The Ledes

Thursday, October 10, 2024

CNBC: “The pace of price increases over the past year was higher than forecast in September while jobless claims posted an unexpected jump following Hurricane Helene and the Boeing strike, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The consumer price index, a broad gauge measuring the costs of goods and services across the U.S. economy, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.2% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.4%. Both readings were 0.1 percentage point above the Dow Jones consensus. The annual inflation rate was 0.1 percentage point lower than August and is the lowest since February 2021.”

The New York Times' live updates of Hurrucane Milton consequences Thursday are here: “Milton was still producing damaging hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall to parts of East and Central Florida, forecasters said early Thursday, even as the powerful storm roared away from the Atlantic coast and left deaths and widespread damage across the state. Cities along Florida’s east coast are now facing flash flooding, damaging winds and storm surges. Some had already been battered by powerful tornadoes spun out by the storm before it made landfall on the Gulf Coast on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane. In [St. Lucie] county [Fort Pierce], several people in a retirement community were killed by a tornado, the police said.... More than three million customers were without power in Florida as of early Thursday.” ~~~

     ~~~ Here are the Weater Channel's live updates.

CNN: “The 2024 Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to Han Kang, a South Korean author, for her 'intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.' Han, 53, began her career with a group of poems in a South Korean magazine, before making her prose debut in 1995 with a short story collection. She later began writing longer prose works, most notably 'The Vegetarian,' one of her first books to be translated into English. The novel, which won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, charts a young woman’s attempt to live a more 'plant-like' existence after suffering macabre nightmares about human cruelty. Han is the first South Korean author to win the literature prize, and just the 18th woman out of the 117 prizes awarded since 1901.” The New York Times story is here.

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The Ledes

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Washington Post: “Hours before Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida, a spate of unusually strong and long-lived tornadoes touched down across the state, flipping tractor-trailers and ripping off roofs. The twisters surprised anxious residents, even as the storm’s eye still loomed. Authorities said there had been 'multiple' deaths after the intense and destructive tornadoes.” MB: I'm still on Florida's emergency-call list, and I received several calls from Lee County, urging me to shelter in place.

The Washington Post's live updates of Hurricane Milton developments are here: “Hurricane Milton, which has strengthened to a 'catastrophic' Category 5 storm, is closing in on Florida’s west coast and is expected to make landfall Wednesday night or early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane, which could bring maximum sustained winds of nearly 160 mph with bigger gusts, poses a dire threat to the densely populated zone that includes Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers. As well as 'damaging hurricane-force winds,' coastal communities face a 'life-threatening' storm surge, the center said.” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here: “Milton carved a path of destruction after crashing ashore Wednesday evening on Florida’s Gulf Coast, making landfall near Sarasota as the second powerful hurricane to pound the region in less than two weeks. The storm battered the state for much of the day, with heavy winds, pelting rain and a spate of tornadoes.... By around midnight, the storm had destroyed more than 100 homes, killed several people in a retirement community and ripped the roof off Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays.”

Washington Post: “The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to David Baker at the University of Washington and Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper of Google DeepMind.... The prize was awarded to scientists who cracked the code of proteins. Hassabis and Jumper used artificial intelligence to predict the structure of proteins, one of the toughest problems in biology. Baker created computational tools to design novel proteins with shapes and functions that can be used in drugs, vaccines and sensors.”

Sorry, forgot this yesterday: ~~~

Reuters: “U.S. scientist John Hopfield and British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for discoveries and inventions in machine learning that paved the way for the artificial intelligence boom. Heralded for its revolutionary potential in areas ranging from cutting-edge scientific discovery to more efficient admin, the emerging technology on which the duo worked has also raised fears humankind may soon be outsmarted and outcompeted by its own creation.”

Help!

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Public Service Announcement

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Washington Post: “Comedy news outlet the Onion — reinvigorated by new ownership over this year — is bringing back its once-popular video parodies of cable news. But this time, there’s someone with real news anchor experience in the chair. When the first episodes appear online Monday, former WAMU and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson will be the face of the resurrected 'Onion News Network.' Playing an ONN anchor character named Dwight Richmond, Johnson says he’s bringing a real anchor’s sense of clarity — and self-importance — to the job. 'If ONN is anything, it’s a news organization that is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it has the confidence of a serial killer,' says Johnson, 44.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figured out how to watch ONN. If anybody knows, do tell. Thanks.

Washington Post: “First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Scientists suspected that gravity and the magnetic field alone could not fully explain the stream. There had to be another source creating this leaky faucet. It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field, a recent study found. The field is only about the strength of a watch battery — but it’s enough to thrust lighter ions from our atmosphere into space. It’s also generated unlike other electric fields on Earth. This newly discovered aspect of our planet provides clues about the evolution of our atmosphere, perhaps explaining why Earth is habitable. The electric field is 'an agent of chaos,' said Glyn Collinson, a NASA rocket scientist and lead author of the study. 'It undoes gravity.... Without it, Earth would be very different.'”

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

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Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Friday
Mar132020

The Commentariat -- March 14, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' coronavirus live updates for Saturday are here. The page is open to nonsubscribers. Among the highlights: "Spain and France announced drastic, countrywide restrictions on Saturday to contain the spread of the coronavirus.... The virus has been reported in more than 2,100 people in 49 [U.S.] states, as well as Washington and Puerto Rico, and has killed at least 48.... It was unclear if Mr. Pence, who interacted with some of the infected Mar-a-Lago visitors, had known that the president was tested. Answering a reporter's question about his own status, Mr. Pence said, 'I'm going to speak immediately after this news conference with the White House physician's office,' which he said had previously advised him that neither he nor his wife needed to be tested.... Despite being pressed repeatedly at the White House news conference on Saturday, Mr. Pence did not share substantive new details about Mr. Trump's earlier claim that Google was developing a website to help people decide whether a test for the coronavirus was warranted and where they could get one.... As thousands of Americans flee from Europe and other centers of the coronavirus outbreak, many travelers are reporting no health screenings upon departure and few impediments at U.S. airports."

Jessie Hellmann & Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump has ordered for travel to be suspended from the United Kingdom and Ireland as the United States seeks to stem the spread of the coronavirus domestically. The restrictions, which take effect Monday night at midnight, don't apply to American travelers returning to the U.S., Vice President Pence said during a White House briefing on Saturday.... Trump said Saturday his administration is also considering domestic travel restrictions. 'If you don't have to travel, I wouldn't do it. We want this thing to end. We don't want a lot of people getting infected,' he said." ~~~

~~~ Trump Unaware of His Own "Decisions." Here's Trump saying that "we're looking very seriously at" extending the European travel ban to the U.K. & Ireland (begins about 34 sec. in):

About 15 minutes later, in the same press briefing, mike pence said, "The President* has made a decision to suspend and travel to the United Kingdom & Ireland":

Susannah Luthi of Politico: "... Donald Trump said on Saturday that he has been tested for coronavirus after being questioned about it Friday. 'I also took the test last night,' Trump said during a briefing at the White House. 'And I decided I should, based on the press conference yesterday. People were asking, "Did I take the test?"' Asked when test results would be returned, he said: 'A day, two days. They send it to a lab.'... Late Friday, press secretary Stephanie Grisham released a memo from the White House physician saying Trump had dined at Mar-a-Lago with a person who has since tested positive for coronavirus. However, Navy Cdr. Sean Conley did not recommend testing the president as a necessity." Mrs. McC: So testing an old man who has been around three known virus carriers is unnecessary? I don't get it. It's almost as if you can't believe a single word that comes out of this White House.

Spitballing a National Crisis. Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "The administration's struggle to mitigate the coronavirus outbreak has been marked by infighting and blame-shifting, misinformation and missteps, and a slow recognition of the danger. Warring factions have wrestled for control internally and for approval from a president who has been preoccupied with the beating his image is taking.... Jared Kushner ... -- who has zero expertise in infectious diseases and little experience marshaling the full bureaucracy behind a cause -- saw the administration floundering and inserted himself at the helm, believing he could break the logjam of internal dysfunction.... 'People just show up in the Oval and spout off ideas,' said a former senior administration official briefed on the coronavirus discussions. 'He'll either shoot down ideas or embrace ideas quickly. It's an ad hoc free-for-all with different advisers just spitballing.'"

Maureen Dowd: Trump "can't cover up his lack of empathy, his instinct to mislead, his refusal to do his homework and his blame-shifting.... Even when the president stopped being so blithe about the virus, even after his error-ridden national address and his press conference Friday declaring a national emergency -- 'two very big words' -- his attempt at maturity was crystallized in one sound bite. 'No, I don't take responsibility at all,' Trump said, when asked about the egregious lag in testing. It was far from his tweet in 2013, when he loved trolling Obama: 'Leadership: Whatever happens, you're responsible. If it doesn't happen, you're responsible.'"

AP: "The U.S. Defense Department is planning to halt all domestic travel for military members after ... Donald Trump declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency. The Pentagon says Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist has approved new travel restrictions on service members and Defense Department civilians assigned to military installations and surrounding areas within the United States and its territories." Mrs. McC: Could be partly because "a financial document obtained by The Daily Beast found massive shortfalls for detecting, treating, and preventing COVID-19 from spreading throughout 1.2 million soldiers and Army employees, as well as roughly 3 million dependent family members." (Daily Beast story linked below.)

Linda Qiu of the New York Times lists the major false claims Trump made during his news conference yesterday & summarizes the actual facts: "I don't take responsibility at all because we were given a set of circumstances and we were given rules, regulations, and specifications from a different time." "If you go back to the swine flu, it was nothing like this. They didn't do testing like this, and actually they lost approximately 14,000 people, and they didn't do the testing. They started thinking about testing when it was far too late." This is blatantly wrong. Diagnostic tests for the swine flu were approved and shipped out less than two weeks after the H1N1 virus was identified and a day before the first death in the United States. "... Google is helping to develop a website, it's going to be very quickly done, unlike websites of the past, to determine whether a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location." "As you know, Europe was just designated as the hot spot right now and we closed that border a while ago." "This includes the following critical authorities -- the ability to waive laws to enable telehealth, a fairly new and incredible thing that has happened in the not-so-distant past." It's been used for decades. "When you say me, I didn't do it [disband the White House's pandemic team]. We have a group of people I could ask -- perhaps my administration -- but I could perhaps ask Tony about that because I don't know anything about it." "To help our students and their families, I have waived interest that all student loans held by federal government agencies, and that will be until further notice." This needs context. Mrs. McC: Quite a list.

Grace Panetta & Lauren Frias of Business Insider: "A third person who visited Mar-a-Lago ... has tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Friday. 'Brazil's Chargé d'Affaires Ambassador Nestor Forster has learned tonight that he has tested positive for Covid-19,' the Brazilian embassy in the US announced Friday. 'Following medical advice, Amb. Forster will extend his self-quarantine, which he had already placed himself into as a precautionary measure, for another two weeks.' The Washington Post reported that the second infected person was present at a Sunday fundraising lunch 'hosted by Trump Victory, a committee that raises money for the Trump campaign and the Republican Party.'"

Joanne Kenen of Politico: "Local officials from around the country are worried about the readiness of the U.S. public health system, citing a sharply limited number of ventilators to help some of the sickest coronavirus patients and an inadequate supply of critical care beds in a hospital industry that has gone through years of cutbacks in inpatient beds. As they prepare for an expected influx of patients, local public health officials painted a picture of a system with only a limited 'surge' capacity, and stressed the importance of social distancing as a crucial way to keep the numbers of patients at a level the system can handle."

The Twitter Monster is busy this morning touting yesterday's market surge (hmm, nothing about the previous day's plunge), and promising a "full report latter" on his meetings today.

Oh, and today is Pi Day on account of 3/14 -- 3.14.

~~~~~~~~~~

Jim Tankersley & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "... early Saturday, the House passed a bill reflecting a deal with [the Trump] administration to provide billions of dollars to help sick workers and to prop up a slumping economy.... The relief deal, whose cost is unclear, would allow for two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of family and medical leave for those affected by the crisis. It provides tax credits to help small- and medium-size businesses finance the new benefit. It does not include the payroll tax suspension that Mr. Trump wants. Any such suspension could cost more than $800 billion and would not provide help to workers who lose their jobs or stop drawing salaries in the outbreak." The Hill's story, which is more comprehensive, is here: "The measure ... passed 363-40...." ~~~

~~~ Erica Werner, et al., of the Washington Post: "The White House and House Democrats reached agreement Friday on a coronavirus relief package to spend tens of billions of dollars on sick leave, unemployment insurance, food stamps and other measures to address the unfolding crisis. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the agreement in a letter to fellow House Democrats.... A vote to pass the legislation was expected later Friday in the House, and in the Senate next week. The development came after a roller-coaster day that started with a deal seeming imminent, beforefcolli it looked like it was unraveling over successive hours. House Republicans indicated concerns and Trump himself voiced opposition, complaining at an afternoon news conference that Democrats were 'not doing what's right for the country.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: MSNBC is reporting that House Republicans are waiting for Trump to tweet about the package before they'll waive the rules to allow for a vote on it. Bear in mind that this is a deal Pelosi worked out with Trump lackey Steve Mnuchin. You might suspect House Republicans can't think for themselves. I could put this more crudely, but so can you. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Sarah Ferris, et al., of Politico: "Key Republicans said Friday that Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke prematurely when she declared an agreement with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on a large-scale coronavirus package, cautioning that there are still lingering issues to resolve. Mnuchin huddled with ... Donald Trump on Friday evening, more than an hour after Pelosi announced to her members that she and the White House had reached an agreement. Senior House Republicans said Trump has not yet given final sign-off on the package, and there are outstanding problems related to the tax credits to help pay for the sick leave provisions." ~~~

     ~~~ Update: Evidently this is the tweet we've been waiting for:

I fully support H.R. 6201: Families First CoronaVirus Response Act, which will be voted on in the House this evening. This Bill will follow my direction for free CoronaVirus tests, and paid sick leave for our impacted American workers. -- Donald Trump, in a tweet, 8:42 pm ET Friday

This is a farcical way to run a government. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

The New York Times, in its live updates on coronavirus, reports on Donald Trump's announcement of a national emergency. Also linked in the page above.

~~~The Washington Post's report, from the live updates, is here. Also linked in the page above.

~~~ Anita Kumar of Politico has a report here. Also linked in the page above. ~~~

~~~ J.M. Rieger of the Washington Post: "Trump shook hands, patted backs and touched the microphone at the White House lectern at least 31 times Friday, the sort of behaviors health experts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have advised against to prevent the spread of the virus.... In total, Trump shook hands four times and patted the backs of officials five times.... When the last executive had finished speaking, Trump offered him a handshake. 'We'll practice that,' LHC Group Executive Vice President Bruce Greenstein said, offering Trump an elbow bump instead.... Over the past week, Trump has interacted with or been close to at least three people who were infected with the virus or who themselves interacted with virus-infected individuals." ~~~

I want to thank Google. Google is helping to develop a website. It's gonna be very quickly done -- unlike websites of the past -- to determine whether a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location. We have many, many locations behind us, by the way. We cover this country and large parts of the world, by the way. We're not gonna be talking about the world right now, but we cover very, very strongly our country. Stores in virtually every location. Google has 1,700 engineers working on this right now. They have made tremendous progress. -- Donald Trump, during his press conference Friday ~~~

~~~ Frederic Lardinois of Tech Crunch: "In a press conference at the White House, President Trump [Friday] announced that 1,700 Google engineers were working on a coronavirus screening site. That site was supposedly the first step in a new screening process that would lead people from figuring out if their symptoms warranted more testing to the location of new 'drive through' testing stations. But Trump was wrong. This screening site isn't being developed by Google. Instead, it's being built by Verily, Alphabet's life science division -- and it's not ready to launch yet either. While both share the same parent company in Alphabet, these are two very different companies. In addition, as Verily noted in a statement it provided almost three hours after Trump made the announcement, this site isn't quite ready yet. 'Verily is developing a tool to help triage individuals for COVID-19 testing. We are in the early stages of development, and planning to roll testing out in the Bay Area, with the hope of expanding more broadly over time,' the company said in its statement. 'We appreciate the support of government officials and industry partners and thank the Google engineers who have volunteered to be part of this effort.'" ~~~

~~~ Dieter Bohn of the Verge: "Google is not working with the US government in building a nationwide website to help people determine whether and how to get a novel coronavirus test, despite what ... Donald Trump said in the course of issuing an emergency declaration for the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, a much smaller trial website made by another division of Alphabet, Google's parent company, is going up. It will only be able to direct people to testing facilities in the Bay Area.... Carolyn Wang, communications lead for Verily, told The Verge that the 'triage website' was initially only going to be made available to health care workers instead of the general public. Now that it has been announced the way it was, however, anybody will be able to visit it, she said. But the tool will only be able to direct people to 'pilot sites' for testing in the Bay Area, though Wang says Verily hopes to expand it beyond California 'over time.'" ~~~

~~~ Brian Barrett & Louise Matsakis of Wired: "There is no nationwide site like the one Trump described. And Google had no idea the president was going to mention one.... That the White House is finally treating testing with any kind of urgency is a welcome if belated push. But the apparent miscommunication -- or outright misrepresentation -- may bode poorly for the administration's broader efforts."

Fred Imbert, et al., of CNBC: "Stocks soared Friday as Wall Street rebounded from the sharp losses suffered in the previous session -- the worst since the 'Black Monday' market crash in 1987. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1,985 points higher, or 9.4%, at 23,185.62. Friday marked the Dow's biggest-ever point gain. The S&P 500 climbed 9.2% to 2,711.02 while the Nasdaq Composite surged 9.3% to 7,874.23. The averages posted their biggest one-day gain since October 2008.... Equities rallied to their session highs into the close after ... Donald Trump also said 50,000 new coronavirus tests will be available next week. Trump also said he asked the Energy Department to purchase oil for the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve, boosting crude prices.... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said U.S. lawmakers and the White House were close to a deal on economic relief amid the coronavirus outbreak. 'We've resolved most of our differences,' Pelosi told reporters Thursday evening, noting it's about 'testing, testing, testing.'" (An earlier version of this report was linked yesterday afternoon.)

Maggie Haberman & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "President Trump on Friday again [falsely] claimed that his response to the coronavirus was hindered by the Obama administration, which left office three years ago. Mr. Trump attacked Mr. Obama, who served with Mr. Trump's likely Democratic challenger, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., in two posts on Twitter. 'For decades the @CDCgov looked at, and studied, its testing system, but did nothing about it,' Mr. Trump wrote. 'It would always be inadequate and slow for a large scale pandemic, but a pandemic would never happen, they hoped. President Obama made changes that only complicated things further. Their response to H1N1 Swine Flu was a full scale disaster, with thousands dying, and nothing meaningful done to fix the testing problem, until now,' he continued. 'The changes have been made and testing will soon happen on a very large scale basis. All Red Tape has been cut, ready to go!' he wrote. Mr. Trump was not specific about what changes President Barack Obama made to 'complicate things further.'... The F.D.A. took the position that during a public health emergency, nongovernment labs should come to it before doing tests. But at any time, the agency was prepared to suspend that practice, as it did in recently when it gave laboratories and hospitals around the country the go-ahead to conduct tests that had been limited to those analyzed by the C.D.C." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Weirdly, the report never specifically uses the word "falsely" or a word like it, yet the headline is "Trump Falsely Tries to Tie Obama to C.D.C.'s 'Inadequate' Testing System." ~~~

~~~ Lauran Neergaard & Calvin Woodward of the AP: "One day..., Donald Trump boasted of 'smooth' coronavirus testing across the country. The next day, he pronounced the testing system inadequate, and assailed the public-health bureaucracy, Barack Obama and Joe Biden for not fixing it before he became president. But nothing changed in that system over those two days -- Thursday and Friday -- except Trump's stated opinion of it. Trump has been saying inaccurately for days that the public health system was up and ready to give access to diagnostic tests for COVID-19 for everyone who needed them. He said a week ago the 'beautiful' tests were there for all in need. That's not true. But after the government's top infection expert told lawmakers Thursday that the testing system has been a failure, Trump's boasts about preparedness became even less tenable. In tweets Friday, he switched to blaming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Obama administration, and seemed to hold them responsible for needless deaths in another pandemic. His account is inaccurate." Read on for the explanation.

Another Czar. Jake Sherman & Lauren Morello of Politico: "The administration ... tapped a new 'czar' housed at the Department of Health and Human Services, putting Adm. Brett Giroir in charge of coordinating testing efforts among public health service agencies. Giroir, a medical doctor, is the assistant secretary for health and head of the Public Health Service within HHS and briefly served as acting chief of the FDA last year. HHS Secretary Alex Azar has specifically tasked Giroir with improving coordination between the CDC and the FDA, 'as well as state and local public health authorities and private or public clinical laboratories,' according to an HHS official."

Spencer Ackerman & James LaPorta of the Daily Beast: "As the novel coronavirus threatens to overwhelm the U.S. public health systems, the Pentagon is withholding more than $104 million from the military's most important chemical and biological research facilities -- including a lab that conducts cutting-edge work on infectious diseases -- according to a senior Pentagon official. And that's only one aspect of the military's financial shortfall in the unfolding crisis. A document briefed to the top brass of the Army on Thursday and obtained by The Daily Beast from a second Defense Department official reveals that the service's response to the coronavirus outbreak is short of funding by almost $1 billion.... For the Army more broadly, a financial document obtained by The Daily Beast found massive shortfalls for detecting, treating, and preventing COVID-19 from spreading throughout 1.2 million soldiers and Army employees, as well as roughly 3 million dependent family members."

David Fahrenthold, et al., of the Washington Post: "In one televised event [-- Friday's press conference --], Trump seemed to defy two basic practices that the rest of his government has been urging Americans to follow to prevent the spread of the virus. People who were exposed to an infected person are urged to quarantine themselves and seek testing. And everyone -- exposed or not -- should stop shaking hands.... Trump also said he will not self-quarantine, as members of Congress and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have chosen to do after known exposures. 'No. We have no symptoms whatsoever,' Trump said.... Late Friday, the White House issued a memo from Trump's White House physician, Navy Cmdr. Sean P. Conley, that said the president does not need to be either tested or quarantined.... It was not clear early Saturday whether than meant that Trump had decided not to be tested after all. Trump's words and behavior seemed to signal that he still may be underestimating the diseases's threat to the country -- and even to his own health." ~~~

~~~ Rachel Olding of the Daily Beast: "Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who met with several U.S. officials including ... Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence during an official visit over the weekend, has denied that he tested positive for the 2019 novel coronavirus. Brazilian news outlet Jornal O Dia and Fox News, citing Bolsonaro's son Eduardo, reported Friday that Bolsonaro had the flu-like virus. He was tested Thursday after his press secretary Fabio Wajngarten, who was part of the visiting Brazilian delegation, tested positive for the virus in a diagnosis confirmed by the president's office.... Bolsonaro's son, Eduardo, had earlier confirmed his father's test result to Fox News and said secondary testing was being done on Friday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Joey Flechas of the Miami Herald: "Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has tested positive for COVID-19 ... four days after the mayor attended a Miami event with a Brazilian government official who later tested positive for the virus.... The mayor was present at Thursday's commission meeting, seated on the dais between City Attorney Victoria Méndez and City Manager Art Noriega for much of the morning. Top-level city administrators who were in close contact with the mayor have been told to self-isolate. Government workers who do not need to be physically present at city offices are being told to work from home. Suarez was one of several politicians, including Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, Sen. Rick Scott and ... Donald Trump, who interacted with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his staff during a visit to South Florida last week. The mayor went into isolation Thursday after learning that one of Boslonaro's staffers tested positive." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Veronica Stracqualursi & Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "Australia's home affairs minister confirmed Friday that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus, less than a week after meeting with Attorney General William Barr, senior White House adviser Ivanka Trump and other White House officials. In a statement, Minister Peter Dutton said that he woke up on Friday morning 'with a temperature and sore throat' and was 'subsequently tested for COVID-19.' Dutton was advised by Queensland Health that his tests returned positive on Friday afternoon. Dutton had met with Trump, Barr, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and Director of the Domestic Policy Council Joe Grogan in the US less than a week ago." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Zahra Hirji & Katie Baker of BuzzFeed News have mapped out the "growing number of people in ... Donald Trump's orbit have been in contact with someone known to be infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus -- with a few testing positive themselves."

Yeah, That Was a Hostage Video. Shannon Pettypiece of NBC News: "As ... Donald Trump jetted back to Washington on Monday after a weekend of golfing and fundraising in Florida, an intervention was awaiting him at the White House. Administration officials, increasingly concerned about the messaging on and response to the coronavirus, had spent the weekend scrambling to craft a strategy to shift the president's response, which had been focused on downplaying the threat and accusing the media of creating undue concern, according to people involved in the effort. So, as Trump stepped off Marine One and walked straight to the West Wing just after 3 p.m. Monday, his top economic and health officials were waiting to make their case for why a more serious fiscal and public health response was urgently needed. Those at the meeting included economic adviser Larry Kudlow, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin." (Also linked yesterday.)

Collins to Trump: STFU. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said public health officials, not President Trump, should lead the administration's messaging on the coronavirus. Collins, speaking to reporters in Maine, said the president should 'step back' from the administration's public coronavirus messaging, which she characterized as 'inconsistent' so far.... Collins's comments on Friday came before a Rose Garden press conference in which Trump declared a national emergency that allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to tap into billions of dollars and mobilize personnel more quickly to help state and local agencies and leaders respond."

Terry Gross of NPR interviews Politico reporter Dan Diamond where he reports that the Trump administration knew about the need for testing kits back in January. --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Here's a major report, dated March 7, by Diamond on Trump's mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis: "For six weeks behind the scenes, and now increasingly in public, Trump has undermined his administration's own efforts to fight the coronavirus outbreak -- resisting attempts to plan for worst-case scenarios, overturning a public-health plan upon request from political allies and repeating only the warnings that he chose to hear. Members of Congress have grilled top officials like Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Disease Control Director Robert Redfield over the government's biggest mistake: failing to secure enough testing to head off a coronavirus outbreak in the United States. But many current and former Trump administration officials say the true management failure was Trump's."(Previously linked in the March 8 Commentariat.)

Now, This Isn't Funny. John Koblin of the New York Times: "'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,' 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' and 'Late Night With Seth Meyers' are all suspending production next week, NBC and CBS said Thursday, making them the biggest daily American television series to go off the air because of concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. The earliest date that the three shows would return with new episodes is March 30, the networks said. 'Saturday Night Live,' which like 'The Tonight Show' and 'Late Night' tapes at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, is on hiatus until March 28. Its immediate future could be in doubt as well." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race

Jacob Pramuk of CNBC: "Louisiana will postpone its presidential primaries set for next month, becoming the first state to take the step as fears about the coronavirus outbreak spread. The state will push its presidential nominating contests back to June 20 from the planned date of April 4, Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin announced Friday. It has also delayed its municipal elections until July 25." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

John Kruzel of the Hill: "A full federal appeals court bench will reconsider a Democratic bid for the testimony of former White House counsel Don McGahn, after a three-judge panel said he could defy a congressional subpoena. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday said a majority of judges had voted to vacate the panel's ruling and hold a rehearing, which will take place April 28. The review by the full bench, a relatively rare procedural allowance, gives the Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee another chance to persuade the court to enforce its subpoena against McGahn, whom lawmakers consider an eyewitness to wrongdoing by Trump."

Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: A former Hawaii state judge, James Dannenberg, has resigned from the prestigious Supreme Court Bar. "On Wednesday, Dannenberg tendered a letter of resignation from the Supreme Court Bar to Chief Justice John Roberts. He has been a member of that bar since 1972. In his letter, reprinted in full below, Dannenberg compares the current Supreme Court, with its boundless solicitude for the rights of the wealthy, the privileged, and the comfortable, to the court that ushered in the Lochner era in the early 20th century, a period of profound judicial activism that put a heavy thumb on the scale for big business, banking, and insurance interests, and ruled consistently against child labor, fair wages, and labor regulations."

Cristiano Lima of Politico: "Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has stepped down from the company's board of directors to devote more time to his philanthropic projects, the firm announced Friday. Gates, who oversaw the software giant's meteoric rise through the late 20th and early 21st century before stepping back from day-to-day operations, will continue to serve as technology adviser to CEO Satya Nadella and others, Microsoft announced in a press release."

Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "The National Geographic revealed in a story on Friday that what the Museum of the Bible has claimed are fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls are a complete fraud. The museum, founded by Hobby Lobby CEO Steve Green, already faced problems when they were 'forced to forfeit thousands of cuneiform texts from Iraq, and pay a $3 million fine for illicit importation,' reported Politico.... [Re: the fake scroll fragments,] the museum says that they were duped by the collector and Green, as well as biblical scholars. 'The new findings don't cast doubt on the 100,000 real Dead Sea Scroll fragments, most of which lie in the Shrine of the Book, part of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem,' said National Geographic."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. David Smiley & David Ovalle of the Tampa Bay Times: "Andrew Gillum, who in 2018 came within 34,000 votes of becoming Florida's governor, was discovered by police at a South Beach hotel early Friday morning in a room with bags of possible methamphetamine and in the company of a man who appeared to have overdosed on drugs, according to a Miami Beach police report. Police say they were called to the Mondrian South Beach early Friday morning and found paramedics treating Travis Dyson, a 30-year-old Miami man, for an apparent heart attack. They say two other men were in the room: Aldo Mejias and Gillum. Police say Gillum, who was not arrested, was too intoxicated to answer questions. An offense incident report says that officers found three clear plastic baggies of suspected crystal meth on the bed and floor. Gillum, a former Tallahassee mayor and Democrat, issued a statement Friday afternoon in which he denied using drugs. 'I was in Miami last night for a wedding celebration when first responders were called to assist one of my friends. While I had too much to drink, I want to be clear that I have never used methamphetamines,' he said. 'I apologize to the people of Florida for the distraction this has caused our movement.'"

Comments Off
Thursday
Mar122020

The Commentariat -- March 13, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump will hold a news conference on Friday afternoon to discuss the coronavirus as cases continue to mount in the U.S. Trump tweeted that he would speak about the virus at 3 p.m. at the White House. He did not specify what he would cover, but Bloomberg News reported he plans to declare a national emergency, a move that had been under consideration for some time."

Rachel Olding of the Daily Beast: "Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who met with several U.S. officials including ... Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence during an official visit over the weekend, has denied that he tested positive for the 2019 novel coronavirus. Brazilian news outlet Jornal O Dia and Fox News, citing Bolsonaro's son Eduardo, reported Friday that Bolsonaro had the flu-like virus. He was tested Thursday after his press secretary Fabio Wajngarten, who was part of the visiting Brazilian delegation, tested positive for the virus in a diagnosis confirmed by the president's office.... Bolsonaro's son, Eduardo, had earlier confirmed his father's test result to Fox News and said secondary testing was being done on Friday."

Joey Flechas of the Miami Herald: "Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has tested positive for COVID-19 ... four days after the mayor attended a Miami event with a Brazilian government official who later tested positive for the virus.... The mayor was present at Thursday's commission meeting, seated on the dais between City Attorney Victoria Méndez and City Manager Art Noriega for much of the morning. Top-level city administrators who were in close contact with the mayor have been told to self-isolate. Government workers who do not need to be physically present at city offices are being told to work from home. Suarez was one of several politicians, including Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, Sen. Rick Scott and ... Donald Trump, who interacted with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his staff during a visit to South Florida last week. The mayor went into isolation Thursday after learning that one of Boslonaro's staffers tested positive."

Veronica Stracqualursi & Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "Australia's home affairs minister confirmed Friday that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus, less than a week after meeting with Attorney General William Barr, senior White House adviser Ivanka Trump and other White House officials. In a statement, Minister Peter Dutton said that he woke up on Friday morning 'with a temperature and sore throat' and was 'subsequently tested for COVID-19.' Dutton was advised by Queensland Health that his tests returned positive on Friday afternoon. Dutton had met with Trump, Barr, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and Director of the Domestic Policy Council Joe Grogan in the US less than a week ago."

Yeah, That Was a Hostage Video. Shannon Pettypiece of NBC News: "As ... Donald Trump jetted back to Washington on Monday after a weekend of golfing and fundraising in Florida, an intervention was awaiting him at the White House. Administration officials, increasingly concerned about the messaging on and response to the coronavirus, had spent the weekend scrambling to craft a strategy to shift the president's response, which had been focused on downplaying the threat and accusing the media of creating undue concern, according to people involved in the effort. So, as Trump stepped off Marine One and walked straight to the West Wing just after 3 p.m. Monday, his top economic and health officials were waiting to make their case for why a more serious fiscal and public health response was urgently needed. Those at the meeting included economic adviser Larry Kudlow, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin."

Fred Imbert, et al., of CNBC: "Stocks gave up most of their earlier rally on Friday as Wall Street tried to rebound from the sharp losses suffered in the previous session -- the worst since the 'Black Monday' market crash in 1987. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 125 points higher, or 0.7%. At one point, the Dow was up more than 1,300 points and on pace for its biggest one-day gain since March 2009."

Terry Gross of NPR interviews Politico reporter Dan Diamond where he reports that the Trump administration knew about the need for testing kits back in January. --s

Jacob Pramuk of CNBC: "Louisiana will postpone its presidential primaries set for next month, becoming the first state to take the step as fears about the coronavirus outbreak spread. The state will push its presidential nominating contests back to June 20 from the planned date of April 4, Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin announced Friday. It has also delayed its municipal elections until July 25."

Now, This Isn't Funny. John Koblin of the New York Times: "'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,' 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' and 'Late Night With Seth Meyers' are all suspending production next week, NBC and CBS said Thursday, making them the biggest daily American television series to go off the air because of concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. The earliest date that the three shows would return with new episodes is March 30, the networks said. 'Saturday Night Live,' which like 'The Tonight Show' and 'Late Night' tapes at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, is on hiatus until March 28. Its immediate future could be in doubt as well."

~~~~~~~~~~

My name is Lyndon Baines Johnson. I am your president. I am here to make sure you have the help you need! -- Lyndon Johnson, at a New Orleans shelter after Hurricane Betsy, his face illuminated in the dark by a flashlight & speaking through a megaphone, September 1965

~~~ New York Times live updates on the coronavirus pandemic are here. "Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s presidential campaign told staff members to work from home, closed all its offices to the public and said it would begin holding smaller events and virtual fund-raisers.... Senator Bernie ... Sanders' ... campaign said that it had asked all staff members to work from home and that it would no longer hold large events or door-to-door canvasses, focusing on digital outreach instead.... The National Collegiate Athletic Association has called off the men's and women's Division 1 basketball tournaments, among the most-watched annual sports events. They joined a long list of event and venue closures and cancellations in a global push to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Major League Baseball halted spring training and postponed the start of the season by at least two weeks. The N.H.L. paused its season with its teams having about a dozen games before the Stanley Cup playoffs, scheduled to begin in about a month.... The Walt Disney Company said on Thursday that it would close the Disneyland resort in Anaheim for the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks." Mrs. McC: I heard on the teevee that Disneyworld near Orlando, Fla., also would close beginning this coming Sunday.

New York Times (from the paper's live market updates Thursday): "Stocks continued their plunge on Thursday, as President Trump's latest effort to address the coronavirus outbreak -- a ban on the entry from most European countries to the United States -- disappointed investors who have been waiting for Washington to take steps to bolster the economy. Trading was turbulent, with stocks staging a brief comeback as investors reacted to the Federal Reserve's decision to offer at least $1.5 trillion worth of loans to banks to help smooth out the functioning of the financial markets. But the selling picked up again by midafternoon. The S&P 500 closed down about 9.5 percent, its biggest daily drop since the stock market crashed in 1987, on what came to be known as Black Monday. The decline has left stocks in the United States firmly in a bear market -- a term that signifies a decline of 20 percent from the most recent highs. For the Dow Jones industrial average, the drop of 10 percent was also its worst since the 1987 stock market crash." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Pippa Stevens & Fred Imbert of CNBC: "The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10%, posting its largest one-day percentage drop since the October 1987 crash. That day, the Dow collapsed by more than 22%. The S&P 500 joined the Dow in closing Thursday's session squarely in a bear market, down more than 20% from the all-time highs set just a month ago. The indexes also ended an 11-year bull run, the longest on record. It took the Dow just 19 trading days fall from a record high into a bear market. The S&P 500's move was even swifter, taking the broad index just 16 trading days to tumble into a bear market. Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group, said the economic damage is 'deep and profound' and that 'until we get to spring time when hopefully this goes away, we as investors are all flying blind.' The Federal Reserve announced extraordinary funding actions of more than $1 trillion to ease strained capital markets in the wake of the coronavirus sell-off. The news gave stocks a brief boost before they headed lower again." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Maybe it isn't a coincidence that the markets crash when a Republican is president: 1929, 1987, 2008, 2019. This time an "adjustment" was inevitable, but Trump's indifference & incompetence was the immediate cause for the past week's tumble. BTW, Mr. Bleakley there, with his brilliant belief that the virus will "hopefully go away in the spring," is suffering from a severe case of festering Trumpophilia.

"The President as Bystander." Peter Baker & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... President Trump has been assertive in closing borders to many outsiders, one of his favorite policies. But within the United States, as the coronavirus spreads from one community to another, he has been more follower than leader. While he presents himself as the nation's commanding figure, Mr. Trump has essentially become a bystander as school superintendents, sports commissioners, college presidents, governors and business owners across the country take it upon themselves to shut down much of American life without clear guidance from the president.... Mayors and county executives, hospital executives and factory owners received no further direction from the president as he talked about the virus in the Oval Office on Thursday than they did during his prime-time address to the nation the night before. Beyond travel limits and wash-your-hands reminders, Mr. Trump has left it to others to set the course in combating the pandemic...."

Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: President* "Trump's 10-minute Oval Office address Wednesday night reflected not only his handling of the coronavirus crisis but, in some ways, much of his presidency. It was riddled with errors, nationalist and xenophobic in tone, limited in its empathy, and boastful of both his own decisions and the supremacy of the nation he leads.... In the most scripted of presidential settings, a prime-time televised address to the nation, President Trump decided to ad-lib -- and his errors triggered a market meltdown, panicked travelers overseas and crystallized for his critics just how dangerously he has fumbled his management of the coronavirus. Even Trump -- a man practically allergic to admitting mistakes -- knew he'd screwed up by declaring Wednesday night that his ban on travel from Europe would include cargo and trade, and acknowledged as much to aides in the Oval Office as soon as he'd finished speaking.... Jared Kushner ... reassured Trump that aides would correct his misstatement..., and they scrambled to do just that.... Other administration officials rushed to alert the public that U.S. citizens would be exempt from the travel ban.... Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average fell in real time with virtually each word Trump uttered.... The speech was largely written by [Jared] Kushner and ... Stephen Miller, who were still making tweaks to the text until moments before Trump delivered it...." ~~~

~~~ Asawin Suebsaeng & Erin Banco of the Daily Beast: "Two officials in the U.S. State Department told The Daily Beast that foreign service officers and diplomats were unprepared for the president's [travel ban] announcement and spent the early hours of Thursday scrambling to figure out how their work and travel would be affected in the short term. 'It is just total chaos,' said one official currently abroad, adding that they did not know if they would have to return to the U.S. immediately or if they would need to quarantine for two weeks upon arriving. Diplomats and other U.S. staff overseas ... frantically searched for answers that weren't immediately available from Foggy Bottom or the West Wing.... As of Thursday night, U.S. officials abroad said they were still unclear exactly how Trump's proclamation would be implemented in real-time. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had not updated embassies with any guidance or notes on preventive measures.... The [White House's] corrective blitz went late into the night [Wednesday] and then continued well into Thursday, as senior officials held several closed-door meetings into the early afternoon gaming out how to finish cleaning up for the misinformation and inaccurate assertions that President Trump made in his prepared remarks...."

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Three years in office, and the Trump-Kushner-Miller team still doesn't think it's necessary to roll out a coordinated response to anything, even an international crisis. They just make up stuff on the fly and leave it to others to mop up after them. And there's no way in hell they'll learn from this mistake -- the same mistake they have made many times before. See also Akhilleus's account in today's Comments of his trip to the local supermarket. We do have to give Trump a lot of "credit" for his disastrous address to the nation, but I also think we have to give all of the entities that serve Trumpbot nation & have closed up shop have done a double service to the ignoramuses. Not only have these organizations saved the lives of some who directly access the services, they have waked up many who don't go to games or amusement parks. Could all of these sports organizations, restaurants, Disneyland!, etc., really have been willing to lose millions on account of a "Democrat hoax"? ~~~

~~~ Charles Pierce: "This was not a speech.... It was the desperate wailing of a man who has fallen down a well, and there's nobody up there to hear him.... This was a cry for help, an SOS from a guy who knows, as Micheal Ray Richardson once put it, that the ship be sinking. You could almost imagine thousands of tiny feet running for lifeboats behind his eyes. You could see him reacting to storm sirens only he could hear. He is thrashing and floundering and he is surrounded by thrashers and flounderers who owe their entire careers to him now. This isn't chaos. It is surrender to it."

** Washington Post Breaking News: "A Brazilian official who met President Trump and Vice President Pence at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday has tested positive for coronavirus. Fabio Wajngarten, a spokesman for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, tested positive for covid-19, Brazilian officials said. Wajngarten stood next to Trump and Pence, a photograph taken in Florida shows. Trump said he 'isn't concerned' about the development, according to a White House pool report." (From the WashPo's live updates for Thursday.) (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Jim Acosta of CNN: "A source close to Donald Trump said the President is telling people close to him that he is indeed concerned about coming into contact with people who have contracted the coronavirus, including the Brazilian official who tested positive after coming face-to-face with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. 'He is very concerned about all the people he met who have it, including the Brazilian,' the source said. Fabio Wajngarten, the press secretary for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, two sources have told CNN. Bolsonaro's health is being monitored." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump may be trying to pin the severity of the coronavirus pandemic on pence, but Mother pence has brought the calico curtains down from the attic & is embroidering "25th Amendment" into the hems. ~~~

     ~~~ Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is self-quarantining after a trip to Mar-a-Lago where Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was also present. Graham, according to a statement from his office, 'has no recollection of direct contact' with Bolsonaro, who is being monitored for the coronavirus, or his spokesman, who has tested positive.... Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) also announced on Thursday that he will self-quarantine." Mrs. McC: Scott is self-quarantining because he attended the same Mar-a-Lago functions with Graham, Trump, Pence, et al., & the Brazilian delegation.

Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that there has been 'irresponsible rhetoric' from people who have downplayed the seriousness of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak. In an interview on the 'Today' show, Savannah Guthrie asked what message Pence sends to people who aren't afraid of the coronavirus and think it's just politics and hype, quoting from ... Donald Trump who said on Monday that the 'fake news media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything to inflame the coronavirus situation.' 'There's been some irresponsible rhetoric, but the American people should know President Trump has no higher priority than the health and safety and well being of the people of this country,' Pence said in response but it was not clear who he was referring to." (Also linked yesterday.)

Mike Stobbe & Matthew Perrone of the AP: "The U.S. lag in coronavirus testing is 'a failing,' a top federal health official said Thursday, and public health experts say they still don't have a good understanding of how widely the new virus has spread. The effort initially was hobbled by delays in getting testing kits out to public health labs, but the stumbles have continued, leading scientists to conclude that the virus has already spread far wider than government officials are reporting. U.S. health officials, for example, promised nearly a month ago to tap into a national network of labs that monitor for flu. That system is only just getting started. On Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health agreed that the U.S. needs to improve how it's testing. 'The system is not really geared to what we need right now,' he said. 'That is a failing. It is a failing, let's admit it.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Shawn Boburg, et al., of the Washington Post: "Many Americans who are sick and seeking a coronavirus test continue to be turned away.... The problem persists, doctors and patients across the country say, despite increased production and distribution of the tests in recent days. At a time when U.S. fatalities from the virus have risen, there remain limited numbers of tests and the capacity of laboratories is under strain. The constraints are squeezing out patients who don't meet rigid government eligibility criteria, even if their doctors want them tested, according to dozens of interviews with doctors and patients this week. The gap between real-life obstacles to testing and President Trump's sweeping assurances that 'anybody that needs a test gets a test' has sown frustration, uncertainty and anxiety among patients who have symptoms consistent with covid-19.... The federal government's handling of testing erupted as a political issue Thursday, with even members of the president's party venting...." ~~~

~~~ Farah Stockman of the New York Times: "Many who fear they have the virus have faced one roadblock after another as they try to get tested, according to interviews with dozens of people across the country. Some have been rejected because they had no symptoms, even though they had been in proximity to someone who tested positive. Others were told no because they had not traveled to a hot spot abroad, even though they had fevers and hacking coughs and lived in cities with growing outbreaks. Still others were told a bitter truth: There simply were not enough tests to go around.... Even [where efforts have been made to make testing easier], demand has far outstripped supply. By 11 a.m. at one drive-through lab in the Denver neighborhood of Lowry on Thursday, a three-hour line of cars had formed. The clinic had to stop allowing more vehicles.... In cities that have experienced serious outbreaks -- Seattle; Boston; New Rochelle, N.Y. -- patients who fear they have coronavirus describe Kafkaesque quests to find out their status."

Noam Levey of The Los Angeles Times: "Despite mounting pleas from California and other states, the Trump administration isn't allowing states to use Medicaid more freely to respond to the coronavirus crisis by expanding medical services. In previous emergencies, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina and the H1N1 flu outbreak, both Republican and Democratic administrations loosened Medicaid rules to empower states to meet surging needs.... One reason federal health officials have not acted appears to be President Trump's reluctance to declare a national emergency.... Another element may be ideological: The administration official who oversees Medicaid, Seema Verma..., has been a champion of efforts by conservative states to trim the number of people enrolled in Medicaid."

Common Dreams in RawStory: "The Trump administration made clear this week that it has no plans to scrap -- or, at the very least, delay -- a rule change that could strip federal food assistance from over a million people in the United States as the coronavirus spreads across the nation, heightening the need for measures to protect the most vulnerable from the economic fallout.... Lauren Bauer, a fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, told BuzzFeed that she estimated prior to the coronavirus outbreak that 1.3 to 1.5 million people could lose federal nutrition assistance under the Trump administration's SNAP rule change. The Agriculture Department's own estimate indicated that the rule would strip benefits from more than 700,000 people." --s

Emily Cochrane, et al., of the New York Times: "... Congress neared a deal with the White House on a sweeping economic rescue package to respond to the colossal effect of the coronavirus pandemic. After a day of intense negotiations between Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and the Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, Ms. Pelosi told reporters that 'we've resolved most of our differences' and the House would vote on Friday on the measure 'one way or another.' It would then go to the Senate, which called off a recess that had been scheduled for next week in anticipation of a compromise. The legislation, according to a letter Ms. Pelosi sent to her members, will include enhanced unemployment benefits, free virus testing, aid for food assistance programs and federal funds for Medicaid. The package also ensures 14 days of paid sick leave, as well as tax credits to help small- and medium-size businesses fulfill that mandate. Language was still being drafted for provisions related to family and medical leave, according to a Democratic aide, as staff members worked through the night to prepare the bill. Ms. Pelosi, in her letter to lawmakers, also said that the House would soon pursue another package 'that will take further effective action that protects the health, economic security and well-being of the American people.'" ~~~

~~~ The Unflappable Nancy Pelosi. Heather Caygle & John Bresnahan of Politico: “... for all Trump's omnipresence on Twitter and cable TV, [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi remains the dominant figure on Capitol Hill when it comes time to actually getting something accomplished.... The [coronavirus] episode plays to her strengths as the longtime Democratic leader: Figure out your goals, move quickly, and build your support on the fly, while always keeping your eye on the magic 218-vote number. The sheer variety of national emergencies Pelosi has faced during her 17 years as House Democratic leader is stunning, and represents the turbulent nature of 21st century American life -- Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 financial crisis, the federal government shutdowns of 2013 and 2018-19, and Trump's recent impeachment, are among the highlights.... 'I've gone through a number of these crises with her as the leader and she is unflappable,' said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). 'The last thing we need is some kind of a hot-headed leader trying to figure out what we can do to hurt the other side,' he added. 'She don't play that game.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Eric Levitz of New York: "In response to this mounting [pandemic] crisis, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called on Congress to waste no time in commencing its previously planned vacation.... McConnell insisted that the Senate would not pass any legislation addressing the coronavirus emergency until it took a seven-day breather.... Hours later, however, McConnell changed course. After calls from multiple Senate Republicans to cancel the impending recess, the Senate Majority Leader announced that his caucus would work through next week on compromise legislation.... Even [if going ahead with the recess was] a bluff, McConnell's stance was insane. It's hard to imagine a more politically toxic talking point than, 'Democrats may want to take immediate action on this public health emergency, but the Republican Party believes it is entitled to a weeklong break before tackling such a demanding project.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Sarah Burris of RawStory: "Republicans are holding up progress on legislation for coronavirus because of abortion.... 'A key sticking point in the talks appears to be GOP demands to include Hyde amendment language in the bill to prevent federal funds from being used for abortion,' [Bloomberg News reporter Erik Wasson] tweeted." --s

Katie Porter Saves Lives. In a House hearing Thursday, Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) nails down a commitment from CDC Director Robert Redfield. to guarantee that all Americans can receive coronavirus tests (assuming the kits become widely available) regardless of ability to pay. Watch Redfield start out arrogant & end up squirming! ~~~

MEANWHILE. Pay for Me But Not for Thee. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is taking two weeks off to self-quarantine at home even though he has tested negative for Covid-19. Gasmask Gaetz, of course, receives paid sick leave, even though he isn't sick. As Lee Fang of the Intercept points out, Gaetz voted against paid sick leave for Florida residents when he was in the state legislature. AND Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who also is self-quarantining after coming into contact with a person sick with the virus, is getting paid, too. As Fang writes, "In 2013, then-Gov. Rick Scott signed Gaetz-backed preemption legislation that barred every city and county in Florida from enacting paid sick leave legislation."

Mrs. McCrabbie: Joe Biden gave a speech Thursday on what is needed to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The contrast between Biden's remarks and Trump's robotic teleprompter performance Wednesday night was jarring. Biden's speech was fairly perfect. I hope Trump watched to get a glimpse of what it means to "be presidential." ~~~

A short time later Thursday afternoon, Sen. Bernie Sanders delivered remarks on the coronavirus pandemic:

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: There isn't clearer evidence of Trump's monumental inability to do his job than to contrast Sanders' and Biden's remarks with his.

Sarah Ferris, et al., of Politico: "The U.S. Capitol will cease all public tours through at least the end of March amid mounting fears of a widespread coronavirus outbreak, according to multiple people familiar with the decision. Speaker Nancy Pelosi informed members of the decision in a Wednesday afternoon meeting, which is intended to help prevent the spread of the virus across the sprawling Capitol campus, where many senior-aged lawmakers are already at higher risk. The restriction applies to all tours -- public, staff-led and member-led. By the end of the week, the Capitol complex will be restricted to official business only, people familiar with the decision said. The move -- which was made jointly by congressional leaders, Capitol security officials and medical staff -- comes amid mounting pressure from lawmakers and aides to restrict public access to the building." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Getting Real. Issam Ahmed of AFP: "Between 70 to 150 million people in the United States could eventually be infected with the novel coronavirus, according to a projection shared with Congress, a lawmaker said Thursday. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib made the remarks during a hearing of the House of Representatives with members of the president's coronavirus task force, confirming earlier reports by US media outlets including Axios and NBC News. 'Congress's attending physician told the Senate that he expects between 70 to 150 million people to eventually contract the coronavirus in the United States,' Tlaib said. Axios had reported that doctor Brian Monahan conveyed the projection to Senate senior staff on Tuesday.... The upper end of the projection is about 46 percent of the US population of 327 million people. By comparison German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned this week that up to 70 percent of her country's population could get the virus." ~~~

~~~ Peter Sullivan of the Hill: "A top health official in Ohio estimated on Thursday that more than 100,000 people in the state have coronavirus, a shockingly high number that underscores the limited testing so far. Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton said at a press conference alongside Gov. Mike DeWine (R) that given that the virus is spreading in the community in Ohio, she estimates at least 1 percent of the population in the state has the virus. 'We know now, just the fact of community spread, says that at least 1 percent, at the very least, 1 percent of our population is carrying this virus in Ohio today,' Acton said. 'We have 11.7 million people. So the math is over 100,000. So that just gives you a sense of how this virus spreads and is spreading quickly.' She added that the slow rollout of testing means the state does not have good verified numbers to know for sure.... The state currently has just five confirmed positive cases, and 30 negative tests. Acton said Thursday that it appears that the number of cases of the virus doubles every six days."

Johnny Diaz & Karen Zraick of the New York Times: "Walmart, Uber and other major companies announced new policies this week to grant paid leave or other compensation to workers who contract the new coronavirus or are quarantined by order of the government or their companies. The changes could help hourly and gig-economy workers in the service industry who do not normally receive paid time off, and who would bear an especially difficult burden of lost wages. But the policies may not go far enough to protect delivery people, store clerks, restaurant workers, taxi drivers and others whose public-facing and often low-paying jobs cannot be done remotely." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Someone suggested recently (sorry, I don't recall who) that businesses that do not provide paid sick leave to their employees should be required to post prominent notices that their workers do not get paid if they get sick. An excellent suggestion. Would you eat in a restaurant where there was a good chance the salad chef was sneezing Covid-19 globules on the romaine? I didn't think so.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Oliver Darcy of CNN: "... over the past several weeks, top hosts and personalities on [Fox 'News'] downplayed concerns about the virus, baselessly accusing credible news organizations of overhyping the crisis to hurt Trump politically. At other times, Fox News hosts and personalities pointed to the death toll of the seasonal flu, misleading the network's audience into thinking that the coronavirus was receiving more attention because it is novel.... A significant part of Fox News' coverage had been aimed toward framing the response to coronavirus as unwarranted hysteria. The often-dismissive messaging from Fox News hosts was particularly notable, given that, like other cable news channels, the viewers who make up the network's audience skew older and are, thus, the most vulnerable to the disease.... Meanwhile..., Fox Corporation, the parent company of the network..., has restricted all non-essential travel. And, in a Thursday email..., Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott and President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace announced several sweeping measures to protect employees, including asking staff able to work from home to do so starting Monday."

Angela Dewan of CNN: "More and more of the world is working from home as the novel coronavirus spreads -- and so is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Canada's leader is currently trying to run his country in self-isolation as his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, awaits the results of a coronavirus test, his office confirmed on Thursday. The indiscriminate virus has caused dozens of government officials around the world -- from administrators to heads of state -- to take precautionary measures after finding that they have been infected or have been in contact with infected people.... The president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, is also self-isolating for two weeks as a precaution, after going to Italy over the last weekend. On Tuesday, he chaired a European Union meeting in Brussels by video-conference." Mrs. McC: Rachel Maddow reported that Sophie Trudeau tested positive for the virus. Other outlets, including the NYT in its Thursday live updates linked above, have since reported Sophie Trudeau's positive test result.

Lily Kuo of the Guardian: "One of the most popular topics on the Chinese microblog Weibo on Thursday was ... a conspiracy theory that has been gaining traction over the past two weeks in China -- that the coronavirus did not originate in China but may have come from the US instead." --s


Eric Schmitt & Thomas Gibbons-Neff of the New York Times: "United States warplanes struck five targets in southern Iraq on Thursday night, hitting back at an Iraqi militia with ties to Iran that is believed to have been part of a rocket attack on Wednesday that killed two Americans and a British soldier, American officials said. The airstrikes, which were supported by the British military, targeted the militia Kataib Hezbollah and facilities that were believed to store the type of rockets used in the attack on coalition forces on Wednesday. It is not known how many militia members, if any, were killed, a military official said." ~~~

~~~ Juan Cole: "Tom O'Connor at Newsweek reports that 18 katyusha rockets slammed into al-Taji Air Base in Iraq on Wednesday, killing two Americans and one Briton, and leaving 12 other Coalition personnel injured. In response, US fighter jets conducted air strikes against the Haydariyun brigades of the Kata'ib Hizbullah, a Shiite Iraqi militia, in Albu Kamal on the Iraq-Syria border, allegedly killing 40 officers and fighters, including the commander of the Haydariyun, Gen. Wisam al-Tufayli. It is alleged that officers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards at the base were also killed.... Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, whose Sairun Party is the largest single party in parliament, accused Donald Trump of creating the novel coronavirus and unleashing it on Iraq as an act of biological warfare.... [T]he fact is that Trump's rashness [killing Soleimani] just got two US soldiers killed." --s

Lauren White & Linnaea Honl-Stuenkel of CREW: "Donald Trump Jr.'s Mongolian trophy hunting trip cost taxpayers $17,704 in Secret Service charges alone, according to records obtained by CREW.... The eight day trip was already controversial for many reasons: Don Jr. was retroactively awarded his permit to hunt the endangered argali sheep after killing it, he had a private meeting with Mongolia's president that we still don't know much about, and hunted alongside a major Republican donor." --s

Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "The Pentagon has asked a federal court to give it 120 days to 'reconsider certain aspects' of a controversial decision to award an important cloud computing contract known as JEDI to Microsoft, according to a court document made public Thursday. Amazon is suing the Defense Department over the decision, which it claims fell in Microsoft's favor because of improper meddling by President Trump. The decision comes just days after U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge Patricia Campbell-Smith sided with Amazon on a motion to halt contract performance. (Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract, known as JEDI, is meant to create a powerful centralized computing system through which military agencies can harness data centers and technology from a commercial tech company. The Pentagon awarded it to Microsoft in late October, spurning a bid from Amazon's market-leading cloud computing division."

Ryan Mac, et al. of Buzzfeed: "Last month, a BuzzFeed News investigation found that people at more than 2,200 organizations have tried Clearview's facial recognition technology.... Prior to BuzzFeed News' report, Clearview insisted its tool was strictly for law enforcement.... Clearview, however, has shared its technology with organizations it designated as friends, conservative think tanks, Republican lawmakers, and more than 20 potential investors around the world, according to company documents seen by BuzzFeed News. Some of those entities have connections to the far right and the Trump administration, as do Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That, a MAGA-supporting mobile app developer, and cofounder Richard Schwartz, who was once an adviser to ... Rudy Giuliani." --s

Ryan Goodman & Julia Brooks of Just Security: "Several commentators have said that the president's action toward Ukraine fit a pattern of his calling on foreign governments to interfere in US elections.... We ... provide a timeline of events surrounding an earlier incident at the Trump White House involving Qatar and the Kushner Companies. We leave it to readers and further investigation to reach any conclusions -- whether this was a shakedown of a foreign partner motivated or clouded by personal financial interests or something quite innocent. At a minimum, we believe it raises important questions and concerns that deserve further scrutiny.... The following is a timeline of events related to the Kushners' pursuit of funding from Qatar for 666 Fifth Avenue and the Trump-Kushner support for the Saudi-UAE blockade of Qatar." --s

Presidential Race

Kate Sullivan & Jennifer Agiesta of CNN: "Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will win California's Democratic primary, CNN projects, after holding a lead in the state since Election Night.... CNN's delegate estimate in the state currently shows Sanders winning 184 delegates to [Joe] Biden's 144, with 81 delegates left to be allocated. Six delegates in the state thus far have been estimated to go to candidates who have already dropped out of the race: Elizabeth Warren (five) and Michael Bloomberg (one)."

Gary Fineout of Politico: "Joe Biden is in line to deliver a knockout punch to Bernie Sanders in Florida in Tuesday's Democratic primary, according to a new poll that gives the former vice president a staggering 44-point lead over his opponent. Biden is lapping Sanders in voter support, with support from 66 percent of likely Democratic primary voters to 22 percent for Sanders, according to a University of North Florida poll taken March 5-10." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) Mrs. McC: Florida's primary is Tuesday, March 17.

Katelyn Polantz, et al., of CNN: "Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning will be released from jail after being held for 10 months because testimony she refused to give to a secret grand jury is no longer needed, a federal judge said on Thursday. Manning's release comes because 'the business of (the grand jury) had concluded,' Judge Anthony Trenga of the federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, wrote on Thursday. 'The Court finds that Ms. Manning's appearance before the Grand Jury is no longer needed, in light of which her detention no longer serves any coercive purpose.' Manning was fined $256,000 in fines for refusing to testify, according to the judge. She had not been released from jail as of Thursday evening and was still being held in the Alexandria Detention Center, her lawyer, Moira Meltzer-Cohen, told CNN."

Damian Carrington of the Guardian: "Monsanto secretly funded academic studies indicating 'very severe impacts' on farming and the environment if its controversial glyphosate weedkiller were banned, an investigation has found. The research was used by the National Farmers' Union and others to successfully lobby against a European ban in 2017.... The secret funding of the ADAS studies was uncovered by a German transparency campaign group, LobbyControl." --s

Beyond the Beltway

Georgia. Sara Swann of The Fulcrum: "It's a startlingly bold move, the legality of which is now being challenged in court: Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, already an enemy of voting rights groups nationwide, has canceled an election and says he'll fill a seat on the Georgia Supreme Court all by himself.... When justices leave in the middle of a term, Georgia law permits the governor to fill the vacancy. In this case, however, Justice Keith Blackwell said two weeks ago he was no longer seeking re-election and would resign a few weeks early -- eight months from now, in November. For a few days, it looked like the race for his spot on the becnch [sic] would feature the two remaining candidates: John Barrow of Athens, a former Democratic congressman, and former Republican state legislator Beth Beskin of Atlanta. But a week ago, Kemp's successor as secretary of state, Republican Brad Raffensperger, said he was deferring to the governor's wishes and calling off a contest that was to be decided in the May 19 nonpartisan judicial elections."--s

North Carolina. Ames Alexander of The Charlotte Observer: "The public can now listen to the secret recordings that formed the core of the federal government's corruption case against Durham billionaire Greg Lindberg. On March 5, a jury convicted the insurance mogul of using the promise of millions in campaign money to bribe North Carolina's insurance commissioner Mike Causey. Causey cooperated in the federal sting and wore a clandestine recording device to capture his conversations with Lindberg and two associates.... Lindberg and his associates repeatedly asked Causey to replace a regulator named Jackie Obusek, who was responsible for overseeing one of Lindberg's companies[.]" --s

Comments Off
Wednesday
Mar112020

The Commentariat -- March 12, 2020

Afternoon Update:

New York Times (from the paper's live market updates): "Stocks continued their plunge on Thursday, as President Trump's latest effort to address the coronavirus outbreak -- a ban on the entry from most European countries to the United States -- disappointed investors who have been waiting for Washington to take steps to bolster the economy. Trading was turbulent, with stocks staging a brief comeback as investors reacted to the Federal Reserve's decision to offer at least $1.5 trillion worth of loans to banks to help smooth out the functioning of the financial markets. But the selling picked up again by midafternoon. The S&P 500 closed down about 9.5 percent, its biggest daily drop since the stock market crashed in 1987, on what came to be known as Black Monday. The decline has left stocks in the United States firmly in a bear market -- a term that signifies a decline of 20 percent from the most recent highs. For the Dow Jones industrial average, the drop of 10 percent was also its worst since the 1987 stock market crash." ~~~

~~~ Pippa Stevens & Fred Imbert of CNBC: ";The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10%, posting its largest one-day percentage drop since the October 1987 crash. That day, the Dow collapsed by more than 22%. The S&P 500 joined the Dow in closing Thursday's session squarely in a bear market, down more than 20% from the all-time highs set just a month ago. The indexes also ended an 11-year bull run, the longest on record. It took the Dow just 19 trading days fall from a record high into a bear market. The S&P 500′s move was even swifter, taking the broad index just 16 trading days to tumble into a bear market. Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group, said the economic damage is 'deep and profound' and that 'until we get to spring time when hopefully this goes away, we as investors are all flying blind.' The Federal Reserve announced extraordinary funding actions of more than $1 trillion to ease strained capital markets in the wake of the coronavirus sell-off. The news gave stocks a brief boost before they headed lower again."

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Maybe it isn't a coincidence that the markets crash when a Republican is president: 1929, 1987, 2008, 2019. This time an "adjustment" was inevitable, but Trump's indifference & incompetence was the immediate cause for the past week's tumble. BTW, Mr. Bleakley there, with his brilliant belief that the virus will "hopefully go away in the spring, tra la," is suffering from a severe case of festering Trumpophilia.

Mike Stobbe & Matthew Perrone of the AP: "The U.S. lag in coronavirus testing is 'a failing,' a top federal health official said Thursday, and public health experts say they still don't have a good understanding of how widely the new virus has spread. The effort initially was hobbled by delays in getting testing kits out to public health labs, but the stumbles have continued, leading scientists to conclude that the virus has already spread far wider than government officials are reporting. U.S. health officials, for example, promised nearly a month ago to tap into a national network of labs that monitor for flu. That system is only just getting started. On Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health agreed that the U.S. needs to improve how it's testing. 'The system is not really geared to what we need right now,' he said. 'That is a failing. It is a failing, let's admit it.'"

Eric Levitz of New York: "In response to this mounting [pandemic] crisis, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called on Congress to waste no time in commencing its previously planned vacation.... McConnell insisted that the Senate would not pass any legislation addressing the coronavirus emergency until it took a seven-day breather.... Hours later, however, McConnell changed course. After calls from multiple Senate Republicans to cancel the impending recess, the Senate Majority Leader announced that his caucus would work through next week on compromise legislation.... Even [if going ahead with the recess was] a bluff, McConnell's stance was insane. It's hard to imagine a more politically toxic talking point than, 'Democrats may want to take immediate action on this public health emergency, but the Republican Party believes it is entitled to a weeklong break before tackling such a demanding project.'"

Mrs. McCrabbie: Joe Biden just gave a speech on what is needed to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The contrast between Biden's remarks with Trump's robotic teleprompter performance last night was jarring. Biden's speech was fairly perfect. I hope Trump watched to get a glimpse of what it means to "be presidential." ~~~

** Washington Post Breaking News: "A Brazilian official who met President Trump and Vice President Pence at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday has tested positive for coronavirus. Fabio Wajngarten, a spokesman for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, tested positive for covid-19, Brazilian officials said. Wajngarten stood next to Trump and Pence, a photograph taken in Florida shows. Trump said he 'isn't concerned' about the development, according to a White House pool report." (From the WashPo's live updates for today.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump may be trying to pin the severity of the coronavirus pandemic on pence, but Mother pence has brought the calico curtains down from the attic & is embroidering "25th Amendment" into the hems.

Lucy Bayly of NBC News: "The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 2,000 points Thursday morning after ... Donald Trump's long-awaited response to the coronavirus epidemic triggered a massive sell-off on Wall Street. The S&P 500 plunged by 7 percent, triggering a circuit breaker, which halts all trading on the New York Stock Exchange for 15 minutes. All three major averages sank after Trump's Oval Office address Wednesday night failed to satisfy traders who were hoping for more concrete steps to allay any economic slowdown from the viral outbreak."

Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that there has been 'irresponsible rhetoric' from people who have downplayed the seriousness of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak. In an interview on the 'Today' show, Savannah Guthrie asked what message Pence sends to people who aren't afraid of the coronavirus and think it's just politics and hype, quoting from ... Donald Trump who said on Monday that the 'fake news media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything to inflame the coronavirus situation.' 'There's been some irresponsible rhetoric, but the American people should know President Trump has no higher priority than the health and safety and well being of the people of this country,' Pence said in response but it was not clear who he was referring to."

The Unflappable Nancy Pelosi. Heather Caygle & John Bresnahan of Politico: "... for all Trump's omnipresence on Twitter and cable TV, [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi remains the dominant figure on Capitol Hill when it comes time to actually getting something accomplished.... The [coronavirus] episode plays to her strengths as the longtime Democratic leader: Figure out your goals, move quickly, and build your support on the fly, while always keeping your eye on the magic 218-vote number. The sheer variety of national emergencies Pelosi has faced during her 17 years as House Democratic leader is stunning, and represents the turbulent nature of 21st century American life -- Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 financial crisis, the federal government shutdowns of 2013 and 2018-19, and Trump's recent impeachment, are among the highlights.... 'I've gone through a number of these crises with her as the leader and she is unflappable,' said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). 'The last thing we need is some kind of a hot-headed leader trying to figure out what we can do to hurt the other side,' he added. 'She don't play that game.'"

Sarah Ferris, et al., of Politico: "The U.S. Capitol will cease all public tours through at least the end of March amid mounting fears of a widespread coronavirus outbreak, according to multiple people familiar with the decision. Speaker Nancy Pelosi informed members of the decision in a Wednesday afternoon meeting, which is intended to help prevent the spread of the virus across the sprawling Capitol campus, where many senior-aged lawmakers are already at higher risk. The restriction applies to all tours -- public, staff-led and member-led. By the end of the week, the Capitol complex will be restricted to official business only, people familiar with the decision said. The move -- which was made jointly by congressional leaders, Capitol security officials and medical staff -- comes amid mounting pressure from lawmakers and aides to restrict public access to the building."

Gary Fineout of Politico: "Joe Biden is in line to deliver a knockout punch to Bernie Sanders in Florida in Tuesday's Democratic primary, according to a new poll that gives the former vice president a staggering 44-point lead over his opponent. Biden is lapping Sanders in voter support, with support from 66 percent of likely Democratic primary voters to 22 percent for Sanders, according to a University of North Florida poll taken March 5-10."

~~~~~~~~~~

Travel Bans Я Us. Washington Post Breaking News: "In a Wednesday evening national address, President Trump announced [a] ban on travel between U.S. and Europe for 30 days, beginning Friday at midnight. The ban will not include travel to and from the United Kingdom. The president said he is directing the Small Business Administration to provide low-interest loans to affected small businesses, and calling on Congress to increase funding for this program by an additional $50 billion, and to provide 'immediate payroll tax relief.' He is also instructing the Treasury Department to defer tax payments without interest or penalties for certain individuals and businesses that have been impacted." An NBC News report is here. You can watch Trump deliver the address in a montone here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Worth noting: the U.K. has a higher number of coronavirus cases than the majority of European countries. But Anglo-Saxon, ~~~

~~~ AND. Laura McGann of Vox: "President Trump just used the powerful symbol of his office to attempt to divide us. Seated behind his desk in the White House Wednesday, Trump looked into the camera and warned Americans of an enemy who has infiltrated our borders. We are at war, he said, with a 'foreign virus.'... When he should have been calling on Americans to come together, he attempted to make us afraid of all of Europe.... Linking outsiders to germs, of course ... [has] been part of many dark chapters in world history.... And Trump's big announcement ignores the fact that the virus is already in the United States, spreading locally.... Medical experts reacted critically to Trump's ban by pointing out that it ignores the work that really needs to be done, such as testing to assess the full scale of the crisis and mass communication with the public about how to prevent the spread." ~~~

~~~ Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "The President's reference to the virus as 'foreign' echoes a tweet he shared earlier this week promoting a US southern-border wall as a way to protect Americans from the 'China Virus.' Trump, adding his own comment to the tweet, said, 'Going up fast. We need the Wall more than ever!' The post was met with fierce pushback from critics, including Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden, who tweeted, 'A wall won't stop a virus. Racism won't stop a virus. Do your job.'" ~~~

~~~ AND a Xenophobia Dividend for Trump. Ryan Heath of Politico: "... Donald Trump's new European travel restrictions have a convenient side effect: They exempt nations where three Trump-owned golf resorts are located." ~~~

~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump on Wednesday night blocked most visitors from continental Europe to the United States and vowed emergency aid to workers and small businesses as the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic, stock markets plunged further and millions of people cut themselves off from their regular lives. In a prime-time address from the Oval Office, Mr. Trump outlined a series of measures intended to tackle the virus and its economic impact as he sought to reassure Americans that he was taking the crisis seriously after previously playing down the scope of the outbreak. He said he would halt travelers from Europe other than Britain for 30 days and asked Congress to support measures like a payroll tax cut. 'The virus will not have a chance against us,' Mr. Trump declared in his 10-minute speech, reading from a teleprompter in an uncharacteristic monotone." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This was as close to a hostage video as you'll witness a president* give. The guys with the guns surely were just off-camera. As far as the virus "not having a chance against us," Trump is depending on the kindness of strangers. Beating the coronavirus depends upon all Americans acting responsibly & making life-altering sacrifices. Yet Trump has trained his lemmings to follow his example of criminal self-interest. Are they now to turn around and become model citizens, often at great personal cost, while Trump swans around preceded by a band of servants bearing sanitary wipes? I don't think so. It isn't just that Trump has fucked up management of the official coronavirus response; he also has created an environment in which members of his "base" are ever-more disinclined to do their unofficial part. ~~~

~~~ Yo, Trump: No Country Is an Island. And that includes Australia, which looks a lot like an island. but where Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson, who are visiting the country, have announced they tested positive (because people can get tested there) for Covid-19. Both Hanks & Wilson are over 60 years old.

Jonathan Chait: “... Trump revealed in his Oval Office speech that he does not comprehend the most basic facts. Trump's speech had no mention of the central problem..., which is the lack of a functioning testing regime. Having falsely promised on Friday that everybody who currently wants a test can get one, Trump simply ignored the question altogether.... While he did urge the audience to wash their hands, he likewise ignored the question of public gatherings, which is being resolved without any apparent input from the administration.... His primary public health gesture was the announcement of a travel ban from Europe. The explanation for this measure was terrifyingly ignorant. 'We have seen fewer cases of the virus than are now present in Europe,' he boasted. This may not even be true. (It is possible that the U.S. only knows about fewer cases because of its atrocious testing regime.)... Perhaps most astonishingly, the White House had to retract two policy announcements that Trump erroneously made.... Trump announced his European travel ban would apply to 'trade and cargo,' before the White House announced this was an error. Trump also told his audience, 'I met with the leaders of health insurance industry who have agreed to waive all co-payments for coronavirus treatments, extend insurance coverage to these treatments and to prevent surprise medical billing.' The Insurance Industry quickly announced it had only agreed to cover testing, not treatment, for the coronavirus."

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments are here. A few "highlights" as of 8 am ET: "The European Commission, the governing body of the European Union, issued a scathing statement condemning [Trump's travel ban]. 'The coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action,' it said. 'The European Union disapproves of the fact that the U.S. decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation.'... Tens of thousands of Americans in Europe scrambled to figure out what they needed to do before the 30-day travel ban goes into effect on Friday, many unclear on the scope of the ban and worried that their flights home would be canceled.... The coronavirus is increasingly altering American life, as churches shut their doors, large gatherings in some regions are forbidden and the N.B.A. suspended the rest of its season...." ~~~

~~~ The Guardian's live updates are here.

Fred Imbert & Thomas Franck of CNBC (at about 8 am ET): "Futures contracts tied to the major U.S. stock indexes dove early Thursday after an address from ... Donald Trump failed to quell concerns over the possible economic slowdown from the coronavirus. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial average, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 all traded at the so-called limit down threshold, off by 5%. Dow futures implied a loss of more than 1,100 points at the open. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500, was down more than 5% in the premarket."

Robert Costa, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump, in an explosive tirade Monday, urged Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to encourage Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell to do more to stimulate the economy, three officials familiar with the exchange said, revealing the president's mounting fury as his administration struggles to corral economic fallout from the novel coronavirus.... During that tense Monday meeting in the Oval Office, Trump fumed that Powell never should have been appointed and is damaging the nation and his presidency. He then told Mnuchin, who had encouraged Trump to nominate Powell in 2017, to engage with the chair and ask him to take more dramatic steps to arrest the stock market's plummet.... Trump's ... also suggested to other officials that they call the Fed chair and ask him to consider further interest rate cuts, the officials said.... Trump has blamed Powell in the past for the stock market's poor performance, [for instance,] in 2018, when it was sliding because of anxiety about Trump's trade war with China...." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: To take a trip down memory lane, let us recall that Trump appointed Powell after he fired Janet Yellin because she was too short to lead the Fed. Of course, Trump would be blaming Yellin now for not doing the same things Powell is not doing. AND ~~~

~~~ Asawin Suebsaeng & Sam Brodey of the Daily Beast: "... negotiations around ... a [coronavirus economic] package have been complicated by the fact that ... Donald Trump can't stand the idea of negotiating one-on-one with ... Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Indeed, he suspects that she would use the moment to try to humiliate him. Two senior Trump administration officials described a president who, out of an intense bitterness toward the House Speaker, has shuddered at the prospect of being in the same room with her.... Instead, Trump has deputized some of his more prominent lieutenants to handle the delicate negotiations. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, in particular, has emerged as one of the administration's top envoys to Capitol Hill.... The president and the Speaker have not spoken at all in recent days, according to her office. The president has also not spoken to Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), according to his office." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Instead of listening to Trump's proposals to help himself & his friends, Democrats should force Republicans to use this crisis as an opportunity to pass legislation guaranteeing paid sick leave for all workers. ~~~

     ~~~ BUT. Dave Jamieson of the Huffington Post: "Democrats hoping to pass an emergency paid sick leave bill to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus were stymied by Senate Republicans on Wednesday. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) tried to speed the measure up for a vote on the Senate floor through a procedural maneuver, but an objection from Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) prevented the bill from bypassing the Republican-controlled health committee.... Although the bill is bottled up for now, Democrats could try to attach the measure to another legislative package aimed at dealing with the virus. Democrats proposed the emergency legislation in both chambers last week." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Cristina Marcos & Mike Lillis of the Hill: "House Democrats late Wednesday night introduced emergency legislation to help reduce the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak by providing financial backing to those most immediately affected, including an expansion of paid sick leave and unemployment benefits. A vote is expected Thursday, just before lawmakers leave Washington for a previously scheduled week-long recess. The bill is expected to pass easily through the House, though it remains unclear when -- or if -- the Republican-controlled Senate will take it up.... The legislation largely mirrors the principles laid out by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) earlier this week to ensure paid sick leave for all workers, bolster unemployment insurance, guarantee free coronavirus testing and expand federal food assistance for low-income families and children." Mrs. McC: Funny, innit, how the "do-nothing" Democrats are able to write, introduce & presumably pass effective legislation while Republicans, uh, do nothing but obstruct?

~~~ Anita Kumar of the Washington Post (March 11 @ 4:10 pm ET): "... Donald Trump is reluctant to declare an expansive emergency to combat the escalating coronavirus outbreak, fearful of stoking panic with such a dramatic step, according to three people familiar with the situation. Instead, the president is expected to sign within days what the White House calls a more limited designation to allow the federal government to cover small business loans, paychecks for hourly workers and delay tax bills, giving him a way to begin boosting the economy without waiting for Congress to sign off on an economic stimulus package.... There's no deadline for a decision, but one of the people familiar with the talks said Trump's aides will not give the president a final verdict until Jared Kushner ... talks to relevant parties and presents his findings to the president." Mrs. McC: Oh, great. ~~~

~~~ "It's All up to Jared Now." Kevin Drum of Mother Jones: "We are doomed.... And the 'final verdict' rests on the shoulders of Jared Kushner, who hasn't proven himself competent at anything over the past three years, let alone matters of infectious disease control."

Ben Winck of Business Insider: "US stocks slid on Wednesday as investors mulled the timeline for the White House's stimulus measures in response to the coronavirus outbreak. All three major indexes tanked roughly 5%, erasing gains made during Tuesday's rebound. The drop ushered in another day of heightened volatility from coronavirus risks and the escalating oil-market war between Russia and Saudi Arabia.... The Dow Jones industrial average slid into a bear market -- or a more than 20% decline from its February 19 high -- ending the equity benchmark's longest period of expansion. Here's where major US indexes closed on Wednesday: S&P 500: 2,741.38, down 4.9%[;] Dow Jones industrial average: 23,553.53, down 5.9% (1,465 points)[;] Nasdaq composite: 7,952.05, down 4.7%[.]"

Jamie Ducharme of Time: "The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic, pointing to the over 118,000 cases of the coronavirus illness in over 110 countries and territories around the world and the sustained risk of further global spread. 'This is not just a public health crisis, it is a crisis that will touch every sector,' said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, at a media briefing. 'So every sector and every individual must be involved in the fights.' An epidemic refers to an uptick in the spread of a disease within a specific community. By contrast, the WHO defines a pandemic as global spread of a new disease, though the specific threshold for meeting that criteria is fuzzy." (Also linked yesterday.)

David Nakamura, et al., of the Washington Post: "Big cities are moving to shut down large public gatherings to protect against the coronavirus, but President Trump is scheduled to depart Washington on Thursday for a three-day visit to Las Vegas, where he will deliver remarks to an estimated crowd of 1,500 at the Republican Jewish Coalition national meeting. Conference organizers and the city's elected officials said the event is a go even though about one-quarter of those who signed up for the conference have dropped out. High-profile speakers, including former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, remain on the agenda. And Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are speaking at a preconference dinner with prominent Jewish Republicans on Thursday evening." Mrs. McC: I'm guessing members of the Republican Jewish Coalition are mostly elderly people from New Rochelle.

     ~~~ Update: According to MSNBC, the White House cancelled this event late Wednesday night.

Quint Forgey & Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "The nation's top health officials cautioned Wednesday that the U.S. will see more coronavirus cases as the domestic outbreak spreads, a stark warning that comes as Congress looks to head off the outbreak's economic impact and global health organizations declare it a full-blown pandemic. More than 1,000 people in the U.S. have already been diagnosed with the coronavirus in 38 states, leaving at least 29 people dead. But Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told members of the House Oversight Committee that 'we will see more cases, and things will get worse. How much worse ... will depend on our ability to do two things: to contain the influx in people who are infected coming from the outside and the ability to contain and mitigate within our own country,' Fauci said.... Fauci ... not[ed] that it's 10 times more lethal than influenza, which kills nearly .01* percent of Americans who get it each year." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ * Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Blake (linked immediately below) cites this figure at 0.1 percent. I thought I'd better listen to the tape, which is here. Blake is right. So the common flu is ten times as bad as Politico reports, making the projected coronavirus mortality rate ten times as great, too. But still, only one percent (for coronavirus) by that calculation. However, it's worth noting that since older people & those with underlying health issues are more likely to contract coronavirus, the percentage of mortality in the elderly/ill population will be higher than that for the entire population. Update: AND, as Victoria pointed out at the end of yesterday's thread, the mortality rate for this at-risk population is higher than for the general population.

     ~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Over and over again [during his testimony, Anthony Fauci] differed with President Trump’s talking points that play down the threat posed by the novel coronavirus, and he even differed with decisions Trump has made." Blake goes over a list of where Fauci's testimony disagreed with Trump's ignorant pronouncements. "... what Fauci said puts Trump in a box. Now when he trots out assertions such as the flu comparison, Fauci's comments will be right there as a counterpoint from a true health expert." Worth a read. ~~~

     ~~~ Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "During a House Oversight Committee hearing on the virus, Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) tried to get Dr. Anthony Fauci ... to say that the media was overhyping the dangers posed by the coronavirus." Cloud's attempt backfired, big-time. Includes video of the exchange. Mrs. McC: Cloud's questions are a good barometer of how right-wing media have so imbued even members of Congress, who should be capable of grasping an existential crisis occurring on their watch, that -- like Trump -- they have no idea of what's going on.

~~~ Noah Higgins-Dunn & Berkeley Lovelace of CNBC: "... Donald Trump has summoned top U.S. health officials to an emergency meeting at the White House Wednesday morning, cutting a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill short, said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. 'This morning we were informed that President Trump and Vice President Pence have called our witnesses to an emergency meeting at the White House. We don't know the details, just that it's extremely urgent,' Maloney, D-NY, said before opening a hearing on the nation's preparedness and response to the coronavirus outbreak that has swept across the nation." Mrs. McC: That's one way to muzzle top government health experts. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Update. AND Here's the CYA Move. Aram Roston & Melissa Taylor of Reuters: "The White House has ordered federal health officials to treat top-level coronavirus meetings as classified, an unusual step that has restricted information and hampered the U.S. government's response to the contagion, according to four Trump administration officials." Mrs. McC: So we'll never know if Wednesday's meeting had a purpose other than to shorten the Congressional hearing. The officials said that dozens of classified discussions about such topics as the scope of infections, quarantines and travel restrictions have been held since mid-January in a high-security meeting room at the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), a key player in the fight against the coronavirus. Staffers without security clearances, including government experts, were excluded from the interagency meetings, which included video conference calls, the sources said. 'We had some very critical people who did not have security clearances who could not go,' one official said. 'These should not be classified meetings. It was unnecessary.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha

Jeremy Peters & Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "Sean Hannity used his syndicated talk-radio program on Wednesday to share a prediction he had found on Twitter about what is really happening with the coronavirus: It's a' fraud' by the deep state to spread panic in the populace, manipulate the economy and suppress dissent. 'May be true,' Mr. Hannity declared to millions of listeners around the country. As the coronavirus spreads around the globe, denial and disinformation about the risks are proliferating on media outlets popular with conservatives. 'This coronavirus?' Rush Limbaugh asked skeptically during his Wednesday program, suggesting it was all a plot hatched by the Chinese. 'Nothing like wiping out the entire U.S. economy with a biothreat from China, is there?' he said. The Fox Business anchor Trish Regan told viewers on Monday that the worry over coronavirus 'is yet another attempt to impeach the president.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I was wondering what "expert" Hannity found to assert coronavirus was a deep-state fraud. Well, as the "expert" describes himself on his Twitter account, his name is Shiva Ayyadurai, and part of his "name" is "MIT Ph.D. Inventor of Email." It turns out Ayyandurai does have several degrees from MIT, including a Ph.D. But you probably won't be surprised to learn he did not "invent email." Plus, I always look forward to meeting people who introduce themselves by boasting about their real & invented accomplishments from several decades past.

Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post: "... now the mind-meld of Fox News and Trump is potentially lethal as Trump plays down the seriousness of the coronavirus and, hearing nothing but applause from his favorite information source for doing so, sees little reason to change. There's one person who could transform all that in an instant: Fox founder Rupert Murdoch, the Australian-born media mogul who, at 89, still exerts his influence on the leading cable network -- and thus on the president himself.... Imagine if Murdoch ordered the network to end its habit of praising him as if he were the Dear Leader of an authoritarian regime and to instead use its influence to drive home the seriousness of the moment."

Presidential Race

Julia Manchester & Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "The coronavirus outbreak is hitting the presidential campaigns hard, forcing the cancelation of rallies and campaign events, and forcing a Sunday debate between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders to play out before a nearly empty arena. The outbreak is canceling sporting events, closing schools and sending workers home, and it may also pose a challenge to the signature rallies of President Trump, who so far has insisted he will move forward with campaign appearances as he seeks to project confidence in his administration's handling of the virus.... [BUT] On Wednesday, the White House announced that Trump would cancel events scheduled for this weekend in Colorado and Nevada 'out of an abundance of caution' due to the coronavirus outbreak. Trump was expected to attend fundraisers and speak at the Republican Jewish Coalition conference on the trip." AND ~~~

~~~ Matthew Choi of Politico: "... Donald Trump late Wednesday canceled campaign events in Colorado, Nevada and Wisconsin as coronavirus infections spread across the country. 'Out of an abundance of caution from the Coronavirus outbreak, the President has decided to cancel his upcoming events in Colorado and Nevada,' White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement. Tim Murtaugh, director of communications for the Trump reelection campaign, later tweeted that Trump would also not make it to a Catholics for Trump event on March 19 in Milwaukee. Murtaugh cited an 'abundance of caution because of the coronavirus outbreak,' and said that it would be rescheduled."

(If the video doesn't start at 6:54 min. in for you, start it there):

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This is how you accept your own defeat but not the defeat of your platform.

~~~ Sydney Ember, et al., of the New York Times: "Senator Bernie Sanders said on Wednesday that he was continuing his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination despite suffering big primary losses this week, and that he planned to attend the scheduled debate on Sunday against former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Mr. Sanders, appearing at an afternoon news conference here, said he was not quitting the race and wanted to debate Mr. Biden, who handily defeated Mr. Sanders in four states on Tuesday." Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) cancelled a vote scheduled for Wednesday afternoon on a subpoena stemming from his months-long probe into Hunter Biden and Burisma Holdings. 'Out of an abundance of caution, and to allow time for you to receive additional briefings, I will postpone a vote to subpoena records and an appearance from former Blue Star Strategies consultant Andrii Telizhenko about his work for the lobbying firm,' Johnson said in a note to committee members...." (Also linked yesterday.)


Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the Trump administration may continue its 'Remain in Mexico' policy for asylum seekers while lower-court challenges continue, after the federal government warned that tens of thousands of immigrants amassed at the southern border could overwhelm the immigration system. The justices reversed a decision of a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that had ordered the policy be suspended Thursday along parts of the border. As is usual in emergency rulings, the court's unsigned, one-paragraph order did not provide the majority's reasoning. Only Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted her dissent."

Chris Francescani & Aaron Katersky of ABC News: "Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years on sex crime convictions in New York on Wednesday. That sentence includes 20 years for criminal sexual assault in the first degree, which stems from an accusation from former "Project Runway" production assistant Mimi Haley, and three years for rape in the third degree, which stems from an accusation from Jessica Mann, who is now being named by ABC News as she told the district attorney's office after a verdict was reached she does not object to being named publicly. The sentences are set to run consecutively." (Also linked yesterday.) The Washington Post's story is here.

Betsy Swan & Spencer Ackerman of the Daily Beast: "Chelsea Manning tried to take her life on March 11, her legal team told The Daily Beast. 'She was taken to a hospital and is currently recovering,' said the statement from her legal team.... Manning is still set to appear in court for a hearing on Friday, where a federal judge will rule on a motion to terminate civil contempt sanctions against her."

@Hattie: To write in the Comments section, "Trump tested positive for Covfefe-19," you have to type "<b>Trump</b> tested positive for <i>Covfefe-19</i>." This is true no matter what device you're using.

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