The Senate approved a $484 billion stimulus package Tuesday afternoon via voice vote, right around the time New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and President Donald Trump finished a “very productive” meeting at the White House after some fiery exchanges over their respective handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The stimulus deal senators agreed to, much of it aimed at boosting small businesses,  will supplement the $2 trillion legislation passed last month. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hailed it as a “bipartisan agreement.”

Trump and Cuomo spoke in positive terms about their discussion, at which they pledged to work together on more coronavirus testing. Cuomo said the president did not try to pressure him into setting a timeline for lifting the virus-fighting restrictions that have crushed the state’s economy.  

Cuomo has repeatedly chastised the president for asking governors to lead the struggle against the outbreak without enough federal resources. Trump responded this week by tweeting the governor should “spend more time ‘doing’ and less time ‘complaining.’ “

Almost 1,500 Americans died Monday, raising the toll to more than 44,000 among 823,000-plus confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University data. New York state has suffered more than one-third of the deaths.

The number of worldwide coronavirus cases surpassed 2.5 million Tuesday; there have been more than 176,000 deaths.

Our live blog is being updated throughout the day. Refresh for the latest news, and get updates in your inbox with The Daily Briefing. More headlines:

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• Antibody tests: What are they? Will they help Americans return to normal?

• Testy debate: Trump says Maryland governor didn’t understand testing situation.

• Fauci says protests against lockdowns could end up having opposite effect.

• When will a second wave of the coronavirus hit? What will it look like?

• Ordering packages online?Don’t worry, it’s still safe.

• Staying Apart, Together. Sign up for our newsletter on coping with a world changed by coronavirus. ????

Senate OKs billions for small businesses

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said congressional leaders reached a deal Tuesday to revive a program geared to keep small businesses from shuttering and their employees from going on unemployment because of the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The nearly half-trillion deal will provide more funds to the Paycheck Protection Program, which was halted last week after it ran out of money. McConnell, R-Ky., lauded the deal as a “bipartisan agreement.”

The $484 billion bill, approved by voice vote, will inject the program, which provides loans to small businesses, with more than $320 billion, according to McConnell. A portion will be set aside for smaller businesses that don’t have established relationships with banks and had a harder time accessing the funds in the first round of loans. It will also bolster the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program, which had also dried up due to the coronavirus. 

— Christal Hayes

Cuomo: White House visit ‘functional and effective’

President Donald Trump and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made nice after an Oval Office meeting Tuesday as the administration and U.S. governors remain locked in a dispute over coronavirus testing.

Cuomo called the meeting “functional and effective.” He described the president as “inquisitive” about New York’s timeline for reopening but said Trump did not attempt to impose a deadline for that milestone. Trump said they had a “very productive” session in which he and the governor signed off on a plan to double testing in New York over the next few weeks. 

The unusual visit from Cuomo, which the president announced a day earlier, came as New York state works to pull out of its particularly deadly bout with the virus. Trump and Cuomo, a Democrat, have lurched between slamming and applauding each other in closely watched news conferences during the health crisis.

— David Jackson   

Green cards halted for 60 days

President Donald Trump said his executive order would halt new green card awards for at least 60 days and would be reevaluated after that period. Trump stressed his new move would not affect temporary workers, such as seasonal workers arriving from other countries through several visa programs. 

Trump said his executive order, which the White House had not yet provided, would “only apply to individuals seeking a permanent residency; in other words, those receiving green cards.”

— John Fritze

FDA approves home-testing kit

Health care workers and first responders who may have been exposed to the coronavirus will soon get access to a home diagnostic test.

LabCorp, a global life sciences company based in North Carolina, on Tuesday received Food and Drug Administration authorization for kits that enable people to collect nasal swab samples at home and mail them to a laboratory for testing.

The FDA’s emergency-use authorization is the first for a COVID-19 in-home test. The procedure reduces the need for personal protective equipment because no clinician is required to take a sample. LabCorp said it hopes to make the tests available to other U.S. consumers in coming weeks, assuming supplies last. The company declined to elaborate.

— Kevin McCoy

Study shows no benefit from malaria drug Trump has touted for treatment

A malaria drug widely touted by President Donald Trump for treating the coronavirus showed no benefit in a large analysis of its use in U.S. veterans hospitals. There were more deaths among those given hydroxychloroquine versus standard care, researchers reported.

The nationwide study was not a rigorous experiment. But with 368 patients, it’s the largest look so far of hydroxychloroquine with or without the antibiotic azithromycin for COVID-19. The study was posted on an online site for researchers and has been submitted to the New England Journal of Medicine, but has not been reviewed by other scientists.

— The Associated Press

Trump: Harvard will return stimulus money

President Donald Trump said Harvard University would return coronavirus stimulus money intended for small businesses – “They shouldn’t have taken it,” he said – and added that he would ask other large entities to give back money as well. Later in his coronavirus news briefing, Trump clarified that the university has not agreed it should return the funds. “If they won’t do that, then we’ll do something else,” he said without elaborating. Harvard has come under fire for taking nearly $9 million in funding from the relief package, especially in light of the school’s multi-billion-dollar endowment. 

Harvard released a statement Tuesday saying it did not request or receive funds from the Paycheck Protection Program intended for small businesses. Rather, the university said it received a portion of Department of Education funding that was distributed to thousands of schools across the country, and that it plans to use the money to help students facing urgent financial needs because of the pandemic.

​— John Fritze

Mixed response to Georgia reopening plans

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s plans to relax restrictions are drawing mixed reactions, with business owners expressing excitement but also anxiety, and mayors saying they were blindsided.

Amid a series of protests across the nation demanding immediate action to reopen states, Kemp announced plans Monday to allow gyms, bowling alleys, hair and nail salons, massage therapists and more to reopen their doors as early as Friday if they adhere to social distancing measures and hygiene requirements. Bars, nightclubs and entertainment operations will remain closed, but restaurants and theaters will be able to reopen April 27.

Several mayors in Georgia said they weren’t given any notice of the announcement and questioned the governor’s decision. As of Tuesday evening, the state had more than 20,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 818 deaths, according to the Georgia Department of Health.

— Grace Hauck and Nicquel Terry Ellis

Amazon, Target workers highlight health concerns

Amazon and Target workers are planning sickouts to raise awareness about the health risks they face delivering groceries and other supplies to Americans.

More than 350 Amazon warehouse workers in 50 locations pledged to call out from their jobs starting Tuesday, according to Athena, a coalition of local and national organizations representing workers. Target workers are planning a mass sickout May 1, said Adam Ryan, a liaison with Target Workers Unite, an employee activist group.

— Kelly Tyko

WHO says virus was not produced in lab

All the available evidence indicates coronavirus originated in animals in China late last year and was not manipulated or produced in a laboratory as has been alleged, the World Health Organization says. “It is probable, likely, that the virus is of animal origin,”  WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said in Geneva. The global health body’s remarks follow confirmation from President Donald Trump last week that his administration was probing whether the coronavirus originated in a lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the disease first emerged.

– Kim Hjelmgaard

Stocks and oil prices plunge; Trump says relief may be on the way

With oil prices tumbling again Tuesday, U.S. stocks took their worst loss in weeks as economies worldwide continued to get battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

The cost for a barrel of U.S. oil to be delivered in June plunged 43% to $11.57. That’s the part of the market that oil traders are focused on and trading most actively. For oil to be delivered next month, which is when storage tanks could top out, the cost of a barrel stood at $10.01. A day earlier, it fell below zero for the first time.

The crumbling oil market helped drag stocks to their second straight day of losses, and the S&P 500 lost 3.1% for its worst drop since April 1. It followed up on similar declines across Europe and Asia.

Nurses protest outside White House

Registered nurses marched and waved signs in front of the White House on Tuesday, calling attention to the tens of thousands of health care workers nationwide who have become infected with COVID-19 because of the lack of personal protective equipment. The nurses, members of National Nurses United, were practicing social distancing and read aloud the names of U.S. nurses who are known to have died of COVID-19. The union wants, among other things, for President Trump to use his authority under the Defense Production Act to order the mass production of N95 respirators, face shields, gowns, gloves and shoe coverings, as well as ventilators and COVID-19 testing kits.

Doubts about Tokyo Olympics in 2021

Last month’s postponement of the Tokyo Olympics until the 2021 summer was a painful but expected move amid the coronavirus pandemic. Perhaps more stunning: The event might not take place next year either.

“I don’t think the Olympics is likely to be held next year,” Kentaro Iwata, a professor of infectious disease at Kobe University in Japan, said on a teleconference. “Holding the Olympics needs two conditions; one, controlling COVID-19 in Japan, and controlling COVID-19 everywhere.”

Toshiro Muto, CEO of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, has not sounded optimistic either. “I don’t think anyone would be able to say if it is going to be possible to get it under control by next July or not,” Muto said. “We certainly are not in a position to give you a clear answer.”

— Christine Brennan

National Spelling Bee, running of the bulls, Oktoberfest canceled

The Scripps National Spelling Bee has been canceled for the first time since 1945 due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers announced. The event is typically held in June, but organizers determined there was “no clear path to safely set a new date in 2020.” 

In Germany, Oktoberfest was canceled, Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter said. The beer festival, scheduled to open Sept. 19 and run through Oct. 4, expected nearly 6 million guests. Germany has seen about 150,000 cases of coronavirus and 4,862 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins data.

And in Spain, the city of Pamplona said it won’t hold the annual San Fermin festival, known for its “running of the bulls,” this summer. The event had been scheduled for July.

South Carolina, North Carolina beaches: What the rules are as some restrictions are eased

Tom Brady booted from Tampa park

Six-time NFL champion quarterback Tom Brady was unceremoniously kicked out of a Tampa park while working out, Mayor Jane Castor revealed. Brady recently signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after two legendary decades with the New England Patriots. Castor said city parks are closed because of the coronavirus outbreak and that park staff routinely patrol the parks for violators.

“They patrol around just to make sure people aren’t doing contact sports and things and saw an individual working out,” Castor said. “And she went over to tell him that it was closed and it was Tom Brady.”

Castor said Brady had been sighted, but it was reported as “cited.” The city was quick to clarify on Twitter: “To clear up any confusion, @Buccaneers QB @TomBrady was SIGHTED in one of our 194 beautiful parks. He was not cited as some media outlets have reported.”

– Colin Liotta, Bucs Wire

More coronavirus news and information from USA TODAY:

• College students were promised aid in the coronavirus stimulus. It still hasn’t arrived.
• Reopening America: What states are relaxing social distancing restrictions?
•  ‘It’s carnage’:Crematoriums are running around the clock.
• Fact check:Herd immunity would not fully stop the spread of the coronavirus.
• Your one-stop guide to COVID-19:From symptoms to safety, rumors to reality.
• Colleges can’t say whether they’ll open in fall 2020.And students are already tired of virtual learning.
• President Donald Trump called to ‘liberate’ three states: Republican and Democratic governors aren’t happy.
• Mapping coronavirus: A trajectory chart for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands.
• ‘We hear you, Dad’: A daughter stays on the phone for hours and hours as her father dies alone from the coronavirus.
• Coronavirus Watch:Join our Facebook group.

‘COVID toes’ latest symptom of virus

Doctors have identified a new symptom of the coronavirus informally dubbed “COVID toes.”  The new symptom – a presence of purple or blue lesions on the patient’s feet and toes – is puzzling infectious disease experts who say it seems to appear in patients who don’t exhibit other symptoms. 

“They’re typically painful to touch and could have a hot burning sensation,” said Dr. Ebbing Lautenbach, chief of infectious disease at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine.

– Adrianna Rodriguez

Contributing: The Associated Press

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