Why Trump's slump is likely to last all year  —  The president is losing ground in polls, faces a worsening economy, and is watching Democrats unify behind Joe Biden ahead of schedule.  —  President Trump is in an increasingly precarious position for reelection as he struggles to maintain focus …

Trump's ugly new blame-shifting scam spotlights his own failures  —  President Trump is spinning his new decision to suspend funding to the World Health Organization as an act of decisive leadership — one that showcases his devotion to effective crisis management, to gathering good empirical information …

In unprecedented move, Treasury orders Trump's name printed on stimulus checks  —  The Treasury Department has ordered President Trump's name be printed on stimulus checks the Internal Revenue Service is rushing to send to tens of millions of Americans, a process that is expected to slow …

China didn't warn public of likely pandemic for 6 key days  —  In the six days after top Chinese officials secretly determined they likely were facing a pandemic from a new coronavirus, the city of Wuhan at the epicenter of the disease hosted a mass banquet for tens of thousands of people …

Trump Wanted a Radio Show, but He Didn't Want to Compete With Limbaugh  —  President Trump said he envisioned a show running two hours a day, according to White House officials, and would do it were it not for the risk of encroaching on Rush Limbaugh, the conservative host.

Stacey Abrams On Voting Rights, COVID-19, And Being Vice President  —  “I would be an excellent running mate.”  —  Experienced politicians know there is a right way to answer questions about pursuing higher office.  Be demure.  Redirect.  Convey vague interest while insisting never to have given it serious consideration.

Furious Crowd Gathers At Michigan Capitol To Protest ‘Stay Home’ Order  —  Lineup of cars extends for miles outside of Lansing  —  (WWJ) Large and raucous crowds showed up in Michigan's capital Wednesday for what organizers are calling “Operation Gridlock.”

GOP congressman says letting more Americans die of coronavirus is lesser of two evils compared to economy tanking  —  GOP lawmaker: More Covid-19 deaths the lesser of 2 evils  —  Washington (CNN)An Indiana congressman said Tuesday that letting more Americans die from the novel coronavirus is the …

CNN accused of ‘literally publishing Chinese propaganda’  —  CNN is under fire for allegedly publishing “Chinese propaganda” in a report that cites a media outlet controlled by the Chinese government.  —  On Monday, CNN.com ran an article about China People's Liberation Army (PLA) …

Which elder-care facilities have COVID-19?  Florida won't say, filling families with dread  —  A devoted grandson learns his grandmother died alone last weekend.  The family was never told she had fallen ill. A fragile mother is moved from her room so the senior home can expand its “quarantine wing.”

Trump wants to declare country open by May 1 — but the reality will be much slower  —  President Trump has all but decided to begin declaring the country ready to get back to business on May 1, two current and two former senior administration officials said, but a scramble is underway inside …

A Radical Pseudo-historian Meets His Match  —  Historians tend to be skeptical about the influence of books and ideas upon important historical developments, preferring to draw upon material or broadly social and cultural causes as the best explanations of large-scale change.

Coronavirus testing hits dramatic slowdown in U.S.  —  The number of coronavirus tests analyzed each day by commercial labs in the U.S. plummeted by more than 30 percent over the past week, even though new infections are still surging in many states and officials are desperately trying to ramp up testing so the country can reopen.

Florida man, 26, ‘commits murder’ a DAY after being released from prison early to help prevent the spread of coronavirus  — Hillsborough County released 164 low-risk inmates on March 19 to help prevent the spread of coronavirus among jailers and staff  — March 20 police were called …

The Heartbreaking Last Texts of a Hospital Worker on the Front Lines  —  Madhvi Aya worked long hours in the emergency room of a hospital in Brooklyn that was battered by the coronavirus.  Then she caught the virus herself.  —  Lying in a hospital bed last month, Madhvi Aya understood what was happening to her.

New poll: Nearly half of frequent Fox viewers say COVID-19 death toll is inflated  —  Forty-five percent of people who frequently watch Fox News say that fewer Americans have been killed by the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 than the official count indicates, according to a new poll.

Top Israeli prof claims simple stats show virus plays itself out after 70 days  —  Isaac Ben-Israel, who is not a medical expert, says analysis worldwide shows new cases peaking after about 40 days, slams economic closures; leading doctor dismisses his claims

MLB players, team employees participating in coronavirus study  —  Employees of Major League Baseball teams are participating in a massive study that will test up to 10,000 people for coronavirus antibodies and should offer researchers a better sense of how widespread the disease …

Tillis declines to say whether Burr should step down as Senate Intelligence chairman because of stock trade investigation  —  Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) declined to say Wednesday whether his North Carolina colleague, Sen. Richard Burr (R), should stay on as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee …

U.S. stocks plunge amid steep fall in bank earnings, retail sales  —  American consumers prop up about 70 percent of the country's economy, but spending at restaurants, retail stores, malls and the like has essentially hollowed out  —  U.S. stocks sank Wednesday, dragged down by dismal earnings …

As U.S. discouraged mask use for public, White House team raced to secure face coverings from Taiwan for senior staff  —  In mid-March, a National Security Council team rushed to fix what they saw as a threat to the U.S. government's ability to function amid the advancing pandemic …

After the end of the world: the eerie silence of the Las Vegas Strip  —  The Las Vegas Strip looks like the morning after the end of the world.  —  On a recent day in late March, the strip was full of advertisements for things that read like transmissions from another planet where the air is easier to breathe.

New York Death Count Spikes After Gov't Alters Methodology  —  “It's not the people who vote that count, it's the people who count the votes.”  It may have been Stalin and it may have been Napoleon.  It may have been Boss Tweed.  Regardless of the original source, this truism describes government corruption …

False Prophet  —  On February 28, Donald Trump stood before a crowd of supporters in South Carolina and told them to pay no attention to the growing warnings of a coronavirus outbreak in America.  The press was “in hysteria mode,” the president said.  The Democrats were playing politics.

Amazon slashes commission rates for program that gives publishers a cut of sales  — Amazon on Tuesday told members of its affiliates program that it will cut commission rates beginning April 21.  — Rates are being cut for a number of affiliate product categories.

Pentagon barred from discussing Trump in JEDI contract probe  —  The Pentagon's inspector general “could not definitively determine” whether the White House influenced the procurement process for a major cloud computing contract because senior Defense Department officials were barred …

The Daily 202: Leaked CDC and FEMA plan warns of ‘significant risk of resurgence of the virus’ with phased reopening  —  A draft national strategy to reopen the country in phases, developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention …

Pritzker arranging secret flights from China to bring millions of masks and gloves to Illinois  —  The governor is worried President Trump might try to seize the supplies for the federal stockpile so he's keeping the details quiet, a source said.  —  Gov. J.B. Pritzker is planning …