Articles by Focus Washington

The deadliest month yet of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. drew to a close with certain signs of progress: COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are plummeting, while vaccinations are picking up speed, The Associated Press […]

Tesla to Recall 135,000 U.S. Vehicles under Pressure from Auto Safety Regulators

Tesla has agreed to recall 134,951 Model S and Model X vehicles with touchscreen displays that could fail and raise the risk of a crash after U.S. auto safety regulators sought the recall last month, […]

Biden To Issue Executive Orders on Asylum, Legal Immigration, Separated Families

President Joe Biden on Tuesday will order a major review of asylum processing at the U.S.-Mexico border and the legal immigration system as he seeks to undo some of former President Donald Trump’s hard-line policies, […]

Accused Capitol Rioters Blame Trump in Novel Legal Defense

Emanuel Jackson, a 20-year-old Washington area man, was caught on video using a metal bat to strike the protective shields wielded by police officers as they tried to fend off rioters storming the U.S. Capitol […]

Japan Set to Extend State of Emergency for Another Month

Japan is set to extend a state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions for another month on Tuesday, seeking to keep the upper hand over a COVID-19 outbreak even as daily case numbers begin […]

Man beats lumber store employee over mask rule

New U.S. Transit Mask Rules Ordered by Biden Take Effect

New rules took effect just before midnight Tuesday requiring millions of travelers in the United States to wear masks on airplanes, trains, buses, ferries, taxis and ride-share vehicles and in airports, stations, ports and other […]

Global Markets Buoyant as U.S. Stimulus Package Debate Looms

Global stock markets gained for a second day on Tuesday, spurred by increased optimism about economic stimulus and global recovery, while retail investors retreated from GameStop and their new-found interest in silver, Reuters informed. Positive […]

Dozens of Former Bush Officials Leave Republican Party, Calling It ‘Trump Cult’

Dozens of Republicans in former President George W. Bush’s administration are leaving the party, dismayed by a failure of many elected Republicans to disown Donald Trump after his false claims of election fraud sparked a […]

Former Biden COVID Advisor Says U.S. Should Prioritize First Vaccine Doses Ahead of Potential Surge

An epidemiologist who advised President Joe Biden’s transition on the Covid-19 crisis warned on Sunday of a looming wave of infections and said the U.S. should adjust its vaccination strategy in order to save lives, […]

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.

New Chart Shows China Could Overtake the U.S. as the World’s Largest Economy Earlier Than Expected

China is set to overtake the United States as the world’s largest economy a few years earlier than anticipated due to the coronavirus pandemic, analysts said, CNBC reported. The U.S. reported last week that gross […]

Global Shares Rally, Retail Surge Drives Silver Higher

Global shares bounced and silver markets surged on Monday as retail investors expanded their social-media fuelled battle against Wall Street to drive the precious metal to a five-month high, Reuters reported. Stock markets had been […]

Republicans Press Biden to Scale Back $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Plan

Ten moderate Republican U.S. senators urged President Joe Biden on Sunday to significantly downsize his sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package to win bipartisan support as Democrats in Congress prepared to push ahead with his […]

Elon Musk Says Bitcoin ‘on the Verge’ of Being More Widely Accepted

Billionaire Elon Musk said on Monday bitcoin was “on the verge” of being more widely accepted among investors as he expressed his support for the cryptocurrency, Reuters informed. The comments come after the Tesla Inc […]

Kushner, Berkowitz Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for Israel Deals

Former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and his deputy, Avi Berkowitz, were nominated by a friendly attorney on Sunday for the Nobel Peace Prize for their role in negotiating four normalization deals between Israel […]

WHO Team in China’s Wuhan Visits Provincial CDC

A World Health Organization-led team investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday visited the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in China’s central region of Hubei, where the outbreak emerged in late 2019, […]

Wall Street Gears up for Second Bout Against Reddit Traders

Wall Street is gearing up for another week of market mayhem, with signs that the retail frenzy that pumped up the stock prices of the likes of GameStop Corp and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc is […]

Moderate U.S. Republican Senators Urge Biden to Compromise on COVID-19 Plan

A group of 10 moderate Republican U.S. senators urged Democratic President Joe Biden on Sunday to reconsider his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, saying they wanted a meeting to discuss a compromise that they said […]

Foreign Troops to Stay in Afghanistan Beyond May Deadline

International troops plan to stay in Afghanistan beyond the May deadline envisaged by the insurgent Taliban’s deal with the United States, four senior NATO officials said, a move that could escalate tensions with the Taliban […]

Facebook’s Zuckerberg Reached Out to Australian Lawmakers Over New Media Rules

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg called Australian lawmakers last week to discuss rules that would make internet giants pay news outlets for content but failed to persuade them to change policy, the country’s Treasurer said on […]

WHO Team Visits Wuhan Market Where First COVID Infections Detected

A World Health Organization-led team of experts investigating the origins of COVID-19 visited Huanan market on Sunday, the now-shuttered wholesale seafood centre in the Chinese city of Wuhan where the new coronavirus was initially detected, […]

Trump Parts Ways With Impeachment Lawyers

Former U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly parted ways on Saturday with the two lead lawyers working on his defense for his Senate impeachment trial, a source familiar with the situation said, leaving Trump’s legal strategy […]

CDC Orders Sweeping U.S. Transportation Mask Mandate as COVID-19 Rages

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a sweeping order late Friday requiring the use of face masks on nearly all forms of public transportation Monday as the country continues to report […]

Treasury’s Yellen Affirms Importance of Close Ties With Canada

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her Canadian counterpart on Friday underscored the importance of working closely together on economic policy, national security and climate change, the governments said in separate statements, Reuters informed. Yellen […]

U.S. House Democrat to Move Office After Confrontation With Republican Lawmaker

In the latest sign of rising tensions within the U.S. Congress, a Democratic congresswoman said on Friday she plans to relocate her Capitol Hill office for safety reasons after being “berated” by an outspoken conservative […]

Musk’s SpaceX Violated Its Launch License in Explosive Starship Test

SpaceX’s first high-altitude test flight of its Starship rocket, which exploded last month while attempting to land after an otherwise successful test launch, violated the terms of its Federal Aviation Administration test license, the Verge […]

U.S. Military Slams Chinese Flights Over South China Sea

The U.S. military said on Friday that Chinese military flights in the past week in the South China Sea fit a pattern of destabilizing and aggressive behavior by Beijing but posed no threat to a […]

U.S. Workplace Safety Agency Steps up COVID-19 Inspections

The U.S. Labor Department will expand inspections of businesses to reduce job-site hazards related to the new coronavirus as employees begin returning to work across the country, although the policy falls short of demands by […]

Biden’s Pause on Gulf Weapons Sales Foreshadows a Tougher U.S.-Saudi Relationship

The administration of President Joe Biden is pausing weapons sales to Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as part of a broader review of multibillion-dollar arms agreements made under the Trump administration, […]

Apple CEO Links Facebook’s Business Model to Real-World Violence

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Thursday linked Facebook’s business model, which used data to serve targeted ads, with real-world consequences like violence or reducing public trust in vaccines, CNBC informed. Cook’s speech at a data […]

Britain Withdraws COVID Ad Criticised for ‘1950s Sexism’

The British government withdrew a coronavirus public awareness advert that depicted women doing domestic chores while a man relaxed on a sofa and which prompted a wave of criticism that it exemplified “1950s sexism” Reuters […]