Time: World on Alert as U.K. Reports Cases of Omicron COVID-19 Variant

By Jerome Delay

    The UK has become the latest country to report cases of the new omicron variant of COVID-19, which is believed to be more resistant against the protections provided by existing vaccines. The two reported cases were both linked to travel from southern Africa. The UK Health Secretary added more countries in the southern African region to the British travel restriction list, meaning that travelers from those countries will now have to quarantine

    Pharmaceutical companies were optimistic that they could update their vaccines for the new variant in due time. Despite all the travel restrictions already in place across the European continent, cases and variants are continuing to spread. Many variants are emerging from Africa as a result of the poor vaccination rate in the continent.

Time: Why Congress Deserves Its Own Emmy Category

By Philip Elliott

     Some may be wondering why the Emmy awards do not give out awards to a very entertaining category: politics. For the past few months, we've watched politicians give nightly performances on TV, arguing over Biden's infrastructure bill. If it does end up getting to Biden's desk, it likely won't resemble the original proposal, but rather a very banged-up version.

    Even though Democrats control both chambers of Congress and the White House, their road to victory will be far from easy. Their slim majorities mean they have to resort to things like reconciliation, which Republicans characterize as cheating, and the GOP 2022 election strategy is attacking Biden's Build Back Better agenda.

    There is even discord within the party, since legislators also have to appease people in their own localities. A key example is Senator Joe Manchin, who is one of the few Democrats who can win in a Republican state. The party knows how important he is, giving him newfound influence. Other congresspeople have battled to keep certain parts of the plan intact, and certain amounts of funding out. 

    An important note is that this bill is "two-tracked". There's one bill for $3.5 trillion that Dems can pass with 50 votes via budget reconciliation, which avoids the filibuster. However, this rule does have its limits, which means the second bill for $600 billion needs 10 Republican votes. Of course, this method has many top GOP members upset, so the drama will continue.

Time: You Can't Tell the Story of 1776 Without Talking About Race and Slavery

By Robert G. Parkinson

    Even though most of us may not admit it, slavery and racial questions were at the heart of America's beginnings. John Adams said 40 years after 1776 that getting all 13 colonies to unite against Great Britain was quite difficult and unheard of in all of history. He essentially suggested that he and the other members of the Continental Congress performed a miracle. However, it covered up the work that he and his colleagues had been doing for years prior to the American Revolution.

    Recently, a new debate has been sparked over the role of race in American history, and the most scrutinized part of that history is the founding of this nation. As it turns out, leaders of the revolution were quite concerned about the British inciting slave rebellions all over the South once the war began. They began to put words like "treachery" and "instigated insurrection" into everyone's mouths. Finally, when the drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the very last crime that King George was accused of involved enslaved and native populations joining King George against the Americans.

    Thomas Jefferson had written a passage about the slave trade, condemning it as an evil, cruel violation of humanity. However, the Continental Congress eliminated nearly the entire section, but retained the small part about domestic insurrections. They said that the King had attempted to bring natives from the frontier into the war, and by avoiding this, the patriots were in the right.

    Patriot leaders had found the one thing that all the colonies could agree on: racism. They mobilized these fears and prejudices to bring the nation together, but this would root the same in the American Republic.

Time: Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Voting Restrictions in Another Blow to Voting Rights Act

By Madeleine Carlisle and Sanya Mansoor

    On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that two controversial voting rights laws from Arizona do not violate the Voting Rights Act (VRA), weakening the landmark ballot. It was split along conservative/liberal lines, with Justice Samuel Alito writing for the 6-3 majority.

    The case, brought by the Democratic National Committee in 2016, claimed that two Arizona laws that ban ballot collection and require ballots cast in the wrong precincts to be thrown out discriminate against minorities. A federal appeals court had ruled in favor of the DNC in 2020, which was overturned by the Supreme Court.

    Since President Trump spread rumors about voter fraud in the 2020 election, a slew of Republican states have introduced similar voting restrictions, many of which experts say violate minority rights. This ruling affected Section 2 of the VRA, and a previous ruling had effectively eliminated Section 5 as well. The new ruling set out new "guideposts" for courts to use in the future, including weighing the size of the discriminatory impact of a given law, as well as what other options voters have to cast a ballot, both standards Brnovich and the Arizona GOP had argued for.

    Justice Elena Kagan wrote the dissent, saying that many new voting laws have still served to discriminate against minorities, and the VRA is still very important. Fortunately, the ruling does not completely eliminate the VRA, but it certainly makes it much harder to prosecute.

    The White Hosue released a statement saying that it was disappointed in the Supreme Court's decision, and called on legislators to pass more laws protecting voting rights.

Time: Feds Are Fed-Up with Trump-Era Meddling

By Philip Elliot

    Federal workers are often scapegoated by political leaders and pressured to meet their whims. It was already hard for the most spotlighted agencies, but their problems seem to have been only exacerbated by Trump's presidency.

    A recent poll on how federal employees felt about their jobs revealed a correlation - the less Trump knew about your job, the happier you were. Unsurprisingly, top-level cabinet departments like Homeland Security, Justice, and State, all had below-average happiness rankings. Even smaller agencies, like those that manage U.S. PR abroad and carry out budget management, ranked lower because of their frequent contact with the White House and its whims.

    This is important because unhappy agencies produce lower-quality work, resulting in more unnecessary spending and more people leaving their jobs.

Time: Post-White House Donald Trump Continues to Destroy Norms

By Philip Elliot

    Once a president leaves office, most generally settle down and stay out of politics. For example, no matter how far Obama stretched the truth during his administration, President Bush's office refused to comment on his successor. Often, former presidents even help out with current ones, knowing how hard the job is. Of course, that isn't to say they live like hermits - they do help family members run for office or support certain policies. But President Trump, like everything else he does, deviates from the norm.

    He recently held a rally in Cleveland where he perpetuated his lies about Biden stealing the Presidency, anti-immigrant rhetoric, and the January 6th insurrection, and also railed against a Republican Ohio Representative who dared vote against him in the second impeachment.

    Now, Trump obviously no longer has the influence he did as a president. But polls show that the majority of Republicans still believe his lies, and there's no reason to think his behavior will change any time soon.

Time: South Korean President Moon Jae-in Makes One Last Attempt to Heal His Homeland

By Charlie Campbell

    2018 was a year in which the Korean peninsula stepped back from the brink of war and entered into negotiations for the first time in years. After threats of "fire and fury" from Trump, South Korean President Moon Jae-in invited a North Korean delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, and a total of 5 summits were held. However, after Singapore, progress stalled. Talks in Hanoi ended with no agreements, and things escalated pretty quickly from there, with Trump focusing more on domestic issues and North Korea once again becoming antagonistic. Because Moon is barred from serving more than one term, he knows that now is the time to act. Now, this picture has played out several times since the cease-fire of the Korean War: talks will stall, the sides will part, and any agreements will soon be ripped up by an incoming administration. In addition, North Korea has said it will only make concessions once sanctions are removed, which is a leverage point Washington is not willing to give up easily.

    So what will become of this last chance? Biden recently met up with Moon and the pair signed several new deals, as well as releasing a statement that they will continue to coordinate in matters concerning the DPRK. Considering that both Seoul and Washington have progressive leaders in office, it could also be an opportunity for North Korea, and they seem to have recognized this, the state-run media releasing a report that Kim Jong-un is preparing for dialogue.

    But even as President Moon looks to leave his legacy, it also seems to be deteriorating. A recent poll showed that his approval ratings are down, and his fixation on foreign affairs seems to have drawn supporters away. Many are concerned that he is trying too hard to be close to the North Korean dictator, and South Korea's vaccination rates are faltering.

    People have tried and failed for 3 decades to solve the issue. "That might, after all, be Moon’s true legacy—the grim realization that if he couldn’t fix things, perhaps nobody can."

Time: How Republicans Have Packed the Courts for Years

By Jackie Calmes

    While the Republicans have been accusing Democrats of wanting to "pack" the Supreme Court, they have quietly been doing the same thing for years at all levels of the federal judiciary system. The most obvious effect of this is the 6-3 conservative majority in the Supreme Court, which is set to see some challenges to past liberal rulings like abortion and same-sex marriage. While the Democratic Party is in control of the Senate now, Republicans have sworn to stop Biden nominees should they retake the majority in 2022 or 2024.

    The GOP, specifically Mitch McConnell, has sworn to stack the judiciary with as many conservatives as they can, because judges serve for life, while laws are more volatile. Democratic Presidents have left more than 100 vacant seats at various levels because most nominees were blocked by a Republican-held Senate. The most notable stiff-arming was seen in 2016, when McConnell refused a confirmation hearing for Merrick Garland, claiming that the next president should choose a nominee while forcing Amy Coney Barrett's hearing through the Senate just weeks before the election in 2020.

    During his presidency, Trump appointed nearly 300 judges to the federal bench, and 3 justices - only one of whom was legitimate. It seems that McConnell's strategy to "transform the federal judiciary" will only continue during the Biden years. He has pledged to block all Biden nominees in 2024 should he regain control of the Senate in 2022, and has yet to say anything about 2023.

Time: Biden plans to put pressure on Putin in Geneva. Will it work?

By Ian Bremmer

    On June 16th, Russian President Vladimir will be meeting with President Joe Biden for the first time in his presidency after his meeting with G-7 world leaders. Russia, of course, was ousted from the G-7 after it annexed Crimea, so Putin will not be in Geneva in person. Outside of the meeting room, they will likely do their best to appear cordial, but the meeting itself will be anything but.

    While Russia is still a powerful country, China is now the largest adversary of the United States. It is growing larger both in terms of population and technological prowess while Russia still grapples with the fall of the Soviet Union. The former Warsaw Pact nations are slowly easing out of its grasp as its economy, still largely dependent on oil exports, tanked along with oil prices as supply outpaced demand.

    Russia is still a security threat, especially in areas concerning technology, with Russian hackers suspected to be behind the recent ransomware attacks of several US facilities. So what the discussion this week will likely be about it the US alleviating some sanctions on the Russian economy in exchange for minimal threats while it contends with China.

Time: The G7 Wants to Save the World from Climate Change. But Are They Willing to Pay for It?

By Ciara Nugent

    As countries look to recover from COVID-19, and with leadership that cares about climate change in major countries, the G7 summit in Cornwall this weekend finally seems set for success. In May, the 7 countries in attendance agreed to end financing of overseas coal projects. Additionally, many are recognizing the geopolitical advantage of staving off climate change. Doing so could give them more power and create allies in developing countries. It also means that other countries, like China, may be more willing to cooperate.

    The summit is key because many countries are currently creating bills geared toward pandemic recovery. The policies created at the G7 could have an impact on the use of fossil fuels, and more importantly, how much wealthy countries will help smaller ones. Small, developing countries need the most energy, and the cheapest way to get that is fossil fuels. Because they have less money, this is the only choice unless larger countries offer financial aid for eco-friendly alternatives. Since larger countries are spending lots of money on their own recovery, help would likely come through corporate investments and subsidies.

    If fossil fuels are not ended, the changing climate will bring more and more natural disasters, as the US has already seen with hurricanes. Several countries are concerned that transitioning to renewable energy will cause shortages, but "IEA director Fatih Birol responded that countries were 'missing the point' on security. Though transitions to clean energy 'won’t succeed if they undermine the supplies of energy that billions of people rely on,' he wrote, 'A world ravaged by climate change from fossil fuel emissions won’t be secure.'"

Time: How Kim Ng, Major League Baseball's First Female GM, Finally Got the Top Job

By Sean Gregory

    After being passed over, Kim Ng has finally become the first female general manager in the MLB as the new Marlins GM. On November 13, when she was hired, famous women from across the US congratulated her on social media. This job has been long in the making.

    In the past year, a variety of women have risen through the ranks in sports, from coaches to officials. But prejudice is still very pervasive, and the first women in the field have a big burden to carry, just as the first Blacks did as well.

"At her introductory press conference, Ng, fully aware that bad actors can point to one woman’s lack of success as an indictment of all women holding top decision-making spots, said that when she got the job, 'there was a 10,000-lb. weight lifted off of this shoulder. And then after about half an hour later, I realized that it had just been transferred to [my other] shoulder.'"

Time: Accusations of Bias, Racism Swirl Around Capitol Police After Mob Attack

By Kimberly Dozier and Melissa Chan

    When there are Black protestors, police have fired rubber bullets and beat people up. But when far-right extremists stormed the Capitol, they were completely unprepared.

"Both peaceful protest and civil unrest have lapped at the Capitol steps repeatedly over the decades, including three separate bombs set by various militant agitators. But not since British troops nearly burned the building to the ground in 1814 has it been so comprehensively violated as on Wednesday, when President Donald Trump exhorted an angry mob to march from the White House Ellipse down Constitution Ave. to the seat of U.S. legislative power."

    This was partly due to the complexity of the forces that secure the Capitol. The Capitol Police are supposed to do this, but there is also the D.C. Metro Police, which is not allowed onto Capitol grounds without consent from the Capitol Police, and the D.C. National Guard, which can only be deployed by the Secretary of the Army. The force of 2,300 has come under much scrutiny after it not only failed to secure the Capitol building but was much more lenient with white, violent protestors than peaceful Black protestors, despite the warning signs.

"The blowback has been swift. Senior lawmakers called for investigations into the failed response, and demanded those responsible be fired. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund resigned Thursday...By that day’s end, the House and Senate Sergeants-at-Arms had agreed to leave too. Papathanasiou said the rank-and-file officers had done their duty, prioritizing 'lives over property, leading people to safety'; no lawmaker was injured in the melee. Their police union said officers were 'sickened by the tragic and avoidable events.'"

    Four Trump supporters and a police officer were killed. In demonstrations soon after George Floyd's death, more than 10,000 protestors were arrested, and many more were beaten and met with military-clad police. In contrast, just 80 people linked to the riot at the Capitol have been arrested so far, and a video was released of an officer leading a woman down the stairs. There have also been fewer police reports.

"More rioters should have been arrested on the spot, says former Washington D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey. But police experts say the agency’s failure to plan, which resulted in severely limited resources, made that impossible. 'When you’re in that kind of situation, making an arrest is difficult because then that requires you, the officer, to take that person into custody, and that takes you away from the scene,' says Chuck Wexler..."

     The police severely underestimated the magnitude and anger of the crowd, and in the security breach, electronics and papers were taken from Senate offices, which could end up as a national security threat. The Capitol Police has faced several lawsuits over the years for racism, but it's difficult to prove because it's a part of Congress and therefore exempt from a lot of public records.

"On Friday, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators announced their intention to investigate the failure of security on Wednesday at the Capitol. But Dr. Michael K. Fauntroy, who teaches political science at Howard University, says it will take action against those Capitol Police officers who were seen helping or hobnobbing with the rioters — instead of stopping them — to win back the trust of the Black community. 'Not just firing, but prosecution,' he says. Then again, Fauntroy says there wasn’t much trust to begin with. 'I don’t know of any Black person who would be surprised at seeing what they saw, the double standard with which Black people in America live.'"

Time: What Trump wrought

By Molly Ball

    In a last-ditch effort to twist election results, President Trump incited a mob of his supporters on January 6th, causing them to break into the US Capitol as a joint session of Congress certified Joe Biden's victory.

    For 4 years, the Republican party has endured Trump because of his massive support base, either working themselves into his inner circle or finding some way to justify his actions.

"In the final weeks of his term, Trump ran amok. He vowed to ruin the careers of GOP officials who would not go along with his baseless election claims. He vetoed the annual military budget. He sided with Democrats by demanding $2,000 stimulus checks the GOP would not support. He painted the Georgia Senate races as rigged, prompting supporters to urge a ballot boycott. He urged 'patriots' to descend on D.C. for a final showdown at the Capitol."

Time: Congressional Republicans Won't Overturn Biden's Win. But Their Objections Are Still Dangerous

By Alana Abramson

    Tomorrow, both chambers of Congress will convene to count the states' electoral votes and certify Joe Biden as the winner of the election. However, this year will be different. President Trump has refused to concede, and dozens of Republican lawmakers have said that there will be objections, although it's highly improbable that it will change the outcome.

"Most of the Republicans who plan to challenge the outcome have said their intention is to air allegations of rampant voter fraud. But those claims are not supported by evidence. Trump’s own Administration deemed the election the most secure in U.S. history. And since Election Day, Trump’s legal team has lost nearly all of its challenges to election results in court, with judges widely rejecting their allegations."

Time: The Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine Approval May Be the Most Globally Important Yet

By Michael Zennie

    The vaccine developed in the UK by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca has been approved by the UK health regulators, shortly after Pfizer's. It's slightly less effective at 70% but its other features may have profound implications for the pandemic.

"It’s especially big news for the developing world because it’s cheaper and easier to handle and store. Countries from India to Brazil to South Africa have made big bets on the shot from the celebrated British university and the U.K.-Swedish drugmaker. The U.K. was the first country to allow use of the vaccine, but India is expected to follow suit within days. Trials are ongoing in the U.S. and in multiple other countries."

    Although Pfizer and Moderna will produce billions of doses combined, a few wealthy countries have already claimed much of that. AstraZeneca will be able to produce as much as the other two combined and has promised to make no profit off of a vaccine, meaning it will be much cheaper. It also uses a different technology from Pfizer and Moderna, which are the first vaccines approved that use mRNA. However, it must be stored in freezers and have short lives, while AstraZeneca's can be stored in regular refrigerator temperatures for months.

Time: Georgia Polling Site Closures Reducing Access to Early Voting Among Working Class and Minority Voters, Civil Rights Groups Say

Sanya Mansoor

    Several counties in Georgia have closed a few in-person polling stations that were open during the general election, much to the disdain of civil rights advocacy groups. This is because the closed stations were ones nearby factories with minority groups. 

"The next closest voting location is more than seven miles away and there’s no easy way to access it via public transportation. Alarmed civil rights advocates expressed concern that four of the eight locations in Hall County that were open during the general election will not be open for the runoff election despite similarly large turnout figures across the state and the pandemic still raging. ...these closures would make it 'difficult, if not impossible, for many Latino and Black voters' to cast their ballot at advance voting locations...'"

    Not only will it make it harder for minorities to vote, but closing polling stations will also contribute to longer lines at the remaining areas, increasing health risk as well. All the accused counties maintain that stations were closed due to a lack of workers from the pandemic and holidays overlapping. This is especially important because the Georgia senate race will determine who controls the upper chamber and will likely be decided by a tiny margin.

"'The number of early voting locations was not reduced for the runoff; rather they were expanded for the presidential election given our expectation of turnout.'"

    Regardless, many minority group members work long hours and lack cars. Even if they do, the prospect of long lines and higher risk of infection may keep them away from the polls.

Time: What She Brings

By Anne Deavere Smith

    Many have noted how, in January, Kamala Harris will become the first woman,  first Black person, and first Indian American to become vice president. But beyond that, we need to look at who she is.

"it is her mother, a noted cancer researcher, who is frequently evoked as Harris’ influence and inspiration. 'When she came here from India at the age of 19, she maybe didn’t quite imagine this moment,' Harris said in her victory speech on Nov. 7. 'But she believed so deeply in an America where a moment like this is possible.'"

    Her grandfather was a civil servant whose passion for democracy in India's independence movement inspired her. She is not the only one in her family to be highly educated.

Time: 2020 Person of the Year: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, President-elect and Vice President-elect of the United States

By Charlotte Alter 

    The President-elect has been frequently criticized for his message of unity and not fighting hate with hate. But in the end, "As Biden sees it, trusting his instincts and tuning out the nay sayers is a big reason why he’s going to be the next Commander in Chief." He also recognized the generational and racial challenge provided by his area of the demographic and selected Kamala Harris to fill that space.

    Now that they have won, the two have lots to do. They have to stop the damage done by the pandemic, repair a faltering economy, and if the Democrats do not win both Georgia Senate seats, reconcile with Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell. They'll also have to take on the entire Republican party, which still refuses to acknowledge his victory and has started looking into his tax records.

    Before becoming running mates, Harris and Biden were rivals in the Democratic primary. Biden's message seemed to be lost in a sea of candidates arguing that Trump must be met with a "clenched fist" and Harris, who has never fit into a single political message, was also lost. But in the first debate, she had her iconic moment where she attacked Biden's record on equality. 

Time: Grave new world: How Trump’s disruptions could be Biden’s opportunity

By Kimberly Dozier and W.J. Hennigan

    Although much of the world and even some Republicans were relieved by Biden's election to the presidency, they all know that things cannot go back to normal after what President Trump has done. The NATO alliance is the weakest it's ever been, and relations with enemies are also bad. And to top it off, Biden has to prove to the world that the United States can handle a pandemic. However, this does give Biden a unique chance to completely alter US foreign policy after Trump's "America First" presidency.

    First, Biden must refill all the state and defense level positions that Trump has left empty. Then he has the problem of everything Trump left behind. The trade war with China, handing Jerusalem to Israel, and the floundering NATO alliance. He'll likely have difficulty with many strategies. China has been growing steadily, and Russia took advantage of the Trump area to expand its influence in Europe. One key tool he does have, though, is empathy. Even his biggest rivals recognize it as his strongest point.

Time: Don’t panic: Why fears of post-election chaos are overblown

By Molly Ball

    Because of Trump's endless barrage of misinformation about what a fraud this year's election is going to be, very few Americans, understandably, believe that this election will be fair. And while COVID-19 and the different voting procedures may cause a few minor mishaps, a full-blown panic would be excessive.

    What are the worst-case scenarios? The most obvious ones start with not having a clear result on election night. Trump's opposition to mail-in voting means that many Republicans will be voting in-person in comparison with Democrats. Since mail-in ballots take longer to count and may come in after polls close in some states, there may be a surge of blue votes after election night, which Trump could point to as a fraud. Voter errors could also lead to legitimate ballots being thrown out, leading to a very close race.

    If this scenario plays out, President Trump will likely try to file lawsuits, convince his base that the election was a fraud, and cause general chaos. The Republican Senate and the now overwhelmingly conservative DoJ could also back him up. However, Trump cannot simply dispute the election, and there is a lengthy process to even take it to Congress, making this very unlikely.