Biden team is cautiously optimistic about slowing down monkeypox in NYC, Chicago, San Francisco

The White House said Friday it is “cautiously” optimistic about a slowdown in the rise of monkeypox cases in key cities and that it has almost enough Jynneos vaccines to give two doses to Americans who are at the highest risk for the virus. The Washington Times stories: White House

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‘Wild West’: California Aims to Crack Down on Major Retailers Over Plastic Bag Violations

A California state commission requested that authorities crack down on retailers it accused of skirting plastic bag and pollution laws, Reuters reported. The California Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets and Curbside Recycling alleged that many retail businesses are selling plastic bags that are falsely labeled as being recyclable, according to Reuters. On Dec. 3, the state-appointed commission sent a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, asking them to pursue legal means to prevent further violations. “It is a Wild West of recycling…

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Enthusiasm wanes as Biden’s $1.75 trillion social welfare bill is delayed, watered down

Democrats are beginning to wonder if President Biden’s $ 1.75 trillion social welfare legislation is worth the effort, especially after a lone holdout has watered down the bill and delayed its passage until next year. Lawmakers say Sen. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, has forced the White House to trim … The Washington Times stories: White House

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Democrats Need to Count Up, Not Down

With the finish line in sight (if still stubbornly out of reach) for the Democrats’ massive social-programs and economic development bill, the party now faces the challenge of focusing the attention of its key constituencies and the public on what remains in the package, not on what was cut in the exhausting legislative maneuvering. To meet the objections primarily of Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, party leaders underwent a grueling process of shrinking the bill roughly in half—from about $ 3.5 trillion to…

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Inside the Red-State Plot to Take Down a Top Trump Ally

Updated at 12:30 p.m. ET on November 13, 2021. For many Utahns, the Trump rally was the breaking point. A few days before the 2020 election, Senator Mike Lee paced across a red, white, and blue stage in Goodyear, Arizona, microphone in hand, rhapsodizing about the president’s many virtues while he looked on. Lee’s talking points were mostly familiar. But then he arrived at a novel line of flattery, pitched to his coreligionists: He compared Trump to a figure from the Book of Mormon. “To my Mormon friends, my Latter-day…

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