Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced the state “will completely reopen its economy, allowing restaurants at operate full capacity and barring localities from ordering businesses to close,” Axios reports.
Trump Has Lost Patience with CDC Head
“President Trump has lost patience with the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield, as well as with the other public health experts on his coronavirus team because their sober messaging on the future of the pandemic clashes with his rosy assessments,” CNN reports.
“Trump believes that breakthroughs are not coming swiftly enough… Trump’s frustrations have caused some to question whether Redfield is on the chopping block, but a Trump adviser said they did not expect the President to make major staffing changes before the election.”
Trump Promises $200 Drug Discount Cards to Seniors
“President Trump is promising to send $200 drug discount cards to 33 million seniors, an election year bid aimed at saying he’s lowering sky high prescription drug costs for older Americans,” Politico reports.
Said Trump: “Nobody’s seen this before, these cards are incredible. The cards will be mailed out in coming weeks, I will always take care of our wonderful senior citizens. Joe Biden won’t be doing this.”
“Sending coupons to that many Medicare beneficiaries would cost at least $6.6 billion. Two senior White House staff said the money can be used as part of a Medicare program, called the 402 demonstration, that tests innovations that could save money or improve the quality of care in Medicare.”
Stat: “That regulation has also not yet been implemented — meaning the Trump administration is effectively pledging to spend $6.6 billion in savings that do not currently exist.”
Trump Claims Vaccine Was Deliberately Delayed
President Trump suggested without evidence that his political opponents were orchestrating delays to the development of a coronavirus vaccine in order to undermine him in the election, the Daily Beast reports.
Said Trump at a rally: “We will have a vaccine so soon, you won’t even believe it, although they are trying to do a little bit of a political hit. ‘Let’s delay the vaccine just a little bit.’ Did you notice that?”
Trump Outlines His ‘Vision’ for Health Care
President Trump outlined his health care “vision,” which he had pledged to release two months ago, CBS News reports.
The president said he will sign an executive order that lays out that vision, but the executive order has no legislative power.
There were very few specifics given.
Tillis Echoes Conspiracy Theory on Pandemic Deaths
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told a virtual town hall audience that he believed the 200,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the U.S. had been inflated in order to “encourage people to use social distancing.”
He claimed the actual death count was much lower.
Salon: “The response echoes a false conspiracy theory pushed by adherents of the baseless QAnon movement: that public health officials are allegedly lying to the public about the true death count because of ulterior or possibly sinister motives. Only 6% of the reported deaths are attributable solely to COVID-19, the conspiracy theorists claim.”
Why Democrats Must Keep Focus on Health Care
Ron Brownstein: “The struggle over Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement on the Supreme Court could help propel Democrats to the brink of a Senate majority in November’s election. But whether it lifts them over that threshold could turn on the terms of the confirmation fight. Given the nature of the states that will decide Senate control, the Democrats’ path to a majority may be much easier if they can keep the debate centered on economic issues—particularly the survival of the Affordable Care Act—rather than social issues, especially abortion.”
“The reason: The confirmation fight is likely to further weaken the position of endangered Republican senators in Colorado, Maine, and Arizona—states where polls show that a solid majority of voters support legal abortion. But even if Democrats flip all three, they will still likely need to win one more seat to take the majority. And in the next tier of states where they could possibly flip a seat, the politics of abortion will make that more difficult.”
Coronavirus Cases Rise In 22 States
“The coronavirus is surging once again across the U.S., with cases rising in 22 states over the past week,” Axios reports.
“There isn’t one big event or sudden occurrence that explains this increase. We simply have never done a very good job containing the virus, despite losing 200,000 lives in just the past six months, and this is what that persistent failure looks like.”
Trump Looks for Last Minute Wins on Health Care
“President Trump is pushing advisers to deliver health-care ‘wins’ in the final weeks of the campaign, leading to a frenzied rollout of proposals as polls show the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and health-care policy are two of his biggest vulnerabilities in his reelection bid,” the Washington Post reports.
Pence Defends Holding Rallies During Pandemic
Vice President Mike Pence defended President Trump’s return to holding large rallies, typically with thousands of supporters seen standing shoulder-to-shoulder and not wearing masks, even after 200,000 Americans have died from the novel coronavirus, ABC News reports.
Said Pence: “Well, we’re in an election year. President Trump and I trust the American people. We truly do believe in this freedom-loving nation that the American people know how to look after themselves, look after their families, and look after their neighbors and look out for the future of this country.”
Meanwhile, Trump tweeted a photo from his Tuesday night rally in Philadelphia showing just how packed the event was.
Most Republicans Trust Trump Over CDC
A new Quinnipiac poll finds 51% of Republicans said they trust President Trump over CDC scientists when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic.
A ‘Distressed’ Birx Mulls Whether She Can Stay On
“Once a fixture at the administration’s coronavirus briefings, Dr. Deborah Birx has confided to aides and friends that she has become so unhappy with what she sees as her diminished role as coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force that she is not certain how much longer she can serve in her position,” CNN reports.
“Birx has told people around her that she is ‘distressed’ with the direction of the task force, describing the situation inside the nation’s response to the coronavirus as nightmarish.”
Fauci ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ About Vaccine
Dr. Anthony Fauci told Congress that he is “cautiously optimistic” about the progress of a vaccine for the coronavirus.
Said Fauci: “As these trials go on, we predict that sometime by the end of this year—let’s say November or December—we will know whether or not these are safe and effective.”
FDA Offers Strict Guidelines for Vaccine Authorization
Washington Post: “The agency is issuing the guidance to boost transparency and public trust as it approaches the momentous decision of whether a prospective vaccine is safe and effective.”
“Public health experts are increasingly worried that President Trump’s repeated predictions of a coronavirus vaccine by Nov. 3, coupled with the administration’s interference in federal science agencies, may prompt Americans to reject any vaccine as rushed and potentially tainted.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“The president never downplayed critical health information.”
— White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, at a press briefing, despite an audio tape of President Trump telling Bob Woodward he was downplaying the threat of the coronavirus.
The Virus Has Now Killed 200,000 Americans
The coronavirus has now killed 200,000 Americans, according to Johns Hopkins data.
Axios: “Whatever context you try to put this in, it is a catastrophe of historic proportions — and is yet another reminder of America’s horrific failure to contain the virus.”
Said Jennifer Nuzzo researcher to the AP: “It is completely unfathomable that we’ve reached this point.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“It affects elderly people. Elderly people with heart problems and other problems. If they have other problems that’s what it affects, that’s it. You know in some states, thousands of people — nobody young. Below the age of 18, like — nobody… It affects virtually nobody. It’s an amazing thing.”
— President Trump, falsely downplaying the risks of the coronavirus.
Jonathan Bernstein: “This is monstrous behavior from any elected official. Imagine how those who have lost young loved ones to the pandemic feel when their pain is erased by the president. Or for that matter, anyone who has lost someone who doesn’t qualify as ‘elderly … with heart problems and other problems.’ Imagine how it feels for those who have been severely ill but recovered, when their suffering too doesn’t count for Trump.”
U.K. Announces New Virus Restrictions
“Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Britons on Tuesday that they should not expect to return to a normal social or work life for at least six months, as he ordered new restrictions that his government hopes will suppress a dramatic surge in confirmed coronavirus cases,” the AP reports.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 118
- 119
- 120
- 121
- 122
- …
- 295
- Next Page »