White House coronavirus plan aims to send $2,000 to many Americans, includes $300 billion for small businesses  —  Talks remain fluid, but discussions with Congress are intensifying as virus fallout worsens  —  White House officials are working with congressional Republicans …

Trump invokes wartime authority of Defense Production Act to address coronavirus crisis - live updates  —  Courtney Subramanian John Fritze David JacksonUSA TODAY  —  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump confirmed that he plans to invoke a provision that would allow him to prohibit certain people …

Bernie Sanders suspends his 2020 campaign Facebook ads  —  Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign currently has no active Facebook ads, the morning after another disappointing finish in a series of primary contests.  —  Why it matters: A pause in digital advertising spend on Facebook …

Focus on the Incompetence  —  The “Chinese Virus” is a test.  Don't fail the test.  —  Staff writer at The Atlantic  —  Tests for COVID-19 are not yet widely available in this country, but a test for gullibility is now available on Twitter in the form of Donald Trump's feed.

China's coronavirus propaganda campaign is putting lives at risk  —  The Chinese authorities are engaged in a full-scale effort to rewrite the history of the coronavirus epidemic.  Some in the West might be tempted to dismiss the significance of Beijing's propaganda efforts.  But they shouldn't.

‘Hell is coming’ — Bill Ackman has dire warning for Trump, CEOs if drastic measures aren't taken now  —  Bill Ackman's plea to Trump to save US from the coronavirus's economic destruction  —  Bill Ackman urged President Donald Trump to shut down the country for 30 days to contain …

US Air Force Flew Half a Million Coronavirus Test Kits From Italy to Tennessee  —  Similar missions to distribute COVID-19 test kits are expected in coming days.  —  The U.S. Air Force quietly flew 500,000 COVID-19 testing kits from Italy to Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday, Defense One has learned.

Coronavirus updates: Navy hospital ship is heading to New York Harbor  —  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that President Trump agreed to send a Navy hospital ship to New York Harbor, as the number of coronavirus cases continues to climb.  The ship, USNS Comfort, holds about 1,000 rooms …

Trump is frantically rewriting his epic failures.  Don't let him.  —  In retrospect, it's now clear that when President Trump defiantly declared that “I don't take responsibility at all” for key aspects of his catastrophic response to the coronavirus, he meant it both seriously and literally.

U.S. Stocks Plunge; Global Debt and Oil Tumble: Markets Wrap  — Europe bonds sell off on fiscal risks; Treasuries stabilize  — Dollar gains for seventh day; industrial metals, gold decline  —  Financial markets continued to spasm Wednesday, with U.S. stocks plunging toward levels …

How Washington Failed to Build a Robust Coronavirus Testing System  —  Government decisions that limited testing for the pathogen blinded the U.S. to the outbreak's scale.  Here's how it happened.  —  When cases of the new coronavirus began emerging several weeks ago in California …

Coronavirus poses dreadful choice for global leaders: Wreck your economy or lose millions of lives  —  The coronavirus pandemic has confronted governments around the globe with the ultimate bad choice: Wreck your economy or lose millions of lives.  —  While some initially hesitated …

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.

Questioning the Clampdown  —  Will people lose faith when they find out they are expected to get the virus anyway?  —  Experts now agree the virus's spread can be slowed but not contained.  It will take its place among mostly seasonal respiratory infections.

California preparing for worst case scenarios  —  In readying the National Guard for action, Gov. Gavin Newsom's office emphasized that it's for duties routinely performed during natural disasters and other emergencies.  But Newsom grimly added that “we have the ability to do martial law ... if we feel the necessity.”

There is no new Trump  —  If you think you've been hearing a different President Trump this week — more accepting of the reality of the coronavirus pandemic — don't be fooled.  The new Trump is the same as the old Trump.  He can't help it.  He's incapable of taking responsibility …

William Weld, Trump's Last G.O.P. Challenger, Exits Presidential Race  —  The former governor of Massachusetts carried out a long-shot primary campaign focused on appealing to moderate Republicans.  —  WASHINGTON — A day after President Trump officially racked up enough delegates to become …

The Pandemic Is Too Big for Trumpworld to Spin  —  Last Friday, we got a sign that Fox News changed the party line on the coronavirus.  Then suddenly, Trump changed his tune, too.  Hmmm...  BEAST INSIDE  —  The Trumpy media from top to bottom is having a rough time of it these days.

Searching for love in the time of coronavirus  —  Angelo Di Gregorio sits on his bed FaceTiming with his new beau, from his room in Verona, Italy, on March 17.  With social distancing, an hour's drive might as well be a continent away.  —  (CNN)Jenny, a 29-year-old woman in Seattle …

Presidential race now leans toward the Democrats  —  ANALYSIS — More than 14 months ago, I wrote a column in this space suggesting that the 2020 presidential contest was a toss-up, but one that tilted toward the Democrats.  I offered caveats about the economy and the Democratic nomination …

Republicans like me built this moment.  Then we looked the other way.  —  Stuart Stevens is a writer and Republican political consultant who has advised a pro-Bill Weld super PAC in the 2020 election.  His book about the Republican Party, “It Was All A Lie,” will be published next month.

Sherrod Brown worries Trump could use Ohio primary as precedent to delay general election  —  U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown said he is worried that President Donald Trump will use the delay of Ohio's primary election as precedent for moving the general election in November.

5.7-magnitude earthquake strikes near Salt Lake City knocking out Utah's coronavirus hotline  —  The quake was reported shortly after 7 a.m. local time.  —  A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, early Wednesday, knocking out the state's coronavirus hotline, according to the governor.

U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham on Operational Updates  —  As of this morning, more than eleven million households have responded.  America is stepping up to shape our future and ensure families and communities are counted.  —  Beginning today, in support of guidance …

These Places Could Run Out of Hospital Beds as Coronavirus Spreads  —  Percentage of occupied hospital beds that would need to be emptied or added  —  A new Harvard analysis shows that many parts of the United States will have far too few hospital beds if the new coronavirus continues …

West Virginia was the 50th state to report a coronavirus case.  This may be the reason it took so long  —  Asymptomatic cases may be driving spread of coronavirus  —  (CNN)On the surface, West Virginia might have seemed immune to coronavirus.  —  While the other 49 states had reported …

Trump Sought to Expand Virus Drug Tests Over FDA Objections  —  Plan would have expanded use of investigational drugs for coronavirus; FDA officials said plan would pose risks to patients  —  WASHINGTON—The White House considered issuing an executive order greatly expanding the use …

My Coronavirus Test: 5 Days, a Dozen Calls, Hours of Confusion  —  The symptoms have been easy to deal with.  The health care system has not.  —  Almost a dozen calls with five health care providers over five hours.  Two hours of hold music.  Two hours in a hospital.

There's a massive audience for coronavirus news right now.  That might not help the news business.  —  In a typical week, ABC counts on shows like “The Bachelor” and “American Idol” to deliver its biggest ratings.  —  But the weeks are no longer typical.  —  With the coronavirus crisis beginning …