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Despite a few hitches and glitches, the House has finally passed the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, a short while ago. It was passed along party lines with a 220-211 vote.
On Wednesday morning, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a “motion to adjourn” saying that her colleagues need additional time to discuss the bill.
The staunch QAnon supporter and conspiracy theory advocate took to one of her favorite social media platforms to post about her step to stop the vote on the bill. She called it a “massive woke progressive Democrat wish list.”
In the House the rep. officially tried to file her motion hoping to adjourn the vote and asked the Speaker to do so. However, within hours of her putting the appeal in motion, 40 members of her own party, the GOP voted against the adjournment motion.
The vote on the motion caused some delay as the House was set to vote on the $1.9 trillion Covid bill that is one of President Biden’s most important ones as it has monetary to increase vaccinations, to send stimulus checks to eligible Americans, to extend unemployment benefits and to provide funds for local and state institutions to restart the faltering economy.
As the bill has passed today, the president will sign it to make it a law and stimulus checks will be disbursed by the end of the week. It will also extend the unemployment benefits which were to lapse soon.
Many changes were made in the original bill as moderates including one Democrat senator, Joe Manchin, held back the bill until changes were made and benefits were trimmed.
On Saturday, the Senate had passed the bill along partisan lines with a 50-49 vote. The absence of a GOP senator due to a family emergency made it a 50-49 instead of a 50-50 vote.
One of the biggest disappointments for many Democrats and independent Rep. Bernie Sanders was the dropping of the House-approved federal minimum wage increase up to $15 an hour by 2025. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus with almost 100 members was extremely disappointed though she called the bill “incredibly bold.”
Many other Democrats including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lauded the bill while Republicans said that the country would pay the price for the extra spending.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration stopped the enforcement of the “public charge” restrictions on green cards. These restrictions were put in place by the Trump administration and were at the heart of his immigration policies.
Early on Tuesday, the Justice Department notified courts across the nation as well as the Supreme Court that it would not defend the public charge regulation that was passed by the administration of the former president.
This policy had faced condemnation by advocates as it gave U.S. official’s greater powers to discriminate against immigrants who relied on or were at the risk of relying on public benefits including food stamps, health and other government services.
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that Clinton era rules would be enforced. They directed officials to call immigrants public charges only if they receive government cash benefits or if they were in long term institutionalized care.
In the early 1880s, the term public charge was included when the federal government regulated immigrants, mainly Chinese, under the pretext that they “endangered the good order” of other American communities.
The Trump administration took these regulations further by using economic vulnerabilities to classify immigrants as burdens unless they were self-sufficient. Advocates said that it was as if there was a wealth test to deter low income groups from applying for immigration.
The Urban Institute published a report last month that stated that 13% of immigrants did not access government aid in 2020 as they were afraid of endangering their immigration cases.
New York Attorney General, one of the many who had challenged this economically discriminatory immigration rule from the Trump administration, said that the recent ruling from the Justice Department ensured that fewer children would go hungry and a larger number of families would receive the medical care that they desperately need.
While praising Tuesday’s actions, Olivia Golden, executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy urged the Biden administration to formally rescind the 2019 rule. The director also said that public awareness about the reversal of the policy should be created so that immigrants would rest assured that they could “safely get the care and help they need.”
Jameela Jamil, ‘The Good Place’ star has also spoken out about Piers Morgan after his exit from ITV’sGood Morning Britain, where he stoked controversy after his comments on Megan Markle.
The actress tweeted on Tuesday, calling him out by saying that that she hoped that everyone should never ever again have to watch minorities go on mainstream news; to defend their rights as well as their right to be treated well, with dignity and with respect, while being screamed over by “this man.”
The 35-year old actress also shared her personal struggles due to the same person, 55-year old Morgan whose relentless hate campaign against her had driven her to think about suicide. She said that last February, “I almost killed myself.”
She said that she happy that she is still alive for many reasons but watching him leave Good Morning Britain made her feel…She followed the text with a GIF which shows her flipping her hair on the red carpet at the Emmys.
PEOPLE requested Piers Morgan for comment but a representative of his has not as yet responded.
There had been a heated spat between Jamil and Morgan in February 2020. He had posted a text message from Love Island Host, late Caroline Flack. The message discussed Jamil. According to E!Online Jamil had lambasted Morgan for using a dead woman, with whom she had been friends, as a weapon “to try to create further harassment for me.”
In August last year, Jamil had once again exchanged words with Morgan when he had criticized the 39-year old Megan for airing her views on the U.S. elections.
On Monday, Morgan had once again criticized Markle on the morning show he hosts. His comments were in bad taste as he commented that he didn’t believe her, when she spoke of her struggles with mental health issues including suicidal thoughts.
On Tuesday’s episode of Good Morning Britain, he was called out for his behavior the previous day by his colleague Beresford, leading him to make a stormy exit from the morning show. He came back later and spoke about the need to be sensitive to mental health issues.
U.K. media regulator Ofcom has since opened an investigation as there were 41,000 complaints against him, though he did attempt to speak clearly about his thoughts on mental illness and suicide, when he came to the show.
Piers Morgan had quit Good Morning Britain following discussions with the network which released a statement: “ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add.”
The FBI has released new surveillance video showing the person suspected of planting pipe bombs around Washington D.C. on the night before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Video recorded between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 5 shows the suspect placing bombs near the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees.
The suspected bomber left the first device in an alley behind the RNC, which is located at 310 First Street Southeast.
The FBI says at 1:00 p.m. EST on January 6, multiple law enforcement agencies received reports of a suspected pipe bomb with wires at the headquarters of the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C.
Fifteen minutes later, a second suspected pipe bomb was reported at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C.
The FBI had already released still photos of the suspect — including ones that showed identifying details of his Nike sneakers — offering $100,000 for any information leading to his arrest.
The bombs never detonated and may have been placed as a distraction to keep police away when a pro-Trump mob breached the building where lawmakers were voting to certify Joe Biden’s election victory.
Fashion apparel retailer Express, Inc. (NYSE: EXPR), announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2020. These results, which cover the thirteen and fifty-two weeks ended January 30, 2021, are compared to the thirteen and fifty-two weeks ended February 1, 2020.
“Over the past twelve months, we have effectively managed our liquidity while meaningfully advancing the EXPRESSway Forward strategy. We took appropriate action and made progress despite extraordinary circumstances and market conditions,” said Tim Baxter, Chief Executive Officer. “We are well positioned to accelerate in 2021. I expect sales to continue improving sequentially each quarter, and that we will return to positive EBITDA in the back half of the year.”
Fourth Quarter 2020 Operating Results:
Consolidated net sales decreased 29% to $430.3 million from $606.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, with consolidated comparable sales down 27%.
Comparable retail sales, which includes both Express stores and eCommerce, decreased 28% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.
Comparable outlet sales decreased 27% versus the fourth quarter of 2019.
Gross margin was 16.6% of net sales compared to 27.0% in last year’s fourth quarter. The decrease was driven by the sales impact of COVID-19 and a $4.5 million non-cash impairment charge taken against certain long-lived store assets.
Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses were $134.0 million, 31.1% of net sales, versus $148.9 million, 24.5% of net sales, in last year’s fourth quarter. The decrease was driven primarily by the COVID-19 mitigation actions taken by the Company, a reduction in variable costs driven by the sales decline and the previously announced corporate restructuring.
Operating loss was $62.7 million compared to a loss of $189.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. The loss from the prior year includes approximately $205.0 million in intangible asset impairment and restructuring charges.
Income tax benefit was $10.8 million, at an effective tax rate of 16.9%, compared to income tax benefit of $47.5 million, at an effective tax rate of 25.1% in last year’s fourth quarter. The Company’s effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2020 was impacted primarily by the recording of a valuation allowance against the Company’s deferred tax assets.
Net loss was $53.3 million, or a loss of $0.82 per diluted share. On an adjusted basis, net loss was $43.1 million, or a loss of $0.66 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2020. The adjusted loss excludes the income tax benefit from the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of $5.5 million, as well as the negative non-cash impacts of the deferred tax asset valuation allowance of $12.4 million and the $4.5 million pretax impairment charge mentioned above. This compares to a net loss of $141.6 million, or a loss of $2.21 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2019. On an adjusted basis, net income was $13.8 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was a loss of $45.0 million compared to a loss of $168.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. EBITDA was negatively impacted by the asset impairment of $4.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 and the impairment of the intangible assets of $197.6 million and property, equipment, and lease assets of $2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Full Year 2020 Operating Results:
Consolidated net sales decreased 40% to $1,208 million from $2,019 million in 2019, with consolidated comparable sales down 27%.
Comparable retail sales, which includes both Express stores and eCommerce, decreased 29% compared to 2019.
Comparable outlet sales decreased 21% versus 2019.
Operating loss was $455.2 million compared to a loss of $217.9 million in 2019. The loss from the prior year includes approximately $205.0 million in intangible asset impairment and restructuring charges.
Net loss was $405.4 million, or a loss of $6.27 per diluted share. On an adjusted basis, net loss was $314.3 million, or a loss of $4.86 per diluted share, in 2020. The adjusted loss excludes the income tax benefit from the CARES Act of $42.1 million, as well as the negative non-cash impacts of the $105.7 million deferred tax asset valuation allowance and the $34.4 million pretax impairment charge. This compares to a net loss of $164.4 million, or a loss of $2.49 per diluted share, in 2019. On an adjusted basis, net loss was $5.1 million, or a loss of $0.08 per diluted share, in 2019.
EBITDA was a loss of $384.7 million compared to a loss of $132.8 million in 2019. EBITDA was negatively impacted by the asset impairment of $34.4 million in 2020 and the impairment of the intangible assets of $197.6 million and property, equipment, and lease assets of $4.4 million in 2019.
Balance Sheet And Cash Flow Highlights:
Cash and cash equivalents totaled $55.9 million at the end of 2020 versus $207.1 million at the end of 2019; cash and cash equivalents at year-end were limited by the terms of our credit facilities.
Capital expenditures totaled $16.9 million for 2020 compared to $37.0 million for 2019.
Inventory was $264.4 million at the end of 2020, up 20.0% compared to $220.3 million at the end of 2019. The increase was primarily driven by continued pressure on sales from the pandemic and higher than planned inventory in core, seasonless product. In addition, the Company made the decision in late 2019 to liquidate underperforming product, which significantly decreased year-end 2019 inventory balance. Year-end 2020 inventory is down slightly when compared to year-end 2018 inventory balance.
Long-term debt was $192.0 million at the end of 2020.
Borrowings:
On January 14, 2021, the Company announced that it has entered into a definitive loan agreement with Sycamore Partners as lead lender, along with Wells Fargo and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, that strengthens its liquidity position by an additional $140.0 million. The new financing includes a $90.0 million FILO Term Loan with a maturity date of May 24, 2024, and a $50.0 million Delayed Draw Term Loan. This financing is in addition to the Company’s existing $250.0 million revolving credit facility, of which $106.1 million was borrowed at year-end.
As of January 30, 2021, the net amount outstanding under the Company’s credit facilities was $196.1 million and approximately $35.6 million was available for borrowing under the Company’s revolving credit facility after giving effect to certain borrowing base limitations and outstanding letters of credit in the amount of $36.1 million. Further details regarding the facility are available on the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company with the SEC on January 14, 2021.
Real Estate Agreements:
The Company took a number of steps to improve liquidity during the COVID-19 pandemic, including negotiating $85 million in rent abatements, deferrals and future rent reductions. The breakdown is as follows:
$50 million in rent abatements
$25 million in future rent reductions and allowances
$10 million in rent deferrals
$25 million of the rent abatements were executed in 2020, and the remaining $25 million have been agreed to and are expected to be executed in the first quarter of 2021.
eCommerce Strategy:
The Company is finalizing a strategy that will grow its digital channel to $1.0 billion in 2024 and expects to unveil the details of the strategy in the second quarter of 2021. The strategy is based on the four foundational pillars of Product, Brand, Customer, and Execution, and will be driven by increases in conversion, average transaction value and traffic fueled by the following initiatives:
Assortment optimization through shared choices, product extensions and expansions, robust growth through their Marketplace business, and enhanced service offerings
Relaunch of the Express Insider loyalty program
Focus on selling through social media channels and influencer networks to create a true customer community
Enhancements to multi-channel capabilities to improve speed and service
Website enhancements; including faster checkout processes and improved search and navigation functionality
Full Year 2021 Outlook:
Due to the uncertainty of the current environment, the Company will only provide a high level outlook for 2021. For the full year of 2021, the Company expects the following:
Sequential comparable sales improvement throughout the year
Significant gross margin improvement for the year
Buying & Occupancy expense dollars to decrease double digits as a percent to 2019
SG&A expense dollars to decrease high single digits as a percent to 2019
Meghan Markle is receiving loads of encouragement from fans as she is facing some criticism from the British Press mainly the tabloids and one recent morning show host who has quit the show since.
A March 2016 taping of the BUILD series is once again trending. This almost 5-year old interview received renewed interest when a user “Michelle” shared a less than a minute appearance of Markle on the series, on Twitter.
In the clip, Markle tells host Donna Freydkin that she looks at social media as a “great way to connect with people.” She calls out to Emily Sorrells a young high school fan of hers, who was a part the audience.
She tells the host that she only knew Emily through Twitter and she knew that she would be a part of the audience as she saw it on social media. Markle adds that Emily was going on a trip to Costa Rica to do some aid work as Markle’s “U.N. stuff inspired her.”
Markle tell the astounded fan that she wrote her a letter and brought it along to the interview. The then actress holds up a small parcel, walks into the audience and gives the letter to Emily, following which the two of them share an embrace.
In 2015, three years before she married Prince Harry, Markle was the United Nations Women’s Advocate for Women’s Politics Participation and Leadership. She participated in a learning mission to Rwanda. She met female parliamentarians. A visit to a refugee camp in Gihembe in Rwanda was also a part of her visit.
A video of me meeting Meghan Markle just went viral. Allow me to explain. She is genuinely the most inspiring human I’ve met. Through her social media & blog she taught me to be a more confident and passionate version of myself. The hate against her is garbage pic.twitter.com/euHjKkxp7D
In the same year, she spoke on the importance of gender equality on March 8 for the U.N. and said that she was proud to be “a woman and a feminist.” The date is celebrated as International Women’s Day.
Emily Sorrell also went on social media and called her the “genuinely the most inspiring human I’ve met. She slammed those who spoke against Markle.
In this Tale of Two Terms, it is the rest of the family members who could face collateral emotional damage as a lot of dirty linen is being aired in public.
Prince Harry and Megan Markle have their own terms of living and yet they have so many expectations from the royal family. They made the decision to step back from the royal family and move to America as adults. Yet, it is mentioned that he “only” got his inheritance from his mother, Princess Diana, and the amount is not mentioned. It is also mentioned that their son will not get a royal title, when the couple has stepped away from “royal duties.”
The royal family or firm also has its own terms. Royal members of the family get innumerable privileges as they fulfil duties as “working members of the royal family.” The palace or the firm withdraws these huge perks that come with the job, if born or married into royalty leave their royal duties and lead independent lives.
Hence this can perhaps be called “A Tale of Two Terms (& conditions) or of may also be considered as a tale of two warring factions in a biological family where both seem to follow the same adage “want to have your cake and eat it.”
Apple has recently released security updates for devices. Although there are no features, this is an important update for iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watch as the tech giant said that these are “important” security updates and the company says they are “recommended for all users.
The security fixes are as follows:
iPhones and iPads will update to iOS and iPadOS 14.4.1
Apple Watch will update to 7.3.2
Mac OS Big Sur will update to 11.2.3.
If you have an older version of macOS, you can install the latest version of Safari. This will bring up the 14.0.3 version.
All these patches work to fix the same vulnerability which is a memory corruption bug. It is found in Webkit, the engine that is responsible for powering Safari, which is Apple’s browser.
If you visit a malicious page that has code that can exploit the vulnerability, the bug can be triggered. Once it is triggered, it exploits the device, letting a hacker or attacker run malicious code on the vulnerable Apple device.
Google and Microsoft had recently reported the bugs. However, it is believed that malicious hackers have not actively exploited the devices unlike the security flaws weeks ago.
Last month, Apple had to make changes in 14.4 to fix three vulnerabilities in WebKit. Unfortunately, these were being actively exploited
The company declined to provide details about who was exploiting the vulnerabilities or who were the victims of the attack. The tech giant also refused to say if a small set of users were attacked or if it affected a wide group. It had said that additional details would be available soon but none have been forthcoming so far.
Apple has always prided itself on its security issues and to admit to an attack is a rare occurrence. In 2019, it had glossed over reports by Google reporters on malicious websites that had hacked into iPhones.
So, it is advisable for Apple device users to install the latest updates in their iPhones, iPads, Apple Watch or macOS that has been released by the tech giant.
Florida Congressman, Rep. Matt Gaetz called toxic by some, has requested the House Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing on court-ordered conservatorships. He, along with Congressman Jim Jordan, have also cited Britney Spears and he tweeted #Free Britney.
Matt Gaetz is a staunch fan of former president Donald Trump. He is ostensibly a fan of Britney Spears as well as he is taking up her cause at the federal level. In their letter to Rep. Jerry Nadler, who is the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, the congressmen named the recent documentary which focused on the pop star and the controversy surrounding her conservatorship.
The New York Times had recently produced a documentary titled Framing Britney Spears which traces the difficult and sad journey that the talented star has faced and the obstacles that she still has to overcome. The documentary was released on Hulu a few weeks ago. After the airing of the documentary, she received a lot of support from personalities and celebrities from around the globe. Now, she could receive federal support.
The letter, submitted on March 8, raises several issues: general and specific. It speaks in general about the growing public concern about the use of conservatorships that deprive people of their individual and personal freedom “at the behest of others through the manipulation of the courts.”
It also mentions “the case of multi-platinum performing artist Britney Spears.” It unfavorably mentions her father Jamie Spears and notes that she is “afraid” of him. It questions the alleged motives and legal tactics of her father among various other issues.
The letter also says that Spears is not the only one and that the committee should convene a hearing and deduces whether other Americans are also suffering as they remain in conservatorships.
From 2008, the issue of Spears’ conservatorship has been controversial. The pop star was placed in an arrangement sanctioned by the court. It has continued for more than a dozen years. Britney Spears has been wary of her father Jamie Spears and has said that she will not perform until he is removed from her conservatorship. As with many other young stars and performers she has faced a lot of mental stress.
As the Britney Spears conservatorship issue becomes a federal one, the #Free Britney may finally become reality and move from a hashtag movement to freedom for a talented pop star that has faced immense pressure as well as interference in her adult life.
As the sequel of Space Jam, Space Jam: A New Legacy is awaiting release, one character who had starred along with Michael Jordon 25 years ago, has been canceled from the show. Warner Bros. have confirmed that Pepe Le Pew will not feature in the film.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Loony Tunes has permanently retired the character of Pepe Le Pew. The studio said that he will not be a part of any feature film nor will be a part of the new series of the cartoon Loony Tunes which HBO Max is streaming.
The New York Times Opinion writer Charles M. Blow had listed Pepe LePew and two other characters Speedy Gonzalez and Tom and Jerry’s Mammy Two Shoes as childhood animated cartoons that leave a poor impression, on a March 3 column.
Pepe Le Pew has been a controversial character in Loony Tunes. He relentlessly pursues a black female cat, thinking she is a skunk. Blow says that this character “normalized rape culture” with its depiction that “no really didn’t mean no.” The skunk does come across as a leech.
In 2019, Malcolm D. Lee replaced Terrence Nance as director. Lee made the decision to cancel Pepe Le
Pew from the film, as per a report in Deadline. Nance had included the character but had filmed it in such a way that the skunk learns a lesson by being slapped and having a drink poured over his head in homage to Casablanca.
The news that Pepe Le Pew has been benched has been shared recently as many other studios and publishers have removed content or added warnings on certain shows or stopped publishing certain books. Disney has put warnings on a few episode of the Muppet Show and Dr. Seuss Enterprises have stopped publishing six books.
These decisions have angered conservatives who have criticized these decisions. They say that the “cancel culture” has gotten out of hand. However others like Blow have praised the decisions.
Space Jam: A New Legacy will be released on July 16 in theaters and on HBO Max, with LeBron James but without Pepe Le Pew. This decision has received mixed reactions on social media. Some have defended the character and called him a romantic while others are happy that he is relegated to history books.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary) is the current queen of the United Kingdom. She has been queen since February 6, 1952, making her the longest-reigning British monarch in history.
The Buckingham Palace on Tuesday responded to Prince Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“The following statement is issued by Buckingham Palace on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen.
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.
“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”
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