IT: ✒️ Biden signs COVID relief bill with $1,400 stimulus checks into law, and... Could you be an impartial juror in the George Floyd trial?

by Causes | 3.12.21

Welcome to Friday, March 12th, Thin Mints, Samoas, and Do-si-dos...

President Joe Biden has signed into law a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill, which includes direct payments - up to $1,400 - for individuals, billions to help reopen schools and colleges, and funding for vaccine distribution.

Biden addressed the nation last night and plans to hold a (CDC-guideline-approved) celebratory signing event for the American Rescue Plan with congressional leaders on Friday.

In what has been called the most poignant moment of Biden's prime-time speech, the president looked into the camera and told the American people: "I need you."

Biden, who ordered all states to make adults vaccine-eligible by May 1st, said that "if we do our part, if we do this together, by July the 4th, there's a good chance you, your families and friends will be able to get together in your backyard or your neighborhood and have a cookout and a barbecue and celebrate Independence Day."

No Republican lawmakers voted for the legislation.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) criticized the bill as a

"[L]aundry list of leftwing priorities that predate the pandemic and do not meet the needs of American families."

How do you feel about Biden's remarks?

Derek Chauvin Trial

Former police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter for his role in the killing of George Floyd.

Demonstrations over police-related killings of African Americans spread across the nation after Floyd's death. Chauvin was recorded kneeling on Floyd's neck for minutes on end while Floyd shouted, "I can't breathe."

Chauvin's trial is expected to be one of the most highly-charged in recent history. Finding impartial jurors that reflect Minneapolis' diversity has been a major challenge.

Potential jurors are being asked to fill out a 14-page questionnaire, which includes these questions:

Do you think you could be an impartial juror in this case?

Deb Haaland to be Secretary of the Interior

The Senate is expected to vote in the near future on the nomination of Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) to be Secretary of the Interior.

Here, we tell you everything you need to know about the nominee, including:

• Haaland is an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe and was one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress, a distinction shared with Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS).
• If confirmed, she would become the first American Indian to lead the Dept. of the Interior, which includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Haaland would also be the second Native American member of the Cabinet, joining Vice President Charles Curtis who was in office from 1929 to 1933.
• Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) both voted in favor of Haaland’s nomination despite expressing misgivings about her positions on the oil, gas, and coal industries.

Do you support or oppose Haaland’s nomination?

And, in the End…

Place your orders for Girl Scout Day.

Juliette Gordon Low formed the group on today's date in 1912 in Savannah, Georgia.

It's also National Alfred Hitchcock Day. Let's further celebrate that no one has tried to combine these two holidays somehow,

—Josh Herman

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