Articles by Focus Washington

The number of tests coming back positive for COVID-19 is topping 25% in several states in the U.S. Midwest as cases and hospitalizations also surge in the region, according to a Reuters analysis. North Dakota’s […]

U.S. Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Ban on New TikTok Downloads

A U.S. judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that was set to bar Apple and Alphabet Inc’s Google from offering Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok for download at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Reuters […]

U.S. Supreme Court Nominee Barrett Would Have Final Say on Recusal Calls

Democrats are urging U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett to recuse herself from any election-related cases because of President Donald Trump’s comments that he expects the justices to potentially decide the outcome, but there […]

Saudi Arabia Says G-20 Gathering of World Leaders Will Be Virtual

Saudi Arabia, which is presiding over the Group of 20 countries this year, said Monday that the upcoming November gathering of world leaders will be held virtually amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Associated Press reported. […]

NYT: Trump Frequently Paid No Federal Income Taxes in Years Leading up to Presidency

President Donald Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes in both 2016 and 2017, after years of reporting heavy losses from his business enterprises to offset hundreds of millions of dollars in income, the […]

Democrats Blast Trump’s Supreme Court Pick, Say She Could Jeopardize ObamaCare

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and others in his party on Saturday blasted President Donald Trump’s choice of conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court, focusing in particular on the threat they said […]

Biden Promises U.S. Mayors He Will Be a Partner in the White House

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden assured U.S. mayors on Saturday he would be an active partner in the White House in helping them respond to racial justice protests and the economic fallout from the coronavirus […]

China’s Industrial Profits Grow for Fourth Straight Month

Profits at China’s industrial firms grew for the fourth straight month in August, buoyed in part by a rebound in commodities prices and equipment manufacturing, the statistics bureau said on Sunday, Reuters informed. China’s recovery […]

Midwest Sees Surge in COVID-19 Cases as Four States Report Record Increases

Four U.S. states in the Midwest reported record one-day increases in COVID-19 cases on Saturday as infections rise nationally for a second week in a row, according to a Reuters analysis. Minnesota reported 1,418 new […]

Trump Picks Barrett as He Moves to Tilt U.S. Supreme Court Rightward

President Donald Trump on Saturday nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, and she pledged to become a justice in the mold of the late staunch conservative Antonin Scalia, setting another milestone in Trump’s […]

Trump Says U.S. Election Winner Might Not Be Known for Months

President Donald Trump said on Friday that Americans might not know the winner of the November presidential election for months due to disputes over mail ballots, building on his criticism of a method that could […]

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.

Some 3,500 U.S. Companies Sue Over Trump-Imposed Chinese Tariffs

About 3,500 U.S. companies, including Tesla, Ford Motor, Target Corp, Walgreen and Home Depot have sued the Trump administration in the last two weeks over the imposition of tariffs on more than $300 billion (£235.35 […]

Trump Extends Drilling Ban off North Carolina, Virginia

President Donald Trump said on Friday he had extended a ban until 2032 on oil drilling off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia, weeks after a similar extension affecting offshore drilling in the waters […]

Biden Leads Trump Nationally, but Race Much Tighter in Key States, Poll Shows

The U.S. presidential race is much closer than national surveys suggest, according to Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls in battleground states that show Democrat Joe Biden with only a slim lead over President Donald Trump in three […]

Trump Plans to Nominate Conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court

President Donald Trump plans to announce conservative federal appeals court judge Amy Coney Barrett on Saturday as his Supreme Court nominee, two sources said on Friday, as he moves to shift it further to the […]

Chris Christie Once Threatened to Sit on Mike Bloomberg, Memoir Claims

Paunchy former New Jersey governor Chris Christie once threatened to sit on Mike Bloomberg — during a bizarre, jealous rant involving the Queen of England, Fox News informed. The asinine threat is alleged in former governor David Paterson’s dishy new memoir, “Black, […]

South Carolina Shooting into GOP Building Sets off Party Squabbling

Someone shot at a Republican Party building in South Carolina earlier this week – prompting the chairmen of both major parties in the state to trade barbs in local media and on Twitter, Fox News informed. Meanwhile, no suspect was […]

Source of Steele Dossier Was Investigated by FBI for Russian Contacts, Barr Says

The primary “source” of the anti-Trump dossier authored by ex-British intelligence agent Christopher Steele was the subject of an FBI counterintelligence investigation from 2009 to 2011 for suspected contact with Russian intelligence officers, Fox News […]

Hi-Tech Warehouse Opens in Saudi Arabia to Serve Health Sector

The Public Investment Fund’s National Unified Procurement Co. (NUPCO) has opened a new automated warehouse in King Abdullah Economic City that provides comprehensive distribution and storage for the state health sector, Arab News reported. This […]

AstraZeneca Gets Partial Immunity in Low-Cost EU Vaccine Deal

European governments will pay claims above an agreed limit against AstraZeneca over side-effects from its potential COVID-19 vaccine, under different terms to a deal struck with Sanofi, an EU official told Reuters. The deals reflect […]

U.S. House Democrats Crafting New $2.2 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Package

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are working on a $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package that could be voted on next week, a key lawmaker said on Thursday, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated […]

New York Stays Ahead of London in Top Financial Centres Survey

New York retained the top spot in a survey of global financial centres on Friday, with London strengthening its position in second place just over three months before Britain’s full departure from the European Union, […]

Democrats Prepare Bill Limiting U.S. Supreme Court Justice Terms to 18 Years

Democrats in of the House of Representatives will introduce a bill next week to limit the tenure of U.S. Supreme Court justices to 18 years from current lifetime appointments, in a bid to reduce partisan […]

U.S. Coronavirus Cases Surpass Seven Million as Midwest Outbreak Flares Up

The number of novel coronavirus cases in the United States topped 7 million on Thursday – more than 20% of the world’s total – as Midwest states reported spikes in COVID-19 infections in September, according […]

Weekly Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly, Total 870,000

The number of first-time filers for unemployment benefits were slightly higher than expected last week as the labor market continues its sluggish recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, CNBC reported. The Labor Department reported Thursday that […]

Bernie Sanders Plans News Conference on Trump’s ‘Threats’ to Democracy

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced Wednesday he plans to hold a news conference Thursday regarding what he described as President Donald Trump’s “threats” to democracy in the presidential election, Fox News informed. “This is what an authoritarian sounds like,” […]

Trump Praises Kentucky Governor’s Request for National Guard

President Donald Trump on Wednesday praised Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear for calling in the National Guard just hours before two police officers were shot during protests after a grand jury decision in the Breonna Taylor case, Fox News informed. […]

Trump Blasts Ballots When Asked about Election Aftermath

President Donald Trump on Wednesday told reporters he would have to “see what happens” with election results before committing to a peaceful transfer of power, Fox News informed. After a reporter asked the President: “Win, lose or draw […]

Maduro Calls on U.N. Members to Rally Against U.S. Sanctions

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro told the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday all “countries that defend peace” should rally against U.S. sanctions clamped on the South American country and its allies like Cuba, Nicaragua and Syria, […]

Saudi King Salman Assails Iran in United Nations Debut

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz took aim at Iran during his debut on Wednesday at the annual United Nations meeting of world leaders, calling for a united front to contain Riyadh’s rival and stop […]