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South Korea Warns Won Is Undervalued, Boosts FX Coordination With Japan 
Khamenei Funeral Draws Thousands as Iran Stages Nationwide Week of Mourning 
France Battles Mediterranean Wildfires as Heatwave Fuels Fire Risk 
US Envoy Urges Taiwan to Build ‘Hornet’s Nest’ Drone Defense Against China 
Trump Administration to Launch Voluntary AI Standards for Frontier Models 
Trump Administration Declines USMCA Renewal, Opens Talks on New Trade Changes 
US Ambassador Prioritizes Cook Islands Critical Minerals, Warns of China’s Pacific Influence 
Trump Accounts Now Accept Stock Donations as Treasury Launches New Child Investment Program 
UN Warns of Looming Human Rights Catastrophe in Sudan’s Al-Obeid 
Amy Coney Barrett Faces Conservative Backlash After Key Supreme Court Rulings Against Trump 
OpenAI Proposes 5% U.S. Government Stake Amid AI Policy Talks 
US Resumes Dollar Shipments to Iraq After Months-Long Suspension 
Air Force Investigates Officer After Capitol Protest Calling for Trump, Vance Impeachment 
State of emergency in Crimea as Ukraine focuses pressure on ‘jewel in Putin’s crown’ 
Trump Vows U.S. Will Prevent China From Taking Over the Panama Canal 
Russian Attacks Kill Six Across Ukraine as Kyiv Mourns Deadly Strike 
US President Joe Biden continues to promote getting vaccinated for COVID-19, especially as more demographics are now allowed to get the shot. Business groups based in Michigan have recently urged the US leader to reconsider his plan to put in place a federal vaccine mandate.
Biden has previously talked about a plan that federal workers must get vaccinated for COVID-19 otherwise be subject to weekly testing for coronavirus in another effort to get the American public vaccinated. This has led to business groups in Michigan raising questions and concerns regarding the specifics of the said plan. However, they have said that should it be enacted, state governor Gretchen Whitmer should make sure that the state rules are not as strict.
Six state chambers, including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, had some questions and concerns about the pending federal mandate that would require companies that have at least 100 employees to get inoculated or face weekly testing. The groups’ concerns were the cost, the logistics of checking employees’ vaccination status, and test results. This is also coming at a time where human resources or other related staffing is limited and that the 100-employee threshold is arbitrary.
They have also questioned how employees would be counted and whether those who have not received the shot would still be able to work while waiting for their weekly test results. There is also the length of time that companies will have to comply with OSHA’s rule.
Whitmer, who is a Democrat, has said she does not plan to put in place broad vaccine or mask mandates.
In other related news, Biden met with members of conflicting factions in the Democratic Party in the hopes of getting both sides to come to an agreement regarding the $3.5 trillion social infrastructure and jobs package. Vice President Kamala Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also met with both factions of the party during the day. This comes as the bill faces a possibility to fail passage through the Senate due to two so-called moderate Democrats, Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who have publicly opposed the bill.
Biden met with Manchin Tuesday morning, followed by a meeting with Sinema. Later in the day, Biden, along with Harris and Yellen, met with House Progressive Democrats before meeting with centrist House and Senate Democrats.
