memeorandum: Coronavirus Updates: Studies Show N.Y. Outbreak Originated in Europe (New York Times)

4:55 AM ET, April 9, 2020

Top Items:

Coronavirus Updates: Studies Show N.Y. Outbreak Originated in Europe — The C.D.C. outlined how essential employees can go back to work even if they have been exposed. Scientists warn that the virus might not fade in warm weather. — Here's what you need to know:

Carl Zimmer / New York Times:

Most New York Coronavirus Cases Came From Europe, Genomes Show — Travelers seeded multiple cases starting as early as mid-February, genomes show. — New research indicates that the coronavirus began to circulate in the New York area by mid-February, weeks before the first confirmed case …

Discussion: Fox News, New York Post and Raw Story

New York Times:
Chicago's Jail Is Top U.S. Hot Spot as Virus Spreads Behind Bars

Discussion: Townhall

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

Democrats salivate over Obama coming off sidelines — The decision by Bernie Sanders to suspend his campaign means former President Obama is about to get back into the political spotlight. — Sources close to Obama and Biden say the two men have spoken “quite frequently,” as one put it …

Discussion: Associated Press, IJR, NBC News, The American Spectator, Politico and Breitbart

Joe Biden / Medium:

Statement From Vice President Biden — Today, Senator Sanders announced he was suspending his campaign. Bernie has put his heart and soul into not only running for President, but for the causes and issues he has been dedicated to his whole life. So, I know how hard a decision this was for him to make …

Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed News:
Former Clinton Staffers Invited To “Bye, Bye Bernard” Zoom Call (It's Now Canceled)

Discussion: Sputnik News and Twitchy

Dan Merica / CNN:
Sanders had multiple conversations with Obama ahead of decision to end campaign

Discussion: National Review, The Daily Beast and Talking Points Memo

Elizabeth Bruenig / New York Times:
Bernie Sanders Never Lied

Discussion: Vox, Honest Graft, The Moderate Voice, Detroit Metro Times, Common Dreams, The Mahablog and VICE

Bill Barrow / Associated Press:
VP talk could intensify with Harris-DNC fundraising deal

Discussion: NBC News

Steven Shepard / Politico:

The briefings aren't working: Trump's approval rating takes a dip — In times of national crisis, the American people typically come together behind their president. — But not this one. — Donald Trump isn't benefiting from what political scientists refer to as a “rally 'round the flag” …

Discussion: Ipsos, The Week, Polls, The Signorile Report, POLITICUSUSA, courthousenews.com and Political Wire

Kyle Cheney / Politico: Oversight sputters as Trump starts doling out billions in coronavirus aid

Myah Ward / Politico:
Poll: Obama would be better amid coronavirus, but Trump bests Biden

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post, Townhall, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, National Review, POLITICUSUSA and The Hill

Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:

Trip to Guam at center of top Navy official's resignation cost taxpayers over $243,000 — Acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly boarded one of his service's executive jets Monday to visit Guam — a trip that turned out to be costly for both him and U.S. taxpayers.

Discussion: Raw Story and NBC News

Tom Vanden Brook / USA Today:
Cost of Navy secretary's trip to Guam? $243,000, his job and isolation after coronavirus exposure

Discussion: CNN, Letters from an American, Fox News, The Week, New York Post and The American Independent

Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:

Jerry Falwell Jr. says warrants are out for 2 journalists after critical stories on coronavirus decision — Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of Liberty University, said on Wednesday that arrest warrants had been issued for journalists from The New York Times and ProPublica …

Discussion: Todd Starnes and Raw Story

Mia Jankowicz / Business Insider:

Officials in at least 6 states are accusing the federal government of quietly diverting their orders for coronavirus medical equipment — States have been making their own orders for ventilators, masks, and other personal protective equipment since President Donald Trump told them in March …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, FreightWaves and Common Dreams

House Committee on Oversight and Reform:
New Document Shows Inadequate Distribution of Personal Protective Equipment and Critical Medical Supplies to States

Discussion: HuffPost, Mother Jones, Washington Post and Law & Crime

Michael Biesecker / Associated Press:
HHS: Federal stocks of protective equipment nearly depleted

Discussion: PRESS RUN

Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: Linda Tripp, the Clinton sex scandal whisteblower who secretly recorded private phone calls with Monica Lewinksy, dies at age 70 ‘after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer less than a week ago’ — Linda Tripp died on Wednesday morning and a close friend told DailyMail.com that ‘she died with a smile on her face’

Discussion: TMZ.com, New York Post, Washington Post, Breitbart, Sputnik News, The Daily Caller, The US Sun, Mediaite, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News and The Wrap

Associated Press: Linda Tripp, whose tapes exposed Clinton affair, dies at 70

Matt Schudel / Washington Post:
Linda Tripp, whose taped calls with Monica Lewinsky led to Clinton impeachment, dies at 70

Discussion: New York Times, Forbes, Axios and The Week

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Wisconsin is discovering problems with absentee ballots, including hundreds that were never delivered — Attention turned to missing absentee ballots Wednesday as state officials reported three tubs of them were discovered in a mail processing center and the Milwaukee Election Commission called …

Discussion: Slate

Jeff Schogol / Task & Purpose:
Trump says voting by mail is bad. US troops do it all the time

Discussion: New York Times, New York Daily News, Vox and The Root

Catherine Herridge / CBS News:

Former Trump campaign adviser denied campaign was involved in DNC hack in recorded conversation — In late October 2016, less than two weeks before the presidential election, a former adviser to then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, George Papadopoulos, denied to an FBI confidential source …

CNBC:

Sen. Kelly Loeffler and her CEO husband will sell all individual stock shares after coronavirus trade furor — Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia and CEO husband Jeff Sprecher plan to liquidate their individual stock share positions and related options after weeks of criticism of the couple …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Raw Story and The American Independent

Kelly Loeffler / Wall Street Journal:
I Never Traded on Confidential Coronavirus Information

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Just The News, HuffPost, The American Independent, CNN, Roll Call, National Review, New York Post, The Week, The US Sun, Mediaite, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Politico, Axios and Townhall

Peter Baker / New York Times:

In Trump's Marathon Briefings, the Answers and the Message Are Often Contradictory — The president does not need adversaries to dispute his statements. He does that all by himself. — WASHINGTON — President Trump left little room for doubt. “We're going to put a hold on money spent to the W.H.O. …

Discussion: Townhall

Amber Phillips / Washington Post:
Why exactly is Trump lashing out at the World Health Organization?

Discussion: Politico, One America News Network, The Hill, Breitbart, The Week and The Nation

Bloomberg:

Trump's New Chief of Staff Rattles White House in Crisis Mode — Grisham replacement, other staff moves have raised tensions — Meadows called Republican holdouts on ‘stay-at-home’ orders — President Donald Trump's new chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has escalated tensions …

Reed Richardson / Mediaite:

Bill O'Reilly's Macabre Take: Many Who Died From Coronavirus ‘Were on Their Last Legs Anyway’ — Former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly offered a decidedly macabre take on the mounting global death toll from coronavirus, telling his former primetime colleague Sean Hannity that many of the fatalities …

Fox News:

Defense official says media reports about November coronavirus intel assessment are false — A defense official on Wednesday issued a rare denial of reports by ABC News and others that claimed a November intelligence assessment warned about a rapidly spreading coronavirus in China that posed a threat to American forces in the region.

Discussion: USA Today, Breitbart, ABC News, Twitchy and The Guardian

CNN:
US intelligence agencies started tracking coronavirus outbreak in China as early as November

Discussion: National Review and ABC7

Danielle Wiener-Bronner / CNN:

Meat plants are shutting down as workers get sick — New York (CNN Business)Across the country, major meat processors are starting to shut down plants as employees are getting infected by coronavirus. — Tyson (TSN), one of the world's largest meat processors, suspended operations …

Wichita Eagle:

War over Easter: Kansas lawmakers revoke Gov. Kelly's order limiting church gatherings — Easter looming, Kansas Republican leaders on Wednesday revoked Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's order limiting religious gatherings to 10 people as the state's coronavirus death toll jumped 40 percent.

Discussion: The Hill

Devi Shastri / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

In-person voting was likely a ‘disaster’ for Wisconsin's efforts to flatten coronavirus curve, national experts say — As voters lined up across Wisconsin on Tuesday, waiting hours in some places, researchers who have been monitoring the spread of the coronavirus nationwide watched in stunned horror and confusion.

Associated Press:

Outcry over racial data grows as virus slams black Americans — As the coronavirus tightens its grip across the country, it is cutting a particularly devastating swath through an already vulnerable population — black Americans. — Democratic lawmakers and community leaders in cities hard-hit …

The Daily Beast:

NYC Is Taking Hundreds of Body Bags Out of Houses—and Soon They Will Be Counted — New York City officials say they will begin to report those who've died in their homes from suspected coronavirus complications without an official lab diagnosis. — The coronavirus death count in New York City …

Discussion: New York Daily News, Gothamist and Twitchy

New York Post: De Blasio heckled at Bronx hospital by bystanders demanding tests, treatment

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:

Rep. Massie threatens to block next relief bill, calls for remote voting — © Melina Mara/Washington Post/Pool — Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), the libertarian lawmaker who single-handedly forced hundreds of his colleagues to travel to the Capitol last month to pass …

Discussion: Associated Press, POLITICUSUSA, One America News Network and Fox News

Fox News:
Lawmakers scramble to reach a deal to pump up small business coronavirus fund

Discussion: The Hill and Politico

Washington Post:

Trump preparing to unveil second coronavirus task force, officials say — President Trump is preparing to announce as soon as this week a second, smaller coronavirus task force aimed specifically at combating the economic ramifications of the virus and focused on reopening the nation's economy …

Manu Raju / CNN:

Colorado Democrat believes Trump awarded ventilators as political favor to vulnerable GOP senator — Trump on coronavirus: promises vs. reality — (CNN)Rep. Diana DeGette, a veteran Democrat, said that President Donald Trump's announcement that he would send 100 ventilators to Colorado smacks …

Discussion: Raw Story

QU Poll:

Release Detail — April 8, 2020 - Fauci, Governors Get Highest Marks For Response To Coronavirus, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Majority Say Trump's Response Not Aggressive Enough — As the number of coronavirus cases spreads throughout the country, Dr. Anthony Fauci …

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, New York Post, CNN, The Hill and Bloomberg

Peter Morley / New York Daily News:

The very worst time to dismantle the disability safety net — It's too late to save those who've died from COVID-19. We also can't recoup the time we could have spent preparing our now-overburdened health-care system. But there's one thing we can do: Preserve our country's effective …