The Biden administration declared Monkeypox a public health emergency. In a press briefing Thursday, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra called on Americans to take Monkeypox seriously as the US posted more than 7,000 cases. The disease has been spreading in the US since May and cases are expected to continue to rise.
The White House has continued its climate crusade by pumping millions into grant programs. While speaking at Florida International University in Miami on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris pledged grants worth $1 billion to go towards addressing extreme weather events that she attributes are due to climate change. The Biden administration will be dispersing these funds to 343 towns and cities nationwide. The funds are intended to address a variety of natural disasters and may be used at the discretion of local jurisdictions.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, derided America’s adversaries for allegedly derailing an international nuclear weapons treaty. The Biden Administration sounded the alarm on rival countries who aim to abuse nuclear power. While speaking at the United Nations Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference on Monday, Blinken stressed that intimidation by nuclear powers has no place in the world.
A slew of Trump-endorsed candidates won the GOP nomination in their respective races in Arizona. First, Blake Masters won the GOP nomination for Senate beating out several candidates, including state Attorney General Mark Brnovich. He will face-off with Democrat incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly in the midterms.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) decried President Biden’s latest environmental regulations while speaking at the Senate Republican Leadership Conference on Tuesday. He called out Biden for slowing down Americas economic growth and claimed the President’s new National Environmental Policy Act increased restrictions on infrastructure projects, which in turn burdened the US economy.
The Senate passed the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins, or PACT Act. In an 86 to 11 vote on Tuesday, senators from both sides of the aisle agreed to push the legislation forward after being delayed due to concerns from Republican senators about $400 billion discretionary spending clause placed in the bill.
Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, once again, called for the abolition of the department she once headed. When she spoke to Breitbart on Monday, she said that anybody who is serious about reducing the size of the federal government should get on board with cutting the Education Department. DeVos suggested this idea must be a central tenet of the Republican party platform.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) safely landed in Taipei, Taiwan. She arrived Tuesday after much back and forth over whether she would heed threats from Mainland China.
Two people are dead and thousands more evacuated as firefighters battle California’s largest fire this season. Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) declared a state of emergency Saturday, as the McKinney Fire burning near the California-Oregon border continued to rage out of control. More than 55,000 acres have been charred since the flames broke out Friday. Crews found the bodies of two people in a burned-out vehicle Sunday morning.
Senator John Cornyn tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated and boosted. In a tweet Monday, the Texas Republican said he’d been able to “dodge” the virus for more than two years.