Mar 24, 2020 06:33 PM
Stocks soar on Wall Street as Congress nears stimulus deal
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/03/...585057131/
RELEASE: U.S. stocks soared after the opening bell on Wall Street Tuesday morning, as federal lawmakers appear to be closing in on a major coronavirus economic rescue package. The Dow Jones Industrial average immediately gained more than 1,000 points after the bell and had risen by almost 1,500 points by 10:30 a.m. EDT, and back above the 20,000 mark.
The S&P 500 was up 160 points and the Nasdaq was up more than 400 points. The gains reflected optimism that U.S. Senate and House negotiators would soon pass a stimulus package, which was again rejected Monday by Senate Democrats who felt it favored U.S. corporate interests more than those of most Americans.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Senate Democratic leader Chuck said late Monday a deal was close. The Dow fell nearly 600 points on Monday, its first day of all electronic trading after the New York Stock Exchange closed the trading floor to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.
Trump weighs scaling back social distancing guidelines
https://apnews.com/87e9fad01d7b9ed96c83f992f429ee46
RELEASE: With lives and the economy hanging in the balance, President Donald Trump was weighing Tuesday how to refine nationwide social-distancing guidelines to put some workers back on the job amid the coronavirus outbreak. The White House is eyeing ways to ease the advisories that have sidelined workers, shuttered schools and led to a widespread economic slowdown. The U.S. is now more than a week into an unprecedented 15-day effort to encourage all Americans to drastically scale back their public activities.
The reassessment comes as the White House is encouraging lawmakers on Capitol Hill to pass a roughly $2 trillion stimulus package to ease the financial pain for Americans and hard-hit industries. “Our people want to return to work,” Trump tweeted Tuesday. “They will practice Social Distancing and all else, and Seniors will be watched over protectively & lovingly. We can do two things together. THE CURE CANNOT BE WORSE (by far) THAN THE PROBLEM!”
Trump was set to make the case publicly as he participates in a live 90-minute virtual town hall Tuesday afternoon hosted by Fox News from the Rose Garden. Appearing before the president at the virtual town hall, Vice President Mike Pence said Trump has asked for recommendations from the White House coronavirus task force for how he can send people back to work while minimizing the public health risk. He said Trump wants to find a way “to open America back up.”
Trump’s enthusiasm for getting people back to work comes as he takes stock of the political toll the outbreak is taking. It sets up a potential conflict with medical professionals, including many within his government, who have called for more social restrictions to slow the spread of the virus, not fewer.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases and a member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, told WMAL on Tuesday that Trump has always heeded his recommendations. “The president has listened to what I have said and to what the other people on the task force have said, when I have made recommendations he has taken them. He’s never countered or overridden me, the idea of just pitting one against the other is just not helpful,” Fauci said.
Larry Kudlow, Trump’s top economic adviser, told reporters Tuesday that “public health includes economic health.” “That’s the key point. And it’s not either-or. It’s not either-or, and that’s why we’re taking a fresh look at it,” he said.
During a private conference call with roughly 30 conservative leaders on Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence reinforced Trump’s eagerness to lift coronavirus-related work and travel restrictions “in a matter of weeks, not months”
Pence said there would be no formal decisions made until the current 15-day period of social distancing was complete when pressed on a specific timeline for lifting restrictions, according to a conference call participant who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of the private discussion. Pence told the group that accommodations would need to be made for the highest-risk populations if and when restrictions begin to be lifted.
Report: Restaurant in China celebrated U.S. coronavirus outbreak
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/...585068430/
RELEASE: A restaurant in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang is under fire for what appears to have been a celebration of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. The restaurant, located on Taiyuan Shopping Street in the heart of Shenyang, had raised an anti-U.S. banner on Sunday evening, local news service Pengpai and other Chinese news sources reported.
The restaurant's manager with the surname Hui had raised an arched red banner; China has slowly begun to lift restrictions that were put in place following the outbreak of COVID-19, which began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. According to Chinese news services, the banner read, "Congratulations to the United States for the outbreak of COVID-19."
The banner also included an anti-Japanese message. "We hope the infections moves smoothly into little Japan and continues forever after that."
The images went viral on Chinese social media, reports say. Local Shenyang police arrived on the scene the same evening. Hui is under investigation by China's public security.
Chinese paper Beijing News said the restaurant made a mistake. "COVID-19 is a disaster, and the common enemy of mankind regardless of race, geography or nation," the paper said. "We must act in unison with hostility against a common enemy and must not be happy to witness the disaster of others."
The paper also criticized the anti-Japanese remarks on the banner. "When COVID-19 first appeared in China, Japanese private donors sent supplies, including masks," Beijing News said. "This is an act of ingratitude that does not know how to repay foreign assistance."
The parent company said the restaurant manager had placed the banner out front without notifying the head office, reports say.
The mood may be slowly shifting in China, where officials claim the pandemic is on the decline. The country could also be turning its attention to the issue of the virus being imported back into the country. Travelers to Beijing, the capital, are required to self-quarantine at their own expense for 14 days if traveling to the city, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Trump order makes it crime to stockpile supplies (Mar 23, yesterday)
https://apnews.com/92003144ff20d99ed96923c3529baa78
RELEASE: President Donald Trump has signed an executive order making it a crime to excessively stockpile personal protective equipment that is needed by medical personnel fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
Attorney General William Barr says the Justice Department has already launched investigations into people who are hoarding supplies and price gouging. He says investigators will go after people who are “hoarding these goods on an industrial scale for the purpose of manipulating the market.”
The executive order allows the president to designate some items as “scarce.” Barr says, “If you are sitting on a warehouse with surgical masks, you will be hearing a knock on your door.” No specific items have been identified yet and the Justice Department will work with Health and Human Services to enforce the president’s order.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/03/...585057131/
RELEASE: U.S. stocks soared after the opening bell on Wall Street Tuesday morning, as federal lawmakers appear to be closing in on a major coronavirus economic rescue package. The Dow Jones Industrial average immediately gained more than 1,000 points after the bell and had risen by almost 1,500 points by 10:30 a.m. EDT, and back above the 20,000 mark.
The S&P 500 was up 160 points and the Nasdaq was up more than 400 points. The gains reflected optimism that U.S. Senate and House negotiators would soon pass a stimulus package, which was again rejected Monday by Senate Democrats who felt it favored U.S. corporate interests more than those of most Americans.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Senate Democratic leader Chuck said late Monday a deal was close. The Dow fell nearly 600 points on Monday, its first day of all electronic trading after the New York Stock Exchange closed the trading floor to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.
Trump weighs scaling back social distancing guidelines
https://apnews.com/87e9fad01d7b9ed96c83f992f429ee46
RELEASE: With lives and the economy hanging in the balance, President Donald Trump was weighing Tuesday how to refine nationwide social-distancing guidelines to put some workers back on the job amid the coronavirus outbreak. The White House is eyeing ways to ease the advisories that have sidelined workers, shuttered schools and led to a widespread economic slowdown. The U.S. is now more than a week into an unprecedented 15-day effort to encourage all Americans to drastically scale back their public activities.
The reassessment comes as the White House is encouraging lawmakers on Capitol Hill to pass a roughly $2 trillion stimulus package to ease the financial pain for Americans and hard-hit industries. “Our people want to return to work,” Trump tweeted Tuesday. “They will practice Social Distancing and all else, and Seniors will be watched over protectively & lovingly. We can do two things together. THE CURE CANNOT BE WORSE (by far) THAN THE PROBLEM!”
Trump was set to make the case publicly as he participates in a live 90-minute virtual town hall Tuesday afternoon hosted by Fox News from the Rose Garden. Appearing before the president at the virtual town hall, Vice President Mike Pence said Trump has asked for recommendations from the White House coronavirus task force for how he can send people back to work while minimizing the public health risk. He said Trump wants to find a way “to open America back up.”
Trump’s enthusiasm for getting people back to work comes as he takes stock of the political toll the outbreak is taking. It sets up a potential conflict with medical professionals, including many within his government, who have called for more social restrictions to slow the spread of the virus, not fewer.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases and a member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, told WMAL on Tuesday that Trump has always heeded his recommendations. “The president has listened to what I have said and to what the other people on the task force have said, when I have made recommendations he has taken them. He’s never countered or overridden me, the idea of just pitting one against the other is just not helpful,” Fauci said.
Larry Kudlow, Trump’s top economic adviser, told reporters Tuesday that “public health includes economic health.” “That’s the key point. And it’s not either-or. It’s not either-or, and that’s why we’re taking a fresh look at it,” he said.
During a private conference call with roughly 30 conservative leaders on Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence reinforced Trump’s eagerness to lift coronavirus-related work and travel restrictions “in a matter of weeks, not months”
Pence said there would be no formal decisions made until the current 15-day period of social distancing was complete when pressed on a specific timeline for lifting restrictions, according to a conference call participant who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of the private discussion. Pence told the group that accommodations would need to be made for the highest-risk populations if and when restrictions begin to be lifted.
Report: Restaurant in China celebrated U.S. coronavirus outbreak
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/...585068430/
RELEASE: A restaurant in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang is under fire for what appears to have been a celebration of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. The restaurant, located on Taiyuan Shopping Street in the heart of Shenyang, had raised an anti-U.S. banner on Sunday evening, local news service Pengpai and other Chinese news sources reported.
The restaurant's manager with the surname Hui had raised an arched red banner; China has slowly begun to lift restrictions that were put in place following the outbreak of COVID-19, which began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. According to Chinese news services, the banner read, "Congratulations to the United States for the outbreak of COVID-19."
The banner also included an anti-Japanese message. "We hope the infections moves smoothly into little Japan and continues forever after that."
The images went viral on Chinese social media, reports say. Local Shenyang police arrived on the scene the same evening. Hui is under investigation by China's public security.
Chinese paper Beijing News said the restaurant made a mistake. "COVID-19 is a disaster, and the common enemy of mankind regardless of race, geography or nation," the paper said. "We must act in unison with hostility against a common enemy and must not be happy to witness the disaster of others."
The paper also criticized the anti-Japanese remarks on the banner. "When COVID-19 first appeared in China, Japanese private donors sent supplies, including masks," Beijing News said. "This is an act of ingratitude that does not know how to repay foreign assistance."
The parent company said the restaurant manager had placed the banner out front without notifying the head office, reports say.
The mood may be slowly shifting in China, where officials claim the pandemic is on the decline. The country could also be turning its attention to the issue of the virus being imported back into the country. Travelers to Beijing, the capital, are required to self-quarantine at their own expense for 14 days if traveling to the city, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Trump order makes it crime to stockpile supplies (Mar 23, yesterday)
https://apnews.com/92003144ff20d99ed96923c3529baa78
RELEASE: President Donald Trump has signed an executive order making it a crime to excessively stockpile personal protective equipment that is needed by medical personnel fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
Attorney General William Barr says the Justice Department has already launched investigations into people who are hoarding supplies and price gouging. He says investigators will go after people who are “hoarding these goods on an industrial scale for the purpose of manipulating the market.”
The executive order allows the president to designate some items as “scarce.” Barr says, “If you are sitting on a warehouse with surgical masks, you will be hearing a knock on your door.” No specific items have been identified yet and the Justice Department will work with Health and Human Services to enforce the president’s order.