PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN unveiled his “American Families Plan” before a joint session of Congress Wednesday evening.

President Joe Biden, in his first speech before a joint session of Congress, unveiled his latest proposal, the “American Families Plan.”

Biden, speaking Wednesday to a socially-distanced audience of legislators, jurists and government officials, announced his proposal to spend almost $2 trillion for universal pre-kindergarten, free community college for two years, an expansion of family leave and medical leave programs and more, according to United Press International.

Referring to how much free public education is available to Americans, Biden said, “Twelve years is no longer enough today to compete with the rest of the world in he 21st century.
His plan also call for access to affordable child-care and monthly payments of at least $250 to parents in low-income families. A tax increase on the wealthy would be the source of the funding.

The Republican response was by Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina to state that “America is not a racist country.” Scott, the only Black senator in his party, was responding to Biden’s vow that major police reform was needed to fight institutional racism, according to the Associated Press.

Scott also argued that the economy was booming under President Donald Trump before the coronavirus pandemic struck.

News: Feds raid Giuliani’s home and office

RUDY GIULIANI

The home and office of Rudolph Giuliani, a former New York City mayor and the personal lawyer for former President Donald Trump, were raided Wednesday by federal agents.

According to the Associated Press, it was part of an investigation in the business activities of Giuliani. Agents – with a search warrant – seized computers and cell phones. The focus of the inquiry is unknown, but the AP suggests it might be related to Giuliani’s business deals with the Ukraine.

Giuiani issued a statement saying that the investigation was “running roughshod over the constitutional rights of anyone involved in, or legally defending’” Trump.

Business: Apple chews up sales records, but …

Apple Inc., the folks behind the iPhone and iPad, put themselves ahead of Wall Street sales and profits projections on Wednesday, but there’s grimmer news ahead.

Reuters is reporting that Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed worries that a microchip shortage could throw an obstacle in the path of electronics companies in general, as well as those industries – such as automobile manufacturing – that rely heavily on microchips.

“We’ll have some challenges in there,” Cook said, adding, “it’s very, very difficult” to predict when the shortages will abate.

Wall Street slumps: The prospect of slower sales of electronic devices helped put the investment community in a sour mood. The Dow dropped 164.55 points to 33,820.38. The S&P 500 dipped 3.54 points to 4,183.18 and Nasdaq declined 39.19 to 14,051.03.

Sports: NFL Draft starts on Thursday

Next to the Super Bowl itself, the most hyped – perhaps overhyped event of the National Football League isn’t even a game: it’s the annual draft. That will begin on Thursday and finish up on Saturday.

Quarterbacks will be most in demand and CBS Sports is predicting that the first three selections will be signal-callers. Jacksonville has the first pick and is predicted to choose junior Trevor Lawrence of Clemson. Next up are the New York Jets, projecting to grab Zach Wilson, a BYU junior. The third pick is projected to see the San Francisco 49ers select Ohio State junior Justin Fields.

How about the Rams? They don’t have a pick until the second day of the draft and won’t have a first round pick until 2024. The Chargers have the 13th overall pick.

Wednesday’s games

• Dodgers 8, Cincinnati Reds 0: Clayton Kershaw (4-2) pitched seven shutout innings and the LAD offense exploded for six runs in the bottom of the eighth. The win improved the team record to 16-9.
• Angels at Texas
• Lakers at Washington Wizards
• Clippers at Phoenix Suns
• Ducks at Kings

Weather: Warm weather ahead

Of course what qualifies as “warm” depends a lot on where you live, but the West Orange County area is looking forward to a couple of fairly sunny and toasty days. The forecast calls for a high on Thursday of 87 during the day, slipping slightly to 86 on Friday. Night-time lows will be in the high 50s. However, spring returns on Saturday with a high of 74, followed by 71 on Sunday. Skies will be partly cloudy both days. For the coastal Huntington Beach area, highs will be six to eight degrees cooler through Friday, but cut the difference to four degrees or so over the weekend.