by Joshua Hernandez, Editor-In-Chief

The first major piece of legislation for the Biden administration comes with a hefty price tag of $1.9 Trillion and has garnered bipartisan public support and minimal praise from Republicans in Congress. Despite opposition to the American Rescue Plan, the bill features heavy COVID-19 relief that would provide stability for American workers and families.

On Saturday, March 6th, the Senate passed the American Rescue Plan in a razor thin party line vote of 50-49. While the Biden administration’s first landmark piece of legislation has received bipartisan public support according to various polls, Senate Republicans were vocal about their opposition to the legislation, hence the close vote. 

Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) was the lone Senator to not vote, as he was attending to family matters back home. However, even if Senator Sullivan would have presumably voted against the American Rescue Plan, it would’ve passed anyway since Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris would’ve held the tie breaking vote. 

Despite looming threats from Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Senator Krysten Sinema (D-AZ), who planned to vote against the bill had changes not been made to the original bill passed by the House of Representatives, Democrats were able to work with the two Senators to make changes to the bill and secure the votes of the “blue dog” moderates in Manchin and Sinema. 

The American Rescue Plan officially passed the House of Representatives again today after a new vote, due to the bill being changed from its original form. In and of itself, the American Rescue Plan includes $1,400 stimulus check payments to individuals making up to $75,000 per year and a massive $350 billion in aid to both state and local governments across the country. Moreover, the Plan allocates $14 billion in funds for vaccine distributions, another huge point of advocacy for President Biden since the start of his presidency. 

The Plan also includes $300 in weekly unemployment benefits that will run through September of this year. In the original bill passed by the House of Representatives, the weekly unemployment benefits would have been $400, however, the aforementioned opposition by Senator Joe Manchin forced Democrats to amend the figure. Finally, the Plan includes a child allowance of up to $3,600 for every family across the nation.

A notable change in the new version of the American Rescue Plan is the elimination of a provision that would have gradually increased the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. It was removed after a controversial decision by the Senate Parliamentarian and vocal bipartisan opposition. 

According to various White House sources, there is a growing belief within the Biden Administration that the American Rescue Plan would cut child poverty in half, making it one of the most ambitious efforts to cut poverty in the past few decades. In addition to including increases in subsidies for child care, the bill features a broadening of eligibility under the Affordable Care Act and a wide expansion of rental assistance and food stamps.

Other overlooked aspects of the bill are that it would allocate a whopping $12 billion to nutrition assistance programs and money that would aid in reopening businesses nationwide; $45 billion in rental, utility, and mortgage assistance, $30 billion for transit agencies; millions of dollars more for small business and live venues; and large federal subsidies and protections for individuals to keep the health care they received from their places of employment if they had lost their jobs during the pandemic. 

According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, once President Biden signs the American Rescue Plan into law, Americans nationwide should expect their stimulus checks towards the end of this month.

by Joshua Hernandez, Editor-in-Chief

Historically, the United States has been a beacon of hope and a standard pillar of Democracy around the world, upholding values of freedom and liberty while maintaining peaceful transitions of power between Presidents. While American Democracy has been polarized as of late, it pales in comparison to the autocracies that plague Russia and China, where corruption and genocide are the norm. 

After the arrest of Alexei Navalny upon his return to Russia on January 17th, supporters of the opposition leader and anti-corruption activist find themselves in the middle of a battle against their own President Vladimir Putin and his corrupt counterparts, whose autocratic leadership and power has created an endless realm of Russian toxicity.  The Russian people’s desire for anti-corrupt leadership is warranted, even palpable. The autocratic leadership of Vladimir Putin has ignited a spark in Russian citizens who are disgruntled with the corruption and injustices that occur within their country daily. 

Of course, over the past few years, President Putin has fundamentally changed Russia’s election system to heavily favor himself staying in power – and while Russia was once a country with elections, even dating back to their days as the Soviet Union, they are a full fledged autocracy today where elections are merely for show. 

A direct opposition to the United States, President Putin and Russian government officials heavily discourage any sort of vocal opposition to their corrupt leadership, meaning many Russians don’t have a voice. A false, preconceived notion that President Putin has tried to project to the rest of the world is that he is popular within his country. 

While that may be true in a certain sense, Alexei Navalny has emerged as a staunch anti-Putin advocate, and as the only man with the courage to vocally oppose the Kremlin. He has become somewhat of a novelty, amassing a huge pool of supporters who are tired of the domestic oppression they combat daily under Putin’s reign of terror. 

The immediate arrest of Navalny is specifically what has enraged anti-Putin Russians and the international community. Navalny was in Germany being medically treated following a nerve agent poisoning in August, supposedly an assassination attempt by the Kremlin coordinated by President Putin himself.

In different cities around Russia, where protests have broken out in support of Navalny, the voices of Russian opposition to President Putin are being actively suppressed by the denials of the Kremlin and brute police forces. Any Russian figures who have advocated for organization of legal aid in support of protestors have been detained by Russian authorities; Navalny’s wife, Yuliya, was arrested herself, although she was released from custody just a few hours later. According to the Associated Press, Moscow police also arrested Oleg Navalny, the brother of Alexei, in their continuous efforts to send a message to any Navalny associates and supporters. 

While protests have been largely peaceful and full of anti-Putin rhetoric, other protestors in different cities were met with violent police presence. Needless to say, the Russian people are protesting against the corruption and injustice that is plaguing their country. The arrest of Navalny – considered an influential, historically courageous figure among some Russians for his anti-Putin rhetoric – has only amplified those concerns. In Russia, the people are organizing protests against an unjust arrest, President Putin and his Kremlin associates, literal autocrats who run questionable elections that skews heavily in the favor of a sole political party. 

While there may be on the surface striking similarities with the domestic tensions faced by the United States and Russia within the past year, it is imperative to remember that Russia is a true Autocracy, and while America’s Democracy may have been vulnerable for just a few hours on January 6th, it was never at risk of serious collapse.

In Russia, the people don’t have the opportunity to hold their leaders accountable. In Russia, accountability is a distant fantasy in a world with a dismal reality. In the United States, accountability is an expectation – a given. In Russia, elections are essentially skewed toward one party, thus keeping one party – that of President Putin – in power. 

Meanwhile, just down south of President Putin’s Russia and the civil unrest occurring there, President Xi Jinping of China is leading a genocide of Muslims and is not being held accountable for his actions. 

In the Northwestern Region of Xinjiang, China is leading a genocidal campaign against Uighur Muslims and a plethora of other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities. Plain and simple, there are human rights abuses going on in China – the epicenter of a communist dictatorship – that is largely going unchecked due to Xi Jinping’s willingness to use force against other nations who may intervene. On the final day of the Trump Presidency, the U.S. State Department finally decided to declare China’s attack against the Uighurs as genocide. 

While many have disputed the use of the term “genocide” against China, President Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken carried over similar concerns of President Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, stating that he believed forcing individuals into concentration camps was indeed genocide.

A big part of China’s attack on Uighurs in Xinjiang is forcing these groups to attend classes that promote the ideals of China’s Communist Party, Chinese language and job training skills. 

Furthermore, since 2017, thousands of religious sites, such as mosques, have been destroyed, and Chinese forces are separating Uighur families from one another, with the children of detained adult Uighurs being sent to boarding schools and orphanages run by the government. 

China is forcing Uighurs to conform to the countries values, forcefully assimilate to Chinese culture and ridding them of their own culture. Yet, while the risk of economic sanctions is certainly there for China, almost no other practical actions can be taken.

In China, accountability does not exist. Indoctrination of Chinese culture and full assimilation is expected, not recommended, and collectivist pro-Communist rhetoric is the norm.

President Xi Jinping is an autocratic leader with little to no moral merit in a Communist country that seldom allows its people to have views of dissent. It is a government that allows its leader to purge an entire culture and minority group of their own culture.

It is much like Russia, where any leader or activist who is against corruption, injustice and unchecked leaders are unfairly arrested or, worse, assassinated. 

While the United States certainly has its own domestic issues as a country, no Democratically elected American President would lead a Genocide of minority groups within their country. No Democratically elected American President would unfairly arrest an activist for speaking out against injustice.

When Americans protest, they do so with the support of American politicians, even if one political party embraces it more than the other. When Americans dislike their President, they have the power to oust them in a free and fair election. When Americans want to bring new ideas to the table, they can run for political office on their own and make those changes by exercising their First Amendment rights.

In the United States of America, advocacy is encouraged. Peaceful protesting has become the norm. Voting is encouraged, and holding politicians accountable allows our Democracy to maintain integrity.

Due to the tumultuous times the United States has experienced recently, it is often difficult to remember just what makes America so great and truly separates us from our enemies – simple decency and being standard bearers of life, liberty, freedom and power of the people are just a few things. 

If it is still hard to see what distinguished the United States of America from our enemies, look no further than the brute abuses of human rights occurring in China and Russia due to true autocratic rule. 

The voices of American Democracy are our national hymns, and America’s Democracy will always prevail. Luckily, Americans don’t experience these horrors of autocracy – because we are not one.

by Joshua Hernandez, Editor-In-Chief

At 78 years old, President Joe Biden becomes the oldest man to ever rise to the presidency. After decades of public service as a Senator from Delaware and two terms as Vice President, President Biden finally ascends to the office he has long sought. In a historic election cycle, Vice President Kamala Harris was inaugurated as the first African American and female to hold the Vice Presidency. 

The journey to the White House has not been an easy one for President Biden. Despite earning the trust and admiration of many nationally for his public service, President Biden has battled through adversity, personal hardships and loss throughout his political career. The story of President Joe Biden is one that can simply be described as tragic, yet also an emboldening symbol of the power of perseverance, hope and optimism. 

In 1972, shortly before he would take his oath of office to become a United States Senator from Delaware, tragedy struck Biden: his wife, Neilia Hunter, and daughter, Naomi, only a year old, were killed in a tragic car accident that also injured his sons Beau and Hunter Biden. 

Out of the depths of despair, he was not swayed away from public service. On January 5, 1973, Biden was sworn in as a Senator from Delaware inside Delaware Division of the Wilmington Medical Center, where his two sons were still recovering. After the accident, then Senator Biden took the Amtrak from Delaware to Washington, D.C. daily just to be able to see his sons on a daily basis. The travel took a total of 3 hours and 90 minutes to and from work. 

In 1987, Senator Biden kicked off a longshot Presidential Campaign. While a respected and trusted Senator, his campaign failed to gain enough traction after being plagued by accusations of plagiarizing speeches. After just a few months of campaigning, Senator Biden withdrew from the race for the 1988 Democratic Nomination. 

In February 1988, just a few months after his tumultuous, failed campaign, Senator Biden suffered two life threatening brain aneurysms, which presented yet another roadblock and long road to recovery. 

Decades later, Senator Biden believed that he could once again be the Democratic nominee for the presidency in 2007. However, Biden, the experienced Senator, was no match for the two shining stars he was running against – Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and Senator Hillary Clinton of New York. Biden later dropped out of the race in January of 2008. 

Eventually, to-be President Obama chose Senator Biden to be his running mate. The rest is history, with Biden serving as President Obama’s Vice President from 2009-2017. 

In 2015, though, tragedy struck then-Vice President Biden once again – his son, Beau Biden, died from Glioblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer, after a long battle. The death of his son devastated Vice President Biden, eventually leading to him believing that his political career was over, a large reason why he did not run for the Democratic Nomination in 2016. 

Still, President Biden persevered, choosing to seek the Democratic Nomination in 2020 after his family urged him to take on Incumbent President Donald Trump. Running on a reputation of being a strong Senator, Vice President and generally a decent person, Biden was seen as one of the most likely candidates to win the nomination.

However, in a field of strong, emerging candidates including Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, Biden stumbled out of the gate. Many believed the former-Vice President to be out of touch with the current generation and unable to pass the torch to the future of the Democratic party. 

Thus, Biden took losses in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, before a huge endorsement by Rep. Jim Clyburn helped him win South Carolina, which saved his campaign. As history would play its course, South Carolina was the turning point the Biden Campaign needed, as it led to victories on Super Tuesday that essentially put his final opponent Bernie Sanders out of the race. 

Biden became the Democratic Nominee, chose Kamala Harris as his running mate in August, and defeated Donald Trump in November. Life has come full circle for President Biden – and his story is one of perseverance, hope, optimism and resilience, as famed news anchor Dan Rather stated on twitter: 

Perhaps lost in all the madness that has been going on is that Joe Biden’s life path to this moment has been remarkable, a journey of tragedy, perseverance, hope, and an uncanny ability to defy the odds.

— Dan Rather (@DanRather) January 16, 2021

The rhetoric of unity that President Biden employed throughout his campaign was a highlight in his Inaugural Address, which became even more imperative after the Insurrection at Capitol Hill two weeks ago.

While President Biden made a litany of optimistic statements throughout his address, he ensured to lay out his visions of what a Biden America may look like.

“Today on this January day, my whole soul is in this. Bringing America together. Uniting our people. Uniting our nation. And I ask every American to join me in this cause. Uniting to fight the foes we face: anger, resentment, and hatred, extremism, lawlessness, violence, disease, joblessness and hopelessness. With unity, we can do great things, important things. We can right wrongs. We can put people to work in good jobs. We can teach our children in safe schools. We can overcome the deadly virus,” President Biden said.

After Democracy prevailed once again and a peaceful transfer of power was carried out, President Biden signed 17 executive orders, including a national mask mandate, rejoining the World Health Organization, ending the “Muslim ban,” rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, stopping the construction of the border wall and extending eviction and foreclosure moratoriums.

by Joshua Hernandez, Editor-In-Chief, and Joaquin Medrano, Managing Editor

The nonviolent civic legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. runs deep, and one of the greatest ways America could honor his memory is by listening to his rhetoric and transforming current politics into an environment that is welcoming for everyone.

With a domestic state of affairs that can simply be described as chaotic, unjust and perilous, the toxicity level between Americans with different social and political opinions has reached an unforeseen height. In turn, it deprives the masses of the ability to unite during times of strife, agony, despair and confusion. 

During the battle for Civil Rights between the 1950s and 1960s within the United States, Dr. King emerged as a central voice for African Americans nationally who simply wanted justice and to have a shot at living a life where they weren’t hated or discriminated against solely because of the color of their skin.  

In opposition to the segregationist Jim Crow laws in the South as well as oppression in other areas of the country, Dr. King emphasized the need for his people to choose peace and use nonviolent means to reach their just end. 

At that point in American history, African Americans had been through indescribable injustice, oppression and marginalization. Why try to resonate and be nonviolent with a group of people and a country that has long oppressed, marginalized and institutionalized you and your people? 

Through the use of Biblical references, Dr. King was able to rally the fervor of his listeners, to unite both blacks and whites in America to fight for the same cause. A very devout man who was undeniably devoted to the cause of justice for his people and those oppressed everywhere, he saw no value in violent resistance. Instead, he wanted to appeal to the better half of the oppressor and protest, mobilize, organize and fight in a way that was respectful, defendable and just. 

Dr. King preached on the importance of joining the oppressors and the oppressed. He called for the oppressed to be the “bigger person” and show love for their oppressors, while he called the oppressors to be in the shoes of those they oppressed for a second and think of how it feels to be mistreated in a changing society.

However, the incidents of the Insurrection at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on January 6th were anything but nonviolent, respectful, defendable or just. Indubitably, it was an act of domestic terrorism – an attack on America’s ever so sacred Democracy. The dream envisioned by Dr. King was much less clear across America that day. People died outside and inside the Capitol, and Confederate flags graced Capitol halls for the first time ever.

Importantly, the rioters committed insurrection and sedition for a cause that has been debunked and is rooted in denial and conspiracy. In comparison, Dr. King and those who supported his battle for Civil Rights never once raided federal property or responded with violence against our Democracy, and there actually was a legitimate reason for them to protest.

As America heads into a new administration and reflects on the good that Dr. King brought to this country, let’s remember his powerful nonviolent rhetoric in the face of mass scrutiny, violent pushback and oppressive discrimination.

In retrospect, Dr. King’s message is not a part of American history that can be left on textbooks as a memory of what America was, but instead a measure of what American should be like. Dr. King left a message for the masses- a message that can be shared with the world full of peace, love and acceptance. Dr. King’s message should be regarded as a message not only for those living in a pre-Civil Rights Movement era, but also in a time where parallels can be drawn between the past and the present.

In the end, a society cannot move forward without recognition of its past and looking for ways to fix what is broken. Dr. King did not die a martyr because he caused a change in the 1960s, but he died a martyr because his vision remains true long after his death, as many people have decided to lead inspired by his work.

A country should never forget the work of social justice martyrs; a country should fight for their work to be completed and for their dreams to be fulfilled.

by Joshua Hernandez, Editor-In-Chief

On Wednesday, President Trump was impeached on the Capitol Hill insurrection’s one week anniversary, becoming the first President in U.S. history to be impeached twice. After already being embroiled in controversy for spreading baseless claims of a “rigged” election after his loss to President-Elect Joe Biden last November, President Trump’s last two weeks in office have been sent into a downward spiral after he incited his supporters to violently storm the U.S. Capitol.

The House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump for a historical second time in a 232-197 vote. The impeachment comes merely one week after he incited his supporters to commit seditious acts and storm Capitol Hill in a last-ditch attempt to overturn his election loss to President-Elect Joe Biden.

As the votes on impeachment were finalized, it was revealed that 10 Republican Representatives sided with Democrats and voted in favor of impeachment, making President Trump’s second impeachment the most bipartisan impeachment effort in American history. Most notably, Representatives Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) were three of the ten GOP House members to vote in favor of impeachment.

Since the House of Representatives has sped through the impeachment process in record time, President Trump’s fate lies in the hands of the Senate, although a formal Senate vote isn’t expected until after President Trump leaves office on January 20th, according to Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell.

Already, there is speculation that many Republican Senators can join Senate Democrats in formally convicting President Trump. If President Trump is convicted, there is growing belief that the Senate may also vote to ban President Trump from ever running for President again, as he has publicly considered runs in 2024.

The impeachment effort came on the heels of last week’s attack on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The Orwellian chaos will forever be remembered by not just Americans, but folks around the globe, as a protest-turned-riot dented our nation’s Capital and within an instant became one of the most appalling moments in American history. 

Sparked by a rally from President Trump just moments before, his supporters invaded our nation’s capitol as Congress was in the process of certifying the Electoral College results that solidified the victory of President-Elect Joe Biden, who will take office in just a week in a D.C. area now being patrolled by the National Guard.

The United States of America stopped for a few hours, as the country glued themselves to their TVs and screens and watched as Trump supporters raided Capitol Hill and disregarded the rule of law. 

The Presidency – as former President Ronald Reagan loved to say – is a bully pulpit. Usually, Presidents use their platform and higher office to provide words of optimism, hope and unity to the American people, while also being sure to speak out and bring awareness to specific domestic and foreign issues that the nation must address. Essentially, the Presidency being a bully pulpit means it’s the highest platform for social awareness and advocacy. 

On Wednesday, January 6th, however, the Presidency was anything but a bully pulpit. In lieu of finally conceding his election loss to President-Elect Joe Biden, President Donald Trump used his Presidential position to foment violence and sedition. 

Since his election loss to Joe Biden in November, President Trump has continued to repeat baseless accusations of widespread voter fraud, after filing lawsuits that have since been thrown out or lost by the President and his campaign. 

As Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) pleaded for their Republican colleagues to rethink their objections to the Electoral College results inside the Senate chamber, Trump supporters stormed Capitol Hill and fought Capitol Hill police as they stormed their way and breached not just federal property, but one of the most important houses of power in the world. 

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) were the two main Republican Senators who objected to Biden’s election victories in the swing states of Arizona and Pennsylvania, amongst others.

As the two Senators presented their cases before Vice President Pence and the rest of the Senate, a mass of Trump supporters began to break into Capitol Hill, damaging federal property, breaking into the offices of Representatives and Senators and striking Capitol Hill police and security guards. 

On a day that was supposed to be a day of celebration for Democracy, President-Elect Biden and his supporters as the Senate convened to certify the results of the Electoral College, terror riddled the hearts and minds of Americans nationally.

Merely a day after the Democrats flipped the Senate in the Georgia runoff elections and historically elected a Southern Jewish Millenial in Jon Ossoff and a liberal, black Minister in Reverend Raphael Warnock, sweatshirts bearing “Camp Auschwitz” and T-shirts bearing “6MWE” – which stands for “6 Million Wasn’t Enough” – in reference to the Holocaust – were seen being worn by Trump supporters on Capitol Hill.

Furthermore, as Trump supporters infiltrated the halls of the Capitol, many carried Confederate Flags – the first time in American history that the Confederate Flag was present inside the Capitol halls. Not even during the Civil War was the symbol for the Confederacy present within the Capitol. 

The same Capitol that has been roamed throughout American history by various Senators, Representatives and Presidents saw itself being vandalized, looted and invaded with vile words and symbols of hate. 

Blood was even spilled in the Capitol, with a woman being shot to death by Capitol Hill police for attempting to get through a barrier. 

However, the woman who was shot to death wasn’t the only individual who died – three other individuals died of what was said to be “medical emergencies”, while policeman, Brian Sicknick, was killed by injuries inflicted in the riot.

In the aftermath, Congress returned safely and did their jobs – with Vice President Mike Pence formally announcing the certification of the Electoral College results which saw the Biden-Harris ticket win convincingly. 

However, the successes and joys Democrats achieved by flipping the Senate, retaining the House and winning the Presidency were quickly washed away as days passed. As new information was released on the Capitol Hill riots due to pictures, news and CIA investigations, members of Congress on both sides of the aisle were livid at the fact that President Trump’s rhetoric was mostly to blame for inciting such violence – and, thus, the death of six Americans. 

Congresswoman Cori Bush of Missouri was among the first Democrat to introduce legislation for Articles of Impeachment against President Trump despite Inauguration Day for President-Elect Biden being on January 20th. 

Despite Vice President Pence denying the pleas of Congress to invoke the 25th Amendment against President Trump and become acting President for the remaining weeks of his term, the House of Representatives voted 223-205 on Tuesday, January 12th to call on Vice President Pence to strip President Trump of his power, primarily due to concerns with the President’s dangerous state of mind and uncertainty surrounding what he may do next. 

The concerns over President Trump’s worsening mental state were made even more evident after he was banned from a litany of social media sites, most notably Twitter, Snapchat, Youtube, and Google. 

As arrests continue to be made for those participating in the Capitol riots and no-fly list travel bans are imposed, Capitol Hill police and Washington, D.C. as a whole are already preparing for the next challenge of quelling any dangers that may arise on Inauguration Day on Wednesday, January 20th. 

While President Trump has already announced he will not be in attendance to President-Elect Biden’s Inauguration, with Vice President Pence taking his place, threats were made by Trump supporters and the far-right extremist group “Proud Boys” on the now-defunct conservative social media platform Parler that more violence was to be expected on Inauguration Day.

President Trump becomes the first outgoing President since Woodrow Wilson in 1921 to not attend their successor’s Inauguration, although Wilson remained inside the Capitol Building during Warren G. Harding’s Inauguration due to poor health. 

In response, Capitol Hill police is beefening up their procedures and preparing for any scenario possible, in conjunction with the National Guard and Secret Service.

While the Insurrection at Capitol Hill is certainly going down in history books as one of the most shocking moments in American history and an attack against our Democracy by domestic forces, one thing is certain: bright days may very well be ahead.

by Joaquin Medrano, Managing Editor

During the last few weeks, several talks on the matter of a future reopening for schools across Los Angeles County has left many in shock due to the high number of cases in the area. So, what would the reopening of schools be like with such a high number of cases?

According to weekly reports, the cases in LA County have been on the rise, with ICU availability close to zero in many areas, worrying citizens day and night.

Stay at home orders have been in place for weeks, but with such a high number of cases, many wonder whether those restrictions are being respected and treated seriously by the people.

Schools were still allowed to be open over the last few weeks, as long as small cohorts were created. The cohorts resulted to be effective as people were getting a closer experience to a normal school year.

Cases in Los Angeles have increased from last week’s 84.4 new cases per 100 thousand, to 63.9 new cases per 100 thousand, positivity rate is at a whopping 11.4 %, compared to 8.4% from last week, and ICU availability is currently at 2%, compared to 13.3% from last week, an all-time high rate of cases since the start of the second wave. 

As new reports of vaccines being rushed to those in need increase, the approval from the FDA of the Moderna vaccine, and how it will work along with the Pfizer vaccine, with several doses delivered to LAX, many questions remain unanswered.

How will the new vaccine allow for more doses to be administered? Is there going to be a penalization for those who deny to take the vaccine? And, can life really return to normal after the vaccine starts to immunize the general population?

Even as many of those answers can only be determined by time, many stipulate that the vaccines could never bring life back to normal as the virus created several challenges, not to mention the lives that were lost in the process, and how the general public regarded governments responsible for the containment or general economic support of the virus.

For school, the centers of learning for many, the spaces where concentration can only work, hope to continue campaigns that will allow for small cohorts to be present under safety guidelines stipulated by each state.

Many students and parents will hope to take advantage of the opportunity, after seeing a significant drop in the performance of students in the classroom, and the support system that became difficult for teachers and school officials to really take into consideration.

The virus changed how people view every little aspect of life. Many saying that the virus ruined the start of a new decade, others that the virus was an aid for progress as no vaccine has ever been released so quickly and been approved by so many authorities in the world.

2020 came to change humanity forever, perhaps becoming a turning point in human history, proving how fragile humans really are, and how a small virus can take down so many citizens at once.

by Pedro Ochoa

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE received U.S. regulatory authorization for their COVID-19 vaccine on December 11, making it the first vaccine company to get the green light in the United States.

U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and German partner BioNTech are the coronavirus vaccine front runners.

The nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine will begin arriving in states Monday morning, as the outbreak has killed nearly 300,000 Americans

Trucks rolled out Sunday morning as shipping companies UPS and FedEx begin delivering Pfizer’s vaccine to nearly 150 distribution centers across the states. Initially, about 3 million shots are expected to be shipped nationwide.

It was unclear exactly who would receive the first doses of the vaccine, though health workers and nursing home residents were the priority. Perna said health authorities would decide.

A similar number of shots will be held back for those recipients’ second dose, which is needed for full protection from COVID-19.

Distribution locations include hospitals and other sites able to meet those ultra-cold storage requirements. Within three weeks, vaccines should be delivered to all vaccination sites identified by state governments, such as local pharmacies, Perna said.

The vaccine was timed to arrive Monday morning so that health workers would be available to receive the shots and begin giving them.

While determined to be safe, regulators in the U.K. are investigating several severe allergic reactions. The FDA’s instructions tell providers not to give it to those with a known history of severe allergic reactions to any of its ingredients.

The FDA next week will review a second vaccine from Moderna and the National Institutes of Health that appears about as protective as Pfizer’s shot. It was next to release full data analysis for a late-stage trial on Nov. 30, with its vaccine showing a 94.1% efficacy rate. FDA advisers are due to review it on Dec. 17 and the EMA will do so by Jan. 12.

by Joaquin Medrano, Managing Editor

After California Governor Gavin Newsom announced in a press conference the plans for a safer California, many of such actions are beginning to take effect on LA County after a week of the announcement.

It is no surprise that after such a long-waited holiday, people would have incredible motivation to go outside during Thanksgiving/Black Friday specials.

Hundreds of millions alone flooded the busy outlet mall of Citadel in LA county. Even as people were required to wear masks, many did not social distance and took off their masks at points of conglomerations.

As the incubation period for the virus varies from 2-14 days, it is no surprise that many cases would be expected in the following weeks of the holiday season.

To understand the severity of the situation calculated in numbers here is a rundown of what this week looks like for new cases and a possibility of going back to normal:

Cases have increased to 34 new cases per 100 thousand, positivity rate is at a whopping 8.4%, and ICU availability is currently at 13.3%, forcing the county to enforce stay-at-home order due to the high amount of cases and rate of infection.

In order to reduce the rate of infection, people need to cooperate and stay at home until the situation gets better. No matter what holiday it is, it is better to stay at home and prevent the spread to relatives and friends.

The situation in Los Angeles County has taken an immense toll on essential workers as they are constantly on the line and at a higher risk of becoming infected by interacting with people who are unaware of having the virus. For those reasons, staying at home becomes the best possibility, but for those that are needed in the fields, the best thing to do is keep precautions and practice social distancing.

The numbers are clear, Los Angeles County is currently one of the most affected counties in all of California, given the number of people who call this their home as well as the focus of business in the area.

As stay-at-home orders begin to take effect, authorities urge the population to only go out when needed and put on hold leisure activities while the situation stabilizes.

Starting December 8th, health authorities began to send “emergency alerts” to residents in the Los Angeles County are, with strict order to stay at home, unless it is urgent to go outside.

To stay in line with the guidelines of the state governor, ICU availability would have to go up to at least 15% in order to be back into activities pre-Thanksgiving. 

As people become tired of stay-at-home orders, nothing will continue to improve. Unless people vow to cooperate with state authorities, very little could be achieved.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the streets of LA in ways never imaginable, taking the city of angels to a period of loneliness and despair.

by Joshua Hernandez, Editor-In-Chief

Over the past few weeks, President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris have dedicated their focus on their presidential transition. Despite President Trump continuing to press forward with his failure to concede the election, Americans are getting a glimpse at the upcoming Biden Administration through his Cabinet picks.

According to election polls, incumbent President Donald J. Trump has lost the election.

While this may seem like old news, the Trump Administration and Campaign team have continued their self-described “legal battle” against the election results, echoing their baseless claims of voter fraud and uncertified ballots even as key battleground states where lawsuits were filed – such as Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada – have doubled down, or even tripled down, with their confirmation of President-Elect Biden’s election victories in their state.

Whereas President Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York City, have decided to wage war against Republican Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia and other state officials over their refusal to believe the President’s accusations of voter fraud, President-Elect Biden has swiftly begun his duties as the soon to be Commander-In-Chief, assembling his cabinet members and taking briefings on both COVID-19 and matters of Intelligence and National Security. 

A glimpse into a potential Biden Administration and Biden Cabinet has gotten clearer by the day for Americans, as the President-Elect has prioritized political and administrative experience in choosing his supporting staff, a stark contrast to President Trump’s Cabinet, which has featured many political outsiders and relatively inexperienced figures. 

Thus far, President-Elect Biden’s cabinet is fronted by veterans of the Obama Administration and politically experienced figures with plenty of history in D.C. and abroad, while also being tremendously diverse. 

Antony “Tony” Blinken, President-Elect Biden’s pick for Secretary of State, served as Deputy Secretary of State under President Barack Obama and likely has a rapport with President-Elect Biden.

Of course, the Blinken pick has been met with backlash from Republicans due to his time in the Obama Administration.

Amongst other cabinet picks for President-Elect Biden include former Secretary of State and 2004 Democratic Nominee for President John Kerry as Climate Envoy and Linda Thomas-Greenfield for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. 

Moreover, Avril Haines was selected as the Director of National Intelligence, while Alejandro Mayorkas was selected as Secretary of Homeland Security. On Monday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was selected as the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the first Latino to hold the position if confirmed by the Senate. 

Dr. Rochelle Walensky was selected as the Director of the CDC, while Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has gained the admiration and trust of the American people throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, will return as Chief Medical Adviser for COVID-19 to President-Elect Biden. 

President-Elect Biden’s Cabinet picks have looked tremendously diverse thus far as promised. The selection of Janet Yellen as Secretary of the Treasury leads that pack, as she will be the first woman to front that post if confirmed. 

On Monday, alongside Xavier Beccera being selected for Secretary of Health and Human Services, President-Elect Biden selected Retired General Lloyd Austin as Secretary of Defense, according to CNN sources.

President-Elect Biden has also filled some personal staff positions that do not require Senate confirmation. Ron Klain is yet another experienced selection for the Biden Administration, as he served as Chief of Staff to Vice President Al Gore from 1995-1999, while serving then-Vice President Biden as Chief of Staff from 2009-2011. 

Furthermore, President-Elect Biden has hired an all-female senior communications team. While the President-Elect is far from finished with making his Cabinet and staff selections, he is already fulfilling a promise he made to the American people as his supporting staff stands to be one of the most diverse – if not the most diverse – in American history, a stark contrast to the Cabinet and staff employed by President Trump during his sole term in office. 

On the election front, President Trump and his Administration have pressed forward with their baseless claims of election fraud, even after Rudy Giuliani tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday. Despite opposition from President Trump and Giuliani, Georgia certified Joe Biden’s election victory for a third – yes, third – time. 

Barring anything unforeseen, President Trump’s hail mary attempt to overturn the election results are essentially over, even if he and his team continue to press forward with their resistance to President-Elect Biden’s victory. 

On January 5th, the Georgia Senate Runoff Elections are set to take place, with two Senate seats potential up for grabs. If the Democrats win both seats, it will be a crushing blow for Republicans, as the Senate will be a 50-50 split, leaving Vice President-Elect Harris as the tiebreaking vote in the Senate in favor of the Democrats. 

The runoff election will see Democratic Nominee Jon Ossoff take on incumbent Republican Senator David Perdue, and Democratic Nominee Reverend Raphael Warnock take on incumbent Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler. 

Despite the 2020 Presidential Election being over, the political realm of the United States is still overwhelmingly active and constantly shifting. As Inauguration Day nears for President-Elect Biden, there will be a litany of developments between now and next month that will arise in our country as 2020 comes to a close. 

Between COVID-19, the Senate runoff election results, the remainder of President-Elect Biden’s Cabinet picks and President Trump’s continuous refusal to concede the election, the American people may have a tumultuous, intense, and action-packed month ahead. 

by Aydn Morris

After 9 months of quarantining, there is still an increasing number of COVID-19 cases, leaving California officials reeling as they try to slow the spread and flatten the curve.

For the past 9 months Covid 19 has affected many peoples lives. Most people believed that this virus would end in about a month or two, but they never expected it to go for this long. A majority of people around the world are tired of seeing family members die or get infected by the virus and just want it to stop so they can get back to the way things were before. 

California is one of the states with the highest number of cases and increasing percentages of cases and deaths due to Coronavirus. For the past couple of weeks, California has been giving residents light stay at home orders to try and decrease the cases and deaths.

The stay at home order is where residents are expected to stay at home unless of an emergency, in need of essential services or are essential workers. The stay at home order is is just a lighter version of the lockdown where a few places are still open but only a small amount of people are allowed. 

The stay at home order will close down many public places such as restaurants, personal grooming services, bars, movie theaters, museums and casinos.

Places that are open will be outdoor recreational facilities, hotels, places of worship (which will have to be held outside), professional sports and entertainment production without live audiences and non-urgent medical and dental care. For grocery stores that are open, they have to limit their store capacity down to 20%. Outdoor recreational facilities include beaches, golf courses, and parks. All of these places will require people to masked, socially distanced and in limited capacity. 

According to KTLA5 News, “the new restrictions will go into effect in Southern California at 11:59 p.m. Sunday and last for at least three weeks. The region includes the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego and is home to about 24 million people, almost half of the state’s population. The order was also put in effect for the San Joaquin Valley in central California.”

This will outrage half of California’s population especially since it is the Holiday season, with kids being out of school on their winter break, which most likely puts an end to any plans of traveling to families houses and it will also be harder for people to finish Christmas shopping. 

According to Deadline, L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva sent mixed messages this week as the orders were issued. “I want to stay away from businesses that are trying to comply the best they can. They bent over backwards to modify their entire operation to conform to these current health orders,” he continued, “and then they have the rug yanked out from under them, that’s a disservice. I don’t want to make their lives any more miserable.”

Obviously, it’s difficult for leaders to make these decisions because they all understand how much this is affecting peoples businesses and lives. Furthermore, it also furthers gridlock between politicians and local law enforcement officers, as differing opinions have led to a lack of enforcing restrictions in California and abroad.

Most of us want to get back to the way things were before COVID-19 and California is trying its best to do so.

All we can do as California Citizens is just have to have hope, make the most out of what we have, wear masks, and socially distance.