Celebrating 60 Years of Human Spaceflight

 

April 12, 1961 - April 12, 2021

60 Years of Humans in Space

Yuri Gagarin, first person in space, (1934-1968)

Read more: Celebrating Sixty Years of Humans in Space - Scientific American

Biden’s Proposed Corporate Tax Rate Increase Meets Resistance

President Biden has already been lucky with the Senate parliamentarian’s ruling stating that the president’s tax and infrastructure plans can pass the Senate with a simple majority, rather than the 60 usually required to end debate, but he may need more luck to keep his own party united. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has already signaled his hesitance to increase the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, instead favoring an increase to 25%. The high price tag of his plan, currently over $2 trillion, could also dissuade Manchin and fellow moderate Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) from backing his plan.

 

Vaccine Rollout Continues as COVID Spread Slows in US

One third of all American adults have now received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and nearly 20% have already received two doses of the vaccine. and new infections have dropped dramatically from their high in January of this year. The vaccines have proven successful not only in reducing severe infection, but also in reducing transmissions. The success of the vaccines has led to an increased push to reopen more of the economy and remove limitations on gatherings and event attendance.

Others have criticized such reopening efforts, arguing that the success of the vaccination efforts could be undermined by removing restrictions too soon. While cases have dropped drastically from the high case numbers early this year, the number of new cases has plateaued and even increased in certain parts of the country. Michigan is one state that has been hit especially hard, and one of its cities, Jackson, has had a higher raw daily new case number than New York City. For comparison, Jackson has around 33,000 people, while New York has over 8 million people.

 

Prince Philip, Royal Consort to Queen Elizabeth, Dies at 99

Prince Philip, who was married to Queen Elizabeth since 1947 and was royal consort since his wife ascended to the throne in 1952, died Friday morning at the age of 99, two months shy of his 100th birthday. He was the longest-serving royal consort in British history as well as the longest-lived male member of the British royal family. 

Philip was born on June 10, 1921 on the island of Corfu in Greece, and was part of the Greek royal family, itself descended from the Daish, German, and British royal families. His family fled Greece when he was young, and Philip spent his childhood in Germany, France, and Britain. 

In WWII, he joined the British navy and served in the Pacific and Mediterranean. After the war, he was granted permission to marry Elizabeth, the heir apparent to King George VI. After renouncing his foreign noble titles, he married her in 1947 and gained the title Duke of Edinburgh. After Elizabeth ascended to the throne in 1952, Philip become royal consort and gained the title Prince Philip.

Philip was known for his myriad royal engagements, appearing at 22,217 events during his time as royal consort. He also made patronage of sports, particularly carriage driving, a focus of his . He also established The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, which encouraged self-improvement for young people.