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| President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19. That's the news many are waking up to this Friday. The development could upend the president's message that the pandemic is "under control." It could also throw an already-bitter election into further disarray. |
| I'm Jane Onyanga-Omara. Here's today's news: |
After COVID-19 diagnosis, Trump cancels rally, most of his schedule |
| After the staggering news that President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19, the commander in chief canceled most of his events on his official schedule for Friday, including a roundtable for supporters at his Washington, D.C., hotel and a rally at an airport in central Florida. He did keep one event scheduled — a phone call on COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors that is closed to the press. The first lady also has postponed all of her upcoming engagements. The astonishing announcement, delivered on Twitter, came several hours after news that White House adviser Hope Hicks, one of Trump's longest-serving political aides, also tested positive for COVID-19. More than seven million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and over 200,000 have died from the disease in the U.S. |
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What are Trump's symptoms? |
| Melania Trump tweeted early Friday: "We are feeling good." White House physician Dr. Sean Conley wrote in a letter about the Trumps' positive tests that: "The President and First Lady are both well at this time." |
Where did he get it? |
| Trump was presumably exposed by aide Hope Hicks, although this has not been confirmed. It was announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19 and was symptomatic on Thursday. She appears to have been diagnosed on Wednesday evening when she flew with the president to Minnesota. |
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What does it mean for pandemic response, election? |
| Trump testing positive has the potential to upend his all-is-well messaging on the pandemic while throwing an already contentious election into further disarray. Trump has argued for weeks that the nation has "turned the corner" on COVID-19, despite spiraling case counts, and often asserted Americans had the pandemic "under control" as he pressured states to open schools and businesses. As well as major implications for the president's messaging, the announcement will also have an impact on the logistics of his schedule just weeks before the Nov. 3 election. The revelation of his positive result raises questions about his ability to hold rallies, fundraisers and participate in presidential debates scheduled later this month. |
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More about the Trumps and coronavirus: |
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In other news: |
Grand jury recordings to be released in Breonna Taylor case |
| The transcripts, recordings and reports from the grand jury proceedings in the Breonna Taylor case are expected to be released to the public on Friday at noon ET . The development comes after a grand juror filed a motion in court calling for their release and permission to speak freely about what charges and defendants were not considered. Jefferson Circuit Judge Ann Bailey Smith ordered the recording of the grand jury proceedings to be "filed in the court file by noon of Wednesday this week," and later extended the deadline to Friday at the request of Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Last week, a Kentucky grand jury indicted former Louisville detective Brett Hankison on three counts of wanton endangerment. The officers who shot Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician, were not charged. |
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Final monthly jobs report before the election will be released |
| The Labor Department's September jobs report will be released Friday morning, and it is expected to show continued modest job gains. Economists expect the department to announce that the U.S. added about 850,000 jobs in September, down from 1.4 million the previous month. Such a figure would mean the nation has recouped slightly more than half the 22.1 million net jobs lost in early spring as states shut down nonessential businesses to curtail the outbreak. The employment report will be the last before an election that could hinge on how voters view President Donald Trump's handling of the pandemic and its economic fallout. About 787,000 Americans filed first-time applications for unemployment insurance during the week ending Sept. 26, the Labor Department reported Thursday, a small drop from the prior week. The weekly figures have trended down since peaking at 6.2 million in early spring but remain historically high. |
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California wildfires rages amid fear of mega-inferno |
| Red flag warnings of extreme fire danger were expected to continue into Friday for large stretches of Northern California amid fears that multiple wildfires could merge into a 1-million acre mega-inferno. Officials fear gusty winds, extreme heat and low humidity may prompt the Zogg Fire, which has burned through 55,303 acres near Redding and left four people dead, to fuse with the August Complex Fire – which has already incinerated 955,513 acres. The August Complex Fire was 47% contained as of Thursday; the Zogg Fire was 26% contained, nearly three times as much as the previous day as firefighters made considerable progress. In the wine country counties of Napa and Sonoma, more than 70,000 people remained under evacuation orders Thursday as the Glass Fire continued to rage. |
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