Mnuchin and Pelosi say they are ready to try again for an economic stimulus measure.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had agreed to resume talks on a new economic relief package.
“I’ve probably spoken to Speaker Pelosi 15 or 20 times in the last few days on the C.R.,” said Mr. Mnuchin, referring to a continuing resolution to extend government funding. “And we’ve agreed to continue to have discussions about the CARES Act.”
The Treasury secretary’s comments, made at a Senate Banking Committee hearing, came as jobless claims rose to 825,000 and stock markets remained volatile.
Ms. Pelosi, too, said Thursday that she expected to return to the negotiating table with Mr. Mnuchin — “hopefully soon.”
“I’m talking with my caucus, my leadership, and we’ll see what we’re going to do,” she told reporters. “But we’re ready for a negotiation. That’s what we’re ready for.”
Still, it remained far from clear that Republican and Democratic negotiators would be able to reach a deal.
At the hearing, Mr. Mnuchin criticized Democrats for making talks conditional on an agreement for a broad measure that would cost more than $2 trillion. He suggested that both sides work toward passing narrower legislation aimed at those ares on which they agree.
Despite that, top Democrats continued working Thursday to put together a $2.4 trillion package.
More than seven million people in the United States have now been infected by the coronavirus.
Though the milestone, reached on Thursday according to a New York Times database, is sobering, it comes as infections in much the country have in fact been slowing.
The United States has been averaging around 41,500 cases daily, down from the pandemic’s midsummer peak, though states in the Midwest and West are seeing case numbers rise.
It was a day for milestones.
In California, officials recorded their 800,000th case since the start of the pandemic. That is more than any other state. But the figure is cumulative, and does not capture the state’s current situation.
With health officials in California testing enough of the population to contain the spread of the virus, the state is reporting a relatively low number of new cases a day, according to the Times database.
More broadly, California the largest state in the country, has had significantly fewer virus cases per capita than other states like Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi. It currently ranks 36th among states and territories in known new cases per capita over the past seven days, and 26th in the total number of known cases per capita since the start of the pandemic.
It was less than a month ago that the United States hit the six-million mark, on Aug. 30. It had taken more than three months for the country try to record its first million.
The story of how California came to lead the country in the total number of cases goes back to the spring and summer months, when new cases surged across the Sun Belt states. New cases in California peaked at the end of July when the seven-day average doubled from what it was a month earlier.
It was a far cry from the early days of the pandemic, when most virus cases were in the Northeast and Washington State, and California emerged as a national role model when it became the first state to issue a stay-at-home order.
But the number of cases there began to climb when that order was lifted.
Like health officials in many Sun Belt states, the authorities in California attributed the spike to a premature easing of restrictions. In early July, when virus-related hospitalizations in California were up by more than 50 percent over a two-week period, Gov. Gavin Newsom halted reopening plans and ordered bars and indoor dining closed for most residents.
College enrollment has declined, especially for international students and at community colleges, a report finds.
In an early look at fall enrollment, the National Student Clearinghouse…
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