Washington state bans gatherings, may close schools to fight COVID-19; lockdowns possible
Washington Governor Jay Inslee on Wednesday banned gatherings of over 250 people in the Seattle area, said he may soon close all schools and did not rule out eventual lockdowns to slow the spread of the United States’ deadliest coronavirus outbreak.
Trump to address travel restrictions, economics, healthcare
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would address travel restrictions to Europe in a statement later on Wednesday, amid a fast-moving coronavirus outbreak.
Democrats rethink how they campaign, Trump to push ahead, in coronavirus crisis
Democratic presidential contenders Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders on Wednesday were reassessing how to campaign after canceling election rallies due to the coronavirus pandemic, while Republican President Donald Trump’s campaign looked set to push ahead….
U.S. likely to advise Americans against travel to Europe: sources
The Trump administration is likely to discourage Americans from taking trips to Europe with a new advisory as soon as Wednesday that would warn against non-essential travel to the region over coronavirus concerns, sources said.
Trump moves to increase availability of respirators
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a memo directing the U.S. secretary of labor to take steps to increase the availability of respirators for use by healthcare workers dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.
U.S. arrests more than 250 tied to Mexican drug cartel
The U.S. arrested more than 250 people and seized 600 kilograms (1,323 lbs) of illegal narcotics on Wednesday, as part of a broader crackdown known as “Project Python” that targets the Mexican drug cartel known as the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion…
Exclusive: U.S. State Department to suspend non-essential travel for staff – sources
The U.S. State Department has decided to suspend non-essential travel by staff because of the spread of the coronavirus and will only permit mission-critical trips, three sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Trump’s radical plan to waive payroll tax would punch hole in Social Security, Medicare budgets
President Donald Trump has picked his favorite weapon to fight the economic fallout from the coronavirus – an elimination of the “payroll tax” on workers’ gross earnings that is used to fund national retirement programs.
U.S. Supreme Court allows Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ asylum policy
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday handed a win to President Donald Trump by leaving in effect a policy that requires thousands of people seeking asylum at the southern border to wait in Mexico while their claims are adjudicated.
U.S. Justice Department needs clearer policy on office relationships, says watchdog
The U.S. Justice Department lacks a uniform policy to address office romances between supervisors and their employees, a problem that creates a power imbalance and raises questions about whether such relationships are consensual, the department’s inter…
