10 things you need to know today: May 1, 2020

1. Michigan protesters call for governor to let businesses reopen

Hundreds of protesters, some legally carrying guns, crowded into Michigan's Capitol building on Thursday to demonstrate against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's (D) stay-at-home order, designed to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The group Michigan United for Liberty, which organized the protest, said it wanted the state to allow businesses to reopen. Whitmer on Thursday extended her state-of-emergency order, which was set to expire Friday, until May 28, although the Republican-controlled legislature declined to endorse the move and threatened to take her to court. Whitmer, who has faced a rising backlash, eased some restrictions on public gatherings as coronavirus cases showed signs of stabilizing, although with 40,000 infections, Michigan is among the hardest hit states.

NBC News Detroit Free Press

2. Jobless claims rise above 30 million over 6 weeks

Another 3.8 million U.S. workers filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The new figures bring the total job losses over six weeks to more than 30 million as the coronavirus crisis continues to shut down businesses. The once unthinkable total could even be an undercount, economists say, as many states have been overwhelmed by the rush of applications for unemployment benefits, which Congress has extended to include self-employed taxpayers. A study by the Economic Policy Institute found that about 50 percent more people than were counted might have been eligible but found the process too daunting. "The problem is even bigger than the data suggest," said Elise Gould, a senior economist with the left-leaning research institute.

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The New York Times

3. Trump says FBI documents 'essentially exonerated' Flynn

President Trump said Thursday that newly released FBI documents had "essentially exonerated" former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to agents investigating Russia's election meddling. Flynn's lawyers on Wednesday released Justice Department documents in Flynn's case, including a handwritten note from former FBI counterintelligence director Bill Priestap saying, "What's our goal? Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?" Trump said: "These were dirty, filthy cops at the top of the FBI, and you know the names better than I do. And they were dishonest people." In December 2017, Trump tweeted that he "had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI" about his contacts with Russia's ambassador before Trump's inauguration.

New York Post Politico

4. Biden forms committee to vet possible running mates

Former Vice President Joe Biden's presidential campaign on Thursday unveiled plans for his vice-presidential vetting committee. The group will be led by former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Biden's former White House and Senate counsel, Cynthia Hogan. Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, already has said he would choose a woman as his running mate. Biden said Wednesday he expected his potential VP candidates to be vetted by July, and he will narrow down the list then. Biden said he would follow the advice of former President Barack Obama, who picked him, and find someone who's "'simpatico with me,' who is a real partner in progress, and is ready to be president on a moment's notice."

CBS News

5. Trump administration explores retaliation against China for pandemic

Senior U.S. officials are considering demanding financial compensation from China for letting the COVID-19 coronavirus spread outside China and around the world, The Washington Post reported Thursday, citing four senior administration officials. The administration also is exploring ways to punish China, such as stripping its sovereign immunity so the U.S. or victims could file lawsuits against it. President Trump threatened to use tariffs. U.S. intelligence agencies have debunked a conspiracy theory that the novel coronavirus was "manmade or genetically modified," but said they were still looking into whether it could have escaped from a lab. Trump contradicted intelligence officials, saying he had seen evidence supporting the theory that the novel coronavirus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, rather than from infected animals in a market.

The Washington Post CNN

6. Biden to address assault allegation

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, is scheduled to personally address for the first time a former Senate aide's allegation that he sexually assaulted her on Capitol Hill in 1993. MSNBC tweeted Thursday that Biden would be interviewed about the matter on Morning Joe early Friday. Biden's campaign has denied the allegation. Shortly before the interview announcement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) defended Biden, saying she was "satisfied" with his response to Reade's allegation that he assaulted her. Pelosi noted Biden's long history of advocating for women's rights, and said she was "impressed with the people who worked for him at the time saying they absolutely never heard one iota of information about this."

Reuters CNN

7. Amazon to spend quarterly profit on virus response

Amazon on Thursday announced that it would spend its second quarter profits, estimated around $4 billion, on responding to the coronavirus crisis. The online retail giant said it would spend hundreds of millions of dollars on COVID-19 tests for workers and improving its delivery network to handle a surge in online shopping under stay-at-home orders. Some of the money will go toward higher wages and personal protection equipment for workers. The company reported first quarter earnings of $5.01 per share, falling below expectations of $6.25 per share. Its revenue came in at $75.45 billion, beating forecasts of $73.61 billion. The company also said its employees who can work from home may do so until at least Oct. 2.

CNBC Reuters

8. FEMA will send PPE to nursing homes

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is preparing to send a week's worth of personal protective equipment to 154,000 nursing homes around the country, the Trump administration announced Thursday. The shipments of surgical masks, gloves, eye protection, and gowns — supplies nursing homes have struggled to obtain amid the COVID-19 pandemic — will begin the first week of May. But some advocates are calling the shipments "too little, too late," with Mark Parkinson, the head of a major nursing home lobby, saying "the inability of long term-care facilities to obtain equipment ... has proven to have tragic results." Nursing homes have seen major outbreaks of COVID-19, though it's been hard to put an exact number on those who died of the virus in those facilities.

CNN Politico

9. Court rules against Trump attempt to withhold 'sanctuary' city funds

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on Thursday upheld two lower court rulings blocking the Trump administration's effort to withhold millions of dollars from so-called "sanctuary" cities and counties that limit cooperation on immigration enforcement. The three-judge panel said the decision applied nationwide, although one of the judges said he would have narrowed the ruling to cover only Chicago, which filed the lawsuit. The decision came after President Trump, who has made curbing illegal immigration a focus of his presidency, said Wednesday that he was considering restricting coronavirus aid to "sanctuary" jurisdictions. The matter could be headed to the Supreme Court, as federal appeals courts have issued contradictory rulings on Trump's policies toward "sanctuary" cities.

Reuters

10. Fauci: Administration aims to roll out vaccine by January

Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious-disease specialist, said Thursday that the Trump administration is rushing to develop a coronavirus vaccine that could be used nationwide by January. The goal is to produce hundreds of millions of doses. "We want to go quickly, but we want to make sure it's safe and it's effective," Fauci said on NBC's Today show as the national stay-at-home guidance expired. "I think that is doable if things fall in the right place." Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that manufacturers of the best potential vaccine candidates would start production even before the vaccines are proven to work. That could make a vaccine available months faster than the normal process.

The Washington Post