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TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell really doesn’t want you to get a $2,000 check from the government. But the fight over survival checks is shaping up to test his control over the legislative process in the closing days of the one hundred and sixteenth Congress.

Meanwhile, a new investigation reveals the use of forced labor in Apple’s supply chain. Many Muslims in China are reportedly given the choice between grueling work making iPhones or getting sent to a detention center.

And lastly, a judge in Georgia has overturned a Republican-led purge of thousands of voters. Every vote counts as the state prepares to vote in a crucial runoff elections next week.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

The fate of what Democrats are calling survival checks remains in limbo as the Congressional session comes to a close at the end of the week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell yesterday thwarted Democrats’ bid to immediately increase the survival checks from $600 to $2,000, Politico reports. McConnell acknowledged Donald Trump’s conditions for signing a coronavirus and economic relief bill, which include increased payments. But he did not make an explicit commitment to tackling those issues in the coming days. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, insisted McConnell would have to offer a path forward on larger checks. That’s their demand in return for securing a quick vote to overturn Trump’s veto of the defense spending bill, which is McConnell’s priority. All of which means it’s not yet clear how much money the government will be sending you in the weeks ahead.

There’s been movement toward embracing the larger direct payments among Republicans, Politico reports. Trump and many House Republicans want it. The handful of Senate Republicans who’ve endorsed larger checks includes Georgia Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, both of whom are in run-off races that will determine Senate control next year.

But getting those checks to the floor before then looks like a steep task after yesterday’s brouhaha, according to Politico. First Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tried to pass the House-approved bill increasing the checks to $2,000, which McConnell rejected. Then

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders asked McConnell to at least set up a roll call vote to follow the veto override. McConnell spurned that request too. Sanders responded by blocking quick passage of the veto override, leaving the possibility of keeping the Senate in session into New Year’s Day to finish consideration of the defense bill. A lot of people had to work over the holidays – the Senate can, too. Doncha think?

Forced Labor In iPhones

How much do you know about the technology you use every day? Where does it come from? Whose hands touched it before yours? One of the oldest and most well-known iPhone suppliers has been accused of using forced Muslim labor in its factories, according to documents uncovered by a human rights group and shared with the Washington Post. The documents, discovered by the Tech Transparency Project, detail how thousands of Uighur workers from the predominantly Muslim region of Xinjiang were sent to work for Lens Technology. The company also supplies Amazon and Tesla.

Lens Technology is one of at least five companies connected to Apple’s supply chain that have now been linked to alleged forced labor from the Xinjiang region, the Post reports. Apple has faced criticism for its labor practices in the past, particularly in China. Some Uighur workers have told human rights groups that they were given a choice between taking a job in a far-flung factory or being sent to a detention center. In some cases, workers have said that when they accept the job, they live in heavily guarded campuses and are rarely allowed to leave. Whether the Uighurs are paid, and exactly how much, is unclear.

Apple has dispatched lobbyists to Capitol Hill regarding legislation that would hold US companies accountable for using forced labor from the region, the Post reports. The lobbyists are trying to water down the bill, according to congressional staffers. Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project, told the Post that the alleged use of forced labor in Apple’s supply chain may explain why the company is lobbying against a bill now before Congress that would sanction companies for their involvement in human rights abuses in China. Well, it’s probably no coincidence, that’s for sure.

Georgia Voter Purge Overruled

There’s some encouraging news for Democrats from Georgia. Two Georgia counties must reverse their decision to purge thousands from voter rolls in advance of the state’s January 5 runoff elections, the Guardian reports. As we mentioned before, the results will determine whether Democrats or Republicans control the US Senate. Federal judge Leslie Abrams Gardner said in an order filed late on Monday that the two counties appeared to have improperly relied on unverified change-of-address information to invalidate voter registrations. Per the ruling, those registrations must now be honored. Judge Abrams Gardner is the sister of Stacey Abrams, the Democratic activist who lost a race for Georgia governor in 2018, and led a voter registration drive that was crucial to Joe Biden’s victory in the state. National Democratic Party attorney Marc Elias, who litigated the case, hailed the decision as a blow to GOP voter suppression. He said the party continues to monitor how other Georgia counties respond to the suppression scheme and QUOTE where necessary, we will sue and we will win ENDQUOTE.

Of the more than four thousand registrations that officials tried to rescind, the vast majority were in Muscogee County, the Guardian reports. President-elect Joe Biden won this county during the November election. Another one hundred and fifty were in Ben Hill county, which Donald Trump won with a sizable margin. Almost two point one million people – more than twenty-five percent of Georgia’s registered voters – have voted in the Senate runoff election that started on December 14. Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff are facing off against GOP incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, respectively.

The deeply significant runoff has prompted record-breaking fundraising, the Guardian reports. Ossoff and Warnock each raised more than $100 million in a mere two months – surpassing their conservative opponents. These races are shaping up to be very close, folks. And very hard-fought.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

NBC News reports that at the current rate of vaccinations, it will take almost ten years to inoculate enough Americans to get the coronavirus pandemic under control. Twenty million doses were promised in short order by the Trump administration – but so far, only about two million people have received a shot. Joe Biden administration hopes to pick up the pace in the

new year. The President-elect yesterday named Bechara Choucair, a Kaiser Permanente executive, to be the nation's Covid-19 vaccine coordinator.

A park ranger was seen on video tasering a Native American man who was walking his dog with his sister at a national monument in New Mexico on Sunday, NBC News reports. Darrell House, who is Oneida and Navajo, often prays at the Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque. The ranger tased him for refusing to show ID. Since when does one need ID to pray?

Another indigenous environmentalist has been killed in Honduras, the Guardian reports. Félix Vásquez, a veteran leader of the indigenous Lenca people, was shot dead at home on the night of December 26 – just weeks after reporting death threats linked to his work. Hopes for justice are reportedly low. But the world is watching.

Small drones will be allowed to fly over people and at night in the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday, according to Reuters. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said the new rules get us closer to the day when we will more routinely see drone operations, such as the delivery of packages. Tip your delivery drivers, folks – it’s a hard job, and now they’ve got competition coming.

That’s all for the AM Quickie. The Majority Report returns on Monday, as do we. Happy New Year!

DEC 30, 2020 - AM QUICKIE

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Corey Pein

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn