US weekly jobless claims total 6.6 million, vs 5 million expected  —  Jobless rolls continued to swell due to the coronavirus shutdown, with 6.6 million Americans filing first-time unemployment claims in the week ended April 4, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

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 …

Trump's Wasted Briefings  —  The sessions have become a boring show of President vs. the press.  —  By The Editorial Board  —  A friend of ours who voted for President Trump sent us a note recently saying that she had stopped watching the daily White House briefings of the coronavirus task force.

Bernie's Gone, and Trump Is Screwed.  Here's How Biden Wins.  —  Never let up.  Never stop reminding voters that both the deaths and the economic depression we're entering are a disaster of Trump's making.  —  BEAST INSIDE  —  There are few things Donald Trump wanted more in 2020 than Bernie Sanders as the Democratic nominee.

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” …

As pandemic deepens, Trump cycles through targets to blame  —  In this April 7, 2020, photo, President Donald Trump calls on a reporter for a question as he speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington.  First, it was the media that was at fault.

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 …

Cut salaries, taxes to reopen U.S. economy says Laffer, conservative fave  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican economist Art Laffer, an architect of the Reagan era tax cuts that paved the way for historic budget deficits in the United States, has a plan to rejuvenate today's pandemic-crippled economy.

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.

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 …

Coronavirus May ‘Reactivate’ in Cured Patients, Korean CDC Says  —  The coronavirus may be “reactivating” in people who have been cured of the illness, according to Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  —  About 51 patients classed as having been cured in South Korea …

Senate Dems to block new coronavirus relief in bid for more money  —  Senate Democrats are expected to block Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell from approving $250 billion in new aid for small businesses on Thursday morning, as Democrats seek a deal that also provides an additional $250 billion …

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 …

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 …

Record 16.8 million have sought US jobless aid since virus  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — With a startling 6.6 million people seeking jobless benefits last week, the United States has reached a grim landmark: More than one in 10 workers have lost their jobs in just the past three weeks to the coronavirus outbreak.

Federal Support Ends For Coronavirus Testing Sites As Pandemic Peak Nears  —  Some local officials are disappointed the federal government will end funding for coronavirus testing sites this Friday.  In a few places those sites will close as a result.  This as criticism continues that not enough testing is available.

Scoop: Trump administration plan to provide millions of free face masks fizzled  —  Top Trump administration officials had been developing a plan to give cloth masks to huge numbers of Americans, but the idea lost traction amid heavy internal skepticism.  —  The big picture …

Taiwan rejects WHO chief's claim of racist campaign against him  —  Taiwan hit back Thursday after the chief of the World Health Organization accused the island's government of participating in a racist campaign to smear and intimidate him, deepening the political furor surrounding an agency …

Congress Needs a Plan to Confront the Coronavirus.  I Have One.  —  Government action is essential to save lives and to rescue our economy.  Let's get back to work.  —  Ms. Warren is a Democratic senator from Massachusetts and a former presidential candidate.

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 …

Amid Pandemic, News Attention Spikes; Media Favorability Flat  —  As news about the novel coronavirus has gripped the country in recent weeks, a series of Knight Foundation/Gallup surveys finds that Americans are paying “a great deal” of attention to the news at levels not seen over the past three years.

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 …

Coronavirus Invades Saudi Inner Sanctum  —  More than six weeks after Saudi Arabia reported its first case, the coronavirus is striking at the heart of the kingdom's sprawling royal family.  —  The senior Saudi prince who is governor of Riyadh is in intensive care with the coronavirus.

A grocery clerk with cerebral palsy died of coronavirus.  She had kept working to help seniors  —  (CNN)As the coronavirus pandemic intensified, Leilani Jordan insisted on going to her job as a clerk at a Maryland grocery so she could help seniors, her mother said.

Recovery law allows Fed to rope off public as it spends billions  —  Tucked into the recent recovery bill was a provision granting the Federal Reserve the right to set up a $450 billion bailout plan without following key provisions of the federal open meetings law, including announcing …