⏱Tickets and a passport for...
No free trade with China, and a new economic package in two parts
Good morning everyone, and welcome to another great week!
0:05- A passport for... concerts?
As of this upcoming Friday, New York residents will be able to download an app that will serve as a “Covid passport” to help provide proof that they’ve either received the vaccine or recently tested negative for the virus. This passport, called the “Excelsior Pass” will first be used at large venues such as Madison Square Garden, and will slowly roll out to other events in the coming weeks. The app, which is heavily supported by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is built on blockchain technology so that there’s no possibility of any health data being leaked.
0:30- If at first you don’t succeed, try it in two parts
President Biden is reportedly planning on splitting his economic package bill into two parts that will be released at an event in Pittsburgh this week. The first section will be focused on infrastructure (with an additional emphasis in green energy programs), and the second will prioritize child care and healthcare. What hasn’t been made concrete yet is how the administration will pay for the proposed programs. Currently the plan is to increase taxes on high-income households and businesses, but no numbers have been released.
0:53- Not quite ready for free trade
Yesterday, Katherine Tai (the WOC US Trade Representative who was confirmed in a 98-0 vote by the Senate) indicated that the US is not quite ready to remove the tariffs on trade with China quite yet. She stated both tactical and economic reasons for this decision, saying “No negotiator walks away from leverage, right?” and “...[changes must be] communicated in a way so that the actors in the economy can make adjustments.”
1:12- Well, that’s certainly good news
In today’s edition of “I didn’t know I had that fear”, NASA announced yesterday that new data has confirmed that the Apophis asteroid won’t hit Earth for at least the “next 100+ years.” That’s good news considering that it was previously classified as one of the most hazardous asteroids that could hit Earth, an incident that could kill upwards of 10M people.
Have a great rest of your day, and we’ll see you tomorrow bright and early!
-The 90 Second News Team
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