Reuters US Domestic News Summary
Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
Trump says his administration is talking to Republican senators about work visa issue
President Donald Trump said on Thursday his administration is talking to Republican senators about work visa issues, amid the coronavirus outbreak that has wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy. Four Republican senators sent a letter earlier in the day urging Trump to suspend all new guest worker visas for 60 days and certain categories of new guest work visas for at least a year, until unemployment returns to normal levels.
Trump, Pence test negative after White House valet contracts coronavirus
U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have tested negative for the novel coronavirus after a member of the U.S. military who works at the White House as a valet came down with the virus. During a meeting with the governor of Texas in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump told reporters he had little contact with the man and would be tested daily going forward.
New York governor extends eviction ban to protect those most vulnerable
New York will extend a moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent for another two months until Aug. 20 to alleviate anxiety over the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Governor Andrew Cuomo told a daily briefing on Thursday. Cuomo also said antibody testing of 27,000 healthcare workers showed infection rates around the same or lower than the general population, suggesting masks, gloves and other protective equipment are effective at preventing transmission.
U.S. House panel calls March screening of travelers from Italy, South Korea ineffective
The Trump administration failed to conduct effective coronavirus screenings of airline passengers entering the United States from Italy and South Korea in early March, when cases of the virus were multiplying, a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee said on Thursday. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Democratic chairman of the House oversight subcommittee, said information from several U.S. agencies showed the administration did little to stop the spread of the virus through U.S. airports from those two hot spots until mid-March.
U.S. adds social distancing to Atlantic hurricane season emergency response plan
With the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season fast approaching, U.S. officials on Thursday said they were readying more buses, hotel rooms and shelter space for social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus during potential evacuations. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a telephone briefing that it anticipated a higher-than-average number of storms during the U.S. storm season beginning on June 1. It urged states and cities to step up their preparations.
CDC reports 1,219,066 coronavirus cases, 73,297 deaths
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday reported 1,219,066 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 25,253 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 2,495 to 73,297. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on May 6, compared with its count a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/2WfXuu1)
White House shelved CDC guidance on easing of virus restrictions
The White House shelved a step-by-step guide prepared by U.S. health officials to help states safely reopen mass transit, restaurants, daycare centers and other public places closed by the coronavirus pandemic, an administration official said on Thursday. The 17-page document prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was put off to avoid giving "overly prescriptive" guidance, said the official, a member of President Donald Trump's White House task force, confirming a news report by the Associated Press that the guidance was shelved.
U.S. moves to drop case against Trump ex-adviser Flynn, who admitted lying to FBI
The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday abruptly asked a judge to drop criminal charges against Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn following mounting pressure from the Republican president and his political allies on the right. The move drew furious criticism from congressional Democrats and others who accused the department and Attorney General William Barr of politicizing the U.S. criminal justice system by bending to Trump's wishes and improperly protecting his friends and associates in criminal cases.
Whistleblower offers window into HHS´s flawed COVID-19 response
A new whistleblower complaint has drawn attention for its allegations that the Trump administration retaliated against a scientist who sent early coronavirus warnings. The case also provides an insider account of the dysfunction critics say paralyzed the Department of Health and Human Services at the dawn of the COVID-19 response. The complaint by Dr. Rick Bright, who headed a federal agency called the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, until April 20, says HHS Secretary Alex Azar and his top aides dismissed experts´ warnings about the impending epidemic, failed to implement vital procedures and got sidetracked with political backbiting.
Malaria drug touted by Trump for coronavirus fails another test
The malaria treatment repeatedly championed by U.S. President Donald Trump as a "game changer" in the fight against the novel coronavirus has again failed to show a benefit in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, according to a study released on Thursday. While the study being published in the New England Journal of Medicine had certain limitations, doctors reported that the use of hydroxycholoquine neither lessened the need for patients requiring breathing assistance nor the risk of death.
