.By Mary Clare Jalonick and Eric Tucker
Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., stepped aside as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday after the FBI served a search warrant for his phone as part of an ongoing insider-trading investigation tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the move, saying he and Burr had agreed it was in the Senate's best interests.
FBI officials showed up at Burr's home with the warrant on Wednesday, marking a significant escalation into the Justice Department's investigation into whether Burr broke the law with a well-timed sale of stocks before the coronavirus caused markets to plummet,
The Justice Department declined to comment. His attorney did not respond to phone and email messages, but said last month that the law is clear that any senator can participate in stock market trading based on public information "as Sen. Burr did."
Congress has passed legislation aimed at combating hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. It would expedite federal reviews of hate crimes and provide grants to local law enforcement.
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo has disclosed that he was paid a $3.1 million advance to write his COVID-19 leadership book last year and will make another $2 million on the memoir over the next two years.
President Joe Biden says the U.S. will share an additional 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines with the world in the coming six weeks.
The Treasury Department says 39 million families are set to receive monthly child payments beginning on July 15.
China has landed a spacecraft on Mars for the first time in the latest step forward for its ambitious space program.
Gas shortages have spread from the South, almost exhausting supplies in Washington, DC. The runs on gasoline follow a ransomware cyberattack that forced a shutdown of the nation’s largest gasoline pipeline.
Cheddar explains why some European countries are building new bicycle superhighways and how it'll transform their transportation landscape.
Two men detained by British immigration officials in Glasgow have been released after a seven-hour standoff between hundreds of protesters and Scottish police.
Republicans have vaulted Rep. Elise Stefanik into the ranks of House leadership. The upstate New York Republican was elected to the party's No. 3 post on Friday.
The CDC is easing indoor mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to safely stop wearing masks inside in most places. The new guidance was announced Thursday at the White House.
