DEMOCRATIC SEN. JOE MANCHIN SET TO DERAIL NEERA TANDEN’S NOMINATION; COULD TORPEDO VIVEK MURTHY AS WELL

Two days after the nomination of Neera Tanden (Joe Biden's pick as the director of the Office of Management and Budget in his administration) was thrown into doubt, there is now additional scrutiny on the confirmation of another Indian American tapped by President Joe Biden to be part of his administration.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday that surgeon general nominee Vivek Murthy received millions of dollars from corporations such as Netflix, AirBnB, and Carnival Corporations in consulting fees in the past year.

According to the report, Murthy earned an estimated $2.6 million for coronavirus-related consultations fees and various speaking engagements. With concerns that may now arise regarding his credibility as a spokesperson on the pandemic response, Murthy’s confirmation vote, which is scheduled for this Thursday, could be in trouble.

If confirmed, Tanden and Murthy would be the two highest-ranking Indian Americans in the Biden administration. But the developments in back-to-back days now cast doubts over their confirmation. So far, the White House has said it is backing both the two nominees and is confident about getting them confirmed.

The first bombshell came on Friday, when Sen. Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat from West Virginia, announced that he would vote against Tanden citing her past tweets about a number of GOP senators.

“I believe her overtly partisan statements will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget,” the West Virginia senator said. “For this reason, I cannot support her nomination.”

The president said he has no plans to withdraw the nomination of Tanden, who runs the liberal think tank Center for American Progress.

“I think we’re going to find the votes to get her confirmed,” Biden said in response to Manchin’s comments on Saturday. While the president has yet to make an official comment in the case of Murthy, White House officials defended the nomination, according to the Washington Post report.

US NEARS ‘STUNNING’ TOLL OF 500,000 CORONAVIRUS DEATHS

The United States stood on the brink Sunday of recording 500,000 Covid-related deaths since the start of the pandemic, while nations globally pressed on with vaccination rollouts, including with Australia giving its first shots.

The catastrophic US toll comes as some signs of hope are emerging in the world's hardest-hit country, with millions of people now vaccinated and winter's massive spike in infections dropping.

But deaths are still coming, and President Joe Biden last month warned that "well over" 600,000 people in the US could die from the virus.

"It's terrible. It is historic. We haven't seen anything even close to this for well over a hundred years, since the 1918 pandemic of influenza," Biden's chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci told NBC's "Meet The Press."

"It's something that is stunning when you look at the numbers, almost unbelievable, but it's true," Fauci added.

As of Sunday night, the US toll on the Johns Hopkins University tracking website stood at 498,879. Globally, the figure was approaching 2.5 million.

After America's first Covid-19 death was announced in February last year, it took about three months to pass the 100,000 mark, during a first wave that hit New York particularly hard.

But as the outbreak surged across the country, the pace of deaths increased, with the toll jumping from 400,000 in just over a month amid a spike fueled in part by holiday gatherings.

Fauci noted the number of daily new infections was on a steep decline after peaking in January, but he added normal life may still be some way off.

"I think we'll have a significant degree of normality... as we get into the fall and the winter, by the end of the year," Fauci said on CNN's "State of the Union."

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 61 million people have received at least one shot of vaccine in the United States, with some 18 million getting the full two doses.

Biden has made it a priority to get 100 million people vaccinated within the first 100 days of his administration.

In Australia, top officials Sunday were among a small group receiving the first vaccinations, a day before the program starts in earnest.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison got the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at a medical center in Sydney, in what the government said was a bid to boost public confidence in the vaccinations that have been subject to some anti-vaccine protests.

Meanwhile, in Britain, the government vowed to offer a first coronavirus vaccine dose to every adult by the end of July, as it readied to announce a gradual easing of its third lockdown.

More than 17 million people have now received at least a first vaccine dose -- one third of the adult UK population.

IRAN TO STOP 'SNAP' NUCLEAR CHECKS, IAEA CONFIRMS

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog says Iran has agreed to extend UN inspectors' access to its nuclear sites for three months.

But the hastily brokered agreement will give IAEA officials less access and end their right to make snap inspections.

Iran is changing its access policy from Tuesday because the US has not lifted the sanctions imposed since Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal.

Washington and Tehran now have more time to seek a compromise.

Iran says it will not reverse the measures unless the US fully complies with the 2015 deal - but US President Joe Biden has said Iran must do so first.

A law coming into force on Tuesday by Iranian MPs requires the government to stop allowing the inspection at short-notice of declared or undeclared nuclear sites by experts from the global nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"This law exists. This law is going to be applied, which means that the Additional Protocol, much to my regret, is going to be suspended," said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, after a weekend of talks in Tehran.

"There is less access, let's face it. But still we were able to retain the necessary degree of monitoring and verification work," he added.

The "additional protocol" allows the IAEA to make unannounced inspections at sites not previously disclosed by a country.

CHINA CALLS FOR RESET IN SINO-US RELATIONS WITH BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi called on the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to work with Beijing to reopen dialogue between the two countries to restore a bilateral relationship damaged under the presidency of Donald Trump.

Wang, a Chinese state councillor and foreign minister, said the Trump administration's actions to suppress and contain China inflicted immeasurable harm, and called on Washington to remove tariffs on Chinese goods and abandon what he said was an irrational suppression of the Chinese tech sector.

Wang also urged Washington to respect China's core interests, stop interfering in Beijing's internal affairs and stop "conniving" with separatist forces for Taiwan's independence.

"Over the past few years, the United States basically cut off bilateral dialogue at all levels," Wang said in prepared remarks translated into English.

"We stand ready to have candid communication with the U.S. side, and engage in dialogues aimed at solving problems."

Wang pointed to a recent call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Biden as a positive step.

MYANMAR JUNTA 'THREATENS' PROTESTERS AHEAD OF PROPOSED GENERAL STRIKE TODAY

A call for a Monday general strike by demonstrators in Myanmar protesting the military’s seizure of power has been met by the ruling junta with a thinly veiled threat to use lethal force, raising the possibility of major clashes.

The call for a general strike was made Sunday by the Civil Disobedience Movement, a loosely organized group leading resistance to the army’s Feb. 1 takeover. It asked people to gather together for the Five Twos — referring to the digits in Monday’s date — to make a “Spring Revolution.”

State television broadcaster MRTV late Sunday carried a public announcement from the junta, formally called the State Administration Council, warning against the general strike.

“It is found that the protesters have raised their incitement towards riot and anarchy mob on the day of 22 February. Protesters are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and youths, to a confrontation path where they will suffer the loss of life,” it said in an English language text shown onscreen. The spoken announcement in Burmese said the same thing.

Another part of the statement blamed protesters whose numbers allegedly included criminal gangs for violence at demonstrations, with the result that “the security force members had to fire back.” Three protesters have been shot dead so far.

AUSTRALIA WON’T ADVERTISE COVID-19 VACCINE ON FACEBOOK

Australia’s government pledged a publicity campaign for its rollout of COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday — but not in Facebook advertisements, as a feud continues over the social media giant blocking news content from its platform in the country.

Facebook Inc’s abrupt decision on Thursday to stop Australians from sharing news on its platform and strip the pages of domestic and foreign media outlets also blacked out several state government and emergency department accounts, drawing furious responses from lawmakers around the world.

Hours before Australia began inoculations with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government would embark on a wide-ranging communication campaign, including online, to ensure vulnerable people turned up for a shot.

But a ban on health department spending to advertise on Facebook would remain in place until the dispute between the BigTech company and Australia — over a new law to make Facebook pay for news content — was resolved.

“On my watch, until this issue is resolved, there will not be Facebook advertising,” Mr. Hunt told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “There has been none commissioned or instituted since this dispute arose. Basically you have corporate titans acting as sovereign bullies and they won’t get away with it.”

Since the news blackout, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has said he would talk with Facebook about its move over the weekend.

ISRAEL AGREES TO SECRETLY FUND VACCINES FOR SYRIA

Israel has secretly agreed to fund the supply of vaccines to rival state Syria as part of the prisoner swap deal, according to a report in The New York Times. In a rare moment of cooperation, the two nations which have fought several wars, agreed to a prisoner swap of Israeli woman held captive for crossing over illegally into Syria. In exchange, two Syrian shepherds held by Israel will be released. Under the secret deal, Israel will also pay Russia, which acted as the mediator, to send its Sputnik V vaccines to the Syrian regime, an official who is familiar with the negotiations was quoted as saying. However, the Israeli government and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied any funding to Syria for vaccines and said no Israeli vaccines were being sent.