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.”
The leaders of Russia and China have put aside their raw-worded disputes with U.S. President Joe Biden long enough to pledge international cooperation on cutting climate-wrecking coal and petroleum emissions.
President Joe Biden is preparing to formally acknowledge that the systematic killing and deportation of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in modern-day Turkey more than a century ago was genocide.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid fell last week to 547,000, a new low since the pandemic struck and a further encouraging sign that layoffs are slowing on the strength of an improving job market.
Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) joined Cheddar to express hope that some of her GOP counterparts join in a bipartisan effort to reform policing in the United States.
President Joe Biden will pledge to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at least in half by 2030 as he convenes a virtual climate summit with 40 world leaders.
A judge overseeing a sweeping lawsuit about homelessness in Los Angeles has ordered the city and county to find shelter for all unhoused residents of Skid Row within 180 days.
As vaccine efforts roll out across the U.S., in-person events are slowly resuming, but many cannabis companies have chosen to host their events online or throw hybrid in-person and virtual events.
