.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."
The stock market ended another turbulent day more or less where it started after an early rally got washed away. The S&P 500 ended with a tiny loss Thursday, having given up an early gain of 1.6%.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that a state survey of about 3,000 people found that 13.9% had antibodies suggesting they had been exposed to the virus.
Hart Island is a mile-long patch of land in the Long Island Sound off the coast of the Bronx, which normally slips under the radar for most New Yorkers. In recent weeks, the unassuming island made headlines after drones captured aerial images of workers loading simple caskets three-deep into trenches wide enough to fit over 100 bodies.
Congressman Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga. 11th District) supports the Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's plan and says the state is prepared to deal with a possible resurgence.
Stocks are pushing higher Thursday, even though the government said 4.4 million more workers filed for unemployment benefits last week.
The oldest brother of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Donald Reed Herring, has died from the coronavirus. The former Democratic presidential candidate said Thursday that her brother died Tuesday evening.
More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as job cuts escalated across an economy that remains all but shut down, the government said Thursday.
Stocks opened slightly higher Thursday, even after the government said 4.4 million more workers filed for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs sweep the economy.
For weeks, the Trump administration played up the dangers of the coronavirus as it sought to convince Americans to disrupt their lives and stay home. Now, as President Donald Trump aims for a swift nationwide reopening, he faces a new challenge: Convincing people it’s safe to come out and resume their normal lives.
A new survey finds Americans remain overwhelmingly in favor of stay-at-home orders and other efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus. A majority say it won’t be safe to lift such restrictions anytime soon. T
