Month: May 2020

Even during the coronavirus pandemic, Mitch McConnell is laser-focused on one of his top priorities: advancing judges.

The Senate returns to the Hill this week following a month-long recess, despite concerns from the Capitol physician about testing shortages and coronavirus spread in DC. While the coronavirus stimulus is a major reason for lawmakers’ return, the current legislative agenda also includes a slate of unrelated priorities, including the confirmation hearing for a DC Circuit Court nominee.

Confirming judges, after all, is a major goal McConnell has had since the start of President Donald Trump’s term — and it’s one that …

President Donald Trump’s “America Together: Returning to Work” Fox News town hall event was a remarkably dishonest affair, replete with lies about topics ranging from the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine on Covid-19 to the trajectory of new coronavirus cases in the country to how tariffs work. At one point, Trump whined that he’s treated worse than Abraham Lincoln — a president who was assassinated.

But one moment of unusual honesty stood out.

With the US coronavirus death toll approaching 70,000 as of May 4 — a grim milestone significantly beyond the “50 or 60,000” number that Trump said the country was …

If you look around — and you don’t have to look very hard — you might have seen that there are a lot of items that now have the word “fuck” printed on them. These aren’t exotic or unusual things: socks, pencils, shirts, keychains, desk calendars, books, earrings. Even bars of soap, which might be handy for washing your mouth out after use.

I started to notice this commercial drift a few years ago when someone gave me a cup with a cartoony cat image and the statement “Cats Don’t Give a Fuck.” Not that that’s not true, but it …

The White House would like to put a pause on a fourth coronavirus spending package. But can the country really afford to?

In an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper on Sunday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the Trump administration is taking a wait-and-see approach on providing more federal support for Americans as the United States continues to weather the coronavirus crisis and the accompanying economic downturn.

“Well, I don’t want to get too far ahead of the story, Jake,” Kudlow said. “There may well be additional legislation. There’s a kind …

Amid rising confirmed coronavirus case counts, and a death toll that has begun to plateau, President Donald Trump spent much of Sunday lashing out at politicians, attacking the media, and bragging about his poll numbers. He also seemed to suggest Covid-19 is a cosmic or biblical force — and one that has already been stopped.

Sunday morning, the president panned former President George W. Bush’s recent call for bipartisan unity in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, arguing his predecessor should have spoken up on his behalf during Trump’s impeachment process.

“Let us remember how small our differences are …

On Sunday evening, Fox News is hosting an “America Together: Returning to Work” virtual town hall with President Donald Trump — capping off a weekend the president spent at Camp David to reportedly convene talks about reopening the economy (and post a lot of tweets).

At the event, Trump is likely to continue working to convince Americans that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is already in the rear-view mirror. He has consistently done so, recently encouraging protesters agitating against stay-at-home orders, and saying last week, “I am very much in favor of what they’re doing,” …

A giant, bee-killing insect dubbed the “murder hornet” is making inroads in the United States, threatening crops that depend on pollination, and humans who may get in its way.

The Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia, is native to places like Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, but was detected in Washington state late last year. Canadian officials also found the hornet in British Columbia in August.

The menacing orange-and-black hornets have workers that can grow an inch and a half long and queens that get up to two inches in length. They have a painful sting that can be fatal …

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have declined an offer from the Trump administration to be sent rapid coronavirus tests for congressional use as lawmakers prepare to return to the Capitol next week.

In a joint statement, released Saturday, the leaders appeared to be trying to avoid being seen as accepting special treatment, at a moment when testing capacity across the country is still far behind what’s needed to properly assess the spread of the virus.

“Congress is grateful for the Administration’s generous offer to deploy rapid COVID-19 testing capabilities to Capitol Hill, but we respectfully …

President Donald Trump’s purge of officials who question his leadership continues — this time targeting another watchdog, one who accurately described America’s dearth of medical supplies and tests as the country works to confront the coronavirus crisis.

Late on Friday, the Trump administration announced it had nominated Jason Weida — an assistant US attorney in Boston — for an inspector general position at the Department of Health and Human Services, one of the agencies tasked with responding to the country’s outbreak.

The problem is that position is already filled by Christi Grimm, who before the nomination had not …