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Friday, April 30, 2021

Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Angel Medical Center Facility



Angel Medical Center had a groundbreaking event at the site of their new facility at 10am today. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event is closed to the public. Macon Media was there and took video and photographs and those are posted below, along with a fact sheet. 

Videos


Karen Gorby Interview



From the press packet:

New Facility Fact Sheet

•The new Angel Medical Center will be located at One Center Court, Franklin, NC.

•The new facility will be located approximately 1.5 miles from the current facility.

•The square footage of the new facility is approximately 82,500.

•The new facility will have:
‣3 operating rooms
‣1 endoscopy suite
‣A 17-bed emergency department

•The new facility will have a 30-bed capacity inpatient unit with 5 acuity adaptable beds, 20 medical surgical beds, and 5 observation beds.

•There will be more than 294 miles of electrical wire installed in the new building, which is approximately the distance from Franklin, NC, to Nashville, TN.

•The power required for the new building could run 200 homes.

•Electricity will travel around the building at more than 670,616,629 miles per hour.

•The conduit system in the building could hold enough water to fill 41 kids’ pools, around 6,611 gallons.

•There will be 50,000 lbs. of copper installed within the new hospital.

•The new facility will have 479 tons of structural steel.

•The new hospital will have 59,000sqft of vinyl flooring which equates to roughly 1.35 acres of flooring.

•The new Angel Medical Center will have 65,000 linear feet of pipe, which is higher than the hot air balloon altitude record set in 1988!

•The total weight of all the sheet metal ductwork will be just under 60 tons.

Photos
See photos on Flickr [PHOTO ALBUM]

Angel Medical Center Groundbreaking Ceremony



CROWDFUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES


If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month. Those who support Macon Media with at least a dollar a month receive early access to video of some events and meetings before they are made public on the website. Videos and news involving public safety are not subject to early access.



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Published at 2:40pm on Friday, April 30, 2021

Governor Orders Flags Lowered Until Sunset on May 4th



Governor Roy Cooper has ordered all United States and North Carolina flags at state facilities to be lowered immediately to half-staff in honor of Fort Bragg Spc. Abigail Jenks, who passed away on April 19th during a training exercise. She was part of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. Spc. Jenks day of interment is May 2. US flags are to remain lowered until sunset on Sunday.

North Carolina flags are to remain at half-staff until further notice to honor two fallen officers of the Watauga County Sheriff's Office. Sgt. Chris Ward and K-9 Deputy Logan Fox died in the line of duty in Boone, North Carolina on Wednesday. Sgt. Ward began his law enforcement career in 2013 and K-9 Deputy Fox served at the Watauga County Sheriff's Office for two years. A notification will be sent once the interment date has been announced for both officers.

Statement from Governor Roy Cooper on Watauga County's fallen officers:

“These horrific shootings that claimed lives and loved ones show the ever-present danger law enforcement can encounter in the line of duty. I have talked with Sheriff Len Hagaman to offer condolences and additional assistance.”

Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are also encouraged to fly flags at half-staff for the duration of time indicated.

Please note, all North Carolina flag announcements are issued in accordance to regulations outlined in the US Flag Code.




CROWDFUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES


If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month. Those who support Macon Media with at least a dollar a month receive early access to video of some events and meetings before they are made public on the website. Videos and news involving public safety are not subject to early access.



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Published at 8:42am on Friday, April 30, 2021

Weather Briefing for Friday, April 30, 2021



OUTLOOK

A cold front will cross the area early this morning. In the front`s wake, high pressure will spread back over the region for the weekend, keeping conditions dry at least through Sunday. An active pattern will be in store for the early part of next week.


---BEGIN SPONSOR SEGMENT---



Weather Sponsor



Adams Products, a Division of Oldcastle is underwriting the daily weather briefing & public safety updates for the month.

Open 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, M-F, located at 895 Hickory Knoll Road, Franklin, NC. Visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Adams.Oldcastle.Franklin.NC

All your masonry needs are available. Our phone number is 828.524.8545, the public is welcome, we’ll help you with your next project.


--- END SPONSOR SEGMENT---


Local News Update
(National News is published after the Macon Calendar section)

Local COVID-19 Numbers for April 29, 2021



National Weather Map for Today



General forecast through Sunday Night


Franklin area

Today

Mostly sunny, with highs in the lower 70s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with lows in the lower 40s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph decreasing after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.

Saturday

Sunny, with highs in the mid-70s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the west around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-40s. Calm winds.

Sunday

A 20 percent chance of rain after 3pm. Partly sunny, with highs in the upper 70s.

Sunday Night

Rain likely, mainly between 8pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the upper 50s. Chance of rain is 60%.

Highlands area

Today

Mostly sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 60s. Winds out of the northwest 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with lows in the lower 40s. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Saturday

Sunny, with highs in the mid-60s. Winds out of the north around 5 mph becoming light and variable by noon.

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows in the upper 40s. Calm winds.

Sunday

A 20 percent chance of rain after 3pm. Partly sunny, with highs near 70.

Sunday Night

Rain likely, mainly between 7pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-50s. Chance of rain is 60%.

Otto area

Today

Mostly sunny, with highs in the lower 70s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with lows in the low-to-mid 40s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Saturday

Sunny, with highs in the mid-70s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper 40s. Calm winds.

Sunday

A 20 percent chance of rain after 3pm. Partly sunny, with highs in the upper 70s.

Sunday Night

Rain likely, mainly between 7pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 60. Chance of rain is 60%.

Nantahala area

Today

Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 60s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with lows in the low-to-mid 40s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Saturday

Sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 70s. Light winds out of the northwest.

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows in the upper 40s. Calm winds.

Sunday

A 20 percent chance of rain after 3pm. Partly sunny, with highs in the mid-70s.

Sunday Night

Rain likely, mainly between midnight and 2am. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 60. Chance of rain is 60%.

HAZARDS

A wind advisory will be in effect from 6am to midnight tonight. A copy is posted below.

Wind Advisory
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
249 AM EDT Fri Apr 30 2021

...WIND ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM THIS MORNING TO MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT...

* WHAT...Northwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph expected.

* WHERE...The Mountains and Foothills of North Carolina.

* WHEN...From 6 AM this morning to midnight EDT tonight.

* IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating highs profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects.


Air Quality




Air quality is in the extereme upper range of green for most of the county, with the ridges and other higher elevations today being in the extreme lower range of yellow.

Fire and Smoke Map
(There are no significant sources of smoke in the region as of 3am on 04-22-2021.)

Pollen


Pollen levels are expected to be in the medium-high range (9.5 out of 12) today with Maple, Birch, and Oak being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to also be in the medium-high range (9.2 out of 12).


Weather Extremes for Macon County on April 30th


Highest Temperature 88°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1970
Lowest Temperature 27°F in Highlands in 1992
Greatest Rainfall 3.40 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1963
Greatest Snowfall No measurable snowfall has been recorded on this date since records started being kept in 1872


April Weather Extremes for Macon County

Highest Temperature 91°F in Franklin on April 26, 1986
Lowest Temperature 13°F in Highlands on April 1, 1987
Greatest One-Day Rain 7.00 inches in Highlands on April 7, 1895
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 9.5 inches in Franklin on April 4, 1987


Macon Calendar

Macon County Public Library

Exploring North Carolina's Lookout Towers: A Guide to Hikes and Vistas with Author Peter Barr Thursday, May 6th, 6:30 p.m. outside the Macon County Public Library in the picnic pavilion next to Macon Early College- Exploring North Carolina's Lookout Towers: A Guide to Hikes and Vistas with Author Peter Barr Join us for a presentation by the author and a chance to purchase your own copy of his updated book on NC's lookout towers. Please call, email or visit Kristina Moe at the library to register- 828-524-3600, kmoe@fontanalib.org Friends of the Greenway

Friends of the Greenway would like to invite you to FROG FAIR, our spring arts & crafts fair on May 8, 2021 from 9-3 at FROG Quarters, 573 E. Main St, Franklin (at the Town bridge). We are excited to report that so far, 26 vendors have chosen to participate at the FAIR. As a fund raiser event for FROG, we collect a vendor registration fee, will offer a continental breakfast, lunch specials, homemade desserts and hold a 50/50 drawing with a $50 guarantee. Area musicians will perform throughout the day, with a sitting area for extra enjoyment. Mark your calendar and come enjoy the day. Stop by FROG Quarters Wednesday-Saturday between 9-2 to become a registered vendor or to purchase 50/50 drawing tickets. Hope to see you on May 8. For vendor information, email us at frog28734@gmail.com.


On This Day

April 30th is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. 245 days remain until the end of the year. Historical Events


311 – The Diocletianic Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire ends.
313 - Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule
711 - Islamic conquest of Iberia: Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad land at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula
1064 - German King Henry IV gives away Utrecht county of West Friesland
1315 – Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged at the instigation of Charles, Count of Valois.
1492 – Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.
1513 – Edmund de la Pole, Yorkist pretender to the English throne, is executed on the orders of Henry VIII.
1557 – Mapuche leader Lautaro is killed by Spanish forces at the Battle of Mataquito in Chile.
1598 – Juan de Oñate begins the conquest of Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
1598 – Henry IV of France issues the Edict of Nantes, allowing freedom of religion to the Huguenots.
1636 – Eighty Years' War: Dutch Republic forces recapture a strategically important fort from Spain after a nine-month siege.
1789 – On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.
1803 – Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling the size of the young nation.
1812 – The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.
1838 – Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation.
1863 – A 65-man French Foreign Legion infantry patrol fights a force of nearly 2,000 Mexican soldiers to nearly the last man in Hacienda Camarón, Mexico.
1871 – The Camp Grant massacre takes place in Arizona Territory.
1885 – Governor of New York David B. Hill signs legislation creating the Niagara Reservation, New York's first state park, ensuring that Niagara Falls will not be devoted solely to industrial and commercial use.
1897 – J. J. Thomson of the Cavendish Laboratory announces his discovery of the electron as a subatomic particle, over 1,800 times smaller than a proton (in the atomic nucleus), at a lecture at the Royal Institution in London.
1900 – Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.
1905 – Albert Einstein completes his doctoral thesis at the University of Zurich.
1925 – Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold to Dillon, Read & Co. for US$146 million plus $50 million for charity.
1927 – The Federal Industrial Institute for Women opens in Alderson, West Virginia, as the first women's federal prison in the United States.
1937 – The Commonwealth of the Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% would vote in the affirmative.
1939 – The 1939–40 New York World's Fair opens.
1939 – NBC inaugurates its regularly scheduled television service in New York City, broadcasting President Franklin D. Roosevelt's N.Y. World's Fair opening day ceremonial address.
1943 – World War II: The British submarine HMS Seraph surfaces near Huelva to cast adrift a dead man dressed as a courier and carrying false invasion plans.
1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for less than 40 hours. Soviet soldiers raise the Victory Banner over the Reichstag building.
1945 – World War II: Stalag Luft I prisoner-of-war camp near Barth, Germany is liberated by Soviet soldiers, freeing nearly 9000 American and British airmen.
1947 – In Nevada, Boulder Dam is renamed Hoover Dam.
1948 – In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established.
1956 – Former Vice President and Democratic Senator Alben Barkley dies during a speech in Virginia.
1957 – Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery entered into force.
1961 – K-19, the first Soviet nuclear submarine equipped with nuclear missiles, is commissioned.
1963 – The Bristol Bus Boycott is held in Bristol to protest the Bristol Omnibus Company's refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom.
1973 – Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces that White House Counsel John Dean has been fired and that other top aides, most notably H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, have resigned.
1975 – Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gain control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Dương Văn Minh.
1980 – Beatrix is inaugurated as Queen of the Netherlands following the abdication of Juliana.
1980 – The Iranian Embassy siege begins in London.
1982 – The Bijon Setu massacre occurs in Calcutta, India.
1993 – CERN announces World Wide Web protocols will be free.
1994 – Formula One racing driver Roland Ratzenberger is killed in a crash during the qualifying session of the San Marino Grand Prix run at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari outside Imola, Italy.
2000 – Canonization of Faustina Kowalska in the presence of 200,000 people and the first Divine Mercy Sunday celebrated worldwide.
2004 – U.S. media release graphic photos of American soldiers abusing and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.
2008 – Two skeletal remains found near Yekaterinburg, Russia are confirmed by Russian scientists to be the remains of Alexei and Anastasia, two of the children of the last Tsar of Russia, whose entire family was executed at Yekaterinburg by the Bolsheviks.
2009 – Chrysler files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
2009 – Seven civilians and the perpetrator are killed and another ten injured at a Queen's Day parade in Apeldoorn, Netherlands in an attempted assassination on Queen Beatrix.
2012 – An overloaded ferry capsizes on the Brahmaputra River in India killing at least 103 people.
2013 – Willem-Alexander is inaugurated as King of the Netherlands following the abdication of Beatrix.
2014 – A bomb blast in Ürümqi, China kills three people and injures 79 others.
2019 - New type of dementia identified and named limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (Late) after misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's disease
2020 - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail V. Mishustin says he has COVID-19
2020 - South Korea reports no new domestic cases of COVID-19 for 1st time, their virus cases peaked Feb 29
2020 - British Captain Tom Moore, who raised more £30 million for the National Health Service walking in his garden, turns 100 and made an honorary colonel by the Queen
2020 - Eurozone economy shrinks at -3.8% between Jan and Mar 2020, the fastest rate on record with Euro Bank President Christine Lagarde warning the 2nd quarter will be even worse
2020 - Eurozone economy shrinks at -3.8% between Jan and Mar 2020, the fastest rate on record with Euro Bank President Christine Lagarde warning the 2nd quarter will be even worse
2020 - US President Donald Trump claims COVID-19 originated in a lab in Wuhan, while the Office of the Director of National Intelligence saying the virus is not manmade


CROWDFUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES


If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month. Those who support Macon Media with at least a dollar a month receive early access to video of some events and meetings before they are made public on the website. Videos and news involving public safety are not subject to early access.



Become a Patron!



Or, if you prefer Pay Pal, try PayPal.me/MaconMedia


Published at 4:00am on Friday, April 30, 2021



Thursday, April 29, 2021

Weather Briefing for Thursday, April 29, 2021



OUTLOOK

Dry high pressure will remain centered off the Southeast Coast, resulting in a warm, southerly flow today. Rain chances return to parts of the region this evening with a passing weak cold front. In the front`s wake, high pressure will spread back over the region for the weekend, keeping conditions dry at least through Sunday.


---BEGIN SPONSOR SEGMENT---



Weather Sponsor



Adams Products, a Division of Oldcastle is underwriting the daily weather briefing & public safety updates for the month.

Open 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, M-F, located at 895 Hickory Knoll Road, Franklin, NC. Visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Adams.Oldcastle.Franklin.NC

All your masonry needs are available. Our phone number is 828.524.8545, the public is welcome, we’ll help you with your next project.


DAY SPONSOR

Macon Media is being underwritten today by Franklin Health and Fitness, home of #ResultsForEveryone. Try FHF with a FREE 3-Day Guest Pass! To claim your pass, and to learn more about Franklin Health and Fitness, visit franklinhealthandfitness.com.



--- END SPONSOR SEGMENT---


Local News Update
(National News is published after the Macon Calendar section)

Local COVID-19 Numbers for April 28, 2021 [LINK]

• Food Lion #2867 Grand Opening in Franklin LINK]



National Weather Map for Today



General forecast through Saturday Night


Franklin area

Today

Partly sunny, with highs in the lower 80s. Light and variable winds early increasing to come out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph by midmorning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.

Tonight

Scattered showers, mainly between 9pm and 4am. Patchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-50s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph shifting to come out of the northwest after midnight. Chance of rain is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday

A chance of showers before 9am, then a chance of rain between 9am and 2pm. Partly sunny, with highs in the lower 70s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of rain is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows in the lower 40s. Winds out of the north 3 to 8 mph.

Saturday

Sunny, with highs in the mid-70s.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-40s.

Highlands area

Today

Partly sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 70s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Tonight

Scattered showers, mainly between 9pm and 5am. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 50s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph shifting to come out of the northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of rain is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday

A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before 10am. Partly sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 60s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 40s. Winds out of the north 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday

Sunny, with highs in the mid-60s.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-40s.

Otto area

Today

Partly sunny, with highs near 801. Light and variable winds early increasing to come out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph by midmorning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.

Tonight

Scattered showers, mainly between 9pm and 4am. Patchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-50s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph shifting to come out of the northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of rain is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Friday

A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before 10am. Partly sunny, with highs in the lower 70s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 40. Winds out of the north 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday

Sunny, with highs in the mid-70s.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with lows in the upper 40s.

Nantahala area

Today

Partly sunny, with highs near 78. Light south southwest wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph by midmorning. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.

Tonight

Showers likely, mainly before 2am. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-50s. West southwest wind 7 to 9 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of rain is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday

A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before 10am. Partly sunny, with highs near 68. North northwest wind 7 to 9 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows around 43. North wind 5 to 8 mph.

Saturday

Sunny, with highs near 71.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with lows around 48.

HAZARDS

Hazardous weather is not expected today.



Air Quality




Air quality is in the extereme lower range of yellow for most of the county, with the ridges and other higher elevations today being in the middle range of yellow.

Fire and Smoke Map
(There are no significant sources of smoke in the region as of 3am on 04-22-2021.)

Pollen


Pollen levels are expected to be in the high range (9.8 out of 12) today with Oak, Beech, and Birch being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to return to the high range (9.6 out of 12).


Weather Extremes for Macon County on April 29th


Highest Temperature 88°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1986
Lowest Temperature 23°F in Highlands in 1928
Greatest Rainfall 2.96 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1958
Greatest Snowfall 0.1 inches in Highlands in 1928


April Weather Extremes for Macon County

Highest Temperature 91°F in Franklin on April 26, 1986
Lowest Temperature 13°F in Highlands on April 1, 1987
Greatest One-Day Rain 7.00 inches in Highlands on April 7, 1895
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 9.5 inches in Franklin on April 4, 1987


Macon Calendar

Macon County Public Library

Exploring North Carolina's Lookout Towers: A Guide to Hikes and Vistas with Author Peter Barr Thursday, May 6th, 6:30 p.m. outside the Macon County Public Library in the picnic pavilion next to Macon Early College- Exploring North Carolina's Lookout Towers: A Guide to Hikes and Vistas with Author Peter Barr Join us for a presentation by the author and a chance to purchase your own copy of his updated book on NC's lookout towers. Please call, email or visit Kristina Moe at the library to register- 828-524-3600, kmoe@fontanalib.org Friends of the Greenway

Friends of the Greenway would like to invite you to FROG FAIR, our spring arts & crafts fair on May 8, 2021 from 9-3 at FROG Quarters, 573 E. Main St, Franklin (at the Town bridge). We are excited to report that so far, 26 vendors have chosen to participate at the FAIR. As a fund raiser event for FROG, we collect a vendor registration fee, will offer a continental breakfast, lunch specials, homemade desserts and hold a 50/50 drawing with a $50 guarantee. Area musicians will perform throughout the day, with a sitting area for extra enjoyment. Mark your calendar and come enjoy the day. Stop by FROG Quarters Wednesday-Saturday between 9-2 to become a registered vendor or to purchase 50/50 drawing tickets. Hope to see you on May 8. For vendor information, email us at frog28734@gmail.com.


National News Update

• 2021 State of the Union Address []

• Michael Collins Passes Away []

• SpaceX Starlink 24 Launch

Recap



Full Mission



On This Day

April 29th is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. 246 days remain until the end of the year. Historical Events


1091 – Battle of Levounion: The Pechenegs are defeated by Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.
1386 – Battle of the Vikhra River: The Principality of Smolensk is defeated by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and becomes its vassal.
1429 – Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orléans.
1483 – Gran Canaria, the main island of the Canary Islands, is conquered by the Kingdom of Castile.
1521 – Swedish War of Liberation: Swedish troops defeat a Danish force in the Battle of Västerås.
1770 – James Cook arrives in Australia at Botany Bay, which he names.
1781 – American Revolutionary War: British and French ships clash in the Battle of Fort Royal off the coast of Martinique.
1826 – The galaxy Centaurus A or NGC 5128 is discovered by James Dunlop.
1861 – Maryland in the American Civil War: Maryland's House of Delegates votes not to secede from the Union.
1862 – American Civil War: The Capture of New Orleans by Union forces under David Farragut.
1864 - Battle of Gate Pa (Pukehinahina): 1,700 British troops suffer their worst defeat of the New Zealand Wars at the hands of 230 entrenched Maori warriors in Tauranga
1864 – Theta Xi fraternity is founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the only fraternity to be founded during the American Civil War.
1903 – A landslide kills 70 people in Frank, in the District of Alberta, Canada.
1910 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the People's Budget, the first budget in British history with the expressed intent of redistributing wealth among the British public.
1911 – Tsinghua University, one of mainland China's leading universities, is founded.
1916 – World War I: The UK's 6th Indian Division surrenders to Ottoman Forces at the Siege of Kut in one of the largest surrenders of British forces up to that point.
1916 – Easter Rising: After six days of fighting, Irish rebel leaders surrender to British forces in Dublin, bringing the Easter Rising to an end.
1944 – World War II: British agent Nancy Wake, a leading figure in the French Resistance and the Gestapo's most wanted person, parachutes back into France to be a liaison between London and the local maquis group.
1945 – World War II: The Surrender of Caserta is signed by the commander of German forces in Italy.
1945 – World War II: Airdrops of food begin over German-occupied regions of the Netherlands.
1945 – World War II: HMS Goodall (K479) is torpedoed by U-286 outside the Kola Inlet, becoming the last Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the European theatre of World War II.
1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: Adolf Hitler marries his longtime partner Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker and designates Admiral Karl Dönitz as his successor; Hitler and Braun both commit suicide the following day.
1945 – Dachau concentration camp is liberated by United States troops.
1945 – The Italian commune of Fornovo di Taro is liberated from German forces by Brazilian forces.
1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East convenes and indicts former Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo and 28 former Japanese leaders for war crimes.
1951 – Tibetan delegates arrive in Beijing and sign a Seventeen Point Agreement for Chinese sovereignty and Tibetan autonomy.
1953 – The first U.S. experimental 3D television broadcast shows an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV.
1965 – Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) successfully launches its seventh rocket in its Rehber series.
1967 – After refusing induction into the United States Army the previous day, Muhammad Ali is stripped of his boxing title.
1968 – The controversial musical Hair, a product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, opens at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway, with some of its songs becoming anthems of the anti-Vietnam War movement.
1970 – Vietnam War: United States and South Vietnamese forces invade Cambodia to hunt Viet Cong.
1974 – Watergate scandal: United States President Richard Nixon announces the release of edited transcripts of White House tape recordings relating to the scandal.
1975 – Vietnam War: Operation Frequent Wind: The U.S. begins to evacuate U.S. citizens from Saigon before an expected North Vietnamese takeover. U.S. involvement in the war comes to an end.
1975 – Vietnam War: The North Vietnamese army completes its capture of all parts of South Vietnamese-held Trường Sa Islands.
1986 – A fire at the Central library of the City of Los Angeles Public Library damages or destroys 400,000 books and other items.
1986 – The United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise becomes the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to transit the Suez Canal, navigating from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea to relieve the USS Coral Sea.
1986 – Chernobyl disaster: American and European spy satellites capture the ruins of the 4th Reactor at the Chernobyl Power Plant.
1991 – A cyclone strikes the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh with winds of around 155 miles per hour (249 km/h), killing at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as ten million homeless.
1991 – The 7.0 Mw  Racha earthquake affects Georgia with a maximum MSK intensity of IX (Destructive), killing 270 people.
1992 – Riots in Los Angeles, following the acquittal of police officers charged with excessive force in the beating of Rodney King. Over the next three days 63 people are killed and hundreds of buildings are destroyed.
1997 – The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 enters into force, outlawing the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons by its signatories.
2004 - Dick Cheney and George W. Bush testify before the 9/11 Commission in a closed, unrecorded hearing in the Oval Office
2004 – The final Oldsmobile is built in Lansing, Michigan, ending 107 years of vehicle production.
2005 - Syria completes withdrawal from Lebanon, ending 29 years of occupation
2011 – The Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton takes place at Westminster Abbey in London.
2013 – A powerful explosion occurs in an office building in Prague, believed to have been caused by natural gas, and injures 43 people.
2013 – National Airlines Flight 102, a Boeing 747-400 freighter aircraft, crashes during takeoff from Bagram Airfield in Parwan Province, Afghanistan, killing seven people.
2015 – A baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox sets the all-time low attendance mark for Major League Baseball. Zero fans were in attendance for the game, as the stadium was officially closed to the public due to the 2015 Baltimore protests.
2015 - German Measles is declared eradicated from North and South America - 1st world region to do so
2019 - Islamic State releases video showing leader Bakr al-Baghdadi for first time in five years
2020 - A mile-wide asteroid named 1998 OR2 passes within 3.9 million miles of Earth
2020 - US GDP falls 4.8% for the financial quarter, officially ending the country's growth streak. Worst contraction since 2008.
2020 - UK official death toll reaches 26,000 deaths from COVID-19 as care home and community deaths included
2020 - Fire at an Icheon warehouse, South Korea, kills 38


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Published at 4:10am on Thursday, April 29, 2021



Local COVID-19 Numbers for 04-28-2021

(Numbers as released on Wednesday, April 28, 2021)



Macon Media has been collecting these numbers for the past year and showing them in chart form to show you the long-term trends since April 17th, 2020.

DAY SPONSOR

Macon Media is being underwritten today by Franklin Health and Fitness, home of #ResultsForEveryone. Try FHF with a FREE 3-Day Guest Pass! To claim your pass, and to learn more about Franklin Health and Fitness, visit franklinhealthandfitness.com.



The health department has started releasing information about vaccine delivery, so those numbers will be included here also, as well as charted on a regular basis, although all the numbers can show us is the capability of the federal and state governments to deliver the vaccines to Macon County because Macon County Public Health, after a rough start, can now deliver shots in arms faster than the federal and state governments can deliver them or are likely to be able to deliver them in the foreseeable future.

Vaccines Given on April 28th 70
Current Inventory 740
Total Vaccines Given 12,261

To register to receive the vaccine and to be contacted when appointments for your group are available, please call 828-524-1500. The vaccine call center is open from 8:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Friday, until further notice.

3177 Detected
(+1 from Tuesday and +13 from last Wednesday and +101 from four weeks ago)

18 Active
(+1 from Tuesday and -14 from last Wednesday and -15 from four weeks ago)

3125 Recovered
(unchanged from Tuesday and +26 from last Wednesday and +114 from four weeks ago)

34 Deaths
(unchanged from Tuesday and +1 from last Wednesday and +2 from four weeks ago)

Testing in Macon County

9495 by MCPH
(+1 from Tuesday and +17 from last Wednesday and +121 from four weeks ago)

9607 by Others
(+17 from Tuesday and +155 from last Wednesday and +544 from four weeks ago)

19102 total
(+18 from Tuesday and +172 from last Wednesday and +665 from four weeks ago)

3 tests pending results
(-4 from Tuesday and -2 from last Wednesday and -9 from four weeks ago)

Macon Media Infographics

Known Active COVID-19 Cases


These are the known active cases of COVID-19 in Macon County. The actual number is higher, but since everyone is not being tested on a daily basis, we can't know the true number, and not enough tests are being performed that allow us to guess at it with any accuracy.



Detected, Recovered, and Known Active Cases This chart shows the number of COVID-19 Cases that have been detected (represented by the blue line), the number of known active cases presumed to have recovered (represented by the green line), the number of known active cases (represented by the red line), and the number of known deaths (represented by the purple line). The number of known active cases has fallen below the number of known deaths.



Demographics Table from Macon Public Health The format has been changed by the health department more than once during the pandemic, so the useful information for long-term study is limited.




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Published at 2:00am on Thursday, April 29, 2021

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

2021 State of the Union

The President will address a Joint Session of Congress at the United States Capitol on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, at 9pm.


 


Transcript 

Madame Speaker.  

Madame Vice President. 

No president has ever said those words from this podium, and it’s about time. 

The First Lady. 

The Second Gentleman. 

Mr. Chief Justice. 

Members of the United States Congress and the Cabinet – and distinguished guests. 

My fellow Americans. 

While the setting tonight is familiar, this gathering is very different – a reminder of the extraordinary times we are in.  

Throughout our history, Presidents have come to this chamber to speak to the Congress, to the nation, and to the world. 

To declare war. To celebrate peace. To announce new plans and possibilities. 

Tonight, I come to talk about crisis — and opportunity.  

About rebuilding our nation — and revitalizing our democracy. 

And winning the future for America. 

As I stand here tonight — just one day shy of the 100th day of my administration. 

100 days since I took the oath of office, lifted my hand off our family Bible, and inherited a nation in crisis. 

The worst pandemic in a century. 

The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. 

The worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War. 

Now, after just 100 days, I can report to the nation: America is on the move again.  

Turning peril into possibility. Crisis into opportunity. Setback into strength. 

Life can knock us down. 

But in America, we never stay down. 

In America, we always get up. 

And today, that’s what we’re doing: America is rising anew. 

Choosing hope over fear. Truth over lies. Light over darkness. 

After 100 Days of rescue and renewal, America is ready for takeoff. 

We are working again. Dreaming again. Discovering again. Leading the world again. 

We have shown each other and the world: There is no quit in America. 

100 days ago, America’s house was on fire.  

We had to act.  

And thanks to the extraordinary leadership of Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer – and with the overwhelming support of the American people – Democrats, Independents, and Republicans – we did act.  

Together — we passed the American Rescue Plan.  

One of the most consequential rescue packages in American history. 

We’re already seeing the results. 

After I promised 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots in 100 days – we will have provided over 220 million COVID shots in 100 days.  

We’re marshalling every federal resource. We’ve gotten the vaccine to nearly 40,000 pharmacies and over 700 community health centers. 

We’re setting up community vaccination sites, and are deploying mobile units into hard-to-reach areas. 

Today, 90% of Americans now live within 5 miles of a vaccination site. 

Everyone over the age of 16, everyone – is now eligible and can get vaccinated right away. 

So get vaccinated now. 

When I was sworn in, less than 1% of seniors were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

100 days later, nearly 70% of seniors are fully protected.  

Senior deaths from COVID-19 are down 80% since January. Down 80%.  

And, more than half of all adults in America have gotten at least one shot. 

At a mass vaccination center in Glendale, Arizona, I asked a nurse what it’s like. 

She looked and said every shot feels like a dose of hope. 

A dose of hope for the educator in Florida who has a child who suffers from an auto-immune disease.  

She wrote to me that she was worried about bringing the virus home.  

When she got vaccinated, she sat in her car and just cried. 

Cried out of joy, cried out of relief. 

Parents are seeing smiles on their kids’ faces as they go back to school because teachers and school bus drivers, cafeteria workers have been vaccinated. 

Grandparents hugging their children and grandchildren instead of pressing their hands against a window to say goodbye  

It means everything to both of them. 

There’s still more work to do to beat this virus. We can’t let our guard down now.  

But tonight, I can say because of you — the American people – our progress these past 100 days against one of the worst pandemics in history is one of the greatest logistical achievements our country has ever seen. 

What else have we done these first 100 days? 

We kept our commitment and we are sending $1,400 rescue checks to 85% of all American households. 

We’ve already sent more than 160 million checks out the door. 

It’s making a difference.  

For many people, it’s making all the difference in the world. 

A single mom in Texas wrote to me. 

She said when she couldn’t work, this relief check put food on the table  

and saved her and her son from eviction. 

A grandmother in Virginia told me she immediately took her granddaughter to the eye doctor — something she put off for months because she didn’t have the money.  

One of the defining images of this crisis has been cars lined up for miles waiting for a box of food to be put in the trunk. 

Did you ever think you’d see that in America? 

That’s why the American Rescue Plan is delivering food and nutrition assistance to millions of Americans facing hunger – and hunger is down sharply already.  

We’re also providing: 

Rental assistance to keep people from being evicted from their homes. Providing loans to keep small businesses open and their employees on the job. 

During these 100 days, an additional 800,000 Americans enrolled in the Affordable Care Act because I established a special sign up period to do that.  

We’re making one of the largest one-time investments ever in improving health care for veterans. 

Critical investments to address the opioid crisis. 

And, maybe most importantly, thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we are on track to cut child poverty in America in half this year.  

In the process, the economy created more than 1.3 million new jobs in 100 days.  

More new jobs in the first 100 days than any president on record. 

The International Monetary Fund is now estimating our economy will grow at a rate of more than 6% this year. 

That will be the fastest pace of economic growth in this country in nearly four decades. 

America is moving. Moving forward. And we can’t stop now. 

We’re in a competition with China and other countries to win the 21st Century. 

We have to do more than just build back. We have to build back better. 

Throughout our history, public investments and infrastructure have transformed America.  

The transcontinental railroad and interstate highways united two oceans and brought us into a totally new age of progress. 

Universal public school and college aid opened wide the doors of opportunity. 

Scientific breakthroughs took us to the Moon and now to Mars, discovered vaccines, and gave us the Internet and so much more. 

These are the investments we make together, as one country, and that only government can make.  
 

Time and again, they propel us into the future.  

That’s why I proposed The American Jobs Plan — a once-in-a-generation investment in America itself. 

The largest jobs plan since World War II. 

It creates jobs to upgrade our transportation infrastructure. Jobs modernizing roads, bridges and highways. Jobs building ports and airports, rail corridors and transit lines. It’s clean water.  

Today, up to 10 million homes and more than 400,000 schools and child care centers have pipes with lead in them, including for drinking water. 

 A clear and present danger to our children’s health. 

The American Jobs Plan creates jobs replacing 100% of the nation’s lead pipes and service lines so every American, so every child – can turn on the faucet and be certain to drink clean water. 

It creates jobs connecting every American with high-speed internet, including 35% of rural Americans who still don’t have it.  

This will help our kids and businesses succeed in a 21st Century economy. 

 
And I am asking the Vice President to help lead this effort. 

It creates jobs by building a modern power grid. 

Our grids are vulnerable to storms, hacks, and catastrophic failures – with tragic results as we saw in Texas and elsewhere during winter storms. 

The American Jobs Plan will create jobs to lay thousands of miles of transmission lines needed to build a resilient and fully clean grid. 

The American Jobs Plan will help millions of people get back to their jobs and their careers.  

2 million women have dropped out of the workforce during this pandemic, too often because they couldn’t get the care they need for their family, their children.  

800,000 families are on a Medicaid waiting list right now to get homecare for their aging parent or loved one with a disability. 

This plan will help these families and create jobs for our caregivers with better wages and better benefits. 

For too long, we have failed to use the most important word when it comes to meeting the climate crisis. 

Jobs. Jobs. 

For me, when I think about climate change, I think jobs. 

The American Jobs Plan will put engineers and construction workers to work building more energy efficient buildings and homes. 

Electrical workers installing 500,000 charging stations along our highways. 

Farmers planting cover crops, so they can reduce carbon dioxide in the air and get paid for doing it. 

There’s no reason the blades for wind turbines can’t be built in Pittsburgh instead of Beijing.  

No reason why American workers can’t lead the world in the production of electric vehicles and batteries. 

The American Jobs Plan will create millions of good paying jobs – jobs Americans can raise their families on. 

And all the investments in the American Jobs Plan will be guided by one principle: “Buy American.” 

American tax dollars are going to be used to buy American products made in America that create American jobs. 

The way it should be. 

Now – I know some of you at home are wondering whether these jobs are for you. 

You feel left behind and forgotten in an economy that’s rapidly changing. 

Let me speak directly to you. 

Independent experts estimate the American Jobs Plan will add millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in economic growth for years to come. 

These are good-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced. 

Nearly 90% of the infrastructure jobs created in the American Jobs Plan do not require a college degree. 

75% do not require an associate’s degree. 

The American Jobs Plan is a blue-collar blueprint to build America. 

And, it recognizes something I’ve always said. 

Wall Street didn’t build this country. The middle class built this country. And unions build the middle class. 

And that’s why I’m calling on Congress to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act – the PRO Act — and send it to my desk to support the right to unionize. 

By the way – let’s also pass the $15 minimum wage. 

No one should work 40 hours a week and still live below the poverty line. 

And we need to ensure greater equity and opportunity for women. 

Let’s get the Paycheck Fairness Act to my desk for equal pay. 

It’s long past time. 

Finally, the American Jobs Plan will be the biggest increase in non-defense research and development on record.  

We will see more technological change in the next 10 years – than we saw in the last 50 years. 

And we’re falling behind in that competition. 

Decades ago we used to invest 2% of our GDP on research and development.  

Today, we spend less than 1%. 

China and other countries are closing in fast. 

We have to develop and dominate the products and technologies of the future: advanced batteries, biotechnology, computer chips, and clean energy. 

The Defense Department has an agency called DARPA – the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency – that’s there to develop breakthroughs to enhance our national security – which led to the internet and GPS and so much more. 

The National Institutes of Health, the NIH – should create a similar Advanced Research Projects Agency for health.  

 
To develop breakthroughs – to prevent, detect, and treat diseases like Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and cancer. 

This is personal to so many of us. 

I can think of no more worthy investment. And I know of nothing that is more bipartisan. 

Let’s end cancer as we know it. It’s within our power 

Investments in jobs and infrastructure like the ones we’re talking about have often had bipartisan support.  

Vice President Harris and I meet regularly in the Oval Office with Democrats and Republicans to discuss the American Jobs Plan.  

And I applaud a group of Republican Senators who just put forward their proposal. 

So, let’s get to work. 
 
 

We welcome ideas. 

But, the rest of the world isn’t waiting for us. Doing nothing is not an option. 

We can’t be so busy competing with each other that we forget the competition is with the rest of the world to win the 21st Century. 
 

To win that competition for the future, we also need to make a once-in-a-generation investment in our families – in our children. 

That’s why I’m introducing the American Families Plan tonight, which addresses four of the biggest challenges facing American families today. 

First, access to a good education. 

When this nation made 12 years of public education universal in the last century, it made us the best-educated and best-prepared nation in the world. 

But the world is catching up. They are not waiting. 

12 years is no longer enough today to compete in the 21st Century.  

That’s why the American Families Plan guarantees four additional years of public education for every person in America – starting as early as we can. 

We add two years of universal high-quality pre-school for every 3- and 4- year-old in America.  

The research shows that when a young child goes to school—not day care—they are far more likely to graduate from high school and go on to college.  

And then we add two years of free community college. 

And we will increase Pell Grants and investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal colleges, and minority-serving institutions. 

Jill is a community college professor who teaches today as First Lady. 

She has long said any country that out-educates us is going to outcompete us – and she’ll be leading this effort. 

Second, the American Families plan will provide access to quality, affordable child care. 

We guarantee that low- to middle-income families will pay no more than 7% of their income for high-quality care for children up to the age of 5. 

The most hard-pressed working families won’t have to spend a dime. 

Third, the American Families Plan will finally provide up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave. 

No one should have to choose between a job and paycheck or taking care of themselves and a loved one – a parent, spouse, or child. 

And fourth, the American Families Plan puts money directly into the pockets of millions of families. 

In March we expanded a tax credit for every child in a family. 

Up to a $3,000 Child Tax Credit for children over 6 — and $3,600 for children under 6.  

With two parents, two kids, that’s up to $7,200 in your pocket to help take care of your family. 

This will help more than 65 million children and help cut child poverty in half this year. 

Together, let’s extend the Child Tax Credit at least through the end of 2025. 

The American Rescue Plan lowered health care premiums for 9 million Americans who buy their coverage under the Affordable Care Act.  

Let’s make that provision permanent so their premiums don’t go back up. 

In addition to my Families Plan, I will work with Congress to address –  
this year – other critical priorities for America’s families. 

The Affordable Care Act has been a lifeline for millions of Americans –protecting people with pre-existing conditions, protecting women’s health.  
 
 

And the pandemic has demonstrated how badly it is needed. 

Let’s lower deductibles for working families on the Affordable Care Act, and let’s lower prescription drug costs. 

We all know how outrageously expensive they are.  

In fact, we pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world right here in America – nearly three times as much as other countries. 

We can change that.  

Let’s do what we’ve always talked about. 

Let’s give Medicare the power to save hundreds of billions of dollars by negotiating lower prices for prescription drugs.  

That won’t just help people on Medicare – it will lower prescription drug costs for everyone.  

The money we save can go to strengthen the Affordable Care Act – expand Medicare coverage and benefits – without costing taxpayers one additional penny. 

We’ve talked about it long enough – Democrats and Republicans.  

Let’s get it done this year. 

This is all about a simple premise: Health care should be a right, not a privilege in America. 

So how do we pay for my Jobs and Family Plans?  

I’ve made clear that we can do it without increasing deficits. 
 
 

Let’s start with what I will not do. 

I will not impose any tax increases on people making less than $400,000 a year.  

It’s time for corporate America and the wealthiest 1% of Americans to pay their fair share. 

Just pay their fair share. 

A recent study shows that 55 of the nation’s biggest corporations paid zero in federal income tax last year. 

No federal taxes on more than $40 billion in profits. 

A lot of companies evade taxes through tax havens from Switzerland to Bermuda to the Cayman Islands. 

And they benefit from tax loopholes and deductions that allow for offshoring jobs and shifting profits overseas. 

That’s not right. 

We’re going to reform corporate taxes so they pay their fair share – and help pay for the public investments their businesses will benefit from. 

And, we’re going to reward work, not wealth.  

We take the top tax bracket for the wealthiest 1% of Americans –  
those making $400,000 or more – back up to 39.6%. 

We take the top tax bracket for the wealthiest 1% of Americans – those making $400,000 or more – back up to 39.6%. 

That’s where it was when George W. Bush became president.  

We’re going to get rid of the loopholes that allow Americans who make more than $1 million a year pay a lower rate on their capital gains than working Americans pay on their work.  

This will only affect three tenths of 1% of all Americans. 

And the IRS will crack down on millionaires and billionaires who cheat on their taxes.  

That’s estimated to be billions of dollars. 

Look, I’m not out to punish anyone.  

But I will not add to the tax burden of the middle class of this country.  
 

They’re already paying enough. 

What I’ve proposed is fair. It’s fiscally responsible.  

 
It raises the revenue to pay for the plans I’ve proposed that will create millions of jobs and grow the economy. 

When you hear someone say that they don’t want to raise taxes on the wealthiest 1% and on corporate America – ask them: whose taxes are you going to raise instead, and whose are you going to cut? 

Look at the big tax cut in 2017. 

It was supposed to pay for itself and generate vast economic growth.  

Instead it added $2 trillion to the deficit. 

It was a huge windfall for corporate America and those at the very top. 

Instead of using the tax savings to raise wages and invest in research and development – it poured billions of dollars into the pockets of CEOs.  

In fact, the pay gap between CEOs and their workers is now among the largest in history. 

According to one study, CEOs make 320 times what their average workers make. 

The pandemic has only made things worse. 

20 million Americans lost their jobs in the pandemic – working- and middle-class Americans. 

At the same time, the roughly 650 Billionaires in America saw their net worth increase by more than $1 Trillion.  

Let me say that again. 

Just 650 people increased their wealth by more than $1 Trillion during this pandemic. 

 
They are now worth more than $4 Trillion. 

My fellow Americans, trickle-down economics has  
never worked. 

It’s time to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle-out. 

A broad consensus of economists – left, right, center – agree that what I’m proposing will help create millions of jobs and generate historic economic growth. 

These are among the highest value investments we can make as a nation.  

I’ve often said that our greatest strength is the power of our example – not just the example of our power.  

And in my conversations with world leaders – many I’ve known for a long time – the comment I hear most often is: we see that America is back – but for how long? 

My fellow Americans, we have to show not just that we are back, but that we are here to stay. 

And that we aren’t going it alone – we’re going to be leading with our allies. 

No one nation can deal with all the crises of our time alone – from terrorism to nuclear proliferation to mass migration, cybersecurity, climate change – and as we’re experiencing now, pandemics. 

There’s no wall high enough to keep any virus away.  

As our own vaccine supply grows to meet our needs – and we are meeting them – we will become an arsenal of vaccines for other countries – just as America was the arsenal of democracy in World War 2. 

The climate crisis is not our fight alone, either. 

It’s a global fight. 

The United States accounts for less than 15% of carbon emissions.  

The rest of the world accounts for 85%.  

That’s why – I kept my commitment to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement on my first day in office.  

And I kept my commitment to convene a climate summit right here in America, with all of the major economies of the world – from China and Russia to India and the European Union in my first 100 days. 

I wanted the world to see that there is consensus that we are at an inflection point in history. 

And the consensus is if we act, we can save the planet – and we can create millions of jobs and economic growth and opportunity to raise the standard of living for everyone in the world. 

The investments I’ve proposed tonight also advance a foreign policy that benefits the middle class. 

That means making sure every nation plays by the same rules in the global economy, including China. 

In my discussion with President Xi, I told him that we welcome the competition – and that we are not looking for conflict.  

But I made absolutely clear that I will defend American interests across the board. 

America will stand up to unfair trade practices that undercut American workers and industries, like subsidies for state-owned enterprises and the theft of American technologies and intellectual property. 

I also told President Xi that we will maintain a strong military presence in the Indo—Pacific just as we do with NATO in Europe – not to start conflict – but to prevent conflict.  

And, I told him what I’ve said to many world leaders – that America won’t back away from our commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms. 

No responsible American president can remain silent when basic human rights are violated. A president has to represent the essence of our country.  

America is an idea – unique in the world. 

We are all created equal. It’s who we are. We cannot walk away from that principle. 

With regard to Russia, I made very clear to President Putin that while we don’t seek escalation, their actions have consequences. 

I responded in a direct and proportionate way to Russia’s interference in our elections and cyber—attacks on our government and businesses – and they did both of those things and I did respond. 

But we can also cooperate when it’s in our mutual interests. 

As we did when we extended the New START Treaty on nuclear arms – and as we’re working to do on the climate crisis. 

On Iran and North Korea’s nuclear programs that present a serious threat to America’s security and world security – we will be working closely with our allies to address the threats posed by both of these countries through diplomacy and stern deterrence. 

And American leadership means ending the forever war in Afghanistan. 

We have the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.  

And I’m the first President in 40 years who knows what it means to have had a child serving in a warzone.  

Today we have service members serving in the same war as their parents once did.  

We have service members in Afghanistan who were not yet born on 9/11.  

War in Afghanistan was never meant to be a multi—generational undertaking of nation—building.  

We went to Afghanistan to get the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11.  

We delivered justice to Osama Bin Laden and we degraded the terrorist threat of al Qaeda in Afghanistan. 

After 20 years of American valor and sacrifice, it’s time to bring our troops home. 

Even as we do, we will maintain an over—the—horizon capability to suppress future threats to the homeland. 

But make no mistake – the terrorist threat has evolved beyond Afghanistan since 2001 and we will remain vigilant against threats to the United States, wherever they come from.  

Al Qaeda and ISIS are in Yemen, Syria, Somalia, and other places in Africa and the Middle East and beyond. 

And, we won’t ignore what our own intelligence agencies have determined – the most lethal terrorist threat to the homeland today is from white supremacist terrorism. 

And my fellow Americans, we must come together to heal the soul of this nation. 

It was nearly a year ago before her father’s funeral, when I spoke with Gianna Floyd, George Floyd’s young daughter. 

As I knelt down to talk to her so we could talk eye—to—eye, she said to me, “Daddy changed the world.” 

After the conviction of George Floyd’s murderer, we can see how right she was – if we have the courage to act. 

We have all seen the knee of injustice on the neck of Black America.  

Now is our opportunity to make real progress. 

Most men and women in uniform wear their badge and serve their communities honorably. 

I know them. I know they want to help meet this moment as well. 

My fellow Americans, we have to come together. 

To rebuild trust between law enforcement and the people they serve.  

To root out systemic racism in our criminal justice system. 

And to enact police reform in George Floyd’s name that passed the House already. 

I know the Republicans have their own ideas and are engaged in productive discussions with Democrats.  

We need to work together to find a consensus. 

Let’s get it done next month, by the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death. 

The country supports this reform.  

Congress should act. 

We have a giant opportunity to bend to the arc of the moral universe toward justice.  

Real justice. 

And with the plans I outlined tonight, we have a real chance to root out systemic racism that plagues American life in many other ways.  

A chance to deliver real equity. 

Good jobs and good schools. Affordable housing. Clean air and clean water.  

Being able to generate wealth and pass it down through generations. 

Real opportunities in the lives of more Americans – Black, white, Latino, Asian American, Native American.  

I also want to thank the Senate for voting 94—1 to pass the COVID—19 Hate Crimes Act to protect Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders from the vicious hate crimes we’ve seen this past year – and for too long. 

I urge the House to do the same and send that legislation to my desk as soon as possible.  

I also hope Congress can get to my desk the Equality Act to protect the rights of LGBTQ Americans.  

To all the transgender Americans watching at home – especially the young people who are so brave – I want you to know that your president has your back. 

And another thing. 

Let’s reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which has been law in this country for 27 years since I first wrote it. 

It will close the so—called “boyfriend” loophole to keep guns out of the hands of abusers. 

It’s estimated that more than 50 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner – every month in America. 

Pass it and save lives. 

And I need not tell anyone this, but gun violence is an epidemic in America. 

Our flag at the White House was still flying at half—staff for the 8 victims of the mass shooting in Georgia, when 10 more lives were taken in a mass shooting in Colorado.  

In the week between those mass shootings, more than 250 other Americans were shot dead.  

250 shot dead. 

I know how hard it is to make progress on this issue.  

In the 1990s, we passed universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons and high—capacity magazines that hold 100 rounds that can be fired in seconds. 

We beat the NRA. Mass shootings and gun violence declined. 

But in the early 2000’s, that law expired and we’ve seen the daily bloodshed since. 

More than two weeks ago in the Rose Garden, surrounded by some of the bravest people I know – the survivors and families who lost loved ones to gun violence – I laid out several steps the Department of Justice is taking to end this epidemic. 

One of them is banning so—called “ghost guns.” 

They are homemade guns built from a kit that includes the directions on how to finish the firearm.  

The parts have no serial numbers, so when they show up at a crime scene, they can’t be traced. 

The buyers of ghost gun kits aren’t required to pass a background check. 

Anyone from a criminal to a terrorist could buy this kit and, in as little as 30 minutes, put together a lethal weapon. 

But not anymore. 

I will do everything in my power to protect the American people from this epidemic of gun violence. 

But it’s time for Congress to act as well. 

We need more Senate Republicans to join with the overwhelming majority of their Democratic colleagues, and close loopholes and require background checks to purchase a gun. 

And we need a ban on assault weapons and high—capacity magazines again. 

Don’t tell me it can’t be done. We’ve done it before … and it worked. 
 
 

Talk to most responsible gun owners, most hunters – they’ll tell you there’s no possible justification for having 100 rounds – 100 bullets – in a weapon. 

They will tell you that there are too many people today who are able to buy a gun, but who shouldn’t be able to. 

These kinds of reasonable reforms have the overwhelming support of the American people – including many gun owners. 

The country supports reform, and the Congress should act. 

This shouldn’t be a Red vs. Blue issue. It’s an American issue. 

And here’s what else we can do. 

Immigration has always been essential to America. 

Let’s end our exhausting war over immigration. 

For more than 30 years, politicians have talked about immigration reform and done nothing about it. 

It’s time to fix it. 

On day one of my Presidency, I kept my commitment and I sent a comprehensive immigration bill to Congress.  

If you believe we need a secure border – pass it. 

If you believe in a pathway to citizenship – pass it. 

If you actually want to solve the problem – I have sent you a bill, now pass it. 

We also have to get at the root of the problem of why people are fleeing to our southern border from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador.  

The violence. The corruption. The gangs. The political instability. Hunger. Hurricanes. Earthquakes. 

When I was Vice President, I focused on providing the help needed to address these root causes of migration.  

It helped keep people in their own countries instead of being forced to leave. 

Our plan worked. 

But the last administration shut it down.  

I’m restoring the program and asked Vice President Harris to lead our diplomatic efforts.  

I have absolute confidence she will get the job done. 

Now, if Congress won’t pass my plan – let’s at least pass what we agree on. 

Congress needs to pass legislation this year to finally secure protection for the Dreamers – the young people who have only known America as their home. 

And, permanent protections for immigrants on temporary protected status who come from countries beset by man—made and natural made violence and disaster. 

As well as a pathway to citizenship for farmworkers who put food on our tables. 

Immigrants have done so much for America during the pandemic – as they have throughout our history. 

The country supports immigration reform.  

Congress should act. 

And if we are to truly restore the soul of America – we need to protect the sacred right to vote. 

More people voted in the last presidential election than ever before  
in our history – in the middle of one of the worst pandemics ever.  

That should be celebrated. Instead it’s being attacked. 

Congress should pass H.R. 1 and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and send them to my desk right away. 

The country supports it. 

Congress should act. 

As we gather here tonight, the images of a violent mob assaulting this Capitol—desecrating our democracy—remain vivid in our minds. 

Lives were put at risk. Lives were lost. Extraordinary courage was summoned. 

The insurrection was an existential crisis—a test of whether our democracy could survive.  

It did. 

But the struggle is far from over. The question of whether our democracy  will long endure is both ancient and urgent. 

As old as our Republic. Still vital today.  

Can our democracy deliver on its promise that all of us – created equal in the image of God – have a chance to lead lives of dignity, respect, and possibility?  

Can our democracy deliver on the most pressing needs of our people? 

Can our democracy overcome the lies, anger, hate and fears that have pulled us apart? 

America’s adversaries – the autocrats of the world – are betting it can’t. 

They believe we are too full of anger and division and rage. 

They look at the images of the mob that assaulted this Capitol as proof that the sun is setting on American democracy. 

They are wrong. And we have to prove them wrong. 

We have to prove democracy still works. 

That our government still works – and can deliver for the people.  

In our first 100 Days together, we have acted to restore the people’s faith in our democracy to deliver. 

We’re vaccinating the nation. We’re creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. We’re delivering real results people can see and feel in their own lives.  

Opening the doors of opportunity. Guaranteeing fairness and justice. 

That’s the essence of America. 

That’s democracy in action. 

Our Constitution opens with the words, “We the People”. 

It’s time we remembered that We the People are the government. You and I.  

Not some force in a distant capital. Not some powerful force we have no control over. 

It’s us. It’s “We the people.”  

In another era when our democracy was tested, Franklin Roosevelt reminded us—In America: we do our part.  

That’s all I’m asking. That we all do our part.  

And if we do, then we will meet the central challenge of the age by proving that democracy is durable and strong. 

The autocrats will not win the future. 

America will. 

The future will belong to America. 

I stand here tonight before you in a new and vital hour in the life of our democracy and our nation. 

And I can say with absolute confidence: I have never been more confident or more optimistic about America. 

We have stared into an abyss of insurrection and autocracy — of pandemic and pain — and “We the People” did not flinch. 

At the very moment our adversaries were certain we would pull apart and fail. 

We came together. 

United.  

With light and hope, we summoned new strength and new resolve. 

To position us to win the competition for the 21st Century. 

On our way forward to a Union more perfect. More prosperous. More just. 

As one people. One nation. One America. 

It’s never been a good bet to bet against America. 

And it still isn’t. 

We are the United States of America. 

There is nothing – nothing – beyond our capacity – nothing we can’t do – if we do it together. 

May God bless you all. 

May God protect our troops. 



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Published at 5:06pm on Wednesday, April 28, 2021