Special Report: HHS chief Azar had aide, former dog breeder, steer pandemic task force  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - On January 21, the day the first U.S. case of coronavirus was reported, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services appeared on Fox News to report the latest on the disease as it ravaged China.

Coronavirus Live Updates: Doctor Says He Was Removed From Federal Post After Questioning Controversial Treatment  —  The first known U.S. death from the illness came in early February in California.  An order by Trump will impose a 60-day halt in issuing green cards.  Some stability returned to the energy market.

Exclusive: Poll signals strengthening support for Biden over Trump in three Midwest battleground states  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican President Donald Trump trails Democrat Joe Biden among registered voters in three Midwestern battleground states that he narrowly carried in 2016 …

Trump reverses course, says ‘too soon’ for Georgia Gov. Kemp to reopen state  —  The president said he disagreed with Gov. Brian Kemp's decision to reopen nail salons, barber shops and tattoo parlors - but he won't stop him  —  President Donald Trump said Wednesday he “strongly disagrees” …

Fox News Stars Touted a Malaria Drug, Until They Didn't  —  Laura Ingraham called hydroxychloroquine “a game changer.”  But after a month of coverage, she stopped discussing the drug on the air.  —  For a month's stretch, the Fox News star Laura Ingraham relentlessly promoted …

The Federalist Publisher's Tweet Was Illegal: Labor Board Judge  —  Listen  —  The publisher of conservative online magazine The Federalist broke federal labor laws when he tweeted last year that he'd send employees “back to the salt mine” if they tried to unionize, a National Labor Relations Board administrative judge decided.

Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak  —  The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has significantly disrupted the livelihoods of Americans.  In Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020 …

McConnell Says He Favors Letting States Declare Bankruptcy  — Senate leader says his party opposes bailout of state pensions  — Hits ‘pause button’ on any additional pandemic aid to states  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday he favors allowing states struggling …

Most people dying from Covid-19 are old.  Don't treat them just as statistics. … I know to stay 6 feet away from others, to leave my shoes at the door, to tip like a Rockefeller on deliveries, and that I can take my temperature with a meat thermometer.  I'd been briefed on preventative measures …

Observations on the Great Hunkering (11)  —  • Cast your mind back to the early weeks after 9/11.  Who was the person who dominated the scene as New York City coped with the aftermath?  Mayor Rudy Giuliani, of course, so much so that Time magazine made him its Person of the Year for 2001.

Banks Gave Richest Clients ‘Concierge Treatment’ for Pandemic Aid  —  Some businesses seeking coronavirus loans got to avoid flaky online portals or backed-up queues.  Many other small businesses couldn't get their loan requests submitted before the money dried up.

A mysterious blood-clotting complication is killing coronavirus patients  —  Once thought a relatively straightforward respiratory virus, covid-19 is proving to be much more frightening  —  Craig Coopersmith was up early that morning as usual and typed his daily inquiry into his phone.

There's a growing possibility of a W-shaped economic recovery — and it's scary  —  A resurgence of the virus or a spike in defaults and bankruptcies could lead to another painful economic downturn  —  There are growing concerns that any economic recovery later this year could prove short-lived …

Seven more big cats test positive for coronavirus at Bronx Zoo  —  Following a National Geographic inquiry, the zoo confirms that four more tigers and three lions have the virus.  This comes the same day as two pet cats in New York become the first in the U.S. to test positive.

‘Frustrated’ Trump eager to get out of White House, aides exploring ways to allow him to leave D.C.  —  A “frustrated” President Donald Trump is growing restless after a month of nationwide shutdowns, and top aides and campaign officials are exploring ways to allow him to leave D.C..

States rushing to reopen are likely making a deadly error, coronavirus models and experts warn  —  By the end of the week, residents in Georgia will be able to get their hair permed and nails done.  By Monday, they will be cleared for action flicks at the cineplex and burgers at their favorite greasy spoon.

We're Never Going Back to ‘Normal’  —  We've reached the part of quarantine where—if you were privileged enough to perhaps have enjoyed a honeymoon period where working and being at home all the time still felt novel—things are starting to feel long.  I'm sick of my shows, I'm sick of new shows …

Orthodox Jews are donating plasma by the thousands to fight Covid-19  —  Well before the rest of the world was talking about blood plasma and its use in fighting coronavirus, Dr. Shmuel Shoham knew all about it — and where he could probably get a lot of it.

Pentagon plans to dispatch Blue Angels and Thunderbirds in coronavirus response  —  The Pentagon is planning a multi-city tour of the U.S. military's top flight demonstration teams to “champion national unity” amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to defense officials and a memo obtained by The Washington Post.

I live in Britain.  Thank goodness there's no Fox News here.  —  The United Kingdom and the United States are both hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic.  Both countries are run by populist blowhards whose larger-than-life hair and egos are inversely proportional to their regard for expertise.

I need someone in the media to pick this story up.  I have done as much digging as I can do, but I am getting dead ends and literal roadblocks that someone with press credentials would not get.  If this is true, this story would be national news.  —  Virginia Governor Ralph Northam issued …

Mail voting expected to ‘explode’ in Florida as coronavirus reshapes 2020 elections  —  In Florida, a state where the steady rise of mail voting has dramatically transformed the campaign season over the last 20 years, the novel coronavirus could fast-forward the evolution of elections.

Trump Admin Gives Coronavirus Tracking Contract to Peter Thiel's Palantir: Report  —  Palantir, the surveillance firm founded by conservative billionaire Peter Thiel, has landed a contract with the feds to build a database tracking the spread of the novel coronavirus around the country, according to the Daily Beast.

A Top Immunologist on Why Coronavirus Is Killing More African-Americans  —  Head of Nashville's Meharry Medical College discusses Covid-19's outsize toll on people of color, why a vaccine might be far off  —  James Hildreth has been waging battle against viruses for four decades …

Here's what's behind the Senate-House disputes on Russian meddling in 2016 election  —  Intelligence officials ‘need to be held accountable’ for FISA abuse: House minority leader  —  While the nation is focused on the coronavirus pandemic, the Senate Intelligence Committee issued …

Opening up the economy won't save the economy  —  A customer waits for a takeout order at Kelly's Irish Times in Washington, DC, on March 24.  Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images  —  Trump and Republican governors can't make people eat at restaurants.

Hard-hit restaurants, gyms and other businesses are battling insurers over coronavirus, sparking a new Washington lobbying war  —  WASHINGTON - A multi-billion dollar standoff between the nation's leading insurers and the restaurants, hotels, gyms and theaters that purchase their policies …

COVID-19's recent spread shifts to suburban, whiter, and more Republican-leaning areas  —  There is a stereotypical view of the places in America that COVID-19 has affected most: they are broadly urban, comprised predominantly of racial minorities, and strongly vote Democratic.

Snohomish County Residents and Business Owners,  —  I just watched the Governor's speech to Washingtonian's regarding our approach to getting Washington back in business and I am left to wonder if he even has a plan?  To be quite honest I wasn't even sure what he was trying to say half of the time.

Luxury Hotel Company Is Biggest Beneficiary of Small-Business Funds  —  Ashford Inc. and the real estate investment trusts it oversees have tapped $53 million in Paycheck Protection Program funds via Ritz Carltons and other hotel holdings  —  Hotels, luxury resorts and management companies …

Trump Says Harvard Must Pay Back Relief Money He Signed Into Law  —  Joining a chorus of critics, the president appeared not to realize that Harvard had received $8.6 million in stimulus funding as part of a federal aid package to universities.  —  President Trump joined mounting criticism …

Coronavirus at meat packing plants worse than first thought, USA TODAY investigation finds  —  Iowa Department of Public Health reporting another 482 positive tests for COVID-19 … CONNECT  —  A rash of coronavirus outbreaks at dozens of meat packing plants across the nation is far …