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| Good morning, Daily Briefing readers! There is a lot happening in Washington today as the first Senate hearing on a sweeping voting rights bill will take place. In the other chamber, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., is holding a hearing today, Equal Pay Day, to examine the pay gap between men and women. On the bright side, if you're still looking for your stimulus check or a box of Grape-Nuts cereal, you could be in luck today! |
| Jane and Steve are here with Wednesday's news. |
| Let's get started with some things that people are talking about today. |
| 🌎 Asian Americans reported the single biggest increase in serious incidents of online hate and harassment as racist and xenophobic slurs blaming people of Asian descent for the coronavirus pandemic spread over the past year. Some 17% of Asian Americans reported sexual harassment, stalking, physical threats and other incidents , up from 11% last year, according to a new survey from anti-hate group ADL shared exclusively with USA TODAY. |
| 🧑⚕️ The Biden administration is extending for three more months a special opportunity for people to sign up for government-subsidized health insurance. Instead of ending May 15, the special enrollment period will run through Aug. 15 to give people more time to take advantage of the expanded subsidies included in the recently passed $1.9 trillion stimulus package. |
| 📺 George Segal, a longtime leading man in movies who can be currently seen as the lovable grandfather on ABC's "The Goldbergs," died Tuesday due to complications from bypass surgery his wife said. He was 87. He rose to film stardom in the 1960s, received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor for his portrayal of Nick in 1966's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and was an A-list star in the 1970s. |
| 🏀 Hours before her team's game, Georgia Tech coach Nell Fortner used her Twitter account to tee off on the NCAA for glaring "disparities" in the governing body of college basketball's treatment of the men's and women's tournaments. Following Georgia Tech's victory over West Virginia on Tuesday that sent the Yellow Jackets to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2012, Fortner reiterated what she said earlier about the NCAA. "I think that the inequities are something that need to be looked at," she said, in part. "I feel like we're a valuable asset to be able to run a little bit stronger championship." |
| 🦐🥣 Writer and comedian Jensen Karp believes his box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch contained a few shrimp tails, he tweeted Monday. His post went viral, and has been retweeted more than 21,300 times as of early Wednesday morning. The General Mills cereal responded to Karp's tweets saying it appeared to be an accumulation of cinnamon sugar and that there was no possibility of cross-contamination with shrimp. |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, national correspondent Trevor Hughes speaks about the aftermath of the Boulder, Colorado, mass shooting. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
Boulder shooting: Biden urges Congress to make gun bills a priority |
| President Joe Biden called on Congress on Tuesday to "immediately pass" legislation that would close loopholes in gun background checks and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in his first public remarks after a mass shooting at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, killed 10 people. Two bills, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021, both passed in the House earlier this month and are now in the Senate. The Bipartisan Background Checks Act would expand background checks on people seeking to purchase or transfer firearms, while the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021 would extend the initial background check review period from three to 10 days. In Boulder, a handful of vigils have been scheduled to commemorate the victims. Among the remembrances, a candlelight vigil originally scheduled for Tuesday night at the Boulder County Courthouse was moved to Wednesday. |
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First Senate hearing on sweeping voting rights bill will take place |
| The Senate is scheduled to discuss S.1 or the "For The People Act," on Wednesday before the Senate Rules Committee. The legislation, which the U.S. House passed along partisan lines earlier this month, would, among other things, expand same-day voter registration and early voting. The measure is a priority for Senate Democrats, but has no Republican co-sponsors. The bill also faces hurdles in the chamber, including the prospect of a GOP filibuster, a congressional tactic that essentially requires 60 Senate votes. A committee vote is expected in April. |
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Equal Pay Day: USWNT to be front and center in discussion of gender pay gap |
| Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., is holding a hearing Wednesday, Equal Pay Day, to examine the pay gap between men and women, the disproportionate inequalities women of color face, discuss several pieces of "feminist legislation," and hear from witnesses like U.S. Women's National Team soccer star Megan Rapinoe. Maloney told USA TODAY there is "a long way to go to achieve economic equality for women. The data is abundantly clear that this inequality still exists." President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden also have an event on their schedule with Rapinoe, Margaret Purce and other members of the U.S. Soccer Women's National Team to mark the day. The USWNT sued U.S. Soccer for discrimination in March 2019, alleging the federation had violated both the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The national team has settled its dispute with the federation over unequal working conditions, but the pay dispute remains unresolved. |
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More stimulus checks are on the way |
| Many Americans should see their $1,400 stimulus check in their bank account Wednesday, according to the government. The Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Treasury said Monday that the next batch of Economic Impact Payments will be issued this week, with many coming as paper checks or prepaid debit cards. Some direct deposits began processing Friday with an official pay date of Wednesday. Get updates on the status of your next stimulus payment using the IRS "Get My Payment" tool. |
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More news you need to know: |
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Cereal lovers can rejoice: The Grape-Nuts shortage has ended |
| After months of being out of stock, the beloved crunchy cereal Grape-Nuts is shipping at full capacity to stores nationwide , parent company Post Consumer Brands told USA TODAY exclusively in a story published early Wednesday. The brand started experiencing shortages in late 2020 and its Grape-Nuts Flakes cereal also was affected. The shortage hit amid the coronavirus pandemic and production issues. Also, if you paid inflated prices on the black market to get a box, you may be eligible for reimbursement. Cereal fans who paid $10 or more for a box of Grape-Nuts Original cereal between Nov. 1, 2020, and March 15 are "eligible to submit a valid retailer or e-retailer receipt for a partial refund of up to $115 to help cover the difference between the amount paid and the suggested retail price of the Grape-Nuts Original cereal box purchased." Though, we advise those trying to get the refund to pay attention to the official rules/fine print. |
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ICYMI: Top stories from yesterday: |
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