
Blinken meets with WHO director to reaffirm US support for second probe into Covid outbreak
CNN
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the director-general of the World Health Organization Wednesday and underscored US support for further WHO studies into the origins of Covid-19, including research in China, the State Department said.
Blinken and Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met in Kuwait almost a week after China announced that it would not participate in the second phase of the WHO's investigations into the virus' origins after the health organization included the possibility that the virus escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China. "Secretary Blinken affirmed U.S. support for the WHO's plans to conduct additional studies into the COVID-19 origins, including in the People's Republic of China, to better understand the current pandemic and prevent future ones," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. Blinken "stressed the need for the next phase to be timely, evidence-based, transparent, expert-led, and free from interference," Price said.
Janet Mills and her allies are counting on a gender gap to narrow Platner’s wide lead ahead of the June 9 primary to decide who will face incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. They are betting that the unfiltered style that has brought Platner widespread attention as someone who could help Democrats reach young men will backfire with women.

As a shrinking number of Transportation Security Administration agents work to keep hourslong security lines moving despite not being paid, President Donald Trump stepped into the fray Saturday, announcing he will send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to airports by Monday if Congress doesn’t agree to a plan to end the partial government shutdown.











