Coronavirus has hit Capitol Hill, as the first members of Congress have tested positive for the virus.
Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Ben McAdams (D-Utah) announced diagnoses late Wednesday. Diaz-Balart’s office said he had developed symptoms Saturday evening and was notified Wednesday of a positive test. Both had voted on the House floor as recently as Saturday morning, to pass the coronavirus relief bill.
Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah (Left), Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla. (Right)
At least five other members of Congress are quarantining because they had contact with the lawmakers, including Rep. Steve Scalise, the second-highest ranking Republican in the House.
Some lawmakers had been pushing for ways to vote remotely, particularly since congressional members are disproportionately in higher-risk categories for coronavirus complications. Forty-eight senators are over the age of 65, the age at which some states have recommended individuals to stay inside their homes.
Senator Dick Durban (D-Ill.) has said “it’s time for the Senate to wake up to the 21st century and make sure we’re using technology that allows us to communicate with each other without any danger or risk to public health.”
President Biden used his first address before the U.N. General Assembly to declare that the world stands and at an “inflection point in history” and that the world must act with haste to move quickly and cooperatively to address the festering issues.
The demonstration Wednesday centered on fears Bukele may try for re-election in 2024. Protests also voiced concern about the president's concentration of power and the controversial decision to make the cryptocurrency Bitcoin legal tender.
President Joe Biden is trying to hammer out the world’s next steps against rapidly worsening climate change in a private, virtual session with a small group of other global leaders.
The Federal Reserve is reviewing the ethics policies that cover the financial holdings of its senior officials in the wake of disclosures that two regional Fed presidents engaged in extensive trading last year.
North Korea said it successfully launched ballistic missiles from a train for the first time and was continuing to bolster its defenses, after the two Koreas test-fired missiles hours apart in dueling displays of military might.
The slaughter of 1,428 white-sided dolphins as part of a four-century-old traditional drive of sea mammals into shallow water in the Faeroe Islands where they are killed has reignited a debate in the small North Atlantic islands.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits moved up last week to 332,000 from a pandemic low, a sign that worsening COVID-19 infections may have slightly increased layoffs.
