Our latest edition of #GoodMorningDC is here with the latest and most relevant news.
—Biden administration to release intelligence report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi
—Australia passed laws forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news
—CPAC starts today in Orlando, Florida
Good Morning DC!
The Biden administration will release an explosive intelligence report today, three years after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, concluding that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the killing in 2018, The Pavlovic Today can confirm news reports.
Late Wednesday afternoon, the White House released an Executive Order on the Revocation of Certain Presidential Actions, in which President Biden revoked a series of executive orders implemented under the Trump administration. The revoked orders span from financial regulation, labor management and the power of the federal government to withhold state funding if deemed to be permitting anarchy and violence in their cities.
As Americans start to see the light at the end of the COVID pandemic, The Pavlovic Today reported yesterday that a Johnson & Johnson vaccine met the requirements for an emergency use authorization. In contrast to Pfitzer and Moderna vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson jab only requires one shot and President Biden has already contracted 20 million doses to be delivered by the end of March and 100 million doses by the end of June.
The Biden Administration is spearheading an initiative that will deliver free masks to community health centers and food pantries across the country. More than 25 million CDC-approved, American-made masks are on track to be distributed. They will go to more than 1,300 health centers and 60,000 food pantries across the country.
Marjorie Taylor Green is back in the headlines, this time for having a public spat with Congresswoman Marie Newman over Equality Act related to transgender rights.
“Our neighbor, Rep Marie Newman, wants to pass the so-called ‘Equality’ Act to destroy women’s rights and religious freedoms. Thought we’d put up ours so she can look at it every time she opens her door,” Marjorie Taylor Green tweeted along with the video where she can be seen sticking on the wall a big sign that reads, “There are only two genders. Male and Female.”
“This is sad, and I’m sorry this happened. Rep. Newmans daughter is transgender, and this video and tweet represent the hate and fame-driven politics of self-promotion at all evil costs. This garbage must end, in order to restore Our GOP,” Adam Kizinger weighed in.
According to the newly released Gallup Poll. one in six Gen Z adults identifies as a part of the LGBT community. Nearly 16% of adult Gen Z participants (1997-2002) identified as something other than heterosexual, the largest percentage of any recorded generation. Approximately 72% of those identifying as LGBT said they were bisexual. In fact, across all U.S LGBT Adults, those identifying as bisexual make up nearly 55% of the total.
The GOP continues to splinter. After voting to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments, GOP Representative Fred Upton found himself censured in his congressional district’s Republican Party.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield was sworn-in yesterday as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. For the ceremony, officiated by VP Harris, Thomas-Greenfield was joined by her husband, Lafayette Greenfield, and their son, Lafayette Greenfield II (he goes by “Deuce”), according to the Vice President’s office.
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat, announced that he will confirm Deb Haaland as the Secretary of the Interior. His confirmation is key with the 50-50 partisan split in the Senate. Haaland is a Democrat Congresswoman from New Mexico who would be the first Native American cabinet secretary if confirmed.
On Wednesday morning, over 100 American CEOs released a letter calling on Congress to act on the American Rescue Plan. The CEOs represented some of the U.S.’s biggest companies who see the passing of the relief bill as essential to putting the country on a path to a strong recovery.
Across the pond, the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps confirmed that there is a chance foreign travel will resume on May 17, he told ITV. He reiterated that high-risk countries, defined as countries with both high case counts and the presence of a COVID-19 variant, will still have travel restrictions.
In one of our previous editions, Good Morning DC reported that Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey would be aired on March 7. The latest update is that the British TV channel ITV is leading a bidding war to be the one to secure the interview rights to air it the day after its American premiere.
Deadly prison riots broke out in Ecuador this week when fights broke out in three cities across the country, leading to the deaths of 79 inmates. Authorities claimed that the fights broke out as a result of gang-rivalries struggling for leadership within the maximum-security prisons. In a video statement posted on Wednesday, Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno expressed his condolences to the families of lost loved ones and blamed the lack of resources and personnel as well as the mass overpopulation of the prison systems for the riots.
As a measure to protect news publishers, Australia passed laws forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news. While the new law will not go into effect immediately, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg already agreed to lift the news ban after speaking with Australian Treasurer Josh Frynberg.
“The purpose of the code is to address the market power that clearly Google and Facebook have. Google and Facebook need media, but they don’t need any particular media company, and that meant media companies couldn’t do commercial deals,” Rod Sims the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chair said.
While Big Tech made journalism dependent on their channels, there is a push in New Zealand against it. Sinead Boucher, CEO of New Zealand’s biggest news site Stuff, left Facebook. Seven months later, traffic is just fine and trust is higher. How long before we follow suit in America?
Facebook and Instagram placed an immediate ban on the Myanmar military in response to the ongoing political crisis, this morning.
What will Kamala Harris do today?
At 9:00 AM EST, Harris will go to visit a local pharmacy in Washington, D.C., as a part of the Administration’s Federal Retail Pharmacy Program aims to increase access to the COVID-19 vaccine across America.
What will Biden do today?
At 9:50 AM EST, President Biden and VP Harris will receive the President’s daily brief. At 12:30 PM, they will have lunch at the White House. At 1:45 PM, Harris and Biden will attend a COVID-19 briefing followed by an event where the 50 millionth COVID-19 vaccine shot will be commemorated.
States affected by the winter storms earlier this week have now returned to normal temperatures for this time of year, and vaccination sites in those areas are beginning to reopen and are doubling-up on appointments in order to make up for cancellations.
Jen Psaki will brief the press at noon.
CPAC starts today in Orlando, Florida under the slogan “America, Uncancelled.” The list of speakers spans from Senator Ted Cruz who will give a speech on Bill of Rights, Liberty and Cancel Culture to former president Trump who talk on Reigniting the Spirit of the American Dream on Sunday. Conservative broadcaster Rush Limbaugh will be honored at CPAC and inducted into the Conservative Hall of Fame.
And that’s a wrap for this Thursday morning, February 25, 2021. Good Morning DC will be here tomorrow to bring you the latest and most relevant first.
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