Top Items:
Peter Wade / Rolling Stone:
DOJ Wants to Suspend Certain Constitutional Rights During Coronavirus Emergency — The Department of Justice has secretly asked Congress for the ability to detain arrested people “indefinitely” in addition to other powers that one expert called “terrifying”
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and Letters from an American
RELATED:
Betsy Woodruff Swan / Politico:
DOJ seeks new emergency powers amid coronavirus pandemic — The Justice Department has quietly asked Congress for the ability to ask chief judges to detain people indefinitely without trial during emergencies — part of a push for new powers that comes as the coronavirus spreads through the United States.
Discussion:
PJ Media Home, Mediaite, Redstate, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, Reason, The Moderate Voice, The Hill and New York Times
Matthew Chapman / Raw Story:
Bill Barr's DOJ using pandemic crisis to ask for permission to hold prisoners indefinitely without trial: report
Bill Barr's DOJ using pandemic crisis to ask for permission to hold prisoners indefinitely without trial: report
Discussion:
Politico
Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:
White House Pushes U.S. Officials to Criticize China For Coronavirus ‘Cover-Up’ — A State Department cable obtained by The Daily Beast says the U.S. and the American people are the “greatest humanitarians the world has ever known.” — As the number of coronavirus cases continues to grow …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and Breitbart
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Jason Grant / New York Law Journal:
David Lat Put on Ventilator, in Critical Condition With COVID-19 Infection — The founder of the Above the Law blog was put on a ventilator after “his oxygen levels dropped,” according to his husband. … David Lat is in critical condition and has been has been put on a ventilator …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications
Shane Harris / Washington Post:
Italy's coronavirus death toll feeds fear of what lies ahead in Europe and the U.S. — Global anxiety over the coronavirus centered on Europe on Saturday, where Italy is bearing the brunt of the pandemic's unceasing spread. Italian officials announced that 793 people had succumbed to the virus in a single day.
RELATED:
Jessica Williams / NOLA.com:
This 39-year-old New Orleans woman tested for coronavirus. She died before getting her results. — She tested for coronavirus, and her results were delayed. Five days later, she was dead in her kitchen. — On March 10, Natasha Ott, 39, felt the beginnings of a cold coming on.
Discussion:
Raw Story
New York Times:
Governments and Companies Race to Make Masks Vital to Virus Fight — President Trump resists using emergency powers to compel production, saying companies will voluntarily provide much-needed protective gear. — President Trump on Saturday sought to assure an anxious American public …
Discussion:
Washington Post and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Dan Diamond / Politico:
Short-term thinking plagues Trump's coronavirus response — After months of minimizing the threat to the United States, President Donald Trump jumped feet-first into the coronavirus fight this week with vows of quick fixes to the testing problem, claims about potential cures …
Discussion:
Raw Story, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Newey / Telegraph:
Why have so many coronavirus patients died in Italy? — The country's high death toll is due to an ageing population, overstretched health system and the way fatalities are reported — The coronavirus pandemic is exacting a heavy toll on Italy, with hospitals overwhelmed and a nationwide lockdown imposed.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, Instapundit and Spectator USA
Craig Karmin / Wall Street Journal:
Marriott to Furlough Thousands of Corporate Jobs — Coronavirus impact worse than post-9/11 attacks, financial crisis combined, CEO says — Marriott International Inc. plans to furlough thousands of corporate employees at its headquarters and other cities around the world …
Politico:
Will spring breakers become super-spreaders? — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As Florida officials move to expel the hundreds of thousands of spring breakers who ignored calls for social distancing, public-health specialists are nervously wondering what will happen once the party's over.
Discussion:
Raw Story
NBC News:
Sanders cancelling speech in Mississippi as campaign pivots to Michigan — WASHINGTON — Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders is cancelling a Friday speech in Jackson, Mississippi to campaign in Michigan, a sign the campaign is shifting focus after his poor showing in southern states so far this campaign.
Discussion:
Fox News
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Robert Klemko / Washington Post:
Coronavirus shut down Sin City, creating a potentially devastating situation for Las Vegas — LAS VEGAS — Don Gummerson and Josh “Pepper” Clarke left The Flamingo and sauntered alone down the sidewalk of the Strip, past locked casino doors and outdoor daiquiri machines shrouded in black trash bags …
Kate Smith / CBS News:
Ohio abortion clinics ordered to stop procedures due to coronavirus — All of Ohio's abortion clinics have been ordered to stop providing the procedure as the state clamps down on medical services to preserve protective gear amid the growing coronavirus outbreak.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, The Columbus Dispatch, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Breitbart and Mother Jones
Yahoo News:
Federal law enforcement document reveals white supremacists discussed using coronavirus as a bioweapon — WASHINGTON — White supremacists discussed plans to weaponize coronavirus via “saliva,” a “spray bottle” or “laced items,” according to a weekly intelligence brief distributed by a federal law enforcement division on Feb. 17.
New York Times:
Italy, Pandemic's New Epicenter, Has Lessons for the World — The country's experience shows that steps to isolate the coronavirus and limit people's movement need to be put in place early, with absolute clarity, then strictly enforced. — ROME — As Italy's coronavirus infections ticked above 400 cases …
Discussion:
Slate and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Stephanie Armour / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Considers Special Enrollment Period for Affordable Care Act Due to Coronavirus Spread — Enrollment period for states using federal exchange ended Dec. 15 — The Trump administration is considering the launch of a special enrollment period for people to sign up for health coverage under …
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Unlikely group in Congress unifies to provide lifeline to small businesses caught in economic free fall — Usually considered a remote outpost on Capitol Hill, the congressional Small Business committees have come up bigger than ever before in the fight against the economic contagion caused by the coronavirus impact on U.S. workers.
Harry Enten / CNN:
Donald Trump starts 2020 in the worst polling position since Harry Truman — (CNN)Poll of the week: A NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump 52% to 43% in a general election matchup. — An average of all polls this month puts Biden's advantage at a similar 7 points.
Discussion:
The Guardian
Lizzie Presser / ProPublica:
A Medical Worker Describes Terrifying Lung Failure From COVID-19 — Even in His Young Patients — “It first struck me how different it was when I saw my first coronavirus patient go bad. I was like, Holy shit, this is not the flu. Watching this relatively young guy, gasping for air, pink frothy secretions coming out of his tube.”
Max Boot / Washington Post:
This wouldn't have happened if Hillary Clinton had won — The coronavirus is the most foreseeable disaster in history — and so is President Trump's inability to rise to the occasion. — There were scattered warnings before Pearl Harbor and 9/11 of what was to come. But nothing like this.
Discussion:
Twitchy and No More Mister Nice Blog
Michael Balsamo / Associated Press:
AP Exclusive: 1st fed inmate tests positive for coronavirus — WASHINGTON (AP) — An inmate at a federal jail in New York City has tested positive for coronavirus, marking the first confirmed case in the federal prison system. — The inmate, who is housed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn …
Associated Press:
As virus spreads, growing need for hospital beds, supplies — MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic took an increasingly bleak toll Saturday in the U.S. and Europe, producing staggering caseloads in New York and Italy and setting off a desperate scramble to set up thousands …
Discussion:
Associated Press and Slate
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
The media must stop live-broadcasting Trump's dangerous, destructive coronavirus briefings — More and more each day, President Trump is using his daily briefings as a substitute for the campaign rallies that have been forced into extinction by the spread of the coronavirus.
Anna Giaritelli / Washington Examiner:
Claim they're going shopping: Border officials allow hundreds of Mexican vehicles to cross despite Trump ban — Customs and Border Protection officials are defying the Trump administration's directive to block all nonessential foreign travel into the United States from Mexico …
New York Times:
It's Time to Protect the 2020 Election, Too — Voting by mail is key to ensuring the integrity and accessibility of November's vote. — The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values.