Top Items:


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.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, Mediaite and Wall Street Journal


U.S. jobless claims reach 26 million since coronavirus hit, wiping out all gains since 2008 recession — “The doors are still closed. There is still no smoke coming out of the chimneys in corporate America. It is not surprising that you continue to see significant layoffs,” said one economist.
RELATED:


The US economy has now erased all job gains since the Great Recession — The Labor Department reported that the number of Americans applying for state unemployment benefits totaled 4.427 million last week. — Combined with the prior four jobless claims reports, the number of Americans …


Unemployment claims top 26 million 5 weeks into pandemic
Discussion:
Breitbart

Record U.S. jobless claims wipe out post-Great Recession employment gains
Discussion:
Yahoo Finance


Hidden Outbreaks Spread Through U.S. Cities Far Earlier Than Americans Knew, Estimates Say — Hidden Outbreaks Spread Far Earlier Than Americans Knew, Estimates Say — New York, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle had undetected outbreaks long before testing showed a major problem, according to a model.
RELATED:


Fox News hosts go mum on the covid-19 drug they spent weeks promoting — At the height of Fox News's coverage of a would-be treatment for the novel coronavirus, the network's medical correspondent, Marc Siegel, offered a remarkable testimonial during Tucker Carlson's show.
Discussion:
CNN, Mercury News and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »


Fox News Stars Trumpeted 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. — A Startling Discovery Rewrites Virus's U.S. Timeline — On Feb. 6, weeks …


Trump's coronavirus rift with Kemp puts Georgia Republicans in a tough spot — President Donald Trump's opposition to Gov. Brian Kemp's plan to start reopening parts of Georgia's economy will force Republican candidates to pick between their party's leader or the state's top official amid the coronavirus pandemic.
RELATED:


Rep. Collins sides with Trump in slamming Georgia governor's plan to reopen — Georgia Rep. Doug Collins on Thursday criticized Gov. Brian Kemp's aggressive plan to reopen their state's economy, accusing Kemp of “not communicating clearly” amid the coronavirus outbreak and failing to solicit input from local leaders.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and Vanity Fair


Some Georgia Businesses Can Reopen. But Will They?
Discussion:
Mad Mimi, The Daily Beast and WAGA-TV

Stacey Abrams: Georgia governor not doing enough to protect workers from Covid-19
Discussion:
The Hill, Vox and POLITICUSUSA

Trump reverses course, says ‘too soon’ for Georgia Gov. Kemp to reopen state
Discussion:
Fox News, The BRAD BLOG, The Daily Beast, Politico, Breitbart, One America News Network, The Hill and Lawyers, Guns & Money


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 …
Discussion:
American Greatness and The Hill
RELATED:


Fox News Poll: Biden tops Trump in Michigan, where Gov. Whitmer is more popular than president
Discussion:
NBC News, POLITICUSUSA, The Hill, One America News Network and CNN

Trump and Biden are deadlocked in six key 2020 election states, CNBC/Change Research poll finds
Discussion:
Just The News, Change Research and The Daily Caller


Live Coronavirus Updates — Hosted by Michael Barbaro, produced by Jessica Cheung and Austin Mitchell, and edited by M.J. Davis Lin — From The New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.” [MUSIC] — Today, across the U.S. protests are erupting against orders to remain at home and to restrict people's movements.
Discussion:
Axios, Letters from an American, HuffPost, Deadline, MSNBC, IJR, The Guardian, Mediaite, The Stranger, NBC News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Gothamist, The Verge, JustOneMinute, Twitchy and Daily Kos
RELATED:


Ousted vaccine expert battles with Trump team over his abrupt dismissal
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Examiner, Outside the Beltway, Vanity Fair, NB Blog, Fox News, Breitbart, The Hill, National Review and Bloomberg


‘Sadness’ and Disbelief From a World Missing American Leadership — The coronavirus pandemic is shaking bedrock assumptions about U.S. exceptionalism. This is perhaps the first global crisis in more than a century where no one is even looking for Washington to lead.
Discussion:
Raw Story


They lived in a factory for 28 days to make millions of pounds of raw PPE materials to help fight coronavirus — At his factory just off the Delaware River, in the far southeastern corner of Pennsylvania, Joe Boyce clocked in on March 23 for the longest shift of his life.
Discussion:
Instapundit


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.
Discussion:
Althouse and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »


The Democrats' House Polling Lead: Remarkably Steady — KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — The Democratic lead in House generic ballot polling has been very consistent over the course of Donald Trump's presidency. — Democrats also have a significant money edge in the lion's share of their most vulnerable districts.


Stop Looking on the Bright Side: We'll Be Screwed By the Pandemic for Years to Come — The headline certainly sounded grave and full of portent: “Coronavirus Will Change the World Permanently. Here's How.” — Those words, emblazoned atop a POLITICO Magazine story last month in the opening days …


Cable news stars like Hannity make headlines. But more people are watching David Muir's ABC newscast. — NEW YORK — I asked a media-savvy friend recently to guess what is the most-watched program on TV right now. — “Hannity's show?” she offered. — It's “World News Tonight” on ABC, I told her.


Consortium Linked To Steele Dossier Firms Paid $485K To Tech Company That Contributed To Senate Intel Report — Tax filings show that non-profit groups linked to Fusion GPS and Christopher Steele paid nearly half-a-million dollars to a cyber security firm that contributed a report …
RELATED:


Vaccine Rates Drop Dangerously as Parents Avoid Doctor's Visits — Afraid of Covid-19, parents are postponing well-child checkups, including shots, putting millions of children at risk of exposure to preventable deadly diseases. — As parents around the country cancel well-child checkups …


Usama bin Laden wanted to kill Obama so ‘totally unprepared’ Biden would be president, declassified docs show — Usama bin Laden wanted to assassinate then-President Barack Obama so that the “totally unprepared” Joe Biden would take over as president and plunge the United States “into a crisis …
Discussion:
NBC News


Justice Alito's jurisprudence of white racial innocence — Justice Samuel Alito testifies about the court's budget during a House hearing on March 7, 2019. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images — Alito gets very upset if you suggest that racism exists. — On Monday, the Supreme Court held …
Discussion:
Slate


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.


Americans prioritize staying home and worry restrictions will lift too fast - CBS News poll — Health concerns still take precedence over economic concerns by a wide margin for Americans in their views on when to re-open the economy — both in what they want for the nation, and in what they'd do themselves.


Under Trump, coronavirus scientists can speak — as long as they mostly toe the line — Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued a candid warning Tuesday in a Washington Post interview: A simultaneous flu and coronavirus outbreak next fall and winter …
Discussion:
The Dispatch Fact Check, IJR, Just The News, New York Times, NPR, Gizmodo, Twitchy, NBC News, Townhall, Mother Jones, HuffPost, LiveScience and CNBC


The risk of a US double-dip depression is real — Reopening states to boost the economy despite the scientific evidence will do more damage than good — If you think one lockdown is painful enough, imagine a second. It is too soon to gauge the lasting impact of putting the US economy into a deep freeze for weeks.
Discussion:
Washington Post


Increasing transparency through advertiser identity verification — Director of Product Management, Ads Integrity — We're committed to giving our users transparency, choice and control when it comes to the ads they see on our platforms. That's why we've long offered tools like Ad Settings …

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 …
Discussion:
The National, Breitbart, SHERO, CBS News, ImmigrationProf Blog, Reuters, NPR, CNN, HuffPost, Roll Call, Axios, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller and New York Times


How coronavirus changes the political outlook in China and the U.S. — Tough talk on China may have consequences. — China's role in the covid-19 outbreak has elicited a growing backlash, including dueling campaign ads from Democrats and Republicans. How will the pandemic reshape China's domestic and international standing?
Discussion:
ABC News


As coronavirus upends 2020, Trump may have a hard time keeping Pennsylvania red. Here's why. — Few places have been hit harder by the coronavirus — from both the health and the economic standpoints — than Pennsylvania. — Corey Ingram, a resident of Spring Grove, Pennsylvania …
Discussion:
Raw Story


Most people dying from Covid-19 are old. Don't treat them just as statistics. — Werner Joseph Meyer, the author's grandfather, picking blueberries in New England in 2016. Courtesy of Maryellen Stewart — My grandfather's time was not up. His death should be treated as the tragedy it is.


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.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and The Mahablog


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 …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair


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.
Discussion:
Raw Story