Spiegel Stuff: The Hill's 12:30 Report - Biden cranks up Russia’s economic pain with trade move

NEWS THIS MORNING

President Biden dialed up actions against Russia this morning, announcing that the U.S. and other allies would downgrade Russia’s trade status. https://bit.ly/3pU7FCY

Russia's current designation: Russia’s trade status is “most favored nation.”

What a ‘most favored nation’ trade status means — in Biden’s words: “A ‘most favored nation’ status designation means two countries have agreed to trade with each other under the best possible terms – low tariffs, few barriers to trade and the highest possible imports allowed.”

What this move could mean for Russia: It could mean big tariffs for Russia, which is already struggling amid global sanctions.

Is it just the U.S.?: No, the European Union and the Group of Seven (G-7) will do the same, according to CBS News: https://cbsn.ws/3CChhXO

Keep in mind — Biden can’t do this on his own: Biden needs Congress to revoke the trade status.

^ Where that stands, via The Hill’s Morgan Chalfant: “Biden said Friday that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had ‘agreed to hold off’ on a bill in the House ending normal trade relations with Russia until he could get U.S. allies behind a plan to do so together and signaled there was a bipartisan agreement to introduce legislation.” https://bit.ly/3pU7FCY

WATCH BIDEN’S FULL ANNOUNCEMENT THIS MORNING:

Here’s the C-SPAN video: https://bit.ly/3I5DqPF

It’s 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.

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IN CONGRESS

Ready, se—GO!!!:

Last night, the Senate quickly passed the $1.5 trillion government spending bill, sending it to President Biden’s desk before the shutdown deadline. https://bit.ly/3vZ526o

The vote: 68-31

Well, that happened quickly: “The bill moved at lightning speed through Congress, passing the House less than 24 hours after it was unveiled early Wednesday morning. The Senate’s vote comes less than two days after the bill was introduced.”

^ That’s a fast turnaround for a 2,741-page bill.

This is the culmination of months of drama: The fiscal year started on Oct. 1, 2021, but lawmakers couldn’t agree to a spending bill, so they kept kicking back the deadline.

What’s in the bill: https://bit.ly/3vZ526o

HERE’S A QUICK COMPILATION OF THE TOP MOMENTS ON CAPITOL HILL THIS WEEK:

https://bit.ly/34F63FK

Scratch that — selling weed is still illegal in DC:

Via The Hill’s Karl Evers-Hillstrom and Aris Folley, “A GOP-backed ban on weed sales in Washington, D.C., was preserved in a sprawling government funding bill passed by Congress on Thursday, despite opposition from advocates who say the provision overrides the will of the District’s residents years after they voted to legalize marijuana.” https://bit.ly/3CxuilG

KEEP IN MIND — SOME WERE CAUGHT OFF GUARD BY THIS:

Via Politico’s Natalie Fertig, “It came as a surprise to some advocates, because it was not included in funding packages put forth by the House and Senate. However, President Joe Biden’s proposed budget did include the controversial provision.” https://politi.co/3I3LJeK

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF A RED WAVE WERE TO HAPPEN IN NOVEMBER?:

Here’s an explainer from The Hill’s Mike Lillis: https://bit.ly/3MGkjyZ

THE LATEST IN UKRAINE

US officials are a bit worried about chemical weapons … :

Via The Hill’s Brett Samuels and Ellen Mitchell, “Biden administration officials are raising alarms about the threat that Russia will escalate its war on Ukraine with chemical weapons, but are stopping short of establishing red lines that would involve U.S. military intervention.” https://bit.ly/3I5na14

What we know: “Officials have raised the prospect that Russia is laying the foundation for a chemical or biological attack on Ukraine, and experts and world leaders have openly discussed the risk of escalation given Russia’s nuclear arsenal.”

Keep in mind: “The White House has been adamant and consistent for weeks that Biden would not authorize putting U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine to fight Russia, arguing it would risk drawing the country into a protracted and potentially global war.”

STREETS, SQUARES AND INTERSECTIONS NEAR RUSSIAN EMBASSIES AROUND THE WORLD ARE GETTING RENAMED:

Via The New York Times’s Isabella Kwai, Henrik Pryser Libell and Christina Anderson: https://nyti.ms/3i23Mas

Here’s an example: “The unassuming intersection in front of the Russian Embassy in central Oslo didn’t really have a name until Tuesday, when its local council bestowed on it a particularly pointed one: ‘Ukrainas Plass,’ or Ukraine’s Square.”

A few more examples: “Tirana, the Albanian capital, said it would name a street segment that is home to the Russian Embassy ‘Free Ukraine.’ In Latvia, the Russian Embassy in Riga will now lie on ‘Ukraine Independence Street,’ according to a local deputy mayor.”

^ And it’s not just in those cities listed above: https://nyti.ms/3i23Mas

LATEST WITH COVID-19

If you read one thing today — this oral history brings me right back to exactly two years ago today:

Journalist Garrett M. Graff, who wrote a powerful oral history of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, published a similar oral history for the day in March 2020 that COVID-19 changed everything. https://bit.ly/3vZ40HU

‘Every hour seemed to bring major new developments’: “[T]he Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,465 points and officially entered bear territory; Capitol Hill faced its first confirmed Covid-19 case; the NCAA announced it would play its basketball tournament without fans; and then, in rapid-fire succession that evening, President Trump gave an Oval Office address, announcing a travel ban from Europe, the NBA suspended its season after player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus, and Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita, posted on Instagram that they too had been diagnosed while in Australia and were recuperating.”

Wow, I had totally forgotten about this: “Hollywood super-producer turned super-predator Harvey Weinstein” was sentenced on the morning of March 11. Graff writes about the sentencing: “[T]he story that in normal times might have been the biggest headline of the month—will hardly register in America’s memory.”

Read the compiled memories from more than 30 people: https://bit.ly/3vZ40HU

CASE NUMBERS:

Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 79,458,283

U.S. death toll: 965,627

Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y

VACCINATION NUMBERS

Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 556 million shots have been given.

Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 103,903 doses

For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million.

Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH

NOTABLE TWEETS:

Lol, what a brand ambassador:

Writer and actress Amanda Brooke Perrin tweeted, “This is not a joke I told my therapist I was stressed and she said ‘maybe you should go see The Batman.’ And I said ‘what’ and she said ‘it’s the only movie I know in theaters right now.’ ” https://bit.ly/3MKYxdm

Maybe we should all go see “The Batman.”

Getting traction — shout-out to all the ‘Twitter experts’:

Comic Robby Slowik tweeted, “Bittersweet announcement but after an amazing 2 years as an infectious disease expert I am moving on. I am now an expert in no-fly zones and Eastern European affairs. Excited to make the most of this new opportunity.” https://bit.ly/3J5Yd6W

ON TAP:

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia then Camp David today. Vice President Harris was in Romania and is now traveling back to D.C.

4:20 a.m. EST: Vice President Harris left Poland and traveled to Romania.

6:40 a.m. EST: Vice President Harris met with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

9 a.m. EST: President Biden received the President’s Daily Brief.

10:30 a.m. EST: Vice President Harris met with staff at the U.S. embassy in Bucharest.

10:40 a.m. EST: President Biden left for Philadelphia, Pa.

11:10 a.m. EST: Vice President Harris leaves for Washington, D.C.

3:50 p.m. EST: President Biden leaves for Camp David.

3 p.m. EST Monday: The Senate meets next. The Senate’s full Monday agenda: https://bit.ly/34ENoda

WHAT TO WATCH:

10:15 a.m. EST: President Biden announced more actions against Russia over the Ukrainian invasion. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3u8HEBd

11:15 a.m. EST: White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One. Livestream: https://bit.ly/35IAICE

12:15 p.m. EST: President Biden deliver remarks at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in Philadelphia. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3vZ2F3N

2 p.m. EST: President Biden tours an elementary school to see the impacts and investments of the American Rescue Plan. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3KEa0cO

IN LIGHTER NEWS:

Today is National “Eat Your Noodles” Day. And for weekend planning purposes, Sunday is National Chicken Noodle Soup Day. ;)

^ So make it a noodle-heavy weekend.

And to get your weekend off to a fun start, here’s a crab wiping its eyes for a better view: https://bit.ly/3KFQXPD