#1. New COVID-19 Variant
Another variant has surfaced in the U.S. CNN reports that a new coronavirus variant has been discovered in New York. It raises concerns as this variant carries mutations that help it evade the body’s natural immune response — as well as the effects of monoclonal antibody treatments, similar to the South African variant.
#2. Minimum Wage Ruled Against
The Senate has ruled against raising the Federal minimum wage to $15. NPR reports that the plan to increase the minimum wage by 2025 does not fit the complicated rules that govern budget bills in the Senate. House Democrats included the measure in a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill that is expected to be the first major legislative act for President Biden.
#3. Condoleezza Rice
Where is she now? Condoleezza Rice, the Former Secretary of State who served from 2005 -2009 is still making moves. She is the Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business; the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution; a professor of Political Science at Stanford University. Miss Rice is also a founding partner of RiceHadleyGates, LLC, a firm based in Silicon Valley and Washington D.C
