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.

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 …

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.

Doctor Who Wrote Op-Ed on Coronavirus Infection Parties Says Federalist Made Unwanted Edits to Piece  —  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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

Worries About Coronavirus Surge, as Most Americans Expect a Recession - or Worse  —  Trump's job approval at highest point in three years  —  Americans are increasingly alarmed by the rapid spread of the new coronavirus, with sharply growing majorities saying the outbreak poses a major threat …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Cuomo gives somber coronavirus update as 100 die in one day and NYC infections soar over 21,000  —  Gov. Cuomo gave a somber update on the coronavirus pandemic Thursday as 100 died in the state in the past 24 hours alone and the infection rate keeps soaring above 21,000 in NYC.

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.

Doctor At Overwhelmed Hospital's Inside Account Of Treating Coronavirus Patients  —  “It's not a heroic feeling.”  BuzzFeed News talks to a physician at the beleaguered Elmhurst Hospital Center.  —  Reporting From … The center of New York City's coronavirus crisis is Elmhurst Hospital Center.

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.

Richard Burr's troubles are not going away.  So why isn't he?  —  Seven days have passed since news reports revealed how U.S. Sen Richard Burr profited off the coronavirus while failing to warn his constituents at the early, critical stages of the crisis.  It has not been a good week.

Live updates: Coronavirus death toll in U.S. reaches 1,000; more than 500,000 confirmed cases worldwide  —  The Washington Post is providing this story for free so that all readers have access to this important information about the coronavirus.  For more free stories, sign up for our daily Coronavirus Updates newsletter.

Senate Decides Now Would Be a Good Time for a Monthlong Vacation  —  Last week, roughly 3 million Americans lost their jobs.  Until today, the all-time record for weekly unemployment claims in the U.S. had been 700,000.  Now it is 3.3 million (in seasonally adjusted terms).

Trump tells governors he is setting new coronavirus guidelines  —  Trump said in the letter that new coronavirus testing capabilities would allow his administration to identify “high-risk, medium risk and low-risk” counties.  —  President Donald Trump told America's governors in a letter …

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.

Canada tells US not to put troops at border during pandemic  —  Canada has told the U.S. it is is strongly opposed to a Trump administration proposal to put troops at the U.S.-Canada border amid the pandemic and said if it goes ahead it would damage relations between the two longtime allies

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 …