AP News in Brief at 9:04 p.m. EDT
Trump signs $2.2T stimulus after swift congressional votes
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an unprecedented $2.2 trillion economic rescue package into law Friday, after swift and near-unanimous action by Congress to support businesses, rush resources to overburdened health care providers and help struggling families during the deepening coronavirus epidemic.
Acting with unity and resolve unseen since the 9/11 attacks, Washington moved urgently to stem an economic free fall caused by widespread restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus that have shuttered schools, closed businesses and brought American life in many places to a virtual standstill.
“This will deliver urgently needed relief," Trump said as he signed the bill in the Oval Office, flanked only by Republican lawmakers. He thanked members of both parties for putting Americans “first."
Earlier Friday, the House gave near-unanimous approval by voice vote after an impassioned session conducted along the social distancing guidelines imposed by the crisis. Many lawmakers sped to Washington to participate — their numbers swollen after a maverick Republican signaled he'd try to force a roll call vote — though dozens of others remained safely in their home districts.
The Senate passed the bill unanimously late Wednesday.
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What you need to know today about the virus outbreak
The U.S. House on Friday approved a $2.2 trillion rescue package, rushing it to President Donald Trump, who then signed it. The measure tosses a life preserver to an economy and health care system left flailing by the coronavirus pandemic.
America's coronavirus infections have surged to the most in the world, and reached 100,000 cases Friday. While New York remained the worst hit in the U.S., troubling new outbreaks were bubbling in cities including Chicago, Detroit and New Orleans, which was rushing to build a makeshift hospital in its convention center.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the first leader of a major country to test positive and Italy has shut down its industry. Masses of unemployed Indian laborers got food handouts and South Africa began a three-week lockdown.
Here are some of AP's top stories Friday on the world's coronavirus pandemic. Follow APNews.com/VirusOutbreak for updates through the day and APNews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak for stories explaining some of its complexities.
WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY:
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US eyes new outbreaks as infections worldwide top 590,000
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans rushed to build a makeshift hospital in its convention center Friday as troubling new outbreaks bubbled in the United States, deaths surged in Italy and Spain and the world warily trudged through the pandemic that has sickened more than a half-million people.
Punctuating the fact that no one is immune to the new coronavirus, it pierced even the highest echelons of global power, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson becoming the first leader of a major country to test positive.
As the death toll continued to climb in France, health workers there received a huge show of gratitude — from the Eiffel Tower. “Merci,” French for ‘Thank you,” and “Stay at home” in English were emblazoned in lights Friday night on Paris’ world-famous landmark.
While New York remained the worst hit city in the U.S., Americans braced for worsening conditions elsewhere, with worrisome infection numbers being reported in New Orleans, Chicago and Detroit.
“We are not through this. We’re not even halfway through this,” said Joseph Kanter of the Louisiana Department of Health, which has recorded more than 2,700 cases, more than five times what it had a week ago. The United States became the first country to surpass 100,000 infections on Friday, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
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States impose new restrictions on travelers from New York
BOSTON (AP) — States are pulling back the welcome mat for travelers from the New York area, which is the epicenter of the country’s coronavirus outbreak, but some say at least one state’s measures are unconstitutional.
Governors in Texas, Florida, Maryland and South Carolina this week ordered people arriving from the New York area —including New Jersey and Connecticut — and other virus hot spots to self-quarantine for at least 14 days upon arrival.
Connecticut officials have also pleaded with New Yorkers and others from out of state to avoid visiting unless absolutely necessary.
But, in the most dramatic steps taken to date, Rhode Island State Police on Friday began pulling over drivers with New York plates so that National Guard officials can collect contact information and inform them of a mandatory, 14-day quarantine.
Gov. Gina Raimondo ratcheted up the measures Friday afternoon, announcing she’ll also order the state National Guard to go door-to-door in coastal communities starting this weekend to find out whether any of the home's residents have recently arrived from New York and inform them of the quarantine order.
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Trump seeks to force General Motors to produce ventilators
DETROIT (AP) — President Donald Trump issued an order Friday that seeks to force General Motors to produce ventilators for coronavirus patients under the Defense Production Act.
Trump said negotiations with General Motors had been productive, “but our fight against the virus is too urgent to allow the give-and-take of the contracting process to continue to run its normal course.”
Trump said “GM was wasting time” and that his actions will help ensure the quick production of ventilators that will save American lives.
Previously Trump has been reluctant to use the act to force businesses to contribute to the coronavirus fight. GM is among the farthest along of U.S. companies trying to repurpose factories to build ventilators. It's working with Ventec Life Systems, a small Seattle-area ventilator maker to increase the company's production and GM will use its auto electronics plant in Kokomo, Indiana, to make the machines.
Experts say that no matter how many ventilators companies can crank out, it may not be enough to cover the entire need, and it may not come in time to help areas now being hit hard with critical virus cases.
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AP Sources: Alleged Maduro co-conspirator is in DEA custody
MIAMI (AP) — A retired Venezuelan army general indicted alongside Nicolás Maduro has surrendered in Colombia and is being taken by Drug Enforcement Administration agents to New York for arraignment, four people familiar with the situation said Friday.
Cliver Alcalá has been an outspoken critic of Maduro for years. But he was charged Thursday with allegedly running with Maduro, socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello and another retired army general a narcoterrorist conspiracy that U.S. prosecutors say turned the Venezuelan state into a platform for violent cartels and Colombia rebels. The Justice Department had offered a $10 million reward for Alcalá's arrest.
Alcalá was being flown on a chartered plane to the U.S. from Barranquilla, Colombia, after waiving an extradition hearing and agreeing to collaborate with prosecutors, said the four people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss actions that had not yet been made public.
Alcalá has been living in the coastal city since fleeing Venezuela in 2018 after the discovery of a conspiracy that he was secretly leading in hopes of ousting Maduro.
After being indicted Thursday, Alcalá shocked many by claiming responsibility for a stockpile of U.S.-made assault weapons and military equipment seized on a highway in Colombia for what he said was a planned incursion into Venezuela to remove Maduro. Without offering evidence, he said he had a contract with opposition leader Juan Guaidó and his “American advisers” to purchase the weapons.
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AP PHOTOS: Masks, disinfectant the new normal for commuters
Even in normal times, public transportation is an easy place to get sick: Commuters jostle each other, breathe the same air in packed subways, grasp the same straps for support and grab the same escalator handrails.
In times of coronavirus, though millions of people are staying home from school or work, those who must continue to use trains, streetcars and buses are doing what they can to minimize the risk.
From Mexico City to Mumbai and New York to Barcelona, commuters who can get their hands on face masks rely on them for protection. Some use tissues or handkerchiefs to grasp subway poles that have been touched by untold numbers before them. When possible, passengers try to sit at a distance from each other.
Transportation authorities are also trying to keep commuters safe. In Rio de Janeiro, soldiers clad head-to-toe in bright yellow protective suits stand in formation on a platform before disinfecting rail cars. And in Medan, Indonesia, a worker walks through a car spraying clouds of disinfectant.
Around the world, commuters are surely hoping for a return to the times when their biggest transportation concern was whether their ride arrived on time.
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NOT REAL NEWS: Debunking yet more false coronavirus content
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:
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CLAIM: Nancy Pelosi snuck $25 million worth of pay raises for Congress into the federal relief bill intended to help Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic.
THE FACTS: A proposal in the economic rescue package sets aside $25 million for the House of Representatives but “none of those funds will go to member salaries,” Evan Hollander, the communications director for the House Appropriations Committee, told The Associated Press. After the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a $2.2 trillion economic rescue package late Wednesday night (it was signed into law Friday), social media users began inaccurately claiming that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had secretly stuck in $25 million worth of congressional pay raises. That was not the case. The $25 million appropriation for “salary and expenses” in the House of Representatives was proposed in both versions of the relief package — a GOP-backed proposal earlier in the week and the plan passed by the U.S. Senate Wednesday. The money will be used to buy new equipment and make upgrades to the network so members and their staff can work remotely, Hollander said. It will also be spent on reimbursing costs of the child care center and food service contracts for the House, as well as paying for the House Sergeant-at-Arms, he added. Congressional pay can be raised annually based on a federal cost-of-living formula. However, Congress has voted to reject those increases since 2009, keeping their salaries frozen at $174,000 for a decade.
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For nursing homes, symptoms aren't enough to tell who's sick
SEATTLE (AP) — An investigation at a Seattle-area nursing home concluded that symptoms aren't enough to identify who is infected once the coronavirus enters a long-term care facility.
Residents without symptoms could have the virus, so it won't work to simply separate those with symptoms from others. Investigators found that screening based on symptoms alone may be failing to identify half the residents who are infected with COVID-19.
A report released Friday focused on a nursing home in King County, Washington, which health officials thought might become vulnerable after an outbreak at a nearby facility, the Life Care Center nursing home in Kirkland.
It concluded that as soon as there’s a confirmed case, all health care workers should don masks and other protective garments, and residents should be isolated as much as possible.
“The rapid and widespread transmission of COVID-19 that happened at Life Care Center was not a unique event. All facilities should be aware,” said Dr. Jeff Duchin, public health officer for Seattle and King County and a co-author of the report. “That’s why preventive measures, such as limiting visitors and excluding symptomatic staff, are so important.”
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Oprah on coronavirus: 'Playing it as safe as I possibly can'
NEW YORK (AP) — Oprah Winfrey says she’s playing it safe when it comes to the rapidly spreading coronavirus.
The 66-year-old entertainment icon told The Associated Press on Friday that she has been quarantining and practicing social distancing at her home — even if that means longtime partner Stedman Graham has to stay in the guest house.
“I have now-grown girls from South Africa here (but) Stedman’s on lock down at the guest house. He’s still there, asking: ‘When can I come? When can I come to the main house?’ He’s still got, hmm, till Monday,” she said.
Earlier this week Winfrey posted a video of her talking to Graham as he poked his head outside of the guest house window. She said he must stay in the guest house because he had been recently flying and they’re trying to be safe.
“I’m getting ready to take him some food down there now for lunch. But I’m playing it as safe as I possibly can. Nobody goes out and nobody comes in,” she said.