Crooked Media - What A Day: Brains vs. Ron

The Senate is racing to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill by the end of the week (or day?), which will allow Democrats to turn their attention to the bigger, better reconciliation bill, new-and-Manchin-approved voting-rights legislation, and a high-stakes game of debt-ceiling chicken.
 

• A number of senators already wearing their floppy hats and pool floaties said they’d love to take a final vote on the bipartisan package as early as Thursday night, but it looks more likely that the Senate will wrap up debate and pass the bill on Saturday—barring a surprise GOP filibuster. As soon as it does, Senate Democrats will immediately advance the $3.5 trillion budget resolution that lays the groundwork for their reconciliation package, a process that will almost certainly cut into the August recess. (Condolences to Kyrsten Sinema.)
   
• Significantly, that reconciliation bill is not expected to include a debt-ceiling increase. After Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell threatened to hold the debt ceiling hostage last month in retaliation for Democrats passing the thiccest parts of President Biden’s agenda on their own (even though much of the debt piled up during the Trump administration), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has evidently decided to call his bluff. Instead of raising the debt limit themselves through reconciliation, Senate Democrats will tie the increase to a must-pass government-funding bill in September, and dare Republicans to filibuster it. 
   
• It’s a ballsy dare: If Republicans refuse to back down and block the whole funding bill, it would force a government shutdown and catastrophically tank the American and global economies. McConnell pledged on Thursday that the GOP was prepared to do just that: “[Democrats] won’t get our help...they can raise the debt ceiling and if it's raised, they will do it.” Schumer is betting either that Republicans will vote for the increase rather than torch the economy, or that Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) will vote to abolish the filibuster rather than let them torch it, but somebody’s gotta blink, or we’re in for a crisis.

In other impending crises that Smanchinema could choose to avert at any time, we’re coming up to another moment of truth for federal voting-rights legislation.
 

• Schumer has reportedly told members to expect a vote on the For The People Act (Manchin Remix) before the August recess begins next week, in response to pressure from voting-rights activists. End Citizens United is set to spend $1.1 million on a new ad directly urging Biden to take a harder line on filibuster reform to get the bill passed: “President Biden, please, tell the Senate: Reform the filibuster. Everything is at stake.” Democrats are planning to include as much as $20 billion for election infrastructure in their reconciliation bill, but for the most urgent redistricting reforms, it’s bust the filibuster or bust.
   
• Meanwhile, the time that Texas Democrats bought by hustling across the country has just about run out: Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has called a second special House session to convene this weekend, with the delayed voter-suppression bill on the agenda. That forces Texas Democrats to decide whether to stay out of the state for another 30 days, or head back and potentially face arrest for breaking quorum. Members of the delegation said they hadn’t ruled out blocking the bill for a third time, but it would be very chill of Senate Democrats to simply pass some national election standards and let them go home.
   

The forward motion on Biden’s economic agenda is great news in its own right. It’ll be even better news if it frees up Biden and Schumer to make good on their promises to pass voting-rights legislation at all costs—or at least to use every ounce of influence they have in pursuit of it, before it’s too late.

All eight episodes of our fantastic scripted podcast series Edith! are officially out! First Lady Edith Wilson is played by the incredible Rosamund Pike, in a series written by the hilarious Travis Helwig and Gonzalo Cordova. As Vulture puts it, “Edith! is a fiction podcast that stands as a really good time, minute to minute, and that’s no small feat.” Treat yourself to an Edith! binge now.  Check it out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Florida hospitals are running low on oxygen and struggling to resupply because Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has refused to declare a new state of emergency, in the latest piece of evidence that DeSantis is in the pocket of Big Death. The fastest way to get oxygen to the hospitals that need it would be to transport it from elsewhere in the state, but that process has been held up by a shortage of qualified drivers and restrictions on how long trucks can be on the road, which went back into effect when Florida’s public-health emergency expired. Florida now leads the U.S. in coronavirus hospitalizations, according to new CDC data, and in the number of children hospitalized with confirmed cases. Where does Ron DeSantis go to get his apology, and could he maybe throw a couple of oxygen canisters in his trunk on the way over?

• AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has died at age 72. “The working people of America have lost a fierce warrior at a time when we needed him most,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a tribute on the Senate floor. Never forget that Trumka wrote one of the finest press releases of all time.
   
• New York state lawmakers have given Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) until August 13 to provide final evidence before they wrap up their impeachment probe, and ActBlue has kicked him off the platform, effectively ending any future Cuomo campaign before it starts.
   
• The Justice Department has launched a pattern-or-practice investigation into the Phoenix Police Department over allegations of excessive force and abuse of unhoused residents. 
   
• The Justice Department inspector general couldn’t pinpoint the source of FBI leaks during the 2016 election because there were too many FBI employees talking to reporters for no official reason. The FBI: Oops! All Leaks™
   
• An Arizona superior court judge has ordered the Arizona Senate to immediately turn over records related to the Maricopa County “audit” to the watchdog group American Oversight.
   
• Northern California’s Dixie Fire has destroyed most of the town of Greenville, which dates back to the Gold Rush era.
   
• Republican leaders are getting nervous about the Trump-backed Herschel Walker tanking the party’s shot at a Georgia Senate seat next year, and Mitch McConnell has suggested former Sens. David Perdue (R-GA) and Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) should consider trying to make a comeback.
   
• Progressive Jessica Cisneros has launched a second primary challenge against Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), after coming within four points of unseating him in 2020.
   
• Mexico has filed a lawsuit against 10 U.S. gun companies, accusing them of facilitating the flow of weapons to drug cartels. The lawsuit marks the first time a national government has sued American gun makers.
   
• Here’s a horrifying nightmare to think about every few weeks for the rest of your life: Hawaii officials arrested and locked up the wrong man in a state hospital for two years, forced him to take psychiatric drugs, and then tried to quietly release him without acknowledging their mistake.
   
• A $5,800 bottle of whiskey gifted to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo by Japan has gone missing. “Pompeo has no idea what the disposition was of this bottle of whiskey,” said Pompeo’s attorney. “Guess how much my piss costs,” screamed Pompeo, ripping his shirt off.

President Biden has announced a multistep plan to wean Americans off of gas-guzzling cars and trucks and coax them into Equally Sexy Electric Vehicles, a key component of his strategy for fighting climate change. The first step will be to restore and slightly strengthen the Obama-era tailpipe-emissions regulations that the Trump administration rolled back, which would cut the country’s annual carbon-dioxide production by about one third. The administration then plans to implement stricter regulations for cars made beyond 2026, based on California’s tougher standards. Biden also signed an executive order that calls for electric vehicles to represent half of all new cars sold in the U.S. by 2030. That target isn’t a mandate, but the country’s three largest car companies say they support it, provided Congress approves funding for a national network of charging stations and electric vehicle tax credits (all included in Democrats’ reconciliation bill).

Here at What A Day, we’ve found ourselves with an unofficial team sneaker: the OCA Low from CARIUMA. A canvas sneaker is a summer staple, the closed-toe solution to heat waves and last-minute invites of an unknown dress code. Cool sneakers are a must-have, it’s true—but a lot of what’s out there isn’t worth the wear.

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CARIUMA recently took low-impact sneakers a step further with their new, 100% vegan IBI Slip-On. It’s an easy, on-the-go update for their IBI sneaker, knit with sustainably harvested bamboo and recycled plastic for a barely-there sock fit. They’re even machine-washable—good news for a slip-on you won’t want to slip off.

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The U.S. recorded more than 864,000 vaccinations on Thursday, the highest daily rate since July 3.

Carissa Moore, the only Native Hawaiian Olympic surfer, became the first women’s gold medalist in surfing’s Olympic debut.

Pueblo County, CO, will use marijuana sales to award more than $2 million in scholarships to local schools and organizations this school year.

Vermont Supreme Court Justice Beth Robinson is poised to become the first LGBTQ+ woman to serve on a federal circuit court.