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New year. New me.: |
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© Giphy Via The Hill’s Niall Stanage, “For two years in a row, the date of Jan. 6 has marked an inflection point in American politics.” https://bit.ly/3t6jlER How Biden’s remarks yesterday were different: “President Biden’s speech to mark the anniversary, delivered with force amid the solemn grandeur of Statuary Hall, was vital in its own way. It marked an abrupt shift, with the 46th president taking the fight head-on to his predecessor, former President Trump.” ^ Comparing that to the last year: “For most of the first year of his presidency, Biden and his key aides have tended to keep direct engagement with Trump to a minimum, preferring to dismiss him with nonchalance and a metaphorical wave of the hand.” More on Biden’s sudden shift: https://bit.ly/3t6jlER |
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^ Biden’s party is ba, da, ba, ba, bah — they’re loving it: |
| Via The Hill’s Amie Parnes and Morgan Chalfant, “Democrats have been waiting for a year for President Biden to call out former President Trump for his claims about the 2020 presidential election and pinpoint the role Trump played in instigating his followers to ‘fight like hell’ to contest the result. Standing in the Capitol on Thursday, Biden finally did just that.” What Democrats specifically think of Biden’s message: https://bit.ly/3tlA87h |
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| Happy Friday! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook. Did someone forward this to you? Want your own copy? Sign up here to receive The Hill's 12:30 Report in your inbox daily: http://bit.ly/2UoupvN |
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Welppppp.: |
| The U.S. added a disappointing 199,000 jobs in December as the omicron variant tore through the country. https://bit.ly/3G9aUfU For context — what economists had expected: A gain in December of roughly 420,000 jobs. A positive spin: “Despite the lackluster December job gain, the report showed signs of growing competition for sorely needed workers as employers struggle to keep up with the recovering economy. The jobless rate dropped to its lowest level since March 2019 as the labor force participation held firm, and average hourly earnings were up 4.6 percent on the year last month.” |
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Dems feeling a little sus: |
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© Giphy Via The Hill’s Jordain Carney, “Democrats are voicing skepticism over Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) openness to discussing election law changes, warning that he’s trying to distract from filibuster reform efforts.” https://bit.ly/3eXKpOo Timing: “McConnell’s decision to open the door this week to reforming an 1887 Electoral College law comes as Democrats are trying to cut a deal with Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on broader voting rights reforms that will require them to change the legislative filibuster.” |
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Tidbit: |
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© Twitter Photo of those parents in front of the U.S. Capitol: https://bit.ly/3qVjfNM |
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Suuuurprise!: |
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© Twitter Watch: https://bit.ly/3G4mLMc |
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| LATEST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS | |
Remember the White House’s plan to send rapid tests to Americans? It’s almost finalized!: |
| Via The Washington Post’s Jacob Bogage and Dan Diamond, “The White House is finalizing details with the U.S. Postal Service to deliver 500 million coronavirus test kits to households across the country, according to four people familiar with the plans, kick-starting a key part of President Biden’s response to the raging omicron variant.” https://wapo.st/3q3e0fw When the tests could be shipped?: “Officials aim to begin shipping the kits by mid-January.” Everything we know: https://wapo.st/3q3e0fw |
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| HAS OMICRON PEAKED? THE CDC DIRECTOR DOESN’T THINK SO: |
| “The way it has peaked in other countries — in South Africa, it has come down rapidly as well,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky told NBC’s “Today.” “But I don’t believe we’ve seen that peak here in the United States.” https://bit.ly/3F5B6GA |
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| ‘THE WORLD SURPASSES 300 MILLION KNOWN VIRUS CASES, BUT CASE COUNTS MAY NOT MEAN WHAT THEY USED TO’: |
| Via The New York Times’s Shashank Bengali: https://nyti.ms/33f5Xnb |
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Happening today — so what do we think about the vaccine mandates?: |
| Via The New York Times’s Adam Liptak, “The Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Friday on the legality of two initiatives at the heart of the Biden administration’s efforts to address the coronavirus in the workplace through vaccine mandates.” https://nyti.ms/3q4kZ8g On one side: “The challengers — states led by Republican officials, businesses, religious groups and others — say Congress has not authorized the measures, adding that they are unnecessary and in some ways counterproductive.” On the other side: “The administration says that workplace safety and health care laws have given it ample authority to take bold action in the face of a lethal pandemic.” What to expect: https://nyti.ms/3q4kZ8g |
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| CASE NUMBERS: |
| Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 58,489,268 U.S. death toll: 833,996 Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y |
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| VACCINATION NUMBERS: |
| Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 514 million shots have been given. Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 1.03 million doses For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million. Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH |
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Such good boys and girls: |
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© Twitter |
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Yikes … : |
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© Twitter |
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This is a bit tense: |
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© Twitter Watch: https://bit.ly/3eZj3au ^Back story — here’s the clip that led to this interview: https://bit.ly/3sXqhnQ |
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| The House is out. The Senate is in, but with no roll call votes expected. President Biden is in Colorado today. 11:15 a.m. EST: President Biden and first lady Jill Biden leave for Colorado. Noon: The Senate meets. The Senate’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3G4AjXL 5:30 p.m. EST: The Bidens tour a neighborhood in Louisville, Colo. 10:25 p.m. EST: The Bidens land in Las Vegas. Saturday: President Biden attends the funeral of the late former Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in Las Vegas, Nev. Former President Obama is also scheduled to speak, according to the Nevada Independent. Details and who else will speak: https://bit.ly/3G4AthP |
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| 10:45 a.m. EST: President Biden delivered remarks on the jobs report. Livestream: https://bit.ly/32RUavg 1:15 p.m. EST: White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One. Livestream: https://bit.ly/34otjXP 7:15 p.m. EST: President Biden delivers remarks on his administration’s response to the recent wildfires. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3JODK7g |
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| Today is National Tempura Day. |
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| And to get your weekend off to a good start, here’s a dog questioning the cat’s decisions: https://bit.ly/3q2kYBr |
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