The New York and New Jersey delegations to Congress are asking for an additional $40 billion in aid to help fight coronavirus in their states, which remain the two hardest hit in the country.
"When you look at the number of cases nationwide, New York and New Jersey account for 45 percent of those cases, and yet they only received about 9 percent of hospital funding," Rep. Mikie Sherrill, (D-NJ 11th District) told Cheddar. "It's just not enough to meet the needs of the crisis we are facing."
Sherill joined the bipartisan delegation in signing a letter asking for funding to be apportioned to states based on the infection rate.
"We request that a separate fund of at least $40 billion be created in the interim emergency COVID-19 relief package and it be allocated among the States based upon their share of the national infection rate according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracking data on April 10, 2020," the letter said.
The representative said that New Jersey is going through a difficult moment in the progression of the outbreak, despite evidence that the rate of infection is flattening.
"Here in New Jersey, we're in a really tough time for coronavirus," she said. "The people coming into our emergency rooms are very sick. We're seeing people that have been sick for a long time. Some of them are now passing away, which is horrible. Our hospital workers are exhausted. We are really fighting hard against this virus."
Sherill said she was not opposed to the Trump administration's focus on reopening the economy, but that she wants to keep up social distancing for the time being.
"This is the time when I think we do need to be thinking about how we're going to restart the economy, with the understanding that the measures we have in place now we're starting to see the results, we're starting to see them working," she said.
Before states can reopen their economies, she added, they need to implement widespread testing with a focus on frontline workers and the severely ill.
"What we need with a national testing effort is some kind of coding system, so we can make sure that our health care workers, our first responders, some of the people who are in hospitals who are very sick and we want to make sure we're treating them for the correct disease, are tested first and tested most rapidly," Sherill said.
Sherill joined a number of Democratic lawmakers in calling for the president to be more aggressive at the federal level by invoking the Defense Production Act and helping states get the supplies they need, including the crucial reagents, to implement widespread testing.
Many U.S. consumers say they’ve noticed higher than usual prices for holiday gifts in recent months, according to a a December poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A contributing factor is the unusually high import taxes the Trump administration put on foreign goods. While the worst-case consumer impact that many economists foresaw from the administration’s trade policies hasn’t materialized, some popular gift items have been affected more than others. Most toys and electronics sold in the U.S. come from China. So do most holiday decorations. Jewelry prices have risen due to the cost of gold.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
