memeorandum: Professor with history of correctly predicting elections says it's 'the incumbent's election to lose' (Kaelan Deese/The Hill)

9:25 PM ET, February 29, 2020

Top Items:

Man in Washington state first in US to die from new virus — A man has died in Washington state of COVID-19, state health officials said Saturday, marking the first such reported death in the United States. — State officials issued a terse news release announcing the death, gave no details and scheduled a news conference.

Discussion: Mediaite and Associated Press

Washington Post:

Live updates: New coronavirus cases indicate virus is spreading in U.S.; FDA expands testing — More coronavirus infections were reported from South Korea to France to Qatar on Saturday after health officials in Washington state, Oregon and California on Friday reported a worrying development …

Discussion: NBC News, Mother Jones, The Daily Beast, Associated Press, Mashable, Slate, Occupy Democrats, Vox, UPI, Twitchy, The Post Millennial, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Ted Hesson / Reuters:

Exclusive: U.S. weighs restrictions at border with Mexico over coronavirus threat — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration is considering imposing entry restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border to control the spread of the coronavirus in the United States, according to two U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials.

Discussion: Political Flare and Raw Story

KIRO:

Department of Health confirms first coronavirus death in Washington state — The Washington Department of Health confirmed Saturday the first coronavirus-related death in Washington state, according to a press release. — Health officials said there are new King County cases in addition to the two new cases confirmed Friday evening.

Discussion: The Seattle Times, Breitbart, Daily Kos, Fox News, TheBlaze and New York Post

Nicole Acevedo / NBC News:

First coronavirus death in the U.S. happens in Washington state — The person who died was a man in his 50s who had underlying health conditions. — Health officials in Washington state said on Saturday a coronavirus patient has died. — The death is the first from coronavirus illness COVID-19 in the United States.

Discussion: Big League Politics, Vox, Townhall, Mashable, SFist, The Week and Deadline

New York Times:

Coronavirus Updates: First Death in U.S. Confirmed In Seattle Area — The death comes as unexplained new cases in Washington State, Oregon and California suggest local, person-to-person spread of the virus in the United States. — RIGHT NOW A person in King County, Washington, near Seattle …

Discussion: Vox, CNBC, The Daily Beast and Mother Jones

Tony Romm / Washington Post: Millions of tweets peddled conspiracy theories about coronavirus in other countries, an unpublished U.S. report says

Tara Lee / governor.wa.gov:
Inslee issues COVID-19 emergency proclamation

Discussion: Breitbart and Talking Points Memo

Washington Post:
Trump misidentifies first coronavirus fatality in U.S. as a woman

Discussion: Occupy Democrats

Los Angeles Times: California sees third case of ‘community spread’ coronavirus as first U.S. death is reported near Seattle

CBS News:

South Carolina primary election live updates — Voting is underway in South Carolina's pivotal primary, the last primary before Super Tuesday. Joe Biden is hoping for his first 2020 win and Bernie Sanders has momentum from his victories in New Hampshire and Nevada, and his popular vote lead in Iowa.

Discussion: Breitbart, Townhall, NBC News, CNN and The Hill

Kaelan Deese / The Hill:

Professor with history of correctly predicting elections says it's 'the incumbent's election to lose' — A professor in political science with a history of accurately predicting the outcome of U.S. presidential elections said either Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would win the primary election …

Discussion: NBC News, Washington Post, The Independent, Breitbart, ABC News and TheBlaze

Henry J. Gomez / BuzzFeed News:

Joe Biden's South Carolina Victory Has Him Back In The Running — But For How Long? — South Carolina lifted Joe Biden's spirits and finally made him a winner. Now he's going into the Super Tuesday unknown. — Reporting From — COLUMBIA, South Carolina — There was a moment Friday night …

Discussion: Politico, The Gateway Pundit and CNN

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Joe Biden Is Now the Only Democrat Who Can Stop Bernie Sanders — After Joe Biden finished as astonishing 4th place in Iowa and then 5th place in New Hampshire, I wrote a post-mortem for his campaign. It now looks like one of the most wrong things I have ever written.

Discussion: New York Times

Washington Post:

Eighteen days that resuscitated Joe Biden's nearly five-decade career — CHARLESTON, S.C. — Late on a Sunday night aboard the hulking World War II-era USS Yorktown docked near Charleston, Joe Biden made a surprise appearance to see U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn, the state's longest-serving congressman …

Discussion: Vox

Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
Embattled Chris Matthews Left Out of MSNBC's S.C. Primary Coverage

Discussion: The Federalist, Redstate and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »

Matt Stevens / New York Times:
2020 South Carolina Primary: Live Coverage

Discussion: Vox, PJ Media Home and CNN

New York Times:
South Carolina Primary Forecast

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Political Wire

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
South Carolina polls set to close as Biden hopes to rebound in 2020 primary

Discussion: The Week, UPI, WAVY-TV, CNN, ABC News and MSNBC

Maggie Severns / Politico:
Biden gets a late burst of cash at a key moment

Discussion: Vox, NBC News, The Hill, Axios and Washington Post

Sam Dorman / Fox News:
Trump jokes Biden won't be governing as president: 'He'll be in a home'

Discussion: NBC News

Li Zhou / Vox:
Live results for the South Carolina Democratic primary

Discussion: Washington Post and Mother Jones

David Siders / Politico:
Empty stadiums and no more selfie lines? Coronavirus becomes 2020 X-factor.

Discussion: NBC News, Associated Press, Breitbart, The Hill, The Daily Beast and ABC News

Tina Nguyen / Politico:

Trump rallies conservatives — and drops charges of a coronavirus ‘hoax’ — Just hours after he somberly confirmed the first coronavirus-related death in the United States, President Donald Trump boasted to a packed room of conservatives that he was responsible for keeping them safe.

Discussion: USA Today, Breitbart, Unprecedented and The Hill

Tina Nguyen / Politico:
CPAC exiles grapple with the new devotion to Trump

Discussion: Associated Press and Raw Story

Nellie Bowles / New York Times:

The Pied Pipers of the Dirtbag Left Want to Lead Everyone to Bernie Sanders — Many listeners would never repeat what these podcast hosts say. So why do they desperately want to hear from them? — IOWA CITY — The people in the crowd were angry, and “Chapo Trap House” wanted them to stay that way.

Mark Esper / Washington Post:

Defense Secretary Mark Esper: This is our chance to bring troops home from Afghanistan for good — Mark Esper is U.S. defense secretary. — On Sept. 11, 2001, as many of us remember too well, al-Qaeda perpetrated its murderous attacks against the United States that resulted in the tragic loss …

Discussion: Mother Jones

Mujib Mashal / New York Times:
U.S. Strikes Deal With Taliban to Withdraw Troops From Afghanistan

Discussion: Vox, Daily Kos, CNN, UPI, Slate, PJ Media Home, Associated Press, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, The Week, Outside the Beltway, ABC News and The White House

Rebecca Kheel / The Hill:
US, Taliban sign deal to withdraw troops from Afghanistan

Discussion: Reuters and The Guardian

The Boston Globe:

New Suffolk/Globe poll finds Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren locked in statistical tie in Massachusetts — Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders of Vermont are locked in a statistical tie ahead of the Massachusetts primary on Tuesday, according to a poll released Saturday by Suffolk University …

New York Times:
Sanders Looks to Topple Warren in Her Home State

Discussion: Fox News, The Week, The Boston Globe and Politico

Jim Geraghty / National Review:
The End of Elizabeth Warren?

Discussion: New York Times and The Gateway Pundit

TMZ.com:

Bernie Sanders Boards the Wrong Private Jet, Campaign Brain Fart — BERNIE SANDERS BOARDS THE WRONG PRIVATE JET ... Case Of Campaign Brain — Bernie Sanders is on the go all the time — which seems to have given him a momentary case of a campaign brain fart as he accidentally boarded the wrong jet.

Discussion: Redstate and PJ Media Home

BBC:

Coronavirus: Nasa images show China pollution clear amid slowdown — Satellite images have shown a dramatic decline in pollution levels over China, which is “at least partly” due to an economic slowdown prompted by the coronavirus, US space agency Nasa says. — Nasa maps show falling levels of nitrogen dioxide this year.

Betsy Swan / The Daily Beast:

Jackie Speier's Question to DOJ on Epstein Raises Eyebrows in House Intel Committee — In a closed-door briefing to members of Congress on government surveillance, a senior Justice Department official was asked a surprising question. — In a closed-door briefing to members of Congress …

Discussion: New York Post and Raw Story

Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:

Republican mega-donor buys stake in Twitter and seeks to oust Jack Dorsey - report — Billionaire Paul Singer's Elliott Management has taken a ‘sizable state’ and intends to ‘push for changes’, reports Bloomberg News — A major Republican donor has purchased a stake in Twitter …

Discussion: Political Flare, The Daily Caller, Deadline, Raw Story and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Karen Freifeld / Reuters:

Weinstein stir crazy at New York hospital days after sex crimes conviction, spokesman says — (Reuters) - Harvey Weinstein is sitting under guard in a cinderblock room at a New York City hospital days after his conviction for sexual assault and rape, and at times “can go stir crazy just staring …