May 18, 2018

Giuliani: We don't know if there was an FBI informant

Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani contradicted President Trump's claims about an informant being planted by the FBI and CIA during the campaign, telling CNN's Chris Cuomo that "I don't know for sure, nor does President Trump, if there really was one."

The backstory: Trump has been tweeting about the growing amount of speculation by conservative writers that a secret "source" from U.S. intelligence was used against the Trump campaign. Axios' David Nather notes that it's worth watching to see if their suspicions are confirmed, but right now they're just suspicions — not evidence. And Giuliani made it clear the White House doesn't have that evidence yet either.

Update: Following this interview, Trump fired off another tweet about the speculation of an implanted informant.

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Rebecca Falconer

Trump administration asks Congress for $2.5 billion to fight coronavirus

President Trump with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar at the White House in September. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Trump administration sent a letter to Congress Monday requesting a funding commitment of at least $2.5 billion to help combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Details: The request for a lump sum account for the Department of Health and Human Services includes $1.25 billion in new funds to fight COVID-19 and $535 would come from untouched funds for the Ebola virus.

Go deeper53 mins ago - Health

Axios

WHO won't call coronavirus a pandemic as cases spread

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

The World Health Organization will not yet call the coronavirus a pandemic, claiming that needs across affected countries are too varied and the classification would increase fear, per a briefing Monday.

The big picture: As South Korea and Italy stepped up emergency measures in efforts to thwart the spread of the virus, WHO expressed concern about infections with no clear link to China. COVID-19 has killed at least 2,620 people and infected almost 80,000 others, with all but 27 deaths occurring in mainland China.

Go deeperUpdated 3 hours ago - Health

Dave Lawler

The global scramble to contain the coronavirus

Taking precaution, in the Philippines. Photo: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

The coronavirus is spreading quickly in cities nowhere near Wuhan, China, and the window to prevent a global pandemic is narrowing.

Zoom in: Here's a look at what comes with a coronavirus outbreak in communities outside China that have been hardest hit so far.

Go deeper4 hours ago - World