Markets close down, wiping out nearly all gains of Trump presidency
U.S stocks closed markedly lower Wednesday — with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing nearly all gains since President Trump’s inauguration.
U.S. Headlines
Okla. Senate Passes Bill to Ban Abortion Once Baby’s Heartbeat is Audible
The Oklahoma Senate voted (36-8) last Thursday to prohibit abortion as soon as a baby’s heartbeat can be heard and/or as soon as a baby’s brainwaves are present, which is usually around six weeks into pregnancy. The bill is now in the Oklahoma House, which is majority Republican, and it is expected to pass.
Magnitude-5.7 earthquake shakes Salt Lake City, closes airport
A strong magnitude-5.7 earthquake struck the Salt Lake City area on Wednesday, shaking buildings, closing the airport and cutting power to thousands.
Biden blowout victory in Florida leaves Sanders with no path to nomination
Joe Biden crushed Bernie Sanders in Florida, adding to a series of decisive wins that leaves the Vermont senator with no realistic path to securing the Democratic presidential nomination.
Mississippi House passes bill banning abortions on the basis of race, sex, genetic abnormality
The Mississippi House of Representatives passed a bill that, if enacted, will ban abortions performed due to an unborn baby’s race, sex, or possible genetic abnormalities.
Fed relaunches crisis-era lending program to aid companies facing pandemic credit crunch
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced that it was setting up a special entity to purchase short-term debt issued by corporations to help keep afloat companies facing a credit crunch because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Senate Approves 77-Day Extension of FISA Court’s Surveillance Powers
The Senate on March 16 agreed to a 77-day extension of a set of FBI surveillance tools under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that had expired March 15, to allow lawmakers time for further negotiations on necessary reforms to the powerful domestic eavesdropping program that saw wiretapping of individuals in the Trump campaign.
From field hospitals to respirator masks, Pentagon wades into coronavirus support role
The Pentagon on Tuesday laid out how the U.S. military would support the medical response to the coronavirus, from using its stockpile of respirator masks to potentially building field hospitals and perhaps even deploying Navy hospital ships to reduce the stress on U.S. emergency rooms.
DOJ abruptly drops once-heralded prosecution of Russian troll farm initiated by Mueller
In a striking and unexpected abandonment of a once-heralded prosecution initiated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the Justice Department moved Monday to drop charges against two Russian companies that were accused of funding a social media meme campaign to further their ‘strategic goal to sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 presidential election.’
Pentagon Preparing Navy Hospital Ships Mercy, Comfort for Coronavirus Response
The Pentagon is starting the process of activating Navy hospital ships USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) and USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) as part of the Defense Department’s domestic response to the spreading COVID-19 virus, USNI News has learned.
First Human Vaccine Trial for Coronavirus Begins in Seattle
U.S. health officials say the first human trial has begun to test an experimental coronavirus vaccine, as scientists race to find treatments for the pandemic.
WH Coronavirus Coordinator: Limit Gatherings to Under 10 People – Even at Home
Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coordinator of the coronavirus response team, said Monday that millennials ‘are the core group’ that will stop COVID-19.
U.S. Supreme Court postpones oral arguments over coronavirus fears
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday it is postponing scheduled oral arguments through the month of March.
Fed says it will offer an additional $500 billion in overnight repo funding markets
A day after a dramatic move in interest rates, the Federal Reserve on Monday increased the amount of liquidity it’s offering in short-term lending to the financial industry.
Trump administration to start $175M, 30-foot-tall border wall project in high traffic Texas region
The Trump administration awarded a $175 million contract to a construction company to build 15 miles of border wall in an area of southeastern Texas where no barrier exists, according to the federal agency overseeing wall projects.
Stock market soars nearly 2,000 points, U.S. equities more than 9 percent after emergency declaration
At the close of business Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1,985 points to 23,186, nearly recouping Thursday’s more than 2,300-point loss. The S&P 500 gained 228 to 2,709 and the Nasdaq Composite was up by 672 points to 7,874.
Mexico considering restrictions on US border amid coronavirus fears
Mexico could consider measures at its northern border to slow the spread of the coronavirus into its relatively unaffected territory, health officials said on Friday, with an eye to containing a US outbreak that has infected more than 2,000 people.
Trump Threatens to Veto House-passed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Reforms
The U.S. House of Representatives voted this week to change the way the FBI and National Security Agency use the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to conduct electronic surveillance of foreign nationals and agents in the United States. But President Donald Trump indicated Thursday that he might veto the bipartisan bill, saying he and his allies wanted more information about how the FBI’s investigation of alleged ties between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia was launched.
The US stock market has now wiped out the entire $11.5 trillion of value it gained since Trump’s 2016 election victory
Thursday’s massive sell-off has erased any remaining stock market gains made since President Trump’s 2016 election win.
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Lab Tap into Supercomputing to Help Combat Coronavirus
As researchers race to identify and unleash new scientific breakthroughs to combat the COVID-19 outbreak, the Energy Department’s Summit supercomputer is playing a role in the fight.