Sam Darnold Traded To NFC Team For Pick Package

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Sam Darnold Traded To NFC Team For Pick Package

The Jets have traded Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers for a 2021 sixth-round pick and 2022 second-round and fourth-round picks, the Panthers announced on Twitter.

Jets trade QB Sam Darnold to Panthers for package of NFL draft picks

Mike Jones

USA TODAY

The New York Jets appear to have cleared the way for the franchise to draft a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick and turn the keys over to him on Day 1.

The Jets have traded Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers for a 2021 sixth-round pick and 2022 second-round and fourth-round picks, the Panthers announced on Twitter.

The Jets traded up in 2018 to use the No. 3 pick on Darnold. But the USC product had anything but a smooth transition to the NFL, and much of it had to do with the constant state of turmoil that the Jets have found themselves in. Already, he has played for two head coaches in three seasons. 

In 2019, the Jets replaced Mike Maccagnan, who drafted Darnold, with current general manager Joe Douglas.

“I want to publicly acknowledge the commitment, dedication, and professionalism Sam displayed while with the Jets,” Douglas said Monday in a statement. “He is a tough-minded, talented football player whose NFL story has not been written yet. While all these things are true, this move is in the short- and long-term best interests for both this team and him. We thank Sam for all of his work on behalf of this organization and wish him well as he continues his career.”

The New York Jets appear to have cleared the way for the franchise to draft a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick and turn the keys over to him on Day 1.

The Panthers appeared to enter the quarterback market after Teddy Bridgewater failed to meet new coach Matt Rhule’s expectations last season. Per multiple reports, Carolina had interest in Deshaun Watson, whose relationship with the Texans has soured. Houston had failed to budge on trade talks, but now Watson faces an uncertain future amid 22 civil lawsuits for sexual misconduct leveled against him by massage therapists.

It’s expected that the Panthers will exercise the fifth-year option on Darnold’s contract, giving him two seasons to work to reboot his career with Carolina. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who is considered one of the NFL’s bright, young minds, will be tasked with helping Darnold, who ranked 35th in the league in 2020 with a passer rating of 72.7, live up to the potential that he boasted coming out of college.

Live Updates From NCAA : GONZAGA Vs. BAYLOR

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Live Updates From NCAA : GONZAGA Vs. BAYLOR

It’s the first time since 2005, when North Carolina held off Illinois, that the top two seeds in the field of 68 will meet in the championship. And with all of the upsets in the 2021 men’s NCAA tournament, it almost feels like this matchup was meant to be.

With the 2021 men’s NCAA basketball championship on the line, two No. 1 seeds will do battle in Indianapolis. One seeks the immortality that comes with an undefeated season. The other stands in the way of that dream while writing its own history. Gonzaga (31-0) vs. Baylor (27-2) has all the makings of a men’s national championship classic.

With Flo Thamba and Jonathan Tchama Tchatchoua both with four fouls, Gonzaga is going to have a chance to exploit the Bears down low. Expect Drew Timme (four turnovers) to receive touches on every possession. On the other side of the court, they’ll need defensive stops to complete any comeback. 

All-American forward Corey Kispert asked Bulldogs coach Mark Few for a breather and for his left shoulder to be checked out after trying to defend Flo Thamba, who picked up his fourth foul with nearly 17 minutes remaining.

Key halftime stats

3-point shooting: Baylor 7-for-12, Gonzaga 1-for-6

Free throws: Gonzaga 12-for-13, Baylor 2-for-2

Field goals: Baylor 19-for-38, Gonzaga 2-for-22

Assists: Baylor 12, Gonzaga 9

Offensive rebounds: Baylor 9, Gonzaga 3

Floyd Death Got A Successful Progress By Top Cop Medaria Arradondo

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Floyd Death Got A Successful Progress By Top Cop Medaria Arradondo

Floyd, a Black man, died in police custody on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who is white, pinned his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

The doctor who provided emergency care to Floyd at Hennepin County Medical Center was the first person to testify Monday morning. He testified that at the time of the incident, he believed Floyd died from a lack of oxygen, rather than an overdose or heart attack, based on the information he had.

The city’s top cop told jurors Monday that former officer Derek Chauvin’s restraint of George Floyd “absolutely” violates department policy and goes against “our ethics and our values.”

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo testified about police training and tactics, but he wasn’t allowed to discuss the firing of Chauvin, who is charged in Floyd’s death.

Last week, jurors heard from 19 people, including several who witnessed Floyd’s death and broke down in tears as they described their attempts to intervene on his behalf. Friday, veteran officer Lt. Richard Zimmerman told jurors Chauvin’s use of force on Floyd was “totally unnecessary.”

The President’s $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan Follows Senate Fillibuster

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The President’s $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan Follows Senate Fillibuster

The opinion increases the number of ways Democrats can advance their agenda, like President Joe Biden’s sweeping $2 trillion infrastructure plan.

A key Senate official ruled Monday that Democrats can use a budget process to push pivotal bills, like infrastructure, through the gridlocked chamber, according Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y., office.

Reaching 60 votes in the Senate looked grim looked from the starting line: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY., said last week he would fight the plan, suggesting from the onset there would be no Republican support.

Usually, the Senate needs 60 votes to surpass a filibuster, meaning 10 Republicans would need to join every Democrat, and the independents who caucus with Democrats, to pass legislation if it is related to taxing and spending.

Senators usually use just one opportunity to pass a budget resolution for fiscal year. But MacDonough’s ruling means Democrats can amend the budget resolution used recently for the COVID stimulus bill by attaching another set of reconciliation instructions to it.

It is unclear what Schumer will do about the infrastructure bill and the next half of Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda, which is coming later this month.

Reconciliation can also turn into a grueling process in which any senator can force a vote on an amendment.

These “vote-a-ramas” can go on for hours, requiring senators to be on the Senate floor. During the passage of the American Rescue Plan, one lasted nearly 24 hours.

Stanford Women Kept There Streak Safe , Won NCAA Championship

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Stanford Women Kept There Streak Safe , Won NCAA Championship

The championship capped a grueling year for top-seeded Stanford, which spent the entire season on the road because of local COVID-19 restrictions. The title also came the same year as coach Tara VanDerveer became the all-time winningest women’s coach, now with 1,125 victories. VanDerveer also has the largest gap between titles, men or women.

The Cardinal won its third NCAA women’s national title, and first in 29 years, by beating Pac-12 rival Arizona 54-53 on Sunday night. It was the Cardinal’s third win over Arizona this season, but far more competitive than the previous two, decided by a combined 41 points.

Aari McDonald went three-for-four from the line, and the Wildcats harassed Stanford into a shot-clock violation with 6.1 seconds left. But the Cardinal wouldn’t give Arizona an inch, and McDonald’s last-second heave didn’t come close.

Jones led three Stanford players in double figures with 17 and won Most Outstanding Player. The Cardinal overcame 21 turnovers by outrebounding Arizona 47-29 and keeping McDonald in check. After averaging 30 points in the previous three games for the Wildcats, McDonald had 22 but was just 5-of-20 from the floor.

Can Rajon Rondo is the Missing Piece Of Los Angeles Clippers

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Can Rajon Rondo is the Missing Piece Of Los Angeles Clippers

When the Clippers acquired Rondo before last week’s trade deadline from the Atlanta Hawks for Lou Williams, the reasons went beyond Rondo’s on-court savviness with his playmaking. With 1½ months left before the playoffs start, the Clippers also wanted a proven player that had the credibility to give unfiltered feedback both to the team’s stars and role players after winning two NBA championship with the league’s most respected franchises in the Boston Celtics (2008) and Los Angeles Lakers (2020). As Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. said, “he’s going to be big factor in us trying to hang that banner.”

The Clippers sorely needed things to be said last season as they showed inconsistent chemistry due to numerous injuries and complacency. Or when the Clippers squandered a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals to the Denver Nuggets. Upon reflecting on those unpleasant memories, did George feel the Clippers lacked a locker-room leader that could speak truth to power? The answer became obvious through George’s long pause and pivot.

The Clippers have not completely escaped those challenges this season. They have missed a combined 79 games due to injuries, fielded 17 different starting lineups and are currently without Patrick Beverley and Serge Ibaka. All NBA teams have faced limited practice time because of the league’s health and safety protocols regarding the coronavirus pandemic. The Clippers (33-18) have the Western Conference’s third-best record after playing with either brilliance or maddening inconsistency.

“He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “He’s got a great lens on what’s happening with our group and has a great B.S. meter. He’ll call it out with guys to make sure guys are going about their business the right way, whether it’s on the court, off the court or whatever. So he’s a champion for a reason, and he should help the Clippers.”

Florida Waste Water Reservoir Turned Out To Be A Official Fear

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Florida Waste Water Reservoir Turned Out To Be A Official Fear

Models show that a full breach of the walls at the damaged Piney Point reservoir could cause “as high as a 20-foot wall of water” to surge into the surrounding area, Manatee County Acting Administrator Scott Hopes said at a Sunday press conference.

After officials attempted to plug the hole using rocks and other materials, engineers examined the Piney Point containment walls Saturday morning and determined there was imminent danger of collapse.

The pond contains a mix of processed wastewater from the former Piney Point fertilizer operation, sea water, dredging material, rainwater and seepage water. Officials have said the wastewater is about as acidic as a cup of black coffee and contains high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus – which has caused concerns the dumping could feed red tide and cause other environmental impacts on Tampa Bay.

Some of the more than 316 households affected by the mandatory evacuation order have been put in hotels by Manatee County and the Red Cross, according to DeSantis.

He also reiterated a sentiment expressed Saturday by Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein about holding the appropriate people or businesses accountable for the Piney Point breach.

Down the road, Stacey Lecass said she just moved to a new home in the neighborhood without knowing about the hazard Piney Point posed.

“We moved here about three months ago,” she said. “We are not in the evacuation, but there is no information at all. Nothing at all. We moved here in the middle of January. Nothing at all, we knew nothing.”

Mike Hukabee , The Former Arkansas Governor’s Tweet Slammed A Racist In MLB Backlash

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Mike Hukabee , The Former Arkansas Governor’s Tweet Slammed A Racist In MLB Backlash

Huckabee’s tweet was quickly condemned as racist, as many Asian Americans and anti-hate speech advocates have pointed to anti-Chinese rhetoric as a key driver in rising anti-Asian hate – and hate crimes – in the U.S.

Huckabee ,a former Baptist pastor, responded to claims that he had violated Christian doctrine a day before Easter Sunday, saying, “I don’t take Twitter or myself that seriously but I do take gospel seriously. I truly wish you only joy & continued blessings.”

Former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee came under criticism Saturday for a tweet attacking Major League Baseball and several corporations that many found bigoted and insensitive.

Huckabee’s criticism was also part of a larger backlash against MLB after the professional sports league decided to move its All-Star Game from Atlanta in response to Georgia’s new election law. Huckabee also echoed the conservative ire toward large businesses either headquartered or heavily invested in the Peach State – including Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines and Microsoft – that have openly opposed the law. Major financial institutions such as Citi and JPMorgan Chase have also expressed concern about the law.

The Unbeaten Bulldogs — Should They Knock Off Upset Kings UCLA

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The Unbeaten Bulldogs — Should They Knock Off Upset Kings UCLA

In their first four victories, Baylor broke the adage that you need your best players to play their best to win in the NCAA Tournament.The Cougars entered the game ranked second in scoring defense (57.6 points) and first in field-goal percentage defense (37.3%). They also were among the leaders in rebounding margin.

The Bears appeared to take the challenge personally by blitzing the Cougars from the start.

The nation’s leaders in three-point field goal percentage were 8-for-15 from behind the arc in the first half, led by four from Jared Butler. Baylor also had a 20-11 rebounding edge after 20 minutes.

When they went to the locker room, the score was 45-20, and the game was effectively over. The dismantling was so impressive it was easy to forget Houston had won 28 of its 31 games and been ranked in the top 10 for most of the season.

The 45 points were the most given up by Houston in the first half all season, and Teague, the team’s second-leading scorer, had none of them.

Butler didn’t score and only attempted one shot in the second half. Teague picked up the offensive slack (11 points) and was one of five double-figure scorers, which included Tchamwa Tchatchoua (11 points), who had his most points in a game since Dec. 29. Mitchell led the Bears with 11 of the team’s 23 assists in that game.

The unbeaten Bulldogs — should they knock off upset kings UCLA — will be the ultimate test, which is what the final obstacle on the road to a national championship should be. And while Baylor was able to make do before the Final Four without its best effort, the Bears will need to play as well as they did in the semifinals to cut down the nets Monday night.

Cardiac Arrest Forced The Famous DMX To Remain In Hospital

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Cardiac Arrest Forced The Famous DMX To Remain In Hospital

The Grammy nominated  rapper,DMX, at the age of 50, has opened up in the past about his struggles with drug addiction, for which he attended rehabilitation on several occasions and is now in a hospital after a cardiac arrest.

DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was at his home around 11 p.m. Friday when he suffered the heart attack, his longtime lawyer, Murray Richman, said. He was immediately hospitalized in grave condition, he said.

DMX continued to be on life support Saturday and was not breathing on his own following a heart attack, his lawyer said, contradicting an earlier statement on the musician’s condition.

Medical personnel at the critical care unit at a White Plains, New York, hospital began working on Simmons immediately and had to resuscitate him, he said.

The attorney said he did not know what caused the heart attack.”Earl is a sweet guy,” Richman said. “Earl was a person who could tell such a story. He was a person with such depth. It’s a heartbreaker.”

In an interview last year on rapper Talib Kweli’s People’s Party show, DMX said his drug abuse started at age 14 when his then-mentor gave him a blunt laced with crack.

Athlete Suspected For The Capitol Attack Appeared To Be Mentally Unravel

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Athlete Suspected For The Capitol Attack Appeared To Be Mentally Unravel

That sequence of events aligns with what a senior congressional aide and a US Capitol Police source told CNN earlier Friday. At the time, the sources said that after the driver of the vehicle rammed his car into a barricade on Constitution Avenue, the driver exited the vehicle brandishing a knife. Police responded, shooting the suspect and taking him into custody.

A law enforcement official told CNN at least one of the officers was stabbed.

Pittman said Friday that the suspect, Green, was not known to USCP before Friday’s attack. A review of Green’s social media shows he posted in the weeks prior that he had lost his job and suffered medical ailments, and said he believed the federal government was targeting him with “mind control.”

One US Capitol Police officer has died and another is injured after a suspect rammed a vehicle into a police barricade outside the Capitol building Friday afternoon, the department’s acting chief Yogananda Pittman told reporters during a press briefing roughly two hours after initial reports of the attack first surfaced.

The officer was identified by Pittman later Friday as Officer William “Billy” Evans, an 18-year veteran of the force and a member of its “First Responders Unit.”

the suspect was quickly neutralized, the deadly incident undoubtedly serves as a stark reminder of the violent insurrection that occurred less than three months ago and the persistent security concerns that have been top of mind for many on Capitol Hill in the time since, despite a recent ramping down of some additional protective measures.

The Increasing Asian Hate Still A matter Of Discussion

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The Increasing Asian Hate Still A matter Of Discussion

The attack occurred Tuesday at a store called Plaza Sundries that is downtown near Charlotte’s main transit hub. And it falls in the wake of an attack on a woman of Asian descent in New York City and the fatal shooting of eight people at three Atlanta-area massage businesses. Six of those victims were women of Asian descent.

Asian-owned convenience store in Charlotte, North Carolina, was trashed by a man who wielded a metal post and yelled racial slurs, according to police and a son of the store’s owners.

Surveillance footage shows a man pulling a merchandise rack to the floor and swinging a street sign post into the glass of the refrigerators. A man who appears to a friend of the attacker cheers him on.

The owners have experienced a different sentiment in the days since the attack: A woman arrived at the store and gave the owners soup. A pizza delivery man showed up with five pies. A local doctor dropped off a check. More than $30,000 has been raised through GoFundMe to cover the store’s damage.

“My in-laws are more shocked that people actually care than they were about the (attack),” Lee Sung said. “And it took them a while to process why they were getting so much attention.”

The pandemic has fueled the tension, the couple said, with some people blaming the coronavirus on the store’s owners. They have lived in the U.S. for decades since moving from South Korea.

“It’s like, ‘Hey, you’re different,’” Lee Sung said, offering a sanitized summary of the insults. “‘You obviously can’t be from around here. Go back to your country.”

Despite the increase in attention on such attacks, the violence and racially charged language was nothing new, said Mark Sung, whose parents own the store, and his wife Grace Lee Sung.

As Pandemic Outlook Darkens In Brazil Along With Political Turmoil

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As Pandemic Outlook Darkens In Brazil Along With Political Turmoil

The sudden moves of specific honored persons of Brazil , some expected, others not, suggested mounting political desperation in the presidential palace. Health systems have collapsed. Some 2,600 people are dying of the coronavirus every day. 

 Brazilians are increasingly looking to blame the failures of the pandemic on Bolsonaro, who has never appeared more vulnerable. Earlier this month, the leader of the congress implied the president may face impeachment.

The exits have sent political shock waves across Latin America’s largest country, precipitating the most politically uncertain moment of President Jair Bolsonaro’s two-year-plus tenure. Brazil must now face what public health analysts say could be the darkest weeks of the pandemic with a raft of new officials and an incoherent national strategy.

“These are defensive actions,” said Ricardo Ismael, a political scientist at the Catholic Pontifical University in Rio de Janeiro. “There is a fragility to him.”

Bolsonaro has somewhat moderated his messaging on the virus, which he earlier dismissed as little more than an annoyance Brazilians had to work around. Long a mask skeptic, he began wearing one. He also embraced vaccines, which he previously fretted could turn people into alligators. He dismissed his health minister, a military general, and replaced him with a cardiologist. And finally, he booted the foreign minister, the right-wing hard-liner castigated by the powerful center bloc of congress for not wrangling enough vaccines from foreign powers.

Republicans Seek For A Vaccine Passport For The Global Pandemic

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Republicans Seek For A Vaccine Passport For The Global Pandemic

Republicans have used more inflammatory rhetoric, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) calling the passport idea “Biden’s Mark of the Beast” and some conservative activists comparing it with Nazi policies to identify Jews. They are opening a new front in the pandemic culture wars, attacking efforts by the Biden administration to develop guidelines for coronavirus vaccination passports that businesses can use to determine who can safely participate in activities such as flights, concerts, and indoor dining.

“We are not supporting doing any vaccine passports in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said Monday. “It’s completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society.” 

The hyper-charged rhetoric is directed at a nascent initiative between the Biden administration and private companies to develop a standard way for Americans to show they have received a coronavirus vaccination. The idea behind the passports or certificates is that they would be a way to ensure that people could return to normal activities without risking the further spread of a virus that has killed more than 550,000 Americans.

“It’s been politicized in two different directions,” said Luntz, arguing that liberals worry that a passport would widen inequities around who has access to vaccines and that conservatives fear it would limit their freedoms.

Luntz said the growing politicization around the passports also threatened the entire initiative. “Unless the Biden administration tempers both sides down right now, they will find within days it becomes impossible to do. I’ve seen this movie and it doesn’t have a good ending,” he said.

Biden’s New $2.25 Trillion Plan To Change The National Health

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Biden’s New $2.25 Trillion Plan To Change The National Health

Biden’s plan is to include approximately $650 billion to rebuild the country’s infrastructure, such as its roads, bridges, highways and ports, the people said. The plan will also include in the range of $400 billion toward home care for the elderly and the disabled, $300 billion for housing infrastructure and $300 billion to revive U.S. manufacturing.

It will include hundreds of billions of dollars to bolster the nation’s electric grid, enact nationwide high-speed broadband and revamp the nation’s water systems to ensure clean drinking water, among other major investments, the people said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki has said the proposal will be paid for in new tax hikes. These hikes will be particularly focused on corporations, seeking to reverse much of President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax law, the people familiar with the plan said. 

The new tax hikes would offset spending in the plan over a 15-year period, according to Senate officials familiar with White House calls to brief Congress on Biden’s plan.

The plan will also include approximately $400 billion in clean-energy credits on top of the $2.25 trillion in new spending.

A White House spokesman declined to comment on the new details that have emerged.

The plan, which Biden will introduce in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, forms one part of the “Build Back Better” agenda that the administration aims to introduce. 

The White House is pressing forward despite the emerging divisions. “After all the jokes about infrastructure weeks, we’re going to have a real serious effort to get both infrastructure spending on roads and bridges and programs like broadband,” said Howard Gleckman, a tax expert at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center think tank. “I think there’s pretty broad bipartisan support is a big infrastructure plan. There is not bipartisan support for paying for it.”

WHO Still To Find The Ultimate Spread Of The Virus Breakdown

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WHO Still To Find The Ultimate Spread Of The Virus Breakdown

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief has called for further investigation into a popular theory that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory leak in China. The director-general of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also rebuked China for not divulging key data.

China has always sharply declined  the hypothesis. And the team of international experts sent to Wuhan by the WHO earlier this year to probe the pandemic’s origins have also all but ruled out.

Although the team has concluded that a laboratory leak is the least likely hypothesis, this requires further investigation, potentially with additional missions involving specialist experts, which I am ready to deploy,” WHO chief stated.

I do not believe that this assessment was extensive enough, he told the UN health agency’s 194 member states, in a briefing on the COVID-19 origins report.

“As far as WHO is concerned, all hypotheses remain on the table. This report is a very important beginning, but it is not the end. We have not yet found the source of the virus, and we must continue to follow the science and leave no stone unturned as we do,” he added.

The Unethical Murders Stuck US Govt. To Debate On Gun Control

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The Unethical Murders Stuck US Govt. To Debate On Gun Control

The two recent incidents have reignited the debate on gun laws in the US, a country with one of the most lax controls on gun ownership in the world. The US has the highest civilian gun ownership globally. According to RAND Corporation’s Gun Policy in America Initiative, there are about 12 firearms for every 10 civilians in the country. This may be one reason that the country sees greater rates of homicides — about six times higher than in other developed nations, according to a 2016 study.

In the past one week, the US has witnessed two mass shootings – one in Atlanta where eight individuals, including six women of Asian origin, were killed; and another in Boulder, Colorado, where a gunman killed 10 people inside a grocery store.

In Atlanta, another man killed eight people after he went on a rampage at three spa locations on March 16. Six of the victims killed were women of Asian descent, which sparked fear and concern in the community. According to media reports, the suspect, who has been charged with eight counts of murder, told the police that he carried out the shootings to eliminate temptation because of his sexual addiction. But the police have not yet ruled out bias as a motive.

Gun control in the US is rooted in the Second Amendment of the country’s Constitution. According to information maintained by the Library of Congress, in June 2008, the Supreme Court, for the first time since 1939, issued a decision interpreting the Second Amendment. At the time, the court ruled that the amendment gave the right to US citizens to possess a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes such as self-defence.

The Pandemic Served Billions In The Form Of Federal Bailouts To The Wealthiest Hospitals

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The Pandemic Served Billions In The Form Of Federal Bailouts To The Wealthiest Hospitals

Twenty large recipients, including Providence, have received a total of more than $5 billion in recent weeks, according to an analysis of federal data by Good Jobs First, a research group. Those hospital chains were already sitting on more than $108 billion in cash, according to regulatory filings and the bond-rating firms S&P Global and Fitch. A Providence spokeswoman said the grants helped make up for losses from the coronavirus.

Many of these hospital groups, including Providence, are set up as nonprofits, which generally don’t have to pay federal taxes on their billions of dollars of income.

After the CARES Act was passed in March, hospital industry lobbyists reached out to senior Health and Human Services officials to discuss how the money would be distributed.

Representatives of the American Hospital Association, a lobbying group for the country’s largest hospitals, communicated with Alex M. Azar II, the department secretary, and Eric Hargan, the deputy secretary overseeing the funds, said Tom Nickels, a lobbyist for the group. Chip Kahn, president of the Federation of American Hospitals, which lobbies on behalf of for-profit hospitals, said he, too, had frequent discussions with the agency.

The department then devised formulas to quickly dispense tens of billions of dollars to thousands of hospitals — and those formulas favored large, wealthy institutions.Many hospitals that primarily serve low-income people have received federal grants that their executives say may not be enough to see them through the current crisis.

Last year, Providence’s portfolio of investments generated about $1.3 billion in profits, far exceeding the profits from its hospital operations. Like other nonprofits, Providence generally does not owe federal taxes on its earnings.

Derek Chauvin Defended On George Floyd Death

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Derek Chauvin Defended On George Floyd Death

According to witness testimony at the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer accused of killing George Floyd, a police video revealed that after the ambulance took Floyd away, the officer had defended himself to a bystander by saying that the African-American man was a ‘sizeable guy’ and ‘probably on something’.

 According to AP, the clip was part of a mountain of footage that showed how Floyd’s alleged attempt to pass a phoney $20 bill at a neighbourhood market last May escalated into tragedy. The video showed officers pulling Floyd from his SUV at gunpoint, struggling to push him into a squad car as he writhed and screamed that he was claustrophobic, and then putting him on the pavement.

Further, the video also showed Officer Thomas Lane confronting Floyd in his SUV, drawing his gun and demanding that he shows his hands. Floyd, on the other hand, could be heard yelling, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry’ and ‘I got shot before”. Seemingly crying, he begged repeatedly, ‘Please don’t shoot me, man.’

As per reports, the defence argued that Chauvin did what he was trained to do and that Floyd’s death was not caused by the officer’s knee, but his illegal drug use, heart disease.

 High blood pressure and the adrenaline flowing through his body. The 45-yeard-old officer is charged with murder and manslaughter, accused of killing the 46-year-old Floyd by kneeling on his neck for 9 minutes, 29 seconds, as he lay face-down in handcuffs. The most serious charge against the now-fired officer carries up to 40 years in prison.

“It’s Not A Plan That Tinker Around The Edges”― Biden Said

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“It’s Not A Plan That Tinker Around The Edges”― Biden Said

White House officials say the spending would generate those jobs as the country shifts away from fossil fuels and combats the perils of climate change. It is also an effort to compete with the technology and public investments made by China, which has the world’s second-largest economy and is fast gaining on the United States’ dominant position.

`It’s not a plan that tinkers around the edges,“ Biden said. “It’s a once-in-a-generation investment in America unlike anything we’ve seen or done since we built the interstate highway system and the space race decades ago. In fact, it’s the largest American jobs investment since World War II. It will create millions of jobs, good-paying jobs.”

President Joe Biden on Wednesday outlined a $2.3 trillion plan to reengineer the nation’s infrastructure over the next eight years in what he billed as “a once in a generation investment in America” that would undo his predecessor’s signature legislative achievement of giant tax cuts for corporations in the process.

Funding for the infrastructure projects would come from a hike on corporate taxes that would aim to raise the necessary piles of money over 15 years and then reduce the deficit going forward. In doing so, Biden would undo the action by Trump and congressional Republicans to lift the corporate tax rate to 28% from the 21% rate set in a 2017 overhaul.

The Democratic president’s infrastructure projects would be financed by higher corporate taxes _ a trade-off that could lead to fierce resistance from the business community and thwart attempts to work with Republicans lawmakers. Biden hopes to pass an infrastructure plan by summer, which could mean relying solely on the slim Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate.

Biden’s efforts may also be complicated by demands from a handful of Democratic lawmakers who say they cannot support the bill unless it addresses the $10,000 cap on individuals’ state and local tax deductions put in place under Trump and a Republican-led Congress.

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