News at 9 PM: From CNN’s dramatic loss of audiance to COVID origins, we bring you the most significant national and international stories for May 27, 2021.
1. Biden will propose his $6 trillion budget bill on Friday for the government to spend in the 2022 fiscal year, the highest budget in the nation since World War II. Two major facets of this budget are Biden’s plan to improve the nation’s infrastructure (as posed in his infrastructure bill) and the social safety net, including plans to help the working class and retired people. One way Biden insists on obtaining the $6 trillion is to raise taxes on big corporations and businesses, as promised from his presidential campaign. His proposed bill will bring the national deficit from $1.3 trillion to $1.8 trillion by the year 2031, but his promises for the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan still exist and will be paid for by the increase in corporation taxes. Biden’s aides predict that the enactment of his proposed budget will result in a 2% growth for the economy per year for the decade and unemployment will fall from 6.1% to 4.1%.
2. After recent breakthroughs regarding the origins of COVID-19, President Biden is urging further investigation. On Wednesday, he stated that he ordered a report from US intelligence in 90 days on whether the origin of the Virus is from animal to human contact, as previously thought, or if it escaped from a Chinese laboratory.
The origin of the virus severely disrupts the political climate of the US, as both the Trump and Biden administrations will be questioned of their transparency and knowledge of the truth and how this could have affected the almost 600k Covid deaths in the US. Biden gave two theories on the origin in his statement on Wednesday, including the original Chinese animals-to-humans theory and the virus escaping from a lab in Wuhan and infecting nearby humans. The truth of the origin will result in severe strain in national trust in the government as well as the state of international relations, specifically with China.
3. CNN has lost 71% of its audience since Trump left office earlier this year, and other sources such as MSNBC have also faced audience declines. The phenomenon is occurring on both ends, Fox News lost 12% of their viewers, but this number is significantly less than the moderate or left-wing outlets. The exact reason for these dramatic numbers is unknown, but it can most likely be pinned to a rise in polarization and a distrust in “fake news.”
The polarization in the media is still on a rise. Especially following the Trump administration, the country has never been more divided. With the rise of “fake news” under his presidency, democratic news sources are struggling to stay afloat.
4. After the heavy betrayal from his former chief advisor, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejects claims made by top aide Dominic Cummings regarding the government’s lack of response to fight Covid deaths. Health Secretary Matt Hancock also came out to say the allegations were “not true.” So far, 127,748 people have died from the COVID-19 pandemic, and Johnson has been hesitant to enact another lockdown or impose safety measures.
Mr. Cummings repeatedly called out the Prime Minister and other health leaders such as Mr. Hancock, who fired back and claimed he wanted to “put formally on the record that these unsubstantiated allegations around honesty are not true” and that. “I’ve been straight with people in public and in private throughout.” This strain has been put on the British government and health department, but it is hard to say if the words of Mr. Cummings and the scrutiny will change any actions taken by the government and Prime Minister or if they will continue to dismiss the global pandemic which is still occurring in the UK.