U.S. Senator Richard Burr is stepping aside as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee during an investigation of stock trades he made before the sharp market downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. The Senate’s Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Burr contacted him on Thursday morning to inform of his …
Read More »Rick Bright: “We need to unleash the voices of the scientists”
Ousted vaccine director Rick Bright urged House members to make sure science — not politics — takes precedence in the US coronavirus response. “We need to unleash the voices of the scientists in our public health system in the United States so they can be heard and their guidances need …
Read More »Trump demands Obama testify to Senate over ‘Obamagate’ conspiracy theory
Donald Trump is pressing Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham to call former President Barack Obama to testify about what the incumbent says was a plot to damage his 2016 candidacy then hobble his presidency. “If I were a Senator or Congressman, the first person I would call to testify about …
Read More »US jobless claims pass 36 million after nearly 3 million more file for aid last week
Nearly three million workers in the United States filed for unemployment benefits last week as the coronavirus pandemic continued to cause one of the worst stretches of job loss in American history. More than 36 million people have sought unemployment aid since the outbreak began in the US. The unemployment …
Read More »Robert De Niro: Trump doesn’t care how many people die from COVID-19
Famous American actor and Oscar winner Robert De Niro said he believes that US President Donald Trump does not care how many people die from the coronavirus. “It’s like Shakespearean, the whole thing. You’ve got a lunatic saying things that people are trying to dance around,” De Niro said during …
Read More »Trump’s poll numbers dip over handling of coronavirus pandemic
Support for Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus has plunged over the past week, polls show, as some of his advisers and Republican allies are said to be concerned over the US president’s daily briefings on the pandemic. Trump experienced an upturn in public support as the virus hit the …
Read More »US Supreme Court divided over Trump tax, bank records
The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared likely to reject President Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from criminal investigation while in office. But the court seemed less clear about exactly how to handle subpoenas from Congress and the Manhattan district attorney for Trump’s tax, bank, and financial records. The …
Read More »Pelosi unveils $3trn in additional coronavirus relief
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has scheduled House votes for Friday on a new coronavirus response package worth more than $3trn, as tensions with progressives continue to simmer over whether the legislation goes far enough. The package unveiled on Tuesday, which Ms. Pelosi has variably dubbed “CARES 2” as a follow-up to …
Read More »‘I feel terrible’: Bill Gates says he warned Trump of pandemic threat in 2016, regrets not doing more
Microsoft founder and multi-billionaire Bill Gates said he tried to warn President-elect Donald Trump of the dangers of a major viral outbreak soon after the 2016 race, but feels guilty for not being more vocal. “I chose, when I met with people all the way up to the top, in …
Read More »Trump storms out of briefing after a spat with female reporters
Donald Trump stormed out of his latest coronavirus press conference in the White House Rose Garden on Monday afternoon after again taking exception to questions from two female reporters, his latest meltdown over the crisis. Before he spat with CBS reporter Weijia Jiang and Kaitlin Collins of CNN, the president …
Read More »Coronavirus: Donald Trump hits back at Barack Obama for criticising ‘chaotic’ pandemic response
Donald Trump has hit back at Barack Obama after his presidential predecessor branded his handling of the coronavirus pandemic a “chaotic disaster”. The US president claimed his administration was “getting great marks” and derided Mr Obama’s response to the 2009 H1N1 swine flu outbreak as “a disaster” and argued he …
Read More »Barack Obama calls Trump’s coronavirus response a ‘chaotic disaster’ in leaked recording
Former US President Barack Obama has issued a stern critique of the Trump administration’s coronavirus response, calling it a “chaotic disaster”. The comments were made on a 30-minute private phone call between the former president and members of the Obama Alumni Association, according to Yahoo News, which obtained audio from …
Read More »Trump denies role in Venezuela incursion
US President Donald Trump has rebuffed suggestions the US was behind what appears to have been a bungled incursion into Venezuela to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro. “If I wanted to go into Venezuela I wouldn’t make a secret about it,” he told Fox News. Venezuela foiled what it said was …
Read More »Second White House staffer tests positive for coronavirus
A member of United States Vice President Mike Pence’s staff has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, briefly delaying his Friday flight to Iowa and prompting some fellow passengers on Air Force Two to disembark, according to a White House official. Pence’s flight was delayed more than an hour on …
Read More »Pandemic sends US jobless rate to 14.7%
The US unemployment rate has risen to 14.7%, with 20.5 million jobs lost in April, as the coronavirus pandemic devastated the economy. The rise means the jobless rate is now worse than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Since the pandemic began, the US has suffered …
Read More »Trump, Pence test negative for COVID-19 after worker tests positive
US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were tested for Covid-19 and found to be negative after a member of the U.S. military who works on the White House campus contracted the virus, Bloomberg has reported. The president and vice president “remain in great health,” White House spokesman …
Read More »Trump’s personal valets has tested positive for coronavirus: Reports
A member of the US Navy who serves as one of President Donald Trump’s personal valets has tested positive for coronavirus, raising concerns about the President’s possible exposure to the virus. The valets are members of an elite military unit dedicated to the White House and often work very close …
Read More »US unemployment at a record high as 33m jobless claims filed since pandemic started
Another 3.2 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in the US as the coronavirus pandemic triggered one of the most expansive job losses in history, with 33 million people seeking aid since the outbreak began. The country has slipped into one of its worst economic downturns since the Great …
Read More »Trump vows to ‘terminate’ Obamacare despite warnings from allies
Donald Trump has said that he will continue trying to revoke all of the Affordable Care Act, even as some in his administration, including attorney general William Barr, have privately argued that parts of the law should be preserved amid a pandemic. “We want to terminate health care under Obamacare,” …
Read More »Trump administration drafting ‘Artemis Accords’ pact for moon mining – sources
The Trump administration is drafting a legal blueprint for mining on the moon under a new U.S.-sponsored international agreement called the Artemis Accords, people familiar with the proposed pact told Reuters. The agreement would be the latest effort to cultivate allies around NASA’s plan to put humans and space stations …
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