New covert strains in the U. S. Fox News. I'm Mary Corsetti. Maryland is reporting its first known case of the South African based variant of the Corona virus, making it the second state in the U. S. With the new strain. The case involves an adult living in the Baltimore area with no international travel history. The news comes after South Carolina announced the first to US cases of the variant on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Democratic controlled Congress is preparing to vote on a proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief Bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi He will bring that resolution to the floor after the House passes it, which is expected it'll go to the Democratic run Senate. So there were 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans in the Senate. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is in power because per the Constitution Vice president Kamila Harris would be the tie breaking vote and you can expect she'll vote to pass the measure. And there are several senators to watch Senators Portman to me, Collins and Mansion also back in the House. It's going to be interesting to see which Republicans there would Support giving more money in direct payments to the American people. Fox's David Sponge in school District's are struggling to reopen due to demands from teachers unions. The California Teachers Association pushback against reopening by sending a letter to the governor that says an aggressive plan focused on ST wife safety measures and effective vaccine rollout for essential workers, including educators is needed. New. Some who would like schools to reopen for some students within the next couple of weeks, reportedly told the union's quote If we wait for the Perfect. We might as well just pack it up and just be honest with folks that we're not going to open for in person instruction. The school year Chicago's mayor Lori Lightfoot, is taking a stand, saying Chicago's public schools will reopen elementary and middle schools Monday, even though the union and the school district are still in negotiations, so this could lead to a teacher strike. Fox's Christina Coleman America is listening.