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WASHINGTON (AP) — Mexico and the U.S. are restricting travel over their busy shared border as they try to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. President Donald Trump and Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard say their governments have agreed to prohibit recreational and tourist travel. It's similar to the restrictions put in place earlier this week along the U.S. and Canadian border. There would be no ban on people traveling for work or other essential activities and there would be no halt to commercial traffic. The restrictions take effect at 11:59 p.m. Friday. The U.S., Mexico and Canada have also worked out an agreement to immediately return people trying to cross the borders illegally.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Many countries in Latin America have taken aggressive measures to deal with the coronavirus such as closing their borders, docks and airports to foreigners, declaring states of emergencies and ordering business shutdowns. Mexico, by contrast, has taken a “business as usual” attitude. People are still crowding street markets for shopping, while traffic fills the streets and commuters throng the subway. President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador and his government have said a shutdown of the country would disproportionately hurt poor people and also be a psychological weight on all Mexicans, so there’s no reason to order major restrictions before health officials deem them necessary. The approach is puzzling many Mexicans, and worrying experts.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Californians awoke to a new reality after the governor issued stay-at-home orders for nearly 40 million people amid the coronavirus outbreak. The move by Gov. Gavin Newsom was the most sweeping in the country in the effort to curb the pandemic. Normally congested freeways were free of traffic and city streets remained mostly empty Friday. The order was a stunning development and further blow to businesses and workers. California is one of the hardest-hit states with 1,185 confirmed cases and 23 deaths as of Friday. Residents have been told to stay 6 feet away from others, not gather in groups and wash their hands frequently.
WASHINGTON (AP) — An angry President Donald Trump is defending his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and lashing out at reporters he deems overly critical of the response. At Friday's White House briefing, he also added to the confusion over whether he is using the Defense Production Act to order U.S. businesses to manufacture and send vital medical supplies to hospitals preparing to be overwhelmed by a wave of coronavirus cases. Trump also broke publicly with the government's top infectious-disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, over the possible effectiveness of new drugs being explored to treat the virus. Trump voiced much optimism. Fauci made clear it's too soon to be optimistic about an imminent treatment.
WASHINGTON (AP) — As leaders from Congress and the White House toiled in high-stakes negotiations on a mammoth $1 trillion-plus economic rescue package Friday, President Donald Trump unleashed fury over questions of his handling of the coronavirus outbreak. When one reporter asked Trump what he would tell a worried nation, the president snapped, “I say that you’re a terrible reporter.” Lawmakers were toiling late on Capitol Hill on the aid package, with the goal of passage by Monday. Republicans want to pump billions into $1,200 in direct checks for Americans and billions for small businesses. Democrats say it's insufficient, pushing for a “Marshall Plan” for hospitals and healthcare providers.
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