North America

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Britain launched formal negotiations on a free trade agreement on Tuesday, vowing to work quickly to seal a deal that could counter the massive drag of the coronavirus pandemic on trade flows and the two allies’ economies.

The talks, to be conducted virtually, will involve over 300 U.S. and UK staff and officials in nearly 30 negotiating groups, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and UK trade minister Liz Truss said in a joint statement.

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said on Tuesday that "we don't know" where the coronavirus originated.

"Did it come out of the virology lab in Wuhan, did it occur in the wet market there in Wuhan or did it occur somewhere else? And the answer to that is we don't know," the top U.S. military officer told reporters in a Pentagon briefing when asked about the origin of COVID-19.

"Various agencies both civilian and U.S. government are looking at that," he added.

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States topped 70,000 on Tuesday, representing over a quarter of all the virus deaths reported worldwide, as Americans give negative marks for the federal government's handling of the outbreak.

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), made the comments Monday in an interview with National Geographic.

NEW YORK (AP) — Texas regulators are relaxing rules about where companies can store oil underground, raising concern among environmentalists about potential groundwater contamination and other dangers.

The members of the Railroad Commission of Texas voted Tuesday to allow companies to store oil underground in places other than salt caverns, which are considered better at preventing leaks than other geological formations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s time to get back to work.

On board the coronavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt, the crew is getting the aircraft carrier ready to head back out to sea. For the ship’s commander, Capt. Carlos Sardiello, the road to recovery has been a challenge. For the crew sidelined in Guam for more than a month, it’s been an emotional roller coaster.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s choice to oversee a significant chunk of the $2 trillion economic rescue law pledged Tuesday to conduct audits and investigations “with fairness and impartiality.″

Brian Miller, a lawyer in the White House counsel’s office, told the Senate Banking Committee during his confirmation hearing that “independence is vital” for the special inspector general for pandemic recovery. The post would place him in charge of overseeing a roughly $500 billion Treasury fund for industry created as part of the economic rescue law approved in late March.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state reported more than 1,700 previously undisclosed deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities in a tally that included for the first time people believed to have been killed by the coronavirus before their diagnoses could be confirmed.

The tally, released late Monday, emerged as state officials faced scrutiny over how they have protected vulnerable residents from the coronavirus.

At least 4,813 people have died from COVID-19 in the state’s nursing homes since March 1, according to the new totals.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s nominee for national intelligence director sought at his confirmation hearing Tuesday to shed his reputation as a loyalist to the president, insisting to skeptical Democrats that he would carry out the job free of political influence or partisan bias.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pressed ahead Tuesday with the next coronavirus aid, a sweeping package that is expected to be unveiled soon even as the House stays closed while the Senate reopens in the pandemic.

Key to any plan to reopen the economy, Democrats say, is robust testing. They are also expected to propose another round of direct cash aid for anxious Americans, funds for states to prevent layoffs and more money to shore up businesses in the stay-home economy. The amount of funding has yet to be determined.