Top Items:
Jesse Drucker / New York Times:
A Bonanza for Rich Real Estate Investors, Tucked Into Stimulus Package — A small change to tax policy could hand $170 billion in tax savings to real estate tycoons. — The federal government's planned $2 trillion economic rescue package includes financial aid for individuals and industries …
Donald G. McNeil Jr / New York Times:
The U.S. Now Leads the World in Confirmed Coronavirus Cases — Following a series of missteps, the nation is now the epicenter of the pandemic. — Scientists warned that the United States someday would become the country hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. That moment arrived on Thursday.
Discussion:
Towleroad Gay News, Input and Washington Post
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Daniel Henninger / Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Leadership — Rallying the United States through the coronavirus crisis is this president's path to greatness. — The costs of how the U.S. has conducted its politics the past three years are now obvious. Beset by a crisis akin to wartime, the country's leadership is engulfed in political rancor.
Discussion:
alicublog and Lawyers, Guns & Money
David Adam / New Scientist:
UK has enough intensive care units for coronavirus, expert predicts — The UK should now be able to cope with the spread of the covid-19 virus, according to one of the epidemiologists advising the government. — Neil Ferguson at Imperial College London gave evidence today …
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SEIU UHW:
Union Locates Massive Supply of N95 Masks — The Service Employees International Union - United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) has located 39 million critically needed N95 masks and is connecting states, counties, health systems and individual hospitals to the supplier so they can purchase them in quantity.
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications
NBC News:
As U.S. struggles to stem coronavirus, China asserts itself as global leader — “Beijing's push for global leadership is able to get so much tailwind by virtue of the relative absence of any U.S. leadership,” one foreign affairs expert said. — With Italy in dire need of medical equipment, an economic superpower stepped in to help.
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Sebastian Murdock / HuffPost:
Alex Jones Loses Sandy Hook Court Appeal, Must Now Pay Nearly $150,000 In Legal Fees — The Infowars host is being sued by nine people whose family members will killed in the shooting at the Connecticut elementary school. — Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist and repeated loser of court battles …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Associated Press:
Flatter or fight? Governors seeking help must navigate Trump — SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — At first, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker tried to play nice. He limited criticisms of the federal government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and asked for medical supplies through official channels.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Washington Post and TheBlaze
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Washington Post:
A record 3.3 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits as the coronavirus slams economy — The U.S. unemployment rate has likely risen to 5.5 percent already — a level not seen since 2015. — A record 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week …
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, IJR, HuffPost, Raw Story, The Root, Portland Mercury and Vanity Fair
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Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Jobless claims soar past 3 million to record as coronavirus sends Americans to the unemployment line
Jobless claims soar past 3 million to record as coronavirus sends Americans to the unemployment line
Discussion:
The American Independent, Bloomberg, Washington Free Beacon, Associated Press, Big League Politics, TheBlaze, Mediaite, CNN, New York Times, Variety, NB Blog, Boondoggle, The Week and Daily Kos
ProPublica:
Internal Emails Show How Chaos at the CDC Slowed the Early Response to Coronavirus — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — On Feb. 13, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
New York Times:
Job Vacancies and Inexperience Mar Federal Response to Coronavirus — Unfilled jobs and high turnover mean the government is ill equipped for a public health crisis, said many former and current federal officials and disaster experts. — WASHINGTON — Of the 75 senior positions at the Department …
Discussion:
Politico, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, GovExec.com, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, The Week and IJR
Washington Post:
D.C. was intentionally classified as a territory in virus-aid bill, lawmakers say — Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Thursday that the coronavirus relief package expected to pass the House of Representatives on Friday deliberately classified the District as a territory instead of a state …
Discussion:
The American Spectator
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Bloomberg:
Trump Campaign's Threat on TV Licenses May Be Mostly Bluster — Broadcasters in battleground states told to stop using ad — Trump appoints members at FCC which controls TV licenses — The Trump re-election campaign told TV stations they could lose their operating licenses …
Discussion:
Washington Post
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Jenny Jarvie / Los Angeles Times:
He survived COVID-19. He's broke. But he thinks America is overreacting — Joey Camp was the first person in Georgia to be quarantined at a special site after being diagnosed with COVID-19. — 3 AM — For three days, he was hooked up to an oxygen tube.
Texas Monthly:
Inside the Story of How H-E-B Planned for the Pandemic — The grocer started communicating with Chinese counterparts in January and was running tabletop simulations a few weeks later. (But nothing prepared it for the rush on toilet paper.) — The coronavirus pandemic has transformed the country in just a handful of weeks.
Justin McCarthy / Gallup:
Coronavirus Response: Hospitals Rated Best, News Media Worst — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans are generally positive in their evaluations of how each of nine leaders and institutions has handled the response to the coronavirus situation. Eight of the nine receive majority positive ratings — led by U.S. hospitals, at 88% approval.
Discussion:
The Federalist, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, TheBlaze, Breitbart, NB Blog, National Review and Fox News
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Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Feds may send some prisoners home due to virus risks — Attorney General William Barr announced the directive to consider home confinement for older inmates. — Attorney General William Barr issued a directive to the Bureau of Prisons on Thursday urging that the inmate population be reduced by sending some prisoners home.
Discussion:
ABC News
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Jake Gibson / Fox News:
Barr calls reports DOJ sought emergency powers amid coronavirus crisis ‘nonsense’
Barr calls reports DOJ sought emergency powers amid coronavirus crisis ‘nonsense’
Discussion:
IJR
Zachary Petrizzo / Mediaite:
Doctor Who Wrote Op-Ed on Coronavirus Infection Parties Says Federalist Made Unwanted Edits to Piece — Dr. Douglas Perednia says he never thought his opinion piece on “controlled infection” of the coronavirus, published in The Federalist, would draw such a heated backlash.
Discussion:
Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
Mike Levine / ABC News:
FBI learned of coronavirus-inspired bomb plotter through radicalized US Army soldier — The FBI's office in Missouri issued an alert offering more details on the case. — The suspected white supremacist who plotted to bomb a hospital facing the coronavirus crisis was in touch …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Nick R. Martin / The Informant:
Heartland terror — Hi, and welcome to The Informant …
Heartland terror — Hi, and welcome to The Informant …
Discussion:
BBC, Lee's Summit Tribune, Al Jazeera, CNN, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and New York Times
Katelyn Caralle / Daily Mail:
‘We can go bigger!’ Nancy Pelosi hints at a SECOND round of emergency checks to all Americans saying 'we haven't seen the end of direct payments' as unemployment hits 3.3 million — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that Americans would likely see more direct checks in future coronavirus relief packages
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New York Times:
New Orleans Faces a Virus Nightmare, and Mardi Gras May Be Why — Louisiana may be experiencing the world's fastest growth in new cases. Medical experts said Mardi Gras might have accelerated the crisis. — NEW ORLEANS — Yanti Turang, an emergency room nurse at a New Orleans hospital …
Discussion:
VICE
Kyle Mantyla / Right Wing Watch:
Rick Wiles Says God Is Spreading the Coronavirus in Synagogues as Punishment for Opposing Jesus — Virulent anti-Semite, bigot, and conspiracy theorist Rick Wiles used his “TruNews” program last night to warn Israel that it was seeing outbreaks of the COVID-19 coronavirus in connection …
Discussion:
Haaretz and The Times of Israel
Ryan Parker / Hollywood Reporter:
Actor Arrested by FBI for Touting Coronavirus Cure — The suspect claimed Earvin “Magic” Johnson was a member of his company's board of directors. — FBI agents on Wednesday arrested a small-time SoCal actor for allegedly claiming he had invented a pill that would prevent and cure coronavirus.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Sky Palma / Raw Story:
Christian pastor who thought COVID-19 is just ‘mass hysteria’ is among the first in Virginia to die from virus — One of the first deaths in Virginia from coronavirus was a 66-year-old Christian “musical evangelist” who fell ill while on a trip to New Orleans with his wife.
Adrian Carrasquillo / Mediaite:
Biden Tells Harry Reid Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto Is In His ‘Top 3’ For Vice President — Former Senate Majority Leader and longtime Nevada powerbroker Harry Reid has in recent weeks told former vice president Joe Biden that he supports Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto as his vice presidential nominee …
Reuters:
Grid operators turn control centers into campsites to keep coronavirus at bay — MILAN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - After a fortnight living in a mobile home compound built in just three days by his employer, Italian gas company Snam (SRG.MI), Guido Debattisti is returning home.
Washington Post:
Trump keeps touting an unproven coronavirus treatment. It's now being tested on thousands in New York. — The push in the U.S. pandemic epicenter follows the president's declaration that he ‘feels good’ about compounds with unproven efficacy, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Redstate and Las Vegas Review-Journal
Gabriel Debenedetti / New York Magazine:
Joe Biden Is Spending His Time in the Coronavirus Bunker Thinking a Lot About His VP — On Sunday afternoon, nearly two weeks into his self-imposed isolation at home in Delaware, Joe Biden joined a private conference call for 72 donors from the Atlanta area.
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post and Progress Pond
Ben Tobin / Courier-Journal:
U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie plans to vote ‘no,’ threatens to hold up coronavirus stimulus bill — LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Congressman from Kentucky plans to vote “no” on the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package, which the Senate passed 96-0 Wednesday evening. — U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie …
Discussion:
Raw Story, National Review and NBC News
Mark Sherman / Associated Press:
Trump has megaphone, but states control virus shutdowns — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has the biggest megaphone, but it's governors and local officials who will decide when to begin reopening their economies after shuttering them to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus.