Monday morning news - June 7, 2021

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Manchin say he'll vote against 'partisan' Dem elections bill » A key Democratic lawmaker says he will not vote for the largest overhaul of U.S. election law in at least a generation.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said Sunday…

MANCHIN: I think it’s the wrong piece of legislation to bring our country together and unite our country, and I’m not supporting that because I think it would divide us further.

The bill would shift more control over voting regulations from states to Washington. It would restrict gerrymandering of congressional districts and enact new campaign finance regulations. It would also strike down voting measures passed in some GOP-led states that Democrats charge are designed to make it tougher for minorities to vote. Republicans contend the rules only make it tougher to vote fraudulently.

Manchin’s defection all but guarantees the legislation will fail in the Senate after it passed largely down partly lines in the House.

Trump teases 2024 White House bid » Former President Donald Trump over the weekend once again teased the prospect of making another run for president.

TRUMP: We’re going to lay the groundwork for making sure that Republicans once again carry the great state of North Carolina in a number, a year, that I look very much forward to, 2024.

Trump heard there speaking to hundreds of GOP officials and activists over the weekend in North Carolina. The 74-year-old vowed to campaign for those who share his values in next year's fight for control of Congress.

Trump also took aim at Facebook, which just announced a two-year suspension of his account.

TRUMP: They may allow me back in two years. We’ve got to stop that. We can’t let it happen. So unfair.

Facebook had blocked Trump indefinitely back in January. But a quasi-independent oversight board said the social media giant violated its own rules by not defining the length of Trump’s ban.

Knesset to take up new Israeli power-sharing agreement » Israel’s parliament, known as the Knesset, is scheduled to meet today to take up a new power-sharing agreement that would oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid and Yamina party chair Neftali Bennett recently announced a power sharing agreement that would involve eight parties in total.

And a vote on the new coalition government could come as soon as Wednesday. But while Lapid and Bennett appear to have the votes to replace Netanyahu, the prime minister said it’s not too late for lawmakers to vote against what he has called a dangerous “left-wing” government.

NETANYAHU: [Speaking in Hebrew]

He predicted that if that government is established, it will be quickly overthrown.

Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister with 12 years on the job.

Delta virus variant could delay UK plans to lift restrictions » The COVID-19 delta variant, first detected in India, is fast becoming the dominant strain in the U.K.

And British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said evidence suggests the variant is much more contagious than other strains in the country.

HANCOCK: Around 40 percent more transmissible. It is indeed—that is the latest advice I have. That means that it is more difficult, obviously, to manage this virus.

He acknowledged that the delta variant could delay the British government’s plans to lift most remaining lockdown measures on June 21.

Hancock also said he wouldn’t rule out continuing measures such as face masks in public settings and working from home where possible.

But he noted some good news: vaccines do appear to be highly effective against the delta variant. Right now it’s a race between the U.K.’s vaccination campaign and the highly contagious strain.

I’m Kent Covington, and for more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org.

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