Covid-19 Vaccine Trials in US Underway in Biggest Test to Date

It includes another round of $1,200 direct payments but reduces the extra $600 a week in federal unemployment benefits that expire for millions of Americans on Friday.

Republicans proposed $200 a week, saying the generous bump discourages people from returning to work. Democrats call the added benefits a lifeline for those who have lost their jobs.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows worked through the weekend on the GOP proposal and have agreed to negotiate with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer.

House Democrats passed a $3 trillion relief package a couple of months ago.

In Europe, rising infections in Spain and other countries caused alarm only weeks after nations reopened their borders in hopes of reviving tourism.

Over the weekend, Britain imposed a 14-day quarantine on travelers arriving from Spain.

Read also: UK Quarantine Imposed on Spain – Germany and France Could Be Next

Norway ordered a 10-day quarantine for people returning from the entire Iberian peninsula, and France urged its citizens not to visit Spain’s Catalonia region.

Scientists set speed records getting vaccines into massive testing just months after the coronavirus emerged.

But they stressed that the public shouldn’t fear that anyone is cutting corners.