VOA常速英语:美国确诊首例新冠变异病毒病例

This is VOA news. Via remote, I'm Liz Parker. The U.S. Senate majority leader introduced legislation on Tuesday that would link $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks to other President Donald Trump requests, specifically involving social media company legal protections and election fraud. The Senate's top Democrat Chuck Schumer responded in a statement saying the legislation, quote, "won't pass the House and cannot become law." The back-and-forth now comes as President Trump pushes for larger stimulus checks for most Americans. The House of Representatives approved a measure on Monday. But Republican senators are deeply split over new spending. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a swift vote proposed by Senate Democrats Tuesday. McConnell says the Senate will begin a process to address the issue. But the next steps are highly uncertain and it's quite possible no bill passes.

Meanwhile, President Trump is urging the Republican majority Senate to uphold his veto of a $740 billion defense spending measure. More than 100 Republicans joined with Democrats Monday to approve the override of the veto, which (will) would be the first of the Trump presidency. The Senate is expected to consider the measure later this week. The $740 billion (de...) National Defense Authorization Act affirms a 3 percent pay raise for U.S. troops, improvements for military housing and more.

A coronavirus variant spreading fast in the United Kingdom has now been detected in the United States. The U.S. governor of the state of Colorado is reporting what many American media outlets are calling the first case of the variant in the country. Governor Jared Polis tweeted Tuesday the patient is a male in his 20s with no travel history. This is VOA news.