Biden's age impacts more voters than Trump's; Uber & Lyft drivers to strike today

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Roses are red, violets are blue... over half of Americans will celebrate today, what about you?

Retailers expect Americans to spend around $25.8 billion on Valentine's Day — that just slightly down from the $25.9 billion spent last year.

The most popular gift: candy! Americans spent $4.2 billion on sweet treats during the 2023 Valentine's Day season. And the go-to favorite is a -shaped box of chocolates.
The average American shopper budgeted $192.80 for Valentine’s Day — up 9.91% from 2022. That’s more $ than just candy…
The big price tag: jewelry. Americans spent about $5.5 billion on it for Valentine's 2023.
What’s up this year? Spending on your partner. A record $14.2 billion is expected to be doled out for that special someone as opposed to co-workers or friends.

Sending you some

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

🗳 HOUSE GOP IMPEACHES HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY OVER BORDER

On the second try, House Republicans narrowly passed, in a 214-213 vote, a resolution to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the US-Mexico border crisis.

Republicans charge him with willfully refusing to enforce border laws and breaching the public trust. It’s the first time since 1876 that a sitting Cabinet member has been impeached.

THE VOTE
Three Republican Reps. — Mike Gallagher (Wis.), Tom McClintock (Calif.), and Ken Buck (Colo.) — sided with Democrats against the resolution. They were the same that voted against the resolution last week, and warned that impeaching a cabinet secretary for the way he did his job would weaken a serious constitutional penalty, could backfire against Republicans, and also do nothing to address serious immigration issues.

How they got the vote this time: Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the House Majority Leader who has been undergoing blood cancer treatment, returned to Washington to ensure House Speaker Mike Johnson had the votes.
- Last time around, Rep. Blake D. Moore (Utah) changed his "yes" vote to "no" for procedural reasons so the House could hold this vote again. Scalise's return meant they had enough votes.
Johnson said, “Alejandro Mayorkas deserves to be impeached, and Congress has a constitutional obligation to do so. Next to a declaration of war, impeachment is arguably the most serious authority given to the House, and we have treated this matter accordingly.”
DHS response: “House Republicans will be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at our border.”

WON’T GO FAR
Even though the measure passed the House, Mayorkas is unlikely to be convicted in a trial in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

And more, some GOP Senators have been critical of the lower chamber’s decision to proceed with articles of impeachment without compelling evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors.
What's next: The articles go to the Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has not committed to even holding a trial.

🇺🇸 PRESSURE ON BIDEN OVER HIS AGE

President Joe Biden, 81, and former President Donald Trump, 77, are the likely 2024 presidential nominees. That means, voters will get to choose between the oldest candidates to ever run for US president. But, voters are less worried about Trump.

On the Democratic side, Special Counsel Robert Hur’s recent report on Biden’s classified document probe describes the president’s memory lapses and 'diminished faculties.' Then, in his press conference aimed at refuting the characterization, Biden said 'Mexico' instead of 'Egypt' when discussing the Israel-Hamas war. It was not the first time he, or Trump, has mixed up names.

Across media, from the New York Times to The Daily Show, questions are arising whether there’s a plan B.

WRONG NAMES AND DATES
A new poll shows 86% of Americans think Biden is too old to be president, while 62% of people says Trump is too old. The number includes 59% of people who think BOTH are too old.

Jon Stewart, on his first night back at The Daily Show in almost nine years, took aim at the candidates ages saying, “They’re both stretching the limits of being able to handle the toughest job in the world … It is the candidates’ job to assuage concerns, not the voters’ job not to mention them.”
In the face of questions over Biden’s age and voters’ concerns, Vice President Kamala Harris said “I am ready to serve,” but only 28% of registered voters have a positive view of her.
While publicly, Democratic lawmakers dismiss the age concerns, privately some are voicing worry.

COULD HE STEP ASIDE?
An option some commentators are throwing around is that Biden could let the Democratic primary run its course, then step aside and let all the delegates he collected be divvied out to another, likely younger, option. The unlikely path would come to a head at the Democratic National Convention in August — which was designed for competition within a party.

Before we jump to conclusions: AP reports health experts caution about drawing conclusions on any cognitive troubles — for both Trump and Biden. They say a medical test is needed, not just verbal gaffes and a lawyer’s opinions.
- Who’s calling for tests? Nikki Haley. On the campaign trail, she has been pushing for members of the executive branch to take a cognitive test.

🚗 UBER & LYFT WORKERS SET TO STRIKE TODAY OVER PAY

Thousands of gig-workers for Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash plan to strike today across the US and UK over pay. In 2023, Uber drivers saw a 17.1% drop in their average monthly earnings compared to the year before, while Lyft drivers’ rose 2.5%.

TAKIN’ IT TO THE STREETS
Drivers are expected to picket outside the companies’ offices and airports across the country from 11am to 1pm. It’s the first time drivers, who are independent contractors, have gone on strike since Uber and Lyft went public in 2019.

The groups organizing the strikes include the Justice For App Workers coalition, which represents around 130,000 drivers.
Across the pond: The group Delivery Job UK said over 3,000 food delivery workers will strike from 5pm to 10pm local time.
- Since 2018, researchers say they’ve seen a 40% drop in income.

MAKE THE MATH ADD
Forbes reported that Uber's prices have spiked 4x faster faster than the rate of inflation, squeezing driver pay in its quest for profitability, even as the company grows.

Workers say the platforms are taking too much of drivers’ commissions and that algorithmic pricing — which adjusts prices based on current and past data — decreases their pay.
Over at Lyft, the company announced last week that if a driver pockets less than 70% of what riders’ paid over a week, it would make up the difference — which about 15% of US drivers fall into that category last year.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Senate passes Ukraine, Israel aid package that divided GOP; House speaker rejects it (AP)

📌 Democrat wins New York special election to fill George Santos’s seat (ABC)

📌 Powerful nor’easter pelts region with snow, making it New York City’s snowiest day in 2 years (CNN)

📌 Trump to attend N.Y. criminal trial hearing over Stormy Daniels hush money on Thursday (AXIOS)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Mediators are in Cairo working to secure a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas (NPR)

📌 House GOP in discussions with Biden special counsel Robert Hur for testimony (CNN)

📌 Russia buying Musk’s Starlink Systems in Arab countries, Ukraine says (REUTERS)

📌 Russia puts Estonia prime minister on wanted list (TIME)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Alaska man is first reported person to die of Alaskapox virus; exposure may be linked to stray cat (CBS NEWS)

📌 Pilots got their payday. Now flights attendants are pushing airlines for higher wages (CNBC)

📌 Diamondback Energy's $26 billion deal for Endeavor Energy Resources looks to solve a U.S. oil "puzzle" (AXIOS)

📌 A person in Oregon diagnosed with the plague (AP)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Super Bowl 2024 was most watched US TV broadcast since 1969 Moon landing (BBC)

📌 ‘Deadpool 3’ dethrones ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ as most-viewed trailer launch of all time (VARIETY)

📌 Katy Perry announces her last season on ‘American Idol’ (CNN)

📌 Mics picked up Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s sweet on-field conversation after Super Bowl win (SI)

🗓 ON THIS DAY: FEBRUARY 14

1929: Al Capone’s gangsters in Chicago killed seven of rival Bugs Moran’s henchmen — it’s known as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
1989: The leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, offered a bounty for the killing of author Salman Rushdie, whose novel The Satanic Verses, published in 1988, reimagined parts of the Prophet Muhammad's life and was denounced as blasphemous by Khomeini.
1991: “The Silence of the Lambs,” a psychological thriller that won five Oscars, premiered in US theaters.
2005: YouTube was launched by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim — three former PayPal employees. 500+ hours of content are uploaded to the site by users every minute.