Month: May 2020

South Korean officials scrambled on Monday to contain a new coronavirus outbreak, searching for thousands of people who may have been infected in a cluster of cases linked to nightclubs and bars in the densely […]

White House Considers More Coronavirus Aid

The White House has begun informal talks with Republicans and Democrats in Congress about what to include in another round of coronavirus relief legislation, officials said on Sunday, while predicting further U.S. jobs losses in […]

No Plans to Separate Trump, Pence Despite White House Coronavirus Cases

The Trump administration has no plans to keep President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence apart, a person familiar with the matter said on Sunday, as concerns rise about the spread of the coronavirus […]

Iranian Warship Hit by Missile in Training Accident, 19 Dead

One Iranian warship accidentally struck another with a missile during an exercise, killing 19 sailors and wounding 15 others, Iran’s navy said on Monday, Reuters reported. The incident took place during training in the Gulf […]

Saudi Arabia Triples VAT to Support Coronavirus-Hit Economy

Saudi Arabia is tripling its value added tax (VAT) as part of austerity measures to support its coronavirus-hit economy, BBC reported. The government in Riyadh also said it will suspend its cost of living allowance […]

Georgia AG Wants Federal Probe in Handling of Arbery Case

Georgia’s attorney general on Sunday asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the handling of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who authorities say died at the hands of two white men […]

Trump Turns to 2020 and Stokes Fears About Voter Fraud

As President Donald Trump has tried to move past the pandemic, it edged even closer into his inner circle of advisers Saturday with news that top members of the coronavirus task force will self-quarantine, in […]

British PM Johnson to Set out Five-Tier Coronavirus Warning System

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out a five-tier warning system for the coronavirus in England on Sunday when he outlines the government’s plans to begin slowly easing lockdown measures, British media reported. Johnson […]

Key U.S. Coronavirus Officials in Self-Quarantine After COVID-19 Exposure

Three senior officials guiding the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic were in self-quarantine on Saturday after coming into contact with someone who had tested positive for the disease, their agencies and spokesmen said, Reuters […]

Tesla Sues California County in Virus Factory Closure Fight

Tesla sued local authorities in California on Saturday as the electric carmaker pushed to re-open its factory there and Chief Executive Elon Musk threatened to move Tesla’s headquarters and future programs from the state to […]

Saudi Arabia Raises Oil Prices As Demand Recovers

Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco raised the price for all its crude oil grades to all regions for June in a move that analysts see as the start of demand recovery—and this move sent oil […]

Pelosi Snaps at Reporter who Mentions Trump

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a swipe at President Donald Trump in a new interview as she and fellow Democrats are plowing forward with another massive coronavirus relief package — that would need his signature, Fox News informed. The House is set to […]

U.S., Saudi Arabia Reaffirm Defense Ties

President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman spoke by phone on Friday and “reaffirmed the strong United States-Saudi defense partnership,” the White House said, amid tensions over Saudi’s oil output, Reuters reported. The two […]

Actions made to combat the delta version should still be successful in combating the newly discovered omicron variation, according to World Health Organization officials.

U.S. Lawmakers Urge Support for Taiwan at WHO

The leaders of U.S. congressional foreign affairs committees wrote to nearly 60 countries on Friday asking them to support Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organization, citing the need for the broadest effort possible to […]

U.S. Watchdog Agency Says Coronavirus Whistleblower Should Be Reinstated

A U.S. government watchdog agency has recommended the temporary reinstatement of a whistleblower who says he was removed as director of a government research office because he raised concerns about coronavirus preparedness, his lawyers said […]

Coronavirus Inflicts Huge U.S. Job Losses

The U.S. government reported more catastrophic economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis on Friday as the pandemic pierced the very walls of the White House and California gave the green light for its factories to […]

Iran-Linked Hackers Target Coronavirus Drugmaker Gilead

Hackers linked to Iran have targeted staff at U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences in recent weeks, according to publicly-available web archives reviewed by Reuters and three cybersecurity researchers, as the company races to deploy a treatment […]

Head of Russian Human Spaceflight Program Dies from COVID-19 30 Days after Sending NASA Astronauts to ISS

The chief designer and engineer of the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation Yevgeny Mikrin has passed away at 65 after testing positive for the new coronavirus. The passing of Mikrin was first reported by Russia’s […]

Experts Worry About CDC Being Sidelined in Coronavirus Response

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has repeatedly found its suggestions for fighting the coronavirus outbreak taking a backseat to other concerns within the Trump administration. That leaves public health experts outside government fearing […]

China Claims Taiwan Will Fail in Bid to Attend Key WHO Meeting

Taiwan will fail in its bid to take part in a key meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) as its efforts are not based on concern for the health of Taiwan’s people but are […]

U.S. Companies Got Emergency Government Loans Despite Having Months of Cash

When American companies recently applied for U.S. government loans meant to help small businesses survive the coronavirus crisis, they had to certify they needed the cash to cover basic needs like salaries and rent. The […]

U.S. Faces Great Depression-Like Job Losses, Unemployment Rate

The U.S. economy likely lost a staggering 22 million jobs in April, in what would be the steepest plunge in payrolls since the Great Depression and the starkest sign yet of how the novel coronavirus […]

Justice Department Moves to Drop Case Against Trump Ex-Adviser Flynn

The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday abruptly asked a judge to drop criminal charges against Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn following mounting pressure from the Republican president and his political allies on […]

China, South Korea Report New Virus Cases

China and South Korea both reported more coronavirus infections Friday after reopening economies damaged by devastating outbreaks. Around the globe, governments are opting to accept the risks of easing pandemic-fighting restrictions that left huge numbers […]

Trump, Pence Test Negative After White House Valet Contracts Virus

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have tested negative for the novel coronavirus after a member of the U.S. military who works at the White House as a valet came down with the […]

Steve Scalise to be Top Republican on New Coronavirus Committee

House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy requested GOP Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., to head the Republicans on the new House Coronavirus select committee, saying the GOP will fight any effort by Democrats to launch “impeachment 2.0” against President Donald Trump, Fox […]

House Republicans to Launch China Task Force amid Growing Scrutiny over Coronavirus Response

House Republicans on Thursday is set to initiate a “China Task Force” to coordinate a strategy against the geopolitical threat from Beijing, coming amid global scrutiny over China’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, Fox News informed. The Washington […]

LUNCHTIME POLITICS: Allegation Against Biden – Generic Congressional Vote – Coronavirus Ratings

May 7, 2020 John Ganjei

Your Daily Polling Update for Thursday, May 7, 2020 TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: AVERAGE 45%Up 1 from Tuesday RON’S COMMENT: Today’s average is based on six polls, ranging from 42% (Politico) to 49% (Rasmussen). Without these […]

DOJ Publishes Long-awaited Mueller Scope Memo, Revealing Probe Went Beyond Previously Known Mandate

The Justice Department on Wednesday published an unredacted version of then-Acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s August 2017 “scope memo” outlining the authority of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller — and the document mentions for the first time […]

Musk Now in Line for a $720 Million Payday

Tesla shares are up 86% so far this year, which means CEO Elon Musk just qualified for stock options worth more than $700 million, CNN reported. Musk, who already owns about 20% of the company, […]