Coronavirus USA summary: Trump, cases, news - 7 Oct

US taxpayers indirectly fund Trump businesses

This revelation will reignite the controversy over how the president's privately held businesses are able to generate revenue via his public office at the expense of ordinary US citizens.

As revealed by The Scotsman throughout Mr Trump’s tenure in the White House, his loss making and heavily indebted Turnberry resort - arguably the most prestigious of any of the Trump Organisation’s golf courses around the world - has received tens of thousands of pounds from his own government since he took office.

The new receipts, released by the US State Department under freedom of information legislation, detail the extent of Mr Johnson’s spending during his stay at the property, which coincided with Mr Trump’s own two-night stay there in the summer of 2018.

Read the report from Martyn Mclaughlin in The Scotsman:

"They have taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy"

In a rare act, an editorial published by the New England Journal of Medicine has been published and signed by all editors, which condemns the Trump administration for its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. And they go further, calling for a change in leadership.

'Covid-19 has created a crisis throughout the world. This crisis has produced a test of leadership. With no good options to combat a novel pathogen, countries were forced to make hard choices about how to respond. Here in the United States, our leaders have failed that test. They have taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy.

'The magnitude of this failure is astonishing. [...] the United States leads the world in Covid-19 cases and in deaths due to the disease, far exceeding the numbers in much larger countries, such as China. The death rate in this country is more than double that of Canada, exceeds that of Japan, a country with a vulnerable and elderly population, by a factor of almost 50, and even dwarfs the rates in lower-middle-income countries, such as Vietnam, by a factor of almost 2000. Covid-19 is an overwhelming challenge, and many factors contribute to its severity. But the one we can control is how we behave. And in the United States we have consistently behaved poorly.'

Read the full piece in the New England Journal of Medicine: Dying in a Leadership Vacuum

CORONAVIRUS USA

Second stimulus check: how Trump relief decision could kill US recovery

What damage could Trump's decision cause?

The US economy, like many around the world, is taking an unprecedented hit during the pandemic, but the president's actions don't appear to be helping.

Even the most bullish policymakers and forecasters had penciled in more government aid to keep households and businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic afloat through the end of the year. That money would bolster retail spending, rent payments and mortgages and whittle away at the 11 million lost jobs that have not yet been recouped. Without it, the United States faces another roughly 5% hole in annual economic output.

Full story:

An important date still unknown

CNN's Jake Tapper puts together a thread pointing to the timeline of related infections and trips, and how knowing when President Trump last tested negative for Covid-19 is rather important to the discussion.

Pence to defend US coronavirus management

A reminder that Vice President Pence, famous for happily ceding the spotlight to his boss, takes a rare turn in center stage on Wednesday, squaring off with Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California at the vice presidential debate in Salt Lake City.

It's a moment fraught with political peril, coming just after President Trump was hospitalized for the coronavirus — the pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans this year, sent the economy spiraling, and shaken voter confidence that they have what it takes to fix the crisis.

Senate Democrats push for mandatory coronavirus testing and mask usage

“The US Senate has become a Covid-19 hot spot and we need to take immediate action," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. "Senate Republicans must join us here in reality and acknowledge that through their inaction, they are creating a truly dangerous situation.” 

Republicans are unlikely to see things that way, though some, like Senate Rules Chair Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), have called for more testing.

NYC set to impose new Covid-19 closures despite Orthodox Jewish protests

New York City will begin enforcing new shutdown rules on businesses and schools in coronavirus hot spots on Thursday that have already triggered angry protests from a small contingent of Orthodox Jews in one of the affected areas.

Citywide the latest positive rate stood at 1.39% on Wednesday. De Blasio's decision to delineate the neighborhoods where closures would be enforced using postal ZIP codes drew scorn from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

By Tuesday, Cuomo, who has ultimate authority over shutdown measures, had released new color-coded maps that created confusion in part with their diagonal lines bisecting city blocks, leaving it unclear which non-essential businesses on many streets would have to close.

De Blasio promised to bring clarity before enforcement began on Thursday morning and lasted at least 14 days. In some predominantly Hasidic Jewish areas of Brooklyn's Borough Park, which will face the most stringent closures and where religious gatherings must not exceed 10 people, hundreds of protesters gathered on Tuesday night to assail restrictions coming into effect during Jewish religious holidays.

Four state and city elected officials representing Orthodox Jewish communities released a letter that castigated Cuomo, a Catholic, for what they described as singling out a religious community with insufficient consultation. 

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Leaders slam NYC lockdown

Andrew Cuomo’s order to lock down parts of New York state where Covid-19 cases are rising has prompted outrage from members of New York City's ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities, the Wall Street Journal reports. On Monday, Cuomo temporarily closed 100 public and 200 private schools in several areas with large Orthodox populations. Those measures went into effect on Tuesday. Mask were burned in the street by members of the ultra-Orthodox community in New York City which drew a response from Cuomo, who said today: "These are difficult rules, this is a dramatic shift for society, it always has been. There’s always been opposition but most New Yorkers are smart and have common sense.”

Wisconsin to set up Milwaukee field hospital due to surging Covid-19 cases

Wisconsin will open a field hospital outside of Milwaukee to deal with the surge in Covid-19 cases that have overwhelmed hospitals across the state, Governor Tony Evers said on Wednesday. The hospital will open within the next week after hospitalizations across the state nearly tripled over the last month. There were 853 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 as of Tuesday, an increase of 71 from the day before, Evers said in a statement.

Trump is symptom-free and stable, White House doctor says

U.S. President Donald Trump has presented no Covid-19 symptoms during the past 24 hours, with a physical examination and his vital signs showing his condition remains sable, White House physician Sean Conley said on Wednesday. Conley, in a statement released with Trump's permission, said the president has been fever-free for more than four days and had not needed or received any supplemental oxygen since his initial hospitalization. Trump was hospitalized on Friday after tests showed he had contracted Covid-19. He returned to the White House on Monday.

Around 9% of Salt Lake City police officers are in quarantine

Over 50 Salt Lake City police officers, 9% of the total force self-isolating due to coronavirus, ABC reports. Utah is way down the list of the worst-hit states for the virus with 488 deaths and 58,534 patients having recovered. But Salt Lake City has seen a rise in  cases with dozens of the city's police officers in quarantine ahead of tonight's vice presidential debate.

As of last night, 17 officers had tested positive for Covid-19 and 52 were in quarantine

James Corden's Trump inspired McCartney cover goes viral

Trump doctor update

White House physician says Trump shows detectable levels of Covid-19 antibodies.

The president feels great and his vital signs are stable and in the normal range.

Bid to identify 200 guests attending 26 September Rose Garden event

USA Today have published a photograph showing those who attended an event at the Rose Garden on 26 September in a bid to identify those present. Almost a dozen of the 200 attendees have since tested positive for Covid-19 - including President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

Trump held the event to announce his nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. Others who were present and tested positive for the virus include former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; former counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway, Senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis, Notre Dame President Reverand John Jenkins; pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie and freelance photographer Al Drago.

Britain orders study of how to reduce travel quarantine period

Britain will launch an urgent study to find out how to reduce the Covid-19 quarantine period which applies to passengers arriving in the country, transport minister Grant Shapps said on Wednesday. "We are moving ahead with the next step to reduce the travel quarantine period by launching the Global Travel Taskforce to open up international travel & boost our businesses," Shapps said on Twitter. "The taskforce will implement a testing regime to reduce the self-isolation period, along with a wide range of other measures to enable travel whilst keeping #coronavirus rates down."

Trump not mentioned by Biden in Gettysburg

Joe Biden delivered a powerful 25-minute speech in Gettysburg on Tuesday but didn't mention Donald Trump once. “Today, once again we are a house divided. But that, my friend, can no longer be. We are facing too many crises. We have too much work to do. We have too bright a future to leave it shipwrecked on the shoals of anger and hate and division," Biden said. “Wearing a mask isn’t a political statement, it’s a scientific recommendation. We can’t undo what has been done. We can’t go back. But we can do better.”

Trump tweets 47 times in one morning

Contracting Covid-19 clearly hasn't affected Donald Trump's social media appetite - the US president posted 47 tweets on Wednesday morning alone, to the surprise of many, including CNN's Betsy Klein.

The aftermath of Trump's tweeting

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Wednesday he and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are discussing potential stand-alone bills for aid to airlines, small businesses, and Americans. He said the Trump administration was "still willing to be engaged" on piecemeal aid bills, though it was not optimistic about a comprehensive aid bill.

The White House has suggested various versions of a piecemeal approach since at least July. Democrats have rejected those proposals saying the size and scope of the health and economic crises requires a comprehensive response.

Full story below:

Pence, Harris to clash in VP debate amid Covid-19 outbreak at White House

Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris were set to face off on Wednesday in their only debate, as President Donald Trump's coronavirus diagnosis and the pandemic continue to roil the U.S. presidential contest.

The televised encounter in Salt Lake City, Utah, comes after the Republican president announced last Friday that he had tested positive for the coronarivus amid a White House outbreak.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, is leading Trump in national polls, including an advantage of 12 percentage points in the latest Reuters/Ipsos  survey of likely voters, with less than four weeks until the Nov. 3 election. Polls show the race to be closer in some of the election battleground states that could determine the winner.

The two campaigns have squabbled over installing barriers on stage between Pence and Harris to guard against infection. Early on Wednesday, television images of the debate stage showed two plexiglass barriers, one adjoining each lectern.

Harris had requested plexiglass shielding. Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller on Monday mocked Harris, saying if she "wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it."

Fauci says White House Covid-19 infections could have been avoided

Top U.S. infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, whose advocacy of public health guidelines to fight the coronavirus has conflicted with President Donald Trump's downplaying of the pandemic, said on Tuesday the recent rash of infections at the White House could have been prevented.

Several close aides to Trump and senior Republican politicians have tested positive for the coronavirus since the Republican president announced on Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had contracted the virus.

"Take a look at what happened this week at the White House," Fauci said in an interview with American University's Kennedy Political Union, when asked what advice he had about how people could discuss preventive actions with relatives who believed the pandemic was a hoax.

"That is a reality, right there. And every day that goes by more people are popping up that are infected. It's not a hoax.

EU buys more Remdesivir to treat 3,400 patients amid shortages

The European Commission said on Wednesday it had agreed with U.S. company Gilead to buy additional doses to treat about 3,400 patients of its Covid-19 drug Remdesivir, amid shortages of the medication in Europe.

A spokesman for the EU executive said Brussels agreed with Gilead last Friday to supply nearly 20,300 additional doses "which help almost 3,400 patients" at a cost of 7 million euros ($8.24 million). That is in addition to 30,000 courses of treatment it bought at the end of July.

US POLITICS

USA election 2020: who is the Vice Presidential debate moderator?

USA election 2020: who is the Vice Presidential debate moderator?

VP Mike Pence faces vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris in their first and only live televised debate on Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET.

China urges US to drop "Cold War mentality"

China said on Wednesday that the US should stop its unprovoked attacks and accusations against the Asian nation, accusing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of maliciously creating political confrontation and smearing Beijing.

Pompeo on Tuesday visited Japan and called for deeper cooperation with Australia, India and Japan to counter China's growing regional influence.

"Pompeo has repeatedly fabricated lies about China and maliciously created political confrontation," the Chinese embassy in Japan said in a statement.

"We once again urge the US to abandon its Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, stop unprovoked accusations and attacks against China and treat relations with China in a constructive manner," the embassy said.

Pompeo's East Asia visit, his first in more than a year, coincides with worsening tensions with China.

The US and China, the world's top two economies, are at loggerheads over a wide range of issues from Beijing's handling of the coronavirus to its imposition of a new security law in Hong Kong and ambitions in the South China Sea.

Pompeo's call for the Quad nations of the United States, Japan, India and Australia to form a united front against China's growing influence is a sensitive subject for its regional allies, which are reliant on China for trade.

(Reuters)

CORONAVIRUS

Second stimulus check: update on US coronavirus relief bill

Trump halts stimulus talks: full report

Here is an in-depth report on Donald Trump's decision on Tuesday to call off negotiations over a coronavirus relief bill:

"This is not a game! This is not a reality TV show!"

Democratic Representative Tom Suozzi has hit out at Donald Trump's decision to halt talks over a coronavirus relief bill, telling the president in an apparent reference to his past as the host of 'The Apprentice': "This it not a reality TV show!"

"Schools and Police will have to do layoffs," Suozzi tweeted. "Small businesses will be crushed. People that are unemployed can’t pay their basic bills. Airlines will do massive layoffs. Many Restaurants and Catering Halls will go under. 90% of live music venues will crash.

"This is not a game! This is not a reality TV show! These are people’s lives and livelihoods!”

"I am ready to sign right now": Trump calls for "stand alone" deal on stimulus checks

Having called a halt to negotiations over a coronavirus relief package on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump has suggested pushing through a "stand alone" bill enabling a second round of stimulus checks to be sent out to qualifying Americans.

"If I am sent a Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200), they will go out to our great people IMMEDIATELY," Trump said, in a tweet directed at Democratic negotiator Nancy Pelosi. "I am ready to sign right now. Are you listening Nancy?"

However, the Democrats are unlikely to countenance such a proposal, having consistently held out for a comprehensive bill of stimulus measures. "We cannot piecemeal this," Pelosi told reporters this summer.

Last month, Democratic senators blocked Republican attempts to pass a pared-down relief bill worth around $500bn.

Presidential Election

Pence vs Harris Vice Presidential debate 2020: time, TV and how to watch live online

Pence vs Harris Vice Presidential debate 2020: how to watch

VP Mike Pence faces vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris in their first and only live televised debate on Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET.

Debate should not go ahead if Trump still infected, says Biden

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has told reporters that the second presidential debate next week should not go ahead if President Donald Trump still has the coronavirus.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump - who is still receiving treatment for Covid-19 after leaving hospital on Monday - tweeted. “I am look forward to the debate on the evening of Thursday, October 15th in Miami. It will be great!"

Pelosi: “Trump has shown his true colors”

Reacting to Donald Trump’s announcement that he has instructed Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to walk away from stimulus bill talks, Democratic negotiator Nancy Pelosi released a statement on Tuesday accusing the US president of “putting himself first at the expense of the country”.

“Today, once again, President Trump showed his true colors: putting himself first at the expense of the country, with the full complicity of the GOP Members of Congress,” House Speaker Pelosi said.

“Walking away from coronavirus talks demonstrates that President Trump is unwilling to crush the virus, as is required by the Heroes Act.  He shows his contempt for science, his disdain for our heroes – in health care, first responders, sanitation, transportation, food workers, teachers, teachers, teachers and others – and he refuses to put money in workers’ pockets, unless his name is printed on the check.

“At the same time, the President is abandoning meeting the needs of our children as they adjust to learning in-person”.

Read Pelosi’s full statement:

Standing at least six feet apart and wearing skullcaps, prayer shawls and face masks, about two dozen Orthodox Jewish men pored over texts this week on a lawn in New York’s Monsey suburb, filling a quiet morning with the soft hum of Hebrew prayer.

Prospects for more aid for Americans struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. airlines seeking to avert a wave of layoffs crumbled on Tuesday when President Donald Trump ended negotiations with Congress over a large coronavirus bill.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden tested negative for COVID-19 in a test conducted on Tuesday, his campaign said in a statement.

The U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff have almost entirely gone into self-quarantine after the Coast Guard’s No. 2 tested positive for the novel coronavirus following top-level meetings at the Pentagon last week, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

Six states reported record numbers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, including Wisconsin, where officials on Tuesday issued a new order limiting the size of indoor public gatherings.

White House adviser Stephen Miller tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday

White Advisor Stephen Miller positive for coronavirus

WH advisor Stephen Miller has become the latest person in Trump's inner circle to test positive for Covid-19. 

An eye-opening statistic from TWP, via MSNBC's Rachel Maddow:

"In a few days, more people in Trump’s orbit tested positive for coronavirus than in all of Taiwan -- home to 23m people"

CDC says safe for Vice President Pence to participate in Wednesday's debate

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday said it was "safe" for Vice President Mike Pence to take part in Wednesday's vice presidential debate because he was not a close contact of anyone sick with COVID-19, including President Donald Trump.

Pence's office tweeted a memorandum written by CDC Director Robert Redfield, who said the CDC had made its determination after consulting with White House physician Dr. Jesse Schonau about Pence's possible exposure to the disease.

"After a detailed discussion with Dr. Shonau about his investigation and the serial negative testing results of the Vice President, the CDC concludes from a public health standpoint, it is safe for the Vice President to participate in the upcoming Vice-Presidential debate," Redfield wrote. The memo misspelled the physician's last name. (Reuters)

Stocks fall after Trump blocks relief bill talks

Stocks have fallen sharply following Trump's announcement to suspend coronavirus relief bill talks, a decision that has left Wall Street traders baffled...

'Jurassic World' sequel delayed by a year in pandemic movie shuffle

Comcast Corp's Universal Pictures has delayed the release of 'Jurassic World: Dominion' by one year until June 2022, the studio said on Tuesday.

The new installment in one of cinema's biggest franchises is the latest movie to be postponed amid the global coronavirus pandemic. 

Trump says he will particpate in debate next week

Trump has confirmed that he plans to partake in the second presidential debate with Joe Biden in Miami next week...

Six U.S. states report record COVID hospitalizations, new restrictions in place

Six states reported record numbers of hospitalized Ccvid-19 patients, including Wisconsin, where officials on Tuesday issued a new order limiting the size of indoor public gatherings.

The surge of Covid hospitalizations and new cases in some states coincides with US President Donald Trump and several members of his White House staff testing positive for the novel coronavirus.

Trump's doctors on Tuesday said he was not displaying any acute symptoms after he left the Walter Reed Medical Center, where he was treated for three days.

The spike in reported hospitalizations on Monday hit states in the Midwest the hardest, with Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming reporting their highest figures, according to a Reuters tally. (Reuters)

Brazil registers 41,906 new coronavirus cases, highest number in almost a month

Brazil on Tuesday registered 41,906 new cases of coronavirus, the highest number for a single day since 11 September the Health Ministry said. Deaths rose by 819 to 147,494.

Review of the mixed messages on Trump's health

The Washington Post has compiled a series of incomplete or contradictory statements about President Trump's coronavirus symptoms since his diagnosis first came to light last Friday...

Trump tweets after move to halt relief bill talks

After his decision to suspend talks on the coronavirus relief bill so that Republican negotiators could focus on approving his nominee for the Supreme Court, Trump blamed Democratic Nancy Pelosi for her unwillingness to accept his side's "generous offer". 

"Nancy Pelosi is asking for $2.4 Trillion Dollars to bailout poorly run, high crime, Democrat States, money that is in no way related to COVID-19. We made a very generous offer of $1.6 Trillion Dollars and, as usual, she is not negotiating in good faith," said the president tweeted. 

"I am rejecting their.request, and looking to the future of our Country. I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business."

Michelle Obama blasts Trump in Biden election endorsement

Michelle Obama has slammed President Donald Trump for "his willful mismanagement of the COVID crisis" in a video message aimed at urging voters to vote for Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

"Seven months later, he still won't wear a mask consistently and encourage others to do the same, even when those simple actions could save countless lives," she said. "Instead, he continues to gaslight the American people by acting like this pandemic is not a real threat."

McConnell backs Trump's decision to pull out of relief bill talks

Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that he agrees with President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of negotiations on a new coronavirus relief bill.

Asked if he backed Trump’s decision, McConnell said: “I think his view was that they were not going to produce a result and we need to concentrate on what’s achievable."

Trump has asked his negotiators to pull the plug on stimulus bill talks so they can focus on filling the Supreme Court position. 

Coronavirus

Trump rejects Covid-19 relief package

What next after Trump stops negotiations

As we've been reporting, President Donald Trump has told his negotiators in the coronavirus relief talks to stand down. Instead he wants them to focus on getting his Supreme Court justice in place, while Americans suffer financially to cope.

Will Gittens has had a look at the fallout.