WTF Just Happened Today

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

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1/ Biden announced a “trailblazing” set of 11 judicial nominees who “reflect the full diversity of the American people — both in background and in professional experience.” Biden’s list of nominees include nine women, and nine people of color. Among the group, Ketanji Brown Jackson was nominated for the U.S. Court of Appeals seat vacated by Merrick Garland when he became U.S. attorney general. Jackson is considered a potential Supreme Court contender. Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, pledged to quickly confirm Biden’s first batch of nominees in order to “significantly mitigate the influence of Donald Trump’s unqualified, right-wing judges.” (New York Times / NBC News / Politico / NPR / The Guardian / Washington Post)

2/ Biden signed a two-month extension of the Paycheck Protection Program, which was set to expire on March 31. The extension also gives the Small Business Administration an additional 30 days to process loans submitted before the new May 31 deadline. (New York Times / Washington Post)

3/ A group of 21 Senate Democrats urged Biden to include recurring direct payments and an extension of jobless benefits in his infrastructure and economic recovery plan. “This crisis is far from over, and families deserve certainty that they can put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads,” the senators wrote. “Families should not be at the mercy of constantly-shifting legislative timelines and ad hoc solutions.” Biden is scheduled to unveil his $3 to $4 trillion recovery package on Wednesday, which is expected to be split into two pieces of legislation. (CNBC / CNN / The Hill)

4/ WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the joint mission to study the origins of the coronavirus in China didn’t adequately analyze the possibility of a lab leak before deciding the virus most likely spread from bats to humans via another animal. “Although the team has concluded that a laboratory leak is the least likely hypothesis, this requires further investigation,” Tedros said in a statement. The U.S. and 13 other countries, meanwhile, voiced frustration with the level of access China provided in a joint statement, saying the mission’s report “lacked access to complete, original data and samples.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki also criticized China’s lack of cooperation, saying “they have not been transparent. They have not provided underlying data. That certainly doesn’t qualify as cooperation.” (Bl...

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