Coronavirus US live: number of cases in America approach 1m mark

US was warned of threat from anti-vaxxers in event of pandemicBirx declines to criticise Trump and warns distancing will last monthsLive global updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageGet a fresh perspective on America – sign up to our First Thing newsletter 3.05pm BST Trump continued his long-running diatribe against the “Lamestream Media” claiming there has “never been, in the history of our Country a more vicious or hostile” national press corps. A second missive labeled the press the “ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE.” Meanwhile, the US death toll from coronavirus is quickly approaching the number of Americans – 58,200 – killed during the Vietnam War. There has never been, in the history of our Country, a more vicious or hostile Lamestream Media than there is right now, even in the midst of a National Emergency, the Invisible Enemy! 2.41pm BST The $2.2tn coronavirus stimulus deal, the largest economic rescue package in American history, was also, perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the most lobbied bills of all time, according to a new analysis by the Open Secrets, which tracks money in politics. “OpenSecrets found that at least 3,200 clients reported lobbying on issues related to coronavirus and the stimulus bill. More than 1,500 lobbying clients specifically reported attempting to influence the House version of the CARES Act. Among all non-appropriations bills introduced since 2005, only the 2009 stimulus package drew more lobbying clients. Clients that had never lobbied before hired lobbyists to ask Congress for financial aid in the stimulus bill. Industry groups asked Congress for more than $2.7 billion in direct support, but only a select few industries received carved-out stimulus funds. Some airlines increased their lobbying spending in the first quarter as the industry secured billions in taxpayer-funded grants. …Health sector spending reached $161 million, around the all-time high first-quarter mark set last year. Gilead Sciences, the drugmaker working on a COVID-19 treatment, saw one of the biggest jumps in spending. It spent nearly $2.5 million, beating its 2019 first-quarter figure. Continue reading…
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