Mar 18, 2020 - Health

Surgeon general: 15 days of social distancing is "likely not going to be enough"

Surgeon General Jerome Adams told NBC's "Today" on Wednesday that the Trump administration's push for 15 days of social distancing "is likely not going to be enough to get all the way through" the coronavirus outbreak.

"We really have a choice to make right now as a nation. Do we want to go the way of Italy and see our numbers increase rapidly? Or do we want to go the way of South Korea and China, who aggressively leaned into mitigation measures and were actually able to level off their peak?"

The state of play: The Trump administration is asking Americans to stay away from gatherings of 10 or more people, work from home if possible and limit unnecessary travel to help fight the illness' spread.

  • The administration shifted its messaging stance after a new report estimated that up to 2 million Americans could die if the virus spreads unchecked.

Go deeper

Maria Arias
41 mins ago - World

"I stood up for that": Pope Francis voices support for same-sex civil unions

Pope Francis at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Photo: Vatican Pool - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Pope Francis voiced his support for same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope in the documentary “Francesco,” which premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival, per the Catholic News Agency.

Why it matters: The pope’s remarks represent a break from the position of the Roman Catholic Church, which has long taught that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered" and contrary to natural law.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Barak Ravid, author of from Tel Aviv
2 hours ago - World

Countries waiting to see if Trump wins before moving on Israel normalization

The delegation lands at Israel's Ben Gurion airport. Photo: Jack Guez/AFP via Getty

The White House is attempting to leverage momentum from Israel's normalization deals with Bahrain and the UAE to get more Arab countries on board before the U.S. election.

Driving the news: President Trump wants Sudan's removal from the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list to be accompanied by a pre-election announcement on Israel.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Orion Rummler
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Poll: 92% of battleground state voters are "extremely motivated to vote"

Voters stand in line at the Metropolitan Multi-Services Center in Houston, Texas, on Oct. 13. Photo: Mark Felix for The Washington Post via Getty Images

91% of likely voters nationally say they are "extremely motivated to vote," including 92% in battleground states Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to a Change Research/CNBC Poll.

Why it matters: The 2020 election could see record-breaking levels of voter turnout. Voters last week cast ballots at nearly five times the rate they did at this point in the 2016 election, per the U.S. Elections Project. Over 39 million ballots have been cast in early voting states as of Wednesday.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow