WASHINGTON — With exceptional resolve in an extraordinary time, the House on Friday debated a $2.2 trillion package tossing a life preserver to a U.S. economy and health care system left flailing by the coronavirus pandemic, even as one maverick Republican threatened leaders' plans for swift passage. Democratic and Republican leaders were working...
Not All or Nothing: Anti-Virus Lockdowns Could Lift Slowly
WASHINGTON — For the millions of Americans living under some form of lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, not knowing when the restrictions will end is a major source of anxiety. Will life events — weddings, funerals, even just simple nights out with friends — be delayed for...
Trump: New Guidelines Will Rate Virus Risk by County
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that federal officials are developing guidelines to rate counties by risk of virus spread, as he aims to begin to ease nationwide guidelines meant to stem the coronavirus outbreak. In a letter to the nation's governors, Trump said the new guidelines are meant to...
Trump's Easter Goal in War on Virus a Nod to Faith, Business
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s “beautiful” idea to reopen the U.S. economy by Easter Sunday and pack church pews that day was dreamed up during a conference call among business leaders desperate to get the country back up and running. But his target date for easing coronavirus restrictions is another...
Flatter or Fight? Governors Seeking Help Must Navigate Trump.
SACRAMENTO — At first, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker tried to play nice. He limited criticisms of the federal government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and asked for medical supplies through official channels. But nothing came, so he went on television. The first-term Democrat blasted the Trump administration Sunday on CNN for failing...
Senate Approves $2 Trillion Economic Rescue Package on Unanimous Vote
WASHINGTON — The Senate late Wednesday passed an unparalleled $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic. It now moves to the House of Representatives, which is expected to pass it Friday. The unanimous vote came despite misgivings on...
Of America and Sacrifice: Is the Country Ready to Step Up?
WASHINGTON — For most Americans alive today, the idea of shared national sacrifice is a collective abstraction, a memory handed down from a grandparent or passed on through a book or movie. Not since World War II, when people carried ration books with stamps that allowed them to purchase meat,...
Could Chloroquine Treat Coronavirus? 5 Questions Answered About a Promising, Problematic and Unproven Use for an Antimalarial Drug
An Arizona man died, and his wife was hospitalized, after taking a form of chloroquine, which President Trump has touted as an effective treatment for COVID-19. The couple decided to self-medicate with chloroquine phosphate, which they had on hand to kill parasites in their fish, after hearing the president describe...
Trump Agencies Steadily Push Rollbacks as Pandemic Rages
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is rejecting appeals to slow its deregulatory drive while Americans grapple with the coronavirus, pushing major public health and environmental rollbacks closer to enactment in recent days despite the pandemic. As Americans stockpiled food and medicine and retreated indoors and businesses shuttered in hopes of riding out COVID-19,...
Coronavirus Suddenly Upends Campaign Themes for Both Parties
WASHINGTON — The coronavirus pandemic and the nation's crashing economy are scrambling the themes both major political parties thought would carry them to victory in November for control of the White House and Congress. Shattered, certainly for now, is President Donald Trump's ability to tout a brawny economy and record stock market prices as...