Though New York City has emerged as the epicenter of the novel coronavirus' spread in the United States, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich. Dist. 12) warned "We are, in Michigan, the next Ground Zero."
By Sunday evening, her state had the fourth highest case count in the nation, with more than 5,400 patients and at least 132 deaths.
The first case in Michigan was reported on March 10, and the virus quickly spread. Infections have swept through public services like the Detroit police and fire departments, raising immediate concerns that the area will be pressed for resources.
More than 1,500 of the state's cases are in Detroit, which neighbors Dingell's district. Both Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases, and Dr. Deborah Birx, Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator, warned that Detroit's trajectory is concerning.
"We're obviously, like many in America and in the world, frightened by what's happening in our community," Dingell told Cheddar Monday.
"We're seeing people get sick," she said, noting she knows 10 people who have died in the last 12 days.
Though she warned state and local governments will need more help moving forward, Dingell said there were a number of critical issues proposed for last week's bill meant to help Americans, some of which made it into the final version of the $2.2 trillion aid bill and some of which did not.
"Thankfully in our state, we've turned the water on for everybody," she said, after some in Detroit, a city with a poverty rate nearly three times higher than the national average, lost access to the utility. "People have to be able to wash their hands. We need to get relief into [a phase IV bill] that's going to do basic things like make sure every American has running water."
While reminding Americans to stay home to keep others safe, Dingell noted that today marks two weeks since she had seen another human being in-person.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
