Trump also said he hesitates to apply too much pressure because it would be difficult for airlines to then start operating again as before.

America must brace for 100,000 or more people to die in the coming months in the coronavirus pandemic, the White House's response team warned.

The White House coronavirus task force convened a news conference following a concession by the Trump administration that normalcy won't be restored by Easter or maybe even this spring.

The president and defense secretary said the USNS Comfort would offer its roughly 1,000 hospital beds as surge capacity for non-coronavirus sufferers in the New York region, freeing up space on land.

The president said the automaker was taking too long to negotiate what he called an urgent contract under which it and health manufacturer Ventec would build the machines.

Trump said he believed the federal government has been working well with most states in the disaster but he griped about complaints reported by some Democratic governors.

The president demanded in all capital letters on Friday that automakers General Motors and Ford get into the health equipment business to fight the coronavirus.

President Trump says test data will establish risk categories for counties. States can then work out their own social distancing rules.

The attorney general said the Bureau of Prisons has locked down some prisons and could send some at-risk inmates home as it copes with the pandemic.

The government is accused of letting Colombians linked with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia use its airspace to fly cocaine north through Central America to destinations in North America.

Dr. Birx repeated her urge for Americans to take social distancing and mitigation seriously at a briefing Wednesday with a story from her own family.

The president says he will sign the $2 trillion relief bill passed by the Senate late Wednesday. The House will take up the measure Friday.

The rival powers are going far beyond public health measures as they dive into a Cold War-like game of move and counter-move even as the global contagion spreads.

The president's informal target to curtail mitigation measures like social distancing comes as the total number of confirmed cases nationwide tops 50,000.

The White House team says it will make an assessment after next week as to how effective social distancing and other mitigation measures have been in stifling the spread of the virus.

The coronavirus task force insisted progress is being made as concerns over shortages mount, and officials emphasized current social distancing guidelines. Here are the briefing highlights.

President Trump spoke about the effort during a briefing at the White House. He also expressed interest in the government possibly taking an equity stake in companies as part of a big stimulus.

The president said the border would close by "mutual consent," the latest development in the coronavirus pandemic.

After marathon negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Trump administration, the parties agreed on a new coronavirus package. Can Mitch McConnell bring along enough GOP senators?

The Utah senator had been wavering as to whether to agree to a subpoena for an ongoing inquiry. A spokeswoman said Romney had been assured the process would not be a "public spectacle."