Tag: Nancy

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Health

Nancy Messonnier, who warned of Covid risks, to resign from CDC

Nancy Messonnier, who warned of Covid dangers, to resign from CDC

National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director Nancy Messonnier speaks today during a press conference at the Department of Health and Human Services on the Coordinated Public Health Response to Coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCoV) January 28, 2020 in Washington, DC .

Samuel Corum

Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the health expert who was one of the first to raise the alarm about the coronavirus threat to the US, is stepping down from her role at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency’s director confirmed on Friday.

Messonnier “leaves a strong force of leadership and courage in everything she has done,” said CDC director Rochelle Walensky at a press conference. “I want to wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”

Walensky ignored a reporter’s question as to why Messonnier was recently dismissed from her role as head of the CDC’s Covid Vaccine Task Force.

Messonnier, who has served as director of the agency’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases since 2016, will be leaving the agency effective May 14, several outlets reported on Friday.

She will take on a new role as executive director of pandemic and public health systems at the Skoll Foundation, a California-based organization, she told colleagues in an email.

Walensky received Messonnier’s resignation Friday morning, CDC spokesman Jason McDonald told CNBC.

The resignation was first reported by the Washington Post.

In early 2020, when fewer than 100 cases of Covid had been reported in the US, Messonnier urged the nation to prepare for a massive outbreak that would drastically affect normal life.

“I understand that this whole situation seems overwhelming and that the disturbance of everyday life can be serious. But these things people have to think about now,” Messonnier said in February 2020.

Messonnier’s sharp warnings contrasted sharply with the news from then-President Donald Trump, prompting him to threaten her dismissal.

The former president had falsely tried to reassure the nation that the low number of US Covid cases “will go to zero in a matter of days” and will “miraculously” go away.

More than 32,606,724 Covid infections have been reported in the United States, and at least 580,076 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.

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Entertainment

Nancy Lassalle, Longtime Promoter of Ballet, Dies at 93

Nancy Lassalle, Longtime Promoter of Ballet, Dies at 93

Nancy Lassalle, a longtime patron of the New York Ballet and its School of American Ballet, died on April 26 at her Manhattan home. She was 93 years old.

The death was confirmed by her daughter Honor Lassalle.

As a teenager, Ms. Lassalle attended the young ballet academy founded by George Balanchine and now the School of American Ballet. She wasn’t meant to be a ballerina – she was too big and too scratchy, her daughter said – but she loved the dance and mission of Balanchine and his collaborator Lincoln Kirstein. She became a lifelong patroness of ballet and a tireless promoter of Balanchine’s legacy.

She was a founding member of the boards of the city ballet and the SAB, as the school is called. She organized numerous exhibitions and events for the company, including the centenary celebrations for Mr. Kirstein in 2007.

“She was the ultimate board member,” said Albert Bellas, SAB chairman emeritus. “She was financially supportive, knowledgeable, and dedicated.”

She was also in daily, touring with the company and giving parties for the dancers in her Fifth Avenue apartment, said Kay Mazzo, who was once a solo dancer with City Ballet and now heads the school’s faculty.

“Because she was an early student at the school, she understood what Mr. Balanchine and Mr. Kirstein had in mind,” said Ms. Mazzo. “She has kept her ideals and made sure that the school stays on course over the years.”

Ms. Lassalle was editor with Leslie George Katz and Harvey Simmonds of “Choreography by George Balanchine: A Catalog of Works,” which was first published in 1983 by Eakins Press. She was also the editor of Lincoln Kirstein: A First Bibliography. (1978). In 2016, her photographs of Balanchine, who taught a two-day master class in 1961, were published as “Balanchine Teaching”, also by Eakins.

“She was a demanding person, which could be frustrating,” said Peter Kayafas, editor and director of Eakins Press. “There was a time when I was much younger when it was difficult to have a conversation with Nancy without her correcting my grammar. And then came a time when that stopped. “Not because she was tired of the exercise, Mr. Kayafas added,” It’s like I finally learned my lessons. Whenever Nancy was around, the bar was raised. “

Alastair Macaulay, former chief dance critic for the New York Times, wrote in a social media post: “The dance world has a number of generous donors, but there was one in Nancy who combined acute intelligence with a unique devotion to the two visionaries whose work she discovered in her own youth: Balanchine and Kirstein. “

Last year, the SAB launched the Lassalle Cultural Program, which allows older students to explore ballet history and gain free access to New York cultural institutions. When she died, Ms. Lassalle was the emeritus director of the city ballet and the school.

Born a privileged child in New York City on November 10, 1927, Nancy Norman grew up in a eclectic modernist townhouse filled with contemporary photography, pre-Columbian art, and a steady stream of guests, including notable figures of post-war America Culture like Alfred Stieglitz, Aaron Copland, Allen Ginsberg and Ralph Ellison. Her mother, Dorothy Norman, was a photographer, newspaper columnist, and promoter of the arts, and an advocate for social justice and political causes. Mr. Stieglitz was her mother’s mentor and lover. Her father Edward Norman was a son of a founder of Sears Roebuck.

Ms. Lassalle attended Dalton School and the Balanchine Dance School at the age of 14. Her classmates included ballerinas Patricia McBride Lousada, founding member of City Ballet, and Tanaquil Le Clercq, Balanchine’s muse and fourth wife. The three were lifelong friends.

In addition to her daughter Honor, Mrs. Lassalle survived another daughter, Diana Lassalle Turner; one son, Philip Lassalle; and five grandchildren. Her marriage to Edmundo Lassalle ended in divorce.

In 1991 Ms. Lassalle was cast by Jerome Robbins in the lead role of Mother Goose in a bizarre children’s ballet. (It wasn’t a dancing part: As Jennifer Dunning wrote in the New York Times, she was sitting in a chair on the stage when the curtain opened and dancers were spread around her.) It was a gesture that took her place in the Embodied ballet community. Ms. Mazzo said and she loved doing it.

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Politics

Nancy Pelosi says aid invoice will move by March

Nancy Pelosi says relief bill will pass by March

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, speaks during her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on February 11, 2021.

Olivier Douliery | AFP | Getty Images

House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi believes Democrats will pass their next coronavirus bailout package before programs for unemployed Americans expire next month, she said Thursday.

Parliament hopes to approve his $ 1.9 trillion relief plan “by the end of February so we can send it to the president’s desk before the unemployment benefits run out,” the California Democrat told reporters on March 14.

The pandemic-era guidelines, due to be phased out, provide a $ 300 per week unemployment bonus, expand benefit entitlement to self-employed and gig workers, and extend the number of weeks Americans can receive benefits.

Nine House committees began writing and advancing their parts of the auxiliary bill this week, which the Democrats are expected to pass through budget balancing without a Republican vote. Pelosi said she expected the bodies drafting the legislation to finish their work this week.

The Budgets Committee will then combine the policies. As soon as the completed bill passes through the regulatory committee, the whole House can vote on it.

The Senate, which is holding the second impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump, is also trying to push ahead with temporary relief from the pandemic. Earlier on Thursday, Schumer told reporters that the process was not “delaying” the approval of the aid package.

Legislation faces greater challenges in the Senate than in the House of Representatives. In an evenly divided chamber, a single democratic defect would stop the law from being approved.

Democrats must also adhere to strict Senate rules that govern what lawmakers can include in reconciliation legislation. In particular, the Democratic priority of a minimum wage of $ 15, which the House Education and Labor Committee approved under the bill this week, may not survive the process.

Schumer told reporters that he and the chairman of the Senate Budgets Committee, Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Are “doing everything to see it survive”.

Republicans have said they will not support another massive spending package after Congress passed a $ 900 billion aid bill in December. A group of GOP senators who met with Biden about pandemic aid made a counteroffer of around $ 600 billion, but Democrats deemed it too small to address the crisis.

Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Economic Advisory Council, told CNBC Thursday that opinion polls show “very deep” bipartisan support for the plan. He cited the “urgency” of the crisis in explaining the Democrats’ decision to go ahead alone.

Schumer also appeared to support the $ 1,400 direct payment eligibility threshold set by the House Ways and Means Committee. It would send the full sum to people earning up to $ 75,000 and couples earning up to $ 150,000, then completely phased out with incomes of $ 100,000 and $ 200,000, respectively to let.

He said the House bill was “just right” for what Senate Democrats support. Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va., had raised concerns that money could go to high-income Americans. Among other things, Sanders spoke out against lowering the income caps so that people could receive the full $ 1,400.

The urge to get another bailout package comes as the US tries to step up its Covid-19 vaccination efforts and aid unemployed Americans until the economy returns to some degree of normalcy. The latest data shows that more than 20 million people are receiving unemployment benefits in all programs currently running.

If Congress does not renew policy before March 14, it is estimated that nearly 11 million people could lose benefits.

The House proposal would increase the current premium from $ 300 per week to $ 400. This measure, along with other eligibility measures, would remain in place through August 29.

President Joe Biden had previously proposed that the policy be extended until September 30th.

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Politics

Nancy Pelosi backs Trump impeachment after DC riots

Nancy Pelosi backs Trump impeachment after DC riots

U.S. Spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on Wednesday, December 30, 2020.

Ting Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi urged the House of Representatives to press ahead with impeachment if President Donald Trump does not resign after helping fuel the deadly mob takeover of the U.S. Capitol, she said Friday.

“It is the hope of the members that the president resigns immediately,” said the California Democrat in a statement after a call to her caucus. “But if he doesn’t, I have instructed the regulatory committee to stand ready to push legislation on Congressman Jamie Raskin’s 25th amendment and impeachment.”

The House Rules Committee is expected to expedite the impeachment process without hearing or voting by the committee. Those steps would slow the process down just days before Trump left office on Jan. 20. The separate Pelosi bill, drafted by Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, would formally set up a commission for Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet could remove Trump from office.

The president has given no indication that he will consider resigning. The vice president reportedly denies appeal to the 25th amendment.

The House has been preparing to indict Trump an unprecedented second time after the President’s supporters stormed the Capitol on Wednesday and delayed Congress formal counting of President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory. At least five people, including a US Capitol police officer, died as a result of the attack on lawmakers.

Raskin and Rep. David Cicilline, DR.I., and Ted Lieu, D-Calif., Plan to introduce at least one impeachment article on Monday referring to Trump causing the riots, NBC News reported.

Trump spoke to his supporters before they marched on the Capitol and voiced conspiracy theories that cost him the election. He lied to her about the results for two months before confirming Thursday that a “new government” would take over.

In a draft impeachment trial, “Incitement to Insurrection,” received by NBC News, Trump is accused of “involvement in high crimes and misdemeanors by intentionally inciting violence against the United States government.” It goes on to say that Trump “threatened the integrity of the democratic system, disrupted peaceful transfers of power, and compromised a coordinated branch of government by” betraying “his confidence as President in order to prevent the apparent harm to the people of the United States.”

The content of the article can change before Monday. In a tweeted statement, Lieu said the measure has more than 150 co-sponsors. He added that “doing nothing is not an option”.

Massachusetts MP Katherine Clark, the fourth-tier House Democrat, previously told CNN that the Chamber could take action against Trump “as early as the middle of next week.”

Democrats have called for Trump to be removed as they warn that he could further deteriorate democratic institutions or endanger more lives in his final days in office.

In a statement Friday, White House spokesman Judd Deere said the indictment, “A president with 12 days remaining will only serve to further divide our great country.”

It’s unclear if Democrats have enough time to remove the president before inauguration day – or how many Republicans will join them. Kevin McCarthy, minority chairman of the House of Representatives, who opposed counting Biden’s election victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania after the mob attacked the Capitol, spoke out against impeachment because it would “only divide our country further.”

Pelosi and Senate Minority Chairman Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., on Thursday called on Pence and Trump’s cabinet to remove Trump, citing the 25th amendment. They said he could not stay in office after instigating a “riot”. More than 190 other lawmakers, only one of whom is Republican, have also called for Trump to be removed since the attack.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, called on Trump to resign but did not comment on the impeachment.

Pelosi and Schumer said invoking the 25th amendment, which requires support from Pence and a majority in the cabinet, is the quickest way to ensure the president leaves office. While officials like Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed the prospect of Trump being removed, they decided not to take the move for now.

The day after hundreds of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi said again that Vice President Mike Pence should invoke the 25th amendment to recall President Donald Trump, otherwise she will face impeachment proceedings during a press conference The President will usher in Capitol Hill in Washington, DC January 7, 2021.

Melina Mara | The Washington Post | Getty Images

In a letter to the Democrats on Friday, Pelosi said she and Schumer “hope to hear about it.” [Pence] as soon as possible “on whether to invoke the 25th Amendment.

“If the president does not leave office immediately and willingly, Congress will continue our action,” she wrote.

House Justice Committee chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler, DN.Y., said Thursday that lawmakers could take steps to expedite the impeachment process.

“We have limited time to act,” said Nadler in a statement. “The nation cannot afford a lengthy process, and I support putting impeachment proceedings right on the floor of the House.”

According to NBC, Pelosi wanted to speak to Biden about the process on Friday. The president-elect said Friday that he would leave it to Congress to decide what action to take before it is inaugurated.

The Democratic house would have enough support to indict Trump, likely with a handful of Republican votes. The chamber did this once in December 2019.

But the GOP-controlled Senate, which acquitted the president last year, could not follow suit. Only one Republican – Mitt Romney of Utah – voted to remove Trump after his first impeachment trial.

Until elected Democratic Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia are sworn in to seal a Democratic majority, Republicans will have a 51-48 lead in the Senate. A two-thirds vote to remove Trump would require 66 votes, with 18 Republicans on board.

At least one Republican who first voted against removing Trump would now consider doing so more seriously.

“When the House gets together and has a lawsuit, I would definitely consider what articles they could move because, like I told you, I believe the President disregarded his oath of office … what he did was evil” , Senator Ben Sasse, R-Neb., Told CBS on Friday.

Senator Lindsey Graham, RS.C., argued in a Friday tweet that the charges against Trump would now “do more harm than good.” He said efforts to remove a president who contributed to a siege of the Capitol “would not only be unsuccessful in the Senate, it would set a dangerous precedent for the future of the presidency.”

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Health

The houses of Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi had been reportedly vandalized.

The homes of Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi were reportedly vandalized.

It has been reported that the homes of political opponents and the two most powerful members of Congress, Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi, have been destroyed as their stalemate continues over a stimulus package criticized by left and right as inadequate – including President Trump.

In a statement on Saturday, McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and Senate majority leader, lamented what he called a “radical tantrum” that came from a “toxic playbook.” The Louisville broadcaster WDRB-TV reported that the Senator’s house was marked with red and white spray paint overnight. Photos show the letter on the front of Mr. McConnell’s house, including a message saying “Weres my money” on the front door. The Louisville Metro Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

“I’ve spent my career fighting for the first change and advocating peaceful protest,” McConnell said in the statement. “I appreciate every Kentuckian who has participated in the democratic process, whether they agree with me or not. That is different. Vandalism and fear politics have no place in our society. “

At around 2 a.m. on Friday, San Francisco police responded to a report of vandalism in a house in Pacific Heights. Graffiti had been sprayed on the garage door and “a pig’s head” was left on the sidewalk in front of the house, a police spokesman said. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the house belonged to Ms. Pelosi, a Democrat who serves as the house’s spokeswoman.

Police did not answer any other questions, including whether the pig’s head discovered on the property was real or fake. The Speaker’s Office did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

President Trump signed a bill last Sunday that included an incentive of $ 900 billion but called for payments to individuals to be increased from $ 600 to $ 2,000. Ms. Pelosi rallied support for the postponement and the House voted on Monday to increase payments. Mr. McConnell blocked efforts the next day.

Mr McConnell said Tuesday that the Senate would “initiate a process” to consider larger payments along with Mr Trump’s other demands, including investigations into his unfounded allegations of election fraud in the 2020 election and the repeal of certain legal protections for Technology giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter.