Monday morning news - May 24, 2021

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington.

Republicans, Democrats still far apart on infrastructure compromise » The White House and Republicans on Capitol Hill are still trying to hammer out a compromise on a massive infrastructure bill.

But GOP Senator Susan Collins says the two sides are still very far apart.

COLLINS: There’s some fundamental difference here, and at the heart of the negotiations is defining the scope of the bill. What is infrastructure?

She said Republicans define infrastructure as things like roads and bridges, and even things like broadband internet. But she said Democrats are now calling social programs “infrastructure.”

The White House has come down on its asking price for President Biden’s proposal. The administration is now pushing a $1.7 trillion dollar plan, down from $2.3 trillion. Press Secretary Jen Psaki called that a compromise.

PSAKI: This proposal exhibits a willingness to come down in size, giving on some areas that are important to the president, otherwise they wouldn’t have been in the proposal, while also staying firm in areas that are most vital to rebuilding our infrastructure and industries of the future.

But Republicans say that price is still way too high and the scope of the plan is still far too wide. They’ve proposed an alternative plan priced at less than $600 billion.

The president’s team is holding to a soft Memorial Day deadline to determine whether a compromise is within reach.

It’s still unclear if moderate Senate Democrats would go along with pushing the bill through without any GOP votes using budget reconciliation as they did with the near $2-trillion-dollar American Rescue Plan in March.

Israel, Hamas ceasefire holding » The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held through the weekend, following an 11-day conflict.

On Sunday, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mark Regev, said Israel did what it had to do to defend itself. And he said the military tried to be as surgical as possible with its strikes while Hamas deliberately fired rockets from civilian sites.

REGEV: They were firing out of schools, they were firing out of built up areas, firing out of homes, out of mosques, even out of playgrounds. And we tried, as I said, to hit the terrorists and not to see innocent people caught up in the crossfire.

Israel carried out hundreds of air strikes against militant targets in Gaza, while Hamas and other militants fired thousands of rockets at civilian targets in israel.

More than 250 people reportedly died in the fighting.

The Biden administration says its support for Israel has not changed in the wake of the latest battle. But Secretary of State Tony Blinken reiterated on Sunday,

BLINKEN: President Biden has been very clear that he’s committed to a two-state solution. Look, ultimately, it is the only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state, and of course the only way to give the Palestinians the state to which they are entitled.

He also said the United States will go ahead with a planned $700-million dollar arms sale to Israel though some in the Democratic Party oppose it.

COVID-19 cases fall to lowest level in 11 months » New coronavirus cases across the United States have tumbled to rates not seen in more than 11 months.

The seven-day average for new cases has dropped to about 26,000 per day. Cases have not been that low since last June. The average number of deaths over the last seven days also dropped to about 550. That’s also the lowest level in nearly a year.

The numbers continue to fall even as more states and cities continue to reopen. Texas was one of the first states to fully reopen for business. And Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday that the reopening did not lead to the disastrous outbreak that some predicted.

ABBOTT: We continued to have a decline in deaths after we opened 100 percent until we reached a day with zero deaths. And hospitalizations continue to go down even more.

SOUND: PARADE

The city of Mobile, Ala., celebrated a return to normalcy over the weekend with a Mardi Gras style parade.

SOUND: PARADE

But health experts also cautioned that not enough Americans have been vaccinated to completely extinguish the virus, leaving the potential for new variants that could extend the pandemic.

Italian cable car plunges to the ground, killing at least 13 » A cable car taking visitors to a mountaintop in northern Italy plummeted to the ground Sunday, killing at least 13 people. The accident also sent two children to the hospital in serious condition.

It appears the cable snapped, sending the car careening to the ground.

The cable car system recently underwent renovations and was thought to be in good condition. Authorities plan a thorough investigation into the cause.

Twenty-one killed in China after severe weather stuck mountain race »

Meantime in China, 21 people running a mountain ultramarathon died in the northwestern part of the country after being caught in severe weather.

Hail, freezing rain and gale-force winds hit the high-altitude race.

Rescuers were able to confirm that about 150 others participating in the race were safe.

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

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