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By Lolly Garcia Last updated Jan 14, 2022

BIDEN CHILD TAX LOAN

Goodbye ‘God’s gift’: the child tax credit expires

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – For the first time in six months, families waived a monthly payment from the child allowance on Friday. The program should be part of President Joe Biden’s legacy, but has instead become a focal point about who is worthy of government support. The monthly tax credits came thanks to Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, and the president had proposed extending them for another full year as part of a separate measure focusing on economic and social programs. But this bill stalled in the Senate. More than 36 million families received the payments in December.

CYBER ATTACK FOR EDUCATION

Cyber attack against public schools in Albuquerque

SANTA FE, NM (AP) – Around 75,000 New Mexico school children will miss school on Friday the second day after a cyber attack hit the state’s largest school district on Wednesday. At least five other school districts have suffered costly cyberattacks in the past two years, according to insurance agents who cover school damage. Schools in Las Cruces were digitally paralyzed for months after an attack in 2019. One target of the attack was the school’s student information database, the same target of the attack on Albuquerque Public Schools discovered Wednesday while teachers were preparing for class. But Las Cruces did not cancel the class, it postponed tasks such as attendance on paper.

AP US FEDERAL RESERVE NOMINATIONS

Biden elects 3 to the Fed’s board of directors, including the first black woman

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden will nominate three people to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, including Sarah Bloom Raskin, a former Fed and Treasury officer, for supreme regulator and Lisa Cook, who would be the first black woman to join the Office would be on the board of the Fed. Biden will also nominate Phillip Jefferson, an economist, dean of faculty at Davidson College in North Carolina, and a former Fed researcher, according to a person familiar with Thursday’s decision who was ineligible to speak on file. The three candidates, which must be approved by the Senate, would fill the seven-member Fed board of directors.

RUSSIA-USA-NATO

Russia’s speech about troops in Latin America is known as a “rumble”

MOSCOW (AP) – A high-ranking Russian diplomat has refused to rule out a Russian military operation in Cuba and Venezuela if tensions with the USA over Ukraine and NATO expansion in Eastern Europe increase. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in a televised address on Thursday that he could not confirm or rule out the possibility of Russia sending military supplies to Latin America unless the US and its allies curtail their activities on Russia’s doorstep. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan dismissed the statement as a “chatter”. Russia held talks with the US and NATO this week amid a Russian build-up near Ukraine that the West fears may kick off an invasion.

UNITED STATES-RUSSIA PIPELINE

Democrats thwart GOP sanctions on Russian gas pipeline

WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Democrats have rejected a bill by Texas Republican Ted Cruz that would have sanctioned a Russian natural gas pipeline to Germany. The Democrats condemned this as a political gesture by the Republicans that would have harmed relations with Europe, while the Allies attempt to show a united front against Russia. The vote was 55 to 44, less than the 60 it took to get through. Republicans argued the sanctions showed US determination in defending Ukraine. The Democrats support a rival law that would sanction Russia if it invades Ukraine.

AP-US-BIDEN HEALTH INSURANCE

With the rise of Omicron comes the registration deadline for HealthCare.gov

People seeking health insurance under the grip of the Omicron surge must sign up for taxpayer-subsidized private coverage under the Obama-era Affordable Care Act by Saturday. President Joe Biden’s administration is on track to deliver solid enrollment numbers, but those gains could turn into a mirage if Democrats in Congress remain hampered against Biden’s social agenda package. Biden’s Coronavirus Alleviation Act provides for generous subsidy increases that benefit new and returning customers. This additional support will be discontinued at the end of this year without further action by Congress. About 14 million people were registered in early January.

CONGRESS VOTING INVOICES

Biden almost admits defeat in votes and electoral laws

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden admits as good as a defeat in the major elections and voting rights of the Democrats this year. He says he’s not giving up, but now he’s talking more about future endeavors. Biden spoke at the Capitol on Thursday after a key Democrat, Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, dramatically announced her refusal to partake in Senate rules change to fight past a Republican filibuster. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer still hopes to use the Senate Rules of Procedure to circumvent the blockade and force a floor debate. But the Democrats still lack the support within their own party to revise the rules and pass the law with a simple majority.

CHRISTMAS PARADE SUV

Judge will decide whether the Wisconsin Parade suspect will be brought to justice

MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) – A Wisconsin judge stands ready to decide whether a Milwaukee man accused of plowing his SUV through a suburban Christmas parade, killing six people and injuring dozens more, should be brought to justice . Darrell Brooks Jr. is due to appear in the Waukesha County Court on Friday for a preliminary hearing. Such hearings to determine whether the accused can be brought to justice are essentially a formality. Prosecutors allege Brooks drove his SUV through a Christmas parade in the city of Waukesha on November 21. Brooks faces life imprisonment if convicted of any of the murder cases.

PHILANTHROPY GOFUNDME ACQUISITION

GoFundMe acquires the non-profit fundraising platform Classy

The crowdfunding platform GoFundMe announced on Thursday that it had signed a deal to acquire the nonprofit fundraising company Classy. The move will help the world’s largest crowdfunding site further increase its influence in the philanthropic sector. According to a press release from GoFundMe, Classy will become a subsidiary of GoFundMe under the agreement and the two will operate separately under the leadership of GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan. The company did not disclose details of the deal. However, it is said that the “all-equity” deal was signed earlier this month and is expected to close in the first quarter.

FATAL SHOOTING DEPUTY FOR THE SHERIFE

Judge allows video publication of the black man’s shooting

FAYETTEVILLE, NC (AP) – A judge granted a North Carolina police chief’s motion to release body camera video captured moments after a black man was fatally shot by an off duty sheriff’s assistant. The Fayetteville Observer reports that senior resident superior court judge Jim Ammons gave his verdict Thursday, two days after Fayetteville Police Chief Gina Hawkins filed the motion. Hawkins says the footage will be exchanges between Fayetteville police officers and three witnesses at the scene of the fatal shooting of Jason Walker by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Lt. Jeffrey Hash, last Saturday show.