Manchin: $3.5T is too much

Centrist Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said Sunday that he would not support the $3.5 trillion proposal for social and environmental projects proposed by President Joe Biden.

According to the Associated Press, Manchin instead said he would support a package of $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion. That figure is based on an increase in the corporate tax rate to 25 percent, instead of the 28 percent proposed by his Democratic colleagues.

Manchin’s vote is needed because the U.S. Senate is equally split 50-50 between the two major parties. If all vote along party lines – as is expected ­– Vice President Kamala Harris can break the tie for the Democrats. Without Manchin’s vote, the proposal almost certainly would not pass.

Newsom still favored in recall election

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaign to defeat an attempt to recall him from office continues to improve in polling in the closing days before Tuesday’s election. A weighted average of all recent polls from fivethirtyeight.com has the “keep” option with 56.2 percent and the “remove” at 41.6 percent. Polls are adjusted based on quality and bias, as fivethirtyeight.com sees it.

The margin of support for keeping Newsom ranges from nine percent in the poll by Trafalgar Group to 18 percent for UC Berkeley’s survey.

Sports: Stafford leads Rams to win

Matthew Stafford passed for three touchdowns and 321 yards as the Los Angeles Rams opened the 2021 season with a 34-14 win over the Chicago Bears Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. It was not only Stafford’s debut with the Rams – having been traded from Detroit for Jared Goff – it was the stadium’s premiere with fans in attendance. Next Sunday the Rams will be on the road in Indianapolis against the Colts (0-1), who lost 28-16 to the Seattle Seahawks.

In other NFL action on Sunday, the Los Angeles Chargers opened the NFL season with a 20-16 win over the Washington Football Team. Justin Herbert threw the winning touchdown pass to Mike Williams late in the fourth quarter. Herbert finished with 337 yards passing.

In Major League Baseball, the Dodgers (91-53) defeated the San Diego Padres 8-0 and are 2.5 games behind the San Franciso Giants in the NL West. The Angels (70-73) lost 3-1 to the Houston Astros on Sunday.

Weather: Cooling off, period

The weekend hasn’t been quite as warm as expected for the West Orange County area, and cooler days are coming. Monday should have a high of 81 (overnight low of 62), followed by 81 on Tuesday and 79 on Wednesday and Thursday. Coastal areas of Huntington Beach should see high temperatures in the mid-70s during the day and low 60s at night.