NY-11: Can an Afro-Latina combat veteran make a run at Congress in 'Trump district' Staten Island?

NEW YORK — For Brittany Ramos DeBarros, an Afro-Latina combat veteran and activist, running for Congress as a Democrat in the historically conservative borough of Staten Island serves as the kind of challenge that puts her life’s work into action.

“I learned in the military and so many different contexts of leadership what it means to really lead with heart and in a way that is about serving people and not about you or your ego,” DeBarros told Yahoo News in a video interview last week.

The Texas native who has worked with the Poor People’s Campaign and About Face: Veterans Against the War is running to represent New York’s 11th Congressional District, which includes all of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn.

DeBarros, whose mother is white and father is Black Puerto Rican, adds that she hopes people in the district “see something of themselves in me, and more importantly, in this campaign.”

The 32-year-old is looking to do what many see as nearly impossible: unseat freshman GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who has made waves after two months in office by voting against then-President Donald Trump’s second impeachment, spewing unfounded challenges to the November election results and continuing to show unabashed allegiance to the former president. Malliotakis, who has yet to announce if she is running again in 2022, is a staunch conservative who was endorsed by Trump during her run in 2020. She then voted to overturn the presidential election results over unfounded accusations of election fraud.




https://news.yahoo.com/can-an-afro-latina-combat-veteran-make-a-run-at-congress-in-trump-district-aka-staten-island-200042802.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr

Confidence in coronavirus vaccines has grown with majority now saying they want it

Recent polling among Americans indicates an increased willingness to get the coronavirus vaccine amid growing confidence in the inoculations and the distribution of a third vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This week, President Biden unveiled a partnership between Merck and Johnson & Johnson to produce the latter’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, adding that the U.S. will have enough vaccine doses through this and the two-shot inoculations from Pfizer and Moderna to vaccinate every American adult by the end of May.

In studies conducted in recent weeks, Americans have shown an increased willingness to get the vaccine despite initial hesitation at the start of the vaccine rollout.

n a Pew Research Center poll published Friday, 69 percent of U.S. adults surveyed between Feb. 16 and Feb. 21 said they had either already received the vaccine or intended to get the vaccine, an increase from 60 percent who said they planned to get vaccinated in November.

Pew reported that about 19 percent of survey respondents have already gotten the vaccine, while an additional 50 percent said they “definitely or probably” planned on getting vaccinated.



https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/541977-confidence-in-coronavirus-vaccines-has-grown-with-majority-now-saying-they

Tweet of the Day

US could reach herd immunity by summer through vaccinations alone, CNN analysis finds

CNN)The pace of Covid-19 vaccine administration in the US continues to improve, each day bringing the country closer to herd immunity -- the point at which enough people are protected against a disease that it cannot spread.

This week, President Joe Biden said that the US will have enough vaccine for every adult by the end of May, and a CNN analysis of federal data shows that herd immunity is likely not far behind.

At the current pace of about 2 million shots per day -- the latest seven-day average of doses administered reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- the US could reach herd immunity by summer through vaccinations alone. It will likely be even sooner, if factoring in individuals who may have some natural immunity due to prior infection.




https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/05/health/herd-immunity-usa-vaccines-alone/index.html#:~:text=At%20the%20current%20pace%20of,by%20summer%20through%20vaccinations%20alone.

White House fires Trump EEOC official after she refuses to step down

The White House fired the general counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Friday, continuing a push to oust controversial Trump appointees viewed as hostile to the mission of the agencies they worked for.

Sharon Gustafson, who as the commission’s general counsel was in charge of its high-stakes litigation over workplace discrimination on issues like race, religion and sex, was dismissed by the White House by letter on Friday afternoon after refusing to resign, according to Gustafson’s farewell letter, obtained by The Washington Post, as well as a source familiar with the White House letter who was not authorized to speak about it.

The move was quickly denounced by Republican EEOC Commissioner Andrea R. Lucas, who was appointed by former president Donald Trump last year.

“I find the action taken today by the White House against our independent agency to be deeply troubling,” she said in a tweet, calling it an “injection of partisanship where it had been absent.”



https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/03/05/biden-eeoc-general-counsel-trump/

WI-SEN: Johnson says leaving office after 2022 'probably my preference now'

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson (R) said Friday that he has not decided on whether to run for reelection next year but hinted that retiring after the end of his second term is “probably my preference now.”

Johnson made a vow to serve only two terms in the Senate when he first ran for the upper chamber, and his seat is expected to be hotly contested by Democrats whether or not he runs again. In comments to Wisconsin media outlets that his office confirmed to The Hill, Johnson indicated he’s leaning toward honoring his pledge but added the caveat that the promise was made when Democrats did not hold full control of Washington.

"That pledge is on my mind, it was my preference then, I would say it’s probably my preference now," Johnson said. "I’m happy to go home."

"I think that pledge was based on the assumption we wouldn’t have Democrats in total control of government and we’re seeing what I would consider the devastating and harmful effects of Democrats total control just ramming things through," he said.

While speculation swirls over whether the swing-state Republican will fight for a third term, Johnson indicated Friday he’s in no hurry to make up his mind given that the midterm contests are still 20 months away.





https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/541884-ron-johnson-says-leaving-office-after-2022-probably-my-preference-now

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Got my first COVID shot (Pfizer) today

Compliments of Walgreens at no charge. No side effects to speak of at this point. What I do not understand is why they ran my health insurance card through the system when it's supposed to be free. Anyway, thank you, Joe!

Saima Mohsin to be 1st Muslim US attorney

tarting next month, the new top federal prosecutor in Detroit will be Saima Mohsin, the first Muslim to be a U.S. attorney in Michigan and the country, according to federal officials and Muslim advocates.

On Feb. 2, Mohsin, 52, is to become the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan after the current U.S. attorney for the district, Matthew Schneider, steps down on Feb. 1. Serving for three years, Schneider announced his resignation on Thursday and said Mohsin, currently the first assistant U.S. attorney for eastern Michigan, will replace him.

Born in Pakistan, Mohsin has been a federal prosecutor for decades, working since 2002 in the U.S. Attorney's Office. As an immigrant of Asian descent who is Muslim, she will bring diversity to an important position that is the chief federal law enforcement officer in the eastern part of the state.

Mohsin is the first Muslim to be a U.S. Attorney in Michigan and also the country, said Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office of Eastern District of Michigan. Mohsin is also believed to be the first U.S. attorney who is Pakistani-



American.https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/01/24/saima-mohsin-first-muslim-us-attorney/6662788002/

David Bowie - Moonage Daydream