North America

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- More than 700 crew members from the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier docked in Guam, have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday, CNN reported, quoting the U.S. Navy.

The Navy said 94 percent of the crew has been tested and at least 3,872 crew members tested negative for the disease.

Nine sailors have been hospitalized for the disease, said the report.

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reaffirmed their close cooperation to reopen global economies during a phone conversation on Tuesday, according to the White House.

"President Trump and Prime Minister Johnson reaffirmed their close cooperation through the G7 and G20 to reopen global economies and ensure medical care and supplies reach all those in need," the White House said in a statement.

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 800,000 on Tuesday with deaths surpassing 43,000, while Americans are increasingly divided over when and how to reopen the economy.

The country's confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 804,194 with a death toll of 43,200 by 2:30 p.m. (1830 GMT) on Tuesday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Setting aside their differences for at least an afternoon, President Donald Trump and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed in an Oval Office meeting to work to double coronavirus testing in the hard-hit state over the next few weeks.

“We will work together to help them secure additional tests,” Trump said after Tuesday’s meeting. “And we hope that this model will work with the other states as well.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to unite Democrats, Joe Biden has raced to line up supporters ranging from progressive icon Bernie Sanders to former President Barack Obama, whose administration sometimes irked liberals. But the person with the most influence may be Michelle Obama.

The former first lady is a unique figure in a deeply polarizing political environment, exceedingly popular with the party faithful while also having some appeal with Republicans and independents.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Preparations for the 2020 general election debates are proceeding “according to schedule” despite the coronavirus outbreak.

The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which has organized all general election debates since 1988, said in a statement Tuesday that it “will continue to monitor and assess developments regarding public health and safety as debate planning proceeds.”

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A massive coronavirus outbreak that has sickened nearly 4,000 inmates in Ohio has highlighted the dangers lurking in the nation’s correctional facilities during the pandemic and what system-wide testing reveals about the scope of infections behind prison walls.

The state ordered testing in prisons earlier this month as infections began to streak through guards, and this week the spike sent Ohio’s broader tally of virus cases to nearly 14,000, including more than 550 deaths and over 2,600 hospitalizations.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Health officials in Wisconsin said they have identified at least seven people who may have contracted the coronavirus from participating in the April 7 election, the first such cases following in-person voting that was held despite widespread concern about the public health risks.

The infections involve six voters and one poll worker in Milwaukee, where difficulty finding poll workers forced the city to pare nearly 200 voting locations back to just five, and where voters — some in masks, some with no protection — were forced to wait in long lines for hours.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is sprinting to approve the next coronavirus aid package, a $483 billion deal backed by the White House to replenish a small-business payroll fund and pump more money into hospitals and testing programs.

President Donald Trump is urging swift passage this week. The Senate approved the bill Tuesday and the House planned a vote on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced what he described as a “temporary suspension of immigration into the United States.” But the executive order would bar only those seeking permanent residency, not temporary workers.

Trump said Tuesday he would be placing a 60-day pause on the issuance of green cards in an effort to limit competition for jobs in a U.S. economy wrecked by the coronavirus. The order would include “certain exemptions,” he said, but he declined to outlined them, noting the order was still being crafted.