Covid-19 Relief Funds

Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont is attempting a maneuver to force Mitch McConnell (Senate Majority Leader) to allow the bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday to a vote on the senate floor. The bill passed by the house would increase the stimulus check being distributed in the U.S. from $600 to $2,000. This is the target amount that both the Democratic Party and the President, Donald Trump, have both publicly announced support for.

US President-elect Joe Biden has released a statement Saturday, urging President Donald Trump to sign the Covid-19 relief bill that was passed by Congress earlier this week.

“It is the day after Christmas, and millions of families don’t know if they’ll be able to make ends meet because of President Donald Trump’s refusal to sign an economic relief bill approved by Congress with an overwhelming and bipartisan majority,” Biden said in the statement. "This abdication of responsibility has devastating consequences."

On Thursday House Republicans blocked a bill put forward by Democrats that would have resulted in $2,000 stimulus checks for individuals as part of a Covid-19 financial aid package. President Trump had demanded to increase the proposed $600 stimulus checks to $2000 earlier this week but the GOP has rejected the move.

"On Monday, I will bring the House back to session where we will hold a recorded vote on our stand-alone bill to increase economic impact payments to $2,000. To vote against this bill is to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny them the relief they need," Pelosi said in a statement.

Lawmakers in the U.S. Congress have agreed on a gigantic new aid package to ease the impact of the Corona pandemic.

The measures include sending checks for $600 each to family members in households hit particularly hard by the crisis, opposition Democratic parliamentary leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer announced. The new package also includes aid for the unemployed of $300 per week each, according to opposition leaders. In the spring, this special aid had been $600 a week. 25 billion dollars are intended according to Pelosi and Schumer for the housing sector. This is intended to prevent financially distressed tenants from having to move out. There is also to be aid of almost a hundred billion dollars for schools and daycare centers.

Corey Taylor, vocalist of Slipknot and Stone Sour, raised over $150,000 for the Covid-19 response effort of humanitarian aid organization Direct Relief. Taylor auctioned off 13 of his guitars and basses, including a Gold Top Gibson Classic Les Paul and a gold metallic Gibson Memphis Dave Grohl DG-335, on eBay for a total of $75,000. eBay matched the raised sum, bringing the donation to $150,000.

The depot of CovAid-19 on Swan Street has been ransacked by thieves, stealing approx. £10,000 worth of donations, including supplies and essential items, aimed to be distributed to vulnerable people in the Greater Manchester area. “They have been particular about what they have taken - it seems to be stuff they can sell on again", so Tim Heatley, chair of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity.

Jay-Z and Meek Mill's organisation REFORM Alliance is donating and sending out 10 million surgical masks and other protective equipment to jails and prisons across the United States. This comes after a $10 million donation of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who pledge $1 billion to Covid-19 relief funds.

Family members of deceased US residents are reporting that their dead relatives had received the Coronavirus relief fund payments from the IRS. The $1,200 stimulus payments were deposited into the dead people's bank account, well after the family had informed the authorities of their loved one's passing. As of now, there are conflicting statements whether the families can keep the payments.

Tribeca and YouTube have teamed up to present We Are One: A Global Film Festival taking place from May 29 to June 7. The free event will be hosted on YouTube and feature films, documentaries, shorts and others from the top film festivals, including Cannes, Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca and Venice. Major film festivals were forced to cancel their events due to Covid-19. We Are One will be ad-free but viewers will be asked to donate to Covid-19 relief funds.

The Michigan state health department has started a free condom by mail program during the Covid-19 crisis. The department has previously distributed condoms directly to government buildings and bars where they were handed out for free. Orders can be placed via email and will be shipped for free. According to Lynn Sutfin, spokeswoman of the state's health department, "each recipient will receive 10 condoms and 10 packets lubricant in a plain mailer".

Captain Tom Moore, the British WWII veteran who has so far raised over 30 million pounds for health care workers by walking laps in his garden, was made an honorary member of England's Cricket Team on his 100th birthday. Michael Vaughan, former captain of the team, called Captain Tom "the nation's heartbeat".

Greta Thunberg, 17-year-old Swedish climate activists, donated $100,000 she previously won from a Danish foundation to UNICEF to help support children affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Thunberg stated that "like the climate crisis, the coronavirus pandemic is a child rights crisis," and asked people to join her in her effort to "support of UNICEF's vital work to save children's lives, to protect health and continue education".

The Danish NGO Human Act is said to match Thunberg's donation.