A member of the White House Correspondents Association has tested positive for coronavirus, according to the Associated Press.

The White House Medical Unit will perform contact tracing.

The Republican National Committee has said it is "still working through logistics and press coverage options" following an earlier statement the GOP's presidential nominating convention would be closed off to the press, The Washington Post reports.

On Saturday, the group told reporters that the event would be closed to reporters "given the health restrictions and limitations in place" in North Carolina, where the event is set to take place after its Florida event was cancelled.

The confusion underscores the event's uncertain scheduling, after its main event moved from Charlotte, North Carolina to Florida before moving back to North Carolina as coronavirus cases surged in the Sunshine State. The president abruptly announced the Florida convention was canceled during a White House press briefing.

Joe Lockhart, press secretary to former president Bill Clinton, issued a few recommendations to presidential candidate Joe Biden ahead of November's general election against Donald Trump.

Among them: Don't expend resources in states where you don't need to, don't be afraid to be boring, and "whatever you do, don't debate Trump."

"Trump has now made more than 20,000 misleading or false statements according to the Washington Post," Lockhart writes. "It's a fool's errand to enter the ring with someone who can't follow the rules or the truth. Biden will undoubtedly take heat from Republicans and the media for skipping the debates. But it's worth the risk as trying to debate someone incapable of telling the truth is an impossible contest to win."

Other Democratic strategists have made similar arguments, while three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate are on deck ahead of November. The first is set for 29 September.

Mr Biden, meanwhile, has said he "can't wait" to debate the "stable genius".

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told ABC she does not have confidence in White House coronavirus task force official Dr Deborah Birx, linking her to Donald Trump's disinformation about the pandemic and the administration's response.

"I think the president has been spreading disinformation about the virus and she is his appointee so, I don't have confidence there, no," Speaker Pelosi said.

In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Birx said she respects the speaker and attributed the criticism to an article in The New York Times that depicted Dr Birx projecting overly optimistic assessments of the virus.

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, also in the running for Joe Biden's VP pick, pushed back against Donald Trump's call to "delay" the election (which he  does not have authority to do) amid his attempts to cast doubt on absentee ballots as he faces declining poll numbers.

"He's trying to distract us from his oversight and leadership, or failed leadership," including a stalled economy and millions of Americans facing evictions, unemployment and threats from the coronavirus.

Donald Trump's campaign adviser Jason Miller, asked three times by Fox News host Chris Wallace to state flatly whether the campaign or administration has accepted foreign information on rival Joe Biden, instead called it a "silly question" and pivoted to attacks on Hillary Clinton's former presidential campaign.

"We're going to beat Joe Biden fair and square," he said.

Mr Miller also called Mr Biden's platform a "communist manifesto" and claimed he was under the influence of a "left-wing mob" (which the president has also used to describe Black Lives Matter protesters) of prominent Democrat officials.

He also warned that mail-in voting in November will be a "disaster" for states that are not used to a larger volume of absentee ballots, though the president has claimed that the Post Office – which has also been targeted by the administration – also can't handle them.
 

White House coronavirus task force member and assistant health secretary Brett Giroir has pushed back against claims promoted by Donald Trump and his allies suggesting that hydroxychloroquine can treat Covid0-19 patients.

The president has recently defended a controversial doctor who called it a "cure" despite no evidence.

"I think most physicians and prescribers are evidence-based and they're not influenced by Twitter," Admiral Giroir told NBC on Sunday. "The evidence does not show that hydroxychloroquine is effective right now ... We need to move on from that and talk about what is effective."

White House coronavirus task force member Dr Deborah Birx has appeared to reverse course on schools reopenings, after telling governors weeks ago that there was a clear path to reopen schools safely, while the latest CDC guidelines have urged schools to open, despite high case rates across the US.

On Sunday, Dr Birx told CNN that areas with "high case load and active community spread" should stick with distance learning "to get this epidemic under control."

Donald Trump promised a "full and complete healthcare plan” within two weeks – two weeks ago – and reports suggest there is no evidence of such a plan.

While his administration attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act at the US Supreme Court, the president has not offered up a replacement healthcare measure to ensure millions of Americans currently insured through the federal law will continue their coverage. The administration has meanwhile undermined other crucial parts of the law, targeting women and LGBT+ people.

Here's what he told Fox News two weeks ago:

The president is golfing for second consecutive day.

On Sunday, he touted his prescription drug executive orders that aim to lower the cost of drug prices.

Following Johns Hopkins University's warning to the US that federal leadership must "reset" its response to the coronavirus pandemic as deaths surpass 150,000 and cases near 5 million, White House coronavirus task force member Dr Debrah Birx insisted the US had reset its response several weeks ago, during a June surge in cases in the south.

"What we're starting to see ... is these mitigation efforts are beginning to work," she told CNN. "We hope decreasing deaths will follow."

Asked whether it's possible the number of US deaths could double by the end of the year, Dr Birx replied: "Anything is possible."

"We need all of the public to help get control of this virus," she said.

House Majority Whip ​James Clyburn warns that Donald Trump's has "taken on strong-arm tactics" as he mounts a re-election campaign amid fears that he would refuse election results and reject a peaceful transfer of power, should he lose, as the president casts doubt against the legitimacy of absentee ballots and the election process overall.

The South Carolina Democrat compared the president to Italian fascist Benito Mussolini and Russian president Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler.

"I feel very strongly that he is Mussolini, Putin is Hitler," he said. "I don't think he plans to leave the White House. He doesn't plan to have fair and unfettered elections. I believe he plans to install himself in some emergency way to continue to hold on to office. That's why the American people better wake up."

Facing calls for a federal mandate for Americans to wear face coverings in public to help combat the spread of coronavirus, Admiral Brett Giroir told NBC that masks would have to be "voluntary by the American people" to truly work, amid debate that people would "rebel" against such orders.

"The public health message is: we've got to have mask wearing," he said. "If we don't do that ... the virus will continue to run."

But significantly cutting the infection rate would require "85 to 90 per cent" compliance with federal health guidelines to wear masks in public, despite no such orders implemented on a national level and instead relying instead of state and local officials to issue them.

"We are very concerned," Admiral Giroir said. "Deaths will continue to increase for the next few weeks."

Asked how the administration plans to address surges of coronavirus infections in "hot spots" across the US months after the onset of the outbreak in the country, White House coronavirus task force member Dr Deborah Birx claims that new infections are different from the case spikes in the spring.

"It is extraordinarily widespread, it's into the rural as equal as urban areas, and yo everyone who lives in a rural area, you are not immune or protected from this virus," she told CNN. "This epidemic right now is different."

Dr Birx and the administration have faced intense scrutiny for failing to respond to the pandemic at its early onset, relying on a patchwork response from states without a national testing regimen or adequate containment and relief efforts to keep Americans safely at home.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says despite months of arguments to expand testing, Congress has reached a stalemate over the coronavirus response and expanded federal relief legislation as unemployment benefits expire and cases increase.

Donald Trump has "stood in the way" of the legislation, she said, following his claims on Twitter that Democrats – despite drafting legislation that has been blocked in the Republican-controlled Senate – are responsible for withholding that relief.

"We have been for the $600" in additional federal unemployment benefits, she said. "They have a $200 proposal which does not meet the needs of working families … The idea that they made a proposal is really not actually factual."

‘Never done before’: Trump doubles down on promise to lower drug prices

President Donald Trump has called for supporters to “forget” what drug companies who take “massive television ads against me” say, and insisted his administration will bring the price of prescription drugs in the US down.

It was unclear what drug companies he was referring to, but the president last week slammed “Big Pharma” television ads, calling them “nasty” and claiming he has reduced drug prices by 50 per cent “at least”.

Earlier this month, Mr Trump signed four executive orders aimed at cutting prescription drug prices in the US.

But pharmaceutical industry analysts have said the move would not have much effect.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America said in a statement: “This administration has decided to pursue a radical and dangerous policy to set prices based on rates paid in countries that he [President Trump] has labelled as socialist, which will harm patients today and into the future.”

But Mr Trump insists: “Favoured Nations Clause means USA will pay the lowest price of any nation in the World. Never done before. Watch!!!”

‘Fake News doesn’t report’ on coronavirus outbreaks in ‘nations which were thought to have done a great job’, complains Trump

The US President is awake and tweeting about the “China Virus” this afternoon.

Retweeting news of the worsening coronavirus outbreak in Australia’s Victoria state, Mr Trump complained the media does not report on new outbreaks in nations “which were thought to have done a great job”.

This is despite numerous reports by publications all over the world following the outbreak in Australia. The state of Victoria declared a disaster after a surge in infections swept across Melbourne and other areas.

A new nightly curfew for Melbourne, from 8am to 5pm, will come into effect on Sunday night as part of movement restrictions to curb the spread. Since Saturday, 671 new coronavirus cases have been reported, with seven deaths.

Mr Trump added: “USA will be stronger than ever before, and soon!”

The US remains the country with the highest number of infections, with over 4.7 million Covid-19 cases so far.

Microsoft in talks to buy US operations of TikTok ahead of Trump ban

Tech giant Microsoft is reportedly in advanced talks to buy the US operations of TikTok, which would be a major victory for the Chinese-owned video app at the centre of national security and censorship concerns.

President Donald Trump has had TikTok’s parent company Bytedance in his targets amid a bitter diplomatic row with China and said Friday he would take action as soon as Saturday to ban the app in the US.

He told reporters on Air Force One as he returned from Florida: “As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States.”

Claiming that he could use emergency economic powers or an executive order to enforce the ban, Mr Trump insisted he has “that authority” and the ban would “be signed tomorrow [Saturday]”.

According to Associated Press, a person familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity said Microsoft, if successful, would become a major player in the social media sphere.

Microsoft has declined to comment and TikTok issued a statement on Friday saying: “While we do not comment on rumours or speculation, we are confident in the long-term success of TikTok.”

TikTok is hugely popular in the US, where tens of millions of people use the app. It has hundreds of millions of users globally.

Key Trump impeachment witness Alexander Vindman accused Trump of ‘bullying and intimidation’

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman has said in a damning op-ed that coming forward in President Donald Trump’s impeachment proceedings helped “end his career” and accused the president of “bullying and intimidation”.

His testimony became key in the impeachment inquiry, but Lt Col Vindman said he experienced attacks from Mr Trump after testifying before Congress.

Danielle Zoellner has the full story here:

Barron Trump’s private school to stay closed despite POTUS insisting schools reopen

President Donald Trump’s son, Barron, will remain home from school as his Maryland private school is among those under country orders to stay closed.

The President has pushed for schools to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that children are being harmed by being away from the classroom.