The political stories and election updates you need to know to start your day- all in five minutes or less. Co Hosted by Sam Seder and Lucie Steiner. Powered by Majority.FM

Mar 2, 2021: More Cuomo Allegations
play_circle_outlinepause_circle_outline
00:00
07:02

Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Life is starting to look a lot more normal in much of America, but experts worry that some places may be re-opening too soon, even with all the good news on the vaccine front. We’ll break down the latest Covid news today.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that far right groups are starting to fall apart after Trump’s defeat. But that may not be a good thing, as the smaller splinter groups can be harder to track.

And lastly, a third woman has come forward to share a story of sexual harassment by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, this time accompanied by photographic evidence, prompting mounting calls by state and local officials for him to resign.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

COVID Winter Almost Clear

Here’s the good news: things are looking up in America. After a solid year of mounting calamity, the coronavirus toplines are beginning to look slightly more positive.

A new study shows that the AstraZeneca vaccine substantially reduced the risk of getting sick from COVID-19 for elderly people, even after just one shot, meaning that even early stages of vaccination could help some of the most vulnerable populations.

Johnson and Johnson’s one-shot vaccine got emergency FDA approval on Saturday, and started shipping out doses on Monday.

The bad news is that all of this good news could make people get carried away.

CDC director Rochelle Walensky said on monday that she was quote “really worried” endquote about restrictions being lifted in some states.

The risk is that with new virus variants still spreading and the U.S. at a plateau of about 60,000 new cases a day, a wave of reopening across the country could keep the virus’s fires alive for longer than necessary.

Robert Horsburgh, an epidemiologist at the Boston University School of Public Health told the New York Times that he’s quote “Advocating for us to just hang tight for four to six more weeks.”

endquote. That seems like a long time, sure, but we’ve been at this a year. We can get through the final stretch.

Far Right Starts To Break Up

The New York Times has an interesting report on the state of the far right. To put it simply: thing’s aren’t great!

But that’s not necessarily cause for celebration for those of us who don’t want to see any more political violence from the fascists among us.

The Times reports that some of the most prominent groups that organized and participated in the January 6 riots are now splintering apart and blaming one another for the fallout, which has seen dozens of arrests. The Oathkeepers, the Proud Boys, and the explicitly white nationalist Groyper Army are all squabbling amongst themselves.

Part of the Proud Boys chaos, incidentally, might be driven by the news that their leader, Enrique Tarrio, was an informant for law enforcement. Nobody likes a snitch.

But experts say that this fracturing and infighting could lead to a couple more dangerous things: a regrouping phase where new groups form and seek to recruit and re-establish themselves.

It also means that existing members could radicalize further, and that lone actors who are harder to track than the established groups could seek to plan action on their own.

One expert told the Times quote: “When these groups get disrupted by law enforcement, all it does is scatter the rats. It does not get rid of the rodent problem.” endquote.

And at this point, it’s pretty tough to trust that the law enforcement establishments in this country are up to the task of chasing down that many scurrying beasts.

Yet More Cuomo Creep Allegations

A third woman has come forward to share a story of sexual harassment by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, this time accompanied by photographic evidence that he put his hands on her lower back and face at a wedding while asking to kiss her, as she tried to turn away.

Cuomo faces mounting pressure in the face of a statewide investigation led by Attorney General Tish James, and after the New York Times reported out the third victim’s story on Monday night, faced immediate calls to resign from state and local officials.

The photo itself is incredibly damning. It shows Anna Ruch, a guest at a wedding that Cuomo also attended, recoiling from the governor as he places both hands on either side of her face.

She told the Times that he touched her lower back before this, forcing her to remove his hand with her own, before saying she seemed quote “aggressive” and asking if he could kiss her.

A spokesperson for the Governor referred the Times only to his half-hearted apology from yesterday.

But that’s clearly not going to be enough. Just hours after the story went live, multiple New York State Representatives, Senators, City Council Members, and other government officials publicly called for Cuomo’s resignation and the continuation of the investigation into his behavior.

Governor Cuomo’s brother Chris Cuomo, meanwhile, used the top of his show on CNN to say that he was aware of the allegations against the Governor but could not address them, seemingly forgetting the period in the pandemic when the Governor was a regular guest on his show for fluff appearances.

As of our script-sending time, the Governor had not responded to their calls or to the new allegations.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

One of the only Democratic statewide officials in Florida is calling for an investigation into GOP-goon-governor Ron Desantis’s rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. In a letter, Florida’s agricultural commissioner said DeSantis’s behavior was quote: “an inept distribution of vaccines at best, and corrupt political patronage at worst.” endquote.

Bernie Sanders became one of the few political leaders in the Senate to urge the Democratic party to ignore the parlaimentarian’s ruling on the $15 minimum wage, mentioning that he’ll be keeping tabs on who votes for it in the roll call vote and saying quote “This is the soul of the Democratic Party.” Let’s hope some more prominent voices join him.

A Trump advisor said the former president was vaccinated before leaving the White House. Of course, he didn’t publicise that he was receiving the vaccine, because that could have actually sent an encouraging sign to the nation, which is currently grappling with widespread vaccine skepticism.

Elizabeth Warren returned to one of her favorite and most righteous beats on Monday, introducing a bill in the Senate to establish a wealth tax on the richest hundred-thousand households in the country. Its chances of getting passed probably aren’t great, but at least she’s still trying.

MAR 2, 2021 - AM QUICKIE

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Jack Crosbie

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn