Top Items:
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 …
RELATED:
New York Times:
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:
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
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.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Gateway Pundit and The Week, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
US rocked by 6.6 million more initial unemployment claims last week — An unprecedented economic collapse continues. — The US Department of Labor registered 6.6 million initial unemployment insurance claims for the week ending April 4, according to data newly reported on Thursday morning.
Discussion:
New York Times and Foreign Policy
Washington Post:
6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, bringing the pandemic total to over 17 million — Economists say the U.S. unemployment rate is now 12 or 13 percent, the worst since the Great Depression. — The surge of job losses continued last week with 6.6 million Americans applying …
Discussion:
Blue Virginia
Rebecca Rainey / Politico:
Unemployment claims reach 16 million in three weeks as coronavirus ravages economy
Unemployment claims reach 16 million in three weeks as coronavirus ravages economy
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and Breitbart
Wall Street Journal:
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.
Rick Wilson / The Daily Beast:
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.
Discussion:
Medium
RELATED:
CNN:
Biden campaign braces for general election: ‘This is the beginning of a very difficult race’
Biden campaign braces for general election: ‘This is the beginning of a very difficult race’
Discussion:
The Nation, Queerty and The Daily Caller
Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Democrats salivate over Obama coming off sidelines
Democrats salivate over Obama coming off sidelines
Discussion:
NBC News, American Greatness, IJR, Associated Press, Breitbart, The American Spectator, Politico, The Moderate Voice, Washington Post and Fox News
John F. Harris / Politico:
Bernie's Legacy Hangs in the Balance
Reuters:
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.
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
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, The Daily Caller, National Review, Political Wire and courthousenews.com
RELATED:
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, Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Burgess Everett / Politico:
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 …
Discussion:
The Hill
RELATED:
Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
Rep. Massie threatens to block next relief bill, calls for remote voting
Rep. Massie threatens to block next relief bill, calls for remote voting
Discussion:
One America News Network, POLITICUSUSA and Fox News
Alexandra Petri / Washington Post:
Sitting on a throne of skulls, Mitch McConnell confirms his 8,999th judge
Sitting on a throne of skulls, Mitch McConnell confirms his 8,999th judge
Discussion:
The Bulwark, PJ Media Home, NB Blog and Instapundit
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
RELATED:
Kyunghee Park / Bloomberg:
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 …
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 …
Jonathan Lemire / Associated Press:
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.
Discussion:
The Hill, HuffPost, The Guardian, Politico, Fox News, Washington Post and Townhall
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.
Jeff Brady / NPR:
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.
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Balloon Juice
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 …
Discussion:
National Review and The Gateway Pundit
Politico:
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 …
Discussion:
One America News Network and Raw Story
Christopher Rugaber / Associated Press:
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.
Elizabeth Warren / New York Times:
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.
Zacc Ritter / Gallup:
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.
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 …
New York Times:
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.
Axios:
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 …
Discussion:
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
RELATED:
Michael Biesecker / Associated Press:
HHS: Federal stocks of protective equipment nearly depleted
HHS: Federal stocks of protective equipment nearly depleted
Discussion:
National Review, House Committee …, HuffPost, Raw Story, Mother Jones and Law & Crime
Gerry Shih / Washington Post:
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 …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Bulwark and Quartz
RELATED:
Jason Hanna / CNN:
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.
Discussion:
New York Post
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
‘One of the greatest travesties in American history’: Barr drops all pretense about ongoing probe of Russia investigation — Attorney General William P. Barr hasn't been terribly subtle about where he stands on the appropriateness of the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
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