(NewsNation Now) — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., took to the airwaves of Fox News Sunday morning to torpedo Democrats’ Build Back Better spending bill, drawing a withering response from many top Dems. Chris Hahn, host of the “Aggressive Progressive” podcast, joins “On Balance” to talk about the legislation’s chances of getting back on track and what the party can do to reduce Manchin’s influence in a deadlocked Senate.
The White House is pivoting away from its focus on rising COVID-19 case counts to emphasize instead instances of severe illness, most notably among the unvaccinated. Hahn discusses the new strategy and placing greater restrictions on the unvaccinated.
Tensions are running high between the Biden White House and Manchin in the wake of Manchin’s announcement that he cannot support the Build Back Better legislation. Steve Clemons, editor at large for The Hill, discusses how the two sides can come to some sort of common ground.
Dr. William Schacter, a professor in preventive medicine health policy and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, discusses the White House’s change in focus on the coronavirus as well as the National Football League’s new policies concerning COVID-19.
Elon Musk said on Twitter that he owes more than $11 billion on taxes this year after exercising stock options on Tesla. Heather Gardner, host of “The Divided States of America,” joins the program to talk about Musk’s enormous tax bill.
The Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case has gone to the jury. Ben Wieder, investigative and data reporter for the McClatchy Washington bureau, speculates on the verdict and its ramifications for associates of Maxwell and the late Jeffrey Epstein.
In Chicago, Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx is under fire after a special prosecutor’s report offered damning analysis of her office’s role in the Jussie Smollett case. Attorney and former federal prosecutor Phillip Turner discusses the case and the actions of prosecutors in the case.
The State of Texas is moving ahead to build its own wall along the country’s southern border. With their recent hard-line stances, are Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Manchin mulling presidential runs? Jason Nichols, senior lecturer at the University of Maryland and Dan O’Donnell, host of the “Dan O’Donnell Show” in Milwaukee, take a look at two long shots.