DETAILS of a proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill are still being hammered out (Shutterstock).

Haggling over the content of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill is continuing as Democrats seek to line up enough votes to pass the evenly divided U.S. Senate.

The bill has already been approved by the House of Representatives, where the Democrats have a majority, but the Senate has 50 of each party. Vice President Kamala Harris, as president of the Senate, could break a tie, but Biden’s party couldn’t stand even one defection from its ranks.

Moderate Democrats, according to The New York Times, have already been successful in trimming a $15 an hour federal minimum wage and funding for some transit projects from the version before the Senate. The latest change is placing limits on who might receive stimulus checks from Uncle Sam. The new proposal is to limit payments to individuals earning no more than $80,000, and households with income no more than $160,000.

President Joe Biden has “signed off” on the income level, according to The Times.

News: “Possible plot” against Capitol revealed

U.S. CAPITOL building, the seat of Congress, in Washington, D.C. (Wikipedia photo).

A planned session of work Thursday by the U.S. House of Representatives was called off Wednesday as Capitol Police announced they had found evidence of a plot by right-wing extremists to again storm the building in which Congress meets.

According to the Associated Press, March 4 is the day that followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory believe Donald Trump will again become president. Believers in this theory contend that the previous change of inauguration day to Jan. 20 from March 4 was illegal and that President Joe Biden is not the lawful chief executive.

Embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, accused by several women of sexual harassment, apologized again for his conduct, but insisted he would not resign.

“I feel awful about it and frankly, I’m embarrassed by it,” he said, “and that’s not easy to say. But that’s the truth.”

President Joe Biden, over a month into his term, retains a majority of public support, according to polls. Real Clear Politics’ average has 55.4 percent approval, with 39.8 opposed. FiveThirtyEight.com’s weighted average ­­– accounting for what it considers the quality of the polling – has Biden with 52.9 percent approval and 38.3 percent disapproving.

Business: Volvo will go all-electric

The internal combustion engine took another hit on Wednesday when Volvo announced it would convert to all-electric vehicles by 2030. The Swedish company, which is owned by a Chinese corporation, will join General Motors and Jaguar Land Rover in moving completely away from gasoline-powered automobiles. GM will make the switch by 2035 and Jaguar by 2025, according to USA Today.

Currently, Tesla is the only major car manufacturer with an all-electric lineup.

Wall Street continued in a funk again Wednesday with all three major stock indexes sliding into the red. The Dow Jones Average was down 121.43 to 31,270.09. The S&P 500 dropped 50.57 to 3,819.72. Nasdaq saw a decline of 361.04 to 12,977.75.

All this red ink followed a Monday performance that was the best in nine months.

Sports: Coed dance team for NFL team

The Washington Football Team, formerly known as the Redskins, is taking another step toward being “inclusive.” According to Sports Illustrated, the team will replace its all-female cheerleading squad with a coed dance team of at least three dozen dancers.

“We’re able to do more things with the strength of a male, and lifts, so that’s changed a great deal. The inclusivity, strength and interest of choreography has changed,” team advisor Petra Pope told SI.

Tuesday’s results

• Phoenix Suns 114, Los Angeles Lakers 104: Playing without center Marc Gasol, the Lakers fell behind early and a late rally fell short at Staples Center. LeBron James had 38 points for LAL, who fell into third place in the NBA Western Conference (second in the Pacific Division) at 24-12.
• Boston Celtics 117, Los Angeles Clippers 112: A back injury kept the team’s top scorer – Kawhi Leonard – on the bench and the Clips lost in Boston. The game was close until the fourth quarter when the offense went cold. Paul George had 32 points in the game, but missed eight of 10 shots in the final period. LAC is now 24-13, good for third place in the Pacific Division and fourth in the Western Conference.

Weather: Rain leaves, but then ….

Wasn’t it nice to have some refreshing liquid sunshine today?  Regular sunny weather should return to the West Orange County area on Thursday, with a daytime high of 66 (nighttime low of 48). Friday will be sunny and a bit warmer (74/49) with Saturday cooler (65/47). Cloudy weather will return on Sunday, followed by an increasing chance of rain next week. In the coastal areas of Huntington Beach, expect daytime highs to be four to five degrees cooler.