Tuesday morning news - August 10, 2021

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington.

Senate Dems unveil $3.5T budget » Senate Democrats unveiled a budget resolution Monday that maps out their $3.5 trillion dollar spending package. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer described it this way.

SCHUMER: The most significant legislation for American families since the era of the New Deal and the Great Society. It is big, bold change.

While senators may be just hours away from passing a roughly $1 trillion dollar infrastructure bill with bipartisan backing the $3.5 trillion dollar package will be all Democrats. They plan to push through the Senate using budget reconciliation, which Republicans can’t filibuster.

The measure lays the groundwork for legislation that would pour mountains of money into top Demcoratic priorities. That would include social programs, healthcare, education, family services and environmental measures.

Republicans, like Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, call it trillions in reckless spending on a liberal wish list.

MCCONNELL: When inflation is already sticking American families with higher costs; new permanent welfare with no work requirements when small businesses are already struggling to find workers.

Democrats plan to at least partially pay for it by raising taxes on wealthy Americans and on businesses.

U.S. employers posted record job openings in June » U.S. employers posted a record 10.1 million job openings in June.

That according to a Labor Department report on Monday. Job openings rose from 9.5 million in May as employers continue to say they can’t find enough workers to fill open positions.

Analysts say lingering health fears and childcare challenges amid the pandemic are part of the problem. But many believe so-called enhanced unemployment benefits—extra checks from the federal government—also play a big role.

Those benefits will end nationwide next month. Some states are ending them early.

The U.S. economy has rebounded with unexpected strength as businesses have reopened. Still, the fast-spreading delta variant has cast a shadow over the outlook.

COVID-19 delta surge straining hospitals » And that delta variant is wreaking havoc in hospital systems in some areas. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown reports.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: At LBJ Hospital in Houston, more than 50 percent of the ICU patients have tested positive for COVID-19.

The hospital has put up tents in the parking lot for COVID-19 overflow patients. But there’s another problem—the hospital doesn’t have enough healthcare workers to staff those tents.

In Florida, almost half of all ICU beds are filled with coronavirus patients. The state is still struggling with a record number of hospitalizations—about 14,000 as of Sunday.

Nationwide, more than 8,000 coronavirus patients are checking into hospitals each day. That’s a fourfold increase since late June.

But the delta surge has driven an increase in vaccinations. Half of the U.S. population is now fully vaccinated.

And nationally, for the first time in more than a month, new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have all dipped slightly over the past few days.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

UN scientists warn of worsening global warming » Scientists with the United Nations released a climate report Monday declaring a “code red for humanity.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued the report. It warns that recent changes in the climate are rapid, intensifying and unprecedented in thousands of years.

Kim Cobb with Georgia Tech's Global Change Program co-authored the report.

COBB: Here in North America, the report makes clear that we are facing a combination of worsening impacts on land and in the ocean and on our coast, including a significant increase in the frequency and intensity of climate extremes.

More than 200 scientists collaborated on the 3,000-page report. They said warming is already accelerating sea level rise and worsening extremes such as heat waves, droughts, floods and storms. And they said all of these trends will get worse.

But environmentalist and Hoover Institution fellow Bjorn Lomborg notes the UN routinely warns of imminent environmental catastrophe, pointing to reports from 2019 all the way back to 1972. Lomborg says man-made climate change is a real but manageable problem.

Top Cuomo aide resigns as accuser speaks out » A top aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has resigned as pressure builds on the governor himself to step down.

Melissa DeRosa was a fixture next to Gov. Cuomo for months during his coronavirus news conferences. She resigned days after a state investigation found that Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women.

At least one of his accusers said his alleged infractions went beyond harassment. Former executive assistant to the governor, Brittany Commisso told CBS news that Cuomo gave her unwanted hugs that seemed more than friendly.

COMMISSO: Then they started to be hugs with kisses on the cheek. And then there was at one point a hug, and then when he went to kiss me on the cheek, he’d quickly turn his head and he kissed me on the lips.

A majority of New York lawmakers, including fellow Democrats, now favor impeaching the governor if he does not resign.

For his part, Cuomo denies the allegations against him and has given no indication that he plans to step down.

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

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