More than half of coronavirus payments have gone out
The Treasury Department says more than half of people eligible for a coronavirus relief payment have gotten their stimulus money so far — with 4 in 10 still waiting for their direct deposit or check.
More than 88 million payments, totaling $158 billion, had gone out as of the end of last week, according the most recent data available. The IRS expects to send out more than 150 million payments.
There’s been widespread confusion about how the payments would be issued. When the IRS released a website for people to check their payment status, there were delays and glitches. Despite that, the distribution process appears to be on schedule.
Earlier in April, the Treasury Department told Congress that payments would begin in mid-April, starting with people who filed tax returns in the last two years and then Social Security recipients. At the time, the department said paper checks would be mailed out in May, but now Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says that process has already started.
A state-by-state breakdown released Friday by the IRS shows that progress sending out the payments has been relatively consistent. Residents of California, which has the largest population of any U.S. state, have gotten a total of 9.1 million payments — which is worth nearly $16 billion. New York, which is the state hardest hit by coronavirus, has seen 5.5 million payments totaling about $9.4 billion.
For a refresher on the IRS payment process, click here
Governor pushes Virginia elections back two weeks
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed an executive order on Friday pushing back local elections scheduled for May 5 until May 19.
The two week period is the longest he is constitutionally allowed to delay an election without action from the state's general assembly.
Earlier this week, the House of Delegates passed a motion to postpone the election until November, but the state Senate did not, NBC affiliate WSLS reported.
"If you plan to vote in that election, I strongly encourage you to vote absentee by mail," Northam said at a news conference.
'This is our busiest time of year': Georgia businesses reopen despite coronavirus concerns
Mayra Hicks took measured steps to change how she does business in mid-March before she was forced to shut down her shop because of the coronavirus.
So when Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced plans Monday to restart the state's economy, clearing the way for businesses like hers that provide close-contact services to reopen Friday, Hicks, an esthetician, felt ready.
Trump: U.S. Postal Service is 'a joke' and should dramatically raise prices
President Donald Trump on Friday blasted the U.S. Postal Service as "a joke," and vowed to block financial aid for the struggling agency unless it raised prices for packages "four times or five times."
Trump said agency should hit Amazon and other tech companies with much higher prices for packages. "They don't want to raise it because they don't want to insult Amazon," Trump said.
The president essentially confirmed a Washington Post report that he won't sign off on a $10 billion loan for the postal service included in emergency coronavirus legislation unless the agency does what he wants. “If they don’t raise the price, I’m not signing anything,” he told reporters during a bill signing in the Oval Office.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters that Trump is looking to privatize the Postal Service, which she called a "very big danger" for the country, especially in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak "when vote by mail is so important in terms of as a health issue, but also medicines and all the rest of that people are depending — on so many things that they're ordering online coming by mail for them."
A short time later, he tweeted, "I will never let our Post Office fail."
How to help senior citizens cope with the coronavirus pandemic
The coronavirus can be lethal to anyone who catches it, but seniors are especially at risk if infected.
“Eight out of 10 deaths from COVID-19 have been from those age 65 or older,” says Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, a family physician in Phoenix, Arizona. “The reason why is because our immune system is less effective at fighting infections as we get older. Also, having multiple other chronic diseases can complicate this virus.”
Trump says he was being sarcastic with comments about injecting disinfectants
President Donald Trump said Friday that his remarks on injecting disinfectants to treat COVID-19 were sarcasm, after doctors responded with horror and disinfectant manufacturers urged people not to ingest the poisonous substances.
"I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters just like you, just to see what would happen," Trump said on Friday during a bill signing for the coronavirus aid package. "I was asking a sarcastic and a very sarcastic question to the reporters in the room about disinfectant on the inside. But it does kill it and it would kill it on the hands, and it would make things much better."
But the president's comments the day before — a lengthy musing that disinfectant or powerful light could be used to fight the virus — did not appear to be sarcasm; they were in part directed at a Homeland Security official.
Homeless people are at risk from the coronavirus. Police have a solution: Drones.
Drones have been in the hands of local law enforcement agencies for years, using them to help conduct search-and-rescue missions and map crime and vehicle crash scenes. But since states across the country issued shelter-in-place orders in response to the pandemic, police departments have seized on the crisis as a moment to acquire more drones to do remote patrolling.
The technology has come with warnings from anti-surveillance advocates and civil liberties watchdogs who point to the privacy risks of flying robots equipped with cameras surreptitiously filming people from afar.
Tennessee's businesses to reopen with new guidelines, but no enforcement
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Friday outlined his plans for businesses across the state to reopen starting next week — but he acknowledged that the state will not be enforcing the measures to make sure businesses are following them.
Restaurants will reopen on Monday in 89 of the state's 95 counties. Retailers will follow Wednesday, while businesses like salons and tattoo parlors that require close contact will take a few more weeks to resume operations.
In announcing his "Tennessee Pledge," Lee called on businesses that reopen to follow social distancing guidelines and operate at reduced capacity.
New restaurant guidelines call for the use of disposable menus and sanitizing chairs and table-top items after each table turn. Self-serve buffets, shared condiments, and beverage station re-use are discouraged.
Lee cited the state's "downward trajectory" for COVID-19 symptoms and economic outlook in calling for businesses to reopen. The state has experienced 8,266 COVID-19 cases and 170 deaths.