IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Thursday's Mini-Report, 7.29.21

Today's edition of quick hits.

By

Today's edition of quick hits:

* This came together with surprising speed: "The House and Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would secure funding for the U.S. Capitol and the Capitol Police in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot, which was at risk of having to furlough officers without additional money. The House voted 416 to 11 to approve the $2.1 billion emergency supplemental funding bill. In an unusual display of speed for Congress, the Senate had voted 98-0 hours earlier."

* A little embarrassing: "The 27 member states of the European Union altogether have now administered more coronavirus vaccine doses per 100 people than the United States, in another sign that inoculations across the bloc have maintained some speed throughout the summer, while they have stagnated for weeks in the United States."

* Good: "The nation's millions of federal workers will be required to verify they've been vaccinated against the coronavirus or else face mandatory masking, weekly testing, distancing and other new rules, the Biden administration announced Thursday."

* He deserves so much better: "Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who suffered a heart attack and traumatic brain injury after being violently assaulted Jan. 6, received a threatening, expletive-laced voicemail on his cellphone as he testified Tuesday about his experience during the Capitol riot."

* In related news: "A former police officer in Virginia accused of entering the Capitol on Jan. 6 has been ordered to stay in jail after buying nearly three dozen guns online, which a federal judge called 'a remarkable shopping spree for high-powered assault weapons.'"

* They're not getting much help from Republicans: "President Biden and congressional Democrats scrambled on Thursday to try and find a way to prevent a federal eviction moratorium from expiring in two days, mounting a last-minute effort as fears spread about the economic impact of a new resurgence of the coronavirus."

* China's reach grows: "Frustrated with the U.S., Ukraine is cutting deals with a rival superpower, inviting China to build infrastructure while holding back criticism of Beijing's human rights record. Ukraine last month touted agreements with China to build airports, roads and railways in the Eastern European country and expressed gratitude for deliveries of Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccines."

* I hope you saw our coverage of this last night: "President Donald Trump called his acting attorney general nearly every day at the end of last year to alert him to claims of voter fraud or alleged improper vote counts in the 2020 election, according to two people familiar with the conversations."

* An amazing policy development: "The huge increase in government aid prompted by the coronavirus pandemic will cut poverty nearly in half this year from pre-pandemic levels and push the share of Americans in poverty to the lowest level on record, according to the most comprehensive analysis yet of a vast but temporary expansion of the safety net."

See you tomorrow.