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Coronavirus: Trump calls off stimulus negotiations; top presidential aide tests positive

The coverage on this live blog has ended — but for up-to-the-minute coverage on the coronavirus, visit the live blog from CNBC's U.S. team.

President Donald Trump is back at the White House after a three-night stay at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he was treated for the coronavirus with a cocktail of drugs, including Gilead's remdesivir, Regeneron's antibody cocktail and the steroid dexamethasone. Hours before he was discharged from the hospital, Trump urged Americans not to be afraid of the deadly virus and said he felt "better than I did 20 years ago." Trump has access to world-class medical care and still-under-review treatments and was scheduled to continue treatment back at the White House. 

Here are some of the biggest developments Tuesday:

The following data was compiled by Johns Hopkins University:

  • Global cases: More than 35.6 million
  • Global deaths: At least 1.04 million
  • U.S. cases: More than 7.47 million
  • U.S. deaths: At least 210,464

Top Trump aide Stephen Miller tests positive

Stephen Miller, White House senior advisor for policy, listens during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, not pictured, and congressional leadership in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017.
Getty Images

Stephen Miller, one of President Donald Trump's top aides and speechwriters, has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Miller is the latest leading figure in the White House to become infected with Covid-19, following counselor to the president Hope Hicks, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, first lady Melania Trump, the president himself, and several others.

"Over the last 5 days I have been working remotely and self-isolating, testing negative every day through yesterday. Today, I tested positive for COVID-19 and am in quarantine," Miller said.

In May, Miller's wife, Katie, tested positive for the virus and returned to her job as a top aide in Vice President Mike Pence's office after a few weeks. –Mike Calia

Biden slams Trump for halting stimulus talks

Democratic nominee Joe Biden ripped President Donald Trump for his decision to walk away from coronavirus stimulus negotiations on Tuesday.

"Make no mistake: if you are out of work, if your business is closed, if your child's school is shut down, if you are seeing layoffs in your community, Donald Trump decided today that none of it – none of it – matters to him," Biden said in a statement tweeted from his Twitter account. 

Earlier Tuesday, in a dramatic series of tweets, Trump said he told his negotiators to walk away from stimulus talks with Democrats until after the election. The move baffled Wall Street and Washington alike, as the U.S. economic recovery slows down just weeks before Election Day. –Mike Calia

HHS threatens to withhold hospital funding for failures to report Covid data

The Department of Health and Human Services threatened to withhold government funding from U.S. hospitals that fail to report Covid-19 as required by federal guidelines, CNBC's Will Feuer and Noah Higgins Dunn report. 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said hospitals will be given 14 weeks to meet the requirements and that federal officials will work with the facilities to bring them into compliance. —Sara Salinas

Hopes for a second airline bailout all but dashed after Trump halts stimulus talks

Airline and Boeing shares dropped sharply after President Donald Trump said he was halting talks with Democrats for a national coronavirus aid package, all but dashing hopes that the beleaguered industry would get another $25 billion in federal payroll support.

Airline executives and labor unions have been urging lawmakers and Trump administration officials for additional support after a rebound in travel demand failed to materialize in recent months.

U.S. airlines were forbidden from laying off workers until Oct. 1 under a first round of $25 billion in federal aid. Once that expired, U.S. airlines, mainly American and United, started furloughing more than 33,000 employees. Other airlines, including Southwest are trying to avoid job cuts but lowering worker pay. Airlines said they would reverse those actions if Congress approved more federal aid for the industry.

Bipartisan lawmakers and the Trump administration backed additional aid but they have so far failed to reach a national coronavirus package that would have included that support. —Leslie Josephs

New York to close some businesses, in-person schools in "hot spot" areas, governor says

New York will launch a "Cluster Action Initiative" beginning this week to slow growing clusters of coronavirus cases in "hot spot" areas, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a press briefing. The initiative will require non-essential businesses in "red zones" to shutter, restaurants to offer takeout only and schools to close for in-person classes.

The initiative would also prohibit mass gatherings and limit worship services to 10 people maximum, he said. Areas surrounding the red zones — called "orange zones" —  would also be subject to restrictions, though to a lesser extent compared with the red zones. 

Cuomo said state officials plan to consult with local governments on Tuesday to draw maps of the restricted zones, and the new rules will go into effect no later than Friday. —Noah Higgins-Dunn

Trump says he's calling off Covid-19 stimulus talks with Democrats until after the November election

U.S. President Donald Trump poses on the Truman Balcony of the White House after returning from being hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment, in Washington, U.S. October 5, 2020.
Erin Scott | Reuters

President Donald Trump said he told negotiators to call off coronavirus stimulus talks until after the 2020 election, CNBC's Jacob Pramuk and Thomas Franck report.

At stake is an ongoing effort to send trillions of dollars of relief to Americans in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

"I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business," Trump said in a series of tweets. 

Earlier in the day, Trump spoke with top GOP lawmakers to discuss the coronavirus stimulus package. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have been in conversation as recently as Monday and planned to talk again Tuesday. 

The president said on Twitter that he's asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to "focus full time" on confirming Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. 

Immediately following his announcement, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reacted by falling more than 300 points. —Hannah Miao

FDA posts vaccine guidelines that were blocked by the White House

The Food and Drug Administration posted new safety standards for makers of Covid-19 vaccines after the White House earlier blocked their formal release, the Associated Press reports. 

The briefing documents posted to the agency's website say vaccine makers should follow trial participants for a minimum of two months to rule out any potential safety issues before seeking emergency use approval, the AP reports.

The requirement all but ensures a vaccine won't be approved before the Nov. 3 election, a timeline President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted. —Sara Salinas

'SNL' paid audience to attend live show

Audience members present for the latest "Saturday Night Live" episode, the first to air in-studio since the pandemic began, were paid for their attendance.

New York reopening guidelines prohibit the public from attending live television show tapings, unless they are paid like employees.

One attendee told The New York Times that he received a check for $150 from Universal Television, a division of NBC's parent company, when the show wrapped. Audience members were also given rapid virus tests and asked to sign health forms indicating that they did not have the virus or symptoms. —Sarah Whitten

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.

Top U.S. military leaders self-quarantine after positive Covid-19 case at Pentagon

Vice Admiral Charles Ray
James Brooks | Capital City Weekly | AP

The Pentagon said that the nation's top military leaders are self-quarantining after one of the Coast Guard service chiefs tested positive for coronavirus. 

Coast Guard Vice Commandant Charles Ray tested positive for coronavirus on Monday after experiencing mild symptoms of the deadly disease over the weekend.

"Out of an abundance of caution, all potential close contacts from these meetings are self-quarantining and have been tested this morning," Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said in an emailed statement.

"There is no change to the operational readiness or mission capability of the U.S. Armed Forces. Senior military leaders are able to remain fully mission capable and perform their duties from an alternative work location," Hoffman added.

The Pentagon said it was in the process of conducting contact tracing as well as additional testing. —Amanda Macias

Trump reports no symptoms of Covid-19 morning after leaving hospital, doctor says

President Donald Trump did not report any symptoms of Covid-19, the morning after he left the hospital, the White House physician said in a memo. 

"He had a restful first night at home, and today he reports no symptoms," Dr. Sean Conley said in the brief.

Trump's "vital signs and physical exam remain stable," Conley wrote. "Overall he continues to do extremely well."

Trump was discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Monday after being hospitalized starting Friday.

A team of doctors will continue to monitor Trump closely. —Hannah Miao

Facebook and Twitter react to Trump post claiming coronavirus is less deadly than the seasonal flu

Facebook and Twitter took action against President Donald Trump's social media posts Tuesday morning, in which he falsely claimed that the seasonal flu is more deadly than the coronavirus. 

Facebook removed the post, while Twitter hid the message behind a label warning of misinformation.

In the post, which was shared on both Facebook and Twitter, Trump said: "Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu. Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!"

As of Tuesday morning, the Covid-19 pandemic has so far sickened more than 7.4 million in the United States, and at least 210,195 have died, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. According to the CDC, an estimated 22,000 people died from the 2019-2020 seasonal flu. The deadliest flu season since 2010 was in 2017-2018, with an estimated 61,000 deaths, according to the CDC. —Jessica Bursztynsky

How the workforce will change by 2025 due to the pandemic

AleksandarNakic

There is a whole new normal when it comes to how we work due to the pandemic and the need for social distancing. Looking ahead, companies like Cisco are predicting that by 2025 more employees will work on a hybrid work schedule, artificial intelligence and machine learning will transform hiring, and innovation teams will be more global.

Companies are prototyping new HR models to keep up with this rapid pace of change. Some are embracing AI and automation to keep operations on an even keel, gather data-driven insights about their employees, improve the talent search and manage global risk.

What will the future of work look like in 2025? A recent McKinsey & Co. global survey of 800 executives in a range of industries reveals key trends. These include: a push towards automation; the shift to remote work or hybrid remote workforces; an increase in the use of freelancers, and growing reliance on AI and machine learning tools to manage the workforce and other key functions.   

These shifts are already happening. Since the pandemic, 85% of respondents had accelerated digitalization of employee interaction and collaboration, and 67% have accelerated automation and AI, according to the survey. Industries at the forefront include technology, finance and insurance. —Lori Ioannou

House panel investigates political meddling at CDC, FDA

A House oversight subcommittee has launched an investigation looking at whether White House officials unduly pressured the nation's top health agencies throughout the pandemic. 

Chairman of the subcommittee, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., sent letters to the leaders of the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requesting documents and information on agency actions, drafts submitted to the White House and changes made during the review process. 

The letters emphasize the role of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, known as OIRA, in reviewing agency decisions. The OIRA is part of the White House's Office of Management and Budget and has authority to review regulatory actions made by agencies. 

"We are particularly concerned that a little-known office within the White House — the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, part of the Office of Management and Budget — is exerting influence over what is supposed to be non-partisan, scientific messaging," Krishnamoorthi said Tuesday in a statement. —Will Feuer

Powell calls for more stimulus, says risk of doing too much is 'smaller'

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell called for more stimulus to support continued economic recovery from the devastating pandemic that he said has been faster than expected.

The risks of doing too much "seem, for now, to be smaller," the central bank chief told the National Association for Business Economics. Powell cautioned that backing off now would risk thwarting a recovery that has hit those on the lowest end of the wage scale hardest.

"The recovery will be stronger and move faster if monetary policy and fiscal policy continue to work side by side to provide support to the economy until it is clearly out of the woods," Powell added. —Jeff Cox 

Chamath Palihapitiya on Trump’s treatment: ‘I hope we can get everything he got’

Chamath Palihapitiya
Heidi Gutman | CNBC

Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya told CNBC he hopes the coronavirus treatment President Donald Trump has received can be made available to all Covid-19 patients.

Though Trump tweeted "Don't be afraid of Covid" on Monday before being released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Palihapitiya said: "Until what he got: a) is disclosed and then; b) is available for all of us to get so that, irrespective of which hospital we walk into, we can point to that and say I want that gold standard of care, then we're not in the same position he is and so we have to continue to take [the virus] seriously."

According to Trump's doctors, the president's treatment has included the steroid dexamethasone, Gilead's remdesivir and Regeneron's experimental antibody cocktail. —Michelle Gao

Pandemic sours Boeing's outlook for new airplane demand

A Boeing 737 MAX airplane lands after a test flight at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, U.S. June 29, 2020.
Karen Ducey | Reuters

The coronavirus pandemic will have long-lasting impacts on the passenger jet market, Boeing warns. The company cut its forecast for new aircraft demand by 11% over the next decade versus a comparable estimate it issued last year.

Already, cancellations and deferrals from airlines and other customers are piling up travel demand plunges. Boeing, some airline executives, and trade groups expect it to take several years to get back to pre-pandemic levels of passenger traffic. A greater proportion of the demand for new airplanes will come from customers who are replacing older, less fuel-efficient jets instead of growth, compared with previous estimates, Boeing said.

Still, Boeing expects long-term demand trends to resume with more than 43,000 new commercial planes likely needed over the next 20 years. —Leslie Josephs

GlaxoSmithKline widens trial for coronavirus antibody treatment

GlaxoSmithKline and partner Vir Biotechnology will expand their trial of an experimental Covid-19 antibody treatment to 1,300 patients globally, Reuters reported. 

The two partners started testing the antibody on early-stage Covid-19 patients in August. After testing the drug on 20 U.S. participants, the initial use did not raise any safety concerns, according to Reuters. 

Half the planned 1,300 participants will be randomly assigned to a control group receiving a placebo.

Interim trial results may be available as early as the end of 2020. Complete efficacy results are expected by the first quarter of 2021. —Melodie Warner 

Some White House staff and Secret Service fear exposure as Trump returns

U.S. Marine One, with President Donald Trump onboard, prepares to land on the South Lawn of the White House on October 5, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump was returning to the White House after being treated for Covid-19 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center since Friday evening.
Drew Angerer | Getty Images

Some White House staff members fear President Donald Trump's return to the White House could increase their risk of Covid-19 exposure if he doesn't abide by strict isolation protocols, according to a report by the Associated Press.

It was late Sunday night, nearly three days after Trump's diagnosis was announced, when the White House sent a staff-wide note. Even then, it did not acknowledge the outbreak, the AP reported.

White House spokesman Judd Deere said the White House was "taking every precaution necessary" to protect not just the first family but "every staff member working on the complex" consistent with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and best practices, according to the AP.

Nonetheless, several Secret Service agents who spoke with AP expressed concern over the White House's cavalier attitude towards masks and distancing. The agents spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation, the AP said.

The Secret Service has not disclosed how many of its employees have tested positive or have had to quarantine, citing privacy and security, AP reported.  —Melodie Warner 

Dow opens higher as traders eye stimulus talks

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose for a second day as traders looked for clues on further coronavirus stimulus, reports CNBC's Fred Imbert and Jesse Pound. 

The 30-stock average traded 85 points higher, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1%. —Melodie Warner 

Europe is seeing rising levels of 'pandemic fatigue,' WHO warns

Rising levels of "Covid-19 fatigue" are being seen in Europe, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.

WHO's regional director in Europe, Hans Kluge, said that the "huge sacrifices" made to contain the coronavirus had come "at an extraordinary cost" and that it was easy "to feel apathetic and demotivated, to experience fatigue" when it comes to Covid-19 and restrictive measures the virus has brought with it. 

"Based on aggregated survey data from countries across the region, we can see, not surprisingly, that fatigue among those surveyed is increasing. Although fatigue is measured in different ways, and levels vary per country, it is now estimated to have reached over 60% in some cases," he said.

While such levels of fatigue were to be expected after months of lockdowns, uncertainty and disruption to normal life, Kluge said it was possible, and necessary, to "reinvigorate and revive efforts to tackle the evolving Covid-19 challenges that we face." —Holly Ellyatt

UK PM Boris Johnson lays out coronavirus recovery plan

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street for PMQs at the House of Commons on 30 September, 2020 in London, England.
Alberto Pezzali | NurPhoto via Getty Images

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined new spending pledges to show how the government plans to rebuild the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. 

In a speech at the Conservative Party's annual conference, Johnson pledged to increase spending on education, care homes, vocational skills, crime and prevention, and to raise productivity. He delivered his keynote address without the usual conference audience. 

Johnson also rejected suggestions he had lost his mojo, saying the country wanted to see the back of the coronavirus. The U.K. government has been sharply criticized for its response to the pandemic. 

To date, more than 518,000 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the U.K., with 42,459 related deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. —Sam Meredith

White House blocks updated FDA guidelines on vaccine approval

A volunteer is injected with a vaccine as he participates in a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination study at the Research Centers of America, in Hollywood, Florida, September 24, 2020.
Marco Bello | Reuters

The White House has nixed new Food and Drug Administration guidelines that would have prevented potential vaccines for Covid-19 from hitting the market ahead of the Nov. 3 election, Reuters reported.

The news was first reported by The New York Times.

The FDA's new guidelines instructed vaccine developers to follow patients enrolled in their trials for at least two months to rule out safety issues before seeking emergency approval, according to the reports. White House officials told Reuters there was "no clinical or medical reason" for the requirement.

The intervention by Trump administration is the latest example of officials blocking its own medical experts who are working to combat the pandemic, Reuters reported. —Terri Cullen

EU is reviewing the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine candidate in real time

The European health regulator said it is reviewing a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech in real time, Reuters reported.

Regulators are using so-called rolling reviews to speed up evaluations of vaccines by studying data as it is submitted, rather than waiting for the data to be provided along with a formal application, Reuters said.

The move comes days after European officials launched a similar assessment process for AstraZeneca's potential vaccine.

Pfizer and BioNTech said the start of the review is based on data from laboratory and animal testing, as well as early testing on humans, the news agency reported. —Terri Cullen

The latest on U.S. spread

national

Moderna vaccine trial can't enroll enough minorities, delaying tests

Moderna's vaccine trial can't recruit enough minority participants to assess how well the drug candidate works with some of the populations hardest hit by the virus, prompting delays of late-stage trials, Reuters reports.

Private contractors were hired to recruit Black, Latino and Native American participants, and quickly filled a large portion of the 30,000-peron study with mostly white participants, the wire service reports. But Black Americans are affected by Covid-19 at nearly three times the rate as White Americans. —Sara Salinas

Teen spending hits two-decade low as teens buy less clothes, food during the pandemic

Seen through the store window, shoppers browse in a Nike store in New York City.
Getty Images

Teen spending has hit its lowest levels in two decades, according to a survey released Tuesday, as teens spend less money on food, concerts and events during the coronavirus pandemic, and worry about the economy. 

Teens reported spending about $2,150 this year, according to Piper Jaffray's 40th biannual "Taking Stock with Teens" report. That's a drop of about 9% year over year. Reported annual spending by teens peaked at about $3,023 in the spring of 2006. 

Apparel spending came in at about $507 per teen per year, down 11% from last fall. Teens reported spending just $87 on handbags, an all-time low in the survey, Piper Jaffray said. Nike maintained its No. 1 position as teens' favorite apparel brand, a ranking it has now held in the survey for a decade. 

Forty-eight percent of teens said they believe the economy is getting worse, compared with 32% a year ago.  —Lauren Thomas 

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