'America is back': President Joe Biden took to the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday night to deliver a major policy speech to Congress and a pep talk to American citizens.

Biden spoke for just over an hour about the current state of the union in the pandemic's homestretch. From his administration's work on getting over half the population vaccinated to the relief provided by his American Rescue Plan, there was some political hyperbole.

"America is ready for takeoff," he said. "We are working again, dreaming again, discovering again, leading the world again."

But there were also calls to action on many fronts -- gun control, police reform, environmental issues, immigration, foreign policy -- you name it. His solutions cost money -- a $2.2 trillion infrastructure bill and a $1.8 American Family Plan -- in the wake of his $1.9 trillion stimulus bill. He spun the big spending as an investment in America.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the GOP's lone Black senator, gave the Republican response by calling Biden's ideas "socialism" and accusing him of playing politics. So Biden's claim that "America is back" must mean it's back to the same partisan political bickering.

SEE THE PROPOSALS BIDEN MADE TO HELP THE RECOVERY

What The Fed said: It's becoming increasingly obvious that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell would be one heck of a poker player. And with mounting pressure from rising prices threatening to derail economic recovery from the pandemic, he still isn't blinking.

Powell announced Wednesday that the Fed is standing its ground against calls to adjust the benchmark lending rate, vowing to keep it at or near zero for the foreseeable future. He also plans to continue the massive bond-buying program until employment numbers recover and inflation exceeds the 2% threshold "for some time."

"We understand our job," Powell pledged. "We will do our job."

After falling sharply in the early months of the pandemic as demand tanked when the economy shut down to contain the virus, prices of many goods and services have spiked in recent weeks, including gasoline as travelers and commuters return to roads and airports.

But those recent increases -- including a 2.6% year-on-year jump in consumer prices in March -- are caused largely by the bounce-back from last year's declines and will soon go away on their own, he said. However, Powell  acknowledged that supply shortages, which are contributing to the inflation pressures, are "harder to predict."

CHECK OUT POWELL'S PLAN FOR A SMOOTH RECOVERY

Rudy blues: The two-decade slide from "America's Mayor" to Donald Trump's lap dog has been a steep one for Rudy Giuliani, and his reputation took another hit Wednesday when federal investigators served a search warrant of his office and apartment.

Giuliani, who infamously lost case after case in peddling the former president's election fraud claims, is the subject of a DOJ probe into his dealings in the Ukraine. Giuliani claimed he had gathered dirt on Biden and his son, Hunter, but it appears he was duped by Russian counter-intelligence officials and propaganda campaigns.

Giuliani has had a rough run since earning respect for his handling of 9/11 as the mayor of New York, but particularly over the past year. His trial of lost legal challenges was a comedy of errors and slip-ups, including a press conference at the Four Seasons (Landscaping, not Hotel). His reward -- a case of COVID and a $1.3 billion lawsuit filed by Dominion for his false claims against its voting machines. 

There was his "trial by combat" speech before the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, an on-air, off-color "joke" about looking up golfer Michelle Wie's skirt, and to top it all off, he got caught on camera with his hands in his pants in the movie "Borat 2." Suddenly, jail doesn't seem so bad..

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