California
President Joe Biden is headed to Long Beach, California, today, 9/13, to appear with Gov. Gavin Newsom on the final day before the recall vote…
Roughly 60 percent of likely voters polled said they opposed recalling Newsom, compared to 38.5 percent who supported removing Newsom and filling his term with someone else…
At least two million direct deposits from the Golden State Stimulus II program will hit bank accounts across California this week, following the first round of 600,000 payments that went out 8/27…
Newsom signed the “California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal”(“CalAIM”) initiative into law in late July…
Coronavirus
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study published on Friday, 9/10, finds that unvaccinated people have about 4.5 times higher risk of contracting COVID-19, more than 10 times the risk of getting hospitalized and 11 times the risk of death…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it is “working around the clock” to support making COVID-19 vaccines available for children 12 and younger, but cannot offer a specific date or timeline…
The CDC reports that as of 7/31, coverage with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine was 42 percent, and 32 percent had completed the series of shots…
Universal masking and limited close encounters with people infected with COVID-19 reduced the spread of the virus at colleges, at least during a five-month period before the delta variant took hold, according to a new report by the CDC…
COVID-19 vaccines work so well that most people don’t yet need a booster, a panel of scientists from around the world said in a review that’s likely to fuel the debate over whether to use them…
President and Administration
The administration’s focus on accelerating the space race is among VP Kamala Harris’ high-profile portfolios, albeit one that’s received virtually no attention…
The White House on Thursday, 9/9, withdrew David Chipman's nomination to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) after resistance from Senate Democratic centrists imperiled his bid…
FDA has ordered more than five million e-cigarette products off the market, it said Thursday, 9/9, in an announcement timed to a court-ordered deadline that will determine the future of the vaping industry…
The U.S. economy "downshifted slightly" in August as the renewed surge of COVID-19 hit dining, travel and tourism, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday, 9/8, but the economy overall remained in the throes of a post-pandemic rush of rising prices, labor shortages and stilted hiring…
The Biden administration announced a blueprint Wednesday, 9/8, outlining how solar energy could produce nearly half of the nation’s electricity by mid-century, as part of its bid to address climate change…
Marijuana legalization is not associated with increased marijuana use among high school students, a new study published in JAMA found…
Biden announced judicial nominees Wednesday, 9/8, including three judges for the 9th Circuit Court, country’s largest - and famously most liberal - federal appeals court…
Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities allowed 113 Americans, U.S. permanent residents and holders of other Western passports to leave the country on a flight to Qatar on Thursday, 9/9, the first such departure by air since U.S. forces withdrew last month…
Congress
House Democratic leaders are preparing for a stopgap funding measure to avert a government shutdown as they juggle debates over government funding, the debt limit, and their $3.5 trillion reconciliation package…
Law enforcement officials are bracing for potential clashes and unrest during an upcoming right-wing rally in Washington, DC, on Saturday, 9/18…
Reconciliation Programs of Interest
The House Ways and Means Committee started a markup Thursday, 9/9, but is expected to tackle tax proposals this week…
Medicare beneficiaries would see coverage for hearing, vision, and dental care under a measure approved by the House Ways and Means Committee Friday, 9/10…
The House Education and Labor Committee approved an amendment to a proposed child care expansion that would make all families eligible to receive new benefits, instead of restricting them for top earners…
Rail, transit near affordable housing, and carbon emission programs would get a funding boost in a House transportation panel’s portion of the reconciliation bill…
House Democrats presented a smaller-scale overhaul of the way investments are taxed in a plan, released by the House Ways and Means Committee today, 9/13…
Education
11.3 million children lacked access to the learning options they needed during COVID-19, according to a new Bellwether Education Partners report with the Walton Family Foundation…
One pilot study, not yet peer-reviewed, found that daily rapid testing of school-related close contacts didn’t lead to a substantial increase in COVID-19 transmission compared with quarantine among students at some 160 schools and colleges…
Amid a heated political feud over the way educators should teach students about issues like white supremacy and slavery, a new study points to a positive, lasting link between antiracist instruction and improved academic outcomes for teens who struggle in school…
The number of men enrolled at two- and four-year colleges has fallen behind women by record levels…
This week the Senate will vote on the nomination of James Kvaal to be under secretary of Education…
The National Science Board (NSB) recently released a new report, The STEM Labor Force of Today: Scientists, Engineers, and Skilled Technical Workers, which shows the critical contribution that STEM workers make to the U.S. economy and reinforces the value of training and education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)…
The STEM Teaching Tools site, funded by the National Science Foundation, offers open education resource tools that can help teach science, technology, engineering and math….