Biden signs $1.9 trillion Covid stimulus into law


Bryant Harris
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President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion Covid stimulus package into law on Thursday, scoring the first major legislative victory of his new administration.

“This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,” Mr Biden said before signing the bill.

Congress passed the bill on Wednesday, with the House of Representatives clearing the legislation in a 220-211 party-line vote.

Americans will soon receive $1,400 stimulus cheques, $300 a week in federal unemployment benefits until the end of September and a child tax credit ranging from $3,000 to $3,600.

No Republicans voted for the bill, and Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat to side with Republicans in voting against it.

“No Republicans are voting for it this time,” House majority leader Steny Hoyer said on Tuesday.

Mr Hoyer said dozens of Republicans had joined Democrats in voting for bipartisan Covid-19 stimulus bills under former president Donald Trump.

“Republicans tend to vote for these things when there’s a Republican president, and they almost universally vote against them when there’s a Democratic president,” he said.

Republicans say the stimulus package will worsen the soaring $3tn US deficit, spurred in large part by the bipartisan $2.2tn and $900 billion stimulus bills Congress passed last year under Mr Trump.

The Congressional Budget Office forecasts that the Republican-led tax cuts passed under Mr Trump will add another $1.9tn to the deficit between 2018 and 2027.

The House passed a version of the bill that was even more generous last month, but centrist Democrats in the Senate used their influence to pass a reduced version in a 50-49 party-line vote on Saturday.

Joe Manchin of West Virginia blocked progress on the bill until his fellow Senate Democrats agreed to reduce the $400 a week unemployment insurance passed in the House to $300.

The Senate also deleted a provision that would have increased the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour from $7.25.

The parliamentarian, or Senate procedural adviser, ruled that the rise would breach a mechanism the Democrats used to pass the relief bill with 50 votes instead of the 60 typically needed to pass legislation in the upper chamber.

The White House chose not to have Vice President Kamala Harris use her authority as the Senate's presiding officer to overrule the parliamentarian amid opposition to the minimum wage rise from Mr Manchin and other centrist Democrats, such as Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

The stimulus also includes $7.25bn in small business loans, $128bn in grants for public education institutions, $25bn in grants for restaurants and bars, another $25bn in emergency rent assistance and $4.5bn for heating and cooling costs for low-income people.

It provides $7.5bn in additional funding for Covid-19 vaccine distribution.

Five famous companies founded by teens

There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

  1. Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate. 
  2. Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc. 
  3. Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway. 
  4. Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
  5. Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Things Heard & Seen

Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton

2/5

While you're here
Nepotism is the name of the game

Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad. 

Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 
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%3Cp%3E1.%20Protracted%20but%20less%20intense%20war%20(60%25%20likelihood)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E2.%20Negotiated%20end%20to%20the%20conflict%20(30%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E3.%20Russia%20seizes%20more%20territory%20(20%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E4.%20Ukraine%20pushes%20Russia%20back%20(10%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EForecast%20by%20Economist%20Intelligence%20Unit%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

Company info

Company name: Entrupy 

Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist

Based: New York, New York

Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.  

Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius. 

Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place. 

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

MATCH INFO

France 3
Umtiti (8'), Griezmann (29' pen), Dembele (63')

Italy 1
Bonucci (36')