President Trump on Thursday rolled out his guidelines for reopening the country, deferring to governors on the details of the decisions.
There are still many questions over the phased guidelines and how states will tackle the decision. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), though, warned against moving forward too quickly with the reopening.
Meanwhile, a stalemate dragged on over small business funding in Congress, even as those funds ran out.
Here’s what you need to know today about the coronavirus outbreak.
In Congress and the White House
- The president on Thursday unveiled guidance for a phased reopening of parts of the U.S. economy that leaves the final decisions up to governors. Brett Samuels, Morgan Chalfant and Reid Wilson team up for the story.
- Ahead of President Trump’s release of those guidelines, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) warned of the dangers of reopening too soon and said the move needs to be “science-based.” Mike Lillis reports.
- Trump is also asking a bipartisan group of lawmakers to join a panel tasked with determining how to reopen the U.S. economy. More from Morgan Chalfant, Jordain Carney and Scott Wong.
- A key small business loan program ran out of funding on Thursday, as Congress remains locked in a funding battle, with Democrats looking to also provide more money to hospitals and local governments. Jordain Carney and Sylvan Lane report.
- President Trump told senators on a phone call Thursday that he would be open to attaching other items to the small business funding. Alexander Bolton reports.
- Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced a bill to provide $2,000 per month payments to Americans during the coronavirus crisis, a major expansion of previous relief efforts. Cristina Marcos reports.
In the states
- New Jersey’s governor launched an investigation after 17 dead bodies were found in a makeshift morgue in a nursing home. Jessie Hellmann reports.
- Wisconsin extended its stay at home order to May 26 and closed schools for the rest of the school year. Justine Coleman reports.
- New York, the hardest-hit state, extended its shutdown to May 15. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said the measures are working but need more time. Peter Sullivan reports.
- A California hospital suspended some nurses who refused to enter rooms with coronavirus patients without N95 masks, the nurses union said. Read more here.
Other news
- Scientists are being forced to learn about the coronavirus at unprecedented speed and journals are being flooded with publications. Reid Wilson reports.
- Bill and Melinda Gates are putting another $150 million into efforts to find treatments or a vaccine for coronavirus, on top of the $100 million they already announced. Justin Wise reports.
- Two Tyson Foods workers died of coronavirus, as concerns mount about coronavirus affecting food workers. Alex Gangitano reports.
- The airline Emirates is starting a program to perform 10-minute blood tests on passengers before flights. Kaelan Deese reports.