Articles by Focus Washington

President Joe Biden has named Robert Malley as special U.S. envoy for Iran, a senior official said on Thursday, giving the veteran diplomat a leading role in one of the most daunting and politically divisive […]

Democrats Push Toward Second Trump Impeachment, Republican Support Uncertain

Democratic-led efforts to impeach U.S. President Donald Trump for a historic second time gained momentum over the weekend, although it looked far from certain whether enough Republicans would back the move with just days left […]

Bitcoin Soars 14% After Elon Musk Namecheck on Twitter

Bitcoin jumped as much as 14% on Friday to a two-week high after Tesla Inc chief Elon Musk tagged the cryptocurrency in his Twitter biography, Reuters informed. Musk wrote simply “#bitcoin” in his biography on […]

Small Investors Behind Surge in GameStop and Other Shares Hit by Restrictions

An army of retail investors that has routed Wall Street’s professionals in recent days was dealt a blow on Thursday, after online brokerages restricted purchases of red-hot GameStop and other stocks that had soared this […]

Stocks Fall on Long-Short Battle, European Vaccine Row

European stocks and U.S. stock futures fell on Friday and the safe-haven dollar looked set for a weekly gain as a Wall Street battle between hedge funds and retail investors and a row in Europe […]

Guantanamo Bay Prisoners to be Given Coronavirus Vaccines

Detainees at the Guantanamo Bay facility to receive a coronavirus vaccine from the Defense Department, a prosecutor involved in the government’s case against five of the prisoners said in a letter to defense lawyers. “[A]n […]

Ocasio-Cortez: ‘No Consequences’ in GOP for Violence, Racism

A calling out is made for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), in a new interview with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), where she claims that there are “no consequences” in The Republican Party for violence […]

Men Arrested in Daniel Pearl’s Killing to be Freed in Pakistan

The four men convicted for kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, are set to be released in Pakistan, as the Pakistani highest court ordered their release on Thursday, reported The Hill. […]

Fauci Says COVID Vaccines Can Be Easily Adapted to New Variants

Pfizer and Moderna’s current Covid-19 vaccines can be easily adapted to target new strains of the virus, something the drugmakers are already working on, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday, CNBC writes. […]

Biden to Reopen Online Health Insurance Marketplaces

U.S. President Joe Biden will reopen the nation’s online health insurance marketplace for people who cannot obtain coverage through their employers, the White House said on Thursday, Reuters writes. Biden, who took office last week, […]

WHO Says Vaccine Makers Working Non-Stop to Plug Supply Gap, Urges Patience

The World Health Organization’s Europe director Hans Kluge said on Thursday vaccine manufacturers were working non-stop to plug shortfalls in supplies to countries struggling to curb the COVID-19 pandemic and urged them not to jostle […]

Stocks Soured by Wall Street Sell-off and ‘Vaccine Nationalism’

Shares wiped out their gains in Europe for the year early on Thursday, soured by a sell-off on Wall Street, no end in sight to pandemic lockdowns and a squeeze in short positions, Reuters reported. […]

U.S. Economy Likely Logged Its Weakest Performance in 74 Years in 2020

The U.S. economy likely contracted at its sharpest pace since World War Two in 2020 as COVID-19 ravaged services businesses like restaurants and airlines, throwing millions of Americans out of work and into poverty, Reuters […]

U.S. Stands With SE Asian Countries Against China Pressure, Blinken Says

The United States rejects China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea beyond what it is permitted under international law and stands with Southeast Asian nations resisting its pressure, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken […]

Biden Pauses Oil and Gas Leases, Cuts Subsidies in ‘Bold’ Climate Steps

President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a raft of executive actions to combat climate change, including pausing new oil and gas leases on federal land and cutting fossil fuel subsidies, as he pursues green policies […]

U.S. Boosting Vaccine Deliveries Amid Complaints of Shortages

Answering growing frustration over vaccine shortages, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. is ramping up deliveries to hard-pressed states over the next three weeks and expects to provide enough doses to vaccinate 300 million […]

Russian Parliament OKs New START Nuclear Treaty Extension

The lower house of the Russian parliament on Wednesday quickly approved the extension of the last remaining nuclear arms control pact days before it’s due to expire, The Associated Press reported. The State Duma voted […]

Bill Gates Sees 6-8 Month Lag for Poor Countries to Get COVID-19 Shots

Poorer countries face a best-case scenario of a 6-8 month lag behind richer nations in getting access to COVID-19 vaccines to protect their populations against the pandemic disease, the philanthropist Bill Gates said on Wednesday. […]

Biden Administration Aims to Have Enough Vaccine for Most Americans by Summertime

The United States aims to acquire an additional 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday, enough to inoculate most Americans by summertime, as he races to curb a pandemic he […]

Israel’s Top General Says Its Military Is Refreshing Operational Plans Against Iran

Israel’s top general said on Tuesday that its military was refreshing its operational plans against Iran and that any U.S. return to a 2015 nuclear accord with Tehran would be “wrong,” Reuters writes. The remarks […]

protection against coronavirus infection

Global COVID-19 Cases Surpass 100 Million as Nations Tackle Vaccine Shortages

Global coronavirus cases surpassed 100 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as countries around the world struggle with new virus variants and vaccine shortfalls. Almost 1.3% of the world’s population has now been […]

Senate Republicans Unite Behind Failed Effort to Challenge Trump Impeachment Trial

Forty-five Senate Republicans backed a failed effort on Tuesday to halt former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, in a show of party unity that some cited as a clear sign he will not be convicted […]

US admin discusses raising the debt ceiling

Dollar Edges Before Fed Meeting

The dollar edged higher against a basket of currencies on Wednesday as markets waited for comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who is likely to renew a commitment to ultra-easy policy, Reuters reported. The […]

WHO Issues New Clinical Advice on Treating COVID-19 Patients

The World Health Organization (WHO) issued fresh clinical advice on Tuesday for treating COVID-19 patients, including those displaying persistent symptoms after recovery, and also said it advised using low-dose anti-coagulants to prevent blood clots, Reuters […]

Biden to Limit Private Prisons and Bolster Fair Housing Policies

President Joe Biden plans to take executive actions on Tuesday to scale back the U.S. government’s use of private prisons and bolster anti-discrimination enforcement in the housing market, aides said, Reuters reported. The measures are […]

AstraZeneca Denies Its Vaccine Is Less Efficient in the Elderly

British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca is fighting battles on several fronts this week — defending its coronavirus vaccine from reports that it could be less effective in protecting the elderly and facing increasing tensions with the EU […]

U.S. Condemns Attack on Saudi Capital

The United States on Sunday condemned an aerial attack against Saudi Arabia’s capital, saying it appeared to be “an attempt to target civilians,” Voice of America reported. Saudi state media reported the kingdom intercepted an […]

Biden Signs ‘Buy American’ Order, Pledges to Renew U.S. Manufacturing

President Joe Biden vowed on Monday to leverage the purchasing power of the U.S. government, the world’s biggest single buyer of goods and services, to strengthen domestic manufacturing and create markets for new technologies, Reuters […]

U.S. Senate Votes Overwhelmingly to Confirm Yellen as First Female Treasury Chief

Janet Yellen won overwhelming Senate confirmation as the first woman to lead the U.S. Treasury on Monday, setting her quickly to work with Congress on coronavirus relief, reviewing U.S. sanctions policy and strengthening financial regulation, […]

Google Workers to Form Global Union Alliance

Google employees from across the globe are forming a union alliance, weeks after workers at the search engine giant and other units of parent company Alphabet Inc formed a labor union for U.S. and Canadian […]