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RandySF's JournalIowa governor signs bill to shorten early voting, close polls earlier
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed a Republican-championed bill on Monday that shortens the state's early voting period and closes the polls earlier on Election Day.
The Iowa governor announced she had placed her signature on Senate File 413 along with a number of other bills months after Iowa reported a record number of voters in the 2020 election.
Under the law, Iowas early voting period is reduced from 29 days to 20 days and polls are scheduled to close at 8 p.m. for state and federal elections rather than 9 p.m. Any absentee ballots are required to arrive before the polls close, rather than the previous requirement of being in the mail the day before Election Day and arriving before noon the following Monday.
The newly signed law also forbids auditors and election officials from not enforcing state election laws or going against the Iowa secretary of state's guidelines, saying they could potentially face fines of up to $10,000.
The law had passed both chambers of the Iowa legislature last month after every Republican present voted to approve it and every Democrat present voted against it, the Des Moines Register reported.
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/542216-iowa-governor-signs-bill-to-shorten-early-voting-close-polls-earlier
White House: Biden believes Harry and Meghan interview took 'courage'
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that President Biden believes it took courage for Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, to open up about their experiences as members of the British royal family and their decision to step down from their posts.
For anyone to come forward and speak about their own struggles with mental health and tell their own personal story, that takes courage, Psaki was said a press briefing when asked whether Biden and first lady Jill Biden, who have a documented friendship with the prince, had any reaction to the bombshell CBS News interview Harry and Meghan had with Oprah Winfrey.
And thats certainly something that the president believes, and hes talked about the importance of investing in a lot of these areas that theyre committed to in the future as well, Psaki continued.
She also noted that after stepping down as senior members of the royal family, the prince and duchess are now private citizens, adding that the White House wouldnt provide further commentary on behalf of the president, given these are private citizens sharing their own story and their own struggles.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/542129-white-house-biden-believes-harry-and-meghan-interview-took-courage
Posted by a U.S. Representative
https://twitter.com/drpaulgosar/status/1368674392272596993?s=21Goldman Economists See 4.1% Unemployment in U.S. by End of Year
The U.S. is on course for an employment boom this year once pandemic restrictions ease and the economy reopens, according to economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Reopening, fiscal stimulus, and pent-up savings should fuel very strong demand growth, Chief Economist Jan Hatzius and colleagues wrote in a report highlighting an outlook thats more optimistic than most other forecasts. They predict the unemployment rate, currently at 6.2%, will fall to 4.1% by the end of the year.
The assessment follows last weeks payrolls report for February showing an increase in jobs that was almost twice as much as forecast, suggesting growth momentum is gaining pace. Unemployment surged dramatically last year as the Covid-19 pandemic forced shops and restaurants to close, but economists now expect hiring to recover along with increased immunizations.
The Goldman Sachs forecasters also expect participation in the jobs market to pick up, because most workers who left the labor force still cite the pandemic as their reason, and will likely re-enter once life normalizes.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-08/goldman-sachs-economists-see-u-s-jobs-boom-as-virus-curbs-ease
Trump wasted billions of dollars on this
https://twitter.com/davenewworld_2/status/1368664480138354689?s=20Extra Bonus Tweet of the Day
https://twitter.com/ReignOfApril/status/1368810879869915136?s=20Who is Kathy Hochul? Meet the woman who could succeed Cuomo if he leaves office
After graduating from law school, she worked for a private Washington D.C. firm before serving as legal counsel and legislative assistant to U.S. Rep. John LaFalce and later U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, according to her official New York state bio.
In 1994, Hochul was elected to the Hamburg Town Board in Erie County, New York, and served until 2007 when she was appointed the Erie County Clerk.
"She served as liaison to the local economic development agency and worked to attract new businesses and create jobs following the loss of the [Western New York] manufacturing base," her bio said.
During her time in office, Hochul also worked to help displaced women. In 2006, she, her mother and her aunt established the Kathleen Mary House, a transitional home for victims of domestic violence.
In 2011, Hochul was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election for New York's 26th district. Chris Collins would defeat her in the 2012 election.
During her tenure, she sat on the Armed Services and Homeland Security committeesCuomo nominated Hochul to be his lieutenant governor when he successfully ran for his second term in 2014. Cuomo and Hochul won re-election in 2018.
Under the Cuomo administration, Hochul has overseen several state projects and governing groups. She chairs 10 regional economic development councils, which help decide investments for projects in New York and the State Workforce Investment Board.
Cuomo appointed her as co-chair of the Heroin and Opioid Abuse Task Force. Hochul also led the governors "Enough is Enough" campaign to combat sexual assault on college campuses, according to her bio.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/kathy-hochul-meet-woman-succeed-cuomo-leaves-office/story?id=76207153
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