The Daily Valet. - 3/8/21, Monday

✔️ Relief Is On the Way

Monday, March 8th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Watch anything good last night?

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Senate OKs Relief Bill

It’s being called a defining act of Biden’s presidency

An exhausted Senate narrowly approved President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan Saturday, securing additional aid for American families, workers and businesses—and a big legislative victory for the Biden administration.

After laboring all night on a mountain of amendments—nearly all from Republicans and rejected—bleary-eyed senators approved the sprawling package on a 50-49 party-line vote, reports the Associated Press. That sets up final congressional approval by the House tomorrow so lawmakers can take it to Biden for his signature.

“When we took office 45 days ago, I promised the American people that help was on the way,” Biden said shortly after it passed. “It obviously wasn’t easy, it wasn’t always pretty, but it was so desperately needed.”

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan spends most of the money on low-income and middle-class Americans and state and local governments, with very little going toward companies. According to the Washington Post, the plan is one of the largest federal responses to a downturn Congress has enacted and economists estimate it will boost growth this year to the highest level in decades and reduce the number of Americans living in poverty by a third.

Despite the GOP objections, the plan is supported by more than 66% of the country, polls show. And it’s likely to be felt quickly by working Americans who stand to receive not just larger checks than before, but money from expanded tax credits (particularly geared toward parents); enhanced unemployment; rental assistance; food aid and health insurance subsidies.

But the ambitious legislation isn’t without its risks. The bill injects the economy with so much money at one time that some economists (from both parties) warn that growth could overheat, leading to a bout of hard-to-contain inflation.

↦ FYI: About that third stimulus check ... How soon might you receive a $1,400 check? CBS News has some answers.

About That Interview Last Night ...

Oprah’s wildly anticipated sit-down with Harry and Meghan lived up to the hype

If you weren't one of the many who tuned in to the rare live TV moment of Oprah Winfrey interviewing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex last night, here's what people are talking about today: Meghan Markle admitted that her life as a member of the British royal family had become so emotionally desolate that she contemplated suicide.

The wide-ranging and elaborately-titled interview, Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special, was the couple's first since they stepped down from royal duties and the two-hour special included shocking palace discussions about the color of their son's skin, losing royal protection and racist attacks from the British press—revelations likely to reverberate on both sides of the Atlantic.

As James Poniewozik of the New York Times put it: “It strikes me that, on one level, Winfrey is really conducting an exit interview—beyond all the juicy details, this is a chance to get the story of two insiders who got away from one of the world's most unusual, mysterious and controlling institutions.”

Last month, Buckingham Palace confirmed that after stepping back, the pair would be stripped of any remaining royal duties. For Harry, it meant giving up honorary military titles and for Meghan, she parted ways with cultural organizations like her patronage to the National Theatre.

↦ Dig Deeper: He no longer receives public funds, so this is where Prince Harry's money comes from.

Iceland Is Rumbling

Residents have been waking up to earthquakes every day for more than a week

Nearly constant earthquakes have plagued the main population center of Iceland in recent days—rattling the capital city of Reykjavik and keeping geologists on their toes as all signs point to a pending volcanic eruption, officials fear.

According to LiveScience, Iceland is no stranger to seismic activity as the island has been formed by volcanic activity due to the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates moving away from each other. The oh-so-Instagramable countryside is home to volcanoes, geysers, hot springs and lava fields.

Similar tremors have been observed ahead of volcanic eruptions in the past, and scientists said that magma movements were a likely cause for the continuing activity. The Icelandic Meteorological Office has warned that an eruption could occur within days or weeks.

On the bright side, they believe that any activity is unlikely to be as disruptive as the eruption that occurred in 2010. You might remember when another volcano in Iceland released a plume of ash so big and dark, that it all but closed down air-traffic, stranding millions of passengers in Europe for weeks.

↦ Watch It: CNN's meteorologist Derek Van Dam explains what is happening within this seismically active part of the world.

FedEx Electrifies Its Fleet

In an effort to become entirely carbon neutral

FedEx is investing at least $2 billion toward sustainable energy initiatives, including electric vehicles and carbon capture research, as part of a new pledge to become carbon neutral by 2040, reports CNBC.

The company is making the transition as a way to help it achieve its goal to reach carbon neutral status by the same year. In its announcement, FedEx says it is slowly phase out its existing parcel delivery trucks and that 50% of all global vehicle purchases will be electric by 2025. It has already ordered 500 of General Motors' new BrightDrop EV600 electric delivery van.

FedEx, which operates more than 200,000 vehicles and 680 cargo airplanes, will continue investing in alternative fuels to reduce emissions from its aircrafts and vehicles, the company said.

Since a delivery company will have to use fuel, FedEx has pledged $100 million to Yale University, as well, to launch the institution's Center for Natural Carbon Capture. On the center's website, the university wrote that it “will focus on developing collaborative and innovative solutions to pull carbon dioxide from our atmosphere and mitigate the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.” Meaning, soon we'll have no guilt about all the online shopping we do.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

What we’re into right now

This flag fact

That ‘WandaVision’ Finale

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Take Self-Care Seriously

Make your regular grooming more than skin deep

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↦ Shop: the MR PORTER Grooming section

What We’re Buying

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