7/08/2021

Infrastructure | July 8, 2021

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The Biden Administration Is Selling Infrastructure As a Complete Win-Win

The authors noted that over time the new spending from the infrastructure framework will decline while IRS enforcement continues. This will prompt an increase in GDP and revenue growth. 

Jul 8 - The bipartisan infrastructure deal that the Biden administration agreed to last week would decrease government debt and add billions of dollars to the economy, according to a new analysis released Wednesday. 

The report, conducted by the Penn Wharton Budget Model, estimated that during the first decade of the bill’s framework, debt would increase by 0.4 percent compared to the baseline while GDP stays the same as under the current-law baseline, citing that spending would outpace the increases in revenue for the first ten years. 


“It will take us a long time for the infrastructure to become productive, but it will provide a small but significant increase in output over the long term,” Jonathan Huntley, one of the authors of the analysis, told The Hill

In 2050, however, government debt would decline by 0.9 percent compared to baseline and GDP would climb by 0.1 percent. 
The authors noted that over time the new spending from the infrastructure framework will decline while IRS enforcement continues. This will prompt an increase in GDP and revenue growth. 

The report comes as President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators last week struck an infrastructure deal that proposes $579 billion in new spending over the next five years, with a total of $1.2 trillion in spending over eight years. The legislation focuses spending on traditional infrastructures, such as roads and bridges, water infrastructure, energy investments and climate resiliency.

The proposal calls for any “unused” coronavirus relief funds and increased IRS enforcement activities to help fund the new spending.

Biden traveled to Wisconsin on Tuesday to sell the infrastructure deal, where he argued that improving America’s infrastructure is a critical investment that would also help mitigate the climate change crisis and build millions of new jobs in the energy and transportation sectors.


“This deal isn’t just the sum of its parts. It’s a signal to ourselves, and to the world, that American democracy can come through and deliver for all our people,” Biden said. “America has always been propelled into the future by landmark investments.” 
He added. “We’re not just tinkering around the edges.” 

Biden and congressional Democrats are also reportedly considering passing a Democratic-only measure this year that includes investments that weren’t featured in the bipartisan infrastructure deal.     source from

JULY 7, 2021
President Biden Speaks at McHenry County College in Illinois
PresidAAent Biden delivered remarks at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, Illinois, on his Build Back Better Plan. The president highlighted key aspects of the plan, including investments in families, access to free education, affordable health care, clean energy, and job creation.

Remarks by President Biden During a Tour of McHenry County College

JULY 07, 2021SPEECHES AND REMARKS

McHenry County College
Crystal Lake, Illinois

Q Mr. President, Mitch McConnell says you’re in for a heck of a fight on this one.

THE PRESIDENT: Mitch McConnell loves our programs. Did you see what Mitch McConnel said? He told me he wasn’t going to get a single vote in order to allow me to get, with the help of everybody here, that $1.9 trillion tax cut — I mean, excuse me, program to — for economic growth.

Look it up, man. He’s bragging about in Kentucky: “It’s a great thing for Kentucky. It’s getting $4 billion to help poor.” It’s amazing. Check out Mitch McConnell. You can even see it on TV.


​Anyway, thanks. Thank you.     source from
Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Jen Psaki Aboard Air Force One En Route Crystal Lake, IL

JULY 07, 2021PRESS BRIEFINGS

Aboard Air Force One
En Route Crystal Lake, Illinois

MS. PSAKI:  Hi, everyone.  Welcome to our trip to Crystal Lake, Illinois.  In Crystal Lake, the President will make the case for generational investments in human infrastructure and other critical priorities like clean energy that form his Build Back Better agenda, a combination of the American Families Plan, and policies from the American Jobs Plan that aren’t included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework.

At McHenry County College, which has workforce development programs and a childcare center, the President will underline the specific game-changing impacts of the Buil- — his Build Back Better agenda.

​He will argue that to build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, we need to invest in our people by providing four additional years of public education to every student, increasing Pell Grants and investing in job training...     more


After the assassination of Haiti’s president, it’s unclear who will lead the country

Jul. 8 - ...There are still many questions about Wednesday’s assassination, but Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, Bocchit Edmond, said it “was carried out by well-trained professionals, killers … mercenaries.”

Videos of the assassination showed the gunmen speaking Spanish among themselves, Edmond said in a Zoom briefing with reporters in Washington, leading officials to believe that “they came from outside Haiti.” He said the president’s wife, Martine, was wounded in the attack and was being transported to a Miami hospital in critical but stable condition...

...Some critics have accused the Biden administration of essentially continuing Trump-era policies that turned a blind eye to the island’s desperation and allowed Moise to survive. In one reversal, however, President Biden renewed temporary protected status for tens of thousands of Haitians who have fled to the U.S., extending their legal stay in the country by 18 months.


Pierre Espérance, executive director of the National Human Rights Defense Network, an NGO in Port-au-Prince, said the international community should support civil society in its call for a transitional government.

“We’re not asking the Biden administration to solve everything, we’re asking them to listen to us,” he said.

The whole country, he said, was united in uncertainty. “For now it’s eerily quiet,” he said. “We don’t know what will happen today or tomorrow.”
     quoted from


Turkish, US defence chiefs discuss Kabul airport

Jul 8 - Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin have discussed Kabul airport operation and security.

​Akar and Austin had a “constructive and positive meeting” to discuss a plan for Turkey to operate and guard the Kabul airport after NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Turkish Defence Ministry said.


Ankara has offered to run and guard the airport after NATO’s withdrawal, and has been in talks with allies on financial, political and logistical support.

Security of the airport is the key to operations of diplomatic missions out of Afghanistan after the withdrawal of international troops.

The Pentagon said in a statement Austin and Akar discussed the drawdown of the US forces from Afghanistan and both reasserted the importance of adequate security at the airport.

It said the two sides agreed to speak again in the near future on the issue. The talks would continue on Thursday, the statement added.     source from
US to Keep Ongoing Presence in Kabul: White House

Jul 8 - ​​White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday said that the US intentions are to maintain a continued presence in Kabul despite the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“Well, first, I would say that we have every intention of continuing an ongoing presence in Kabul, which is continuing even after we bring our military, who are serving, home by the end of August,” Psaki said.


“But we will also continue to be partners to the Afghan government. That’s something that the President reiterated when he met with leaders just a week and a half ago. That we — that includes security assistance, that includes humanitarian assistance, and that includes over-the-horizon capacity to ensure that we are working to address any threats that we face.”
“That will continue, and we intend to have a presence on the ground in our embassy there in Kabul,” she further said.

On the American troops withdrawal announcement by Joe Biden in April, she said: “if you take us back to when the President made this decision and announcement: We  he asked his team to do a clear-eyed assessment, not to sugarcoat it, of what the impact could be, of moving withdrawing our troops from Afghanistan after a 20-year war  a war that the President continues to feel does not have a military solution.”

“What the President is continuing to press on is a political solution and political negotiations and discussions, which we hope will reconvene soon, to move toward a political solution on the ground to bring greater peace and stability to the people of Afghanistan. That’s his hope,” he added.


This comes as the US has completed “more than 90 percent” of its withdrawal from Afghanistan, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.

and coalition forces left Bagram Airfield last week, which for nearly 20 years was the largest US base in Afghanistan.   About 650 troops are expected to remain to protect the US Embassy in Kabul, while others may be deployed to protect the capital’s airport alongside Turkish troops, according to reports.    source from


US President Joe Biden has renewed an emergency designation for Hong Kong put in place by his predecessor in response to Hong Kong’s national security law
US extends Hong Kong emergency rules citing China squeeze on the city
  • Sweeping sanctions power renewed by President Joe Biden who accuses Beijing of fundamentally undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy
  • Situation poses ‘unusual and extraordinary threat’ to US national security, foreign policy and economy

Jul 8 - Beijing’s tightening control over Hong Kong continues to pose an “extraordinary threat” to the United States’ security and interests, US President Joe Biden declared on Wednesday, as he extended a national emergency designation put in place by his predecessor one year ago.

“The situation with respect to Hong Kong, including recent actions taken by the People’s Republic of China to fundamentally undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy, continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States,” Biden wrote in a notice announcing the extension.

“For this reason, the national emergency declared on July 14, 2020, must continue in effect beyond July 14, 2021”...     more

Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Hong Kong

JULY 07, 2021PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS
​On July 14, 2020, by Executive Order 13936, the President declared a national emergency pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 etseq.) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States constituted by the situation with respect to Hong Kong.   

The situation with respect to Hong Kong, including recent actions taken by the People’s Republic of China to fundamentally undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy, continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.  For this reason, the national emergency declared on July 14, 2020, must continue in effect beyond July 14, 2021.  Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13936 with respect to the situation in Hong Kong.

This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.     source from
NBC Nightly News Broadcast (Full) - July 7th, 2021
Jul 8, 2021
Tropical Storm Elsa moves north after landfall on Florida’s west coast, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse assassinated in attack at his home, and Delta variant becomes dominant Covid strain in the U.S.

7/07/2021

Covid fight | July 7, 2021

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'One of the greatest American success stories': Dr. Reiner on Covid fight
Biden predicts US to reach 160 million fully vaccinated Americans by the end of this week


Jul.7 - President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that the United States is projected to reach the mark of 160 million fully vaccinated Americans by the end of this week and that his administration will engage in targeted outreach to get more people vaccinated, after the nation fell short of his initial July Fourth goals.

Just over 67% of American adults have had at least one Covid-19 vaccine and more than 157 million Americans are fully vaccinated as of Tuesday morning, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Biden's goal was to have 70% of Americans with at least one shot and 160 million Americans fully vaccinated by July Fourth.
During remarks at the White House on Tuesday afternoon, the President reiterated his plea for Americans to get vaccinated."The best thing you can do to protect yourself and your family and the people you care about the most is get vaccinated," Biden said. "The best things a community can do to protect themselves is to increase vaccination rates. You can do this"...     more

JULY 6, 2021
​President Biden Remarks on COVID-19 and Delta Variant
President Biden delivered remarks on the COVID-19 pandemic federal response. He said that for the remainder of the summer, vaccination efforts would focus on community engagement. He also announced a five-step plan, which includes ramping up vaccine availability at family medical practices and sending out more mobile units in hard-to-reach areas. The president addressed the dangers with the Delta variant and urged people to get vaccinated. He also answered a question about a new ransomware attack. 

Remarks by President Biden on the COVID-19 Response and the Vaccination Program

JULY 06, 2021•SPEECHES AND REMARKSSouth Court Auditorium


THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everyone.  I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July weekend. 
As I said in my Independence Day address to the nation, we’re closer than ever to declaring our independence from this deadly virus.

Today, after receiving a briefing from my entire COVID-19 team, I’m proud to announce that we’re getting even closer, because of our wartime effort, to administer thr- — to administer 300 million shots in arms in just 150 days.
More than 182 million Americans have received at least one shot, including nearly 90 percent of seniors and 70 percent of adults over the age of 27. 

By the end of this week, we’ll have reached the mark of 160 million fully vaccinated Americans.  And that’s a goal I set in March that I’m thrilled we’re going to hit just a few days after July the Fourth.


So, we will have 160 million fully vaccinated Americans — up from roughly 3 million when we took office five months ago.
We see why it matters.  COVID-19 cases and deaths are down by 90 percent since January.  Millions of fully vaccinated Americans are getting back to — they’re living their lives as they did before.  Businesses are reopening and hiring and rehiring.  And projected economic growth is the highest it’s been — projected growth is the highest it’s been in four decades...     more 


JULY 6, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
​White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing on the Biden administration’s policy agenda. A variety of topics were discussed, including the supply chain, U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, COVID-19 vaccination efforts, gas prices and affordable energy, civil rights protections, and infrastructure. Ms. Psaki also answered several questions on cybersecurity and ransomware payments, saying the recent attack on Kaseya, a Florida-based IT company, has not yet been attributed to anyone, specifically the Russian government.

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, July 6, 2021

JULY 06, 2021SPEECHES AND REMARKS

​James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

MS. PSAKI:  Hi, everyone.  Happy Tuesday.  Happy July Fourth week.  Okay, a couple of updates for you all at the top here. 
After the President is briefed by his COVID-19 Response Team this afternoon, he will speak to the American people about the strong progress that the country has made in recovery because of its robust vaccination campaign, as well as the importance of every eligible American getting vaccinated, especially as the Delta variant continues to grow among unvaccinated people across the country.
By the end of the week, the United States will be nearing 160 million people fully vaccinated — which the President will touch on today as well — which is critically important, as fully vaccinated people are protected against the Delta variant...     more
The U.S. exit from Afghanistan is 90 percent complete, Pentagon says. Here's why the last 10 percent are still there.

Jul. 7 - The Pentagon announced Tuesday that the U.S. military has completed 90 percent of its withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the remaining 10 percent will be completed by the end of August, soon before President Biden's Sept. 11 deadline. The U.S. departure after nearly 20 years in Afghanistan has been swift and quiet, as epitomized by the unheralded handover of Bagram Air Base to Afghan forces last week. 

So "why is the last 10 percent going to take until the end of August?" Politico's Lara Seligman asked on Twitter. By Tuesday evening, she had some answers for Politico's Nightly newsletter. 

​First, Seligman reports, U.S. military leaders "don't want to announce that the withdrawal has already effectively been completed for fear that the Taliban will use that news as an excuse to launch an even stronger offensive," and "they want to keep some contractors around as long as possible to help out the Afghans" protecting Kabul, its airport, and the crew maintaining the country's air force. Having the U.S. commander in country gives "at least the illusion of a U.S. military presence," and might help keep up the morale of the Afghan National Security Forces, the only thing that will prevent Kabul falling to the Taliban, Seligman adds...     more

Statement by President Joe Biden on the Six-Month Anniversary of the January 6th Insurrection on the Capitol

JULY 06, 2021•STATEMENTS AND RELEASES

Not even during the Civil War did insurrectionists breach our Capitol, the citadel of our democracy. But six months ago today, insurrectionists did. They launched a violent and deadly assault on the people’s house, on the people’s representatives, and on the Capitol police sworn to protect them, as our duly elected Congress carried out the sacred ritual of our republic and certified the Electoral College vote.

This was not dissent. It was disorder. It posed an existential crisis and a test of whether our democracy could survive—a sad reminder that there is nothing guaranteed about our democracy.
But while it shocked and saddened the nation and the world, six months later, we can say unequivocally that democracy did prevail—and that we must all continue the work to protect and preserve it. That requires people of goodwill and courage to stand up to the hate, the lies, and the extremism that led to this vicious attack, including determining what happened so that we can remember it and not bury it hoping we forget...     more

The US involvement in Afghanistan intially began as an attempt to seek justice for the September 11 attacks.
The US war in Afghanistan is over. This is how it began and what it left behind

​Jul. 7 - ...In 2018, with no let-up in the insurgency and the war becoming increasing unpopular domestically, the Trump administration opened discreet negotiations with the Taliban, offering to withdraw troops in exchange for Taliban promises not to let Afghanistan be used as a haven for jihadist groups like Al Qaeda.

By 2020, a historic deal between the two was signed, paving the way for a troop pullout by May 2021 in exchange for security guarantees from the Taliban and an agreement to hold peace talks with the Afghan government, which the Taliban has long labelled "illegitimate" and a stooge of Western powers.

​The peace talks began in September but stalled after a wave of high-profile Taliban attacks against working Afghan women, activists and journalists...     quoted from


The talks were adjourned on 20 June
Nuclear talks in jeopardy as Iran starts enriching uranium metal

​Iran has begun the process of producing enriched uranium metal, which could help it develop a nuclear weapon, the UN's atomic watchdog has said.


Jul 7 - Tehran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and said the process was to develop fuel for a research reactor.


British, French and German officials said the move could threaten talks to revive the abandoned 2015 nuclear deal.

The US called it an "unfortunate step backwards".

The deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), imposed restrictions on Iran's nuclear programme to make it harder for them to develop nuclear weapons.

In return, the US and European signatories agreed to lift economic sanctions that were in place.
Former President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal in 2018 and reinstated sanctions against Iran, after which Tehran began violating many of its restrictions.

Current US President Joe Biden's administration has so far retained Mr Trump's sanctions against Iran.

Now, negotiators from the US and Europe have been holding talks in Vienna to try and restore the agreement.


The talks began in April and were adjourned on 20 June, with no date set for the next round.

​Iran's President-elect Ibrahim Raisi wants the US to lift sanctions on his country in exchange for complying with the deal.

In a statement on Tuesday, the IAEA said: "Today, Iran informed the Agency that UO2 (uranium oxide) enriched up to 20% U-235 would be shipped to the R&D (research and development) laboratory at the Fuel Fabrication Plant in Esfahan, where it would be converted to UF4 (uranium tetrafluoride) and then to uranium metal enriched to 20% U-235, before using it to manufacture the fuel."

 Officials from the UK, France and Germany said that they had "grave concerns" about Iran's decision...     quoted from

Related Articles: 


Iran: Israel is behind attack on atomic facility
Iran blames Israel for drone attack on Iranian facility used to manufacture uranium centrifuges.

Jul 6 - The Iranian government has accused Israel of carrying out the drone attack on an Iranian nuclear facility last month.

Ali Rabiei, a spokesman for the Iranian government, said Tuesday afternoon that Israel was behind the June 23rd drone attack on an Atomic Energy Organization of Iran building in the city of Karaj.

​“The Zionist regime carried out this action in order to signal that it is capable of stopping Iran and to say that there is no need to speak with Iran, but every time we’ve been attacked, our strength has only increased,” Rabiei said...     quoted from


NBC Nightly News Broadcast (Full) - July 6th, 2021
Jul 7, 2021
Tropical Storm Elsa strengthens as it moves toward Florida, Afghan army fights back against Taliban’s rapid advances, and delta variant fuels rise in new Covid cases.

7/06/2021

supporting Israel | July 6, 2021

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US teachers union urges Biden to stop supporting Israel

The largest teachers union in the United States has called on the United States government to stop arming and supporting the Israeli regime.

Jul. 6 - The largest teachers union in the United States has called on the United States government to stop arming and supporting the Israeli regime.


The resolution, introduced ahead of the National Education Association's (NEA) annual convention last week, also condemned Israel for its "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians and sought to garner support for Palestinian rights among educators in the country.


"The Arab population of Palestine has again risen up in a heroic struggle against military repression and 'ethnic cleansing' by the Israeli state and extreme nationalist forces in Israeli society," the measure said.

"The NEA will publicize its support for the Palestinian struggle for justice and call on the United States government to stop arming and supporting Israel and Saudi Arabia"...     more
Collective Punishment and Humanitarian Aid!
Bouthaina Shaaban explains that the West's strategy of pretending to care for Syrians in the North while collectively punishing all of Syria through sanctions is hypocrisy.

Jul 6 - For the past two months, western media and research centers have been focused on just one topic about Syria: the need to open what they describe as “cross border aid corridors.” These commentators lament those who will be hungry and poor if the noble hands of the West are stopped from reaching out to save their lives.

Western media and research centers have believed their own lie and rejoiced in their delusion because it gave them false satisfaction that they have acted according to principles of morality, of which they always speak. Strangely, however, all these Western media outlets are directed to talk about three million people living in northwest and northeast Syria; yet they have never mentioned the 20 million Syrians who are being collectively punished, in an immoral and illegal manner.


In fact, [the Western-led] sanctions amount to a crime of genocide, as they are responsible for the poverty, hunger, and rising living expenses affecting millions of Syrians. The sanctions effectively prevent Syrians from accessing food, medicine, and electricity; they also punish any party that tries to sell these necessities, or tries to help Syrian people, or violates the sanctions by any means...     more

Related Articles: 
Moscow Opposes Draft Resolution on Second Aid Corridor
Over a Million People Risk Starvation if Cross-Border Aid Resolution is not Renewed

Missile attack on US military base as Syria accuses occupying forces of stealing oil

Jul. 6 - MISSILES were fired at a United States military base at the al-Omar oil field in Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria, on Sunday evening, the second such attack in less than a week.

A number of rockets targeted the occupying forces at the base. No casualties were reported.

The attacks took place in the wake of US drone strikes in Syria and Iraq last week, which Washington claimed was an act of self-defence.

A child was killed in that attack along with four members of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, an Iranian-backed militia that has been carrying out joint anti-Isis operations with the Iraqi military.

Damascus has accused the US of continuing to steal Syrian resources, particularly oil and wheat, while subjecting the people to crippling sanctions as part of the Caesar Act introduced last year.

Local sources said that a column of 45 trucks loaded with wheat and oil left Ramlan in Syria’s north-eastern Hasakah province via an illegal crossing into northern Iraq on Sunday evening. It followed some 37 trucks also alleged to be shipping stolen oil making the same journey the previous day.


The Syrian government said that it had taken extra measures to provide water to the people of Hasakah province after Turkey cut off supply from the Alouk plant for an eighth consecutive day.

Ankara, whose forces occupy whole swathes of north-eastern Syria along with its jihadist allies, regularly cuts off water in the region, using it as a weapon in its war on the country’s Kurdish population.

Hassan al-Shamhoud, chairman of the newly formed Special Committee for Drinking Water in Hasakah province, said that tanks are now supplying water in people’s homes and also providing drinking water on a daily basis.     source from
Russia invites Lukashenko to visit Crimea

Jul 6 - “Crimea is ready to welcome the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko”, said the head of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, on his VKontakte page.

"When our president and foreign ministry agree on the visit of the Belarusian leader, we will be happy to welcome Alexander Grigoryevich in Crimea," Aksyonov wrote.

Aksyonov called Belarus the "closest" and "brotherly" country. The head of annexed Crimea expressed confidence that Lukashenko, as well as all other Belarusian citizens, will feel at home in Crimea.

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on July 3 that the Russian authorities are waiting for the self-proclaimed president of Belarus to visit Crimea.

Earlier, on June 1, Lukashenko said that the country's authorities will work out the possibility of beginning regular flights to Crimea. He noted that Belarusians like to visit the resort town of Mishor in Crimea...     more

July 5, 2021
U.S. Senate
Senate Pro Forma Session
The Senate met for a pro forma session.

7/05/2021

Remarks on July 4th | July 5th 202

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Watch President Biden's Full July 4th Remarks
Jul 5, 2021
President Joe Biden celebrated the 4th of July with remarks on the White House lawn and marked the progress the country has made in the fight against Covid-19.
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Florida Emergency Declaration

July 04, 2021 • Statements and Releases
Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that an emergency exists in the State of Florida and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Elsa beginning on July 4, 2021, and continuing.

The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the counties of Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota.


Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.  Emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance and reimbursement for mass care including evacuation and shelter support will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding. 

Deanne Criswell, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Kevin A. Wallace as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.     source from
THE GOVERNOR AND DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF SUMBAR RECEIVE THEIR SECOND VACCINE DOSE

Frontline women: unrecognised leadership in Indonesia’s COVID-19 response

Jul 5 - Local government and civil society responses to the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia have been widely lauded in academic and popular media since the first Covid-19 case was confirmed in March 2020. Indeed local mitigation and healthcare responses have proven critical in the face of central government failures in many aspects of pandemic responses. What early studies have not shown however, has been the role that women have played in leading these local responses.

My new study uncovered a disjuncture between men’s high representation in formal Covid-19 leadership and decision-making bodies, and women’s overwhelming domination of the daily work of pandemic leadership in both infectious disease mitigation and healthcare responses. While I focused on just one city in Central Java, we can assume that this division is mirrored in other parts of Indonesia and, indeed, in many parts of the world.


The results of research published in my new report sheds light on why women are minimally represented in official Covid-19 taskforce structures while having overwhelming majority representation in the frontlines of emergency and long-term pandemic responses...     more

July 4, 2021
President Biden Speaks at White House Fourth of July
Biden spoke at a White House Fourth of July celebration. In his remarks he reflected on the more than 600,000 Americans who had died from COVID-19 since March 2020.

Reports say the United States’ biggest military base in Syria has been hit by a number of “massive” explosions.
Biggest US base in Syria hit by ‘massive’ explosions


Jul 5 - ...In Syria, the United States has been trying to keep a tight control over certain strategic areas, including the eastern oilfield, where it is engaged in large-scale theft of the country’s crude.

The Iraqi parliament and Damascus have both ruled the US-led coalition’s operation in the countries as illegal.

This is not the first time the American forces come under attack in either country.

The latest of the attacks to target the foreign forces in Syria came on June 28 after US President Joe Biden ordered airstrikes along Iraq and Syria’s common border.

During the incident, American warplanes struck one location in Iraq and two in Syria, with the Pentagon alleging the targets to be “facilities” used by Iraqi resistance groups to stage drone attacks on American interests.

According to Iraq’s Sabereen News, four Iraqi fighters were killed in the attack on the headquarters of the 14th Brigade of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units of Hashd al-Sha'abi anti-terror umbrella organization, which features some resistance groups. A reporter with the official Syrian Arab News Agency also said the offensive had killed one child and injured three others.

The Iraqi groups vowed to retaliate for the atrocity following the aerial attacks.      quoted from