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WASHINGTON (AP) — Government relief checks are arriving in Americans’ bank accounts as the damage to the U.S. economy piles up. And sluggish sales at reopened businesses in Europe and China are making it clear that things won’t necessarily bounce right back when the crisis eases. American industrial output shriveled in March, registering its biggest decline since demobilization at the end of World War II in 1946, and retail sales fell by an unprecedented 8.7%.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Talks in Washington are accelerating on a stopgap coronavirus relief bill aimed at helping small businesses. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke Wednesday about President Donald Trump's request for $250 billion in emergency aid. House and Senate Democratic aides spoke by phone with Treasury officials later in the day. The money would be used to shore up a paycheck subsidy program that gives grants to businesses with fewer than 500 workers so that they can maintain payroll and pay rent. Top GOP leaders are vowing to stick closely to Trump’s request despite Democratic demands to add funding for states and hospitals.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is citing the coronavirus outbreak as he threatens unprecedented action— adjourning both houses of Congress — to entice the Senate to approve more of his nominees. In recent years, Congress has refused to fully adjourn during most breaks precisely to prevent the president from making recess appointments. Little or no business is conducted in such “pro-forma sessions,” but they give members of both chambers of Congress the chance to go back home without going into recess. It’s a process lawmakers also employed to thwart President Barack Obama’s nominees. Trump says he’s had enough.
NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Cuomo says his wife Cristina has been diagnosed with the coronavirus. The CNN anchor revealed last month that he was diagnosed with the virus and at the time said he hoped he would not infect his wife and children. Cuomo made the announcement on CNN during an interview with his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, While Chris Cuomo has said his symptoms have caused high fevers and even hallucinations, he said his wife is fine and taking the diagnosis in stride,
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leaders have reopened factories and shops in an effort to revive the economy, but the consumers whose spending propels most of China's growth have been slow to return to shopping malls and auto dealerships. Authorities are trying to encourage spending by handing out shopping vouchers, but many people are uneasy about a possible resurgence of the coronavirus or losing their jobs. The delay is a blow to automakers and other global companies that hope China will power a worldwide recovery following the most painful peacetime downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
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