Washington D.C. (AP) — Federal Reserve officials are grappling this week with the timing and scope of their next policy moves at a time when the raging viral pandemic has weakened the U.S. economy. No major changes are likely when the Fed releases a statement Wednesday after its two-day policy meeting ends and just before…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr is defending the aggressive federal law enforcement response to civil unrest in America, saying “violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests” sparked by George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police. Barr told members of the House Judiciary Committee at a much-anticipated election year hearing Tuesday…
Washington D.C. (AP) — Congressional leaders praised the late congressman John Lewis as a moral force for the nation in a Capitol Rotunda memorial service rich with symbolism and punctuated by the booming, recorded voice of the civil rights icon. In a solemn display of bipartisan unity Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Lewis “the…
Volunteers rolled up their sleeves Monday to take part in the biggest test yet of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine. The first of some 30,000 volunteers were receiving shots created by the U.S. government as part of the all-out global race to stop the outbreak. It will be months before results trickle in. Meanwhile, President Donald…
Portland, OR (AP) — Police in Portland, Oregon, say a bag containing loaded rifle magazines and Molotov cocktails was found at a park near where protests have erupted for two months following the death of George Floyd. Police shared a photo of the items in a tweet saying someone pointed out the bag to officers…
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Public health officials are warning that the coronavirus poses new risks to parts of the Midwest and South. That word comes as enhanced federal aid that helped avert financial ruin for millions of unemployed Americans is set to expire. If it runs out, many of the jobless will have to rely…
Beijing, China (AP) — China has ordered the United States to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu in an increasingly rancorous diplomatic conflict. The order followed the U.S. closure of the Chinese Consulate in Houston after Washington accused Chinese agents of trying to steal medical and other research in Texas. The Chinese…
Beijing, China (AP) — China has launched its most ambitious Mars mission yet in an attempt to join the United States in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet. The rocket carrying the orbiter and rover took off under clear skies from an island south of China’s mainland. Hundreds of space enthusiasts cried out…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Laboratories across the U.S. are buckling under a surge of coronavirus tests, creating long processing delays that experts say are actually undercutting the pandemic response. The bottlenecks are creating problems for workers kept off the job while awaiting results, nursing homes struggling to keep the virus out and for the labs themselves,…
Melbourne, Australia — Australia’s hard-hit Victoria state reported a record 484 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and health authorities warned that numbers could continue to rise. With Australia’s second-largest city Melbourne now in lockdown for two weeks, authorities had hoped the infection rate would begin to plateau. Instead, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says “we’re…