Biden Addresses COVID-19 Bill, Holiday Pandemic Precautions

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President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday expressed empathy with struggling families and applauded Congress for passing the coronavirus relief bill as the nation deals with a COVID-19 surge that’s casting a shadow over the Christmas holiday. He called out to frontline workers, scientists, researchers, clinical trial participants and those with deployed family members during the holiday season. “Our hearts are always with you — keep the faith,” he said in a year-end address from Wilmington, Delaware. Noting the ways that the pandemic has altered his own holiday celebrations, which typically include up to two dozen relatives, Biden said, “not this year.” “This season of reflectionmore

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Biden Reportedly to Name Connecticut Educator as Education Secretary

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U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate Miguel Cardona, currently Connecticut’s commissioner of education, to be secretary of education, according to news reports.Cardona took his current post just months before the coronavirus pandemic hit, becoming the first Latino to hold the job.Cardona reportedly embraced remote learning, but has recently been pushing for schools to reopen, saying continued remote learning was harmful.“Our position has always been when you can get students into the classroom, that’s the best option,” Cardona told state lawmakers in October, according to the Associated Press. “There is no replacement for that experience in the classroom withmore

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Mega Coronavirus and Government Spending Bill Tackles Climate Change 

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Major climate and clean energy measures are tucked inside the package of $1.4 trillion in annual spending to fund the government and $900 billion to provide COVID-19 relief approved by Congress late Monday.  It’s a rare bit of bipartisan agreement on an issue that has been mostly stalled in Congress while global temperatures rise and climate change-driven disasters pile up. Environmental groups said the initiative is a start, but much more needs to be done. FILE – A worker installs solar panels on a roof at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles, California, Aug. 8, 2019.The measure provides short-term tax breaks formore

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US Lawmakers Approve $900 Billion Coronavirus Aid Package

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The U.S. Congress has passed a massive year-end bill that includes both a $900 billion coronavirus aid package as well as $1.4 trillion in annual government funding.Both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed the measure with overwhelming support late Monday, with lawmakers having only a few hours to look over the more than 5,000-page bill.  They were facing a midnight deadline to keep the U.S. government funded.President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill in the coming days.The legislation comes after weeks of negotiations during which Democratic and Republican leaders clashed over how much government assistance tomore

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More Than 70 West Point Cadets Accused of Cheating on Exam

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More than 70 cadets training at the U.S. Military Academy to be Army officers have been accused of cheating on a math exam taken online when they were studying remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Lt. Col. Christopher Ophardt, spokesman for the academy at West Point, said Monday that 73 cadets were accused of cheating on the calculus exam in May after instructors noticed irregularities in answers. All but one were freshmen, or plebes, in a class of 1,200. The other was a sophomore. “West Point honor code and character development program remains strong despite remote learning and the challenges broughtmore

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