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.”
Federal agents in green camouflage uniforms have been taking into custody people in the streets of Portland, not close to federal property that they were sent to protect.
SEIU President Mary Kay Henry talked to Cheddar about how the Strike for Black Lives will fight for the causes of racial and economic justice simultaneously.
Teams of military medics were deployed in Texas and California to help hospitals deluged by coronavirus patients. Miami area authorities, meanwhile, began stepping up enforcement Friday of a mask requirement.
The politicization of school reopenings by Trump has scared off teachers who before were "overwhelmingly" in support of heading back in the fall, Randi Weingarten told Cheddar.
Jamaal Bowman appeared to topple Rep. Eliot Engel, a 16-term incumbent, for the Democratic nomination in the 16th Congressional district, though Engel is now suing to challenge the validity of mail-in ballots.
The three nations alleged Thursday that hacking group APT29, also known as Cozy Bear and believed to be part of the Russian intelligence service, is attacking academic and pharmaceutical coronavirus research institutions involved in vaccine development.
