10 things you need to know today: May 29, 2021

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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1. Senate blocks Jan. 6 commission
2. Biden unveils $6 trillion budget proposal
3. Suspect in Tibbetts murder convicted
4. Thousands of rounds of ammo found in San Jose shooting suspect's home
5. White House announces Belarus sanctions
6. CDC relaxes mask guidance for children at summer camp
7. India records lowest 24-hour rise in COVID-19 infections in 45 days
8. Remains of 215 children found on grounds of Canadian school
9. Movie chains to no longer require masks
10. Manchester City, Chelsea face off in Champions League final

published 29 May 2021

1. Senate blocks Jan. 6 commission

The Senate on Friday blocked legislation to create a bipartisan commission investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol building by supporters of former President Donald Trump. While a majority of senators voted to move the House bill forward, the upper chamber fell six votes shy of the required 60, marking the first successful filibuster by Senate Republicans since the new Congress began this year. GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) joined their Democratic colleagues in support of the bill, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was able to rally everyone else to oppose it. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the result shows Trump's "big lie has now fully enveloped the Republican Party."

President Biden on Friday unveiled his $6 trillion 2022 budget proposal, which features increases in infrastructure, public health, and education funding. The plan also includes a 1.6 percent rise in military spending, but federal resources normally headed there would be diverted to domestic programs, including scientific research and renewable energy, which would receive 16.5 percent more funding if Biden's plan is passed by Congress. The proposal relies on corporate tax increases, which would climb to 28 percent from 21 percent, and a hike in the top capital-gains tax rate to pay for the increases.

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Jurors on Friday convicted Christhian Bahena Rivera in the 2018 killing of 20-year-old University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, whose body was found in a field outside her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, after a monthlong search. Rivera, a 26-year-old farmworker who has been described by the authorities as an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, could be sentenced to life in prison without parole. His sentencing is scheduled for July 15. Rivera, who led investigators to Tibbetts' body, testified during the two-week trial that he did not kill her, claiming two armed and masked men threatened him and forced him to drive them to Brooklyn, where one of them committed the murder. Rivera's attorneys acknowledged the story likely sounded far-fetched and called the case "extraordinarily difficult" for the defense team. Prosecutors said they hoped they brought "a sense of justice" to Tibbetts' family.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said authorities found around 22,000 rounds of various types of ammunition at the San Jose home of Samuel James Cassidy, the suspected gunman who shot and killed nine people at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority on Wednesday. Cassidy allegedly fired 39 shots before killing himself after law enforcement arrived. The Sheriff's Office said the ammunition discovery shows it's clear the shooting "was a planned event and the suspect was prepared to use his firearms to take as many lives as he possibly could." Cassidy also reportedly had several cans of gasoline, suspected Molotov cocktails, and twelve firearms in his home, and he reportedly had set a timer or slow-burn device to set the house on fire.

The White House on Friday night placed a series of sanctions on Belarus in response to the government forcibly diverting a Ryanair commercial flight, en route to Vilnius, Lithuania, from Athens, Greece, to Minsk, Belarus' capital. After landing, Belarusian authorities arrested a passenger, dissident journalist Roman Protasevich. In a statement, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the incident a "direct affront to international norms" that "took place amid an escalating wave of repression by" Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's regime. In addition to reimposing sanctions on nine Belarusian state-owned businesses and increased sanctions on the government, Psaki said the United States has issued a travel advisory urging Americans not to travel to Belarus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday updated its mask guidance again, stating that adolescents who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 don't need to wear masks at summer camps and camps can safely return to full capacity without masking or physical distancing if everyone is fully vaccinated prior to the start of the camp. Campers who are not fully vaccinated, including anyone younger than 12 (no vaccines have been approved for children below that age by the Food and Drug Administration), are still encouraged "particularly in areas of substantial to high transmission … to wear a mask in crowded outdoor settings or during activities that involve sustained close contact with other people who are not fully vaccinated," the agency added.

India on Saturday recorded 173,790 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. While high, the figure marks the lowest number of new daily infections in 45 days, and daily recoveries continued to outnumber new cases for the 16th consecutive day, adding to the hope that the country's devastating second wave of infections is easing amid a mass vaccination effort. At the same time, there are concerns that many new cases are not being reported, especially in rural areas, and 3,617 more people were confirmed to have died from the virus, bringing India's death toll to 322,512.

Rosanne Casimir, the chief of the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation announced Thursday that a mass grave containing the remains of 215 children, some reportedly as young as three years old, has been found on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. During the 20th century, the Canadian government created residential schools for indigenous children as part of an assimilation effort; Canada's National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has said large numbers of children never returned home. Casimir said community members are still "grappling" with the shock of the discovery. "We need to honor these children," she said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was a "painful reminder of a shameful chapter of our country's history."

Moviegoers vaccinated against COVID-19 will no longer have to wear masks at AMC, Regal, and Cinemark theaters unless mandated by state or local authorities, the chains announced Friday in updated guidelines. Other social distancing measures, such as reduced capacity, and enhanced cleaning protocols will remain in place at the venues, while people who are not fully vaccinated will still be encouraged to wear face coverings, though it's unclear how or if that will be enforced.

Two English Premier League teams, Manchester City and Chelsea, will face off in the UEFA Champions League Final in Porto, Portugal, at 3:00 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports in the United States. Manchester City, fresh off its fifth Premier League title, is seeking its first ever Champions League crown, while Chelsea aims for its second, the first coming in 2012. Both clubs feature young American stars — 22-year-old attacking midfielder Christian Pulisic will suit up for Chelsea, and 26-year-old Zack Steffen serves as Manchester City's backup goalkeeper.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.