April 8, 2021 News Brief

Good morning!

I’m going to start this morning by discussing the Pantsuit Politics news. Voting for our Fan Art Contest is underway and we would love for y’all to vote for your favorite three designs!

Vote in our Fan Art Contest: https://forms.gle/GJyL1H6X27RmgakCA

In international news, there is unrest in Northern Ireland over the United Kingdom vote to leave the EU, which has the potential to lead to a border between north Ireland, which is part of Britain, and the Republican of Ireland in the south, which remains in the EU. As part of Brexit, the Northern Ireland Protocol was put into place, which created a border in the Irish Sea, with goods from Britain entering Northern Ireland via EU checkpoints. Unionists are angry about this protocol and the need for EU checkpoints, with the Democratic Unionist Party calling for the agreement to be withdrawn.

For additional United Kingdom news, the UK has revealed a $59M fund to support Hong Kong citizens emigrating to the United Kingdom. This new approach provides a pathway to U.K citizenship for 3M people, as well as their 2.3M eligible dependents.

In U.S. news, President Biden is advocating for his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan. This plan focuses on “traditional” infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, as well as internet and climate change. The American Jobs Plan is a long-term strategy by the Biden Administration, as President Biden stated that “We don’t just fix for today. We build for tomorrow.”

President Biden is also working to take executive action against the epidemic of gun violence in the U.S. President Biden plans to take steps to stop the sale of “ghost guns,” which are kits from which a gun can be assembled but are not subject to the same safety regulations, as well as extend the national Firearms Act requirements to cover stabilizing arm braces that are used to transform pistols into short-barrel rifles.

To end today, I wanted to gladly accept the new title of Sports Correspondent and share that the Baylor Bears won the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Monday, defeating Gonzaga. We are Big Ten sports fans here, so it wasn’t the best March Madness for us this year, but my heartfelt congratulations to Baylor, the players, coaches, families, and fans!

Have the best Thursday available to you!

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