Trump plans Putin call, downplays Russia plague as bioweapon

President Donald Trump said Wednesday the U.S. does not believe the suspected plague death of a Russian laboratory worker was caused by a bioweapon, and he planned to call Russian President Vladimir Putin later that day. Trump's comments came at an Oval Office event promoting Trump Accounts, after a reporter asked whether the plague in Russia was a bioweapon. Trump said the U.S. doesn't think so, adding that Russia claims the situation is under control, though he noted people have said that before about other things. Nearly 200 people were placed under medical observation in Russia's Irkutsk region after a female worker at an anti-plague research institute fell ill and died. Trump acknowledged Russia, like China early in the Covid-19 outbreak, has not said much about the incident.