Source: Newsweek

Senator Joe Manchin is looking to decrease the unemployment payments in President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan by $100, saying that giving people a financial boost at this point doesn't make sense.

The relief package would increase the federal unemployment benefit to $400, a $100 raise from the bill that was passed in December. Benefits are set to expire on March 14, raising the pressure for the Senate to pass another relief package, but Democrats face pressure from progressives to do more and moderates to do less.

Manchin told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday that he supports $300 weekly unemployment payments because it's "consistent with what we've been doing."

The West Virginia Democrat said he would be fine with the payments going through August, as per the package. But with the assumption that most people will be inoculated against the coronavirus in June or July, he said businesses that are reopening will need their employees back at work.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/joe-manchin-says-stimulus-packages-unemployment-benefits-should-stay-300-1573217

---

Now he's messing with those who are out of work like me. I really was looking forward to that extra $100 a week.

Source: Business Insider

In a democracy, 50% plus one equals a governing majority. But in the US Senate, it takes 60 votes — or arcane maneuvers like budget "reconciliation" — to get much of anything done thanks to the filibuster, a Senate rule allowing a senator or senators from the minority party to hold up a bill, which has ossified into a permanent obstacle.

And that, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said Monday, will "never" change so long as he's around.

Manchin, the senator from West Virginia, is one of two Democrats standing in the way of that (the other is Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona). And he seems unlikely to change his mind.

"Never!" he shouted at a journalist who asked whether setbacks to the Democratic agenda might lead him to reconsider, per a pool report filed Monday night by Bloomberg News' Erik Wasson. "Jesus Christ, what don't you understand about 'never'?"



Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-manchin-says-he-will-never-support-ending-the-filibuster-2021-3

Source: CNN

Washington (CNN)A third woman has accused Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of unwanted advances in 2019, The New York Times reported Monday, adding to an escalating crisis facing the governor in the wake of two sexual harassment allegations.

The woman, Anna Ruch, told the Times that Cuomo approached her during a crowded wedding reception in New York in 2019. Ruch told the newspaper she thanked Cuomo for his toast to the newlyweds, and in response, she says he put his hand on her bare lower back, which the Times said was exposed in an open-back dress.

When Ruch removed his hand, Cuomo allegedly told her she seemed "aggressive" as he put his hands on her cheeks, she recalled to the Times. Cuomo then asked if he could kiss her, Ruch said, and she distanced herself as he came closer.

"I was so confused and shocked and embarrassed," Ruch told the Times. "I turned my head away and didn't have words in that moment."

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/02/politics/andrew-cuomo-anna-ruch/index.html

---

Source: AM NY

As Governor Andrew Cuomo faces a probe into newly alleged sexual harassment against a second former staffer, a Bronx senator says it’s time for him to go.

Calling Cuomo a “monster” on Twitter, Senator and sexual abuse survivor Alessandra Biaggi expressed her disgust with the Governor in a written statement which called on Cuomo to leave his post after allegedly sexually harassing two former staffers, Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett.

“I am especially horrified by the comments the Governor made to Charlotte about her experience with sexual assault – comments he did not deny making. They are the epitome of a hostile work environment,” Biaggi stated, adding that “the harassment experienced by these former staffers is part of a clear pattern of abuse and manipulation by the Governor, and that pattern makes him unworthy of holding the highest office in New York.”

Biaggi, who chairs the senate’s ethics and internal governance committee also criticized and questioned how truly independent this investigation could be as, in her own words, “the Governor’s influence touches all entities in New York that might review his conduct.”

Read more: https://www.amny.com/news/bronx-senator-calls-on-monster-cuomo-to-resign-amidst-new-harassment-allegations/

---

The article didn't say, but she's a Democrat in case you're wondering. Here's her Tweet:

https://twitter.com/Biaggi4NY/status/1365813367374544899

Source: Newsweek

Criticism of Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Xavier Becerra is largely coming from the Republican side of the aisle but at least one Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin, isn't sold on President Joe Biden's pick.

Confirming Biden's Cabinet picks requires a simple majority in the Senate, which Democrats have with the support of the two independents that caucus with them. However, there is no wiggle room, and Manchin opposing any of Biden's nominees creates a need for Republican support, an uphill battle for some of his picks.

Manchin's spokesperson, Sam Runyon, told the National Review on Monday that the West Virginia senator hasn't decided if he will support Becerra's nomination. His hearings are set to begin on Tuesday and Republicans are likely to target him for his pro-choice record, opposition to President Donald Trump and support for Medicare for All.

"Curiously, the president's candidate to run the Department of Health and Human Services is the famously partisan attorney general of California," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a floor speech in January. "His recent experience in health policies seems largely limited to promoting abortion-on-demand and suing groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor, which dare to live out their religious convictions."

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/joe-manchin-throws-another-wrench-joe-bidens-nominees-not-sold-hhs-pick-becerra-1571101

---

So Manchin's spokesperson is talking to far-right National Review?

Source: NBC NY

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio didn't mince words Thursday morning when asked about allegations that Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatened a Queens assemblyman, saying he believed the charges "100 percent."

Ron Kim says he was yelled at and threatened by Cuomo after criticizing his handling of COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes – which is now being looked into by federal authorities.

"It's a sad thing to say ... but that's classic Andrew Cuomo. A lot of people in New York state have received those phone calls. The bullying is nothing new. I believe Ron Kim and it's very, very sad, no public servant no person who's telling the truth should be treated that way. The threats, the belittling, the demand that someone change their statement right that moment ... many many times I've heard that and I know a lot of other people in this state have heard that," De Blasio said in an MSNBC interview.

"It's just the script, it's exactly what a lot of us have heard before. It's not a surprise, it's sad. It's not the way people should be treated," De Blasio said.

Read more: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/politics/de-blasio-on-cuomo-bullying-allegations-thats-classic-andrew-cuomo/2895771/

Source: NBC News

Bob Dole, the former longtime Kansas senator and 1996 Republican presidential nominee, said Thursday that he has stage 4 lung cancer.

“Recently, I was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. My first treatment will begin on Monday,” Dole, 97, said in a statement.

“While I certainly have some hurdles ahead, I also know that I join millions of Americans who face significant health challenges of their own,” Dole added.

Dole served as a U.S. senator from Kansas from 1969 to 1996 and also served as both the Senate majority and minority leader during his long career. He was the GOP presidential nominee in 1996, losing to Bill Clinton.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/bob-dole-diagnosed-stage-4-lung-cancer-n1258241

---

Horrible at any age, but I can't imagine going through it at 97. I wish him well.

If not, where's the best place to post a topic about collecting?

Source: CNN

(CNN)A 12-year-old shot at two masked intruders who broke into his grandmother's home just before 1 a.m. on Saturday, according to police in Goldsboro, North Carolina.

The intruders had demanded money from 73-year-old Linda Ellis and subsequently shot her, police said in a statement posted on the Goldsboro Police Department's Facebook page.

Police said the juvenile fired "in self-defense" at the suspects who then fled. Officers found one of the suspects, 19-year-old Khalil Herring, at an intersection near the Ellis home, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, the statement said.

"Preliminary evidence suggest(s) Khalil Herring was one of the two masked intruders and was shot during the robbery," police said.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/14/us/boy-shoots-intruder-north-carolina/index.html

Source: Newsweek

Full title: Kyrsten Sinema Joins Joe Manchin in Rebuking $15 Minimum Wage Being Put in Stimulus, Dashing Progressives' Hopes

Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a moderate Democrat, has rejected inclusion of a $15 minimum wage in President Joe Biden's coronavirus stimulus package, dashing hopes for progressive lawmakers who are pushing for the raise.

Sinema joined Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, a fellow moderate from West Virginia, in publicly rebuking the idea that raising the minimum wage is appropriate amid the ongoing stimulus bill negotiations.

The Arizona senator made her views clear during an interview with Politico this week, in which she said would "not support" any provisions not directly related to providing immediate COVID-19 relief.

"What's important is whether or not it's directly related to short-term COVID relief. And if it's not, then I am not going to support it in this legislation," Sinema told Politico.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/kyrsten-sinema-joins-joe-manchin-rebuking-15-minimum-wage-being-put-stimulus-dashing-1568931