MORE CRAZY CHRISTIANS

Manitoba churches in court to fight against COVID-19 restrictions

WINNIPEG — A religious leader has told court he cannot force worshippers attending his Manitoba church to follow public-health orders aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 because it is "God's jurisdiction."

Jesus said unto them, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. And they marveled greatly at him. 

https://biblehub.com/mark/12-17.htm

 Provided by The Canadian Press

"We have no authority scripturally based and based on Christian convictions to limit anyone from coming to hear the word of God," said Tobias Tissen, a minister at the Church of God Restoration.

Seven Manitoba churches are in Court of Queens 's Bench in Winnipeg this week to fight the province's COVID-19 restrictions.

Chief Justice Glenn Joyal said it's an important case because of intense public interest and the issues involved.

RIGHT WING LOBBY 
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, a Calgary-based group representing the churches, has said the restrictions are unjustified violations of charter-protected freedoms.

The churches are arguing their right to worship and assemble has been breached, which has caused "a crisis of conscience, loneliness, and harm to their spiritual well-being."

Under current health orders, in-person worship services in Manitoba are restricted to 10 people or 25 per cent capacity — whichever is less — and everyone is required to wear a mask.

Tissen, who is a minister at the church just south of Steinbach in rural Manitoba, was the first person to be questioned at the hearing, which is to take place over two weeks.

Tissen and his church have been fined numerous times for violating the restrictions.

Videos of services at the Church of God in January were entered in court and show people singing, hugging and going without face masks despite restrictions in place at the time that required churches to remain closed.

Denis Guenette, a lawyer for the province, also questioned Tissen's presence as a speaker at multiple protests against restrictions in Manitoba and other provinces.

Images shown in court of the rallies depict hundreds of people standing close together without wearing masks.

Video: Several Manitoba churches launch challenge to COVID-19 restrictions (cbc.ca)  

 Video: Saskatoon church in apparent violation of public health guidelines again (Global News)

   
Following his testimony Monday, Tissen joined at least 100 protestors in support of the legal challenge outside the courthouse. Health orders restrict public outdoor gatherings to a maximum of 10 people.

In a previous hearing, provincial lawyers told court it's within the bounds of the legislature to grant the chief provincial public health officer authority to impose reasonable restrictions.

Court also heard from Jay Bhattacharya, a professor at Stanford University Medical School who has become known for speaking against lockdown measures in the United States. He has also criticized chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci's support of restrictions.

He provided an affidavit to court for the churches saying governments could have less intrusive restrictions.

Bhattacharya, who testified by video from California, was questioned about his expertise and whether it should be applied to the case.

Heather Leonoff, a lawyer for the province, pointed out that while Bhattacharya has a PhD in economics and a medical degree, he is not licensed to practice medicine.

The often-confrontational cross-examination went through Bhattacharya's published research and Leonoff questioned whether he had any specific understanding of the situation in Manitoba, specifically with COVID-19 outcomes among Indigenous people.

Bhattacharya was also questioned about his argument that asymptomatic spread is rare and that that's a reason for why restrictions should be loosened.

The hearing will continue Tuesday.

The constitutional challenge is the latest in a string of attempts by churches across the country to quash COVID-19 restrictions on religious gatherings. The Justice Centre has filed similar challenges in British Columbia and Alberta.

In December, Joyal rejected a case brought by Springs Church in Manitoba to hold drive-in services while there were restrictions on public gatherings and in-person religious events.

That church faced more than $32,000 in fines for services at the time of the hearing.

Drive-in church services are now allowed under the province's health orders.

In Alberta, a pastor is currently on trial for violating public health orders in that province.

Pastor James Coates, of GraceLife Church, spent a month in remand for violating a bail condition not to hold church services. He was released in March.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2021.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press

CRAZY CHRISTIANS ENDANGER US

'Compliance with AHS is noncompliance with God:' Alberta pastor testifies at trial

Jesus said unto them, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. And they marveled greatly at him. 

https://biblehub.com/mark/12-17.htm

EDMONTON — An Alberta pastor accused of leading church services in violation of public-health orders says the COVID-19 pandemic has been blown out of proportion by the government and the media.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church testified on the first day of his trial Monday and complained multiple times about how difficult it was to speak with a mask on.

The 41-year-old, who was born and raised in Scarborough, Ont., spent a month in the Edmonton Remand Centre after he violated a bail condition not to hold church services that officials have said ignored measures on capacity limits, physical distancing and masking.

He was released March 22 after pleading guilty, and was fined $1,500.

Coates challenged the one charge he still faces of violating the Public Health Act during his cross-examination.

He says provincial regulations meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 not only infringe on his and his congregants' constitutional right to freedom of religion and peaceful assembly, but he's convinced they are an overreaction.

"It's the government that's practicing civil disobedience and, at this point in time, there seems to be no accountability," he said.

"The government has been able to essentially do whatever it wants and you've got the media that just fearmonger the people into believing the COVID narrative, and the supreme law of the land, the Charter, is being ignored. The long-term ramifications of that toward this promising country are deeply concerning to me."

Coates testified that he believes masking is a violation of his charter right to worship and gather because it has hindered his speaking and made it difficult for him to be a pastor. He said having services online or capping the congregation at 15 per cent also altered the true meaning of worship.

"We determined that complying with AHS meant noncompliance with God so we decided, 'OK, well, who would you rather be (in) noncompliance with? God, or AHS?' And I think the choice is pretty simple."

A Crown prosecutor, whose identity is under a publication ban due to security concerns, called only one witness.

Janine Hanrahan with Alberta Health Services testified earlier Monday that she observed multiple "risky" behaviours at the Edmonton-area church in Spruce Grove, Alta., from November 2020 to December 2020.

On Nov. 22, she said she arrived at the church before the service had begun and said there were a few people inside. Only some had masks on, she said.

Hanrahan said she made several recommendations to the church's pastor about what they could do to reduce the spread of COVID-19 -- such as signage on the door to remind people about physical distancing, wearing masks and using hand sanitizer.

She also recommended the church have separate entrance and exit lanes for congregants passing through its double doors.

On Dec. 13, Hanrahan said more complaints about the church prompted Alberta Health Services to return, but that time she arrived with two RCMP officers because she was concerned for her safety.

She said she saw 200 congregants of GraceLife Church singing, cheering and clapping next to each other and dozens of people standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the lobby of the building, which has capacity for 600 people. The 15 per cent limit that was in effect by the government allowed a total of 92 people to be inside the building.

Hanrahan testified that was also the day she heard the pastor tell an RCMP officer that Alberta's chief medical officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, was a dictator and Premier Jason Kenney was hiding behind her.

On Dec. 20, Hanrahan said a ticket was issued to Coates for breaching the 15 per cent capacity limit.

Coates, who is represented by lawyers with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, testified the church followed regulations in the beginning of the pandemic after two members of the congregation tested positive. He said others got tested to make sure the virus hadn't spread.

"They all came back negative," he said.

The church also held services online last June, but Coates said he heard Premier Jason Kenney call the pandemic an over-reaction and compare the virus to influenza as the pandemic progressed.

Coates said he then became convinced the public health measures were excessive.

He said the church had 37 Sunday services without any positive cases before it was shut down and fenced off in April.

The pastor said the church has continued holding services since then and they have seen an increase in congregants.

Coates will continue his testimony Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2021.

---

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version said GraceLife Church was in Stony Plain, Alta.

Brazilian indigenous leaders subpoenaed for criticizing government


BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's indigenous affairs agency Funai has called on a top indigenous leader to explain her criticism of the right-wing government of President Jair Bolsonaro and the impact its handling of the COVID-19 crisis has had on native people.

© Reuters/UESLEI MARCELINO FILE PHOTO: Indigenous people call for the demarcation of their lands and the resignation of the Minister of Environment, Ricardo Salles

Federal police have subpoenaed Sonia Guajajara, head of Brazil's largest indigenous umbrella organization APIB, to testify on her statements at the request of Funai, which was set up in 1967 to defend the interests of indigenous people.

Guajajara said she was summoned to explain her documentary series published on Internet called "Maracá - Indigenous Emergency" which denounces the lethal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Brazil's 850,000 indigenous people and accuses the government of genocide for not protecting them.

© Reuters/UESLEI MARCELINO FILE PHOTO:

 WTF Munduruku ethnic group protest in favor of mining and against the entry of NGOs in indigenous lands

"The persecution by this government is unacceptable and absurd! They will not shut us up," Guajajara said in a Twitter message on Friday.


Another indigenous leader from the state of Rondonia, Almir Suruí, head of the Metareilá Association, was also summoned to testify.

Funai's role is to coordinate and implement the Brazilian government's policies to protect the indigenous population, especially their isolated and recently contacted people.

That function has been curtailed under Bolsonaro who has criticized indigenous people for having too much reservation land and advocates commercial mining on their lands. Bolsonaro named a policeman, Marcelo Xavier, to run the agency.

Funai declined to comment on the subpoenas and said it does not comment on matters under police investigation.

APIB rejected the move to silence the indigenous leaders.

"In yet another act of political persecution and authoritarianism, President Bolsonaro's government is trying to criminalize the indigenous movement and its leaders," it said in a statement.

APIB said the attacks come from a federal agency that should be defending the rights and promote the autonomy and freedom of expression of indigenous people.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

IMPOTENT
Alberta premier promises more COVID-19 rules, expands vaccinations to teachers

Kenney said he is successfully navigating the pragmatic middle path between those who want no restrictions and those who want a total lockdown.

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he will be announcing Tuesday a new round of tougher health restrictions to arrest COVID-19 case rates that are the highest in Canada.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Kenney said the impetus was a “No More Lockdowns” rodeo in central Alberta over the weekend that saw hundreds congregate without masks in open defiance of public health rules.

“I was very disturbed. Actually I was angered (by the rodeo),” Kenney said Monday

SO HE STOMPED HIS LITTLE FOOT IN ANGER

“Given the issues we saw this weekend, and the record high cases recorded, we are developing a package of stronger public health measures which I expect to announce tomorrow.

“The next few weeks are critical.”

Alberta Health Services said in a statement that inspectors spoke with organizers before the rodeo at Bowden to notify them about public health orders. They also sent a letter indicating the event would be illegal if it were to proceed, adding, "AHS is considering our legal options in regards to the organizers of this event."

The RCMP did not respond Monday to requests for comment.

Kenney has faced demands to crack down on COVID-19 lawbreakers, but has stressed that politicians should not direct police on charges.

Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley agreed a legal firewall should be respected, but said there is more Kenney’s United Conservative government can do to set a tone that the rule of law must be followed and enforced.

She urged Solicitor General Kaycee Madu to issue a guideline to police services to consistently and vigorously enforce public health rules.

“It is within the scope of authority of the solicitor general to issue this kind of guideline,” said Notley.

Dr. Shazma Mithani, an emergency room doctor in Edmonton, noted the rodeo had been advertised in advance but authorities still did nothing to stop it.

“It felt like a gut punch. There were thousands of people shoulder to shoulder, with no masks on, pretending like everything’s OK,” said Mithani.

The issue of rules versus enforcement has bedeviled Alberta since the pandemic began 14 months ago.

In Calgary, Mayor Naheed said he was frustrated to hear tickets given to people for breaching COVID-19 orders are being thrown out in the courts.

"I'm calling on the court system to take this as seriously as the police do,” said Nenshi.

Large groups without masks have regularly been gathering in Calgary public spaces and in violation of group limits in protest of health measures.

Nenshi said people must understand the rules aren't just guidelines, but acknowledged Kenney has in recent days given conflicting messages on restrictions.

Kenney said last week that new laws weren’t necessary but, days later, calling them critical to bending the curve, instituted new regulations in so-called COVID-19 hot spots.

"Even though the premier sometimes doesn't sound firm on this, this is actually the law," Nenshi said.

Kenney pushed back on suggestions he and his government have been inconsistent with their message, undercutting support for health restrictions.

About half of Kenney’s United Conservative backbench is openly against the restrictions, and critics say Kenney has been reluctant to introduce and enforce the rules to avoid angering his political base, especially in rural areas.
ROFLMAO
Kenney said he is successfully navigating the pragmatic middle path between those who want no restrictions and those who want a total lockdown.

Alberta had 23,608 active COVID-19 cases Monday — the highest rate of infection in Canada. There were 658 people in hospital, including 154 in intensive care.

About 1.64 million Albertans have received at least one dose of vaccine.

Also Monday, Kenney announced teachers, childcare workers and support staff will be able to book vaccine appointments.

Three weeks ago, Kenney resisted calls from the Alberta Teachers’ Association to give front-line staffers vaccine priority, saying the government will follow priorities tied to scientific evidence rather than "arbitrary pressure."

But on Monday, Kenney praised teachers as the "glue" holding the system together.

Jason Schilling, the head of the teachers association, issued a two-word statement in response: “About time.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2021.

— With files from Lauren Krugel in Calgary

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press

THE FURTHEST NORTH FOR COVID

COVID-19 cases rise in N.W.T. and Nunavut; Iqaluit declares state of emergency

IQALUIT — Nunavut's capital declared a state of emergency Monday and Yellowknife in the neighbouring N.W.T. closed its schools as news cases of COVID-19 sprang up in both territories.

 

Provided by The Canadian Press

Iqaluit, a city of about 8,000 people, had 81 of Nunavut's 85 active cases.


Council voted unanimously to declare the local emergency starting at midnight to give the city authority under its Emergency Measures Act to enforce public health order.

"Given the seriousness with the state of affairs with community transmission of COVID-19 in Iqaluit, I will make a motion to declare a state of local emergency," Iqaluit city Coun. Kyle Sheppard said.

It also allows the city to "take additional measures to support the vulnerable population," a news release stated.

Over the weekend, Iqaluit's "low-barrier" shelter, usually open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. each day, closed after all four employees went into isolation for COVID-19 and one tested positive. The shelter is the only dedicated place in the city where intoxicated people can stay.

Iqaluit reported its first infection on April 14, but the territory’s chief public health officer has said the virus is likely to already have been in the city a week before that.

Last week, health officials confirmed COVID-19 cases in Iqaluit’s jails and medical boarding home.

The city has been under a strict lockdown that includes school closures and travel restrictions since April 15.

The Northwest Territories also tightened up its public health measures Monday after an outbreak at N.J. Macpherson School. As a result, all schools in Yellowknife were closed indefinitely.

Officials reported 14 cases of confirmed COVID-19 and six probable cases late Monday.

The N.W.T.'s chief public health officer, Dr. Kami Kandola, said earlier in the day that most of the cases were children. Health officials were investigating how the virus entered the school and were working to determine whether the cases are related to an earlier cluster in the city in April.

Kandola said while the N.W.T. is "on the brink of community spread," all cases have so far been linked to the outbreak at the school.

The N.W.T. also said it's working to finalize a deal with British Columbia to get doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in exchange for doses of Moderna so teens can be vaccinated.

Only the Moderna vaccine is available in the N. W. T and Nunavut, and it is not yet approved for anyone under 18.

Given the COVID-19 situation in the N.W.T., Nunavut's chief public health officer, Dr. Michael Patterson, suspended the common travel area between the two territories.

Until now, N.W.T. residents could enter Nunavut without isolating. Effective immediately, anyone travelling to Nunavut from the N.W.T. must isolate for 14 days in a designated hotel before entering Nunavut.

There are some exceptions to the new order, including essential workers and medical travelers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2021.

"PERSIST "

Elizabeth Warren book: Massachusetts senator reflects on 2020 loss and gender in new memoir

By Daniella Diaz, Aaron Pellish and Rashard Rose, CNN


Weeks before Elizabeth Warren launched her first senatorial campaign, she made a call to a woman she said was a longtime Democratic activist in Massachusetts. She recalls telling the woman she was going to run for Senate.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 22: (L-R) Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks during a news conference concerning the extension of eviction protections in the next coronavirus bill, at the U.S. Capitol on July 22, 2020 in Washington, DC. Amid economic hardships during the pandemic, the federal moratorium on evictions is set to expire on Friday. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

"Martha lost," Warren says the woman responded, according to her new memoir. The woman was referencing Martha Coakley, who was the first female Senate nominee of a major party in Massachusetts, but lost two statewide campaigns.

"Oof," Warren responded.

That's just one of many anecdotes the Massachusetts senator recalls in her new memoir out this week where she reflects on gender and loss in the 2020 presidential campaign. She also details her countless plans that she says would help middle class Americans, something she became known for during the campaign.

In the memoir, "Persist," a copy of which was obtained by CNN, Warren acknowledged publicly -- now months later -- that maybe she "wasn't good enough" for American voters to win the 2020 presidential primary.

"I didn't want to run for president to make a point," Warren wrote. "I wasn't carefully measuring how hard to hit a glass ceiling. I didn't need to be heralded as the First Something. I just wanted a chance to fight for the things I cared about -- economic opportunity, racial justice, halting climate change, combating Washington corruption, improving our education system. I had been talking about these issues for a long time."

She goes on to write: "But there's always another possibility, a much more painful one: in this moment, against this president, in this field of candidates, maybe I just wasn't good enough to reassure the voters, to bring along the doubters, to embolden the hopeful."

Throughout her memoir -- the third book Warren has written as a politician -- she reflects on the role her gender played in her presidential campaign. While she never directly blamed sexism for losing the nomination, it's a theme that comes up again and again in anecdotes of her life that are intertwined with decisions she's made or views she has on issues.

In one, she recounts thinking as she lay in bed after her first day fundraising for her presidential bid, "I wondered whether anyone said to Bernie Sanders when he asked for their support, 'Gore lost, so how can you win?' I wondered whether anyone said to Joe Biden, 'Kerry lost, so clearly America just isn't ready for a man to be president.'"

She added: "I tried to laugh, but the joke didn't seem very funny."

Warren sprinkles commentary about her then-2020 rivals throughout the memoir. She calls Sanders "fearless and determined" and Biden "a good leader and fundamentally decent man."

With Sanders specifically, she referenced him telling her a woman couldn't win the election. (Sanders denied the characterization of that conversation in a statement to CNN at the time.)

"The news caused a stir. But the question of whether a woman could win the presidency was clearly on voters' minds, and it would come up in debates and town halls," she said. "When asked, I always told an upbeat story about why I believed success was within our grasp, but I was under no illusion -- I knew that winning would be an uphill battle."

There is one presidential rival Warren does not compliment in her memoir -- Michael Bloomberg. Warren recalls her first debate performance against the former New York City mayor and billionaire where she felt he was not listening to her attacks against him.

"Like so many women in so many settings, I found myself wondering if he had even heard me," she wrote.

Many attributed Warren's debate performance that night in Las Vegas as to why Bloomberg dropped out of the race. But Warren reflects on what critics said about what she told Bloomberg that night -- about how she came off, according to one analyst, as "mean and angry."

"And there it was, the same damn remark made about every woman who ever stood up for herself and threw a punch. Repeat after me: fighting hard is 'not a good look,'" she wrote.

Warren also goes into detail about several parts of her past, including a story she often told on the campaign trail about being fired from her teaching job when she was pregnant.

A portion of her memoir is devoted to memorializing her brother Don Reed Herring, who died of coronavirus last year and whose death, she wrote, "didn't need to happen," blaming the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic.

Warren also acknowledges her claims to Native American heritage as a "bad mistake."

"I should never have identified as Native American. I've never been a citizen of a tribal nation. Tribal nations -- and only tribal nations -- determine who their citizens are," she wrote.

Still, Warren's memoir is not just about her past, but about what she wants to continue to do in the future, she wrote.

"This book is not a campaign memoir. It is not a rehash of big public events. It's a book about the fight that lies ahead," she wrote.

"It's about the plans we need -- no surprise there! -- but it's about much more than plans. It's about the passion and commitment that underlie those plans, and the human connection that will keep us in this fight until we see real change

Intel investing $3.5B in New Mexico fab upgrade, boosting US chipmaking


Intel on Monday announced a $3.5 billion upgrade to a chip manufacturing plant in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, that will boost a processor stacking technology called Foveros. That spending, combined with $20 billion to build two new facilities in Arizona, is part of a major effort by Intel to rejuvenate its manufacturing.

© Provided by CNET Intel plans to spend $3.5 billion upgrading its chipmaking plant in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Intel

The chipmaker on Sunday confirmed the upgrade plan, first reported on CBS' 60 Minutes, and said Monday it'll mean 700 new jobs at the site over the next three years. Intel manufacturing chief Keyvan Esfarjani detailed the plan at a press conference with New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico's two senators, Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, Intel said. The spending also means 1,000 new construction jobs, with work starting this year.© Stephen Shankland/CNET

Intel has struggled to shrink circuitry, key to making processors competitive and profitable.

Intel led chipmaking progress for decades but fell behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in recent years. Investing in its new chipmaking plants, called fabs, is part of a major Intel effort to restore its competitiveness under new CEO Pat Gelsinger. The company is also planning to build chips for others, a business called a foundry, and to rely on other chip foundries to build some of its own chips.

At the New Mexico fab, Intel will increase use of a processor packaging technology called Foveros that Intel debuted in 2018 and first used in an efficient but uncommon chip code-named Lakefield. Stacking separate chip elements atop one another and connecting them with power distribution and communication links is technologically difficult, but Intel expects it'll increase manufacturing flexibility. It also could be used to accommodate chip elements made at other chip foundries.
More chipmaking investment, less stock buybacks

Intel is happy with current political efforts to drum up federal funding to help the US chip industry. Gelsinger said Intel will invest more of its own money, too, instead of spending it on buying its own stock, which keeps shareholders happy but doesn't help research or operations.

"We will not be anywhere near as focused on buybacks going forward as we have in the past," Gelsinger told 60 Minutes. "That's been reviewed as part of my coming into the company, agreed upon with the board of directors."

Appeasing shareholders was important as Intel struggled, Moor Insights and Strategy analyst Patrick Moorhead tweeted Monday. "If they didn't do buybacks I think the company would have been broken up," Moorhead said. One widely suggested remedy for Intel's woes has been to split its chip design business, which comes up with processors like its Core and Xeon models, from its chip manufacturing business.

Intel's stiff competition

The Silicon Valley company remains profitable, but it faces stiff competition on several fronts besides TSMC and the third major chipmaker, Samsung . All smartphone processors are members of the Arm family, including Apple 's A series. Apple also has split from Intel for its new M series of Mac processors. Amazon, meanwhile, has an Arm server processor for its Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing foundation that powers huge swaths of the internet.

Intel also faces a smaller Arm rival called RISC-V that's won interest from some notable chip startups. One, Tenstorrent, hired Jim Keller, formerly a high-profile Intel chip designer, as chief executive. Another, Esperanto Technologies, has revealed an AI chip design with more than 1,000 processing cores.

In a sign of how serious Intel is about its foundry business, though, it'll be able to build both Arm and RISC-V processors.

TSMC is spending billions of dollars on its new fabs, too, mostly in Taiwan but also in Arizona. Gelsinger is bullish, though: "We believe it's going to take us a couple of years and we will be caught up," he told 60 Minutes.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says Americans can expect a 'big return' from Biden's $4.1 trillion spending proposal

bwinck@businessinsider.com (Ben Winck) 

© Andrew Harnik/AP Treasury secretary Janet Yellen pushed for stimulus checks 

President Biden's spending plans can offer a "big return," Tres. Sec. Janet Yellen said Sunday.

The measures should be paid for while interest rates sit at historic lows, she added.

If inflation rises more than expected, the government "has the tools to address it," Yellen said.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated her support for President Joe Biden's spending plans on Sunday, pitching the measures as strong investments in the country's future.

The president on Wednesday rolled out a $1.8 trillion spending proposal that includes funding for paid family and medical leave, universal pre-K, and childcare. The measure follows the March passage of Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package and joins the president's $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan as his latest step in big-government economic policy.

Republicans and some moderate Democrats have balked at the follow-up plans cost, saying the measures would dangerously inflate the government's debt pile. Yellen countered on NBC's "Meet The Press," saying it's a better time than ever to spend on such projects.

"We're in a good fiscal position. Interest rates are historically low... and it's likely they'll stay that way into the future," the Treasury Secretary said. "I believe that we should pay for these historic investments. There will be a big return."

Video: Full Yellen Interview: 'Over the long run, deficits need to be contained' 

(NBC News)

That's not to say the government shouldn't offset the multitrillion-dollar price tag. The Biden administration rolled out a handful of tax hikes and stronger enforcement to cover the spending, but those proposals were swiftly rejected by Republicans. The GOP has criticized Biden's public-works plan and a proposed corporate tax increase, calling it a "slush-fund" and a "Trojan horse" for Democratic priorities.

The economy is poised to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic throughout 2021 and, in turn, bring in greater tax revenues. That stronger growth justifies some spending, but the safest and most sustainable way to spend on infrastructure and care involves equitable tax increases, Yellen said.

Stricter tax compliance would also play a critical role. The country is currently estimated to lose $7 trillion through tax underpayment over the next decade. Stepping up compliance efforts and adequately funding the IRS can also boost tax collection, Yellen added.

The Treasury Secretary also rebuffed concerns of the massive spending fueling a sharp rise in inflation.

Administration officials and the Federal Reserve already anticipates the latest stimulus and economic reopening to drive a sharp but temporary bout of stronger inflation. While Biden's latest proposals are far larger than the March stimulus, plans to spend them over eight to 10 years cuts down on the risk of rampant inflation, Yellen said.

"I don't believe that inflation will be an issue, but if it becomes an issue, we have tools to address it," she added. "These are historic investments that we need to make our economy productive and fair."

A majority of investors and business owners have faith in Biden's economic boom, new UBS survey finds

© Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Jorge Sactic is the owner of Chapina Bakery in Langley Park, Maryland. Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty

About 64% of investors and business owners see Biden's policies aiding the global recovery.

A majority also said Biden's measures will support global markets, according to a UBS survey.

The optimism comes as Biden preps another $4.1 trillion in spending to boost the economic recovery

The Biden boom is in full swing and people like what they see.

Investors and business owners around the world are largely optimistic that the Biden administration's economic policies will fuel a robust recovery and leave them on better footing, according to a recent UBS survey. Some 64% of respondents view the administration as having a positive impact on the global economy. Six in 10 believe the White House's policies will support global markets.

Roughly 57% of investors and business owners said the Biden administration has benefitted their personal finances, and 54% of business owners said the policies benefitted their companies.

In just the first 100 days of his time in office, President Joe Biden has embarked on one of the most ambitious policy strategies in modern history. The president passed a $1.9 trillion stimulus measure - the second-largest in history - on March 11 and has since unveiled follow-up packages that include roughly $4.1 trillion in additional spending. Economists have largely linked soaring retail sales and stronger economic growth to the stimulus measure.

To be sure, President Joe Biden's policies aren't the only cause for optimism. New COVID-19 cases in the US sit at their lowest seven-day average since October, and state and local governments have been slowly rolling back lockdown measures for weeks. And while the vaccination rate has slowed, it still sits at an average 2.5 million doses per day. At the current rate, the US will reach herd immunity over the next three months, according to Bloomberg data.

In the US specifically, seven in 10 investors expressed hope about the path of the economy. That compares to just 52% three months ago and makes US investors the most positive globally, UBS said.

The share of US investors growing positive toward stocks rose to 71% from 59%. The shift underscores a broader move toward riskier assets as investors ditch the safe havens they held at the start of the pandemic and position for a swift recovery.

The responses join other sentiment gauges that have turned stronger in recent months. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to a fresh pandemic-era high in April, according to a Friday release. That level is the highest since March 2020. Separately, the Conference Board's consumer confidence measure rose to its highest level since February 2020 as the healing labor market and latest round of stimulus checks boosted outlooks.

UBS interviewed 2,850 investors and 1,150 business owners around the world from March 30 to April 18. Responses were sourced from 14 markets including the US, the UK, Mexico, mainland China, Japan, Italy, Brazil, and Mexico.

Hong Kong plan to force Covid vaccines on foreign domestic workers sparks alarm

Hong Kong’s government has sparked discrimination concerns over plans to force hundreds of thousands of foreign domestic workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or face losing their job.

Authorities have embarked on mass mandatory testing of the city’s 370,000 domestic workers after a more infectious strain was detected in the community, and flagged plans for compulsory vaccinations.

Under the measures, workers would need to be vaccinated before their contracts could be renewed, and any incoming worker would be required to have the vaccination to enter Hong Kong.

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The vast majority of Hong Kong’s domestic workers are migrant workers, primarily from the Philippines and Thailand, and no other foreign workforce has been singled out for mandatory vaccines, drawing criticism from Philippines officials. The country’s foreign affairs secretary, Teddy Locsin Jr, praised Hong Kong’s provision of free vaccines to domestic workers, but said singling them out to make it mandatory “smacks of discrimination”

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Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images Migrant workers queue up for Covid-19 testing in the Central district of Hong Kong on Saturday.

“If it is a special favour, it is unfair to other nationalities. Hong Kong can do better than that,” he said.

Eman Villanueva, spokesperson for the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, said the enforced testing and proposed vaccinations were “discrimination and social exclusion of domestic workers at its worst”, and accused the government of “blackmailing” workers by tying vaccines to contracts.

“They did not respond like this when there were outbreaks in several fitness gyms and dance studios, restaurants, banks, etc,” he said in an opinion piece for Stand News. “It’s because to them we are easy targets and scapegoats. It’s because they know we don’t have much choice but to follow their discriminatory, illogical, and unreasonable impositions or end up jobless.”

The comments by Locsin echoed those by the Philippines consul general, Raly Tejada, who said his office had been very supportive of Hong Kong’s free vaccine programme, but if it was to become mandatory for work contracts then it should be non-discriminatory and include “other non-resident workers who are similarly situated so that there is no feeling of being singled out”.

In explaining the new rules, Hong Kong’s minister for labour, Dr Law Chi-kwong, said the “high risk group” mainly spent their holidays with friends, which could lead to cross-family infections. The migrant workers, who usually travel alone to Hong Kong, have one day off a week and frequently gather in public places to socialise away from the home where they work.

“In the long run, we need to think about how to get more domestic workers vaccinated,” said Law.

On Sunday the Hong Kong government said the labour department was “working out the relevant details” on mandatory vaccines. It said its mandatory testing programme did not discriminate based on race or status, but did not address accusations that its plans for mandatory vaccines were.

It appealed to all workers to get their vaccines voluntarily “to protect their own health and that of their employers’ family and others, and to avoid being subject to any regular testing in the future”.

It also urged employers to encourage their workers and to give them sufficient rest after getting vaccinated. Those who could not be vaccinated for health reasons could get an exemption, it added.

On Sunday health authorities reported the second consecutive day of no community transmission cases detected. There had been about 20 in the past two weeks.