Biden to use wartime powers in coronavirus fight . . . President Biden will issue an executive order on Thursday directing agencies to use the Defense Production Act (DPA) and other powers to speed up the manufacturing of testing and vaccine supplies and other items needed to fight COVID-19. Biden administration officials signaled they would be more aggressive than the previous administration in invoking the DPA, which allows the federal government to force companies to increase production of critical supplies during national emergencies. The Hill

 

 

 

 

 

Joe Biden revokes Keystone XL permit, halts Arctic refuge leasing . . . President Biden on Wednesday signed a sweeping executive order that revokes a key permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, halts oil and gas leasing at a wildlife refuge in Alaska and carries out several other environmental actions. 

This deals a devastating blow to the approximately 1,200-mile-pipeline that carried oil from Canada to the U.S. and that was opposed by several environmental and indigenous groups. The action reverses a decision on a project championed by President Trump, who first issued a permit allowing it to cross the border during the first months of his presidency. The Hill

President Biden gender equality order rankles religious conservatives . . . Joe Biden on Wednesday announced an executive order confirming religious conservatives’ fears that he will undo Trump-era exemptions to gender identity nondiscrimination laws. The order, released in a blast of 17 directives aimed at undoing former President Donald Trump’s policies, requires all entities under federal control to forgo discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Referencing the landmark Supreme Court decision Bostock v. Clayton County, which interpreted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to protect gay and transgender people in the workplace, Biden’s team said his executive order would enforce that ruling on the government. Washington Examiner

Schumer becomes new Senate majority leader . . .  Senator Schumer has achieved his long-held dream of becoming Senate majority leader after three new Democrats were sworn into the Senate by Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday following President Biden's inauguration. The victories by Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in Georgia earlier this month create a 50-50 party split in the upper chamber and give Democrats the majority because Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is the tie-breaking vote. After falling short in 2016 and again in November, Schumer has finally ousted his nemesis, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who raised tens of millions of dollars himself to stave off the Democratic takeover. The Hill

Ex-Obama advisor calls Trump supporters an 'issue of Homeland Security' . . . An Obama-era deputy national security adviser painted Trump supporters as an "issue of Homeland Security" and called for government and Big Tech to regulate information on social media in a televised interview Wednesday afternoon. "It’s going to take many years to detox the disinformation, the lies, the hate that has been spread," Ben Rhodes said. "A whole segment of the American population has been radicalized over what’s happened the last four years, and by the fact that Donald Trump is no longer there – they can no longer see Donald Trump representing their grievances in the highest office. He said the result would be "a lot of work" for national security officials. Fox News

 

Twitter locks account of US embassy in China over its defense of policy toward Muslim Uighur . . .  Twitter has locked the account of China’s U.S. embassy for a tweet that defended China’s policy towards Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang, which the U.S. social media platform said violated its stand against “dehumanizing” people.  China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it was confused by the move and that it was the embassy’s responsibility to call out disinformation and clarify the truth.

The Chinese Embassy account, @ChineseEmbinUS, posted a tweet this month that said that Uighur women had been emancipated and were no longer “baby-making machines”, citing a study reported by state-backed newspaper China Daily. Reuters

Suicide bombs rock central Baghdad, 6 dead . . . Twin suicide bombings hit Iraq’s capital Thursday killing at least six people and wounding at least 25 others, police and state TV said. Three police officials said two explosions hit a commercial center in central Baghdad. Iraqi state television reported they were suicide bombings. Many of the wounded were in serious condition and there was property damage. The police officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The bombings are the first in years to target Baghdad’s bustling commercial area. They come amid heightened political tensions as Iraq looks to have early elections in October. Washington Times

Crippled by sanctions, Iran traders seek lifeline in Iraq . . .  Piles of plush carpets line the floors of a northern Iraq shopping center hosting traders from neighboring Iran who hope the spangle of their ornate handicrafts might offer a lifeline out of poverty.

In their own country, the economy is in tatters amid crippling U.S. sanctions. “Our money is so devalued, so when we come to this side — apart from the cultural exchange that we share — from a financial perspective it’s more profitable for us,” said Iranian Ramiyar Parwiz, the organizer of the exhibition who is originally from Sanandaj. “The money we receive … whether in dollars or dinars has a higher value on our side and it’s worth a lot.” Associated Press

Court blocks Obamacare transgender surgery mandate . . . A federal court blocked an Obamacare mandate that would compel doctors to perform gender reassignment surgery. An order of Catholic nuns challenged the mandate under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, arguing that it forces doctors to violate their consciences and medical judgment. A North Dakota district court judge ruled on Tuesday that nuns and other religious health care providers were harmed by the law. "Absent an injunction, they will either be ‘forced to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs' by performing and covering gender-transition procedures ‘or to incur severe monetary penalties for refusing to comply,'" District Court Judge Peter D. Welte wrote. Washington Free Beacon

Man 'lived in Chicago airport in secret for 3 months' - as COVID made him 'too scared' to fly home . . .  A 36-year-old man lived undetected in a secure section of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport for three months because he was "too scared" to go home due to COVID-19, US prosecutors say. Aditya Singh is charged with felony criminal trespass to a restricted area of an airport and misdemeanour theft. He arrived in Chicago on a flight from Los Angeles on 19 October. Mr Singh, who survived on food from other passengers, is unemployed and lives in the city of Orange, California. Cook County Judge Susana Ortiz reacted with surprise when a prosecutor set out the allegations. She reportedly told the court: "So if I understand you correctly, you're telling me that an unauthorised non-employee individual was allegedly living within a secure part of the O'Hare airport terminal from 19 October 2020 to 16 January 2021 and was not detected? I want to understand you correctly." Sky News