Former Presidents Carter, Clinton, Bush and Obama urge Americans to get vaccinated
By Dan Merica, CNN Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and their respective former first ladies are part of a newly released ad campaign urging Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine when it is their turn, a push that is aimed squarely at combating vaccine skepticism. There are two ads in the campaign: a minute-long, more personal spot that shows the four former presidents and former first ladies receiving their vaccines, and another that features Clinton, Bush and Obama standing together to urge Americans to step up and get vaccinated. The ad campaign reunites almost
5 ways the stimulus package is expected to reduce poverty
By Tami Luhby, CNN President Joe Biden’s sweeping $1.9 trillion relief package represents one of the largest federal efforts to reduce povertyin the last half century. The massive legislation, which the President is expected to sign Friday, provides aid to low-income Americans in numerous ways. Attention has focused on the third round of direct stimulus payments, but the bill also offers parents a guaranteed stream of income and gives childless workers a bigger tax break. And it will extend enhanced food stamp benefits and federal help for the unemployed, along with providing housing assistance and more generous health insurance subsidies.
Biden seeks to chart a path out of the pandemic in prime-time address
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN President Joe Biden can report in his first prime-time address Thursday that a vaccination drive now reaching 2 million people daily has brought America far closer to exiting the pandemic than when he took office 50 days ago. With new infections and deaths way down from their peaks of a horrific winter, Biden can afford to conjure hope that better days may be imminent and will speak to the nation from a position of political strength. He is also armed with a newly passed $1.9 trillion Covid-19 rescue package — his first major legacy achievement
Vice President Kamala Harris waits for her own portfolio as she settles into new role
By Arlette Saenz and Jasmine Wright, CNN Vice President Kamala Harris was in the middle of an Oval Office meeting last Thursday when, before her turn to speak had come, a staffer delivered a note calling her to Capitol Hill. “She got up and left,” said one person who was in the room for the untimely departure. “She had a job to do up in the Senate.” To be sure, the job was an important one. Harris’s tie-breaking vote paved the way for Senate passage of the new Covid relief deal, an enormous win for the administration. But Harris never
Stimulus checks could come quickly, but the jobless may have a wait for unemployment benefits
By Tami Luhby and Katie Lobosco, CNN The $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill that President Joe Biden championed even before taking office is expected to land on his desk in coming days, but it could take some time for struggling Americans to see all the benefits. While the $1,400 stimulus payments could hit people’s bank accounts within days of Biden signing the bill, the extension of federal unemployment benefits as well as the enhanced child tax credit and more generous Affordable Care Act subsidies may take a few weeks — or even a few months — to arrive. The exact
One year after Ahmaud Arbery was killed, Georgia’s House passes bill to overhaul citizen’s arrest law
By Morgan Rimmer, CNN Georgia’s House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill that would roll back citizen’s arrest law in the state. Monday’s passage of the bill came just over a year after Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed in Brunswick, Georgia, while jogging. If HB 479 makes it through the state Senate and is signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, Georgia would be the first state in the nation to overhaul a citizen’s arrest law. Arbery, who was black, was out jogging on February 23, 2020, when Gregory McMichael and his son, who are white, chased him after him,
Biden’s Covid relief bill is huge, ambitious and about to pass
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN President Joe Biden plans to use the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill expected to pass Congress on Wednesday as a platform for a generational transformation of the economy to benefit the least well-off Americans and alleviate poverty. The passage of a bill of this scale and ambition two months into any new president’s term would represent a power-affirming win. The political payoff for Biden of his first legacy achievement may be even greater. He had to navigate the measure through thin congressional majorities and a Democratic caucus riven by ideological divides — and amid the
Biden nominates two female generals to 4-star commands after promotions delayed under Trump administration
By Jason Hoffman and Barbara Starr, CNN President Joe Biden on Monday announced he has nominated two female generals to positions as 4-star combatant commanders after their promotions had been delayed under the Trump administration. The nominations of Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost of the Air Force to commander of United States Transportation Command and Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson of the Army to commander of United States Southern Command would make them the second and third woman to lead a Combatant Command if confirmed by the Senate. Biden, during remarks on International Women’s Day at the White House on Monday, called
‘Dripping in the blood of Jim Crow’: Voting rights groups say GOP-backed bills in Georgia target Black voters
By Nicquel Terry Ellis Voting rights groups led bus tours, knocked on 1 million doors and gave out food at community events to achieve an unprecedented Black voter turnout in Georgia. The organizations have been credited with helping Democrats win both the White House and control of the US Senate in the last election cycle. Their efforts, however, could be reversed by Republican-backed bills advancing in the Georgia Legislature that activists say are reminiscent of tactics used to prevent Black people from voting in the South during the Jim Crow era. “We know that their targets are Black voters,” said
Biden eyes big win that will send checks to millions of Americans
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN Joe Biden is on the cusp of a presidency-defining first 100 days victory and tens of millions of Americans could soon get stimulus checks as the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 rescue bill heads back to the House for a final vote. After a weekend of high Washington drama, which saw the President intervene to keep moderate West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin in line with his fellow Democrats and preserve their tiny Senate margin, Biden hopes to sign the massive bill into law this week. That will depend, however, on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi preserving her own