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1. Stimulus
The Senate passed the $ 1.9 trillion relief bill on Saturday, but it must return to the House to cast one more vote before it reaches President Biden’s office and is put into action. This vote in the House is scheduled for tomorrow and is expected to happen once again on the party line. Biden would sign it soon after and people could start getting stimulus checks in a few days. If all goes according to plan, it would be a big win for Biden, especially because the president has had to curb partisan drama on the hill and convince moderate Democrats, like Senator Joe Manchin, to stay in line. More importantly, lawmakers hope it will be a great victory for the American people. When it comes to these $ 1,400 stimulus checks, recipients with information registered with the IRS will likely see payments first. Others may receive paper checks or prepaid debit cards in the mail.
2. Coronavirus
According to an expert, the United States could be in the “eye of the hurricane” instead of suffering a steady decline from the pandemic. Cases have stopped falling and are now spreading to very high numbers, averaging approximately 60,000 cases a day in the country last week. Loose restrictions and massive spring break events around the corner could pose a serious danger. In addition, variant B.1.1.7, first found in the UK, could fuel more infections over the next six to 14 weeks. It is also important to note that the pandemic is still tough in many places. Brazil has just recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases in two months, with 80,000 new infections in a single day.
3. Russia
Online platforms run by Russian intelligence are spreading misinformation about two coronavirus vaccines used in the US, a State Department spokesman confirmed. The agency’s Global Engagement Center identified three Russian outlets that play risks and doubts, including one that shared exaggerated reports that Pfizer and Moderna features carry a high risk of a rare side effect. The GEC also found that outlets sowed more misinformation about military conflicts, protests and “any divisive issues that could explode.” Experts say the reason for the misinformation against vaccines is to promote Russia’s rival Sputnik V vaccine. The Kremlin denied that its intelligence services were at the forefront of the disinformation campaign.
4. South Korea
The United States and South Korea have reached an agreement on cost-sharing for US forces based in South Korea. Negotiations on the deal had severely strained the alliance during the Trump administration after then-President Trump demanded that Seoul pay up to 400 percent more for the presence of the 28,500 troops on the peninsula. The new benchmark fits President Biden’s goal of returning to regular order, that is, repairing alliances and engaging with them through established structures. One of the next items on the agenda with South Korea will be to decide on a joint strategy to manage North Korea, which is not an easy task. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make his first international trip as top U.S. diplomat to South Korea and Japan next week.
5. Real interview
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry sat down with Oprah in a long-awaited interview that now threatens to open a racist scandal around Buckingham Palace. Meghan, who is half Black, told Oprah that an unnamed family member raised “concerns” with her while she was pregnant on her baby’s dark skin. Harry confirmed the conversation, saying it was “a shock”. Meghan also said her life as a British royal was so isolating that at one point she “didn’t want to be alive anymore”. The accusations come at a delicate time for the royal family, with Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, recovering from a heart procedure. How to get help: In the US, call National suicide prevention lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
EXPLORE BREAKFAST
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has remarried
Wedding bells are so sweet after repeating them.
The LeBron team won the NBA All-Star Game, but the real winner was HBCU
The league generated a whopping $ 3 million for historically black colleges and universities.
Here is a full list of Critics Choice Award winners
Did the critics get it right? Judge out.
2021 Grammys performers will include Taylor Swift, BTS and Billie Eilish
The full list basically contains all the artists you’ve heard of (and definitely some you haven’t).
You can buy the first tweet. Current offer: $ 2.5 million
Mmmm, we’ll just do them for free.
PASSING LATER
An iconic case is advancing
Jury selection will begin today at the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, one of the officers charged with the murder of George Floyd last May.
TODAY’S ISSUE
$ 27 billion
It’s the amount of money Elon Musk lost last week when tech stocks were hammered and the impressive rise in Tesla shares quickly unraveled. Musk has decided to take on Jeff Bezos at the top of Bloomberg’s list of the world’s richest people since January and is now a distant second from Bezos ’fortune.
TODAY’S BUDGET
“(Hope is) more powerful than hatred and peace more powerful than war.”
Pope Francis, while leading the prayer amid the ruins of the Iraqi city of Mosul. The Pope’s trip marks the first papal visit to Iraq and the Pope’s first visit outside Italy since the pandemic began.
TODAY’S WEATHER
Check out the local forecast here >>>
AND FINALLY
Meet the smallest owl in the world
Let’s all be as hardworking this week as this little elf owl. (Click here to see it.)