LatestBy|April 13, 2020 12:18 p.m.President Donald Trump falsely declared Monday morning that he has the authority to force states to allow businesses to reopen in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic., Trump accused the media of “creating conflict and confusion” by (accurately) reporting that only governors can open up their states’ economies.“Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect,” he tweeted. “It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons.”Neither the President nor the federal government have that power. Trump has , so the states have enacted their own. The...…LatestBy|April 13, 2020 12:18 p.m.President Donald Trump falsely declared Monday morning that he has the authority to force states to allow businesses to reopen in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic., Trump accused the media of “creating conflict and confusion” by (accurately) reporting that only governors can open up their states’ economies.“Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect,” he tweeted. “It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons.”Neither the President nor the federal government have that power. Trump has , so the states have enacted their own. The...WW…

LatestBy ADAM BEAM|September 23, 2020 4:45 p.m.SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will outlaw sales of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks by 2035, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday, a move he says will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 35% in the nation’s most populous state.His plan would not ban people from owning gas-powered cars or selling them on the used car market. But it would end the sales of all new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks in the state of nearly 40 million people.“Pull away from the gas pumps,” Newsom said in announcing his executive order to...…LatestBy ADAM BEAM|September 23, 2020 4:45 p.m.SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will outlaw sales of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks by 2035, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday, a move he says will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 35% in the nation’s most populous state.His plan would not ban people from owning gas-powered cars or selling them on the used car market. But it would end the sales of all new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks in the state of nearly 40 million people.“Pull away from the gas pumps,” Newsom said in announcing his executive order to...WW…

LatestBy|September 23, 2020 3:19 p.m.President Donald Trump has reportedly aired a host of anti-Semitic and racist complaints behind closed doors throughout his presidency.According to a , Trump has complained several times that Jewish people are “only in it for themselves” and “stick together” after getting off the phone with Jewish lawmakers.The President has also said Black Americans don’t have initiative and are primarily at fault for racial inequality.A former Trump official told the Post that while Trump isn’t a white supremacist, the President has a “general awareness that one...…LatestBy|September 23, 2020 3:19 p.m.President Donald Trump has reportedly aired a host of anti-Semitic and racist complaints behind closed doors throughout his presidency.According to a , Trump has complained several times that Jewish people are “only in it for themselves” and “stick together” after getting off the phone with Jewish lawmakers.The President has also said Black Americans don’t have initiative and are primarily at fault for racial inequality.A former Trump official told the Post that while Trump isn’t a white supremacist, the President has a “general awareness that one...WW…

LatestBy|April 13, 2020 1:58 p.m.Apparently White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci isn’t on the chopping block, despite President Donald Trump a post declaring it was “time to #FireFauci” on Sunday night.“This media chatter is ridiculous – President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci,” White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley said on Monday afternoon.The doctor “has been and remains a trusted advisor” to Trump, according to Gidley.But the White House’s rosy messaging about government officials who seem to have fallen from Trump’s good graces is rarely a good sign for the...…LatestBy|April 13, 2020 1:58 p.m.Apparently White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci isn’t on the chopping block, despite President Donald Trump a post declaring it was “time to #FireFauci” on Sunday night.“This media chatter is ridiculous – President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci,” White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley said on Monday afternoon.The doctor “has been and remains a trusted advisor” to Trump, according to Gidley.But the White House’s rosy messaging about government officials who seem to have fallen from Trump’s good graces is rarely a good sign for the...WW…

LatestBy|June 11, 2020 10:13 a.m.As the Ohio state Senate was discussing a resolution that would declare racism a public health crisis earlier this week, state Sen. Steve Huffman (R), who is also a doctor, offered a racist theory as to why black communities have been hit harder by the COVID-19 outbreak than others.“Could it just be that African Americans — the colored population — do not wash their hands as well as other groups?” he asked Ohio Commission on Minority Health executive director Angela Dawson, who is black, during a hearing on Tuesday. “Or wear a mask? Or do not socially...…LatestBy|June 11, 2020 10:13 a.m.As the Ohio state Senate was discussing a resolution that would declare racism a public health crisis earlier this week, state Sen. Steve Huffman (R), who is also a doctor, offered a racist theory as to why black communities have been hit harder by the COVID-19 outbreak than others.“Could it just be that African Americans — the colored population — do not wash their hands as well as other groups?” he asked Ohio Commission on Minority Health executive director Angela Dawson, who is black, during a hearing on Tuesday. “Or wear a mask? Or do not socially...WW…

LatestBy|April 13, 2020 11:19 a.m.EDITORS' NOTE: TPM is making our COVID-19 coverage free to all readers during this national health crisis. If you’d like to support TPM's reporters, editors and staff, the best way to do so is toFormer Vice President Joe Biden is going to have to make some “uncomfortable” concessions to win over the party’s left flank in 2020, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said in an interview published Monday.Ocasio-Cortez, a key surrogate for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) erstwhile campaign and a prominent voice on the left,  that although she’s committed...…LatestBy|April 13, 2020 11:19 a.m.EDITORS' NOTE: TPM is making our COVID-19 coverage free to all readers during this national health crisis. If you’d like to support TPM's reporters, editors and staff, the best way to do so is toFormer Vice President Joe Biden is going to have to make some “uncomfortable” concessions to win over the party’s left flank in 2020, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said in an interview published Monday.Ocasio-Cortez, a key surrogate for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) erstwhile campaign and a prominent voice on the left,  that although she’s committed...WW…

LatestBy|April 24, 2020 8:52 a.m.Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said on Thursday that he anticipated President Donald Trump trying to pull some kind of scheme to push back this year’s election in order to boost his own chances of victory.“Mark my words, I think he is gonna try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can’t be held,” Biden said during a Q&A at a virtual fundraising event.He noted Trump’s , which is struggling under the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic, as lawmakers across the country push for mail-in voting to keep the virus from...…LatestBy|April 24, 2020 8:52 a.m.Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said on Thursday that he anticipated President Donald Trump trying to pull some kind of scheme to push back this year’s election in order to boost his own chances of victory.“Mark my words, I think he is gonna try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can’t be held,” Biden said during a Q&A at a virtual fundraising event.He noted Trump’s , which is struggling under the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic, as lawmakers across the country push for mail-in voting to keep the virus from...WW…

LatestBy|May 4, 2020 10:28 a.m.President Donald Trump hiked up his original projected death toll of 50,000 to 100,000 on Sunday.“Look, we’re going to lose anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people,” he told Fox News hosts Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier during a virtual town hall. “That’s a horrible thing. We shouldn’t lose one person over this.”Trump: "Look, we're going to lose anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people" to COVID-19.— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire)Later in the event, Trump pushed his projected number down slightly.“I used to say 65,000,” he said....…LatestBy|May 4, 2020 10:28 a.m.President Donald Trump hiked up his original projected death toll of 50,000 to 100,000 on Sunday.“Look, we’re going to lose anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people,” he told Fox News hosts Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier during a virtual town hall. “That’s a horrible thing. We shouldn’t lose one person over this.”Trump: "Look, we're going to lose anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people" to COVID-19.— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire)Later in the event, Trump pushed his projected number down slightly.“I used to say 65,000,” he said....WW…

LatestBy Lauran Neergaard, and JULIE PACE,|April 14, 2020 12:08 p.m.EDITORS' NOTE: TPM is making our COVID-19 coverage free to all readers during this national health crisis. If you’d like to support TPM's reporters, editors and staff, the best way to do so is toWASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said Tuesday the U.S. does not yet have the critical testing and tracing procedures needed to begin reopening the nation’s economy, adding a dose of caution to increasingly optimistic projections from the White House.“We have to have something in...…LatestBy Lauran Neergaard, and JULIE PACE,|April 14, 2020 12:08 p.m.EDITORS' NOTE: TPM is making our COVID-19 coverage free to all readers during this national health crisis. If you’d like to support TPM's reporters, editors and staff, the best way to do so is toWASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said Tuesday the U.S. does not yet have the critical testing and tracing procedures needed to begin reopening the nation’s economy, adding a dose of caution to increasingly optimistic projections from the White House.“We have to have something in...WW…

LatestBy|September 16, 2020 7:29 p.m.In his latest effort to politicize the COVID-19 pandemic as the country approaches nearly 200,000 fatalities from the infectious disease, President Trump on Wednesday singled out “blue states” for the country’s jarring COVID-19 death rate.During a briefing at the White House on Wednesday, Trump attempted to paint a rosy picture of COVID-19 cases in the country by suggesting that if “you take the blue states out” of the equation, the U.S. wouldn’t be experiencing an alarming death toll rate from the novel coronavirus compared to other...…LatestBy|September 16, 2020 7:29 p.m.In his latest effort to politicize the COVID-19 pandemic as the country approaches nearly 200,000 fatalities from the infectious disease, President Trump on Wednesday singled out “blue states” for the country’s jarring COVID-19 death rate.During a briefing at the White House on Wednesday, Trump attempted to paint a rosy picture of COVID-19 cases in the country by suggesting that if “you take the blue states out” of the equation, the U.S. wouldn’t be experiencing an alarming death toll rate from the novel coronavirus compared to other...WW…