TAKE with里克·克莱因
这是乔·拜登总统现在能做的事情——新政府尽力解决的一个尝试枪支暴力，一边等着国会看似做不到的事情。
但是由于一系列的原因，这可能不是最后一个动作今年的枪支安全话题。一些动态表明，进一步的措施是可能的，包括一些，是的，需要国会批准。
“这是一系列初步行动，”一名高级政府官员在概述行政命令时说，除其他外，这些命令将试图规范“幽灵枪”，这种“幽灵枪”除了用于使枪支更加致命的支架之外，还由套件制成。"国会早就该采取行动了。"
A一系列大规模枪击事件可悲的是，我把这个话题留在了新闻里。拜登政府周四采取的一些行动可能有助于保持现状，联邦机构的任务是向社区提供建议，并公布更多关于枪支暴力的数据。
像宇宙这样的概念背景调查和一个攻击性武器禁令长期以来一直拥有广泛的公众支持，这是一个仍然很受欢迎的拜登承诺要争取的。
同时，全国步枪协会在政治上是一股被大大削弱的力量。该组织实际上是在本周的审判联邦破产程序该公司首席执行官韦恩·拉皮尔(Wayne LaPierre)被指控试图逃避对该集团财务状况的调查。
近年来，关于枪支的辩论已经接近尾声，但并不完全是这样，如今国会很难成为两党合作的典范。但是跨通道的谈判仍在继续，总统和他的新司法部长现在发表了他们的意见。
的纲要阿维·哈珀
疾病控制和预防中心主任罗谢尔·瓦伦斯基博士、拜登的首席医疗顾问安东尼·福奇博士和拜登的首席科学官新冠肺炎(新型冠状病毒肺炎)大卫·凯斯勒医生将在下周四的国会听证会上就新冠肺炎的进展作证疫苗分发以及冠状病毒变异体推动全国案件上升。
尽管超过6300万美国人已经完全接种疫苗，根据卫生和公共服务部的数据，自3月20日以来，新冠肺炎病例的数量稳步上升。福奇星期三说，没有确切的疫苗里程碑可以保证恢复正常。
“我不知道那个数字是多少。福奇在白宫的冠状病毒简报会上说:“我不能说会达到这个百分比，但我们看到它时就会知道。”。“随着数字大幅下降，这将是显而易见的。”
各州和各地区并没有等待病例的急剧下降回到一个大流行后的那种正常。包括阿肯色州、爱荷华州和密西西比州在内的几个州已经取消了口罩授权，这明显违背了疾控中心的指导。德克萨斯州和亚利桑那州等州已经结束了容量限制。加州州长加文·纽瑟姆面临着回忆努力至少部分是因为严格的新冠肺炎预防措施，现在有计划在6月15日之前“完全开放”全国人口最多的州，尽管重新开放的标准尚不清楚。
冠状病毒变异导致的病例激增仍然是一个持续的威胁。美国健康专家面临的挑战是让厌倦限制的美国人倾听。
小费梅格·坎宁安
如同乔治亚脸市场对其新的限制性投票法肯塔基州的民主党人和共和党人正在庆祝州长安迪·贝希尔签署该州的两党选举改革法案成为法律。
继2020年创纪录的投票率之后，全国各地的共和党人转向州立法机构，试图限制进入投票箱。但是党派政治这次没有在参议员米奇·麦康奈尔和兰德·保罗由于冠状病毒，该法案在11月前扩大了选民准入。
多亏了新的法律，其中一些暂时的变化将会持续，包括三天的提前投票投票中心，这是一个在线门户网站，有资格的选民可以在这里申请并跟踪他们的缺席选票以及每个县的投票箱要求。据《纽约时报》报道，肯塔基州的共和党国务卿迈克尔·亚当斯赞扬了该法案在周三的签署仪式上获得的两党胜利，这使得该州成为迄今为止唯一一个由共和党控制的立法机构来扩大选民准入的州。
“我非常感谢贝希尔州长签署了这项法案，这使得我们的选举更加容易进行，也更加安全。与此同时，当其他州陷入党派分歧时，在肯塔基州，我们正在领导全国，使投票更容易，作弊更难，”亚当斯周三说。
Biden goes alone on guns -- for now: The Note
The TAKE withRick Klein
It's rolling out as what President Joe Biden can get done now -- an attempt by the new administration to do what it can to addressgun violence, while waiting on what Congress seemingly can't.
But for a range of reasons, this might not be thelast actionto come on the topic of gun safety this year. There are dynamics that suggest further steps are possible -- including some, yes, that would require congressional approval.
"This is an initial set of actions," a senior administration official said in outlining executive orders that will, among other things, attempt to regulate "ghost guns" built from kits in addition to braces used to make firearms more deadly. "It is long past time for Congress to act."
Aseries of mass shootingshave, sadly, kept the topic in the news. Some of the actions the Biden administration is taking Thursday could serve to keep it there, with federal agencies tasked with advising communities and putting out additional data on gun violence.
Concepts like universalbackground checksand anassault-weapons banhave long had broad public support, which a still-popular Biden is promising to marshal.
Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association is a vastly diminished force in politics. The organization is actually on trial this week infederal bankruptcy proceedings, with top executive Wayne LaPierre accused of trying to duck a probe into the group's finances.
Debates over guns have gotten close but not quite there in recent years, and Congress is hardly a model of bipartisanship these days. But across-the-aisle talks have continued, and the president and his new attorney general are now lending their voices.
The RUNDOWN withAveri Harper
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Biden's chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci and Biden's chief science officer forCOVID-19response Dr. David Kessler are slated to testify in a congressional hearing next Thursday on the progress of COVID-19vaccine distributionand the spread ofcoronavirus variantsdriving an uptick in cases across the country.
Although more than 63 million Americans are fully vaccinated, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, the number of COVID-19 cases has steadily increased since March 20. Fauci said Wednesday there is no precise vaccine milestone that will guarantee a return to normalcy.
"I don't know what that number is. I can't say it's going to be this percent, but we'll know it when we see it," said Fauci during a White House coronavirus briefing. "It'll be obvious as the numbers come down rather dramatically."
States and localities aren't waiting for a dramatic drop in cases to return to apost-pandemic sort of normal. Several states, including Arkansas, Iowa and Mississippi, have lifted mask mandates in clear defiance of CDC guidance. States like Texas and Arizona have ended capacity restrictions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is facingrecall effortsat least in part because of strict COVID-19 precautions, now has plans to "fully open" the nation's most populated state by June 15, though the criteria for reopening is unclear.
Case surges driven by coronavirus variants remain a persistent threat. The challenge for the nation's health experts is to get restriction-weary Americans to listen.
The TIP withMeg Cunningham
AsGeorgia facesmarketplace backlash over itsnew, restrictive voting law, Democrats and Republicans in Kentucky are celebrating Gov. Andy Beshear signing the state's bipartisan election reform bill into law.
Republicans across the country have turned to state legislatures in attempts to restrict access to the ballot box following record-breaking turnout in the 2020 election. But partisan politics didn't play this time around in the home state of Sens. Mitch McConnell andRand Paul, which expanded voter access due to the coronavirus ahead of November.
Some of those temporary changes will stick around, thanks to the new law, including three days ofearly voting, vote centers, an online portal for eligible voters to request and track their absentee ballots and drop-box requirements for every county. Kentucky's Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams praised the bipartisan win in the bill's signing ceremony on Wednesday-- which makes the state the only one, so far, with a Republican-controlled legislature to expand voter access, according to the New York Times.
"I'm very grateful to Gov. Beshear for signing this bill, which makes our elections both more accessible and more secure. At the same time, while other states are caught up in partisan division, here in Kentucky, we're leading the nation in making it both easier to vote and harder and cheat," Adams said Wednesday.
