Trump Now Claims He Always Knew the Coronavirus Would Be a Pandemic  —  The president tried to rewrite his history with advising Americans about the coronavirus.  His own words prove him wrong.  —  WASHINGTON — For weeks, President Trump has minimized the coronavirus, mocked concern about it and treated the risk cavalierly.

OPM chief Dale Cabaniss abruptly resigns  —  Dale Cabaniss, the director of the government's Office of Personnel Management, resigned abruptly on Tuesday, effective immediately.  —  Cabaniss stepped down because of what two people familiar with the matter said was poor treatment …

China Takes Countermeasures Against Restrictive Measures on Chinese Media Agencies in the US  —  In recent years, the US government has placed unwarranted restrictions on Chinese media agencies and personnel in the US, purposely made things difficult for their normal reporting assignments …

At Party for Donald Trump Jr.'s Girlfriend, Donors Helped Pick Up the Tab  —  Attendees of the bash for Kimberly Guilfoyle at the president's private club chipped in — including financial backers of the Trump re-election campaign.  —  WASHINGTON — It was a lavish birthday party for Donald Trump Jr.'s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle.

Emergency stimulus to soar above $1 trillion  —  The government's economic stimulus is ballooning into trillion-dollar territory — the largest rescue in modern American history — as major industries flood the Trump administration and Capitol Hill for aid while huge swaths of the economy stall from the coronavirus crisis.

Senate coronavirus vote delayed after Rand Paul pushes doomed amendment  —  Mitch McConnell had said he wanted to pass the bill at “warp speed.”  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate would move at “warp speed” to pass coronavirus legislation on Tuesday, but Sen. Rand Paul …

Biden projected to win Florida and Illinois primaries, with polls set to close soon in Arizona  —  Joe Biden has decisively won the delegate-rich Florida and Illinois primaries, Fox News projects, further cementing the former vice president as the dominant frontrunner in the race …

Lessons From Italy's Hospital Meltdown.  ‘Every Day You Lose, the Contagion Gets Worse.’  —  The coronavirus is pushing a wealthy region with high-tech health care toward a humanitarian disaster  —  BERGAMO, Italy—Ambulances here have stopped using sirens.  The frequent blaring only adds to local fears.

UPDATED: Pentagon Preparing Navy Hospital Ships Mercy, Comfort for Coronavirus Response  —  This post has been updated with statements from Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.  —  The Pentagon is starting the process of activating Navy hospital ships USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) and USNS Comfort …

Poll: Americans Don't Trust What They're Hearing From Trump On Coronavirus  —  Americans have little trust in the information they are hearing from President Trump about the novel coronavirus, and their confidence in the federal government's response to it is declining sharply, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.

Administration Seeks $850 Billion and Plans Strict Border Controls  —  The Trump administration plans to stop detaining people caught crossing the southern border illegally, returning them immediately to Mexico.  It says the step is needed to fight the coronavirus.

Scientists warn we may need to live with social distancing for a year or more  —  Researchers say we face a horrible choice: practice social distancing for months or a year, or let hundreds of thousands die.  —  Life in America — and in many countries around the world — is changing drastically.

U.S. Virus Plan Anticipates 18-Month Pandemic and Widespread Shortages  —  The 100-page federal plan laid out a grim prognosis and outlined a response that would activate agencies across the government.  —  WASHINGTON — A federal government plan to combat the coronavirus warned policymakers …

“Dishonesty...Is Always an Indicator of Weakness”: Tucker Carlson on How He Brought His Coronavirus Message to Mar-a-Lago  —  The Fox News host believes that an administration (and GOP, and Democrats, and media) obsessed with impeachment couldn't help but see the coronavirus through a political lens.

Hello from Italy.  Your future is grimmer than you think.  —  Within weeks, our old lives were gone  —  My family lives in the Veneto, in Northern Italy, one of the regions worst hit by the novel coronavirus.  We are on lockdown.  It's scary.  It's lonely.  It's uncomfortable.  And did I mention scary?

Amazon's warehouse workers sound alarms about coronavirus spread  —  Workers call on the ecommerce giant to close and clean warehouses exposed to the coronavirus and to adopt rules that encourage employees to practice sanitary habits  —  As Amazon sales surge from shoppers stocking up on consumer staples …

Coronavirus Is Causing Industry-Wide Layoffs In D.C., Hitting Service Workers Particularly Hard |  DCist  —  Sweeping rounds of layoffs have started to hit D.C.-area businesses in a wide range of sectors.  The economic plunge has been widely felt, hitting the wedding industry …

New Yorkers should be prepared for a ‘shelter in place order,’ Mayor Bill de Blasio says  —  New Yorkers should prepare for a “shelter-in-place” order in the coming days as local officials try to contain the fast-moving coronavirus that's spreading throughout the U.S., New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio …

Biden's Top 12 Running Mates, Ranked  —  Joe Biden's unequivocal declaration that his running mate will be a woman began the 2020 veepstakes with a brutal cut.  There will be no consolation prize for Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg or Julian Castro.  There will be no unity ticket pairing Biden with Bernie Sanders.

Get Ready, A Bigger Disruption Is Coming  —  The Covid-19 pandemic reflects a systemic crisis akin to the seminal crashes of the 20th century.  —  As global supply chains break, airlines slash flights, borders rise within nation-states, stock exchanges convulse with fear …

We're in the midst of a public health crisis.  Stop pretending the Democratic primary is competitive.  —  The Democratic Party, like every major institution in America, is scrambling to respond to the unprecedented threat the covid-19 pandemic poses to rituals and routines.

How To Get More Ventilators And What To Do If We Can't  —  Factory capacity can be ramped up, but the components come from overseas and they could be hard to find.  —  The coronavirus pandemic could cause a dramatic upsurge of hospital patients in the U.S., creating unprecedented demand for ventilators.

U.S. government, tech industry discussing ways to use smartphone location data to combat coronavirus  —  The U.S. government is in active talks with Facebook, Google and a wide array of tech companies and health experts about how they can use location data gleaned from Americans' phones …

Trump loyalists take command of the intelligence community  —  At a moment when Americans have new appreciation for the government professionals who protect against global threats, the Trump administration is weighing cuts in funding and staff for the National Counterterrorism Center …

With courts closed by pandemic, Philly police stop low-level arrests to manage jail crowding  —  One day after Philadelphia courts closed until April 1 to limit the spread of the coronavirus, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw notified commanders Tuesday that police will be delaying arrests …

Cory Gardner will self-quarantine after contact with coronavirus patient  —  U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner said Tuesday that he will self-quarantine after coming into contact last week with a constituent who subsequently was found to have the coronavirus.  —  “I was alerted today …

In California: Millions locked down; 911 gets calls about neighbors coughing  —  Nearly seven million residents in seven counties must shelter in place to help stop the spread of coronavirus.  Elsewhere in the Golden State, people are calling 911 to report coughers.

IRS and Social Security close field offices across the country as some federal services start shrinking in response to the coronavirus  —  The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday began closing field offices in Northern California, Seattle, Puerto Rico and the New York City area to contain …

Live Primary Election Results: Florida, Illinois and Arizona  —  Three states are holding presidential primaries today.  Ohio postponed its primary election because of the coronavirus outbreak.  —  Biden  —  NO ELECTION NO RESULTS  —  Primary Results By State … Delegates Won So Far

FAA: Tower at Chicago's Midway airport is closed after ‘several’ employees there test positive for COVID-19  — “Several” employees at Chicago's Midway International Airport tested positive for coronavirus, the FAA said.  — The airport remains open thanks to back-up facilities but is operating at a reduced pace.