News: It's beginning to look a lot like stimulus

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

It's beginning to look a lot like stimulus

Lawmakers have yet another new stimulus plan on Capitol Hill; Boko Haram says it was behind a recent mass kidnapping.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Cameron Peters.

TOP NEWS

Congress gets closer to yes on a new stimulus deal

Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Direct stimulus checks are in. State and local aid is out, as is the liability shield. And at long last, a Covid-19 relief deal could be close as Congress rushes to finish up must-pass legislation with the holidays fast approaching. [Politico / Burgess Everett, Heather Caygle, and Jake Sherman]
That's the latest from Capitol Hill, where lawmakers have pledged to stay through Christmas if that's what it takes to reach a deal on a new stimulus package before key unemployment benefits expire on December 26. [Independent / Griffin Connolly]
Details are still being hammered out, but the stimulus deal is said to total about $900 billion and include direct payments of $600 to $700. Money for vaccine distribution, schools, small businesses, and unemployment insurance is also included. [Washington Post / Jeff Stein, Mike DeBonis, and Seung Min Kim]
Expanded unemployment insurance is reportedly set to be renewed at a lower level than earlier in the pandemic: just $300 per week for three months. [HuffPost / Arthur Delaney and Tara Golshan]
And the inclusion of stimulus payments comes after a concentrated effort by one of the Senate's oddest pairings — Republican Josh Hawley and independent Bernie Sanders — to force their inclusion in any new package. [WSJ / Kristina Peterson and Andrew Duehren]
Two contentious items — money for states and local governments and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's long-sought coronavirus liability shield — appear to be off the menu entirely in a bid to get other relief passed quickly. [CNN / Manu Raju and Clare Foran]
The package is likely to be paired with the omnibus spending bill as a way to expedite passage — and that would need to get done by Friday in order to head off a government shutdown, unless lawmakers opt for another stopgap. [Roll Call / David Lerman, Lindsey McPherson, and Jennifer Shutt]
Recent polling conducted by Vox and Data for Progress suggests that a new relief bill is overwhelmingly popular. About 81 percent of likely voters support it, and nearly as many say Congress should prioritize direct stimulus checks. [Vox / Li Zhou]

Boko Haram claims responsibility for mass kidnapping

On Tuesday, the extremist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of more than 300 students in northwestern Nigeria late last week. [Reuters]
That claim has yet to be verified, but if accurate, it would mark at least the second large-scale kidnapping of students by Boko Haram. In 2014, 276 Nigerian schoolgirls were abducted by the group. [CBS / AFP]
According to the Washington Post, Boko Haram has previously operated largely in northeastern Nigeria, where it has killed more than 36,000 people over the past 10 years. Last week's kidnapping would represent a major expansion of its sphere of influence. [Washington Post / Danielle Paquette]
The abductions come after another recent terror attack in Nigeria. Late last month, Boko Haram killed more than 70 farmers in the country's northeastern region and abducted others, for reasons that remain unclear. [NYT / Ismail Alfa and Ruth Maclean]
As of Tuesday, the Nigerian government indicated that it was in contact with the kidnappers and that "discussions were already on, pertaining to the safety and return" of the students. [PBS / AP]

MISCELLANEOUS

Pete Buttigieg is Joe Biden's pick to run the Transportation Department. If confirmed, he would be the first openly gay permanent Cabinet secretary.

[CNN / Dan Merica]

Major League Baseball announced Wednesday that it will elevate the Negro Leagues that played from 1920 to 1948 to major-league status. [WSJ / Jared Diamond]
China's Chang'e-5 spacecraft has successfully brought a lunar rock to Earth for the first time in more than 40 years. [NYT / Steven Lee Myers and Kenneth Chang]
As the United Kingdom Brexits, Scotland eyes a possible exit of its own. [NPR / Frank Langfitt]
"The year of bad posts": A social media year in review from Vox's Rebecca Jennings. [Vox / Rebecca Jennings]

VERBATIM

"Infants, kids, teens, young people, young adults, middle aged with no conditions etc. have zero to little risk….so we use them to develop herd…we want them infected."

[Former HHS science adviser Paul Alexander in an email advocating for a "herd immunity" strategy to combat Covid-19 / Politico]