Welcome to the holidaze — that limbo between Christmas and New Year’s when the first round of holiday hangover hasn’t quite worn off and no one has any clue what day it is. (For the record, today is Tuesday.)
We hope everyone had a happy holiday — as much as possible, at least, given the current circumstances. We know you’re still sorting through the Christmas chaos and weighing the pros and cons of putting away the decorations now or later (definitely later) and basking in the post-holidays glow as Hallmark continues to play yuletide-themed movies nonstop.
To add to the holidaze confusion, a lot of big things happened right before, through and right after the Christmas weekend. So in case you missed any of this while frantically wrapping, then enthusiastically unwrapping presents, here’s the highlights of major national happenings from the past week, in rough chronological order.
(If you would like to bask in the blissful ignorance of the holidaze a little longer, please stop reading now, as the following will quickly extinguish what post-Christmas/pre-New Year’s warm and fuzzy feelings you may have left.)
- Monday, Dec. 21, Congress passed a bipartisan bill that provides $900 billion toward COVID-19 relief as part of a larger $2.3 trillion government funding bill.
- Tuesday, President Trump said he wouldn’t sign the legislation unless stimulus checks were increased from $600 to $2,000 and other “unnecessary” expenditures were cut. Note: Said other expenditures were part of the overall government funding bill and were in line with White House demands. (More on this topic tomorrow.)
- Wednesday, Trump vetoed the annual military policy bill because it called for military bases named for Confederate leaders to be rechristened. The president also wanted a non sequitur to be added: A provision that would strip the legal shield from social media companies he has crossed rhetorical swords with in the past. In vetoing the annual military policy bill, Trump has also stopped a pay raise for servicemen and women, new benefits for Vietnam-era vets exposed to Agent Orange, and a mandate for the Pentagon to transition away from Chinese goods, particularly electronics, according to The New York Times. Congress plans to vote on an override this week.
- Thursday, Christmas Eve, Democrats wanted to play ball on renegotiating the stimulus checks. Republicans refused.
- Friday, Christmas Day, a bomb in an RV exploded in downtown Nashville, injuring three people and causing extensive property damage. The blast affected an AT&T central office, and communications were down throughout the state.
- Saturday, unemployment coverage for millions of Americans lapsed. The delayed relief means it may be weeks before they can receive much-needed benefits.
- Also on Saturday, federal agents searched the home of a possible suspect in the Nashville explosion, and Sunday, it was announced the suspect, 63-year-old Anthony Warner, had died in the explosion. His motivation remains unknown.
Sunday evening, Trump finally signs the government spending bill that includes the COVID relief funds but with a list of demands for changes that will likely be ignored. The government narrowly avoids a shutdown, but the fight continues.
It seems 2020 is determined to go out kicking and screaming, causing as much mayhem as humanly possible. Friday can’t get here fast enough — and with it the new year.
