President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday delivered back-to-back speeches in the nation’s epicenter of the civil rights movement, urging Congress to pass voting rights legislation in a moment they deemed a turning point for democracy.

Speaking at the Atlanta University Center Consortium, on the grounds of two historically Black colleges — Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College — Harris called on the Senate to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, aimed at restoring key parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the For the People Act, intended to expand ballot access, among other provisions.

“The assault on our freedom to vote will be felt by every American in every community in every political party. And if we stand idly by, our entire nation will pay the price for generations to come,” Harris said, warning that it is uncertain when there will be another opportunity to pass the legislation. “As Dr. King said, the battle is in our hands. And today, the battle is in the hands of the leaders of the American people, those in particular that the American people sent to the United States Senate.”

The vice president, who was tapped to lead the administration’s push on election reform legislation, talked about Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of fighting for the right to vote, and that of Lewis, the Georgia congressman and civil rights icon who died in 2020.

Biden took the stage second and followed with a pointed message for GOP lawmakers, at the state and federal level. Often using Georgia as an example, he condemned Republican-led laws “designed to suppress your vote, to subvert our elections.”

President Joe Biden will use a speech in Georgia to endorse changing Senate rules that have stalled voting rights legislation, saying it’s time to choose “democracy over autocracy.” But some civil rights groups won’t be there, in protest of what they say is administration inaction.

As he turns to his current challenge, Biden on Tuesday is also paying tribute to civil rights battles past — visiting Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once held forth from the pulpit, and placing a wreath at the crypt of King and his wife, Coretta Scott King.

With Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., setting next Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a deadline to either pass voting legislation or consider revising the rules around the chamber’s filibuster blocking device, Biden is expected to evoke the memories of the U.S. Capitol riot a year ago in more forcefully aligning himself with the voting rights effort.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday delivered back-to-back speeches in the nation’s epicenter of the civil rights movement, urging Congress to pass voting rights legislation in a moment they deemed a turning point for democracy.

Speaking at the Atlanta University Center Consortium, on the grounds of two historically Black colleges — Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College — Harris called on the Senate to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, aimed at restoring key parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the For the People Act, intended to expand ballot access, among other provisions.

“The assault on our freedom to vote will be felt by every American in every community in every political party. And if we stand idly by, our entire nation will pay the price for generations to come,” Harris said, warning that it is uncertain when there will be another opportunity to pass the legislation. “As Dr. King said, the battle is in our hands. And today, the battle is in the hands of the leaders of the American people, those in particular that the American people sent to the United States Senate.”

The vice president, who was tapped to lead the administration’s push on election reform legislation, talked about Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of fighting for the right to vote, and that of Lewis, the Georgia congressman and civil rights icon who died in 2020.

Biden took the stage second and followed with a pointed message for GOP lawmakers, at the state and federal level. Often using Georgia as an example, he condemned Republican-led laws “designed to suppress your vote, to subvert our elections.”

President Joe Biden will use a speech in Georgia to endorse changing Senate rules that have stalled voting rights legislation, saying it’s time to choose “democracy over autocracy.” But some civil rights groups won’t be there, in protest of what they say is administration inaction.

As he turns to his current challenge, Biden on Tuesday is also paying tribute to civil rights battles past — visiting Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once held forth from the pulpit, and placing a wreath at the crypt of King and his wife, Coretta Scott King.

With Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., setting next Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a deadline to either pass voting legislation or consider revising the rules around the chamber’s filibuster blocking device, Biden is expected to evoke the memories of the U.S. Capitol riot a year ago in more forcefully aligning himself with the voting rights effort.

You might think Senate Democrats are trying to ax the filibuster to pass election reform. It’s not quite true.

President Joe Biden’s party is trying for something narrower, discussing a menu of potential Senate rules changes that might help pass elections and voting rights legislation without outright eliminating the 60-vote threshold that’s now required to pass most bills. And the smaller-scale ideas Democrats are now debating may not fully overcome the GOP’s staunch opposition to the elections bill.

Not to mention that it’s unclear whether Democrats have the votes to chip away at minority-party power in the Senate, given public resistance from Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). Those two centrists support the election reform measure but are dug in against changing the 60-vote threshold and have yet to signal they’re on board with making any rules changes at all.

“Different people have various differing ideas about what kind of reform there should be,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “We’re trying to come to a consensus.”

Given that the Senate is evenly divided, Democrats will need all 50 of their caucus members to support any tweaks along party lines, a process known as going “nuclear.” The matter is expected to come to a head as soon as this week — but it won’t be as dramatic as the term “nuclear” would suggest.

President Joe Biden is traveling to Atlanta on Tuesday to deliver a major speech on voting rights, looking to turn up the heat on reluctant senators as Democrats face pressure to pass two pieces of pending legislation opposed by nearly all Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Biden will travel to Georgia alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he appointed to lead the administration’s work on voting rights. While in Atlanta, the pair will also lay a wreath at the crypt of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, and visit Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, according to the White House. Changing the filibuster rules in the Senate, which require 60 votes to end debate on legislation, is set to be a major focus of the day — and Biden’s address specifically.

“The next few days, when these bills come to a vote, will mark a turning point in this nation. Will we choose democracy over autocracy, light over shadow, justice over injustice? I know where I stand,” Biden will say, according to an excerpt of his remarks released by the White House. “I will not yield. I will not flinch. I will defend your right to vote and our democracy against all enemies foreign and domestic. And so the question is where will the institution of United States Senate stand?”

If you find out you’ve been exposed to someone who’s tested positive for Covid-19, a rush of questions might come to mind: Do I have to quarantine? What if I can’t find a good mask or a test? Even if I test negative, can I be certain that I’m not contagious?

With omicron causing record-shattering case growth over the past few weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidelines about what to do after exposure have shifted, and they remain frustratingly unclear. The last thing anyone wants to do when they’ve just learned they’ve been exposed is to dig through a bunch of confusing guidelines.

Yet we all need to know what to do in this situation. Even if you’re not worried about omicron’s effects on you personally — maybe because it appears to be milder, because you’re in a low-risk group, or because you think Covid-19 is inescapable at this point — it’s crucial to do all you reasonably can to avoid spreading it to others right now, especially anyone who might be elderly, immunocompromised, or unvaccinated. Testing capacity is currently very strained and some hospitals are already running out of staffing and beds. It’s really important that we not contribute to that crunch.

Experts aren’t suggesting Americans have to go back to a March 2020-style lockdown. Unlike at the start of the pandemic, we have vaccines and boosters that are highly effective at preventing serious illness and death. But they are advising people to be thoughtful about risk right now — both in terms of the precautions we take to avoid being exposed to omicron, and in terms of what we do if we have been exposed.