Today is Thursday, March 25th, and you're listening to The Morning Announcements.

I'm Sammy Sage.

Yesterday, Senator Tammy Duckworth and Maisie Horono stated that they intended not to vote

to confirm any more Biden nominees who weren't diverse candidates, in response to there

being no members of the AAPI community in Biden's cabinet.

In response, the Biden administration said that they will add a senior-level AAPI liaison,

and Senator Duckworth and Horono backed off their threat to oppose future Biden nominees.

Speaking of diversity in the administration, yesterday the Senate confirmed Dr. Rachel

Levine as Assistant Health Secretary.

This makes her the first openly transgender federal official to be approved by the Senate.

The vote was 57-48 with Collins and Murkowski joining the Democrats, just like in the old days.

President Biden also announced yesterday that Vice President Kamala Harris will become

the point person for the administration in seeking to stem the flow of migrants at

the U.S. Mexico border.

As part of her role, she will work diplomatically with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras

to stop the flow of asylum seekers.

Yesterday, New York State lawmakers said that they had reached an agreement to legalize

the sale of marijuana for recreational use by adults starting next year.

According to State Senator Liz Krueger, the bill would create a new state regulator for

cannabis products and decriminalize the possession of up to three ounces of marijuana.

New Yorkers will be allowed to grow marijuana for personal use, and the state will study

a new system for determining whether drivers are inebriated because of marijuana use.

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