The government’s report Friday also drastically revised up its estimate of job gains for November and December by a combined 709,000. It also said the unemployment rate ticked up last month from 3.9% to a still-low 4%.
The strong hiring gain for January, which was unexpected, demonstrates the eagerness of many employers to hire even as the pandemic maintains its grip on the economy. Businesses appear to have seen the omicron wave as having, at most, a temporary impact on the economy and remain confident about longer-term growth. …
The surprisingly healthy hiring figures will likely give the Federal Reserve leeway to raise interest rates more quickly to cool inflation. The Fed has already indicated that it will begin raising rates in March, and it could do so again at its next meeting in May.
Rand Paul, a senator from Kentucky, has clashed publicly with Anthony Fauci over virus research carried out before the pandemic. Ted Cruz, from Texas, has said Fauci should be prosecuted regarding his handling of the Covid response.
“Yeah,” Fauci told CBS in his Sunday interview. “I have to laugh at that. I should be prosecuted? What happened on 6 January, senator?”
Cruz was among Republicans who voted to object to electoral college results in key states, even after Trump supporters mounted a deadly attack on the US Capitol.
Asked if he was being made a scapegoat for Trump’s failings under Covid, Fauci said: “Of course, you have to be asleep not to figure that one out … That’s OK, I’m just going to do my job and I’m going to be saving lives and they’re going to be lying.”
Playing politics with his role in the Covid response, Fauci said, was “unbelievably bad because all I want to do is save people’s lives. That’s what I have done for the last 50 years …
“I mean, anybody who’s looking at this carefully realises that there’s a distinct anti-science flavor to this. So if they get up and criticize science, nobody’s going to know what they’re talking about. But if they get up and really aim their bullets at Tony Fauci, well, people could recognize there’s a person there. There’s a face, there’s a voice you can recognize, you see him on television.
“So it’s easy to criticise, but they’re really criticising science because I represent science. That’s dangerous. To me, that’s more dangerous than the slings and the arrows that get thrown at me.
“I’m not going to be around here forever, but science is going to be here forever. And if you damage science, you are doing something very detrimental to society long after I leave. And that’s what I worry about.”
Here’s video of one memorable exchange between Paul and Fauci, from a Senate hearing in July:
Fauci to Rand Paul: ‘You do not know what you are talking about’ – video
Biden administration asks court to lift stay on vaccination rule
The Biden administration has asked a court to immediately lift a stay on a rule requiring employees of large businesses to get vaccinated against coronavirus.
Reuters reports:
Delaying the rule by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that requires employees to be vaccinated or tested weekly would lead to thousands of hospitalizations and deaths, the government said in a Tuesday filing with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. …
The rule was challenged by Republican-led states, businesses and trade groups and the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans quickly blocked it, calling it ‘staggeringly overbroad’ and a ‘one-size-fits-all sledgehammer.’
After the stay was imposed by the 5th Circuit, lawsuits from around the country were transferred to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
The rule requires those working at companies with 100 or more employees to get vaccinated or receive weekly coronavirus tests to mitigate the spread of the virus. It was set to go into effect on January 4.
Updated
15:58
Energy secretary Jennifer Granholm will join the daily White House briefing this afternoon, giving her an opportunity to offer more details on the release of oil from the strategic reserve.
Speaking at yesterday’s briefing, press secretary Jen Psaki noted the Biden administration is using a variety of tools to address high gas prices.
Last week, Joe Biden sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission asking the agency to investigate “mounting evidence of anti- consumer behavior by oil and gas companies”.
“We will continue to press oil companies who have made record profits and are overseeing what we consider to be price gouging out there,” Psaki said aboard Air Force One yesterday.
“When there’s a supply of oil or the price of oil is coming down and the price of gas is not coming down, it does not take an economic expert to know that’s a problem.”
15:38
Senate Republicans’ campaign arm is using high gas prices to attack Democrats as Americans travel for Thanksgiving, which the country will celebrate on Thursday.
NBC News reports:
Americans on the road for Thanksgiving will be reminded of high gas and grocery prices with an ad push from the Republican Senate campaign arm airing at gas stations across the country this week.
‘You like high gas prices?’ the ad intones, with cartoonish graphics and sound effects. ‘If so, introducing: Joe Biden and Democrats.’
The National Republican Senatorial Committee’s five-figure, multi-day buy — first reported by NBC News — goes across ten battleground states where Republicans hope to flip or keep Senate seats in the upcoming 2022 midterms. The advertisements are intended to hit travelers on the road for the Thanksgiving holiday who are filling up their gas tanks.
The Senate is currently split 50-50, but Democrats control the chamber because of Vice-President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote.
So Republicans only need to flip one Senate seat in next year’s midterm elections to regain control of the upper chamber.
15:17
Republicans, who have been attacking Joe Biden over the rising prices of gas and groceries, criticized the release of oil from the strategic reserve as a political ploy.
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement, “Today’s announcement – which will release just three days’ worth of oil onto the market – is not about a real solution to our energy crisis. It is a crass political ploy just ahead of Thanksgiving.”
Former president Donald Trump similarly criticized Biden’s decision, saying, “Those reserves are meant to be used for serious emergencies, like war, and nothing else.”
14:59
Biden to release 50m barrels of oil from strategic reserve to address high gas prices
Joe Biden announced this morning that his administration will release 50m barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve to help address high gas prices.
The president said on Twitter that the action “will be taken in parallel with other major energy consuming nations including China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom”.
President Biden (@POTUS)
Today I’m announcing action to lower the cost of gas and oil for American families.
The Department of Energy will make available releases of 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower gas and oil prices for Americans.
November 23, 2021
The news comes as gas prices have increased by 49.6% over the past year, bringing the national average for a gallon of gas to $3.40, per AAA.
“As we come out of an unprecedented global economic shutdown, oil supply has not kept up with demand, forcing working families and businesses to pay the price,” energy secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.
“This action underscores the President’s commitment to using the tools available to bring down costs for working families and to continue our economic recovery.”
Read more about the announcement here:
14:36
Joe Biden has argued that Democrats’ $1.75tn social spending package, which passed the House on Friday, will help families struggling with higher prices by lowering the costs of healthcare and childcare.
However, there are lingering concerns about how the high rate of inflation may impact the negotiations over the bill in the evenly divided Senate.
Senator Joe Manchin, one of the key holdouts in Democrats’ negotiations over the bill, has said he is hearing more from constituents who are concerned about their gas and grocery bills.
“By all accounts, the threat posed by record inflation to the American people is not ‘transitory’ and is instead getting worse,” Manchin said earlier this month. “From the grocery store to the gas pump, Americans know the inflation tax is real and DC can no longer ignore the economic pain Americans feel every day.”
Manchin has previously expressed concern that Democrats’ spending package, known as the Build Back Better Act, could negatively contribute to inflation.
In a September op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Manchin warned against approving more government spending, saying, “An overheating economy has imposed a costly ‘inflation tax’ on every middle- and working-class American.”
However, since that op-ed was written, the cost of the package has been cut in half — from $3.5tn to $1.75tn. And a number of economists have said the bill will not add to inflationary pressure.
Biden is hoping those arguments will be enough to make Manchin a “yes” vote, as he will need all 50 Democratic senators’ support to get the bill through the upper chamber.
14:34
Joe Biden’s nominees for the Federal Reserve board have also pledged to tackle inflation aggressively if they are confirmed by the Senate.
Jerome Powell, who has been nominated to a second term as the chair of the Fed board, said yesterday, “We know that high inflation takes a toll on families, especially those less able to meet the higher costs of essentials, like food, housing and transportation.”
Jerome Powell speaks as Lael Brainard listens during an announcement. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Powell, who was first nominated by Donald Trump, said he would use the tools of the central bank “to prevent higher inflation from becoming entrenched”.
Dr Lael Brainard, Biden’s nominee for vice-chair of the board, echoed that message, saying, “I’m committed to putting working Americans at the center of my work at the Federal Reserve. This means getting inflation down at a time when people are focused on their jobs and how far their paychecks will go.”
14:34
Biden to address lowering prices as inflation hits 31-year high
Greetings, live blog readers.
Joe Biden will deliver a speech this afternoon on the state of the US economy and the need to lower prices for American families.
The president’s speech comes as inflation has hit a 31-year high, with prices increasing by 6.2% over the past 12 months. That’s the fastest acceleration since December 1990.
And Americans are growing more concerned about high prices as they continue to rise. According to a poll conducted by the progressive firm Navigator Research earlier this month, 54% of Americans now say the cost of groceries and gas is a “major crisis”.
Joe Biden announces Jerome Powell as his nominee for a second term as the Federal Reserve chair. Photograph: Yuri Gripas/UPI/REX/Shutterstock
Biden has pledged to tackle the issue, arguing that Democrats’ $1.75tn social spending package will lower families’ costs for healthcare and childcare.
Speaking at an event yesterday to announce his nominations for the Federal Reserve board, Biden said, “Because so much of the rest of our economy is doing well, because we have created so many new jobs as fast as we have, we’re in a position to attack inflation from a position of strength, not weakness.”
But if Americans don’t start to see prices come down soon, it could make it all the more difficult to enact Biden’s agenda.
The deputy White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, briefly gaggled with reporters aboard Air Force One as Joe Biden flew to New Jersey for today’s events promoting his economic agenda.
Echoing the president’s comments from earlier this morning, Jean-Pierre said Biden’s meeting with Democratic senator Joe Manchin yesterday was “constructive” and that progress was made toward reaching a final deal on the reconciliation package.
Asked whether there is concern about Biden leaving for Europe later this week, during a key phase of the negotiations, Jean-Pierre emphasized that the president will be “engaged closely” with his advisers even while traveling.
“He’s going to be headed to Europe this week,” Jean-Pierre said, dismissing a question about whether Biden may delay the trip to focus on the negotiations.
“Even if it doesn’t happen before he leaves, the president can do the work that he needs to do abroad, like many presidents before him have done.”
15:29
Haugen testifies before British MPs on harm caused by Facebook
Dan Milmo
The Facebook whistleblower is to giving evidence to MPs and peers scrutinising the online safety bill, amid calls for a toughening up of the landmark legislation.
Frances Haugen has triggered a deep crisis at Mark Zuckerberg’s social media empire after she released tens of thousands of internal documents detailing the company’s failure to keep its users safe from harmful content.
On Monday Haugen, 37, will testify in person at the joint committee scrutinising the draft online safety bill, a piece of legislation that places a duty of care on social media companies to protect users – with the threat of substantial fines if they fail to do so.
Speaking to the Observer before the hearing, Haugen said Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, chief executive and controlling shareholder, had not shown any readiness to protect the public from the harm his company is causing.
“Right now, Mark [Zuckerberg] is unaccountable. He has all the control. He has no oversight, and he has not demonstrated that he is willing to govern the company at the level that is necessary for public safety.”
Read the Guardian’s UK Politics live blog to get the latest updates on the hearing:
15:06
Reconciliation negotiations with Manchin ‘went well,’ Biden says
Joe Biden is now en route from Delaware to New Jersey for a couple of events to promote his economic agenda.
The president briefly spoke to reporters before boarding Air Force One, and he was asked about his meeting yesterday with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin to discuss the reconciliation package.
The Recount (@therecount)
Reporter: “Do you expect a vote this week?”
President Biden: “What do you think? I don’t know. It’d be very positive to get it done before the [Europe] trip [on Thursday].” pic.twitter.com/rS5PQDCPxL
October 25, 2021
“It went well, a few more things to work out, but it went well,” Biden said of his conversation with Manchin.
Regarding the timing of the negotiations, the president said it would be “very positive” to reach a final deal on the reconciliation package before he leaves for Europe.
The president is scheduled to leave Washington later this week to meet with Pope Francis in Vatican City, participate in the G20 summit in Rome and attend the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow.
14:50
Jason Wilson
Documents and recordings obtained by the Guardian shed new light on a powerful and secretive rightwing network and the influence it was able to exert on Trump administration policies favoring the super-rich.
The recordings include speeches given to the Council for National Policy (CNP) by conservative media stars including Dennis Prager, emerging Republican power players such as Charlie Kirk, and close economic advisers to Donald Trump.
Some of the previously published recordings appear to no longer be publicly available.
The Guardian’s independently sourced recordings offer an insight into how much influence conservative economic thinkers – from bodies representing the interests of some of the richest individuals in the country – were able to exert on the supposed populist Trump.
Read the Guardian’s full report:
14:50
Democratic senator Joe Manchin has pushed for a smaller reconciliation package, and it appears that the final bill will cost $1.5tn to $2tn, compared to the original $3.5tn price tag.
Among other demands, Manchin has opposed extending the expanded child tax credit in its current form. The expanded credit was first approved in Joe Biden’s coronavirus relief package and is expected to expire at the end of the year.
And Manchin is facing some noteworthy criticism for his views on the child tax credit. Politico reports:
At a recording of West Virginia Public Radio’s ‘Mountain Stage’ program at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night, singer Carsie Blanton called out Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who was in attendance, in a song she’d written called ‘Dealing to the Devil.’ It’s a story about her ex-boyfriend and Donald Trump, but she shifted the dedication to Manchin over his resistance to fully extending the child tax credit, drawing cheers from the crowd. Awkward.
14:50
Biden to visit New Jersey as he faces crucial week for economic agenda
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
Joe Biden will visit New Jersey today to promote his economic agenda, as congressional Democrats attempt to (finally) get the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the reconciliation package across the finish line.
The president will visit East End Elementary School in North Plainfield and then deliver remarks on his Build Back Better agenda in a suburb of Newark.
The US Capitol is seen in Washington on October 24. Photograph: Daniel Slim/AFP/Getty Images
Meanwhile, the House is looking to hold votes this week on both the reconciliation package and the infrastructure bill, but it remains unclear whether Democrats can reach a final deal this week.
Biden met with Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, a key vote in the reconciliation debate, in Delaware yesterday, raising hopes that both bills may soon pass.
“We have 90% of the bill agreed to and written. We just have some of the last decisions to be made,” House speaker Nancy Pelosi told CNN yesterday. “We’re pretty much there now.”
It’s been a lively morning in US politics news out of Washington, DC. Here’s where the day stands so far:
The US jobs report showed the economy added 850,000 jobs last month. In remarks celebrating the jobs report this morning, Joe Biden said the latest numbers represented “historic progress”. “Put simply: our economy is on the move, and we have Covid-19 on the run,” Biden said.
Joe Biden addressed concerns that the Delta variant of coronavirus could spread at July 4th celebrations this weekend. “I am concerned that people who have not gotten vaccinated have the capacity to catch the variant and spread the variant to other people who have not been vaccinated.”
The US economy was boosted by this mornings job report. American companies continue to take on staff as demand picks up. The 850K gains were more than the 700,000 increase which Wall Street expected, and the stock market rose as a result.
More legal troubles likely ahead for Trump Organization after tax crime charges. Manhattan prosecutors filed tax crime charges against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, yesterday.In a 15-count indictment, prosecutors charged Weisselberg and his associates with engaging in a 15-year-long scheme to receive company perks without paying proper taxes on them. The charges marked a new chapter in the long-running investigation into Donald Trump’s family business and New York state attorney general Letitia James said this is just the beginning.
11:42
Biden concerned about Covid variant among unvaccinated
Joe Biden also addressed concerns that the delta variant of coronavirus could spread at July 4th celebrations this weekend.
“I am concerned that people who have not gotten vaccinated have the capacity to catch the variant and spread the variant to other people who have not been vaccinated,” Biden said.
“I am not concerned there’s going to be a major outbreak, in other words that we’re going to have another epidemic nationwide. But I am concerned lives will be lost.”
CBS News (@CBSNews)
“I am concerned lives will be lost”: President Biden says he’s not worried about another “major outbreak” of COVID-19, but he fears that people who aren’t vaccinated will catch and spread the Delta variant https://t.co/Nj065CIsxp pic.twitter.com/crwoM9N24p
July 2, 2021
Biden’s comments come a day after the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the delta variant now accounts for nearly a quarter of all new coronavirus cases in the US.
The CDC director, Dr Rochelle Walensky, noted there are about 1,000 US counties where less than 30% of the community is vaccinated. The variant poses a particularly serious threat to those areas with lower vaccination rates.
The Biden administration had set a goal of getting 70% of American adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4, but the country has fallen slightly short of that objective.
Updated
11:27
Another reporter asked Joe Biden whether he was “confident” that Congress would enact his American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan.
The question prompted a laugh from the president, who asked the reporters, “Who wants to put money on anything that Congress is going to do? Look, folks, this is a process.”
CBS News (@CBSNews)
President Biden on whether he thinks Congress will enact his plans: “Have you ever been confident about anything with guarantee? Who wants to put money on anything that Congress is going to do? Look, folks — this is a process.” https://t.co/Nj065CIsxp pic.twitter.com/MJXJM8CpzW
July 2, 2021
Biden said he was going to “try to be as persuasive as I can” to convince lawmakers that his plans will help the nation’s economic recovery.
The president’s comments come as Congress considers action on both the bipartisan infrastructure framework and a Democratic reconciliation bill.
11:15
Joe Biden took a few questions from reporters after concluding his prepared remarks on the June jobs report.
The first couple of questions focused on the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, as service members leave the crucial airbase of Bagram north of Kabul after 20 years.
Asked whether the withdrawal of troops would be complete in the next few days, Biden said no but noted the US is “on track” with their plans to leave Afghanistan.
The president pushed back against concerns that the Afghan government will fail once the US leaves, saying, “We were in that war for 20 years.” He added, “I think they have the capacity to be able to sustain the government.”
When a reporter asked another question about Afghanistan, Biden tried to brush it aside. “I want to talk about happy things, man,” the president said.
11:00
Joe Biden argued the strong June jobs report is a “direct result” of his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
However, the president emphasized that more work still needs to be done, urging Congress to pass his American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan.
“Now’s the time to accelerate the progress we’ve been making,” Biden said.
The president’s comments come as Democratic congressional leaders work to advance the bipartisan infrastructure framework, as well as a separate reconciliation bill to cover other infrastructure proposals.
10:54
‘This is historic progress’: Biden celebrates strong jobs report
Joe Biden is now delivering remarks on this morning’s jobs report, which showed the US economy added 850,000 jobs last month.
The president said the report “brought us something else to celebrate” in addition to Independence Day, which will occur on Sunday.
Biden noted that more than 3 million jobs have been created since he took office, which is the most of any president in the first five months of his term.
“This is historic progress, pulling our economy out of the worst crisis in 100 years,” Biden said. “Put simply: our economy is on the move, and we have Covid-19 on the run.”
Updated
10:39
Graeme Wearden
On Wall Street, stocks have hit a new record high as investors welcome today’s employment report.
The S&P 500, which covers a broad swathe of the US market, is up 13 points or 0.3% at 4,333 points in early trading.
The tech-focused Nasdaq also hit a new high, currently up 54 points or 0.35% at 14,576.
The Dow is slightly higher at 34,661.58 with tech stocks leading the way: Intel, Apple and Microsoft are all up around 1.2%, while aerospace manufacturer Boeing and pharmaceuticals group Walgreens Boots Alliance are both down around 1.8%.
10:22
Joe Biden will soon deliver remarks on the strong June jobs report, and it seems likely the president will take a victory lap about the economy adding 850,000 jobs last month.
Biden and his aides have been tweeting out messages like this since the report came out, citing the numbers as evidence of how the president’s economic strategy is proving effective:
President Biden (@POTUS)
3 million jobs since we took office.
Our economic plan is working.
July 2, 2021
The president’s senior advisers have also made a point to compare Biden’s jobs record so far to that of Donald Trump. From Biden’s chief of staff:
Ronald Klain (@WHCOS)
Trump’s first year jobs record: 1.8 million new jobs.
Biden’s first FIVE months: 3 million new jobs.https://t.co/bEH1fFpFec
July 2, 2021
10:02
The Washington Post’s Heather Long said the latest US jobs report demonstrates how raising wages is an effective strategy for attracting workers.
The leisure and hospitality industry, where pay has increased by 3.6% in the past three months, accounted for 40% of the 850,000 jobs added last month.
Heather Long (@byHeatherLong)
The key jobs day takeaway: Higher wages work.
Leisure & hospitality pay jumped 3.6% in past 3 months Leisure and hospitality accounted 40% of the job gains
Pay is up ~$1.30 above pre-pandemic ratehttps://t.co/ZAu0P4ZzbF pic.twitter.com/3UCjXQUpox
July 2, 2021
09:47
US economy added 850,000 jobs last month, latest jobs report shows
Graeme Wearden
The US economy added 850,000 jobs in June, as American companies continue to take on staff as demand picks up.
That’s more than the 700,000 increase which Wall Street expected.
May’s non-farm payroll has been revised up too, to show 583,000 new hires (up from 559,000).
But the unemployment rate has risen, to 5.9% from 5.8%, suggesting more people are looking for work.
The Guardian’s business live blog has more details and analysis of the report, so follow along there:
09:29
In the face of increasing legal scrutiny on his company, Donald Trump has remained defiant, attacking the New York investigation as politically motivated.
“Do people see the Radical Left prosecutors, and what they are trying to do to 75M+++ Voters and Patriots, for what it is?” Trump said in a statement yesterday.
The former president’s attacks on New York prosecutors may energize his loyal supporters, but it won’t stop the investigation from continuing or protect his family business from legal exposure.
09:19
Dominic Rushe
On the surface, the charges against Allen Weisselberg did seem like “smaller fish”. In an interview with Politico, Donald Trump’s lawyer Ronald Fischetti said: “It’s like the Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing. This is so small that I can’t believe I’m going to have to try a case like this.”
But surfaces can be deceptive.
After three years of subpoenas, supreme court hearings and existential legal rows about the legality of charging a president of the United States with wrongdoing, New York’s fearsome prosecutorial team have charged a little-known 73-year-old accountant with defrauding taxpayers of $1.7m over 15 years. That is big money for most people, but not an amount that would worry Trump, who Forbes calculates is worth $2.4bn.
Downplaying the significance of this week’s indictment would, however, be a mistake. Alongside Weisselberg, Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance, and the New York state attorney general Letitia James also charged the Trump Organization with tax fraud, the start of a process that could crack the secretive Trump empire wide open.
The salvo in the long-brewing legal battle will, at the very least, wrap up Trump for years in legal woes, and at worst could destroy his family business and put not just Weisselberg but the Trump family members who run his business and Trump himself in the dock.
09:19
More legal troubles likely ahead for Trump Organization after tax crime charges
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
Manhattan prosecutors filed tax crime charges against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, yesterday.
In a 15-count indictment, prosecutors charged Weisselberg and his associates with engaging in a 15-year-long scheme to receive company perks without paying proper taxes on them.
Trump Organization finance chief Allen Weisselberg leaves a New York court after surrendering to authorities. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The charges marked a new chapter in the long-running investigation into Donald Trump’s family business, and more trouble may lie ahead for the company.
The New York Times reports:
In the next phase of the broader investigation into Mr. Trump and his company, the prosecutors are expected to continue scrutinizing whether the Trump Organization manipulated property values to obtain loans and tax benefits, among other potential financial crimes, according to people familiar with the matter.
New York Attorney General Letitia James indicated there may be more charges to come, saying in a statement yesterday, “This investigation will continue, and we will follow the facts and the law wherever they may lead.”
The US Capitol Police issued a correction that the incident occurred at Constitution Avenue, not Independence Avenue.
13:34
USCP confirms two officers injured after car rams security checkpoint
The US Capitol Police has confirmed that two officers have been injured after a car attempted to run through a security checkpoint.
“USCP is responding to the North Barricade vehicle access point along Independence Avenue for reports someone rammed a vehicle into two USCP officers,” the agency said in a statement on Twitter.
“A suspect is in custody. Both officers are injured. All three have been transported to the hospital.”
There had been previous reports that gunshots were fired at the security checkpoint, but the USCP statement does not mention anything about that.
U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice)
CRITICAL INCIDENT: USCP is responding to the North Barricade vehicle access point along Independence Avenue for reports someone rammed a vehicle into two USCP officers. A suspect is in custody. Both officers are injured. All three have been transported to the hospital. pic.twitter.com/4TXIdulJc6
April 2, 2021
13:30
A reporter asked White House press secretary Jen Psaki about the situation at the Capitol before she concluded her briefing.
Asked who is traveling with Joe Biden to Camp David this weekend and may be able to keep him briefed on the situation, Psaki said the president “always travels with a national security rep”.
The Recount (@therecount)
WH Press Sec. Psaki is asked about the reports of gunfire at the U.S. Capitol and how Biden is alerted while off campus. pic.twitter.com/JOlHl90RD1
April 2, 2021
13:27
According to NBC News, a car that was trying to get through a Capitol security checkpoint would not stop, and shots were fired.
j.d. durkin (@jiveDurkey)
NEW — via @PeteWilliamsNBC on the Capitol: “A car was trying to get through a checkpoint and wouldn’t stop”
“We’ve been told that shots were fired,” says officers shot at the car.
April 2, 2021
13:25
A Punchbowl News reporter shared a video of a helicopter landing on the east front of the Capitol, after reports of a car driving into a security barrier near the grounds.
Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman)
🚨🚨A helicopter just landed on the east front of the Capitol. I’ve never seen anything like this before. ever. pic.twitter.com/LxV0mywRSe
April 2, 2021
Asked about the security situation on Capitol Hill, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she was not aware of it because it started while she was briefing reporters.
She indicated she may offer further details to the press as her team learns more about what happened.
13:21
Capitol in lockdown following reports of a car crashing into security barrier
Capitol Hill staffers have received a text message informing them of an “external security threat” and asking them to “seek cover” if outside, according to Punchbowl News.
Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman)
🚨🚨Capitol staff just got this text message
I’m in the Capitol and will keep everyone posted here. pic.twitter.com/ydQGyCJcof
April 2, 2021
A video by a Fox News reporter appeared to indicate a car had smashed into a security barrier near the Capitol. She spotted two people on stretchers.
Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich)
Appears that a car smashed into the barrier. Two people are on stretchers. Can’t see whether it’s an officer or civilian pic.twitter.com/Ud5WYGyKFu
April 2, 2021
13:14
White House press secretary Jen Psaki sidestepped questions about Republican congressman Matt Gaetz, who is reportedly under investigation for alleged sex trafficking.
Psaki said she did not want to comment on the allegations, instead referring reporters to the local authorities.
Asked if Gaetz should step down from the House judiciary committee, Psaki said, “Those are decisions we’ll let leaders in Congress make.”
13:00
Japanese prime minister to visit White House this month
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will visit the White House later this month, Jen Psaki just announced.
The White House press secretary said Suga will come to Washington to meet with Joe Biden on April 16.
The trip will make Suga the first foreign leader to make an in-person visit to the White House since Biden became president.
Biden has held virtual meetings with several foreign leaders in recent weeks, but the White House has been very cautious about holding in-person meetings due to the coronavirus pandemic.
12:55
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, is now holding her daily briefing with reporters.
Psaki was joined by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, who addressed the latest jobs report released this morning.
Karine Jean-Pierre (@KJP46)
.@SecMartyWalsh joins @PressSec today to talk #JobsReport and #AmericanJobsPlan pic.twitter.com/djdo7JqhhD
April 2, 2021
The report showed the US economy added 916,000 jobs last month, but Walsh emphasized he wanted to do a closer analysis of the numbers with his advisers to better understand where the economic recovery is lagging.
Despite the promising news, Walsh emphasized it was still urgent that Congress pass Joe Biden’s $2tn infrastructure plan to create jobs.
12:35
Echoing comments from his coronavirus response team, Joe Biden expressed similar concerns about the recent rise in coronavirus cases while delivering a speech on the March jobs report this morning.
Daily Caller (@DailyCaller)
BIDEN: “Too many Americans are acting as if this fight is over. It is not… If the American people continue to do their part, mask up, practice social distancing, we could have a more normal July 4th. But this is still April, not July.” pic.twitter.com/tGGlftjAnO
April 2, 2021
The president celebrated the news that 20 million vaccination doses were administered over the past week, but he warned, “Too many Americans are acting as if this fight is over. It is not.”
Biden added, “If the American people continue to do their part, mask up, practice social distancing, we could have a more normal July 4th. But this is still April, not July. We aren’t there yet. And so cases are going up again. The virus is spreading more rapidly in many places.”
The president pleaded with Americans to “buckle down and keep their guard up in this home stretch” by continuing to wear masks and practice social distancing.
12:16
A reporter asked Dr Rochelle Walensky whether the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is formally warning against non-essential travel at this point.
The reporter noted that the CDC director had made several comments during the briefing warning against non-essential travel. However, the agency’s official guidance makes no such distinction between essential and non-essential travel for vaccinated individuals.
Walensky said the new guidance is meant to provide fully vaccinated Americans with information on the relative risk of traveling, which is low. But she reiterated she would not recommend non-essential travel at this point, due to the climbing number of coronavirus cases.
“I would advocate against general travel overall,” Walensky said. “Our guidance speaks to the safety of doing so. If you are vaccinated, it is lower risk.”
The White House coronavirus response team’s briefing has now concluded.
12:09
Dr Rochelle Walensky reiterated that she is still not recommending non-essential travel, as coronavirus cases rise in dozens of US states.
“We are not recommending travel at this time, especially for unvaccinated individuals,” the CDC director said at the White House coronavirus response team’s briefing.
Walensky said moments later that there is still much work left to be done to get the virus under control, especially with only about 20% of American adults fully vaccinated.
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12:05
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized that fully vaccinated Americans should still take precautions while traveling, despite the relatively low risk to themselves.
The agency asked vaccinated Americans to continue wearing masks, socially distancing and regularly washing their hands during their travels.
11:56
The White House coronavirus response team is now holding its briefing, and the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention addressed her agency’s new travel guidance.
Dr Rochelle Walensky summarized the new CDC guidelines, which indicate that Americans do not need to quarantine after domestic or international travel.
However, Walensky emphasized the CDC is “not recommending travel at this time due to the rising number of cases”.
About half of US states have reported increases in new coronavirus cases over the past week, even as public health experts urge Americans to remain vigilant about limiting the spread of the virus.
11:50
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fully vaccinated Americans can also travel internationally, although the guidelines are a bit stricter.
While vaccinated people do not need to quarantine after international travel, the CDC still recommends getting tested for coronavirus three to five days after arriving back in the US.
International travelers do not need to get tested before their trip, unless their destination country requires it.
11:45
Fully vaccinated Americans can travel without quarantining, CDC says
Fully vaccinated Americans can now travel without self-quarantining, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today.
Vaccinated people also do not need to take a coronavirus test before traveling, although the CDC has asked those traveling to still wear masks.
The updated guidance comes about a month after the CDC announced its initial guidelines for vaccinated individuals.
At that time, the agency asked vaccinated Americans to continue to avoid travel, due to fears that it could cause a surge in infections.
“Every time there’s a surge in travel, we have a surge of cases in this country,” Dr Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said last month.
“We’re hopeful that our next set of guidance will have more science around what vaccinated people can do, perhaps travel being among them.”
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11:40
Biden encourages Americans to ‘buckle down’ as coronavirus cases rise
Joe Biden emphasized that there is still a lot of work left to be done to rebuild the US economy after the many setbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The president encouraged Americans to continue working to limit the spread of coronavirus in order to allow states to safely reopen.
“Too many Americans are acting as if this fight is over. It is not,” Biden said. “Don’t give back the progress we’ve all so fought so hard to achieve. We need to finish this job. We need every American to buckle down and keep their guard up in this home stretch.”
The president’s comments come as about half of US states have reported increases in new coronavirus cases over the past week, despite a steady rise in vaccinations.
11:36
Speaking at the White House, Joe Biden touted the positive impact that his coronavirus relief package has had on the US economy.
But Biden emphasized that the relief bill brought only temporary change to the economy, while his proposed infrastructure plan would bring longer-lasting reform to allow the US to “build back better”.
The president encouraged lawmakers to negotiate over his proposal in the weeks to come, as congressional Republicans have signaled they will not support the plan.
“Congress should debate my plan,” Biden said. “But Congress should act.”
The German government’s top economic advisers have cut their growth forecasts for this year, warning that the latest wave of Covid-19 is hurting the economy.
In their latest outlook, the German Council of Economic Experts now expect GDP to only rise by 3.1% in 2021, down from 3.7% previously forecast.
It forecasts that Germany’s economy will shrink by around 2 % in the first quarter of this year, due to “the renewed rise in infection rates in autumn 2020 and the restrictions that currently remain in place”.
But it should then return to “a path of recovery over the coming months”, as the vaccination campaign is accelerated as planned, the pandemic is contained and, consequently, restrictions are gradually eased, the GCEE predict.
The GCEE has also cut its forecast for eurozone growth this year, to 4.1% from 4.9% previously, explaining that:
Economic activity in the euro area is being curbed by the heightened infection rates and the resultant restrictions.
German growth forecasts Photograph: German council of economic experts
The GCEE predicts that Germany’s economy will return to its pre-crisis level at the turn of the year 2021/2022, and grow by 4% in 2022.
But it also warns that vaccination progress is crucial in getting the economy back to normal, saying:
The greatest risk going forward is posed by further developments in the coronavirus pandemic. Progress on vaccinations will be one of the key factors determining how swiftly the economy can normalise.
Germany is one of several countries who suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine this week, while reports of thromboembolic events, such as blood clots, among a small number of people who received the jab are investigated.
GCEE member Achim Truger says Germany’s service sector could ‘bounce back’ once the pandemic is under control.
“Once we manage to get the level of infections under control and vaccinate larger sections of the population, the services sector that has been hit hard by the contact restrictions and closures – such as hospitality and stationary retail – is likely to bounce back. This should help to boost growth,”.
Fellow council member Volker Wieland flags up the risk of a third wave of Covid-19 forcing new restrictions and factory closures.
“The greatest risk to the German economy is posed by a potential third wave of infections, especially if it were to lead to restrictions or even plant closures in industry,”.
The US Senate has passed a budget resolution that allows for the passage of Joe Biden’s $1.9tn (£1.4tn) Covid-19 relief package in the coming weeks without Republican support.
The vice-president, Kamala Harris, broke a 50/50 tie by casting a vote in favour of the Democratic measure, which sends it to the House of Representatives for final approval. It marked the first time Harris, in her role as president of the Senate, cast a tie-breaking vote after being sworn in as the first female vice-president on 20 January.
The House passed its own budget measure on Wednesday. Congress can now work to write a bill that can be passed by a simple majority in both houses, which are controlled by Democrats. Mid-March has been suggested as a likely date by which the measure could be passed, a point at which enhanced unemployment benefits will expire if Congress does not act.
The vote came at 5.30am on Friday at the end of a marathon Senate debate session, known among senators as a “vote-a-rama”, a procedure whereby they can theoretically offer unlimited amendments.
US cases
Biden is scheduled to meet with Democratic House leaders and committee chairs early on Friday morning to discuss the Covid economic stimulus, and is expected to make public remarks on the progress at an 11.45am EST (1645 GMT) briefing.
There was dissent from Republicans in the Senate overnight, particularly over plans for a $15 federal minimum wage. Iowa’s Republican senator, Joni Ernst, raised an amendment to “prohibit the increase of the federal minimum wage during a global pandemic”, which was carried by a voice vote.
The Vermont senator Bernie Sanders said he still intended to support bringing the measure through: “We need to end the crisis of starvation wages in Iowa and around the United States.”
He outlined plans to get a wage increase, phased in over five years, included in a budget reconciliation bill. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour, and has not been raised since 2009.
In a tweet after the vote, Sanders said: “Today, with the passage of this budget resolution to provide relief to our working families, we have the opportunity not only to address the pandemic and the economic collapse – we have the opportunity to give hope to the American people and restore faith in our government.”
During the debate Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said “This is not the time for trillions more dollars to make perpetual lockdowns and economic decline a little more palatable. Notwithstanding the actual needs, notwithstanding all the talk about bipartisan unity, Democrats in Congress are plowing ahead. They’re using this phony budget to set the table to ram through their $1.9 trillion rough draft.”
The $1.9 trillion relief package proposed would be used to speed Covid-19 vaccines throughout the nation. Other funds would extend special unemployment benefits that will expire at the end of March and make direct payments to people to help them pay bills and stimulate the economy. Democrats also want to send money to state and local governments dealing with the worst health crisis in decades.
