President Donald Trump speaks speaks on the latest developments of the coronavirus outbreak, while flanked by White House coronavirus response coordinator Debbie Birx (L), and U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams (R), in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House March 19, 2020. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump in a press conference on Thursday said the Food and Drug Administration is fast-tracking efforts to approve an antiviral therapy, best known for treating malaria, for use in coronavirus cases.
The drug, hydroxychloroquine, was developed more than a half-century ago and is approved for treating malaria, arthritis, and other ailments. Reports out of China and Italy suggest the drug may help, but there is no hard data yet.
"We're going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately," Trump said.
The FDA is working to conduct a "large, pragmatic clinical trial" quickly to confirm the drug's benefit to coronavirus patients, said Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn.
He also tempered the president's optimism about the still-untested solution.
"What's also important is not to provide false hope," he said. "We may have the right drug, but it might not be in the appropriate dosage form right now, and it might do more harm than good."
New antiviral therapies face a shorter and less arduous approval process than vaccines, several of which are under development with 12 to 18-month timelines.
"The therapies are something we could move on much faster potentially," Trump said.
He claimed the administration "slashed red tape" to develop new vaccines and therapies.
The president also held out on confirming whether he would invoke the Defense Production Act, which he signed on Wednesday, to mandate the production of needed medical supplies such as N95 respirators and surgical masks.
"If we find that we need something, then we will do that," he said.
Trump repeated that he was open to the federal government buying equity stakes in the airline, cruise, hospitality, and other industries hurt by the outbreak.
The press conference opened with more controversial language placing the blame squarely on China for the outbreak, despite concerns voiced about potentially exacerbating a backlash against Asian Americans.
"We continue our relentless effort to defeat the Chinese virus," Trump said.
Grant Stark, Director of Research at CapWealth, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that his firm is closely monitoring oil prices amid the geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and elaborates on how inflation will continue to be a problem across multiple sectors.
A private prison company plans to run a new pilot program that would place hundreds of migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border under house arrest. The "home curfew" pilot program is part of "impactful detention reforms," according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Jacinta Gonzalez, senior campaign organizer with Mijente, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
The U.S. is back in negotiations for a nuclear deal with Iran, years after former President Donald Trump withdrew the country from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which had been meant to curtail the Middle Eastern nation's nuclear ambitions. Former State Department senior advisor to the George W. Bush and Trump administrations, Christian Whiton, joined Cheddar News Wrap to discuss. “It appears to be very similar to the original JCPOA, which does put some constraints on Iran's nuclear program, but also has sunset provisions, including some that in the original plan were expected to take effect in 2025," he said. "And so, if we just reenter that plan, really it just buys perhaps a few years of slowing down, stopping, whatever you want to say, Iran's nuclear program."
The U.S. has announced the first of what could be multiple levels of sanctions against Russia after Moscow recognized two regions of Ukraine as independent. This comes as Britain imposes sanctions on five Russian banks and two oligarchs, and Germany freezes the Nord Stream gas pipeline. Terrell Star, a foreign affairs reporter at The Atlantic Council, joins from Kyiv to discuss.
Growing tensions in Ukraine might soon be impacting consumers in the United States. With Russia on an invasion footing in the region, gas prices are predicted to go up 10 to 15 cents a gallon in the next coming weeks, according to Robert Sinclair, spokesperson for AAA. Sinclair joined Cheddar to break down what could happen even further. "We've been seeing prices go up, and there's been nothing that's happened to affect supplies," he said. "But it's something known as the fear tax where just the talk of something that might interfere with supplies leads to prices going up speculatively."
The end of 3G is upon us. On Tuesday, AT&T became the first major provider to disable its 3G services, and T-Mobile and Verizon plan to follow suit later this year. The shutdowns are expected to impact millions of vehicles that use 3G networks for updates, remote connection, and certain emergency and convenience features. Lance Ulanoff, the U.S. Editor-in-Chief of TechRadar, joined Cheddar's Closing Bell to discuss the ramifications of the changeover.
A new report shows nearly 240 former officials in Congress, the White House, and regulatory agencies have changed careers to work in the crypto industry.
President Biden unveiled new economic sanctions on Russia for what he called "the beginning of a Russian invasion". This came one day after Putin sent troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine. Alex Ward, national security reporter for POLITICO, explains what these sanctions might do to the global economy.
U.S. stocks ended today's session sharply lower on the heels of rising geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Melissa Brown, Managing Director of Applied Research at Qontigo, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
