Drug ‘approved’ for virus treatment; FDA says no

ers are forced to stay home and businesses close up shop in an attempt to slow down the spread of the virus.

Trump has undertaken a series of executive actions in recent days to boost the economy and contain the virus, including declaring a national emergency and signing an order under the Defense Production Act to ramp up production of medical supplies amid a shortage at hospitals across the country.

At Thursday’s briefing, Trump suggested the government may take an equity stake in companies that need bailouts to keep afloat — an extraordinary federal reach into the private sector.

Congress has chipped in on the coronavirus response as well.

Fresh off approving a $100 billion economic relief package Wednesday, the Senate began negotiations on anothBut er emergency measure that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree will top $1 trillion, likely the largest stimulus in modern U.S. history.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) unveiled the GOP blueprint for that legislation Thursday, proposing, among other measures, a one-time $1,200 check for every American earning less than $75,000 per year.

For those earning more than $75,000, the payments are phased down by $5 for every $100 earned annually, with a cut-off for those earning more than $99,000, who get no check at all.

Democrats weren’t pleased with the Republican proposal’s giveaways to corporate America.

“To earn Democratic support in the Congress, any economic stimulus proposal must include new, strong and strict provisions that prioritize and protect workers, such as banning the recipient companies from buying back stock, rewarding executives and laying off workers,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (DCalif.) said in a joint statement.

During his briefing, Trump kept calling the coronavirus the “Chinese virus” despite mounting criticisms of the moniker as offensive and racist.

“We continue our relentless effort to defeat the Chinese virus,” Trump said before claiming Beijing could have “easily” stopped the pandemic.

Health experts say that while the virus likely originated in China, it has now become a global pandemic that’s spreading uncontrollably across the world.

China wasn’t the only target of Trump’s ire.

After a reporter for a farright news outlet asked the president if he finds it concerning that the “left-wing media in this room” have “teamed up” with Chinese communists to mock his coronavirus response, Trump nodded in response.

“It’s corrupt news,” he mused.