WASHINGTON Donors contributed nearly $480,000 last year to cover Vice President Mike Pences legal expenses from special counsel Robert Muellers probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, according to Pences financial disclosure report. The annual report, released Tuesday, shows that a dozen donors contributed to the trust fund in May of last year. The report states the money was used to pay a bill from McGuireWoods LLP. Many government officials have turned to legal defense funds over the years to finance their legal representation. The report states that every contributor had to certify that they are U.S. citizens, the money came from personal funds and that Pence did not solicit the contribution, among other requirements.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed a $484 billion bill Friday to aid employers and hospitals under stress from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 50,000 Americans and devastated broad swaths of the economy. Trump said most of the funding in the bill would flow to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides money to small businesses to keep workers on their payroll. “Great for small businesses, great for the workers,” Trump said. There’s also $60 billion for small-business loans and grants delivered through the Small Business Administration’s existing disaster aid program. That left thousands of small businesses in limbo as they sought help.

But even as many Republicans question Trump’s credibility during the pandemic, the overwhelming majority — 82% — say they still approve of how he’s doing. Many Americans say they wish Trump were listening to some of those experts more as he navigates the crisis. And 84% of Democrats have little to no trust in information the president is providing about the pandemic. Just 17% of Americans say Trump is highly disciplined. And when it comes to empathy — often an important intangible in presidential elections — 24% say Trump cares about people like them.

Vice President Pence joined a ceremony to remember the 40 who died when Flight 93 crashed in a Somerset County, Penn., field.