memeorandum: Democrats Decide That Joe Biden, as Risky as He Ever Was, Is the Safest Bet (Matt Flegenheimer/New York Times)

3:55 AM ET, March 4, 2020

Top Items:

Live updates: Biden and Sanders pick up wins in first Super Tuesday states — The first polls have closed in the Super Tuesday states of Virginia and Vermont. CBS News projects Joe Biden will win Virginia and North Carolina and Bernie Sanders will win Vermont.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, CNN, The Week, National Review, WCCO | CBS Minnesota and WREG-TV

NBC News:

Live Blog / 2020 Super Tuesday live updates: Biden wins the South, Mass., Sanders takes Vt., Colo., Utah, NBC News projects — More than 1,300 delegates — or about a third of the total — are at play on Super Tuesday. — Fourteen states and one territory held nominating contests …

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, Breitbart, UPI, The Week and The Hill

Hallie Jackson / NBC News:

Trump camp publicly batting down Joe-mentum but privately concerned — We know President Donald Trump has been watching the Super Tuesday returns roll in — he predicted earlier that it would be an “interesting evening of television” — as he goes after both Mike Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren on Twitter.

Discussion: The Hill, Althouse and New York Times

FiveThirtyEight:

Our Final Forecast For Super Tuesday Shows Biden's Surge — And Lots Of Uncertainty — Former Vice President Joe Biden has gotten a lot of good news over the past few days. A huge, almost 30-point win in South Carolina. A series of impressive endorsements.

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, Insights into Impact, The Bulwark, Breitbart, The Intercept, The Independent, The Week, Patterico's Pontifications, Reason, Four Freedoms, The Mahablog and IJR

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

Why Elizabeth Warren is losing even if all your friends love her — White college grads are living in the Warren bubble. — A lot of people I know are voting for Elizabeth Warren on Super Tuesday. They're doing so even though they're aware she's way down in the polls and that her hopes …

Discussion: Washington Post and CNN

ABC News:
Super Tuesday results: Biden sweeps the South, Sanders strong in the West, anemic outcome for Bloomberg

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Townhall, Deseret News and HuffPost

Brian Schwartz / CNBC: Joe Biden fundraisers see millions of dollars in new commitments with Super Tuesday surge

Robby Soave / Reason:
Democratic Primary Voters Decisively Rejected the Media's Favorite Candidates

Discussion: Vox

NBC News:
NBC News Exit Poll: Late-deciding Super Tuesday voters break heavily for Biden

Discussion: BuzzFeed News

Detroit News:
Poll: Biden leads Sanders in Michigan ahead of Democratic primary

Discussion: The Hill

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:
Democrats Decide That Joe Biden, as Risky as He Ever Was, Is the Safest Bet

Discussion: ABC News and Washington Post

New York Times: Live Analysis: Super Tuesday

Ema O'Connor / BuzzFeed News:
I Rode The Train With Andrew Yang On Super Tuesday And He Said He's Considering Running For Mayor Of New York

Discussion: New York Post, Fox News, Mediaite and New York Times

Tal Axelrod / The Hill:
Hillary Clinton says she's ‘not planning to endorse’ anyone in 2020 race

Discussion: The Daily Caller, ABC News, Fox News and Breitbart

German Lopez / Vox:
American Samoa also voted on Super Tuesday. Mike Bloomberg won.

Discussion: Associated Press, Fox News, ABC News and Politico

Associated Press:
AP VoteCast: Many Democratic voters made last-minute picks

Discussion: ABC News, The Hill, Deseret News and courthousenews.com

Sydney Ember / New York Times:
Sanders Campaign Was Caught Off Guard by Quick Massing of Opposition

Discussion: New York Magazine, VTDigger, IJR and Washington Post

Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:
Biden Reclaims National Lead With Buttigieg, Klobuchar Exits

Discussion: The Hill, Redstate, POLITICUSUSA, NBC News, Jacobin, Mediaite, New York Times, Townhall, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Post and National Review

Kathleen Ronayne / Associated Press:

AP source: Bloomberg to reassess after disappointing results — Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg waves to supporters as he arrives to his campaign rally at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, March 3, 2020. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP)

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Vanity Fair, The Daily Caller, Power Line, Twin Cities, The Week, Florida Politics and KTLA

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“He Will Risk Making Ross Perot and Ralph Nader Look Good”: Bloomberg Resists Advisers' Push to Exit the Race — With his path disappearing after South Carolina, advisers pressed for a quick exit. But Mike has so far refused: I'll be damned if I walk away before a single vote is cast for me.

Discussion: NBC News, Breitbart, The Week, The Wrap and The Daily Beast

Hunter Woodall / The Daily Beast:

Bloomberg Voters Feast on the Carcass of His Campaign — “I have no intention of dropping out,” said former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said. “We're in it to win it.” — WEST PALM BEACH, Florida—Mike Bloomberg stood inside a Florida convention center on Tuesday night looking …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill and Breitbart

J. Edward Moreno / The Hill:

Bloomberg on Warren: 'I didn't realize she's still in' — Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a reporter Tuesday he “didn't realize” that Sen. Elizabeth (D-Mass.) was still in the primary race. — His comments came in light of Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and former South Bend …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Fox News, The Daily Beast, IJR and POLITICUSUSA

Jim Geraghty / National Review: A Fantastic Night . . . If You Don't Like Bloomberg, Warren, or Sanders

Politico:
Bloomberg considering dropping out after Biden rout

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, HuffPost, Mother Jones and CNBC

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
The real reason Chris Matthews had to go

more at Mediagazer »

Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Voter turnout in Virginia nearly doubles from 2016

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Breitbart, Vox and Washington Post

Associated Press:
The Latest: Obama's praise for Biden heard in robocall

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, Fox News, The Hill, Washington Post, Common Dreams, Vox, CalMatters, KUSI-TV, Breitbart, The Daily Beast and The Week

Politico:

Trump launches an urgent fight to save his ticket to reelection — Eight months from a general election, President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers are considering an urgent effort to rescue the U.S. economy from a coronavirus panic. — Trump advisers and GOP lawmakers have spent …

Discussion: Washington Post and New York Post

Associated Press:

Trump meets with GOP lawmakers amid surveillance rift — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is getting more deeply involved in the dispute among Republicans over what to do about expiring surveillance powers used by the FBI, meeting with Attorney General William Barr and GOP lawmakers Tuesday evening to discuss the path forward.

Discussion: ABC News and The Hill

Tyler Cowen / Bloomberg:

Bill Gates Is Really Worried About the Coronavirus. Here's Why. — The debate is splitting into two broad camps: Call them the “growthers” and the “base-raters.” — Just how bad will the new coronavirus be? I can't answer that question, but I have observed the debate splitting into two broad camps …

Discussion: UPI

Alexandra Petri / Washington Post:

I just remembered Joe Biden is fine — This is a little awkward, but better late than never! I suddenly remembered that Joe Biden is a dynamite candidate, something I had forgotten over the past few months of watching Joe Biden campaign. Joe Biden is the best hope of the party and its logical standard-bearer!

Discussion: National Review

Peter Hamby / Vanity Fair: Biden's Branding Reboot: Here Comes Emo Joe

CNBC:

WHO says coronavirus death rate is 3.4% globally, higher than previously thought — World health officials say the case fatality rate for COVID-19 is 3.4% globally, higher than previous estimates of about 2%. — “Globally, about 3.4% of reported COVID-19 cases have died,” …

Helen Branswell / STAT:

Washington State risks seeing explosion in coronavirus cases without dramatic action, new analysis says — The coronavirus outbreak in the Seattle area is at a critical juncture and could see explosive growth in cases much like Wuhan, China, if public officials don't take immediate …

Discussion: COVID-19 Daily, The Atlantic and UPI

Joseph Wulfsohn / Fox News:

Twitter suspends liberal journalist for quoting Joe Biden gaffe — A liberal journalist was hit with a temporary suspension on Twitter over a tweet quoting a gaffe from former Vice President Joe Biden. — Jordan Chariton, founder of Status Coup, knocked former 2020 hopefuls Pete Buttigieg …

Discussion: New York Post

NBC News:

Amid outbreak, Trump admin's proposed rollback of nursing home regulations faces criticism — “These are frail, medically compromised people,” said an attorney at the nonprofit Center for Medicare Advocacy, who opposes the change. — The Trump administration last year moved to roll …

Discussion: New York Times

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Feds: Mystery witness will implicate 'Putin's chef' in election interference — U.S. prosecutors say they have a witness who will directly implicate a Russian businessman known as “Putin's chef” in schemes to carry out election interference overseas. — The mystery witness is prepared …

Discussion: Redstate

Los Angeles Times:

Long lines and lots of questions as L.A. County voters cast ballots on brand-new system — Los Angeles voters who showed up to cast ballots in person on Tuesday reported long wait times and operational errors at a number of the county's newly designed vote centers, experiences adding …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, FOX 11 Los Angeles, Associated Press, Mother Jones, UPI, Vox, The Week, Redstate, KTLA and New York Post

New York Times:
Long Waits Frustrate Los Angeles Voters

Discussion: The Hill

Dan Diamond / Politico:

CDC blocked FDA official from premises — In a sign of growing tension among the Trump administration's health agencies, officials are expressing frustration that a top scientist was initially rebuffed when attempting to visit the CDC in Atlanta last month to help coordinate …

Discussion: The Long Version and Twitchy

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Trump coronavirus effort undermined by mixed messages and falsehoods — When Anthony Fauci, clad in a white lab coat, invited an NBC Nightly News correspondent into his offices this week and described the coronavirus as an “outbreak” that was reaching “likely pandemic proportions,” …

Discussion: Press Watch, The Hill, Raw Story, ABC News and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

Marisa Schultz / Fox News:

Tight Alabama GOP Senate race poised for Round 2 as Sessions, Tuberville head to runoff — No one won the GOP nomination outright for the Alabama Senate, which means voters will head back to the polls for a runoff election later this month to determine whether former Sen. Jeff Sessions can mount a political comeback.

Discussion: Politico, The Week and The Daily Beast