6 Minutes to Read (Reuters) – The majority of adults in the United States are vaccinated, however COVID-19 infections are on the rise. The economy is picking up speed, but inflation is on the horizon. Although bipartisan collaboration has improved, political animosity remains high. FILE PHOTO: During a ceremony honoring the members of the 2020 World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 2, 2021, US President Joe Biden holds up a team jersey handed to him. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters More than five months into Joe Biden’s presidency, the United States has changed dramatically, with a brighter economic outlook and a pandemic that is, at least in many parts of the country, gaining control. However, when the world’s largest economy celebrates its 245th birthday on July 4, the holiday will not be as crowded as Biden had planned or predicted. A White House goal of vaccinating 70% of adults with at least one shot against COVID-19 will not be realized, and legislation to restore the nation’s infrastructure is still on the way to Biden’s desk. Biden will throw a 1,000-person celebration on the White House grounds and set off fireworks over the National Mall to commemorate the occasion. Historians say he has a motive to do so, as does the country. “It’s almost like living in a different country now than it was a year ago economically, in terms of public health, in terms of national psychology,” presidential historian Michael Beschloss said. “If Biden had been too fast in calling the pandemic finished, which he hasn’t,” Beschloss said, “it would be tough to ask Americans for further sacrifices and it would also make Democrats politically exposed next year if the virus in some way recurs.” However, there’s a chance that trouble is on the way. Daily coronavirus infections increased in the past week, according to the US government, led by surges in the Midwest and Southeast, where vaccination rates are low and the extremely dangerous Delta form, first discovered in India, is spreading. “As a country, we’re celebrating while also acknowledging that we’re in a severe position for individuals who haven’t been vaccinated,” infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said. “And the lesson is to be vaccinated,” says the author. The Labor Department announced on Friday that in June, American businesses employed the most people in ten months, indicating that the economy is improving. However, the economy is still far from normal, with 7 million fewer jobs than before the pandemic in February 2020. Meanwhile, other businesses are having difficulty hiring the staff they require, as workers who are juggling childcare or who are ill choose to stay at home. Thomas Alan Schwartz, a historian at Vanderbilt University, said that the country’s difficulties had changed during former President Donald Trump’s rocky tenure. “Our issues are very different now,” he explained. “I believe Joe Biden’s America is a more peaceful and compassionate place.” After huge unrest in 2020 over the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, and the white police officer involved with his murder being sentenced to 22-and-a-half years in jail, protests over racial inequities have decreased. Last month, Biden visited Tulsa, Oklahoma, to remember the 1921 murder of Black Americans and signed a bill into law designating June 19 as a federal holiday celebrating the emancipation of the enslaved. At the same time, domestic extremism, notably white nationalists, is on the upswing, according to Biden’s Justice Department. And, thanks to a Republican-led campaign against “critical race theory,” the teaching of American history has become a new political battleground in this country. Despite Biden’s promise to bring Republicans and Democrats together in Congress – and widespread public support – legislation on infrastructure, police reform, and gun safety has yet to reach his desk. The storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters on Jan. 6, which resulted in the deaths of five individuals, including a Capitol Police officer, is still a fresh wound. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, has chastised members of his party who cooperate with a committee set up by Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi to examine the uprising. McCarthy did, however, attend a White House luncheon on Friday honoring the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 2020 World Series champions. Baseball is the national pastime of the United States. “As we overcome this pandemic and fans return to stadiums, we celebrate something else: a national triumph,” Biden said, praising how frontline workers, friends, families, and neighbors banded together to keep an eye on one another. “As a nation, we have demonstrated that betting against America is never a good investment.” McCarthy informed a reporter that he was simply there to celebrate the Dodgers and not to discuss the future of Biden-backed infrastructure funding in Congress. Jeff Mason contributed reporting; Andrea Shalal contributed further reporting; Heather Timmons and Daniel Wallis edited the piece./nRead More