memeorandum: CDC medical screener at LAX airport tests positive for coronavirus (NBC News)

5:40 PM ET, March 4, 2020

Top Items:

Jill Biden's epic tussle: In split-second blocking maneuver, she protects husband from lunging vegans — It could have been a scene out of the romantic thriller “The Bodyguard,” except the hero of the moment in this case was not a trained agent but Jill Biden.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Breitbart, IJR, POLITICUSUSA, Althouse, Mediaite and The Week

Ezra Klein / Vox:

Sanders can't lead the Democrats if his campaign treats them like the enemy — What Bernie needs to learn from Biden. — Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have been running very different kinds of campaigns, built on very different ambitions. Biden's been running to lead the Democratic Party more or less as it exists today.

Discussion: New York Times, FiveThirtyEight, Washington Post, Mother Jones, CANNONFIRE, Scripting News and The Week

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Trump's ugly new strategy against surging Biden undercuts itself — Now that Joe Biden's commanding performance on Super Tuesday has vaulted him into a solid position to win the Democratic nomination, President Trump is already road-testing a new strategy against the former vice president.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Politico and IJR

Michelle Cottle / New York Times:

Maybe Next Time, Ladies — So much for the most diverse presidential field in history. — Ms. Cottle is a member of the editorial board. — Talk about a head-spinner. Just a few days ago, Joe Biden's candidacy was being prepped for burial, while Bernie Sanders's revolution was considered unstoppable.

Discussion: Spectator USA and CBS Boston

Amy Wang / Washington Post:

Mike Bloomberg is suspending his presidential campaign, says he's endorsing Biden — Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York who had hoped to self-fund his way to the Democratic presidential nomination but was spurned by voters in Tuesday's balloting, has dropped out of the race.

Discussion: Fox News, New York Times, The Hill, Breitbart, The Moderate Voice, The Week, New York Magazine, Wall Street Journal, VICE, HuffPost, Vox, Raw Story, FiveThirtyEight, Politico and Outside the Beltway

Alex Thompson / Politico:
Warren team turns grim after Super Tuesday wipeout

Discussion: The Week, Breitbart, Fox News, Balloon Juice, VICE, The Daily Caller, NBC News, National Review, BuzzFeed News, Townhall and HuffPost

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:
Bernie's Revolution Failed. But His Movement Can Still Win.

Discussion: Jacobin and Vox

Jessica Valenti / GEN — :
It Will Be Hard to Get Over What Happened to Elizabeth Warren

Discussion: Team Warren

Amber Jamieson / BuzzFeed News:
Jill Biden And Symone Sanders Fought Off Two Protesters Who Stormed Joe Biden's Victory Speech

Discussion: IJR, New York Times, Eater, Tangle and The Root

Ledyard King / USA Today:
Many young voters sat out Super Tuesday, contributing to Bernie Sanders' losses

Discussion: Mother Jones, Reason, New York Times, Fox News, NBC News, Yahoo News, Fortune, NPR, Vox, Daily Kos, VICE, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Dispatch, Slate and Rolling Stone

Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:
Bernie Sanders Gets a Rude Awakening

Discussion: Financial Times, Redstate, Commentary, Politico, Common Dreams and Deseret News

Byron York / Washington Examiner: After Super Tuesday rush, will there be a Biden hangover?

Mike Bloomberg for President:
Statement by Mike Bloomberg

Discussion: Redstate, IJR, The National Interest and POLITICUSUSA

Andrew Stiles / Washington Free Beacon:
Bernie Chokes

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Redstate, Slate and PJ Media Home

Politico:
'I've never seen anybody mount a comeback like this — ever'

Discussion: NPR, Washington Post, New York Times, FiveThirtyEight, The Hill, The National Interest, The Smoke Eater, Althouse and Gothamist

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Steve Bullock Is Poised to Run for Senate in Montana, Officials Say — After months of insisting he would not challenge the Republican incumbent, Mr. Bullock, the governor and ex-Democratic presidential candidate, has until Monday to file to run in Montana.

Discussion: Politico, CNN and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Ian Millhiser / Vox:

Abortion rights had a surprisingly hopeful day in the Supreme Court — Thousands of protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning as oral arguments were underway over a restrictive Louisiana abortion law. Melissa Lyttle for Vox — Louisiana's lawyer did such a bad job defending …

Discussion: Slate, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, Jezebel, The Gateway Pundit, SCOTUSblog and The Henry J. Kaiser …

Katie Pavlich / Townhall:

Chuck Schumer Just Threatened Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch — Today the Supreme Court is hearing arguments about a law in Louisiana that requires abortion doctors to have admitting privileges to local hospitals. — Pro-life proponents of the law, which is sponsored …

Discussion: Redstate, Fox News, American Greatness and WayneDupree.com

Jonathan Turley / The Hill:
Chief Justice John Roberts heading down collision course with himself

Discussion: Washington Post

Ronn Blitzer / Fox News:
Schumer unloads on Gorsuch, Kavanaugh at abortion rights rally: ‘You will pay the price!’

Discussion: Common Dreams and Breitbart

Mairead McArdle / National Review:
Schumer Claims Conservative Supreme Court Justices Will ‘Pay the Price’ If They Rule against Abortion Advocates

Discussion: The Federalist, The Gateway Pundit and Slate

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:

Pompeo under pressure to release Taliban deal ‘secret annexes’ — The Trump administration has signed and publicized its peace deal with the Taliban. But even now, big questions remain. Chief among them is why the State Department has insisted on classifying two secret annexes to the deal …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and New York Times

Susannah George / Washington Post:
U.S. targets Taliban with airstrike days after peace deal

Discussion: CNN, NPR, The Diplomat, ABC News, KTLA and Twitchy

New York Times:
Taliban Ramp Up Attacks on Afghans After Trump Says ‘No Violence’

Discussion: Slate, News Items and Washington Post

Tim Mak / NPR:

Former Prisoner Recalls Sanders Saying, 'I Don't Know What's So Wrong' With Cuba — Audio will be available later today. — American Alan Gross, a prisoner in Cuba for five years during the Obama administration, is accusing Sen. Bernie Sanders of commending the communist country when he came to visit him behind bars.

Discussion: New York Post, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Jewish Insider, National Review and Washington Free Beacon

U.S. Department of Justice:

Defense Department Linguist Charged with Espionage — Mariam Taha Thompson, 61, formerly of Rochester, Minnesota, was charged today in the District of Columbia with transmitting highly sensitive classified national defense information to a foreign national with apparent connections to Hizballah …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Redstate

Associated Press: Defense contractor charged with giving up military secrets

Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News: Pentagon linguist faces espionage charges after allegedly sharing secrets with Hezbollah

Hanna Trudo / The Daily Beast:

Majority Whip Jim Clyburn: Sanders Never Courted My Endorsement — The South Carolina Democrat said he's worked productively with the senator for years. But he didn't actively seek out his endorsement. — House Majority Whip James Clyburn has had many productive conversations …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Atlantic, The Hill and CNN

Robert A. George / New York Daily News: Fear of a black electorate: Bernie's anti-establishment message crashes into the Democrats …

NBC News:

CDC medical screener at LAX airport tests positive for coronavirus — The person was among screeners who are assigned to the airport's CDC in-transit lounge and also “support jetway screening on direct flights from China.” — WASHINGTON — A medical professional who conducted passenger screenings …

Politico:

Republicans lean into Biden probe as he surges in Democratic primary — Just hours after Joe Biden surged to the top of the Democratic presidential pack, Senate Republicans announced a new phase of their investigation targeting the former vice president and his son Hunter.

Discussion: Vox, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, The Gateway Pundit, IJR and Vanity Fair

Casey Michel / The Daily Beast:

It Looks Like a News App in the Apple Store. It's Really Russian Propaganda. — The app bills itself as a “one-of-a-kind free streaming service & TV library of news programs.” But every single show is from Kremlin-backed TV channel. — Over the past few years, Russian-funded propagandists …

Discussion: Raw Story

CBS News:

Pierce Bush is first Bush to lose Texas race in over 40 years — Austin, Texas — Republican Pierce Bush, a grandson of former President George H.W. Bush, failed to advance out of Tuesday's primary in his bid for a Houston congressional seat, becoming the first member of his family to lose a race in Texas in more than 40 years.

Discussion: Politico, The Independent, IJR and Althouse

Los Angeles Times:

California reports first coronavirus death; L.A. County declares emergency — California on Wednesday reported its first death related to coronavirus. — Placer County Public Health officials announced that a patient who had tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a cruise to Mexico last month died.

Discussion: Breitbart, The Sun, Daily Kos, New York Post, The Daily Caller and KRON4

Holly Ellyatt / CNBC:

Italy to close all schools and universities for two weeks as coronavirus death toll rises — Italy was the worst-affected country from the coronavirus outside Asia earlier Wednesday, temporarily overtaking Iran in terms of the number of deaths and infections from the virus.

Discussion: New York Post

Hollywood Reporter:

‘No Time To Die’ Release Delayed Due to Coronavirus Outbreak — The 25th Bond pic had been scheduled to hit theaters around the globe in April. It will now go out in November. — The release of upcoming James Bond film No Time to Die has been pushed back from April to November …

Discussion: IJR, Vanity Fair, The Daily Caller, The Week, The Verge and The Daily Dot

Washington Post:

Coronavirus pummels Iran leadership as data show spread is far worse than reported — ISTANBUL — The coronavirus outbreak sweeping through Iran has delivered a jarring blow to the senior ranks of its government, infecting about two dozen members of parliament and at least 15 other current …

Alexi McCammond / Axios:

Bloomberg suspends presidential campaign, endorses Biden - Axios — He spent hundreds of millions of dollars to self-fund his run.

Discussion: The Nation, Forbes, Patterico's Pontifications, Jezebel, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, NB Blog, The Daily Caller and Daily Kos

The City:

Kids Spent Days in Class With City Teacher Now Showing Coronavirus Signs — A New York City public school teacher who spent February winter break in Italy is now under a two-week self-quarantine, on the advice of the city Department of Health & Mental Hygiene after experiencing possible coronavirus symptoms.

Discussion: New York Post

New York Times:

The Coronavirus. The Stock Market. Now Biden's Comeback Adds to Trump's Bad Week. — The president who believes he can control events is confronted by further evidence that he cannot. — With just eight months until Election Day, President Trump is having a bad week.

Ryan Goodman / Just Security:

The Gravity of Michael Ellis' Promotion to Senior Director for Intelligence at the White House — Michael Ellis, a White House lawyer accused of serious ethical misconduct in the Ukraine scandal, has been picked by President Donald Trump to be senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council (NSC).

Discussion: Washington Post and Politico

Center for Public Integrity:

Top Pentagon official contests White House claims about Ukraine aid delay — When confronted by House lawmakers angered about President Donald Trump's halt in aid to Ukraine last summer, Trump administration officials repeatedly said the hiatus was meant to allow them to conduct a policy review about the aid program.