WHAT'S BREWING
CHINA PROPOSES LAW CRACKING DOWN ON HONG KONG OPPOSITION ACTIVITY China’s ceremonial parliament will consider a bill that could limit opposition activity in Hong Kong, a spokesperson said, appearing to confirm speculation that China will sidestep the territory’s own lawmaking body in enacting legislation to crack down on activity Beijing considers subversive. Zhang Yesui said the National People’s Congress will deliberate a bill on “establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to safeguard national security.” Such a move has long been under consideration but was hastened by months of anti-government protests last year. [HuffPost]
SENATE LEAVES FOR RECESS WITHOUT PASSING MORE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF The Senate left town on Thursday without taking any legislative action to address the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which in the U.S. has resulted in nearly 100,000 deaths and 38 million jobless claims. “It’s illogical to say we’ve spent $3 trillion and we wouldn’t want to take a look whether it’s being efficient before we rush headlong and push another $3 trillion out the door,” Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said. But Senate Democrats argued that more federal spending is needed, given the rising unemployment rate, dire economic projections and calls for additional legislative action from the Federal Reserve. [HuffPost]
'TRUMP LIES, PEOPLE DIE': PROTESTORS LEAVE BODY BAGS OUTSIDE WHITE HOUSE Activists laid body bags outside the White House to protest what they consider to be Trump and Republicans’ catastrophic response to the pandemic. The demonstration started with a mock 200-car funeral procession passing by the Capitol building, and ending at the White House, where demonstrators dumped body bags onto the sidewalk.“ Trump Lies, People Die,” read signs affixed to the body bags, meant to symbolize the nearly 100,000 people in the U.S. who have died so far in the pandemic. [HuffPost]
DEMOCRATS PROPOSE FEDERAL JOBS PROGRAM Senate Democrats proposed a program designed to employ those who have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic, which this week numbered more than 38 million people. The Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act of 2020, introduced by Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, would give states and localities $100 billion in grants to hire and train newly unemployed workers to perform pandemic response work, including contact tracing, surveillance, mitigation and cleaning services. [HuffPost]
BIDEN LIMITS ACCESS TO WALL STREET FUNDRAISER Joe Biden’s campaign removed the press from a fundraising call with Wall Street donors on Thursday shortly before the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee began taking questions from those on the line. It was the first time Biden has limited media access to a virtual high-dollar fundraiser, Bloomberg News noted, and it drew criticism from reporters who said it went against his pledge of transparency. The event was hosted by the heads of three investment banking firms: Evercore, Centerview Partners and Insight Partners. [HuffPost]
VOLKSWAGEN APOLOGIZES FOR RACIST AD Volkswagen has pulled a racist ad from its Instagram page, saying in a public apology that it will investigate why it was released with so many offensive undertones. The 10-second clip for the German car company’s new Volkswagen Golf model features a giant, white hand poking and prodding a Black man. At the end of the short commercial, the hand violently flicks the man into the entrance of the Petit Colon cafe in Buenos Aires, according to the BBC. The cafe is next to the popular Teatro Colón, an opera house named after Christopher Columbus. The French term “Petit Colón” also translates to “Little Settler” or “Little Colonist,” giving the ad an air of colonialism. [HuffPost] |
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