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.”
"This current White House is unfortunately a force for hate and demonization," said the political commentator and author of "The Opposite of Hate." But "the minute anyone in that White House wants to do something different and be better, I'm here for it," said Kohn, in response to First Lady Melania Trump's "Be Best" campaign.
Democrats are focused on Tuesday's primaries in North Carolina and Ohio as part of a sweeping effort to flip the House in the midterm elections in November, says Meredith Kelly a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
The legislature of the historically conservative state killed a bill that would have made almost 97 percent of abortions illegal. "I think if we put up a bill that says that Roe v Wade doesn't apply in South Carolina, there's not really a chance that a single court is going to let that bill go into effect," says Democratic State Senator Brad Hutto.
Kareem Burke, who founded Roc-A-Fella Records with Jay-Z, produced two films at the Tribeca Film Festiva that he hopes will encourage a discussion of prison reform.
A recent investigation by the Washington Post found an additional 27 women who say the former CBS anchor sexually harassed them. And, in some cases, when these women raised concerns with managers their complaints weren't elevated, says Amy Brittain, the reporter who broke the story.
The House minority leader announced she would run for speaker again if Democrats win the November midterm elections. But some in her party worry that she has now become a "boogeyman for Republicans" and could turn into a liability for the Dems.
The asylum seekers from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala who reached the U.S./Mexico border this week, now face an uncertain future with many bureaucratic steps that could take months, if not years.
The nation's capital has complicated laws that make possession legal but don't allow selling marijuana. That has led to a rise in pop-up shops and events to provide access to the drug, said Lisa Scott, founder of edibles company Bud Appetit.
