Year: 2020

A wave of shock and anger spread here Tuesday as Afghans learned that U.S. officials plan to cut $1 billion in aid after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a brief visit here Monday, had failed […]

Prince Charles Tests Positive for COVID-19

Prince Charles has tested positive for coronavirus, as Clarence House confirmed that the 71-year-old heir to the throne was diagnosed with the COVID-19 disease in a statement released this morning, Sky News reported. The royal […]

Lockheed Secures $933m for U.S., Saudi Missile Defense Tech Production Services

Lockheed Martin has secured a six-year, $932.8 million contract modification from the Missile Defense Agency to manufacture ballistic missile interceptors for the U.S. government and Saudi Arabia to fulfill a foreign military sales case requirement. […]

China Lifting Last Controls in Province at Outbreak’s Center

Trains carrying factory employees back to work after two months in locked-down cities rolled out of Hubei province, the center of China’s virus outbreak, as the government on Wednesday began lifting the last of the […]

Saudi Arabia Tightens Curfew to Contain Coronavirus Outbreak

Saudi Arabia tightened a nationwide curfew to contain the spread of the coronavirus, barring entry to and exit from the capital Riyadh and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina as well as movement between […]

India to Unveil $20 Billion-Plus Stimulus Package to Tackle Coronavirus Downturn

India is likely to agree to an economic stimulus package of more than 1.5 trillion rupees ($19.6 billion) to fight a downturn in the country that is currently locked down to stem the spread of […]

U.S. Companies, Labs Rush to Produce Blood Test for Coronavirus Immunity

As the United States works overtime to screen thousands for the novel coronavirus, a new blood test offers the chance to find out who may have immunity – a potential game changer in the battle […]

U.S. Senators Look to Quickly Pass Massive Coronavirus Bill

U.S. senators will vote on Wednesday on a $2-trillion bipartisan package of legislation to alleviate the devastating economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, hoping it will become law quickly so they can get out of […]

LUNCHTIME POLITICS: How Outbreak Impacts Daily Life – Job Ratings – Tuesday Trivia

March 24, 2020 John Ganjei

Your Daily Polling Update for Tuesday, March 24, 2020 TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: AVERAGE 46%Up 2 since Friday RON’S COMMENT: President Trump’s ratings have improved in recent days. His approval rating has increased 2 points and his […]

‘U.S. Not Built to Shut Down,’ Trump Says

President Donald Trump said Monday during a White House coronavirus task force meeting that American businesses should be back up and going in a shorter time span than originally indicated. “Once the medical community gives […]

Coronavirus Pandemic Causes Massive Job Losses in U.S.

Millions of Americans have either lost or will lose their jobs as the coronavirus crisis throttles the economy amid lockdowns, quarantines, and closures. A deep and painful recession is beginning. Amid speculation of a depression, Congress is […]

Donald Trump Blames Pelosi, Dems for Deflecting Third Stimulus

President Donald Trump is pointing fingers at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as well as the congressional Democrats that they have deflected a third coronavirus stimulus bill with immigration and environmental provisions, The Hill reported. “Republicans had […]

Arizona Man Dies, Wife Ill After Taking Drug Touted as Virus Treatment

A Phoenix-area man has died and his wife was in critical condition after the couple took chloroquine phosphate, CBS affiliate KPHO reported. The additive used to clean fish tanks that is also found in an […]

Syria Confirms First Coronavirus Case

War-ravaged Syria on Sunday confirmed its first case of the coronavirus after weeks of rejecting opposition allegations that the disease had already reached a country with a wrecked health system and thousands of Iranian-backed militias […]

Elon Musk Donates Ventilators in ‘Heroic Effort’

Elon Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and an outspoken skeptic of the severity of the coronavirus outbreak, donated more than 1,000 ventilators to officials in Los Angeles to meet demand as the […]

Man beats lumber store employee over mask rule

‘Not Easy’ to Get Face Masks, Ventilators to U.S. States, Trump Says

President Donald Trump on Tuesday acknowledged the difficulty of procuring crucial healthcare supplies amid the coronavirus pandemic as state and local officials raise alarms about a healthcare delivery system in danger of collapse, Reuters writes. […]

U.S. States, Cities Desperate for Coronavirus Help, Military Prepares

Several more U.S. governors on Monday joined the procession of states ordering millions of Americans to stay at home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, while President Trump signaled he’s considering a move in […]

U.S. COVID-19 Cases Could Cross 220k On Germany’s Growth Trajectory

U.S. cases have been growing fast, tracking Germany and Italy, where numbers have not flattened, Forbes reported. If the United States were to track the path of Germany, it would mean about 221,000 cases in […]

Hackers Target WHO as Coronavirus Cyberattacks Spike

Elite hackers tried to break into the World Health Organization earlier this month, sources told Reuters, part of what a senior agency official said was a more than two-fold increase in cyberattacks. WHO Chief Information […]

Transit businesses experience emplyee shortages due to omicron, corporate chaos

Fed to Buy Unlimited Government Debt and Lend to Businesses

In its boldest effort to protect the U.S. economy from the coronavirus, the Federal Reserve says it will buy as much government debt as it deems necessary and will begin lending to small and large […]

Bernie Sanders Wins Democrats Abroad Primary

Over 58 percent of the nearly 30,000 votes cast went to Sanders, while former Vice President Joe Biden won 23 percent of the votes. Sanders was awarded nine of the 13 delegates at stake in the primary and […]

Biden Urges Trump Admin to Drop Affordable Care Act Lawsuit

Joe Biden is urging the Trump administration to withdraw the lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act in order to cope with the coronavirus outbreak. “At a time of national emergency, which is laying bare the […]

FAA Briefly Suspends All Flights Bound for NYC, Philadelphia Airports

The Federal Aviation Administration has lifted a brief suspension of flights to New York City-area airports because of coronavirus-related staffing issues at a regional air-traffic control center, USA Today reported. In an alert posted online […]

Desert X Site in Saudi Arabia to Become Permanent Arts Hub

After the close of the inaugural edition of Desert X AlUla, a free, site-responsive exhibition held in the Al-Ula region of northwestern of Saudi Arabia from January 31 to March 7, the Royal Commission for […]

Saudi Arabia’s Humanitarian Agency Assesses Yemen’s Health Needs vs Coronavirus

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) held a meeting to assess Yemen’s health needs to confront coronavirus, Arab News reported. The meeting included KSRelief representatives, Yemeni Minister of Public Health and Population […]

U.S. Terminated CDC Expert Job in China Months Before Virus Outbreak

Several months before the coronavirus pandemic began, the Trump administration eliminated a key American public health position in Beijing intended to help detect disease outbreaks in China, Reuters reports. The American disease expert, a medical […]

Cuban Doctors Head to Italy to Battle Coronavirus

Communist-run Cuba said it dispatched a brigade of doctors and nurses to Italy for the first time this weekend to help in the fight against the novel coronavirus at the request of the worst-affected region […]

Rouhani Claims U.S. Should Lift Sanctions If It Wants to Help Iran Amid Coronavirus

The United States should lift sanctions if Washington wants to help Iran to contain the coronavirus outbreak, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday, adding that Iran had no intention of accepting Washington’s offer of […]

March 22, 2020 Focus Washington

US Intelligence Warned Trump in January and February as He Dismissed Coronavirus Threat

President Donald Trump ignored reports from US intelligence agencies starting in January that warned of the scale and intensity of the coronavirus outbreak in China, CNN reported. Citing US officials familiar with the agencies’ reports […]

March 22, 2020 Focus Washington

FEMA Issues ‘Major Disaster Declaration’ for New York Over Coronavirus

The Trump administration has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, officials said as quoted by New York Post. The emergency declaration Friday from […]