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A28 u.s. news
Diamars 1 maart 2022

On cusp of Biden speech, a state of disunity, funk and peril

(AP) — In good times or gether about what should be more than 920,000 in the
bad, American presidents done.” U.S., majorities put masks
come to Congress with a back on and avoided travel
diagnosis that hardly dif- Politics didn’t stop at the and crowds in January in the
fers over the decades. In water’s edge but it paused. sweep of the omicron vari-
their State of the Union Though not at Mar-a-Lago’s ant. Now, finally, a sustained
speeches, they declare ocean edge in Florida, where drop in infections appears to
“the state of our union Donald Trump praised Pu- be underway.
is strong” or words very tin’s “savvy,” “genius” move
much like it. against the country that en- Most Americans are vacci-
tangled the defeated Ameri- nated against COVID-19,
President Joe Biden’s fel- can president in his first im- but debates over masks and
low Americans, though, have peachment trial. mandates have torn apart
other ideas about the state communities and families.
they’re in and little hope his White House officials ac-
State of the Union address knowledge that the mood of With Biden so hemmed in
Tuesday night can turn any- the country is “sour,” but say by hardened politics, it’s
thing around. looks like. try. Today’s national psyche is they are also encouraged by difficult to imagine a single
one of fatigue and frustration data showing people’s lives speech altering the public’s
America’s strength is being Biden will step up to the — synonyms for the malaise are better off than a year ago. perception, said Julia Helm,
sharply tested from within House speaker’s rostrum to of the 1970s. But the divides They say the national psyche 52, a Republican county au-
— and now from afar — as address a nation in conflict run deeper and solutions may is a “trailing indicator” and ditor from the suburbs west
fate, overnight, made Biden with itself. The country is be more elusive than the en- will improve with time. of Des Moines.
a wartime president in some- litigating how to keep kids ergy crisis, inflation and sense
one else’s conflict, leading safe and what to teach them, of drift of that time. Biden, in his speech, will “He’s got a lot of stuff on his
the West’s response to a Rus- weary over orders to wear highlight the improvements plate,” she said. “You know
sian invasion of Ukraine that masks, bruised over an igno- Take today’s climate of dis- from a year ago — particular- what could change how
makes all the other problems minious end to one war, in course. It’s “so cold,” said ly on COVID and the econo- people feel? And pretty fast?
worse. Afghanistan, and suddenly Rachel Hoopes, a charity ex- my — but also acknowledge What they pay at the pump.
plenty worried about Rus- ecutive in Des Moines, Iowa, that the job is not yet done, I hate to say it. But gas prices
The state of the union is sian expansionism. A speech who voted for Biden. “It’s in recognition of the fact that really are the barometer.”
disunity and division. It’s a designed to discuss the com- hard to see how him talk- many Americans don’t be-
state of exhaustion from the monwealth will be delivered ing to us can break through lieve it. Biden suggested last sum-
pandemic. It’s about feeling to a nation that is having in- when so many people can’t mer that high inflation was
gouged at the grocery store creasing difficulty finding talk to each other.” A year into Biden’s presi- a temporary inconvenience.
and gas pump. It’s so low that much of anything in com- dency, polling indeed finds But it’s snowballed in re-
some Americans, including mon. It’s as if Americans need that he faces a critical and cent months into a defining
prominent ones, are exalting group therapy more than a pessimistic public. Only 29% challenge of his presidency,
Russian President Vladimir Even now, a large segment set-piece speech to Congress. of Americans think the na- alongside, now, the threat of
Putin in his attack on a de- of the country still clings to Yet in the immediate after- tion is on the right track, ac- geopolitical instability from
mocracy. the lie that the last election math of Russia’s attack last cording to the February poll Russia’s attack on its neigh-
was stolen. Four decades week, a long-absent reflex from The Associated Press- bor.
Measures of happiness have ago, President Jimmy Carter kicked back in as members of NORC Center for Public
hit a bottom, with fewer confronted a national “crisis Congress projected unity be- Affairs Research. Consumer prices over the
Americans saying they are of confidence” in a speech hind the president, at least for past 12 months jumped
very happy in the 2021 Gen- describing a national malaise the moment, in the confron- In December’s AP-NORC 7.5%, the highest since 1982,
eral Social Survey than ever without using that word. But tation with Moscow. “We’re poll, most said economic as many pay raises were swal-
before in five decades of ask- Vice President Kamala Harris all together at this point,” conditions are poor and in- lowed up and dreams of
ing them. did when she told an inter- Senate Minority Leader flation has hit them on food home ownership or even a
viewer last month “there is a Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and gas. After two years of used car became prohibitive-
This is what a grand funk level of malaise” in this coun- said, “and we need to be to- a pandemic that has killed ly expensive.

New York to lift statewide school mask mandate by March 2

(AP) — New York’s statewide masking re- downward trend. in place, and parents could still choose to send their
quirement in schools will be lifted by March kids to school in masks. The new rules also apply
2, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Sunday, citing a A mask mandate on the city’s approximately 1 mil- to children 2 years and older in childcare facilities.
dramatic drop in COVID-19 infections and lion schoolchildren could also be lifted, Adams said Hochul said Adams was consulted before her an-
new federal guidelines. in a statement. The decision won’t come until Fri- nouncement, including a conversation earlier Sun-
day, following a full week of classes after students day.
Hours later, New York City Mayor Eric Adams in the country’s largest school system return from
said he’s considering lifting vaccine mandates on a weeklong vacation, he said. Despite criticism over the state’s pandemic mea-
restaurants, bars and theaters by early next week sures, Hochul said she remained resolute in stick-
if infections and hospitalizations continue their The pair of announcements signaled an important ing with experts and health data as her guide and
turning point for the city and state, once an epicen- “not let criticism and politics intervene in this
ter of the global pandemic. New guidance from the decision-making.” Earlier this month, Hochul let
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention a broad mask mandate for most indoor settings
says most Americans can now safely take a break expire, but said the schools requirement would
from wearing masks, including students in schools. remain in place. She had promised to revisit the
As of Saturday, state officials said the 7-day aver- schools question by the first week of March.
age for new cases was fewer than 1,671 for the first
time since late July. Other metrics have also fallen The broad mask mandate was implemented dur-
rapidly, including hospitalizations and deaths. The ing a COVID-19 surge fueled by the omicron vari-
CDC guidelines for other indoor spaces aren’t ant in December. Masks are still required in some
binding, meaning cities and institutions even in ar- places, including public transit, homeless shelters,
eas of low risk may set their own rules. Hochul said jails and prisons, adult care facilities and healthcare
counties and cities could keep their own mandates settings.