A version of this story appeared in CNN's What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free . (CNN)Would you trust a vaccine if Vladimir Putin told you it was safe?Follow-up question: Would Donald Trump trust a vaccine if Putin told him it was safe?This is not the space race, it's a worldwide pandemic. Putin is nevertheless trying to claim victory here. And while the US medical community has poured cold water on Trump's suggestions that a vaccine could be ready by Election Day, Putin has just pulled one out of a hat and named it Sputnik, after the satellite mission that...…A version of this story appeared in CNN's What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free . (CNN)Would you trust a vaccine if Vladimir Putin told you it was safe?Follow-up question: Would Donald Trump trust a vaccine if Putin told him it was safe?This is not the space race, it's a worldwide pandemic. Putin is nevertheless trying to claim victory here. And while the US medical community has poured cold water on Trump's suggestions that a vaccine could be ready by Election Day, Putin has just pulled one out of a hat and named it Sputnik, after the satellite mission that...WW…

(CNN)The good news is that is aiming to help Americans hurt by the , signing to extend expanded unemployment benefits and assist renters and homeowners. The bad news is that he's seizing to do it.The first thing reporters and experts wondered when Trump announced his executive actions, was, can he do that?It's not clear! But he's doing it anyway. When he announced he was signing executive actions, which he kept referring to interchangeably with law, no reporters had read them.One executive action he signed, which Democrats are sure to fight in court, would extend expanded unemployment...…(CNN)The good news is that is aiming to help Americans hurt by the , signing to extend expanded unemployment benefits and assist renters and homeowners. The bad news is that he's seizing to do it.The first thing reporters and experts wondered when Trump announced his executive actions, was, can he do that?It's not clear! But he's doing it anyway. When he announced he was signing executive actions, which he kept referring to interchangeably with law, no reporters had read them.One executive action he signed, which Democrats are sure to fight in court, would extend expanded unemployment...WW…

(CNN)Democrats are accusing the Trump administration of sabotaging the nation's mail system as voters gear up to cast mail-in ballots during .There had already been calls for an internal investigation of cost-cutting measures that have led to slower mail delivery and suggestions that the effort by Louis DeJoy, the new postmaster general who is a , is harming the agency.It comes as Trump has are ripe for fraud and will cost him the White House when voters cast ballots.On Friday, DeJoy announced a hiring freeze for leadership positions and a massive reorganization of top Postal Service...…(CNN)Democrats are accusing the Trump administration of sabotaging the nation's mail system as voters gear up to cast mail-in ballots during .There had already been calls for an internal investigation of cost-cutting measures that have led to slower mail delivery and suggestions that the effort by Louis DeJoy, the new postmaster general who is a , is harming the agency.It comes as Trump has are ripe for fraud and will cost him the White House when voters cast ballots.On Friday, DeJoy announced a hiring freeze for leadership positions and a massive reorganization of top Postal Service...WW…

(CNN)This might be the most obvious thing in the world, but parents need to come to grips with the fact that their kids probably aren't going to be this fall. There will be exceptions, sure, in or something close to it. There will be kids who go part-time (this is becoming known as the "hybrid" option). But it's becoming clear that a large portion of the country's kids won't be in class and parents need to start planning for that if they haven't already. What this will look like. There will be some who fight their way onto private school lists. There will be people who threaten to move to...…(CNN)This might be the most obvious thing in the world, but parents need to come to grips with the fact that their kids probably aren't going to be this fall. There will be exceptions, sure, in or something close to it. There will be kids who go part-time (this is becoming known as the "hybrid" option). But it's becoming clear that a large portion of the country's kids won't be in class and parents need to start planning for that if they haven't already. What this will look like. There will be some who fight their way onto private school lists. There will be people who threaten to move to...WW…

Analysis by , CNNLink Copied!Ad FeedbackA version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free . — The strange and frightening , and into unmarked vans may be headed to a city near you if that city is, as President Donald Trump declared Monday, run by “liberal Democrats.”This is sketchy stuff. And it’s not a good look for a country that’s supposed to be an open society. And it’s particularly distressing that the President is openly threatening cities based on the political affiliations of their leaders..The teams of masked...…Analysis by , CNNLink Copied!Ad FeedbackA version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free . — The strange and frightening , and into unmarked vans may be headed to a city near you if that city is, as President Donald Trump declared Monday, run by “liberal Democrats.”This is sketchy stuff. And it’s not a good look for a country that’s supposed to be an open society. And it’s particularly distressing that the President is openly threatening cities based on the political affiliations of their leaders..The teams of masked...WW…

A version of this story appeared in CNN's What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free . (CNN)While there are no easy answers with regard to , there are very clearly some wrong ones. has refused to sign an executive order requiring people wear masks in public (which he could very easily do). But he is now demanding that US schools open in the fall (which he almost surely cannot do).His words, however, do have effects. After Trump's tweet Monday that "SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL," the Florida Department of Education announced Tuesday that it would for all students in...…A version of this story appeared in CNN's What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free . (CNN)While there are no easy answers with regard to , there are very clearly some wrong ones. has refused to sign an executive order requiring people wear masks in public (which he could very easily do). But he is now demanding that US schools open in the fall (which he almost surely cannot do).His words, however, do have effects. After Trump's tweet Monday that "SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL," the Florida Department of Education announced Tuesday that it would for all students in...WW…

Analysis by , CNNLink Copied!Ad FeedbackA version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free . — Two key stories in this week’s headlines – the and the – suggest that does not think his portfolio includes actively working to protect as many American lives as possible.Excuses will be offered. Justifications will be made. But Americans who should not be dying are dying.Trump has taken a more active public role in recent weeks than either trying to stop the spread of Covid-19, which is clearly exploding around the country after...…Analysis by , CNNLink Copied!Ad FeedbackA version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free . — Two key stories in this week’s headlines – the and the – suggest that does not think his portfolio includes actively working to protect as many American lives as possible.Excuses will be offered. Justifications will be made. But Americans who should not be dying are dying.Trump has taken a more active public role in recent weeks than either trying to stop the spread of Covid-19, which is clearly exploding around the country after...WW…

Analysis by , CNNLink Copied!Ad FeedbackA version of this story appeared in CNN What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free . — There are big panics like . There are little panics, like stores being cleaned out of toilet paper. But everywhere, there seems to suddenly be panic. Travel is canceled. . . . .The coronavirus is not the zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion. The pandemic probably is not going to kill you – but it might, , and that’s what makes it so terrifying. It’s definitely going to cause everyone major disruptions as we all join together to...…Analysis by , CNNLink Copied!Ad FeedbackA version of this story appeared in CNN What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free . — There are big panics like . There are little panics, like stores being cleaned out of toilet paper. But everywhere, there seems to suddenly be panic. Travel is canceled. . . . .The coronavirus is not the zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion. The pandemic probably is not going to kill you – but it might, , and that’s what makes it so terrifying. It’s definitely going to cause everyone major disruptions as we all join together to...WW…

(CNN)Patience is in ever-shorter supply. No one is happy with the current situation. But some Americans see the yoke of oppression in , and they're growing louder.Underneath the general frustration and dazed acceptance of so much of the world changing its lifestyle for the time being lurks a growing defiance of the science that tells us how to deal with and the government that is .That , normally an expert stoker of conspiracy theories, is leading the government may have initially muted the Covid-19 deniers. No more. A few instances of Twitter protest -- including from Sen. Ted Cruz of...…(CNN)Patience is in ever-shorter supply. No one is happy with the current situation. But some Americans see the yoke of oppression in , and they're growing louder.Underneath the general frustration and dazed acceptance of so much of the world changing its lifestyle for the time being lurks a growing defiance of the science that tells us how to deal with and the government that is .That , normally an expert stoker of conspiracy theories, is leading the government may have initially muted the Covid-19 deniers. No more. A few instances of Twitter protest -- including from Sen. Ted Cruz of...WW…

(CNN)Let's start with some bad news. And we won't sugarcoat it.. That's according to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, when he spoke to reporters Wednesday."We are going to see economic data for the second quarter that is worse than any data we have seen for the economy," Powell said. "There are direct consequences of the disease and measures we are taking to protect ourselves from it."It's worse for minorities than for white Americans. Powell noted that a few months ago, the US labor market was the best ever for minorities. But as have shuttered restaurants, movie theaters, retailers...…(CNN)Let's start with some bad news. And we won't sugarcoat it.. That's according to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, when he spoke to reporters Wednesday."We are going to see economic data for the second quarter that is worse than any data we have seen for the economy," Powell said. "There are direct consequences of the disease and measures we are taking to protect ourselves from it."It's worse for minorities than for white Americans. Powell noted that a few months ago, the US labor market was the best ever for minorities. But as have shuttered restaurants, movie theaters, retailers...WW…