Coronavirus pandemic in the US

At least 500 Transportation Security Administration officers and employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, the agency said Wednesday. 

The majority of those cases – 435 – are among the officers who screen passengers and handle baggage. The rest are among non-screening employees who do not typically interact with passengers.  

Nearly 40 percent of the cases – 193 – are at a trio of airports in the New York City-area, which became a hot spot of the pandemic. 

The grim milestone comes as the agency begins to see a small but noticeable uptick in travelers at airports nationwide since plummeting to historic lows in early April. 

The agency is screening only about 5% of the passengers it handled on the same day last year, but that ratio has been increasingly slightly almost daily for the last two weeks. 

As of Wednesday morning, at least 4,359 US service members have tested positive for coronavirus, including 98 hospitalized. 

There are 6,754 positive cases across the entire Department of Defense.

Pending home sales dropped 20.8% in March, as sales in the United States contracted because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors.

Contract signings declined 16.3% compared to March 2019.

As consumers become more accustomed to social distancing protocols, and with the economy slowly and safely reopening, listings and buying activity will resume, especially given the record low mortgage rates," said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, in a release.

Yun said an improvement later in the year "will be insufficient to make up for the loss of sales in the second quarter." The firm predicts a 14% decline in home sales for the year.

Coronavirus cases have been reported in every US state, and the pandemic has affected the country coast to coast.

Here are four states we're especially watching today:

The number of coronavirus cases among the crew of the USS Kidd has reached 78, nearly 25% of the ship's crew, according to two Navy officials.

The ship is now in port in San Diego and sailors are in the process of being isolated and quarantined on base.

Some context: The destroyer is the second Navy warship to experience a coronavirus outbreak at sea following the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.

US stocks opened sharply higher Wednesday on enthusiasm over positive news about an experimental coronavirus treatment.

Here's what's happening:

Some context: Stock futures popped after Gilead Sciences announced encouraging results for remdesivir, a drug being studied for potential coronavirus treatment. Gilead said the experimental drug met its primary endpoint in a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease study. 

Gilead shares soared 7%.

Wall Street largely shrugged off more bleak economic news. The government said US GDP contracted by a 4.8% annualized rate during the first quarter. It was the US economy’s worst quarter since late 2008.

A pug named Winston may be the first dog in the United States to test positive for coronavirus, researchers say. 

Dr. Heather McLean and her family found out that Winston tested positive after they participated in a Duke University study aimed at finding potential treatments and vaccines. 

Three people in the McClean family contracted Covid-19 last month, and Winston was tested as part of that study.

McLean said Winston’s only symptom was a mild cough, but pugs are known to have respiratory problems. Winston wasn't sick enough where she felt like she needed to call the veterinarian to seek advice, she said.

“We've been practicing social distancing, just like everybody else in the world. When we go on walks, we're around each other and try not to get too close to people or other pets,” she said. 

The North Carolina family’s other dog, cat and lizard did not test positive for Covid-19. 

Watch:

It's Wednesday morning in the US, where coronavirus cases now surpass 1 million.

Here's the latest news to start your day:

The Navy will announce today that it is launching a broader inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the outbreak of the coronavirus aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, effectively delaying Navy recommendation of reinstating Captain Brett Crozier, according to two US defense officials and a official briefed on the matter.

The expected announcement comes after Secretary of Defense Mark Esper previously declined to immediately endorse the Navy's original investigation into the issue.

Sailors from the coronavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt began returning to the aircraft carrier today for the first time since they were moved ashore because of Covid-19, the Navy announced in a statement.

As of Tuesday, the ship had 940 active coronavirus cases, compared with 955 on Monday, reflecting an increase in the number of sailors who have recovered.

The handling of the outbreak aboard the aircraft carrier which led to the firing of the ship's commanding officer, Capt. Brett Crozier and the resignation of the acting Navy Secretary, has been the subject of an initial Navy investigation.

US officials told CNN that senior Navy officials had recommended Friday that Crozier be reinstated but Esper was not prepared to immediately endorse that recommendation.

Two defense officials told CNN that the Navy had expected Esper to endorse the recommendation last Friday.

A Pentagon spokesman said Friday that Esper "intends to thoroughly review the report and will meet again with Navy leadership to discuss next steps."

Crozier was fired earlier this month for what the then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said was poor judgment by too widely disseminating a warning among Navy officials about the spread of the virus aboard his vessel, a warning that eventually made its way into the press.

Modly resigned days later over his handling of the incident, actions which included a $240,000 trip to Guam where he slammed Crozier and admonished sailors for giving Crozier a rousing send off in public remarks to the crew.