The top U.S. infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, told lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday that the 40,000 new cases of coronavirus the United States is experiencing daily could turn into 100,000 a day if nothing changes.
But he also said he is cautiously optimistic that some useful vaccine could be available in the foreseeable future.
Fauci said a vaccine probably won't be available by the time students are due to start school again later this year.
The European Union said Tuesday visitors from 14 countries may now visit the EU but not people from the United States. That's because some of the U.S. states that push the hardest and earliest to reopen their economies are now in retreat due to an alarming surge and confirmed coronavirus infections.
The EU extended its ban on travelers not just from the United States but also from other big countries, such as Russia, Brazil and India, all of which are seeing rapidly rising case rose.
More than 125,000 COVID-19 deaths - about one quarter of all fatalities worldwide - have been reported in the United States although many experts believe the U.S. death toll is much higher.
Many of the first U.S. states to reopen, mostly southern and western states, are experiencing sharp increases in coronavirus cases.
In addition to leading the world in COVID-19 fatalities, the United States is also the world leader in infections with more than 2.6 million of the world's more than 10 million cases. And that's according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University.
On Tuesday, Republican Senator Lamar Alexander stressed the importance of reopening schools and called on President Trump and the public at large to wear masks to help prevent further increases in the spread.
VOA news.
The White House is blaming intelligence officials who leaked information about an alleged Russian bounty program in Afghanistan for potentially blowing almost any chance of coming to a consensus on whether the threat was real.
Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Tuesday criticized what she called "rogue intelligence officers" for putting the lives of U.S. troops in danger," while she defended the decision not to brief [pred...] President Donald Trump on what she described as unverified intelligence.
McEnany also used her opening comments to berate The New York Times, which first broke the story about allegations that Russia offered bounties to Taliban fighters to kill U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan.
Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns about the administration's handling of the intelligence and specifically, its inclination to downplay the possible consequences.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has spoken with a Taliban leader, asking the Taliban to uphold their commitment to cease attacks on American soldiers in Afghanistan.
He held a video conference with the deputy [lea...] leader of the insurgent group and chief of its political office in Qatar amid growing demands from U.S. lawmakers for an investigation of those reports that Russia had offered bounties to Taliban fighters to kill American soldiers.
A State Department spokesperson said Tuesday that Pompeo made clear the expectation for the Taliban to live up to their commitments, which include not attacking Americans.
The Taliban said [the deputy leader] we reassured Pompeo that the Taliban does not allow anyone to use Afghanistan to plot attacks against other nations.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan told parliament Tuesday he has "no doubt" India is behind an attack on the stock exchange building in Karachi.
Monday, four gunmen with grenades attacked the Pakistan's stock exchange, killing two guards and a policeman before security forces killed the attackers.
India said on Monday it had nothing to do with the assault.
Khan said in his address to parliament his cabinet was aware of a possible attack and agencies were on high alert.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is urging Russians to vote for constitutional changes that would allow him to run for president two more times.
Putin said the reforms would guarantee stability, security and prosperity.
He made his appeal on the eve of the main and last day of a seven-day nationwide vote that would change the constitution for the first time since 1993 under the proposed changes which state exit polls suggest will be backed by over two-thirds of voters.
Putin would be allowed to run for another two six-year back-to-back terms when his current term expires in 2024.
Via remote, I'm Marissa Melton. You're listening to VOA news.
/1 
