Is Biden’s infrastructure bill ‘running into a brick wall’?

Published

4 years ago

June 9, 2021

Biden seeks new coalition for infrastructure bill as talks with key GOP senators crumble

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says bipartisan negotiations on the infrastructure bill “seem to be running into a brick wall”.

In addition to bipartisan options, Biden also spoke to the top two Democrats on Tuesday. He gave them the go-ahead to begin crafting an infrastructure bill that can pass without any Republican votes.

Bi-partisan agreement

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said the President spoke to her about the infrastructure bill.

“I spoke with the president this afternoon, and he ended our infrastructure negotiations,” Capito said in a statement.

“Throughout our negotiations, we engaged respectfully, fully, and very candidly—delivering several serious counteroffers that each represented the largest infrastructure investment Republicans have put forth,” she said.

We can’t let Republicans water down a bill they’ll never even vote for.

Let’s quickly pass the bold infrastructure bill our nation needs. pic.twitter.com/7p6hgRPFLj
— Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal) June 5, 2021

Republicans agree to increase investment

It comes as the Republicans agreed to increase their initial $928 billion investment in the infrastructure bill by $50 billion.

However, Biden believes this increase is not enough. The White House said, “the current offer does not meet objectives to grow the economy, tackle the climate crisis, and create new jobs”.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says perhaps the days of the two parties working together are over.

We appreciate the effort of @POTUS & @SenCapito in #bipartisan infrastructure negotiations. We continue to support a bipartisan path forward in Congress to deliver a transformational #infrastructure bill for America’s communities that leaves no one behind. We are #ReadytoRebuild
— National League of Cities (@leagueofcities) June 8, 2021

Fourth death confirmed due to Optus outage issues

Fourth death confirmed following Optus outage that blocked Triple Zero calls for 13 hours during network upgrade

Published

3 hours ago

September 20, 2025

Ahron Young

Fourth death confirmed following Optus outage that blocked Triple Zero calls for 13 hours during network upgrade

In Short:
– A fourth death is confirmed due to an Optus network failure affecting emergency calls for 13 hours.
– Optus CEO announced an investigation after communication failures and criticism from politicians and emergency services.

A fourth death has been confirmed following an Optus network failure that prevented emergency calls to Triple Zero for 13 hours.

Initially, Optus reported three fatalities, including an infant and two elderly individuals from South Australia and Western Australia. The latest victim is a 49-year-old man from Perth.Optus CEO Stephen Rue expressed deep sorrow over the incident and announced a full investigation into the network update that caused the outage.

He stated that approximately 600 calls to emergency services were disrupted, impacting residents across South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory.

Rue confirmed that the outage stemmed from a problematic firewall upgrade and revealed details of communication failures within the company. Politicians and emergency services expressed anger at the lack of timely information during the crisis.

System Failure

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas criticised Optus for their incompetence in handling the situation.

The federal communications minister also condemned the company, highlighting that such failures are unacceptable.

The incident follows a previous outage for which Optus was fined $12 million, raising serious concerns about their emergency service handling.

News

Israel launches its new “Iron Beam” laser system

Israel’s new “Iron Beam” laser defense system to deploy by year-end, promising cost-effective missile interception.

Published

1 day ago

September 19, 2025

ticker NEWS

Israel’s new “Iron Beam” laser defense system to deploy by year-end, promising cost-effective missile interception.

Israel’s Defence Ministry says its new “Iron Beam” laser system will be deployed by year’s end. The technology is designed to destroy incoming missiles, rockets, drones and mortars with precision.

Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in partnership with Elbit Systems, Iron Beam will sit alongside existing defences such as Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow. Unlike traditional interceptors which can cost tens of thousands of dollars per shot, the laser comes at negligible expense.

Officials call it the world’s first high-power laser interception system to achieve operational maturity, hailing it as a game-changer for modern warfare. Military leaders expect the system to reshape air defence capabilities and cut costs dramatically.

#Israel #Defence #LaserWeapons #TickerNews

News

Stephen Colbert’s opening monologue on Jimmy Kimmel

Stephen Colbert condemns censorship and calls out Trump in powerful monologue dedicated to Jimmy Kimmel’s suspended show.

Published

1 day ago

September 19, 2025

ticker NEWS

Stephen Colbert condemns censorship and calls out Trump in powerful monologue dedicated to Jimmy Kimmel’s suspended show.

Stephen Colbert’s opening monologue is being hailed as one of the most powerful moments in modern late-night history. Standing on stage at the Ed Sullivan Theatre, Colbert dedicated his show to Jimmy Kimmel and his team after ABC suspended Kimmel’s programme under pressure from Washington.

Colbert called the move “blatant censorship” and directly accused President Trump of acting like an autocrat. “With an autocrat, you cannot give an inch,” he warned, making clear that the stakes reach far beyond late-night comedy.

#StephenColbert #JimmyKimmel #FreeSpeech #TickerNews