Wealth tax proposal - Single-shot vaccine rollout - Israeli cargo ship attack

The US supreme court will hear a case on Tuesday that could allow the court’s conservative majority to deal a major blow to the most powerful remaining provision of the Voting Rights Act, the 1965 law designed to prevent racial discrimination in voting. The case, Brnovich v Democratic National Committee, involves a dispute over two Arizona measures.
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One is a 2016 law that bans anyone other than a close family member or caregiver from collecting absentee ballots, sometimes called ballot harvesting. The second is a measure that requires officials to reject ballots cast in the wrong precinct, even if the voter has cast a vote in statewide races.
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Arizona rejected more than 38,335 ballots cast in the wrong precinct between 2008 and 2016 and minority voters were twice as likely as white voters to have their ballots rejected, the DNC noted in its brief. Losing the full power of section 2 would also make it harder for litigants, including the justice department, to challenge the wave of restrictive bills bubbling in Georgia and other state legislatures that would make it harder to vote.

A press release said the bill would create a fairer economy without raising taxes on the 99.95% of households with net worths below $50 million by creating a 2% tax on households with net worths between $50 million and $1 billion, along with a 1% annual surtax — or 3% overall tax — on households with net worths over $1 billion.
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The ultramillionaire tax also has anti-evasion measures, according to a bill summary, which include: a $100 billion investment to strengthen the IRS; a 30% minimum audit rate for taxpayers subject to the tax; a 40% exit tax on US citizens with net worths over $50 million who renounce their citizenships; third-party reporting for existing tax information exchange agreements, along with penalties for underpayment.
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As an alternative to the wealth tax, Rep. Ro Khanna of California introduced a bill on February 17 to hold the ultrarich accountable by requiring more aggressive auditing from the IRS, rather than imposing additional taxes. "Right now, the wealthiest 1% are responsible for roughly 70% of the 'tax gap' — the difference between taxes owed and taxes paid," Khanna said in a statement.

The vehicle-carrier MV Helios Ray was hit [in the Gulf of Oman] between Thursday night and Friday morning by a blast above the water line that a U.S official said ripped holes in both sides of its hull. An Israeli official said limpet mines were used. Pictures of the Helios Ray showed each hole resulted from “a mine affixed to the exterior, apparently in a nighttime navy commando operation.”
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Asked if Israel would retaliate, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] said: “You know my policy. Iran is Israel’s biggest enemy. I am determined to fend it off. We are striking at it all over the region." [Kan radio] said the Netanyahu interview was pre-recorded on Sunday night, before Syria accused Israel of carrying out missile strikes around southern Damascus.
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Israel did not confirm carrying out those strikes, but has previously said it was launching frequent military actions against Iranian deployment or arms handovers within Syria. Iran said in November it would make a “calculated” response to the killing of its top nuclear scientist, which it blamed on Israel. Israel has not responded to that accusation.

[Mr. Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012] was found guilty of trying to illegally obtain information on another case against him from a judge in return for promises to use his influence to secure a prestigious job for the judge. [He] also became the first French president to be found guilty on the specific charge of corruption.
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While the court handed down a three-year prison sentence, two of those years were suspended. Mr. Sarkozy can request that his one-year term be served outside prison, for instance at home with an electronic bracelet. But Mr. Sarkozy’s appeal places the entire sentence on hold. The conviction does not bar Mr. Sarkozy from running for office, although he has not publicly expressed any such desire.
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He still holds considerable sway among French conservatives, but the conviction could undermine his broader standing in French politics and dash any hopes of mounting yet another comeback ahead of the 2022 presidential elections — especially for a politician who has fashioned himself as particularly tough on crime.

Jeff Zients, the White House's COVID-19 response coordinator, said at a briefing Monday that 3.9 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be distributed to states, tribes, territories, pharmacies and community health centers this week, starting as early as Tuesday. It's the first single-dose vaccine to receive the blessing of U.S. authorities and the only one that does not require ultracold storage.
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He said the company expects to deliver some 16 million additional doses by the end of March, "predominantly in the back half of the month." Company officials expect to scale up production in the coming months. [Johnson & Johnson's CEO Alex Gorsky] said the company is committed to delivering 100 million doses by June and "up to a billion" by the end of 2021.
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An international study found Johnson & Johnson's vaccine to be 66% effective in preventing moderate to severe cases of COVID-19, in contrast to Pfizer's and Moderna's higher figures of 95% and 94%. But it also determined the vaccine prevented COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths after 28 days, which officials say is equally important.