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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A health official on the Texas Gulf Coast says 85 infants have tested positive for the coronavirus. Corpus Christi Nueces County Public Health Director Annette Rodriguez said Friday that the 85 infants are each younger than 1, but offered no details and did not return messages for comment Saturday from The Associated Press. Texas health officials reported more than 10,000 new cases for a fifth consecutive day and said 130 more people have died due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A department spokesperson says Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has been hospitalized for “minor, non-coronavirus related issues." The spokesperson says in a statement that the 82-year-old Ross is “doing well" and is expected to be released from the hospital soon. The department hasn't immediately responded to a request for additional details. Ross is a former banker known for acquiring and restructuring failed companies. He was confirmed as commerce secretary in February 2017.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s attorney general is seeking an order to stop federal agents from arresting people in Portland as the city continues to be convulsed by nightly protests that have gone on for seven weeks and have now pitted local officials against the Trump administration. Federal agents, some wearing camouflage and some wearing dark Homeland Security uniforms, used tear gas at least twice to break up crowds late Friday night. Demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality have happened daily in Oregon’s largest city since Minneapolis police killed George Floyd on May 25. President Donald Trump has decried the disorder, and Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf blasted the protesters as “lawless anarchists.”
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — As more states embrace mail-in balloting, an often overlooked detail has emerged as a partisan dividing line: postage. Questions over whether to require postage for absentee ballot applications and the ballots themselves, who pays for it and what happens to envelopes without stamps are the subject of lawsuits and statehouse political brawls. Lawsuits in Florida, Georgia and other states argue that stamps constitute a monetary requirement akin to a poll tax. Voting-rights groups say they're just another impediment to voting. The debate has become vehement in Ohio, where legislation would explicitly prohibit the state’s elections chief from pre-paying postage.
WASHINGTON (AP) — When Congress approved the eye-popping $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill in March, it was the biggest rescue of its kind in U.S. history. Now, with the pandemic worsening, it's clear that package was only the start, and Congress returns to work Monday to try to draft another one. The current round of aid is running out. Extra employment benefits expire and so does a federal eviction freeze. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is poised to roll out his $1 trillion-plus proposal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi already has pushed through a more sweeping $3 trillion effort. Big spending that Congress hoped to avoid now seems inevitable.
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