
President Donald Trump said on Monday that he liked leading health expert Anthony Fauci and did not intend to fire him after Fauci said in an interview that earlier mitigation efforts against the coronavirus outbreak could have saved more lives.

Americans spent Sunday on lockdown as the US toll from the COVID-19 pandemic surpassed 20,000 deaths and more than half a million confirmed cases. With almost all the country under stay-at-home orders to curb the spread of the disease, many turned to online church services to mark the holiest day in the Christian calendar.

The world's biggest pork producer is shuttering a major United States plant indefinitely after a coronavirus outbreak among employees, with the company warning that closures across the country are taking American meat supplies perilously close to the edge of shortfalls.

OPEC, Russia and other allies outlined plans on Thursday to cut their oil output by more than a fifth and said they expected the United States and other producers to join in their effort to prop up prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis.

Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist whose progressive agenda pushed the Democratic Party sharply to the left, ended his White House campaign on Wednesday, clearing the way for a Nov 3 election battle between former Vice President Joe Biden and Republican President Donald Trump.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday pleaded for global unity in fighting the coronavirus and gave a strident defense of his agency's handling of the pandemic, in response to US President Donald Trump's criticism.

Manufacturing giant 3M said it has an agreement with the Trump administration that will allow the company to continue to export N95 protective masks to Canada and Latin America amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Acting United States Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned on Tuesday after he faced mounting backlash for firing and ridiculing the commander of a US aircraft carrier who pleaded for the help stemming a coronavirus outbreak onboard.

China last year became the world leader in international patent filings, unseating the United States which had held the top spot for more than four decades, the UN said on Tuesday. A record 265,800 international patent applications were filed last year, a hike of 5.2% from 2018, the World Intellectual Property Organization said in its annual report.

US President Donald Trump sharply criticized the World Health Organization on Tuesday, accusing it of being too focused on China and issuing bad advice during the coronavirus outbreak.