An Ignoble Experiment: Biden tries to sweeten the deal for the unvaccinated

By Liza Hearon

TOP STORIES

Friday, July 30

BIDEN: LET'S GIVE CASH FOR VAX President Joe Biden called on state and local governments to give $100 to people who choose to get a COVID-19 vaccine, citing research that roughly one-third of unvaccinated individuals would get a shot if offered a cash payment. Biden also announced a mandate for all federal employees to get vaccinated or face weekly testing amid the surge in cases linked to the highly transmissible delta variant of COVID-19. [HuffPost]

TEXAS DEMOCRATS SOUND THE ALARM Texas Democrats who left the state to prevent Republicans from passing new voting restrictions continued a public campaign in Washington to convince federal lawmakers to pass sweeping voting rights legislation. And they have a stark warning: National Democrats are fiddling while voters' rights are in crisis, writes Travis Waldron. [HuffPost]

ERUPTION OF HMONG PRIDE AFTER SUNISA LEE'S GOLD MEDAL The USA's Sunisa Lee won the women's all-around gymnastics at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday. But the 18-year-old from Minnesota represented so much more: She is thought to be the first Hmong American to win a gold medal, and the community is overjoyed. "Our ancestors are dancing right now," NBC Atlanta reporter Chenue Her wrote. [HuffPost]

IF THE RIOTERS WERE JUST TOURISTS, WHY WAS MO BROOKS WEARING BODY ARMOR? When Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) took the stage on Jan. 6 to rile up Donald Trump supporters ahead of their violent siege of the U.S. Capitol, he was wearing body armor under his windbreaker. The revelation that Brooks believed things could turn violent enough to justify wearing body armor undercuts the Republican claim that the assault on democracy was just harmless tourism. [HuffPost]

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ILHAN OMAR'S BILL WOULD PROVIDE GUARANTEED INCOME Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is set to introduce bold legislation today that would create a guaranteed income program in the U.S. to send $1,200 a month directly to most Americans. Her measure would fund pilot programs in hundreds of communities, then start a national program in 2028. [HuffPost]

CLIMATE GROUPS SEIZE MAKE-OR-BREAK MOMENT A coalition of climate-focused groups is readying a multimillion-dollar blitz of advertising, organizing and public events over Congress's recess in August, seeing it as their best and last opportunity to influence members before Democrats start crafting crucial climate legislation this fall. [HuffPost]

WHAT'S BREWING

BIDEN WON'T EXTEND EVICTION MORATORIUM The White House will not extend the eviction moratorium, which expires on Saturday, and congressional Democrats aren't poised to do anything about it. As of June, more than 3.6 million adults were likely less than two months away from eviction, and more than 2 million households with children faced losing their homes, even as states struggle to send out rent relief. [HuffPost]

GEORGIA REPUBLICANS MOVE TOWARD ELECTION TAKEOVER Georgia state Republicans have inched toward a possible takeover of elections in Fulton County after laying the groundwork for a process that could give the state GOP more power over elections in a county that's overwhelmingly Democratic. The maneuver was enabled by the sweeping law passed in late March that will dramatically limit voting access in the state. [HuffPost]

INSIDE THE BUMBLE TAKEDOWN OF A CAPITOL RIOTER Andrew Taake was arrested for pepper-spraying and attacking police officers with a whip at the U.S. Capitol. Here's how a Bumble dating app user reeled him in with "comically minimal ego-stroking." [HuffPost ]

EX-CARDINAL MCCARRICK CHARGED WITH SEXUALLY ASSAULTING TEEN Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was defrocked after a Vatican investigation confirmed he had sexually molested adults as well as children, has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy during a wedding reception in 1974, court records show. He's the first cardinal in the U.S. to ever be criminally charged with a sexual crime against a minor. [AP]

SENATORS WON'T GO AFTER TAX CHEATS TO PAY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE The Senate voted to move forward on a $1 trillion infrastructure package, after a bipartisan group of senators agreed on a deal that includes $500 billion in new spending. Republicans seemed to mostly get what they wanted, which was to go after unemployment fraud, but not tax cheats, to help pay for the package. [HuffPost]