Coronavirus Updates: Trump Halts U.S. Funding of World Health Organization

New York deaths spike as the state releases a revised count, and California explores steps toward reopening. Trump announces his “opening the country” council.

The economic council announced by Trump includes executives, critics and friends.

President Trump recited some of the most prominent names of Wall Street and Silicon Valley on Tuesday, business leaders who he said would be advising him in when and how to reopen the country’s economy. The announcement came after days of confusion about the makeup of what he has described as his “Opening the Country” council.

Among those Mr. Trump said he had plans to speak with were Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase; Stephen A. Schwarzman, the chief executive of Blackstone; Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple; Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook; and Mark Cuban, the billionaire entrepreneur and outspoken Trump critic.

It was not clear if all the companies and executives Mr. Trump mentioned had been asked in advance if they would serve in advisory roles to the White House. At least one person on the president’s list, who asked not to be identified for fear of angering the White House, said that no request had been made to join the list and that there had been no advance notice of an announcement.

Later, the White House sent out a news release outlining names that would serve in 17 “Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups,” which it said would work with it “to chart the path forward toward a future of unparalleled American prosperity.”

The list included Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder who owns The Washington Post and who has been singled out for criticism throughout his administration. It also included at least two friends of Mr. Trump — Micky Arison, a top executive at Carnival Cruises, and Phil Ruffin, a Las Vegas casino owner.

Other names Mr. Trump read off during his evening news briefing were Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state; Scott Gottlieb, his former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; and Jim DeMint, the former senator and president of the Heritage Foundation whom Mr. Trump described as “a terrific friend.”

“Those are the names we have on our list,” Mr. Trump said. “The names that are, I think, the best and the smartest, the brightest, and they’re going to give us some ideas.”

Trump halts World Health Organization funding.

President Trump, who has been under criticism for his handling of the response to the coronavirus and has seen his poll numbers drop, on Tuesday blamed the World Health Organization for what he called its failures in the crisis and said he planned to halt American funding of the organization.