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Home Republicans Use Vaccine Press Convention to Bash Democrats

House Republicans Use Vaccine Press Conference to Bash Democrats

House Republican leaders and doctors rallied for a news conference Thursday morning allegedly to urge Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine amid rising infections in the United States, but they used the event to attack Democrats, from whom they are said they had misrepresented the origins of the virus with no evidence.

The appearance of second- and third-tier Republicans in the House of Representatives, Reps Steve Scalise from Louisiana and Elise Stefanik from New York, along with a dozen doctors suggested that a resurgence in the spread of the virus fueled by the more contagious Delta variant was not had taken place called on the party to change its tone. Instead, Mr. Scalise and Ms. Stefanik beat up the Democrats for what they called a cover-up on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.

Only at the urging of reporters did the leaders mention vaccinations.

“I would encourage people to get the vaccine,” said Mr. Scalise towards the end of the event, when his position pushed him to do so. “I have great confidence in that. I got it myself. “

He and other Republicans spent most of Thursday discussing unsubstantiated claims that the Chinese released a virulent, man-made virus in the world, accusing Democrats of ignoring it.

The event in front of the Capitol was planned as a “press conference to discuss the need for vaccinations for individuals, uncover the origins of the pandemic and keep schools and businesses open”. Yet the Republicans who attended, many of whom represent constituencies that have refused to get the vaccine, seem unable to bring themselves to stress the importance of the move.

Even the doctors who emphasized vaccinations, Rep. Andy Harris from Maryland and Senator Roger Marshall from Kansas, quieter and narrowed their statements.

“If you are at risk you should get this vaccine,” said Dr. Harris, adding, “We urge all Americans to speak to their doctors about the risks of Covid, speak to their doctors about the benefits of vaccination, and” then make a decision that is right for them. “

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that everyone aged 12 and over – not just those at higher risk – get the coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible.

North Carolina Republican Rep. Greg Murphy countered, “This vaccine is a medicine and, like any other medicine, there are side effects and this is a personal choice.”

The emphasis on the so-called lab leak theory was surprising given the surge in infections that were concentrated in rural, heavily Republican regions of the country.

Nationally, the average of new coronavirus infections in 14 days is up 171 percent to more than 41,300 a day on Wednesday, and the death toll – a delayed figure – is up 42 percent from two weeks ago to nearly 250, so a New York time database. Still, new cases, hospital admissions and deaths remain at a fraction of their previous devastating highs.

Vaccines remain effective against the worst effects of Covid-19, including the Delta variant. Experts say that breakthrough infections are still relatively rare in vaccinated people. The delta variant accounts for an estimated 83 percent of new cases in the United States, the CDC said earlier this week.

The Kaiser Family Foundation reported in late June that 86 percent of Democrats had at least one shot, compared to 52 percent of Republicans. An April analysis by the Times found that the country’s least vaccinated counties had one thing in common: they voted for Mr Trump.

But dr. Murphy said the notion that conservatives are reluctant to get the vaccine “isn’t just insincere; It is a lie.”

As for the theory of the laboratory leak, the Republicans successively presented the issue as practically done: Research in a virus laboratory in Wuhan, China, created the novel coronavirus through risky experiments to “gain functionality” and then released it into the world.

“Criminals have been convicted on less evidence than is currently the case, and more evidence is being revealed every day,” said Iowa representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

Recently, some scientists have urged the possibility of a laboratory leak to be taken seriously, along with the possibility that the coronavirus emerged naturally, most likely from an animal. But they are mainly testing the possibility that a naturally developed virus was present in the laboratory and escaped, not that the virus was created on purpose. Even some of the most vocal scientific proponents of a laboratory leak do not claim that there is definitive evidence as to the origin of the virus.

Instead of covering up the matter, President Biden ordered U.S. intelligence services in late May to investigate the origins of the coronavirus and report back in 90 days.

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Politics

Biden Will Press Merkel on China and Russia

Biden Will Press Merkel on China and Russia

WASHINGTON – President Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed their shared values ​​on Thursday as a sign that the US-European alliance remained strong after the tensions of the Trump era, despite both admitting the differences in a major Russian pipeline and how to best approach to China.

During the White House meetings, Mr Biden’s agenda included several of his most pressing geopolitical priorities, such as curbing Chinese influence, curbing Russian aggression and lifting intellectual property restrictions on coronavirus vaccine manufacturers.

While there were no apparent breakthroughs, the visit was a way to show a unified front after President Donald J. Trump’s hostile exchanges with Ms. Merkel over NATO contributions, trade and multilateralism severely disrupted ties. The meeting will also take place before the Chancellor’s term of office expires and a new German government will be sworn in after the elections on September 26th.

“Good friends may disagree,” said Biden, who appeared next to Ms. Merkel at a press conference in the East Room after the meeting.

For the most part, the trip appeared to be a triumph of the personal over politics. Mr Biden joked that Ms. Merkel, who has worked with four US presidents, “knows the Oval Office as well as I do”. The Chancellor referred to the President several times as “Dear Joe” when she praised the friendly relationship that has lasted since his time in the Senate. But the warmth couldn’t hide the fact that neither leader had turned away from their main disagreements.

Mr Biden said he had raised the controversial issue of the $ 11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a natural gas pipeline that is being built between Germany and Russia and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The president and his predecessors attacked the project only as a means of coercion against Ukraine and other allies.

“We have come to different assessments,” said Merkel about the project.

Mr Biden said the two agreed that they “are united in our belief that Russia should not be able to use energy as a weapon”.

The president waived congressional sanctions against the Russian company that built the pipeline and its German chairman that year, practically admitting that an attempt to halt the project was not worth the expected cost to German-American relations was.

Ms. Merkel kept her comments on fighting China nonspecific, whose influence Biden believes poses an existential threat to American democracy.

“There is great agreement that China is our competitor in many areas,” said the Chancellor, taking care not to come into conflict with Germany’s largest trading partner. She added that “trade with China must be based on the assumption that we are on a level playing field”.

The two leaders also signaled that they will remain separate in their approach to containing the pandemic. Ms. Merkel has not committed to revoking patents on coronavirus vaccines, and Mr Biden has not raised the issue in front of reporters. Ms. Merkel said she asked the president if his government would lift a travel ban on Europeans, but he had not made a commitment to lift it.

“I raised the issue,” said the Chancellor, “and got the same answer that the President gave you: the Covid team is looking into the matter.”

Nevertheless, the heads of state and government repeatedly emphasized their one-on-one relationship in their public appearances, a sharp deviation from Ms. Merkel’s frosty and stilted interactions with Mr. Trump, who slandered her as “prisoners of Russia”. When asked to compare Mr. Biden’s management style with that of his predecessor, the Chancellor was characteristically reserved and emphasized that she and Mr. Biden had a “very friendly exchange”.

“We are not just partners and allies,” said Merkel, “but are very close friends.”

At the start of the event, the President expressed his condolences to the Germans for the loss of life and property caused by the recent floods. He thanked the Chancellor for “an exemplary life with pioneering services for Germany”.

Mr Biden has been asked to deal with cases of diplomatic unrest closer to his home, including protests in Cuba and civil unrest following the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. He told a reporter that other than sending marines to guard the US embassy, ​​he would not send any American troops there.

Addressing a wave of demonstrations across Cuba, Mr. Biden accused his government of being a “failed state” that “oppresses its citizens” and said he would change the rules against payments Americans can make to their Cuban relatives, not pick it up because he couldn’t be sure the government wouldn’t take it.

“I wouldn’t do that now,” he said, “because the fact is that the regime would most likely confiscate these transfers or large chunks.”

The president became irritated when asked about his top domestic economic priorities. When asked if he was confident that a $ 3.5 trillion budget created by the Democrats would be enough to pass with every Democratic Senator on board, Mr Biden blamed the news media as preemptively advising that the plan, along with negotiating an infrastructure deal, was on the way to failure.

“I am very confident that everything will work out perfectly,” he said dryly. “I’ve seen and heard the press so far have declared my initiative dead. I don’t think it’s dead. I think it’s still alive. “

Aside from sensitive political issues, Merkel’s visit before the end of her term in office was a kind of diplomatic victory round. She started her day with a cheese soufflé breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Later in the day, the Chancellor received an honorary doctorate from Johns Hopkins University and added to her collection of degrees from Harvard and Stanford. Arrived at the White House, Ms. Merkel and the President exchanged compliments in the Oval Office.

The exchange was not particularly warm, but a lot more collegial than at Merkel’s previous meeting in the Oval Office. When she asked Mr. Trump in 2017, “Would you like to have a handshake?” Mr. Trump apparently not.

Just as Ms. Merkel reacted mildly to Mr. Trump for years, she was not always overzealous to follow Mr. Biden’s requests to restore normality in American-German relations. Speaking of US relations during this year’s virtual Munich security conference, she said that “our interests will not always converge”.

At the time of Thursday’s press conference, Mr Biden and Mrs Merkel seemed more interested in continuing their farewell party than discussing what parted them.

After the press conference, they attended dinner with longtime allies, including Hillary Clinton. California minority representative Kevin McCarthy was also slated to visit Mr. Trump at his New Jersey golf club after traveling earlier in the day.

After the two leaders asked questions, Mr. Biden distracted Ms. Merkel from reporters.

“If we don’t leave immediately,” he said to her, “we’ll miss dinner.”

Glenn Thrush contributed to the coverage.

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Health

Scientists Press Case In opposition to the Covid Lab Leak Concept

Scientists Press Case Against the Covid Lab Leak Theory

In the recent debate on the origins of the coronavirus, a group of scientists this week presented an overview of scientific findings that they believe show that natural spread from animals to humans is a far more likely cause of the pandemic than a laboratory incident.

The scientists refer, among other things, to a recent report showing that markets in Wuhan, China, had sold live animals susceptible to the virus, including civet cats and raccoon dogs, in the two years before the pandemic began. They observed the striking similarity of the appearance of Covid-19 to other viral diseases caused by natural spillovers and pointed to a variety of newly discovered viruses in animals that are closely related to the virus that caused the new pandemic.

The back and forth among scientists takes place as intelligence agencies work with a deadline for the end of summer to give President Biden an assessment of the origin of the pandemic. There is now disagreement among intelligence officials as to which scenario is more likely for a viral origin.

The new paper, which went online on Wednesday but has yet to be published in a scientific journal, was written by a team of 21 virologists. Four of them also worked on a 2020 paper in Nature Medicine that largely ruled out the possibility that laboratory manipulation could turn the virus into a human pathogen.

In the new paper, the scientists provided further evidence that the virus was spilled from an animal host outside of a laboratory. Joel Wertheim, a virologist at the University of California, San Diego and co-author, said a key point in support of natural origin is the “uncanny similarity” between the Covid and SARS pandemics. Both viruses appeared in China in late autumn, he said, with the first known cases emerging near animal markets in cities – Wuhan in the case of Covid and Shenzen in the case of SARS.

In the SARS epidemic, the new paper suggests that scientists will eventually trace its origin back to viruses that infected bats far from Shenzen.

Due to the spread of viruses similar to the new coronavirus in Asia, Dr. Wertheim and his colleagues predict that the origin of SARS-CoV-2 will also be a long way from Wuhan.

Since first surfacing in the final months of 2019, the viral culprit of this pandemic has not yet been found in any animal.

In May, another team of 18 scientists published a letter arguing that the possibility of a laboratory leak must be taken seriously due to insufficient evidence of a natural origin for the coronavirus or a leak from a laboratory. Wuhan, where the pandemic was first documented, is home to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, WIV for short, where researchers have been studying coronaviruses from bats for years.

One of the signatories of the May 2021 letter, Michael Worobey of the University of Arizona, co-authored the new paper, which advocates natural spillover.

He said his views evolved as more information emerged. Among other reasons for Dr. Worobey’s shift was the growing evidence of the Huanan animal market in Wuhan. When the pandemic first appeared in Wuhan, Chinese officials tested hundreds of samples from animals sold in the market and did not find the coronavirus in any of them.

But last month, a team of researchers presented an inventory of 47,381 animals from 38 species that were sold in Wuhan’s markets between May 2017 and November 2019. This included species such as civets and raccoon dogs, which can act as intermediate hosts for coronaviruses.

Dr. Worobey called this study “a groundbreaking paper”.

He also pointed out the timing of the earliest cases of Covid in Wuhan. “The Huanan market is right in the epicenter of the outbreak, with later cases radiating into space from there,” said Dr. Worobey in an email.

“No early cases cluster near the WIV, which has been the focus of most speculation about a possible lab escape,” he said.

However, other scholars say that such arguments are speculative and that the new review is mostly a repetition of what is already known.

“Basically, it really boils down to an argument that because almost all previous pandemics have been natural in origin, it must be,” said David Relman, a Stanford University microbiologist who organized the May Letter to Science.

He noted that he does not reject the natural origin hypothesis as a plausible explanation for the pandemic jump. But dr. Relman believes the new paper is “a selective sample of outcomes to be used to argue one side”.

Dr. In their new paper, Worobey and his colleagues also presented evidence against the notion that so-called gain-of-function research, which intentionally changes the function of a virus, may have played a role in the pandemic. The researchers argue that the coronavirus genome does not have mandatory signatures of manipulation. And the diversity that coronavirus scientists have discovered in Asian bats could serve as an evolutionary source for Covid-19.

But Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University and a staunch critic of attempts to reduce the likelihood of a laboratory leak, said this was a straw man argument.

Dr. Ebright said it was possible that a WIV laboratory worker caught the coronavirus on a field expedition to examine bats or while processing a virus in the laboratory. The new paper, he argued, did not address such possibilities.

“The review does not advance the discussion,” said Dr. Ebright.

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Business

Related Press Begins Overview of Social Media Coverage After Emily Wilder Firing

A.P. Begins Review of Social Media Policy After Journalist’s Firing

The Associated Press has launched a review of its social media guidelines after more than 150 employees publicly condemned the firing of a young journalist for violating these guidelines.

In a memo to global newsrooms Monday, the AP’s top editors said they heard the concerns of many journalists over the weekend and were “determined to broaden the conversation on the AP’s approach to social media.”

The news agency faced a backlash after Emily Wilder, a 22-year-old news worker who joined the company in Arizona, was fired on May 19, three weeks after she was hired.

Ms. Wilder, who graduated from Stanford University in 2020 and worked in the Republic of Arizona, said in a statement Friday that she was the subject of a campaign by Stanford College Republicans whose social media posts were based on their pro Palestine had drawn attention to activism at the university. She added that her editors had assured her that she would not be fired for her previous legal work.

“Less than 48 hours later, the AP fired me,” she said. “The reason given was that I allegedly violated The AP’s social media guidelines between my first day and Wednesday. In the meantime, powerful conservatives like Senator Tom Cotton, Ben Shapiro, and Robert Spencer have cursed me repeatedly online. When I asked my managers what exact tweets were violating the guidelines or how, they refused to tell me. “

Ms. Wilder, who is Jewish, tweeted about the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians while at The AP. In a tweet, she said that “using” Israel “but never” Palestine “or” war “but not” siege and occupation “are political choices – yet the media makes these exact decisions all the time without being biased to be marked. “

Dozens of AP journalists signed an open letter after Ms. Wilder’s dismissal, criticizing the news agency and asking for clarification on how it had violated the company’s social media guidelines.

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May 25, 2021 at 5:16 p.m. ET

“The lack of clarity about the violations of social media policy has made AP journalists afraid of getting involved in any form on social media – often critical for our work,” the letter said.

Ten editorial directors responded in a memo on Monday to staff announcing a plan to review their policies. They said formal groups would discuss ideas and make recommendations, and a committee of staff would review the recommendations by September 1st. Any policy changes would then be brought up in the next round of contract negotiations with the union representing AP workers, the News Media Guild.

“One of the issues raised in the past few days is the belief that social media restrictions prevent you from being your real self, and that it disproportionately does this to color journalists, LGBTQ journalists and others who are often attacked online harms, “says the memo.

The editors said in the note that “much of the coverage” of Ms. Wilder’s dismissal does not accurately reflect “a difficult decision that we did not make lightly”.

Lauren Easton, a spokeswoman for The AP, said the company had generally not commented on staff, but confirmed that Ms. Wilder has been fired for violating social media policy.

“We understand that other news organizations may not have made the same decision,” she said. “While many news organizations offer viewpoints, opinion columnists, and editorials, AP does not. We do not express an opinion. Our foundation is fact-based, unbiased reporting. “

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Business

Cruise line CEOs press White Home Covid staff on U.S. sailings: Sources

How Covid safe bubble can be created on cruises

Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Sea cruise ship berths in Port Miami on March 2, 2021 in Miami, Florida.

Joe Raedle | Getty Images

In a meeting with the White House’s Covid Response Team and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CEOs of Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean spoke out in favor of replacing the government’s gradual approach to US ports and create a clear roadmap that will allow crossings to resume this summer, sources in the CNBC area told.

Earlier this month, the CDC updated their conditional sail order framework. However, the agency has not yet set a date on which operators can resume voyages from American ports.

The CEOs of the virtual meeting on Monday made it clear to U.S. health officials that by requiring vaccinations and negative Covid tests for everyone on board, passengers could sail safely, the sources said. One participant who did not wish to be identified described the meeting as “encouraging”.

A spokesman for the Cruise Lines International Association trade group told CNBC, “For the first time, industry leaders have been able to highlight the cruise community’s unique ability to implement and accurately manage health protocols that incorporate rigorous reviews, tests, prevention, detection, and monitoring and response procedures all in one controlled environment throughout the cruise experience. ”

The time for the meeting this week has come as communication between the cruise lines and the U.S. health authorities has been tense and politicians on both sides have also exerted pressure.

On Thursday afternoon, Norwegian Cruise Line reiterated its request to the CDC to allow the company to resume cruising from US ports on July 4th. “I continue to await further discussions with the CDC and respectfully request an immediate response to my written proposal to resume cruising in July so we can join America’s national reopening,” CEO Frank Del Rio said in the statement .

Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., And Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., Said in a statement Thursday that they wrote a letter to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky sent and asked her to keep the sailing order.

On Tuesday, Florida GOP Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott and Senator Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska announced a bill aimed at overriding the CDC’s current framework for cruise ship return to sea. The economies in Florida and Alaska are feeling the effects after more than a year without cruising. The cruise was discussed later on Tuesday at the first hearing of a new Senate Travel and Tourism subcommittee.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced last week that the state would file a lawsuit against the CDC. He demanded that cruise ships be allowed to sail again immediately.

A former tour operator told CNBC that the cruise lines are not a priority after the March 2020 event, when several cruise lines were stranded at sea and the ports did not let them in.

CNBC has approached the CDC and the White House for comment and received no response.

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Business

Republican Attorneys Common Press Biden Over Restrictions on State Support in Stimulus Plan

Republican Attorneys General Press Biden Over Restrictions on State Aid in Stimulus Plan

WASHINGTON – Twenty-one Republican attorneys general urged the Biden administration Tuesday to clarify a provision of the $ 1.9 trillion economic aid package the president signed last week, warning that its restrictions on state tax cut efforts were “the biggest Attempt could be invasion of state sovereignty by Congress in the history of our republic. “

The seven-page letter was signed by a number of Republican officials, including the Attorney General of Texas, Arizona, Georgia, and Utah. They challenge a restriction lawmakers put in a $ 350 billion relief effort to state, local, and tribal governments that prevents them from using federal funds to “either directly or indirectly reduce net tax revenues to offset as a result of taxes ”cuts. These governments have lost revenue and laid off more than a million public employees during the coronavirus pandemic.

The law requires repayment to the federal government of funds that violate these terms.

In her letter, Republican officials asked Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen to clarify how broadly her department would interpret this part of the law. Will states simply forbid states to use the federal dollar to offset new tax cuts, or instead prohibit them from lowering taxes for any reason, even if those cuts were in the works before the law was passed? The officials said the broader restriction was harmful and most likely unconstitutional.

“That language could be read to deny states the ability to reduce taxes in any way – even if they had granted such tax relief with or without the prospect of Covid-19 relief funds,” the attorney general wrote. “Without a more sensible interpretation by your department, this provision would mean an unprecedented and unconstitutional encroachment on the separate sovereignty of states by usurping essentially half of the state’s tax books” – their ability to generate revenue.

Oklahoma, for example, has already passed an income tax cut through its House of Representatives, including an increase in the state’s tax credit to help low-income workers, Mike Hunter, the state’s attorney general, said in a statement Tuesday. “But,” he warned, “the federal incentive law could prohibit Oklahoma from providing this economic relief without losing its share of federal funding.”

A White House spokesman declined to comment on the letter Tuesday evening. A finance spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.

Republican lawmakers in Washington and across the country previously raised concerns about the provision.

“We wanted to give – to cut sales tax on used cars, that is, low and middle income,” said Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program on Sunday. “And now we’re worried whether this will be banned under this bill. The language seems to suggest that it is so. “

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Business

Biden Covid workforce holds press briefing as U.S. each day instances start to degree off

Biden Covid team holds press briefing as U.S. daily cases begin to level off

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President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 Response Team plans to hold a press conference on Friday at which officials will announce a new partnership with top corporate groups to help with the national pandemic response, a senior administrative official told CNBC.

The aim of the partnership is to encourage businesses of all sizes to “promote public health actions to remove barriers to vaccination for employees and improve public health reporting on masking and vaccination for their customers and communities”, the official told CNBC. The New York Times previously reported on the partnership

The press conference is taking place as the US reports a slight plateau in nationwide Covid-19 cases. According to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the nation currently reports a weekly average of around 73,376 new cases per day, a slight increase compared to a week ago. The US hit a high of nearly 250,000 cases per day in early January after the winter break.

Biden’s top health officials warn that new, highly communicable variants of the coronavirus, particularly strain B.1.1.7 first identified in the UK, could delay the nation’s control of the pandemic.

– CNBC’s Will Feuer contributed to this report.

Read CNBC’s live updates for the latest news on the Covid-19 outbreak.

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Health

Biden Covid group briefs press as winter storm delays vaccine deliveries

I took 'no pleasure' in contradicting Trump on Covid

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President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 Response Team plans to hold a press conference on Friday while a massive winter storm has closed vaccine dispensaries and delayed shipments to the United States

The Chief Medical Officer of the White House, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned Thursday that the power outages and winter storm in Texas are a “significant” problem for Covid-19 vaccine distribution this week. The Biden government has announced a number of moves in recent weeks to increase vaccine intake, such as shipping cans directly to retail pharmacies and community health centers.

“We just have to make up for it as soon as the weather subsides a bit, the ice melts and we can get the trucks and the people out,” said Fauci during an interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.

FedEx and UPS package centers in the Midwest were also hit by the storm, delaying vaccine shipments across the country.

The delay comes because the country’s leading health authorities, including Fauci and the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, calling on Americans to contain the spread of the virus so that the US can give vaccines before highly contagious variants make the pandemic worse.

Read CNBC’s live updates for the latest news on the Covid-19 outbreak.

– CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report.

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Business

White Home Press Aide Resigns Over Name to Reporter

White House Press Aide Resigns Over Call to Reporter

WASHINGTON – White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo resigned Saturday after it was reported that he was using abusive and sexist language with a reporter who was working on an article about his romantic relationship with a journalist from another publication would have.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced the resignation in a statement Saturday night, the day after he said Mr Ducklo would be suspended for a week without pay.

“We accepted TJ Ducklo’s resignation after speaking to him tonight,” said Ms. Psaki, noting that Ron Klain, the White House chief of staff, approved the decision. “We strive every day to strive to meet the standard set by the President, to treat others with dignity and respect, with courtesy and with value to others through our words and actions.”

Ducklo, 32, had served as national press secretary during Biden’s presidential campaign, dealing frequently with reporters and serving as campaign spokesman. During the transition, Mr. Ducklo served as spokesman and was appointed deputy press officer.

His quick departure suggests that Mr. Biden was keen to avoid his communications office sinking into protracted controversy in the early days of his tenure. Several reporters asked Ms. Psaki on Friday how Mr. Ducklo could work effectively with reporters.

The resignation follows a report by Vanity Fair on Friday that reported an exchange he allegedly had with Tara Palmeri, a reporter from Politico, who contacted him about his relationship with Alexi McCammond, which was about the Biden Campaign for the online publication Axios reported.

According to the Vanity Fair report, which was later confirmed by the New York Times, Mr. Ducklo told Ms. Palmeri that if she published an article about the relationship, he would “destroy” her. He also reportedly told her that she was “jealous” of Ms. McCammond and was following the story. He used vulgar language, according to two people who knew the call.

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Apr. 14, 2021 at 12:05 am ET

Ms. Psaki said Friday that Mr. Ducklo spoke to Ms. Palmeri and apologized and later sent a message apologizing again. Ms Psaki also said White House officials had advised senior editors at Politico that Mr Ducklo’s behavior was unacceptable.

When Mr Ducklo returned to work, he said he would not be allowed to interact with Politico reporters.

“And that was, from our point of view, a – was an important step in getting the message across that we didn’t find it acceptable,” she said at the time. She also called the week-long suspension a “severe punishment”.

However, this position did not last longer than a day.

In a statement late Saturday, Mr. Ducklo acknowledged the circumstances surrounding his release and regretted that he had used language that was “disgusting, disrespectful and unacceptable”.

“This incident is not representative of who I am as a person,” he said, “and I will be determined to regain the trust of everyone whom I have disappointed because of my intolerable actions.”

In part, the rapid change reflected the red line that Mr Biden himself had laid down for his personal conduct in his administration.

On inauguration day, the president forwarded indictments to hundreds of his political officials as he swore them in, warning that he would fire anyone he heard was disrespectful.

“If you ever work with me and I hear that you are treating another colleague with disrespect, speak to someone, I promise I will fire you immediately,” said Mr. Biden. “No ifs and buts. Everyone has the right to be treated with decency and dignity. That has been very missing in the last four years. “

When asked Friday whether Mr Ducklo’s behavior met this standard, Ms. Psaki said, “It is not our standard – it is not the President’s standard.” But she refused to say at the time why he shouldn’t be released.

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White Home Suspends Deputy Press Secretary for Threatening Reporter

White House Suspends Deputy Press Secretary for Threatening Reporter

President Biden and his press department have tried to change the tone of correspondents who endured years of hostility while covering the previous administration.

That effort was undercut last month when a White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo threatened a Politico journalist who covered his close personal relationship with a reporter who covered Mr Biden. On Friday after Mr Ducklo’s threat came to light, the White House announced that it had suspended him for a week without pay.

In a phone call on January 20, Mr. Ducklo told reporter Tara Palmeri, a writer of Politico’s Playbook newsletter, that he was “destroying” her after inquiring about his romantic relationship with Alexi McCammond, an Axios reporter would have.

Ms Palmeri asked about the relationship because it coincided with Mr Ducklo’s time as Mr Biden’s press secretary during the presidential campaign and the transition period between election day and inauguration. Axios reassigned Ms. McCammond after telling her superiors about the relationship in November, taking her out of coverage of Mr. Biden and putting her in one fell swoop, which includes Vice President Kamala Harris.

Mr Ducklo’s threats against Ms. Palmeri were reported by Vanity Fair on Friday and confirmed by two people who were aware of the phone call.

On Monday, Politico informed the White House that it would publish an article in Playbook about the relationship the next day. That night, People’s Politico hit the story and published a feel-good article titled “Reporters Cut Out on the President While Romance Blooms With Biden Aide For Cancer.” (Mr. Ducklo was being treated for lung cancer.)

Politico’s article appeared Tuesday morning under the heading “Open Secret”. Axios was charged with allowing a reporter to continue reporting on the White House while with a member of the administration.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Friday that Mr. Ducklo “will no longer work with reporters at Politico” following his suspension.

“TJ Ducklo apologized to the reporter with whom he had a heated discussion about his personal life,” Ms. Psaki said in a statement. “He is the first to recognize that this is not the standard of conduct set by the president. In addition to his initial apology, he sent the reporter a personal note expressing his deep regret. “

Politico editor-in-chief Matt Kaminski and his editor-in-chief Carrie Budoff Brown said in a statement Friday that they raised concerns about the threatened statements made to the White House shortly after the phone call.

“No journalist at Politico – or any other publication or network – should ever be exposed to such unfounded personal attacks while doing his job,” the statement said.

In a remark shortly before the swearing-in ceremony for members of his administration last month, Mr Biden said he would not hesitate to fire employees who behaved disrespectfully.

“If you ever work with me and I hear that you are treating another colleague with disrespect, speak to someone, I promise I will fire you immediately,” warned Mr. Biden. “No ifs and buts. Everyone has the right to be treated with decency and dignity. That has been very missing in the last four years. “

At a White House briefing Friday, Ms. Psaki defended the decision to suspend Mr. Ducklo instead of firing him, despite describing his behavior as “totally unacceptable”. She didn’t explain why he wasn’t suspended until Vanity Fair reported on the exchange.