Pence, Harris Spar Over COVID-19 in Vice Presidential Debate

On

Vice President Mike Pence defended the Trump administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 210,000 Americans while his Democratic challenger, Kamala Harris, condemned “the greatest failure of any presidential administration” during a largely civil debate Wednesday night dominated by the coronavirus.  With Trump recovering from the virus in Washington, Harris declared she would not take a vaccine if the Republican president endorsed it without the backing of medical professionals.  Pence, who leads the president’s coronavirus task force, acknowledged that “our nation’s gone through a very challenging time this year.”  But he added, “I want the Americanmore

Leave a comment

US Colleges Struggle to Balance COVID-19 With Classes

On

Colleges and universities are seeing an increase of cases of COVID-19 as students return to campus, with some seeing rapid increases while others are keeping a lid on the spread of disease.Four sources are compiling information about colleges and COVID-19, including case-tracking maps: FILE – A woman wears a mask as she walks on campus at San Diego State University, Sept. 2, 2020, in San Diego.Most U.S. colleges and universities are not conducting widespread coronavirus tests despite the rise of cases on campuses, according to an FILE – College students wear masks out of concern for the coronavirus on themore

Leave a comment

College Admissions Scandal Dad Sentenced to Homestay

On

A former tech executive was sentenced Monday to one year of home confinement for paying $300,000 to bribe his son’s way into Georgetown University as a tennis recruit, even though the son did not play tennis. Peter Dameris, of Pacific Palisades, California, appeared before a Boston federal court judge via video because of the coronavirus pandemic. He pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.   His sentence also included a $95,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 21 months of home confinementmore

Leave a comment

Trump: No More Stimulus Talks Until After Election

On

Negotiations for a potential new round of U.S. coronavirus relief funding appeared to come to a halt Tuesday with President Donald Trump saying Democratic proposals were not acceptable, and that he was directing administration officials to halt talks until after next month’s election. Trump’s statements came in a series of tweets, including one later in which he proposed approving several individual relief provisions instead of a larger collection of measures like the government has done several times this year.If I am sent a Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200), they will go out to our great people IMMEDIATELY. I am ready tomore

Leave a comment

As White House Becomes COVID Hot Spot, Trump Remains Defiant

On

President Donald Trump is back at the White House after being released from the hospital where he was treated for COVID-19, and he is tweeting, urging Americans not to be afraid of the coronavirus. Many of Trump’s inner circle and those who attended a White House event late last month have since tested positive for the coronavirus. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports on how the administration is responding to the outbreak.   …

Leave a comment

Top Trump Aide Stephen Miller Tests Positive for COVID

On

Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and speechwriter, tested positive for the coronavirus Tuesday. A senior administration official said Miller had previously tested negative as White House officials have tried to contain an outbreak on the complex that has infected Trump, the first lady, and more than a dozen other aides and associates. Miller is an architect of the president’s “America First” foreign policy and restrictive immigration measures. His wife, Katie Miller, who serves as communications director to Vice President Mike Pence, previously had the virus and tested negative after the last time she saw him. Katie Miller had been in Saltmore

Leave a comment

Facebook Says It Will Ban Groups for ‘Representing’ QAnon

On

Facebook said it will ban groups that “represent” QAnon, the baseless conspiracy theory that paints President Donald Trump as a secret warrior against a supposed child-trafficking ring run by celebrities and “deep state” government officials. The company said Tuesday that it will remove Facebook pages, groups and Instagram accounts for “representing QAnon,” even if they don’t promote violence. The social network said it will consider a variety of factors to decide if a group meets its criteria for a ban, including its name, the biography or “about” section of the page, and discussions within the page, group or Instagram account. Mentions ofmore

Leave a comment

New Visa Rules Worry Some Students

On

The U.S. has proposed a new rule for international students that would set student visas to a fixed four-year term. International students looking to extend their stay would be required to apply for an extension, according to the new rule. The rule would also limit international student visas to a fixed two-year term if students are from a country with a visa overstay rate above 10% or a country on the U.S. State Department’s State Sponsor of Terrorism list.  “This change would provide the Department with additional protections and mechanisms to exercise the oversight necessary to vigorously enforce our nation’s immigrationmore

Leave a comment

Foreign Adversaries Ramping Up Attacks on US Presidential Election

On

Top U.S. intelligence and security officials say the country’s adversaries are intensifying their efforts to meddle with the country’s upcoming presidential election, indicating the threat may be changing with less than a month until voters go to the polls. The dangers, outlined in a video shared on social media by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Tuesday, are twofold – influence operations designed to change the way voters think as they fill out their ballots, and heightened attacks on U.S. election infrastructure, something that officials have tried to downplay until now. “There is no doubt adversaries are trying to undermine our democracymore

Leave a comment

Trump, Being Treated for COVID-19, Plans to Attend Second Debate With Biden

On

U.S. President Donald Trump, infected with the coronavirus, declared from the White House on Tuesday that he is planning to show up for his second debate with Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden.  “I am looking forward to the debate on the evening of Thursday, October 15th in Miami. It will be great!” the president said on Twitter.I am looking forward to the debate on the evening of Thursday, October 15th in Miami. It will be great!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) FILE – U.S. Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley, the White House physician, is flanked by other doctors as hemore

Leave a comment

More Than 4 Million Americans Have Already Voted, Suggesting Record Turnout

On

Americans are rushing to cast ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 election at an unprecedented pace, early voting numbers show, indicating a possible record turnout for the showdown between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden.   With four weeks to go before Election Day, more than 4 million Americans already have voted, more than 50 times the 75,000 at this time in 2016, according to the United States Elections Project, which compiles early voting data.   The shift has been driven by an expansion of early and mail-in voting in many states as a safe way to castmore

Leave a comment

How Will Trump’s Health Status Change Race for White House?

On

This week in the United States, all eyes are on President Donald Trump’s health after he and some of those in his inner circle, including first lady Melania Trump, tested positive for the novel coronavirus. One question is how the president’s health status will change the race for the White House, just a month before Election Day. Michelle Quinn reports. …

Leave a comment

Back at White House, Trump Urges Americans ‘Don’t Be Afraid’ of COVID-19

On

U.S. President Donald Trump urged Americans not to “be afraid” of COVID-19 after he returned to the White House Monday evening after 72 hours of hospitalization for the deadly virus.In a show of fitness, he climbed the steps of the South Portico, standing on the Truman Balcony where he removed his mask, gave a double thumbs-up gesture and saluted the Marine One helicopter as it prepared to take off from the South Lawn. Without putting his facemask back on, the president then walked into the White House where others were awaiting his arrival.Earlier, as he walked out of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center,  Trumpmore

Leave a comment

US Waits as President Trump Fights COVID-19

On

This week in the United States, all eyes are on President Donald Trump’s health after he and some of those in his inner circle, including first lady Melania Trump, tested positive for the novel coronavirus. One question is how the president’s health status will change the race for the White House, just a month before Election Day. Michelle Quinn reports. …

Leave a comment

Trump Returns to White House After 72 Hours in Hospital for COVID-19

On

U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House Monday evening after 72 hours of hospitalization for COVID-19.  In a show of fitness, he climbed the steps of the South Portico, standing on the Truman Balcony where he removed his mask, gave a double thumbs-up gesture and saluted the Marine One helicopter as it prepared to take off from the South Lawn. Without putting his facemask back on, the president then walked into the White House where others were awaiting his arrival. Earlier, as he walked out of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Trump said, “Thank you very much, everybody.” Stepping off the helicoptermore

Leave a comment

Doctors Say Trump’s Recovery Allows Return to White House

On

U.S. President Donald Trump, after 72 hours of hospitalization for the coronavirus, is to return to the White House on Monday evening.  “Though he may not entirely be out of the woods yet, the team and I agree that all our evaluations and, most importantly, his clinical status support his return home” to the White House, which has medical facilities and practitioners to monitor the president around the clock, his primary physician, Dr. Sean Conley, told reporters Monday afternoon. “Every day a patient stays in the hospital unnecessarily is a risk to themselves,” he added. “Right now, there’s nothing being donemore

Leave a comment

How Will White House Coronavirus Outbreak Impact Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing?

On

U.S. Senate Republicans’ timeline to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been thrown into disarray by the coronavirus.Republicans already had a narrow margin of error to hold confirmation hearings and move to a full Senate floor vote on Barrett before Election Day on November 3. But that plan appears increasingly unlikely with the announcement that three U.S. senators — including two Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will need to confirm Barrett to advance her nomination — tested positive for COVID-19 in recentmore

Leave a comment

A Primer on the Detailed Report on Trump’s Taxes

On

Last week The New York Times published a detailed report about U.S. President Donald Trump’s tax returns — the documents Americans file each year with the government that are used to calculate their income tax.Unlike all other U.S. presidents in recent decades, Trump has declined to release his returns, saying that he cannot while he undergoes a long-running audit with federal tax authorities. The newspaper said it obtained years of Trump’s tax return data from sources who were legally allowed to view them but who wished to remain anonymous.Here is a summary of the newspaper’s key findings and some questionsmore

Leave a comment

Trump, Hospitalized for COVID-19, ‘Continues to Do Well’

On

U.S. President Donald Trump “continues to do well” and has made progress since his COVID-19 diagnosis, according to a statement from his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, Saturday night.Earlier in the day, a group of physicians treating the president gave an upbeat report.“This morning the president is doing very well,” Conley told reporters late Saturday morning at the front entrance of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.In his Saturday night update, he said Trump has had a second dose of remdesivir, “remains fever-free and off supplemental oxygen with a saturation level between 96% and 98% all day.”While the president ismore

Leave a comment

North Carolina Senate Race Upended by Sexting, Virus Diagnosis

On

North Carolina’s intensively competitive and expensive U.S. Senate race has been upended by personal and health disruptions that sent uncertainty through the campaigns and an electorate already casting ballots.Democratic nominee Cal Cunningham acknowledged and apologized for exchanging sexually suggestive text messages with a woman who’s not his wife, but he said he wouldn’t drop out of the race. And just a few hours earlier Friday evening, his opponent, Republican Senator Thom Tillis, announced he had tested positive for COVID-19. While the first-term senator said he had no symptoms, the news forced Tillis to cancel in-person events, and several members ofmore

Leave a comment

GOP Seeks to Pause Senate Work, but Not Barrett Hearings

On

Republicans on Saturday sought to call off legislative work in the Senate until October 19 as the coronavirus reached into their ranks. But they vowed that hearings for President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee would push ahead as planned, even as lawmakers increasingly demanded testing for everyone on Capitol Hill.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett would still begin October 12, even if Democrats agreed to cancel the regular Senate session to avoid further spread of COVID-19. Since Friday morning, three GOP senators have announced they have tested positive.”The Senate’s floor schedule willmore

Leave a comment