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TODAY'S HEADLINES:

If you’re fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the US government says you no longer need to wear a face mask in most places. That’s great news for about one-third of the population, but everyone else still needs to hurry up and get the shot.

Meanwhile, a new investigation reveals that Project Veritas ran a secret campaign to discredit Donald Trump’s imagined enemies inside the government. With the help of a former British spy, it even targeted FBI agents for hidden camera sting operations.

And lastly, nearly two million Americans in sixteen Republican-ruled states are facing imminent cuts to their jobless benefits. This is what they consider good government: making people suffer for no good reason.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

This cause for celebration comes from the Washington Post. Americans who are fully vaccinated can go without masks or physical distancing in most cases, even when they are indoors or in large groups, federal officials said yesterday. The announcement paves the way for a full reopening of society. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy. Based on the continuing downward trajectory of cases, the scientific data on the performance of our vaccines and our understanding of how the virus spreads, that moment has come for those who are fully vaccinated." More than one hundred and fifty four million Americans have had at least one shot and one hundred and seventeen million are fully vaccinated, about thirty five percent of the population.

The Post says Walensky cited a growing body of real-world evidence demonstrating the efficacy of the coronavirus vaccines. She noted the shots offer protection even against more contagious variants circulating in the United States. The relaxation of masking does not apply to airplanes, buses, trains and other public transportation, to healthcare settings, or where state or local restrictions still require them. Officials also noted that some business settings may require masks, especially since some workers remain unvaccinated. Walensky urged those who are immune-compromised to speak with their doctors before giving up their masks. For everyone else, enjoy feeling the air on your face.

Hidden Camera Sting Targeted FBI

This dive into conservative skullduggery comes from the New York Times. A network of conservative activists, aided by a British former spy, mounted a campaign during the Trump administration to discredit perceived enemies of Donald Trump inside the government, according to documents and people involved in the operations. The campaign included a planned sting operation against Trump’s national security adviser at the time, HR McMaster, and secret surveillance operations against FBI employees, aimed at exposing anti-Trump sentiment in the bureau’s ranks. The operations against the FBI, run by the conservative group Project Veritas, were conducted from a large home in the Georgetown section of Washington that rented for $10,000 per month. Female undercover operatives arranged dates with the FBI employees with the aim of secretly recording them making disparaging comments about Trump.

Central to the effort, according to the Times, was Richard Seddon, a former undercover British spy. Seddon was recruited in 2016 by the security contractor Erik Prince to train Project Veritas operatives to infiltrate trade unions, Democratic congressional campaigns and other targets. The scheme against McMaster was one of the most brazen operations of the campaign. It involved a plan to hire a woman armed with a hidden camera to capture McMaster making inappropriate remarks that his opponents could use as leverage to get him ousted as national security adviser. He eventually resigned anyway to avoid being fired by Trump. Which suggests this Project Veritas campaign was yet another bottomless pit for conservative donors’ money.

GOP States Slash Jobless Benefits

Republican cruelty is also bottomless. The Washington Post reports that more than one point nine million Americans in Alabama, Mississippi and fourteen other Republican-led states are set to have their unemployment checks slashed starting in June, as GOP governors seek to restrict jobless assistance in an effort to force more people to return to work. The cuts are likely to fall hardest on roughly one point four million people who benefit from stimulus

programs that Congress adopted at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, including one targeting those who either are self-employed or work on behalf of gig-economy companies such as Uber. Beginning next month, many of these workers are likely to receive no aid at all.

According to the Post, the looming cliff reflects an emerging campaign on the part of GOP leaders to combat what they consider a national worker shortage. Arizona and Ohio became the latest states yesterday to announce plans to scale back benefits out of a belief that the federal payments have deterred people from returning to their old positions. The reality is more complicated. The slowdown in hiring may instead reflect workers’ concern about their safety and difficulty obtaining child care, or their trouble finding suitable positions in hard-hit industries on top of mounting frustration about wages they consider too low. That means the loss of unemployment benefits over the next month threatens to inflict new financial harm on those who say they’re already struggling. Our sympathy to all those affected in red states.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

The Associated Press reports that Hamas sent a barrage of rockets into Israel yesterday as Israel pounded Gaza with more airstrikes and shells and called up nine thousand reservists who could be used to stage a ground invasion. And Reuters reports that individuals involved in the new eruption of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed may be targeted by an International Criminal Court investigation now under way. War criminals beware.

According to Bloomberg News, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo this week set an audacious new benchmark in her campaign to reduce car use: a ban on most vehicle traffic crossing the city center. The plan would stop through traffic from a large zone covering Paris’ core, to cut pollution and noise and free up more space for trees, bicycles and pedestrians. Très magnifique!

USA Today reports that a Marine Corps officer was arrested yesterday and charged with assaulting police officers at the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Major Christopher Warnagiris, forty, of Woodbridge, Virginia, is the first service member on active duty charged for his role in the deadly riot. Semper Fuggedaboutit!

The Washington Post reports that Joel Greenberg, a Florida politician who is central to the investigation into Representative Matt Gaetz for possible sex trafficking of a minor, signaled yesterday that he will plead guilty in his own federal case. It’s a a troubling development for the congressman as it suggests prosecutors have secured a potentially important witness against him. Too bad for Gaetz that Trump pardon fell through.

AM QUICKIE - MAY 14, 2021

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Corey Pein

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn