| ADMINISTRATION & MIDEAST: Today, Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes on what it said were militant targets in Gaza, leveling a six-story building, and militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel as war, now in its second week, shows no signs of abating. Palestinians across the region observed a general strike (The Associated Press). The toll: At least 212 Palestinians have been killed to date, including 61 children and 36 women, with more than 1,400 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not separately categorize fighters and civilians. Ten people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy and a soldier, have been killed in the ongoing rocket attacks launched from civilian areas in Gaza toward civilian areas in Israel, according to news accounts. On Monday, the White House said Biden expressed “support” in principle for a cease-fire in a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The president’s action and emphasis on civilian casualties signaled U.S. concern for an end to Israel’s part of hostilities with Hamas, although it fell short of joining growing Democratic demands for an immediate cease-fire. Biden’s intention is to show support for Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas (The Associated Press and The Hill). An Israeli official told Axios that the Biden administration had not given Israel a deadline for reaching a cease-fire but had been stressing on Monday that it was reaching the end of its ability to hold back international pressure on Israel over the Gaza operation. “The overall message was that they support us but want this to end,” the Israeli official said. The U.S. has blocked at least three attempts at the United Nations Security Council to release a statement on the situation in Gaza. Hours before the release of the White House statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken signaled that the Biden administration would continue to urge a de-escalation of violence but would stop short of wading into the international diplomatic drive underway to try to negotiate peace. “In all of these engagements we have made clear that we are prepared to lend our support and good offices to the parties should they seek a cease-fire,” he said. Biden faces pressure from the U.N. Security Council, some Democrats in Congress and others who want him and other international leaders to get more involved in forging an immediate diplomatic end to the worst Israeli-Palestinian violence in years and revive long-collapsed mediation for a lasting peace (The Associated Press). The New York Times: Diplomatic efforts appear stalled. Thus far, Israel has resisted efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to broker a cease-fire. And Hamas has continued its rocket fire into Israel. While traveling in Copenhagen during a tour of Nordic countries, Blinken spoke again on Monday with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi. The Hill’s Laura Kelly reports that the U.S. approach to the situation in Gaza is frustrating close allies and leading to criticism from some of Israel’s staunchest defenders on Capitol Hill. Blinken also said on Monday that he has yet to see evidence of intelligence related to Israel’s destruction of a 12-story building in Gaza used as a media bureau by The Associated Press, Al Jazeera and other outlets. Israeli military forces say they destroyed the building after giving occupants an hour’s notice because it claimed Hamas operated there (The Associated Press). 
© Getty Images > Steel tariffs: The United States and the European Union (EU) on Monday temporarily suspended tariffs in an ongoing steel dispute as Biden pursues better trading relations with allies. The decision comes in time for Biden’s visit to EU headquarters in mid-June to discuss a new relationship following the bloc’s difficult relationship with former President Trump (The Associated Press). > Child tax credit: On Monday, the IRS announced the first monthly payment of the expanded child tax credit from the COVID-19 relief law will be sent to 39 million households beginning on July 15, benefiting more than 88 percent of children in the United States. The White House used the phrase “Bidenomics” to describe the administration’s economic and taxation policies. > Biden and Vice President Harris tax returns: In another contrast with his predecessor, Biden released copies of his tax filings on Monday showing adjusted gross income of $607,336, along with his wife, Jill Biden, HERE. The vice president’s returns showed adjusted gross income of nearly $1.7 million in 2020 with her husband, Doug Emhoff, an attorney, HERE. ***** CORONAVIRUS: Confusion continued to set in Monday as states and municipalities attempted to sort out mask recommendations days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidance allowing fully vaccinated individuals to not wear masks in most settings. As The Hill’s Justine Coleman notes, a range of experts and groups, including National Nurses United, have questioned rolling back the mask rules for vaccinated people and believe it could jeopardize the country’s recovery. However, the administration has thrown its weight behind the new guidance, saying that it reflects the vaccines’ effectiveness and signals a step toward normalcy. “The CDC director promised the American people that she would convey the latest science to them as she knew it, that she would not delay, that she would not be impacted by politics or influenced by political pressure on the White House or elsewhere,” Psaki said. “And that’s exactly what she did.” In response, a number of states and entities rolled back their rules on Monday. Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) changed the District’s guidance to largely reflect the CDC’s updates. According to the mayor, fully vaccinated people in the nation’s capital must wear a mask or practice social distancing only in settings where doing so is required, including in businesses that mandate masks, taxis and rideshares, schools, health care settings, and homeless shelters. District residents and commuters will also have to continue wearing masks on the Metro and on buses (The Hill). In Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker (R) announced that all remaining COVID-19 restrictions in the commonwealth will be lifted on May 29 ahead of Memorial Day weekend. The order also rescinds Massachusetts’s face covering order (The Hill). However, the same cannot be said for California, as Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has delayed lifting the Golden State’s mask mandate until mid-June (The Hill). The Hill: Mask mandate lifted for vaccinated people in national parks, federal buildings. The New York Times: They’re vaccinated and keeping their masks on, maybe forever. The Hill: Senators shed masks after CDC changes guidance. Mediaite: Scott Gottlieb, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, predicts the disappearance of masks within weeks: “Nobody is going to be wearing” them. 
© Getty Images > Vaccines: Biden on Monday announced that the U.S. will share an additional 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines that have been approved domestically with the rest of the world by the end of June. According to Biden, doses of the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech or Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be shared amid calls for the administration to help nations that have struggled to inoculate their citizens. The decision is on top of a commitment by the Biden administration to ship out 60 million doses of AstraZeneca’s jab as it is cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is not known how long it will take for the FDA to declare the AstraZeneca vaccine safe. “We know America will never be fully safe until the pandemic that's raging globally is under control,” Biden said during a White House address. “No ocean’s wide enough, no wall is high enough, to keep us safe” (The Hill). As for the situation in the U.S., the national map of vaccinations closely resembles an electoral map as most Democratic-leaning states are administering shots at a level well above the national average, while states that vote Republican in presidential contests are bringing up the rear. As The Hill’s Peter Sullivan writes, the politics surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have consistently been partisan, with polls showing that conservatives and Republicans, particularly men, are the most hesitant to get vaccinated. The data bears this out as the jab rates in states offer insight into the national political winds. Making up the top states for vaccination rates are New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Hawaii and Connecticut. Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Wyoming and Idaho make up the bottom of the list. Some swing states offer surprises, with Pennsylvania boasting a vaccination rate of 55 percent and Georgia and Arizona, both of which supported Biden, checking in at 44 and 37 percent, respectively. Axios: Vaccine-hesitant Americans cite inaccurate side effects. Reid Wilson, The Hill: Pent-up consumer demand fuels post-pandemic spending spree. The Wall Street Journal: COVID-19 hospital patients tend to be younger now. CNBC: COVID-19 variant from India could become dominant in the UK “in a matter of days,” posing unknown dangers. The Associated Press: India reports record day of virus deaths as cases level off. > Sports: The New York City Marathon is returning this fall with a smaller field (The Hill)... In Japan, the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for July-August face pressure from the Japanese people, including Japanese doctors, who would like to cancel the competitions because of fears of COVID-19 transmission. The International Olympic Committee says it expects the Olympics to proceed (Yahoo Sports). | 
No comments:
Post a Comment