commerce department

The coronavirus triggered the sharpest economic contraction in modern history in the second quarter as the pandemic hammered the economy, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The president is calling for unauthorized immigrants to be excluded from census numbers used to divide seats in Congress. The Constitution says the count must include every person living in the U.S.

The economy contracted in the first quarter of 2020 as the coronavirus began to take its toll and spending dived. It's the first quarterly drop in six years and a likely precursor to a deep recession.