Nearly a quarter million people in the United States could die as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, Trump administration officials said Tuesday. 

The New York Times reported this week that almost a dozen Liberty University students have come down with COVID-19 symptoms since the school reopened last week. But Liberty University officials have since pushed back on these claims, calling the Times story “fake news”. Now, students are choosing sides in who they believe is telling the truth.

US officials have accused China of spreading disinformation, and even some Chinese residents have expressed skepticism about the numbers.

Almost 30 students who recently traveled to Mexico for spring break have tested positive for COVID-19.Health officials in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday announced an investigation into a "cluster" of COVID-19 cases among a group of roughly 70 people in their 20s who traveled in a chartered plane to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for spring break about a week-and-a-half ago amid the coronavirus crisis. "Currently, 28 young adults on this trip have tested positive for COVID-19 and dozens more are under public health investigation," the Austin Public Health Department said. "Four of the confirmed cases did not present any symptoms."The 28 people who tested positive are currently self-isolating, and more are being monitored while quarantined, according to the statement. The University of Texas at Austin told NBC News that the 28 young adults with COVID-19 are students at the school. Some individuals who went on the trip came back home on commercial flights, according to the Austin Public Health Department's statement. Austin officials said that although Mexico wasn't under a federal travel advisory when the young adults traveled there, "Austin-Travis County residents should follow CDC's travel recommendations indicating travelers avoid all non-essential international travel," and "a leisure vacation of any kind is not considered essential." The University of Texas at Austin told NBC that this serves as a "reminder of the vital importance" of following health officials' warnings amid the coronavirus pandemic. More stories from theweek.com How the coronavirus fight might end up at the Supreme Court Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is what real coronavirus leadership looks like Trump is incapable of taking the coronavirus outbreak seriously

Florida announced a stay-at-home order, and officials weighed recommending more Americans wear masks. Here are the latest coronavirus updates.

In the past week, California has seen its number of deaths slowing down, while the tally in Louisiana has accelerated.

While leaders across the country are urging Americans to stay in their homes to stop the spread of the coronavirus, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway is openly mocking former Vice President Joe Biden for setting that example. “Why doesn’t Vice President Biden call the White House today and offer some support? He’s in his bunker in Wilmington,” Conway said Wednesday morning on Fox & Friends. In her next breath she added, “I have to tell you, we’re not talking about politics here at the White House at all. We’re talking about ventilators and vaccines, not Biden and Bernie.”And yet Conway continued to attack Biden for criticizing President Donald Trump’s response to the crisis from inside his home later in the day.During a press gaggle outside the White House, Conway called it “completely unhelpful” to have the former vice president “in his bunker in Wilmington just lobbing criticisms” at the current president. She called Biden’s interviews “painful to watch” before adding, “He’s got a lot of fans out there that can’t get enough of Joe Biden in the bunker in Delaware.”At that point, a reporter asked her, “When you say he’s ‘in his bunker,’ are you suggesting Vice President Biden should be disregarding federal guidelines and be out there mixing with people?”“You know I’m not,” Conway shot back. “Let’s not be silly. Let’s not be silly about it.” When the reporter said she just wanted to know what Conway was “implying” with her repetition of the “bunker” line, she replied, “I’m not implying anything. In fact, I’m not implying a single thing. I wonder what you’re implying.”“I’m not implying anything,” she added again later. “He can stay in the bunker all he wants. He can cough into or sneeze into his hand all he wants. He can read from prepared notes all he wants. I’m yet to hear a single idea from Vice President Biden that would be helpful to the American people or is different from what we’re doing.” In a statement responding to Conway, Biden deputy communications director Kate Bedingfield said, “Vice President Biden has been extending his advice for months, and he did so again on the air last night.” But as the presumptive 2020 nominee told MSNBC on Tuesday night, “I don’t get a sense that the president wants to hear from anybody. It’s all about, like, asking governors to thank him for what he’s doing as president.”Biden has repeatedly stated that he does not believe the coronavirus pandemic is Trump’s “fault” but has pointed out that his lack of speed in trying to contain it within the United States has made the situation far worse than it needed to be. One of his biggest suggestions has been to let the medical experts handle the daily briefings and take the microphone away from the president. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Trade represents close to 60% of world GDP, and national economies can't thrive in isolation. We needed a global response in 2008 and we need one now.

"Despite everything I experienced along the way, they deported me the next day," one indigenous teenager from Guatemala told CBS News.

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump warned Iran against what he said was a possible “sneak attack” the Islamic Republic was planning against U.S. troops in Iraq.Trump indicated in a tweet that the U.S. had “information” about a possible attack but didn’t elaborate. He said Iran would pay a “very heavy price” if there’s an attack.Tensions have soared this year between Washington and Tehran after a top Iranian general was killed by American forces at the start of the year, prompting a missile barrage on an Iraqi base used by American forces. There have since been strikes in Iraq by Iranian proxy groups, and the U.S. has seized shipments of allegedly Iranian weapons bound for Yemen.More recently, Iran and some other countries have called on the U.S. to ease sanctions to allow for faster importation of humanitarian goods needed to help fight the coronavirus outbreak, which has hit Iran particularly hard. The U.S. argues that its sanctions already allow for the importation of critical goods.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Consumer advocates fear  the deal will reduce competition and lead to higher prices. But regulators and a federal judge let it proceed.

Census-taking used to spur innovation. Now, the pace of technology, and the challenge of going go door to door, could force it to adopt existing systems instead.

The best, most beautiful weather app is about to be an iOS exclusive.

Should you buy Samsung’s new Galaxy S20, S20 Plus, or S20 Ultra? Here's what you need to know before you shell out a grand.

A class action lawsuit. Rampant zoombombing. And as of today, two new zero-day vulnerabilities.

No Purell? No problem! When disinfecting gel sells out everywhere, you can just make some yourself with stuff you (maybe) already have at home.

For some longtime preppers, it's not all about bunkers and power generators.

Mohammad Mosaed, a reporter who criticized the Iranian government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, has been arrested and banned from social media.

To protect governments as well as people’s rights from coronavirus, we need to use tech as a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.

It can replicate a sense of being touched, even when there’s no one around. As the world self-isolates, that feeling is more important than ever.