Bernie Sanders calls White House's $600 stimulus check proposal 'crap'

Kathryn Krawczyk

As of Tuesday, the White House is pushing to include stimulus checks in the next coronavirus relief package, albeit smaller checks than supporters would like. But it's also not looking to restore boosted unemployment benefits, which expired in July — implying that the proposed $600 stimulus checks are some kind of concession to Democrats, NBC News' Benjy Sarlin notes.

In reality, several Republican senators support stimulus checks of at least $1,200, most notably Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). But he said Tuesday that he sees the White House's proposal as more of a launching point, telling Politico that he expects President Trump would back $1,200 checks for individuals and $2,400 for couples.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) put the disconnect in harsher terms on Wednesday, telling MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle that "when we go to war" or look for "tax breaks for billionaires," "there's endless amounts of money." But "when children are going hungry in America today, suddenly we don't have enough money." "It's crap," Sanders succinctly said, affirming that he'd stay in Washington through Christmas if that's what it took to get bigger checks to Americans.

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The Trumps are reportedly preparing to move out of the White House
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Trump's jaw-dropping vaccine screwup

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  • Police Reports Detail Warnock’s Obstruction in 2002 Child-Abuse Probe That Led to His Arrest

    Reverend Raphael Warnock, the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Georgia, repeatedly obstructed a 2002 police investigation into child abuse at a church-affiliated summer camp, according to a new report.Maryland State Police reports obtained by the Washington Free Beacon detailed Warnock’s attempts to interfere with interviews and to discourage counselors from speaking with police during an investigation of physical abuse at Camp Farthest Out. At the time, Warnock served as senior pastor at Douglas Memorial Community Church, which ran the summer camp.Warnock, who now faces a tight runoff race against Republican Kelly Loeffler on January 5, interrupted police interviews of counselors on July 31, 2002, according to the report."This investigator informed [camp administrators] that if the counselors requested that an attorney be present that was their right, however, no one else could [invoke] their rights to an attorney on their behalf," the report reads.The Free Beacon reports that the names in the documents are redacted, but match closely with newspaper articles about the incident, which ultimately led to Warnock’s arrest. The state attorney later dropped the charges.At the time The Baltimore Sun reported that Warnock and a colleague were "accused in court documents of trying to prevent a state trooper of interviewing counselors at Camp Farthest Out" and that the ministers "interrupted a police interview of a counselor." Warnock said then that he was "only asserting that lawyers should be present when the camp counselors were interviewed."During a debate on Sunday, Warnock said that law enforcement officers “actually later thanked me for my cooperation and for helping them," and the deputy state attorney told the Baltimore Sun the same in November 2002.Police reports filed by state troopers after Warnock and Reverend Mark Andre Wainwright were arrested for “hindering and obstructing” police show that investigators warned Warnock a number of times to stop disrupting the investigation ahead of his arrest.Tfc. Danielle Barry, an investigator with the Maryland State Police’s child abuse division, wrote in her report that the pair "interfered with a criminal investigation by interrupting interviews and directing people not to talk to investigators."Though Warnock and camp administrators agreed to cooperate when investigators arrived to conduct interviews with counselors, they later voiced concerns about "legal ramifications from the alleged abuse case" and insisted that the camp’s attorney be present for any interviews with counselors or campers.Warnock and Wainright entered the room where investigators were conducting their first interview of the day with a 17-year-old counselor in a private camp office and “demanded that [they] be present for the interview,” according to the report.Barry told them they were "not permitted to join the interview and warned that they were "hindering and obstructing the investigation."Warnock then announced he would no longer allow investigators to use the camp office for interviews, and he and Wainright told Barry that they "did not like how things were progressing and therefore ‘they’ would not be cooperating in the case further." "This investigator explained to the reverends that what they were doing was committing a crime for which they could be arrested," the report says.After investigators relocated to an outside picnic area to continue their interviews, the reverends once again demanded to sit in on an interview being conducted, forcing Barry to cut her interview short.A camper later tried to give investigators the location of another potential subject to interview when one of the reverends "grabbed the camper by the arm and directed him away from these investigators" and "told the camper that he was not to talk to these people," according to the report.Barry then reached out to the deputy state attorney about the interference, she wrote, and a decision was made to arrest Warnock and Wainwright.

  • Mechanic: 'Everything perfect' before fatal WWII plane crash

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  • Cuomo says he thinks the FDA might authorize Pfizer's vaccine on Thursday, with New Yorkers getting shots 'as soon as this weekend'

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  • Arizona Republican leaders are now openly sniping at each other

    "The Arizona Republican Party has asked its followers if they are willing to die for the cause of overturning the presidential election results, eliciting alarm and criticism from within and outside the GOP," The Arizona Republic reports. The negative responses from Arizona Republicans to Tuesday's tweet from the state GOP was just the latest open squabbling in the party as it grapples with President Trump's loss, his losing legal battle to overturn that defeat, the better-than-expected election results for state Republicans, and the challenges that are emerging as Arizona slides from GOP control to swing state."There's been a civil war boiling in the Republican Party for a couple of years," Marcus Dell'Artino, a Republican strategist in Phoenix, tells The New York Times. "Now we're seeing the public part of it."A sizable chunk of the Arizona Republican Party is siding with Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani as they try to retroactively win an election Trump lost to President-elect Joe Biden. But Gov. Doug Ducey (R), a Trump supporter, is not among them. After he signed the certification of Biden's victory — while ignoring a call from Trump on camera — Arizona GOP chairwoman Kelli Ward told him to "STHU," or shut the hell up. He responded, "I think what I would say is the feeling's mutual to her, and practice what you preach."Ward also called Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R) "cowardly" for shutting down the House for a week following Giuliani's close visit with a dozen GOP lawmakers just days before testing positive for COVID-19. And when Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a Trump loyalist, suggested Ducey would "coerce vaccinations" for COVID-19, Ducey's chief of staff, Daniel Scarpinato called Biggs "nuts" and suggested he "enjoy your time as a permanent resident of Crazytown."It isn't clear if Ward, a divisive figure representing the party's far-right faction, will seek another term when the Arizona GOP picks its next chair in January.More stories from theweek.com The Trumps are reportedly preparing to move out of the White House Pete Buttigieg reportedly really wants a Cabinet spot — but not just any Cabinet spot Trump's jaw-dropping vaccine screwup

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  • Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Very Own MAGA Superspreader?

    On Saturday, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Republican leaders turned the backyard of the governor’s mansion into a GOP gloatfest with a pandemic twist.Some of the top players in the party that has overseen coronavirus chaos in the Sunshine State tweeted photos and a video of DeSantis addressing a crowd of roughly 50 GOP grassroots organizers. Almost no one appeared to be wearing masks—including DeSantis, who had appeared with a mask at Donald Trump’s strange vaccine summit in D.C. on Tuesday.One of the images, tweeted by Florida Republican Party Vice-Chairman Christian Ziegler, shows a maskless DeSantis from behind, facing his guests, a majority of whom were elderly—a population at especially high risk of death by way of COVID-19. Ziegler boasted: “Florida is in great hands and everyone in this photo is going to work like hell to crush whomever runs against him in order to keep it going.”The GOP official retweeted the same photo the following day. This time, he identified another reliable target of Republicans and DeSantis: “It’s gonna be fun working for him and crushing the Socialists in Florida.”The Florida GOP chairman, state Sen. Joe Gruters, tweeted a photo of the crowd from a different angle that showed him flanking the governor. Gruters wrote: “Thank you Governor @GovRonDeSantis for loving freedom and liberty and for all of your help in delivering record success this cycle here in Florida.”Gruters also tweeted a two-minute clip of DeSantis, who slyly suggested he still backed the current commander-in-chief’s false narrative that Joe Biden only won the presidency because of massive election fraud.“In Florida, people can have the confidence that this [election] was done above board and done right,” DeSantis crowed. “We don't wait three weeks to then change the winner with vote dumps and all this other stuff that you are seeing go around.”Gruters, Ziegler and the GOP footsoldiers lapped it up, cheering their governor. But MAGA conspiracies aside, the scene was an emphatic prelude to the trouble a new Biden administration faces in coronavirus-skeptical states like Florida, where DeSantis has tripled down on a strategy that scoffs at mask mandates and non-essential business shutdowns and allows large gatherings of people.Photos Show Why Miami Public Schools Could Be the Next Ron DeSantis Coronavirus DebacleIn the meantime, experts said, he could have put his own diehards at risk.“Unfortunately this event contradicts the advice of public health experts in a large number of ways,” infectious disease expert and University of South Florida professor Dr. Jill Roberts told The Daily Beast. “This event may have needlessly exposed people to coronavirus.”> .@GovRonDeSantis addressing his @FloridaGOP Grassroots County Generals from the steps of the Governor’s Mansion. > > Florida is in great hands and everyone in this photo is going to work like hell to crush whomever runs against him in order to keep it going.MAGA FlaPol pic.twitter.com/zmE89IVcle> > — Christian Ziegler 🇺🇸 (@ChrisMZiegler) December 5, 2020Roberts added that while no cases have been linked to the affair as of yet, it was “entirely possible” DeSantis had hosted a so-called superspreader event given the close proximity of the attendees who were not wearing masks.Gruters, Ziegler, and a spokesperson for DeSantis did not respond to requests for comment for this story.In the months leading up to the election and in its immediate aftermath, DeSantis has stood out for his cowboy approach to the pandemic. One of the last governors to lock his state down, he was especially aggressive in opening it back up again, and has refused to issue a mask mandate. More recently, a Sun-Sentinel investigation found that the governor and his administration ordered Department of Health officials at the county level not to discuss COVID-19 with the public during the run-up to the election.The governor's office disputed the paper's characterizations, insisting DeSantis has been consistent in promoting COVID-19 precautions. But from reopening bars arbitrarily to pressuring schools to hold classes in-person, the governor has been slammed by virtually every pressure group imaginable for pandemic recklessness.At the same time, DeSantis has enabled COVID-19 deniers by hiring an Uber-driving conspiracy theorist as a data analyst and allowing his staff to share death records with a conservative blogger who has written columns downplaying the severity of the pandemic.During a Nov. 30 press conference, DeSantis reiterated his false claims that mask mandates and lockdowns are ineffective in fighting the spread. Regarding masks, DeSantis said, “I don’t think you have to (be) strung up by a bayonet to do it. Fining people is totally overboard.”His position is in direct conflict with Biden’s plan to ask Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days of his administration and mandating mask-wearing for interstate travel on planes, trains, and buses. DeSantis is also handicapping efforts by the new mayor of Miami-Dade, the county with the largest number of coronavirus cases in the state and that is experiencing a third surge, from reinstating fines for not wearing masks. County Mayor Daniella Levina Cava, who revealed last week she had contracted COVID-19 herself, said during a Dec. 4 Zoom call that she has been unable to speak with DeSantis since the election, according to the Miami Herald.The images of the GOP event at the governor’s mansion didn’t generate headlines, but have been retweeted several hundred times, including by some of DeSantis’ harshest critics. Among them: Orlando state Rep. Anna Eskamani and Rebekah Jones, Florida’s COVID-19 dashboard architect and former Health Department data scientist who alleges she was fired because she refused to manipulate data about Florida’s coronavirus numbers.On Monday, after state police raided her home with guns drawn to seize her computer and cellphone, Jones accused the DeSantis administration of targeting her by initiating a criminal investigation. According to a search warrant, however, someone using Jones’ IP address illegally accessed the state’s emergency alert email system to send an unauthorized mass email, an allegation she disputes.“DeSantis has been trying—and failing—to shut me down and silence me since May,” Jones told The Daily Beast. “It didn't work then, and it won't work now.”‘Pointed a Gun in My Face’: Florida Police Raid Home of Fired COVID-19 Dashboard ArchitectEskamani, the state legislator, said the photos depicted a wanton disregard for COVID-19 guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), such as encouraging people to wear masks when they are in close contact with one another even when outdoors. In September, DeSantis eliminated most of the state’s measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus, including an executive order that limited social and recreational gatherings to no more than 10 people.“The photos demonstrated how reckless our governor is acting in enabling the spread of COVID-19,” Eskamani told The Daily Beast. “He is not modeling good behavior and is taking his role for granted. It’s completely discouraging.”Ignoring the increases in cases, hospitalizations, and data continuously demonstrating that social distancing works—not to mention the incredible stress faced by health-care workers at the moment—is “rather tone-deaf,” Roberts added. On Dec. 5, the day of the event, the Florida health department reported more 10,000 cases for the third consecutive day. Since then, the state added roughly another 23,000 new cases, bringing Florida’s cumulative total to 1,073,770 cases since the pandemic began.As for the GOP gathering, the precedent set by what appears to have been a superspreader event at the White House Rose Garden party touting the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett loomed. Dr. Marissa Levine, another University of South Florida infectious disease professor, said even outdoor, well-ventilated events can be considered high-risk when there is a large turnout, no face coverings, and prolonged contact time.But with cases setting new records nationwide, DeSantis seemed determined to set a new bar for pandemic absurdity.“It certainly does not send the right message with respect to our efforts needed to control the pandemic at this time,” Levine said.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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  • Pompeo unloads on US universities for China ties

    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday accused U.S. universities of caving to Chinese pressure to blunt or bar criticism of the Chinese Communist Party. The attack, which included identifying two university administrators by name, comes as the Trump administration seeks to cement its anti-China policies before leaving office in January. Pompeo took aim at universities across the U.S., claiming they refused to address the Trump administration’s concerns about China’s attempts to influence students and academics.

  • Pope makes grim seasonal visit to statue

    Pope Francis made an unannounced, pre-dawn visit to a Rome landmark on Tuesday (December 8) after he was forced to cancel the annual public ceremony because of the coronavirus. The event, which is usually attended by thousands of people and is considered the start of the capital's Christmas season, was cancelled. Francis went unannounced at 7 a.m. and placed a basket of white roses at the base of the statue in the rain. During the 15-minute visit he prayed for the city and for all people around the world affected by COVID-19, a Vatican statement said. He then went to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he said Mass before returning to the Vatican.

  • A jail officer in Spokane, Washington, shot and killed a 70-year-old woman in the building's lobby

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  • Russian police hunt thieves who plundered top secret 'Doomsday Plane'

    Police in Russia said on Wednesday they were searching for thieves who plundered technical equipment from a top-secret military aircraft known as the Doomsday Plane that is designed for use during a nuclear war. Police in the southern region of Rostov said in a statement that a search for the culprits was under way. Russian military experts speculated that the items had been stolen because some of the units had been assembled using precious metals such as gold and platinum.

  • Rudy Giuliani, hospitalized with the coronavirus, says he has 'exactly the same view' on COVID-19

    Speaking from his hospital room, Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday he hasn't changed his mind regarding the coronavirus or mask use, despite his recent COVID-19 diagnosis.Giuliani, President Trump's personal lawyer and a former mayor of New York City, was admitted to a Washington, D.C., hospital on Sunday, after traveling across the country in his futile attempt to overturn the election results. Giuliani did not wear a mask during meetings last week in Arizona, Michigan, and Georgia, exposing lawmakers and others to the virus.During an interview with New York radio station 77 WABC, the hosts asked Giuliani if his views on the virus have changed, now that he is sick and in the hospital. They mentioned former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who contracted the virus after attending a super-spreader event at the White House; Christie later said it was "wrong" to be there without a mask."No," Giuliani responded. "I have exactly the same view. You know, I've also been through cancer, a couple of other things — very serious, very serious, emergency knee operation. Things happen in life, and you have to go with them. You can't overreact to them. Otherwise, you let the fear of illness drive your entire life." Regarding face coverings, which provide protection to the wearer and those around them, Giuliani said he thinks "you can overdo the masks."Giuliani revealed that he has received two of the same medications Trump took during his hospitalization for COVID-19: remdesivir and dexamethasone. One of the radio hosts told Giuliani the drugs are "not something that the normal American is going to be able to get, because it's quite expensive." Giuliani deflected, saying he "didn't know that. I mean, they give it to us here at the hospital."Giuliani did admit that his high profile is why he's receiving treatment that the average American can't get, saying: "I think if it wasn't me, I wouldn't have been put in the hospital. Sometimes, when you're — you know, when you're a celebrity — they're worried if something happens to you, they're going to examine it more carefully, and they do everything right." He said his advice to people is "get early treatment," falsely claiming that "the earlier you get treated for this, No. 1, you totally eliminate the chance of dying."More stories from theweek.com The Trumps are reportedly preparing to move out of the White House Pete Buttigieg reportedly really wants a Cabinet spot — but not just any Cabinet spot Trump's jaw-dropping vaccine screwup

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