What A Day

The vote to open a debate about the For The People Act, which would make it easier to vote, strengthen campaign finance rules, and end partisan gerrymandering, was blocked in the Senate yesterday with all 50 Republicans united against it. With moderate Democrats like Manchin and Sinema refusing to budge on the filibuster, the future of voting rights is uncertain. We spoke with Crooked Media's Political Director Shaniqua McClendon about what might happen next.

And in headlines: Biden won’t hit his July 4th vaccine goal, Teamsters start nationwide project to unionize Amazon workers, and L.A. County wants its residents to stop feeding peacocks.

Show Notes:

Vote Save America: HR1 or We're Fucked – https://votesaveamerica.com/forthepeople/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

New York City holds its mayoral primary, today, one of the highest profile elections since the presidential election and a super visible test of ranked-choice voting. Closing messages in the last days touched on police violence, public safety, economic recovery and more. We spoke with Emma Fitzsimmons, City Hall Bureau Chief for the New York Times, about the four leading candidates, and we interviewed voters to get their perspective, too.

And in headlines: SCOTUS strikes down NCAA’s restrictions on antitrust violations, the Biden administration won’t be able to deliver 80 million COVID vaccine doses abroad on time, and Steven Spielberg and Netflix bury the hatchet and announce a movie distribution deal.

Show Notes:

Edith!: The Untold True-ish Story Of America’s Secret First Female President – https://crooked.com/podcast-series/edith/

NYC Voting: Meet the candidates – https://www.voting.nyc/meet-the-candidates/2021-races/

NYC Voting: Get matched with a candidate – https://projects.thecity.nyc/meet-your-mayor/ultimate-match.html

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Juneteenth is coming up this Saturday, and Congress just passed legislation to make it a federal holiday. We talk to UCLA Professor Brenda Stevenson about the historic legacy of June 19th, and why it deserved to become a national holiday now more than ever. Plus, we hear about how some people plan to celebrate this weekend.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday.

President Biden had his first one-on-one meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Geneva, yesterday. The leaders discussed recent cyberattacks and the state of human rights in their respective countries ... and allegedly, things stayed basically cordial.

Next week, the Senate has a scheduled vote on voting rights legislation, and a memo put out yesterday by Senator Joe Manchin laid out the kind of bill he would be willing to vote for. Manchin said he's in favor of voter ID requirements and other stipulations that progressives oppose, but even for his watered-down version of the bill to pass, it would require the support of 10 Republicans.

And in headlines: the Education Department says Title IX prohibits discrimination based sexual orientation and gender identity, lots of rules at next month's Tokyo Olympics, and a litter of gray wolves is born in Colorado for the first time since the 1940s.

Show Notes:

The Intercept: "Leaked Audio Of Sen. Joe Manchin Call With Billionaire Donors" – https://bit.ly/3zA0Edq

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

The main electric grid operator in Texas, ERCOT, is dropping the ball on providing services again, this time during extreme heat. It’s asking residents to conserve electricity until Friday to keep up with demand. Approximately 12 gigawatts of generating capacity was offline on Monday, and the electricity demand by residents came dangerously close to exceeding the grid's capacity.

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 climbed over 600,000 yesterday, according to the tracker from Johns Hopkins University. Still, there's progress in the country towards the new normal, with California and New York among the states fully reopening on Tuesday.

And in headlines: Israel's military launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip despite the ceasefire, Biden announces a plan to combat domestic terrorism, and a lawsuit resurfaces phony poison milkshake allegations from last summer.

Show Notes:

NYT: "The Amazon That Customers Don’t See" – https://nyti.ms/35nsYSH

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday.

President Biden meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow in Geneva for the final stop as part of his overseas trip as President. We spoke with Ben Rhodes, former Deputy National Security Advisor in the Obama administration and a host of "Pod Save the World," to talk about the takeaways from Biden's trip and what to expect for Biden and Putin's meeting.

And in headlines: a driver kills a protestor in Minneapolis and injures three others, the Novavax vaccine is over 90 percent effective, and Marjorie Taylor Greene apologizes for Holocaust comparisons.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

The G7 summit ended on Sunday, with President Joe Biden and several other world leaders pledging to send one billion COVID vaccines to poorer nations and endorsing the idea of a global minimum tax. Today, Biden is set to meet with NATO leaders before meeting with Vladimir Putin in Geneva on Wednesday. 

Yesterday in Israel, the Knesset voted to approve the new coalition government which includes eight different parties of varying politics who unified to oust former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Naftali Bennett was sworn in as the new prime minister. He and most of his cabinet worked in Netanyahu’s at various times during his 12 year tenure, indicating that massive changes won’t come quickly. 

And in headlines: Darnella Frazier receives an honorary Pulitzer Prize, Nancy Pelosi promises to probe the Trump DOJ, and a ride on Bezos’s rocket sells for $28 million.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

On Saturday, four Republican-led states will pull out of the federal government’s pandemic-related unemployment benefits program early. Congress hasn't moved on the wage issue at all, either, with Senate GOP members this week blocking the Paycheck Fairness Act.

An extreme drought is affecting the West, with the entirety of Oregon, California, Utah, and Nevada under drought conditions, along with parts of other states. Unfortunately, things are expected to heat up and dry out from here, with certain places in the Southwest facing temperatures as high as 120 degrees next week.

Plus, we’re joined by comedian and actor Maz Jobrani for headlines: National Geographic says there's a new ocean, Starbucks sees shortages of ingredients, and Kim Jong-Un's body transformation.

Show Notes:

CNET: "Is your state ending unemployment benefits this weekend? Update on $300 bonus checks" – https://cnet.co/2SoasXe

Washington Post: "These businesses found a way around the worker shortage: Raising wages to $15 an hour or more" – https://wapo.st/3gnaIxT

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday.

President Biden is expected to announce a deal today where the U.S. will buy 500 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID vaccine and send them to 100 countries that are short on shots. This is great, but those doses alone won't help us achieve global vaccine equity. We discuss what else is being done and what more can be done.

Biden's attempt to agree on an infrastructure bill with Senate Republicans broke down this week, with Republicans fulfilling their promise of obstructing the President whenever possible. Now, Biden is working with a bipartisan group of senators and is examining the possibility of passing a bill through budget reconciliation.

And in headlines: the Keystone XL Pipeline is cancelled, Nicaragua's dictatorial president arrests opposition candidates, and Uber drivers aren't seeing proportional benefits from surging prices.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday.

A more infectious coronavirus variant called the Delta variant is becoming the dominant strain in the UK, accounting for more than 60 percent of new infections there. We discuss what we know and don't know about the variant, which has yet to take hold in a major way in the U.S.

International law enforcement agencies arrested more than 800 people in a sting operation that had criminals sending messages through an app they believed was secure...but was actually created and overseen by the FBI.

And in headlines: activists protest a pipeline's construction in Minnesota, U.S. billionaires pay little in federal taxes, and Sir Richard Branson could try to race Jeff Bezos to space.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday.