The Latest Breaking News from McClatchy Washington Bureau

A pot of money is there to help the jobless. Florida can't figure out how to tap it

MIAMI _ Fifty-three days after Congress passed the CARES Act, Floridian Tim Young still waits on jobless benefits. He fits in a particularly uncomfortable niche: people who had exhausted their annual state benefits before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the nation.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · May 19, 2020

Pompeo's treatment of closest aide from Kansas was a subject of fired IG's inquiry

WASHINGTON _ Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's treatment of a longtime aide from Kansas who worked for him at the Central Intelligence Agency and then the State Department was under scrutiny by an inspector general recently fired by President Donald Trump, government sources familiar with the matter told McClatchy.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · May 19, 2020

Marco Rubio to lead Senate Intelligence Committee after Burr resigns

WASHINGTON _ Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio will lead the Senate Intelligence Committee, one of the most influential roles in Washington, after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell named him to the post on Monday on an interim basis.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · May 18, 2020

Loeffler's campaign hoped for a reset. But senator's stocks came under new scrutiny

WASHINGTON _ Sen. Kelly Loeffler's campaign was seeking a reset after a rocky first few months in the Republican's tenure as a Georgia senator. Instead, an FBI investigation of a fellow senator suddenly placed Loeffler's own stock sales front and center again.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · May 15, 2020

'Risk the coronavirus or keel over anyway.' Veterans worry going to VA amid COVID-19

WASHINGTON _ Marine Corps veteran David Kelly needed a life-saving blood transfusion. His choices were to go to a VA urgent care clinic or its main medical center, which during the coronavirus pandemic he wanted to avoid.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · May 15, 2020

'There isn't enough time': Scientists may need years to identify coronavirus immunity

WASHINGTON _ When researchers in Los Alamos published a study last month revealing the emergence of a mutant coronavirus strain, a finding buried deep inside alarmed Robert Gallo, one of the co-discoverers of HIV.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · May 14, 2020

'Astonishing': Veteran military pilots see first survey data on how many have cancer

WASHINGTON _ Last fall, the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association asked its 3,400 members, all current or former military pilots, to respond to a survey about whether they had been diagnosed with cancer. The response was "astonishing," a leader of the group said.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · May 12, 2020

Trump wants schools to reopen. Experts say COVID-19 safety measures will cost billions

WASHINGTON _ If schools are to reopen safely as soon as August, which President Donald Trump has proposed, education experts say billions of dollars in federal funding will be needed in the next coronavirus relief bill.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · May 11, 2020

COVID-19 nixed door-knocking. So one group is asking voters to record anti-Trump videos

WASHINGTON _ A Democratic super PAC that had once taken a hands-on approach to identifying rural voters angry with President Donald Trump is changing up its approach in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · May 11, 2020

White House aides test positive for coronavirus, raising debate on masks in West Wing

WASHINGTON _ Senior White House officials are debating whether to implement a mandatory mask policy for officials working in the West Wing after two close aides to President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence tested positive for the coronavirus.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · May 8, 2020