I have to bang when you’re not in the mood?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The sheep says “Myyyyyyyy god. You weren’t lying…”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/FuckinWimp87"> /u/FuckinWimp87 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mr7xbo/a_man_walks_into_his_bedroom_carrying_a_sheep_his/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mr7xbo/a_man_walks_into_his_bedroom_carrying_a_sheep_his/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>I hate ladders, my father fell off one and died, I’ll never forget his last words,</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Stop shaking the ladder you little shit”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/SkylineSam"> /u/SkylineSam </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mr9m7d/i_hate_ladders_my_father_fell_off_one_and_died/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mr9m7d/i_hate_ladders_my_father_fell_off_one_and_died/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>[NSFW] My girlfriends name is Wendy and I had it tattooed on my penis.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
When it’s flaccid you can only see WY.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
On a trip to the Caribbean I went to the bathroom and was standing at the trough next to a local.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
I briefly gazed down and saw that he too had WY tattooed on his penis.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
I asked him if his girlfriends name was also Wendy.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
He said ‘No. When I am aroused it says “Welcome to Jamaica- Have a nice day” ‘.
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/AndrewMacSydney"> /u/AndrewMacSydney </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mqme5r/nsfw_my_girlfriends_name_is_wendy_and_i_had_it/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mqme5r/nsfw_my_girlfriends_name_is_wendy_and_i_had_it/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>An elderly Jewish man is sitting on a park bench reading the Tehran Times</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
A friend sees him and says, “Oy, Moishe! How can you read that rag? Don’t you know the things they say about us?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
To which the man replies, “Well, I used to read to read the Jewish papers, but they’re so depressing. Every headline is ‘Jews Being Persecuted!’ ‘Jews Living in Poverty!’ ‘Jews Being Oppressed!’. But now I read these Arab papers and the headlines are all ‘Jews Own All the Banks!’ ‘Jews Control the Media!’ ‘Jews Run the World!’. It’s much more uplifting!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Febtober2k"> /u/Febtober2k </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mr316w/an_elderly_jewish_man_is_sitting_on_a_park_bench/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mr316w/an_elderly_jewish_man_is_sitting_on_a_park_bench/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
|
||
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