Year: 2020

Iran’s parliament has voted to slash four zeros from the national currency, the rial, to fight hyperinflation caused by crippling U.S. sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic, Radio Liberty reported. Lawmakers also decided on May 4 […]

Coronavirus Health Fears Outweigh Concern for Economy, Global Survey Shows

A substantial majority of people around the world want their governments to prioritize saving lives over moves to restart economies being hammered by measures aimed at halting the spread of the new coronavirus, a global […]

Researchers Double U.S. COVID-19 Death Forecast

A newly revised coronavirus mortality model predicts nearly 135,000 Americans will die from COVID-19 by early August, almost double previous projections, as social-distancing measures for quelling the pandemic are increasingly relaxed, researchers said on Monday, […]

Trump’s Anti-China Rhetoric Looks to Boost U.S. Leverage

The Trump administration is making ever louder pronouncements casting blame on China for the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to sidestep domestic criticism of the President’s own response, tarnish China’s global reputation and give the U.S. leverage […]

Putin Awards Commemorative WWII Medal to Kim Jong-un

Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded Kim Jong-un a commemorative war medal marking the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, the Russian embassy in Pyongyang said Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. The medal […]

Saudi Arabia Hit With Moody’s Downgrade, Prepares for ‘Painful’ Measures

Saudi Arabia is preparing to enact “strict, painful measures” in the face of its worst growth contraction in two decades brought on by the twin shock of coronavirus lockdowns and low oil prices, its finance […]

Italy Starts Slow Return to Normal Life

Nearly two months after ordering Italians to stay home in an effort to slow one of the worst outbreaks of the new coronavirus in the world, the Italian government on Monday cautiously eased a few […]

NASA Chooses SpaceX, Blue Origin, Dynetics to Return Humans to Moon

NASA announced that SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics will be the three commercial companies that are going to build lunar landers for its Artemis missions to return humans to the moon by 2024. The three […]

US Navy Sends Destroyers into Barents Sea for First Time since Cold War

Four U.S. Navy ships sailed into the Barents Sea near Russia’s Arctic coast for the first time since the Cold War, the Navy stated on Monday. According to NBC News, destroyers USS Donald Cook, USS […]

NRA Lays Off Dozens of Staffers, Cuts Pay during Coronavirus Pandemic

The National Rifle Association has fired dozens of employees, canceled its national convention and curtailed on fundraising, membership and shooting events just months before the presidential election and during an unprecedented pandemic, as gun advocates are […]

Saudi Arabia Eyes Additional Moves in Time of Pandemic, Oil Woes

Saudi Arabia is taking modest steps to improve its human rights record as it tries to navigate the coronavirus pandemic and the fallout from plunging oil prices that have rankled the United States and the […]

COVID-19 Vaccine Race Heats up Globally

Hundreds of people are rolling up their sleeves in countries across the world to be injected with experimental vaccines that might stop COVID-19, adding hope that an end to the pandemic may arrive sooner than […]

Michigan’s Governor Whitmer Says She Believes Joe Biden

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in an interview Sunday that she knows Joe Biden and that the sexual assault allegation is not “consistent with” the person she knows, Fox News informed. Whitmer, who is reportedly on […]

Syrian Tycoon Decries ‘Inhumane’ Security Forces in Criticism Towards Assad

Sanctions-hit Syrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf said on Sunday that security forces were arresting employees at his companies “in an inhumane way”, amid pressure on him to step down from his business empire and pay millions […]

Global Coronavirus Cases Surpass 3.5 Million

Global coronavirus cases surpassed 3.5 million on Monday and deaths neared a quarter of a million, according to a Reuters tally, concerning experts who fear substantial underreporting even as the rate of fatalities and new […]

Up to 100,000 Americans Could Die From Coronavirus, Trump Says

President Donald Trump said on Sunday he now believes as many as 100,000 Americans could die in the coronavirus pandemic, after the death toll passed his earlier estimates, but said he was confident a vaccine […]

US and China will meet for the first time at a high level since Russia's attack on Ukraine as Biden tries to get Beijing's help with the war.

Trump Administration Pushing to Take Global Supply Chains Away From China

The Trump administration is “turbocharging” an initiative to remove global industrial supply chains from China as it weighs new tariffs to punish Beijing for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, according to officials familiar with […]

Capitol Lacks Tests for Returning Senators While White House Tests Many in Trump’s Circle

Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the tight-lipped doctor who attends to Congress, sent up on Thursday what some have construed as a warning: His office, he told senior Republican officials on a private conference call, cannot […]

Protesters Gather to Demand the Opening of California Beaches

Some 3,000 people held a raucus May Day demonstration at Huntington Beach Friday, protesting the closure of California beaches and the state’s stay-at-home mandate, New York Post reports. The protesters — many wearing no masks […]

White House Blocks Fauci from Testifying Next Week

The White House is blocking Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key member of the administration’s coronavirus task force, from testifying before the Democratic-led House next week, according to a spokesman from a key House committee, CNN […]

U.S. Wants Mexico to Keep Its Defense and Health-Care Factories Open

For years, the United States outfitted its armed forces and hospitals with products made partially in Mexican factories, trusting that the world’s busiest cross-border supply chain could withstand any crisis, The Washington Post writes. Then […]

New York Quietly Conducting Coronavirus Tests at Grocery Stores

Tests for the deadly bug — a key tool for pinpointing infection hotspots as officials look to ease lockdowns — are now being administered at an undisclosed number of supermarkets statewide as officials look to […]

California Governor says Coronavirus Easing ‘Days away’ as Protesters Flock Beach

California is days away from announcing a meaningful loosening of its coronavirus-related restrictions, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Friday, as protesters sneaked on to closed beaches and crowded the lawn outside the state Capitol in […]

District Court Rejects Nurse Association Plea for Coronavirus Protection

A U.S. District Court on Friday dismissed a nurse association’s plea against New York state and two hospitals to provide safety equipment and adopt measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 among its members, asking […]

Media, Dems Accused of Double Standards Regarding Biden, Kavanaugh

Democrats and the news media are being accused of a double standard in how they’ve addressed allegations of sexual assault against former Vice President Joe Biden and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, The Hill reported. Both Biden and […]

Trump Touts New FDA Approved Antiviral Drug, Because It’s ‘The Hot Thing’

President Donald Trump is endorsing an antiviral drug that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized for emergency use in the treatment of the novel coronavirus, describing it as the “hot thing” in the […]

McConnell Plans Busy Week ahead for Senate

The office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is setting up a busy schedule for the Senate next week, focusing on how to combat the coronavirus pandemic and confirming several of President Donald Trump’s stalled nominees, The […]

May 1, 2020 Focus Washington

GOP Accuses Biden of ‘Hiding Documents’ after Denial on Tara Reade Claims

Republicans accused Joe Biden of “hiding documents” on Friday after the former vice president rejected the sexual assault allegation against him by former Senate staffer Tara Reade but would not approve the release of Senate files under […]

May 1, 2020 Focus Washington

Klobuchar Launches Effort to Help Fellow Democrats Running in Senate and House Races

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who is no longer running for president, says she still wants to “win big” in 2020, Fox News informed. Nearly two months after she ended her White House bid and amid speculation she’s […]

May 1, 2020 Focus Washington

Tesla Falls After Musk Says Stock Too High in Bizarre Tweet Storm

Tesla shares plunged after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said the electric-car maker’s stock is too high in a stream of tweets reminiscent of the posts that securities regulators sued over in 2018, Bloomberg reported. […]