Current Events

After a lot of negotiating and debating the Senate has decided to pass the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill. The vote was 50 to 49, with no Republicans voting in approval. The goal of this bill is to help the thousands of families who are struggling during the pandemic to make ends meet. The money will go to Americans who are currently unemployed, as well as money for schools to be able to reopen safely and efficiently.

President Joe Biden stated, “By passing this plan, we’ll have proved that this government, this democracy, can still work. It has to be done. It will improve people’s lives.” Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) stated in a tweet, “The American Rescue Plan will make a real difference to get more Americans vaccinated, safely reopen our schools, and help struggling families make ends meet.”

This relief bill consists of $1800 that most Americans will receive. $390 a week for the currently 9.5 million unemployed Americans. $455 billion provided to state and local governments. Also, more than $100 billion will also be given to America’s schools, to make sure that all schools are kept safe.

However, the Republican Senators have a different opinion on this relief bill, especially Mitch McConnell (R) who stated that passing it would be a “colossal missed opportunity for our nation”. Senate Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy (R) stated “This isn’t a rescue bill; it isn’t a relief bill; it is a laundry list of left-wing priorities that predate the pandemic and do not meet the needs of American families.”

The relief bill is to be signed by President Biden this Friday.

Texas and Mississippi have ended their mask mandate and fully reopened their economy, even though the pandemic will not end for another few months.

President Joe Biden stated in the Oval Office, “I think it’s a big mistake...We’ve been able to move that all the way up to the end of May, to have enough for every adult American to get a shot.The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that, in the meantime, everything’s fine, take off your mask, forget it... Wash your hands with hot water, do it frequently. Wear a mask and stay socially distanced. I know you all know that. I wish the heck some of our elected officials knew it.”

The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbot, said it’s “time to open Texas 100 percent.” He put out an executive order that officially ended the state mask mandate. Also, all businesses are officially allowed to reopen to full volume. These businesses are allowed to put mask mandates or limit the amount of people entering, if they would like. Governor Abbot says, “Make no mistake, COVID-19 has not disappeared, but it is clear from the recoveries, vaccinations, reduced hospitalizations and safe practices that Texans are using that state mandates are no longer needed.” Texas has 171,000 cases of Covid-19. They are adding about 3,000 per day, with it’s death toll at 44,700.

Soon afterwards, Governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves put out his own executive order. “Our hospitalizations have plummeted, and our case numbers have fallen dramatically as well. In fact, our case numbers have fallen to the point where no county meets the original criteria for a mask mandate.” Mississippi has 10,800 cases of Covid-19, with 400 being added each day.

A military coup occurred in Myanmar on February 1 because Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won the election by a landslide. They claim, without evidence, that there was widespread voter fraud.

Myanmar, also known as Burma is located in South East Asia. A military coup is when the military takes control of the government. The military in Myanmar has declared a one year long state of emergency. Aung San Suu Kyi has been kept at an unrevealed location since the coup.

She is being charged with having illegal walkie-talkies in possession, not following COVID-19 restrictions while campaigning, and revealing to the public information that might cause people to panic.

Min Sun Hlaing, the military commander-in-chief, has taken power.

Protests have been happening every day since the coup. Because of these protests the military has shot peaceful protestors and implemented disappearances. According to the United Nations Human Rights Office, at least 138 people have been killed by the military since the coup started. And over 2,100 people that include protestors, journalists, government officials, and students have been detained.

A lot of countries around the world have condemned him.

In India, there have been farmers' protests for almost 7 months now. These farmers are protesting because they do not agree with the three laws that were passed this September.

Before these laws were passed Indian farmers could sell their crops at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee, where they were given at least the minimum price. But these new laws state that the farmers can sell their crops to whoever they want and whatever price.

The farmers believe that this law is not helpful because if there is a big supply of crops for one year, some farmers would not be able to sell anything.

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, says that this provides the farmers with more freedom about who they are selling to.

This issue is important because farming and agriculture take up more than half of India’s jobs, which means that the farmers are the biggest voter bloc. Making the farmers angry could result in Prime Minister Narendra Modi losing a significant amount of votes in the next election.