10 Things in Politics: Biden agencies AWOL on domestic terror
Advertisement
Brent D. Griffiths
Aug 10, 2021, 16:33 IST
Members of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and other law-enforcement agencies near the White House during protests over the death of George Floyd on June 3, 2020.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Here's what else my colleague learned from her investigation:
Only one of the 63 federal agencies Insider contacted said they had implemented something new after Biden's June announcement: The State Department has a plan to share more information with its international partners to better understand how to address cross-border racially or ethnically motivated threats.
The details of Insider's survey: My colleague surveyed 63 federal agencies that either employ law-enforcement officers or have roles in which employees are allowed to carry firearms legally, asking what they'd done since Biden rolled out his plan.
A White House official said in response that they would "stay on it": Some Democratic lawmakers are calling for Biden to do more. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, pointed out that he'd been pushing for more than two years for a comprehensive federal strategy to combat domestic extremism.
2. Democrats released their massive $3.5 trillion plan: Their proposal would raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans and large corporations to fund the biggest expansion of the social safety net in generations, in an effort to fulfill a key part of Biden's economic agenda. It includes things like tuition-free community college, paid family and medical leave, and expanding Medicare to cover more services. No Republicans are expected to support it. More on one of the largest spending packages ever taken up by Congress.
3. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida escalated a fight over masks: DeSantis is threatening to withhold school-board members' salaries who dare to defy his mask ban. His moves go against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidance, which the governor has mocked. But one of the nation's largest school districts isn't ready to back down.
4. UN sounds alarm over climate crisis: The Earth won't be the same again for thousands of years. Human activities have altered our planet's systems so dramatically that sea levels will continue to rise and glaciers continue to melt long after the 21st century, a long-awaited report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded. Read the rest of the key takeaways, including that in 2019 the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere was higher than at any other time in at least 2 million years.
5. All service members will soon have to get the shot: All active US military personnel will have to get vaccinated for COVID-19 by mid-September, the Pentagon said. The mandate will be introduced even earlier if the Food and Drug Administration approves the vaccines before the deadline. At least 70% of the military's 1.4 million personnel have received one shot.
6. Epstein accuser filed suit against Prince Andrew: Virginia Roberts Giuffre sued the royal in New York federal court, accusing him of sexually assaulting her at Jeffrey Epstein's mansion when she was 17. The lawsuit was filed days before the second anniversary of Epstein's death in a New York jail and just before the expiration of the state's expanded statute of limitations, ABC News reports. Prince Andrew's representatives have denied her allegations. More on the story.
8. How it could end for Cuomo: Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York continues to defy calls for his resignation after last week's bombshell report found he sexually harassed 11 women. Cuomo and his lawyer have denied some of the report's findings. Top New York legislative leaders say they will move forward with impeachment after the deadline this Friday for Cuomo to submit evidence for his defense. There are at least three other possible outcomes.
9. FAA has investigated more than 600 unruly-passenger incidents this year: From shirking mask requirements to assaulting flight attendants, airline passengers seem to be acting up at alarming rates this year. The number of Federal Aviation Administration investigations in 2021 is staggering - nearly double the combined totals of 2019 and 2020. Here's more on the crackdown and the FAA's struggles given the agency can't file criminal charges.
What people are talking about: Read about a colleague's trip into a Vegas club, where new mask mandates have put "performative masking" on full display.
Today's trivia question:Back to vaccines for troops, then-Gen. George Washington has been credited with America's first large, state-funded immunization campaign. Which disease was he trying to stop? Email your guess and a suggested question to me at bgriffiths@insider.com.
Yesterday's answer: White House press secretaries began a tradition during the Ford administration of writing notes to their successors and stuffing them into what became known as the "flak jacket," though it's really just a men's tuxedo vest. The tradition appears to have died out, and the past notes were missing in 2017.
{{}}
NewsletterSIMPLY PUT - where we join the dots to inform and inspire you. Sign up for a weekly brief collating many news items into one untangled thought delivered straight to your mailbox.