US House leaders and the Office of Attending Physician (OAP) on Wednesday announced safety protocols for votes on Thursday. The memo urged House members to use extreme care and deliberation when making the determination to travel to Washington, DC, and recommended teleworking for all Congressional offices. In all cases, members and staff must maintain six-foot [...]

Bipartisan senators on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee on Tuesday announced two pieces of legislation that would invest $19.5 billion into improving the country’s water infrastructure. The America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 (AWIA 2020) looks to provide improvements to the rivers and harbors of the US, to the conservation and development [...]

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) filed three lawsuits Monday challenging the failure of the New York State Department of Health (DOH) and two hospitals to protect the health and safety of nurses treating COVID-19 patients. The NYSNA claimed that the DOH, Montefiore Medical Center and Westchester Medical Center compromised the health and safety of [...]

US Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) on Tuesday announced his plan to introduce legislation that would limit President Donald Trump’s ability to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci amid criticism of Fauci from conservative outlets. The legislation will provide that any termination of a director of a national research institute or national center of the National Institutes of [...]

Rutgers University announced on Monday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to Rutgers RUCDR Infinite Biologics and its collaborators for a new saliva-based COVID-19 test. Andrew Brooks, chief operating officer and director of technology development at RUCDR, believes that the new method will allow for broader population [...]

The US Department of State on Monday designated the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) as global terrorists, the first time that the department has designated a racially or ethnically motivated terrorist group. RIM is a terrorist group that provides paramilitary-style training to neo-Nazis and white supremacists, and it plays a prominent role in trying to rally [...]

The US Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Office of General Counsel and Media Bureau on Monday rejected a petition by Free Press, an advocacy group, demanding a government investigation into broadcasters that aired statements by President Donald Trump during White House Coronavirus Task Force briefings and related commentary regarding the COVID-19 pandemic by other on-air personalities. [...]

The Trump administration on Tuesday weakened the fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, previously one of the nation’s most aggressive policies against climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on behalf of the Department of Transportation, amended carbon dioxide and fuel economy standards for model years 2021 [...]

US Federal Communications Commission Chairman (FCC) Ajit Pai on Monday announced his plan for a $200 million COVID-19 Telehealth Program to support health care providers responding to the ongoing pandemic. As part of the CARES Act, Congress appropriated $200 million to the FCC to support health care providers’ use of telehealth services in combating the [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday called on Cambodian authorities to stop arresting people for expressing concerns about COVID-19’s impact in Cambodia and claiming they are spreading “fake news.” Phil Robertson, HRW Deputy Asia Director, said that the Cambodian government is misusing the COVID-19 outbreak to lock up opposition activists and others expressing concern about [...]