Mary C. Curtis: COVID-19 Vaccinations Underway

Featured at WCCB Rising

CHARLOTTE. NC — The first COVID-19 vaccines, from Pfizer and approved by the FDA for emergency use, have been sent throughout the country, including North Carolina, where health care workers and residents of care facilities are tops of the list to receive the shot. A Moderna vaccine might get approval later this week. This is happening as the country passes 300,000 dead from the virus, with hospitalizations reaching record highs in North Carolina.

WCCB political contributor Mary C. Curtis has more.

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Dec162020 TAGS: , , , , ,

POLITICAL WRAP: Electoral College Meets Monday; Latest on COVID Vaccine

Featured at WCCB Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Monday, the Electoral College will meet to formally cast their ballots for President and Vice President of the United States.

It comes just days after the Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit by the Texas Attorney General to overturn millions of votes.

Our political contributor Mary C. Curtis has more on this and the latest on the arrival of the COVID vaccine, in the video above.

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Dec132020 TAGS: , , , , ,

Local News Roundup: COVID-19 Cases Continue To Surge With Vaccines On The Way; A New Curfew; CMS Returns To Remote Learning

Featured at WFAE

Friday, Dec. 11, 2020

On the next Charlotte Talks local news roundup …

Gov. Roy Cooper imposes a statewide curfew of 10 p.m. beginning Friday as numbers for COVID-19 spike, and in Mecklenburg County, trends reach new highs. We’ll give a local and regional update on the coronavirus and what the new curfew means for businesses.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools opts to go back to remote learning until January in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the area. We’ll talk about the school board vote and what it will mean for all students, especially those about to take exams.

The Department of Health and Human Services has released the list of hospital systems that will receive the first shipment of a coronavirus vaccine. The state expects about 85,000 vaccine doses from Pfizer, which are going first to health care workers and residents in adult care facilities.

And Charlotte Moves recommended last week that the city put a 1-cent sales tax hike on the ballot for next year’s election. The tax would fund several transportation projects in Mecklenburg County. But for that to happen, legislators in North Carolina would need to authorize the increase and approve a referendum. We’ll hear what some of those legislators say about the proposal and its chances.

Those stories and more as Mike Collins and our roundtable of reporters delve into this week’s top news on the Charlotte Talks local news roundup.

GUESTS:

Erik Spanberg, managing editor for the Charlotte Business Journal

Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time” and contributor at WCCB-TV

Steve Harrison, WFAE political reporter

Annie Ma, education reporter for the Charlotte Observer

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Dec112020 TAGS: , , , , ,

Tidings of victimhood and ‘revenge’ for a holiday, excuse me, Christmas season

Featured at Roll Call

Behaving badly, in a way contrary to anyone’s idea of norms or traditions, has become a badge of honor for far too many of our nation’s leaders and citizens, for which they feel neither shame nor a need to apologize.

Do unto others? Not quite. All those questions that should give pause — “Would you want someone to call your mother that name?” “What kind of example are you setting for your child?” — don’t work.

Incivility is winning, just in time for the holiday season.

Read the rest atRoll Call
Dec102020 TAGS: , , , , , , ,

Mary C. Curtis: Trump Signs Order on COVID-19 Vaccine

Featured at WCCB Rising

CHARLOTTE, NC — COVID-19 vaccines will be given to Americans just as soon as the FDA approves emergency use authorization.

President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday, which will prioritize the U.S. receiving doses over other countries.

This move comes after a New York Times piece claimed Pfizer offered to sell more doses to the U.S. over the summer, but the Trump Administration turned it down.

Political contributor Mary C. Curtis has more.

Read the rest atWCCB Rising
Dec092020 TAGS: , , , , ,

POLITICAL WRAP: Will Governor Cooper Re-Implement COVID Restrictions?

Featured at WCCB Charlotte

And in Washington, what’s the latest on efforts for another stimulus package?

Our political contributor Mary C. Curtis has more in the video above.

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Dec062020 TAGS: , ,

Sree’s Sunday #NYTReadalong Tribute to Betsy Wade

Featured at Sree Sreenivasan's Daily Global Show

at 1:30 mark:

A tribute to Betsy Wade, the first woman to edit news at The New York Times. She died this week at the age of 91. In a 45-year Times career, she also became the first woman to lead the Newspaper Guild of New York and fought a sex discrimination case against the paper.

Read the rest atSree Sreenivasan's Daily Global Show
Dec062020 TAGS: , ,

Breaking the ‘pale and male’ barrier

Featured at Roll Call

Former Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley has usually been the only African American, female diplomat in the room. It’s a reflection, she tells Mary C. Curtis, of how few Black women — or women in general — are senior diplomats. Abercrombie-Winstanley makes the case for diversity in national security, talks about her role in creating the organization Leadership Council for Women in National Security and why she is hopeful that change is on the horizon.

Read the rest atRoll Call
Dec032020 TAGS: , , ,

Donald Trump, Confederates and the GOP — brethren in the new Lost Cause

Featured at Roll Call

You can tell a lot about people by studying their priorities.

President Donald Trump is not spending too much time worrying about coronavirus surges and more than 270,000 Americans dead, as Dr. Anthony Fauci offers warnings about being vigilant while waiting for vaccine distribution. You did not hear the president express sympathy for those waiting in long lines for food over the holidays.

Instead, he has played a lot of golf and wailed on Twitter and television, refusing to accept his loss last month to President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. Oh, yes, and the Justice Department found time to amend protocols to allow firing squads and electrocutions as a means to execute as many federal prisoners as possible before a new administration takes over.

Trump is also forging ahead with his campaign promise to veto the annual National Defense Authorization Act if changes are not made. There are several items in both House and Senate versions, including on troop movement and, most recently, liability protection for social media companies, over which legislators themselves and the president are still haggling. However, a bipartisan provision that has set Trump off for quite awhile is one that would rename bases and remove symbols from military installations that honor Confederate generals and leaders. This is despite consensus not only from both parties but also from members of the

Read the rest atRoll Call
Dec032020 TAGS: , , , , ,

Mary C. Curtis: Biden Moves Forward, But Does Trump?

Featured at WCCB Rising

CHARLOTTE, NC — Attorney General Bill Barr says the Justice Department has not found voter fraud that would change the outcome of the election.

It comes as battleground states such as Arizona and Wisconsin certify election victories for Joe Biden.

WCCB political contributor Mary C. Curtis has more.

You can also check out Mary’s podcast ‘Equal Time.’

Read the rest atWCCB Rising
Dec022020 TAGS: , , , , , , , ,
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