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.”

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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


Tuesday
Mar102020

The Commentariat -- March 11, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

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."

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."

Mrs. McCrabbie: Bernie Sanders just made a remarkable speech. I'll post a video of it when one becomes available. I swear Bernie is the finest human being I ever didn't want to win the nomination. Joe Biden is a fine person, too, but he's no Bernie (and I didn't want Joe to win the nomination, either). Here we go (if the video doesn't start at 6:54 min. in for you, start it there):

     ~~~ 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.

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...."

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."

Fred Imbert of CNBC: "Stocks plummeted on Wednesday in another volatile session as Wall Street worried about a possible fiscal stimulus package aimed at curbing slower economic growth due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 850 points lower, or more than 3%. The S&P 500 slid 3% while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.7%."

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. ~~~

~~~ 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.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times' live election results for the Democratic presidential nomination are here. ABC News' live updates are here. The Guardian's liveblog of the election & related developments is here.

Alexander Burns & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Joseph R. Biden Jr. took command of the Democratic presidential race in decisive fashion on Tuesday, marshaling a powerful multiracial coalition in the South and the Midwest that swept aside Senator Bernie Sanders and completed Mr. Biden's rapid transformation from a sometimes-fumbling underdog into his party's likely nominee. Replicating the combination of voters that delivered him broad victories a week ago on Super Tuesday, Mr. Biden won Michigan, Missouri and Mississippi with overwhelming support from African-Americans and with large margins among suburban and rural white voters. Mr. Biden was also named the winner in Idaho, leaving little doubt by the end of the night that Mr. Sanders had lost his recent status as the progressive front-runner in a race defined for months by feuding and factionalism on the moderate wing of the Democratic Party. North Dakota and Washington remained too close to call early Wednesday morning.... Addressing supporters Tuesday night in Philadelphia, in a tone that was more sober than celebratory, Mr. Biden said voters had put him 'a step closer to restoring decency, dignity and honor to the White House' and moved to unify the party with an appeal to supporters of Mr. Sanders. 'We share a common goal,' Mr. Biden said, 'and together we'll defeat Donald Trump.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Marty Johnson of the Hill: "Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) defeated former Vice President Joe Biden in the North Dakota Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday, prevailing in a state he had also won in 2016. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Sanders received 53 percent of the vote, while Biden got just under 40 percent. North Dakota awards 14 pledged delegates, tying Wyoming for hosting the smallest nominating race in the continental United States." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: What a pathetic, inglorious end to a drama that began with at least a dozen candidates better-suited to go one-on-one with Trump and to handle the rigors of the presidency.

Bernie Sanders went home to Vermont & did not speak Tuesday night, according to MSNBC election anchors.

Zach Montellaro of Politico: "The Democratic National Committee says this Sunday's debate between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders in Phoenix will be held without an audience over concerns about the spreading coronavirus. DNC communications director Xochitl Hinojosa said the decision was made "at the request of both campaigns and out of an abundance of caution."

Jacob Pramuk of CNBC: "Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden's presidential campaigns canceled rallies set for Cleveland on Tuesday night due to coronavirus concerns, the first disruptions the outbreak has caused in the 2020 Democratic primary. In separate announcements, the Democratic presidential contenders' campaigns said they exercised caution about holding large public gatherings after hearing guidance from public health officials." Mrs. McC: At the top of his victory speech, Biden said that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) had called both campaigns to request that they not hold rallies in Cleveland because of the virus.

Bo Erickson of CBS News: "Joe Biden had a heated exchange with a construction worker who accused him of trying to take Americans' guns away during a campaign stop in Michigan.... The former vice president was touring an assembly plant under construction for Fiat Chrysler, shaking hands with and praising the electrical workers union members who are building the plant.... 'You are actively trying to end our Second Amendment right and take away our guns, [a] worker told Biden. Biden replied: 'You're full of sh[it].'" The argument went on, & Biden urged the worker, "Don't be such a horse's ass." Here's the conversation, with subtitles, between Biden & the horse's ass:

Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "With Biden emerging as the likely Democratic nominee, Trump has launched a concerted, near-daily campaign to raise doubts about the 77-year-old's mental acuity. The president has been bolstered by a conservative echo chamber flooding social media with video clips highlighting Biden's gaffes. The effort provides a window into how Trump -- who's been dogged by questions about his own mental fitness -- regularly picks apart his political opponents. He has an unmatched ability to zero in on his foe's biggest vulnerability or insecurity, and through sheer repetition bake it into the public consciousness. Unfortunately for Biden, his performance on the campaign trail has given Trump plenty to work with." (Also linked yesterday.)

Justin Wise of the Hill: "Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Ct.) is requesting an investigation into a group of executive branch agencies that are cooperating or considering cooperating with congressional probes into Hunter Biden and his work related to the Ukrainian gas company Burisma. In a letter sent to the inspectors general at the National Archives, State Department, Treasury Department and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Murphy expressed concern that the agencies are being 'weaponized' by President Trump to hurt his political opponents. He argued that the same agencies refused to cooperate with 'legitimate congressional investigations' into Trump, including ones focused on bringing articles of impeachment against the president."

Senate Races

Alabama. James Arkin of Politico: "... Donald Trump spurned Jeff Sessions and endorsed Tommy Tuberville in the Alabama Senate race Tuesday, an enormous blow to Trump's former attorney general, whom he had excoriated for recusing from the Justice Department's Russia investigation. The endorsement of Tuberville is a major boost for the former Auburn University football coach three weeks before the primary runoff between the two Republicans. Tuberville earned the top spot in last week's primary, narrowly edging out Sessions but falling well short of the 50 percent of the vote needed to avoid a runoff."

Mississippi. Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "Mike Espy won the Senate Democratic primary in Mississippi on Tuesday, setting up a rematch from 2018 with Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R). Espy, a former agriculture secretary and congressman, beat out fellow Democrats Jensen Bohren and Tobey Bartee for the chance to take on Hyde-Smith in November. Espy garnered more than 92 percent of the vote with just over 50 percent of precincts reporting."


Life in the Time of Coronavirus. Sarah Nir & Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "The National Guard will move in [to New Rochelle, N.Y.]. Schools, churches and synagogues will be shut down. Large indoor gatherings will be officially banned. The sights and rituals of life in this New York City suburb, which had already been altered, took an eerie turn on Tuesday when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced a drastic new step to try to control the spread of the coronavirus in the largest cluster in the United States. State officials created a one-mile radius 'containment area' in New Rochelle, in Westchester County, a move that echoed measures taken in other health crises. The midpoint of the zone was a synagogue that is at the center of the state's worst outbreak."

Sarah Jones of New York: "The story COVID-19 tells about America is an ugly one. There is a class war, and the rich are winning."

Chandelis Duster of CNN: "The Treasury Department is considering extending the April 15 tax filing deadline to curb the financial impact of coronavirus on American households and businesses, according to The Wall Street Journal. A decision on the extension or details on how it would work have not been finalized, the paper reported Tuesday night...."

Dawn Kopecki, et al., of CNBC: "... a top CDC official ... Monday recommend[ed] that people over 60 and anyone with chronic medical conditions buckle down for a lengthy stay home. 'This virus is capable of spreading easily and sustainably from person to person ... and there's essentially no immunity against this virus in the population,' Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters on a conference call, citing World Health Organization data that studied more than 70,000 cases in China.... Most people won't develop serious symptoms, but 15% to 20% of the people who are exposed to the virus get severely sick, she said.... The odds of developing COVID-19 increase with age, starting at age 60. It's especially lethal for people over 80.... The CDC is recommending people with underlying conditions or who are over 60 to stock up on medications, household items and groceries to stay at home 'for a period of time,' she said." Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday.)

Fred Imbert, et al., of CNBC: "Stocks rose sharply in wild trading on Tuesday as investors weighed the prospects of fiscal stimulus to curb slower economic growth stemming from the coronavirus outbreak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1,167.14 points higher, or 4.9%, at 25,018.16. Tuesday's gains for the Dow cut the index's losses from Monday in half. Earlier in the day, the 30-stock average was down 160 points. The S&P 500 was up 4.9% at 2,882.23, notching its best day since Dec. 26, 2018. The Nasdaq Composite also advanced 4.9% to 8,347.40." (This is an update of a story linked yesterday.)

New York Times live market updates: "Buyers moved back into the markets on Tuesday, a day after the coronavirus and a battle among the world's biggest oil producers shook the global financial scene. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose more than 2 percent, rebounding from its steepest decline in more than a decade. European stocks also climbed, with many indexes more than 2 percent higher and Asian markets rose as well. Stocks were somewhat buoyed after President Trump on Monday night said he would work with Congress on measures to help the economy amid signs of a worsening outbreak in the United States, including a potential payroll tax cut." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Yes, but what if Trump made an empty promise about taking substantive measures to mitigate the economic impact of the virus? ~~~

~~~ Eamon Javers & Mike Calia of CNBC: "The White House is not ready to roll out specific economic proposals in its response to the widening impact of the coronavirus outbreak, administration officials told CNBC. The revelation comes as U.S. stock futures pointed toward a sharp rebound at the open Tuesday following the Dow's 2,013-point drop Monday and ... Donald Trump's suggestion that a payroll tax cut and other stimulus measures may be in the works to mitigate economic damage from the virus' spread. Trump has also invited Wall Street executives to meet at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the response. However, inside the administration, some officials were stunned by Trump's claim Monday that he would hold a press conference Tuesday to announce an economic plan. 'That was news to everyone on the inside,' one official said. The actual details of any plan remain up in the air. 'It's not there right now,' an official said. 'A lot of details need to be worked out.' The president's schedule for Tuesday includes a 5:30 p.m. ET media briefing for his coronavirus task force." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ So Then. Erica Werner, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump's meeting with Senate Republicans on Tuesday ended without any concrete plan for crafting an economic package that might address the turmoil caused by the coronavirus epidemic, sparking fears that policy makers are far apart on how to deal with growing concerns that the U.S. could enter a recession. At the meeting, Trump discussed his proposal to extend a temporary payroll tax cut for a period of months. Some lawmakers also discussed the idea of targeted infrastructure spending. Both ideas could be used to try and flood the economy with more cash, but there was not a consensus over how to proceed.... Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has privately told several allies in recent days he personally opposes the payroll tax cut idea Trump has endorsed.... And House Democrats are busily assembling their own package.... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) have also been dismissive of the payroll tax cut idea, saying they were focused on addressing the coronavirus specifically. Top House Democrats said Tuesday they planned to move as soon as this week on a relief package that narrowly targeted individuals and families affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The measures floated by Pelosi and other leaders included an expansion of unemployment insurance, food stamps and other public assistance programs as well as allowing for greater sick and family leave." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Uh, no "press conference Tuesday to announce an economic plan." ~~~

~~~ Eamon Javers & Mike Calia of CNBC: "... Donald Trump, in a meeting with Republican lawmakers Tuesday on Capitol Hill, pitched a 0% payroll tax rate for employers and employees that would last through the rest of this year, a White House official told CNBC. There was also discussion of making the payroll tax rollback permanent, said the official, who declined to be named. Payroll taxes are used to fund Medicare and Social Security." Mrs. McC: Sounds as if the Trump "plan" is to eradicate Social Security & Medicare.

Jonathan Chait: "[Monday] evening, President Trump held a press conference and announced he would soon unveil an aggressive plan to head off a recession. 'I will be here tomorrow afternoon,' he promised, 'to let you know about some of the economic steps we're taking, which will be major.'... At his press conference, Trump mentioned a few possibilities for what this package might include. One item is a bailout for owners of hotels.... By the way, did you know that the Trump Organization is in the hotel field?" ~~~

~~~ AND, as Chait also points out, there's this: Jeff Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "The White House is strongly considering pushing federal assistance for oil and natural gas producers hit by plummeting oil prices amid the coronavirus outbreak, as industry officials close to the administration clamor for help, according to four people familiar with internal deliberations.... One of the companies hardest hit was Continental Resources, founded by Harold Hamm, a Trump supporter and an adviser to the president on energy issues." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: We've been assuming that Trump can't do too much to help himself & his avaricious friends without Congressional approval. But Covid-19 is by nearly everyone's (except Trump's!) definition of a national emergency. A president* has a lot of power to take extraordinary, counter-Constitutional steps during an emergency. So (1) even if eliminating the FICA tax is an ineffective way to help Americans most vulnerable to economic fallout from the virus & (2) even if it guts the Social Security & Medicare funds & (3) even if it normally requires an act of Congress, Trump can probably just do it. And wouldn't he love to have a fight like that: "I'm lowering your taxes! In your time of need! Democrats are fighting me!" FICA is 7.65 percent of gross salary (more if you earn more than $200K). Very few Americans would be unhappy if the president* made the tax go poof. AND, as Chait points out, Trump's pitch to GOP senators was to eliminate the payroll tax "through the November elections." (I don't know if Trump's "plan" is to eliminate the portion of FICA paid by employers -- which is equal to the portion paid by employees. Trump may not know either.)

It hit the world, we are prepared and doing a great job with it. It will go away. Just stay calm, it will go away. -- Donald Trump, in remarks Tuesday

Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump confronted one of the most perilous days of his presidency Monday by first erupting in a barrage of commentary that failed to calm the cratering financial markets, struggling to inspire confidence that his administration could stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. But by the time the sun set in Washington, Trump sounded momentarily chastened by the turbulence and previewed a raft of emergency measures to shore up the economy. 'We have a very strong economy,' the president told reporters, 'but this blindsided the world.'... Trump's overall handling of the converging crises -- while spreading misinformation and blaming others -- has unsettled many of his Republican allies on Capitol Hill and even inside the White House, where some aides acknowledged that the president is compounding problems with his grievances and conspiratorial mind-set." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Jonathan Chait: "The Washington Post's account ... [linked immediately above] reveals a number of extremely harrowing presidential beliefs about the coronavirus. To wit: 1. Trump is still mad he doesn't get credit for stopping travel from China.... That would have been a great move if the virus had been prevented from spreading into the United States. But it hadn't, and the federal government squandered the time it bought. 2. Trump blames the media for covering the pandemic.... 3. Trump is personally healthier than his opponents.... 4. The coronavirus can't be a problem if he doesn't know any victims yet.... 5. Trump thinks the coronavirus will solve itself.... 'You've just got to live your life' is literally the complete opposite of the correct response."

Quinta Jurecic & Benjamin Wittes of Lawfare in the Atlantic: "Throughout the many disasters that have befallen the Trump administration, one theme has remained a constant: malevolence tempered by incompetence.... Now, however, the disease known as COVID-19 has upended this theme altogether. As the former Justice Department official Carrie Cordero declared on Twitter: 'To invert a @benjaminwittes formulation, the Trump administration #COVID19 response might be characterized as incompetence exacerbated by malevolence.'... The president can't pretend the virus does not exist. He can't suppress news of it, unlike the Chinese Communist Party [re: the severity of the coronavirus outbreak] or the Soviet government in 1986 [on Chernobyl]. But he can berate those who report on it honestly. He can deny its severity. He can lie about it -- all until the moment at which he can't anymore, the moment at which the malevolence no longer covers up the incompetence but amplifies it, at great human cost." (Also linked yesterday.)

Niv Elis of the Hill: "Russ Vought, the acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, on Tuesday doubled down on proposed cuts to health services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), despite the coronavirus outbreak. Vought came under intense questioning from Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) at a hearing about President Trump's 2021 budget request. It proposed cutting health funding by $9.5 billion, including a 15 percent cut of $1.2 billion to the CDC and a $35 million decrease to the Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Reserve Fund.... Vought responded by saying Trump signed into law the $8.3 billion emergency supplemental package Congress approved last week. That funding, a significant increase over the $2.5 billion emergency request the White House sent over, would apply to current funding, not the funding in question for next year." Mrs. McC: Apparently Vought subscribes to Trump's theory that by next year (or by April!) the virus will just die off. ~~~

Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration is racing to develop contingency plans that would allow hundreds of thousands of employees to work remotely full time, an extreme scenario to limit the coronavirus that would test whether the government can carry out its mission from home offices and kitchen tables. The Office of Personnel Management, which oversees policy for the workforce of 2.1 million, has urged agency heads in recent days to 'immediately review' their telework policies, sign paperwork with employees laying out their duties, issue laptops and grant access to computer networks. The administration has not issued a widespread mandate, but some offices already have acted. The Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday became the first federal agency in Washington to clear 2,400 employees from its headquarters after discovering that an employee might be infected. That emergency decision follows similar steps by more than a dozen Seattle-area federal field offices, the Interior Department in Denver and NASA's Silicon Valley research center, which either have closed or shifted to telework as some employees tested positive for the virus."

Unfuckingbelievable. Monique Madan of the Miami Herald: "Immigration court staff nationwide were ordered by the Trump administration to take down all coronavirus posters from courtrooms and waiting areas. The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which falls under the Department of Justice, told all judges and staff members in an email Monday that all coronavirus posters, which explain in English and Spanish how to prevent catching and spreading the virus, had to be removed immediately.... 'Per our leadership, the CDC flyer is not authorized for posting in the immigration courts. If you see one (attached), please remove it....' However on Tuesday morning -- just four hours after the Miami Herald published this story -- a Department of Justice spokesman contacted the Herald to say that the 'the signs shouldn't have been removed. It's now being rectified.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Sheri Fink & Mike Baker of the New York Times: "Even now, after weeks of mounting frustration toward federal agencies over flawed test kits and burdensome rules, states with growing cases such as New York and California are struggling to test widely for the coronavirus. The continued delays have made it impossible for officials to get a true picture of the scale of the growing outbreak, which has now spread to at least 36 states and Washington, D.C.... Faced with a public health emergency on a scale potentially not seen in a century, the United States has not responded nimbly.... As late as last week, after expanding authorizations for commercial and academic institutions to make tests, administration officials provided conflicting accounts of when a significant increase in tests would be available." ~~~

~~~ David Lim & Brianna Ehley of Politico: "A looming shortage in lab materials is threatening to delay coronavirus test results and cause officials to undercount the number of Americans with the virus.... The growing scarcity of these 'RNA extraction' kits is the latest trouble for U.S. labs, which have struggled to implement widespread coronavirus testing in the seven weeks since the country diagnosed its first case.... Mandy Cohen, North Carolina's secretary of health, said that a shortage of extraction kits and other chemicals had hampered testing in her state. 'Folks were saying, "We are sending you the [test] kits," and I don't think they understood at first what exact part of the supply chain we needed,' she said. 'We needed extraction kits.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: At his press briefing yesterday, mike pence said, "By the end of this week, there will be more than 4 million more tests made available in jurisdictions around the country. 1 million are already in place thanks to the good work of our top commercial labs that ... President Trump brought together yesterday. LabCorp and Quest are in the process now of distributing and marketing Coronavirus tests all across America. And we're working with state and local officials to ensure that that happens as rapidly as possible." But if I correctly understand Politico's report, the Labcorp & Quest kits are useless if labs don't have "RNA extraction" kits. And they don't.

Jake Lahut of Business Insider: "... following his self-quarantine aboard Air Force One on Monday after he had been in close contact with ... Donald Trump -- in the same car on the way to the flight -- [Rep.] Matt Gaetz [R-Fla.] hit the road and skipped staying in a hotel, electing instead to spend the night in a Walmart parking lot. 'I slept in a Walmart parking lot somewhere off [Interstate] 85,' Gaetz told the Pensacola News Journal from his car as he completed the drive to Florida on Tuesday. Gaetz told reporters that he planned to spend the remainder of his 14-day self-quarantine at home in Okaloosa County, Florida."

Mike DeBonis & Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "Two close congressional allies of President Trump underwent coronavirus testing in recent days in apparent defiance of federal recommendations reserving those tests for patients exhibiting symptoms of infection -- and amid growing concerns about the availability of testing for Americans who are sick. Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the latter of whom Trump named last week as the next White House chief of staff, both said in statements that the tests showed no infection after exposure to a coronavirus carrier at the annual [CPAC] conference last month in suburban Washington. The two lawmakers also said they were exhibiting no symptoms of respiratory illness, raising questions of why they were tested at all. The [CDC] recommends that health-care providers prioritize tests for hospitalized patients who are exhibiting coronavirus symptoms, elderly and medically fragile individuals, along with others who have shown signs of illness.... Gaetz, 37, and Meadows, 60, are not known to belong to any groups at high risk for infection.... There were clues of White House involvement in the testing[.]... Gaetz told the Pensacola News-Journal on Tuesday that he was awaiting the results of his test from the White House physician's office."


Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The House has a right to see secret grand-jury evidence gathered in the Russia investigation. an appeals court ruled on Tuesday in a victory for Congress's power to gather information for an impeachment inquiry. In a 2-to-1 decision, a panel on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a lower-court ruling that the House had a right to gain access to the information, which was gathered by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, using a grand jury and blacked out in the report on his investigation released last year. The Trump administration had appealed that ruling." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Politico's story, by Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney, is here. "Appeals from the Justice Department are all but certain, and the case could still face Supreme Court review." (Also linked yesterday.)

** A Judge Takes on the Supremes. Dahlia Lithwick & Mark Stern: "U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Adelman ... criticizes the five conservative justices on the Roberts Supreme Court in an upcoming Harvard Law review article.... '... the Court's hard right majority is actively participating in undermining American democracy. Indeed, the Roberts Court has contributed to insuring that the political system in the United States pays little attention to ordinary Americans and responds only to the wishes of a relatively small number of powerful corporations and individuals,' [Adelman writes].... The court, he notes, has greatly contributed to income inequality, health care inequality, and the hollowing out of the American middle class."

Will Sommer of the Daily Beast: "Prominent right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was arrested early Tuesday morning on charges of driving while intoxicated, according to law enforcement. Jones, who as host of the Austin-based InfoWars conspiracy theory outlet has become a prominent force on the fringe right, was arrested on a class-B misdemeanor DWI charge, according to a spokeswoman for the Travis County sheriff's department.... An article on the InfoWars website claimed that Jones was 'caught up in a Travis Co. DWI dragnet' after being pulled over for speeding. In the story, Jones said he had been 'drinking a small amount of sake at a Japanese restaurant.' But ... according to [an arrest affidavit], Jones' wife called the sheriff's department on Monday night to report a 'family disturbance' between her and Jones. Jones' wife added that he had possibly been drinking, according to the report. 'The disturbance now was only verbal but earlier in the day it 'was physical,'" the affidavit reads." Read on.

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Monday
Mar092020

The Commentariat -- March 10, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The House has a right to see secret grand-jury evidence gathered in the Russia investigation, an appeals court ruled on Tuesday in a victory for Congress's power to gather information for an impeachment inquiry. In a 2-to-1 decision, a panel on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a lower-court ruling that the House had a right to gain access to the information, which was gathered by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, using a grand jury and blacked out in the report on his investigation released last year. The Trump administration had appealed that ruling." ~~~

      ~~~ Politico's story, by Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney, is here. "Appeals from the Justice Department are all but certain, and the case could still face Supreme Court review."

Erica Werner, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump's meeting with Senate Republicans on Tuesday ended without any concrete plan for crafting an economic package that might address the turmoil caused by the coronavirus epidemic, sparking fears that policy makers are far apart on how to deal with growing concerns that the U.S. could enter a recession. At the meeting, Trump discussed his proposal to extend a temporary payroll tax cut for a period of months. Some lawmakers also discussed the idea of targeted infrastructure spending. Both ideas could be used to try and lood the economy with more cash, but there was not a consensus over how to proceed.... Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has privately told several allies in recent days he personally opposes the payroll tax cut idea Trump has endorsed.... And House Democrats are busily assembling their own package.... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) have also been dismissive of the payroll tax cut idea, saying they were focused on addressing the coronavirus specifically. Top House Democrats said Tuesday they planned to move as soon as this week on a relief package that narrowly targeted individuals and families affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The measures floated by Pelosi and other leaders included an expansion of unemployment insurance, food stamps and other public assistance programs as well as allowing for greater sick and family leave."

Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "With Biden emerging as the likely Democratic nominee, Trump has launched a concerted, near-daily campaign to raise doubts about the 77-year-old's mental acuity. The president has been bolstered by a conservative echo chamber flooding social media with video clips highlighting Biden's gaffes. The effort provides a window into how Trump -- who's been dogged by questions about his own mental fitness -- regularly picks apart his political opponents. He has an unmatched ability to zero in on his foe'’s biggest vulnerability or insecurity, and through sheer repetition bake it into the public consciousness. Unfortunately for Biden, his performance on the campaign trail has given Trump plenty to work with."

Unfuckingbelievable. Monique Madan of the Miami Herald: "Immigration court staff nationwide were ordered by the Trump administration to take down all coronavirus posters from courtrooms and waiting areas. The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which falls under the Department of Justice, told all judges and staff members in an email Monday that all coronavirus posters, which explain in English and Spanish how to prevent catching and spreading the virus, had to be removed immediately.... 'Per our leadership, the CDC flyer is not authorized for posting in the immigration courts. If you see one (attached), please remove it....' However on Tuesday morning -- just four hours after the Miami Herald published this story -- a Department of Justice spokesman contacted the Herald to say that the 'the signs shouldn't have been removed. It's now being rectified.'"

Dawn Kopecki, et al., of CNBC: "... a top CDC official ... Monday recommend[ed] that people over 60 and anyone with chronic medical conditions buckle down for a lengthy stay home. 'This virus is capable of spreading easily and sustainably from person to person ... and there's essentially no immunity against this virus in the population,' Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters on a conference call, citing World Health Organization data that studied more than 70,000 cases in China.... Most people won't develop serious symptoms, but 15% to 20% of the people who are exposed to the virus get severely sick, she said.... The odds of developing COVID-19 increase with age, starting at age 60. It's especially lethal for people over 80.... The CDC is recommending people with underlying conditions or who are over 60 to stock up on medications, household items and groceries to stay at home 'for a period of time,' she said." Emphasis added.

Fred Imbert, et al., of CNBC: "Stocks rallied on Tuesday as Wall Street clawed back some of the massive losses suffered in the previous session. Bets on government intervention to stem the economic downturn from the coronavirus lifted equities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 600 points higher, or 2.6%. The S&P 500 climbed 2.4% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.6%." This is an update of a story linked below.

New York Times live market updates: "Buyers moved back into the markets on Tuesday, a day after the coronavirus and a battle among the world's biggest oil producers shook the global financial scene. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose more than 2 percent, rebounding from its steepest decline in more than a decade. European stocks also climbed, with many indexes more than 2 percent higher and Asian markets rose as well. Stocks were somewhat buoyed after President Trump on Monday night said he would work with Congress on measures to help the economy amid signs of a worsening outbreak in the United States, including a potential payroll tax cut." ~~~

~~~ Yes, but what if Trump made an empty promise about taking substantive measures to mitigate the economic impact of the virus? ~~~

~~~ Eamon Javers & Mike Calia of CNBC: “The White House is not ready to roll out specific economic proposals in its response to the widening impact of the coronavirus outbreak, administration officials told CNBC. The revelation comes as U.S. stock futures pointed toward a sharp rebound at the open Tuesday following the Dow's 2,013-point drop Monday and ... Donald Trump's suggestion that a payroll tax cut and other stimulus measures may be in the works to mitigate economic damage from the virus' spread. Trump has also invited Wall Street executives to meet at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the response. However, inside the administration, some officials were stunned by Trump's claim Monday that he would hold a press conference Tuesday to announce an economic plan. 'That was news to everyone on the inside,' one official said. The actual details of any plan remain up in the air. 'It's not there right now,' an official said.... The president's schedule for Tuesday includes a 5:30 p.m. ET media briefing for his coronavirus task force."

Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump confronted one of the most perilous days of his presidency Monday by first erupting in a barrage of commentary that failed to calm the cratering financial markets, struggling to inspire confidence that his administration could stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. But by the time the sun set in Washington, Trump sounded momentarily chastened by the turbulence and previewed a raft of emergency measures to shore up the economy. 'We have a very strong economy,' the president told reporters, 'but this blindsided the world.'... Trump's overall handling of the converging crises -- while spreading misinformation and blaming others -- has unsettled many of his Republican allies on Capitol Hill and even inside the White House, where some aides acknowledged that the president is compounding problems with his grievances and conspiratorial mind-set."

Quinta Jurecic & Benjamin Wittes of Lawfare in the Atlantic: "Throughout the many disasters that have befallen the Trump administration, one theme has remained a constant: malevolence tempered by incompetence.... Now, however, the disease known as COVID-19 has upended this theme altogether. As the former Justice Department official Carrie Cordero declared on Twitter: 'To invert a @benjaminwittes formulation, the Trump administration #COVID19 response might be characterized as incompetence exacerbated by malevolence.'... The president can't pretend the virus does not exist. He can't suppress news of it, unlike the Chinese Communist Party [re: the severity of the coronavirus outbreak] or the Soviet government in 1986 [on Chernobyl]. But he can berate those who report on it honestly. He can deny its severity. He can lie about it -- all until the moment at which he can't anymore, the moment at which the malevolence no longer covers up the incompetence but amplifies it, at great human cost."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Six States Are Holding Democratic Presidential Primaries Today. Domenico Montenaro of NPR: "What we're calling 'Big Tuesday' offers 352 delegates among six states. That's about a quarter of the delegates that were at stake on Super Tuesday. Michigan is the biggest prize, with 125 delegates, followed by Washington (89), Missouri (68), Mississippi (36), Idaho (20) and North Dakota (14). Michigan, Washington and Missouri -- and their combined 282 delegates — make up 80% of the delegates at stake Tuesday." The article has brief descriptions of factors in each state and voting hours.

Todd Spangler of the Detroit Free Press: "Former Vice President Joe Biden, riding a wave of momentum from& primaries in South Carolina and Super Tuesday states, comes into Tuesday's Michigan primary with a 24-point lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders in a new Free Press poll. If Biden's 51%-27% lead in the poll, done by EPIC-MRA for the Free Press and its media partners, holds, it would guarantee him a signature victory in Michigan -- a battleground state that helped ... Donald Trump win the White House four years ago. It could also starve Sanders' formerly front-running campaign of delegates needed for the nomination and call into question how long his effort can remain viable." Mrs. McC: Looks like the primary race will be officially over by tomorrow night. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

But Can He Do Standup? Pete Buttigieg is hosting "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Thursday night. (Link is to a Vulture item; open in private window). (Also linked yesterday.)

Everything Is Going Very Smoothly. Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "... Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence sought to reassure top Republican donors over the weekend that they have everything under control when it comes to the coronavirus outbreak. Trump, who attended a Republican National Committee donor retreat at his private resort at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, told financiers Friday that his administration is making public health and safety a No. 1 priority, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter." ~~~

~~~ Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "First lady Melania Trump has cancelled a California fundraiser she was to hold next week, the White House confirmed. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a text message that the first lady would not be holding a previously scheduled March 18 fundraiser in Beverly Hills. She said the decision was due to a 'scheduling conflict.' The move comes amid mounting concerns about the coronavirus. Los Angeles County, where the event was to be held, has declared a state of emergency over the outbreak." ~~~

~~~ Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: Donald Trump's "re-election campaign canceled a 'Women for Trump' bus tour featuring his daughter-in-law [Lara Trump] and two top surrogates over concerns about coronavirus exposure related to the Conservative Political Action Conference. Trump has insisted he won't cancel his large campaign rallies, but none are currently scheduled, for the first time in months." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: According to the NYT report by Peter Baker & others, linked below, the White House cited "scheduling conflicts" as the reason for cancelling the bus tour & issued a non-denial denial when numerous reports cited coronavirus as the cause. So t's pretty fair to translate "scheduling conflict" as "prudent fear of contracting coronavirus, but we keep that secret to please the Dear Leader."

Danny Hakim & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "President Trump's campaign manager and a circle of allies have seized control of the Republican Party's voter data and fund-raising apparatus, using a network of private businesses whose operations and ownership are cloaked in secrecy, largely exempt from federal disclosure. Working under the aegis of Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, with the cooperation of Trump appointees at the Republican National Committee, the operatives have consolidated power -- and made money -- in a way not possible in an earlier, more transparent analog era.... By commanding the party's repository of voter data and creating a powerful pipeline for small donations, the Trump campaign and key party officials have made it increasingly difficult for Republicans to mount modern, digital campaigns without the president's support." ~~~

~~~ The Trump Campaign Is a Scam, Ctd. Peter Stone of the Guardian: "According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), Trump-allied political committees and the Republican party have spent a whopping $18.1m at Trump properties since he launched his 2016 campaign. Republican candidates, elected officials and Pacs have ponied up another $1.2m in the same period. Donald J Trump for President leads the pack, having spent a total of $14.5m since he began his 2016 campaign, with the Republican National Committee in second place at $1.8m and Trump Victory ranking third at $1.6m...." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump's 2016 campaign was a scam which put money in Trump's pocket, but the re-election campaign -- as the Times & Guardian stories make clear -- is a mega-scam. Part of the rubes' contribution to Trump's re-election campaign are really just contributions to his & some of his friends' personal fortunes. It's Trump University on steroids.

"The GOP's Hunterghazi Probe Is about to Get Much Worse. Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "By shocking coincidence, Senate Republicans are set to take a huge step forward with their efforts to investigate Hunter Biden -- at exactly the moment when Joe Biden is likely to cement his hold on the Democratic nomination.... On Wednesday, the Senate Homeland Security Committee will vote to subpoena someone Republicans view as a crucial witness against Hunter Biden: Andrii Telizhenko, a political consultant who represented Burisma in the United States.... Telizhenko has long played an active role in spreading the debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine colluded with Democrats in 2016. Our intelligence services have told senators that this is central to Russian disinformation efforts. So Homeland Security Committee Democrats want all senators on the committee to get a classified briefing from the intelligence community on Telizhenko -- to demonstrate that intelligence officials don't view him as credible." GOP senators are not interested in that.

Senate Race. Zack Budryk of the Hill: "Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) formally announced his 2020 Senate run on Monday, tweeting his first campaign ad.... The governor, who will challenge Sen. Steve Daines (R), announced his run on the filing deadline." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)


Yun Li & Silvia Amaro of CNBC: "Stock futures rallied back early Tuesday morning after the S&P 500′s worst day since the financial crisis. Around 6:15 a.m. ET Tuesday, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicated an opening surge of 1,100 points on Tuesday. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures also pointed to a sharply higher open for the two indexes on Tuesday. Stock futures erased big losses in after-hours trading Monday and turned positive after ... Donald Trump floated the idea of 'a payroll tax cut or relief' to offset the negative impact from the coronavirus."

Dow's Biggest One-Day Drop Ever. New York Times liveblog of market developments: "It was Wall Street's worst day in more than a decade: Stocks plunged on Monday as a panic that began in the oil market made its way through the global financial system, adding to concerns from already rattled investors about the state of the global economy. The S&P 500, already down 12 percent from its late February high, fell more than 7 percent on Monday. The sudden downdraft meant that trading in the United States was automatically halted early in the day -- a rare occurrence meant to prevent stocks from crashing --; but it resumed after a 15-minute delay. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2,000 points." (An earlier version of this was linked yesterday.) The CNBC story is here.

Brian Sullivan of CNBC: "Vladimir Putin just sparked what could end up being one of the ugliest oil price wars in modern history, and American oil and gas companies may be the victims. This weekend Saudi Arabia dropped the oil bomb. It not only cut its forward crude price to Chinese customers by as much as $6 or $7 per barrel, but is also reportedly looking to raise its daily crude output by as many as 2 million barrels per day.... OPEC members laid out a proposal to further cut oil output quotas by as much as 1.5 million barrels per day..., but non-OPEC member Russia said 'nyet,' effectively killing it.... It was only three weeks ago that the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Russian oil giant Rosneft for transporting Venezuelan oil.... Connect the dots. Putin reacting to Trump. The Saudis, led by Energy Minister and son of the king Abdulaziz bin Salman, reacting to Putin. And American oil and gas workers and investors are caught in the middle of this epic ego battle. It couldn't occur at a worse time."

Saudi Arabia and Russia are arguing over the price and flow of oil. That, and the Fake News, is the reason for the market drop! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet Monday morning

Shorter Donald: What pandemic? -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

Jeff Stein & Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "White House advisers on Monday presented President Trump with a list of policy changes they hope could stem the economic fallout of the coronavirus, including paid sick leave and emergency help for small businesses, according to two senior administration officials. The meeting came on a day when the Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 2,000 points and pressure rapidly builds on federal policymakers to address the growing economic impact of the outbreak. It was also not immediately clear if Trump had decided to act on any of the potential policy options.... The discussions have accelerated as congressional leaders said they are considering their own legislative remedies to address the economic turmoil. Congressional Democrats are discussing how to propose paid sick leave as part of new legislation, and a key Senate Republican is looking at changes to tax policy that could seek to address the heightened fears." An NBC News story is here.

Kevin Liptak of CNN: "Fissures between the White House and national health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have begun to expand as the coronavirus pandemic spreads to more American states, creating dissonance between ... Donald Trump and the professionals tasked with containing the virus further. The two sides have grown increasingly distrustful of one another, people inside both the CDC and the White House say, as officials on each side question decisions that either appear designed to downplay the growing crisis or to generate further concern.... While health officials have sought to present a realistic and cautious picture of the national situation, Trump and his political allies are hoping to relay an altogether different message: that the virus is contained, Americans face little risk, and life should proceed as normal." (Also linked yesterday.)

Tom Sykes of the Daily Beast: "Donald Trump hasn't been tested for the coronavirus, the White House said late Monday. The admission came hours after the similarly untested Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the administration's coronavirus task force, said in a press briefing that he had no idea if Trump had been tested or not."

Justine Coleman of the Hill: "Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) returned to Congress on Monday, despite potentially being exposed to the coronavirus, saying he was advised by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) physician that going into self-quarantine isn't necessary. Gohmert said a House physician informed him that he could have been exposed to the virus at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), in a Twitter statement posted Monday. The Texas representative said he was then contacted by a CDC physician who said he could go back to Washington." ~~~

~~~ Justin Wise of the Hill: "Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), President Trump's newest acting chief of staff, will self-quarantine at his home after learning that he may have come into contact with a person who later tested positive for the novel coronavirus, his office said. 'Out of an abundance of caution, Meadows received testing which came back negative,' Meadows spokesperson Ben Williamson said. 'While he's experiencing zero symptoms, under doctors' standard precautionary recommendations, he'll remain at home until the 14 day period expires this Wednesday.'" ~~~

~~~ Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "Two Republican members of Congress who have spent time with President Trump in the last few days ... put themselves into self-quarantine on Monday because of concern over exposure to coronavirus. Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, who attended a party with Mr. Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate over the weekend and traveled with him from Florida to the capital on Monday afternoon, announced an hour after getting off the president's plane that he would remain out of contact with other people for two weeks.... Shortly after takeoff, Mr. Gaetz learned that he had been in touch with an infected person at the Conservative Political Action Conference late last month, according to two people informed about the situation. He then essentially quarantined himself, sitting in a section of the plane alone.... Representative Doug Collins, Republican of Georgia, who toured the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta with Mr. Trump on Friday, likewise went into isolation on Monday after being told by the C.D.C. that it had found a photograph of him with the infected person at the conservative conference. Mr. Collins was on the tarmac when Mr. Trump landed in Atlanta on Friday and shook the president's hand before joining him on the tour of the C.D.C." ~~~

     ~~~ New Lede: "President Trump moved on Monday to curb widening fear over the spread of the coronavirus by announcing that he would work with Congress to bolster the economy through tax cuts and other measures.... Mr. Trump said he would meet on Tuesday with congressional leaders to discuss a 'very substantial' payroll tax cut and legislation intended to protect hourly wage earners who may have to miss work because of the spread of the virus. He said he would also discuss expanding loans by the Small Business Administration." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Wearing that gas mask for the House vote on coronavirus funding is looking less & less funny, isn't it, Matt? ~~~

     ~~~ Ryan Bort of Rolling Stone: "... Gaetz's office claimed the congressman donned the gas mask as a sincere precautionary measure rather than as a stunt to get headlines, writing that he was simply 'demonstrating his concern.'... The idea that Gaetz brought out a mask out of a genuine concern about COVID-19 spreading through Congress is hard to believe, not only because of his penchant for publicity stunts and the ludicrousness of wearing a freaking gas mask on the House floor, but also because of an interview with Vanity Fair conducted at CPAC in which Gaetz joked about coronavirus. He even lamented how it was taking his name out of the news and that his office might need to find a way to get him infected[.]" ~~~

~~~ Nancy Cook of Politico: "During a rare appearance at the White House briefing room podium on Monday night, Trump said he intended to ask lawmakers for a 'big number' to give Americans relief.... Yet over the course of the day, top Republican senators indicated that they thought it was too early for these types of measures and some White House aides remained cool to the idea." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: It's worth noting that after Trump gave a short spiel about the good job he'd done & how he would work with Congress to come up with a "big number" of tax cuts & SBA loans, he turned the podium over to mike pence and left the room.

Matt Novak of Gizmodo: "When the U.S. House passed an emergency $8.3 billion spending bill to battle the coronavirus epidemic last week, Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona questioned the tremendous cost. But Gosar announced last night that he and his staff are going into self-quarantine after it was revealed that Gosar recently spent an extended period of time at last month's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) with someone who's now hospitalized with COVID-19." Mrs. McC: Gosar is such a jerk, in 2018 six of his siblings cut an ad opposing his re-election & endorsing his Democratic opponent. ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Also probably worth noting: the right-wing event where these Congressmen came in contact with someone infected with the Covid-19 is the same right-wing event at which Mick Mulvaney, our new special envoy to Northern Ireland, said that the intent of the "exaggerated" media coverage of the virus was the result of the fake news' hope that they would "will bring down the president, that's what this is all about." Great plot, media! It seems to be working. ~~~

~~~ Confederates Surprised to Discover Their Leaders Don't Care about Them. Ben Schreckinger of Politico: "A CPAC attendee infected with coronavirus attended multiple days of the conference on a gold-level VIP ticket as well as a Friday night Shabbat dinner associated with the event, according to people familiar with the situation. The infected attendee was a CPAC regular who made a hobby of meeting high-profile conference speakers and taking photographs with them. His gold-level ticket gave him access to a private lounge directly outside the green room for speakers on the conference's main stage. As of early Monday evening, event organizers have contacted 'just over a dozen' people who they have identified as having direct contact with the infected attendee, according to Ian Walters, spokesman for the American Conservative Union, which organizes the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. The ACU's handling of the case has led to grumbling from some conferencegoers, who have complained of a two-tiered system: VIPs have been notified directly even to be told they did not interact with the infected man, while ordinary rank-and-file attendees have by and large been left to wonder, receiving only vaguer information in mass emails."

John Walcott of Time: "An annual intelligence report that has been postponed without explanation by ... Donald Trump's administration warns that the U.S. remains unprepared for a global pandemic, two senior government officials who have reviewed a draft of the report tell Time. The office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) was scheduled to deliver the Worldwide Threat Assessment to the House Intelligence Committee on Feb. 12 and the hearing has not been rescheduled, according to staffers and members of the House and Senate intelligence committees.... The final draft of the report remains classified but the two officials who have read it say it contains warnings similar to those in the last installment, which was published on January 29, 2019. The 2019 report warns on page 29 that, 'The United States will remain vulnerable to the next flu pandemic or large-scale outbreak of a contagious disease that could lead to massive rates of death and disability, severely affect the world economy, strain international resources, and increase calls on the United States for support.'"

Kylie Atwood, et al., of CNN: "The US aviation industry and the Trump administration are in a pitched battle over the response to the coronavirus pandemic, three sources familiar with recent calls between officials from several government agencies and US airlines have told CNN. In a series of contentious conversations, agency officials and aviation executives have clashed over the administration's demand that airlines collect new kinds of data from passengers to help officials track potential virus carriers. Airlines say they can't meet that demand right away -- a claim some administration officials say they don't believe...."

Paul Krugman: "... like so much of what is happening in America right now, the coronavirus crisis isn't just about Trump. His intellectual and emotional inadequacy, his combination of megalomania and insecurity, are certainly contributing to the problem; has there ever been a president so obviously not up to the job? But in refusing to face uncomfortable facts, in attributing all bad news to sinister conspiracies, he's actually just being a normal man of his faction. In 2020 we're relearning the lessons of 2008 -- namely, that America's right-wingers can't handle the truth."

A few things Preet Bharara (& others) find slightly wanting in Donald Trump. Mrs. McC: Clean up the list a bit & make it about a third of the ad buy for the Democratic nominee (Joe Biden). Is James Earl Jones still available for voiceovers? Thanks to PD Pepe for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

AND Nero has a twitter account:

~~~ As Akhilleus mentioned in yesterday's Comments, Trump hasn't let Covfefe-19 interfere with his golf game: ~~~

~~~ Daniel Politi of Slate: "Around the world, leaders and health authorities were struggling to try to get a handle on the rapidly spreading coronavirus. But in the United States..., Donald Trump seems to have thought it would be a great time to hit the links with professional baseball players. On Sunday, the commander in chief played golf with current and former Washington Nationals players at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. The White House doesn't normally release details about the president's golf outings, but on Sunday, pitcher Patrick Corbin posted a series of photos on his Instagram of the game with the president." Maybe a golf club is the new fiddle bow. (Also linked yesterday.)

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Sunday
Mar082020

The Commentariat -- March 9, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Saudi Arabia and Russia are arguing over the price and flow of oil. That, and the Fake News, is the reason for the market drop! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet Monday morning

Shorter Donald: What pandemic? -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

New York Times liveblog of market developments: "Five minutes into the trading day in the United States on Monday, the plunge in the S&P 500 hit 7 percent, triggering an automatic 15-minute trading halt known as a circuit breaker. The next trading halt would come if the S&P 500 falls 13 percent from Friday's close. Should stocks fall 20 percent, trading would end for the rest of the day.... It seemed to have helped on Monday: The S&P 500 recovered some ground soon after trading resumed, and was down about 6 percent by 10 a.m. in New York."

Kevin Liptak of CNN: "Fissures between the White House and national health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have begun to expand as the coronavirus pandemic spreads to more American states, creating dissonance between ... Donald Trump and the professionals tasked with containing the virus further. The two sides have grown increasingly distrustful of one another, people inside both the CDC and the White House say, as officials on each side question decisions that either appear designed to downplay the growing crisis or to generate further concern.... While health officials have sought to present a realistic and cautious picture of the national situation, Trump and his political allies are hoping to relay an altogether different message: that the virus is contained, Americans face little risk, and life should proceed as normal."

Todd Spangler of the Detroit Free Press: "Former Vice President Joe Biden, riding a wave of momentum from primaries in South Carolina and Super Tuesday states, comes into Tuesday's Michigan primary with a 24-point lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders in a new Free Press poll. If Biden's 51%-27% lead in the poll, done by EPIC-MRA for the Free Press and its media partners, holds, it would guarantee him a signature victory in Michigan -- a battleground state that helped ... Donald Trump win the White House four years ago. It could also starve Sanders' formerly front-running campaign of delegates needed for the nomination and call into question how long his effort can remain viable." Mrs. McC: Looks like the primary race will be officially over by tomorrow night.

A few things Preet Bharara (& others) find slightly wanting in Donald Trump. Mrs. McC: Clean up the list a bit & make it about a third of the ad buy for the Democratic nominee (Joe Biden). Is James Earl Jones still available for voiceovers? Thanks to PD Pepe for the link.

Pete Buttigieg is hosting "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Thursday night. (Link is to a Vulture item; open in private window).

AND Nero has a twitter account:

~~~ As Akhilleus mentioned in today's Comments, Trump hasn't let Covfefe-19 interfere with his golf game: ~~~

~~~ Daniel Politi of Slate: "Around the world, leaders and health authorities were struggling to try to get a handle on the rapidly spreading coronavirus. But in the United States..., Donald Trump seems to have thought it would be a great time to hit the links with professional baseball players. On Sunday, the commander in chief played golf with current and former Washington Nationals players at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. The White House doesn't normally release details about the president's golf outings, but on Sunday, pitcher Patrick Corbin posted a series of photos on his Instagram of the game with the president." Maybe a golf club is the new fiddle bow.

Zack Budryk of the Hill: "Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) formally announced his 2020 Senate run on Monday, tweeting his first campaign ad.... The governor, who will challenge Sen. Steve Daines (R), announced his run on the filing deadline."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Felicia Sonmez, et al., of the Washington Post: "Governments intensified their efforts Sunday to combat the global spread of the novel coronavirus, as Saudi Arabia followed Italy in enacting new travel restrictions, Iran suspended flights to Europe, and the United States, where the number of cases topped 500, warned citizens against cruise travel. Uncertainty continued to permeate the response effort, however, amid muddled directives from the Trump administration and reports of some patients unable to access testing. A virus-stricken cruise ship made its way to California to dock -- only for Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson to decline to discuss the details of the federal response plan during a national television interview. The Department of Health and Human Services said later Sunday that the Grand Princess cruise ship's more than 3,500 passengers, at least 21 of whom have tested positive for the coronavirus, will be quarantined in California, Texas and Georgia. Some White House officials privately believe the number of U.S. cases will double -- or more -- in the next 48 hours."

Yun Li & Eustance Huang of CNBC: "Stock futures tumbled Monday morning as investors braced for the economic fallout from the spreading coronavirus, while a shocking all-out oil price war added to the anxiety. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicated an opening drop of more than 1,300 points. The S&P 500 futures indicated a 5% drop at Monday's open. The sharp declines in the futures market signaled more turbulence ahead after a roller-coaster week that saw the S&P 500 swing up or down more than 2.5% for four days straight. The S&P futures trading was briefly halted overnight." The New York Times' live updates are here. ~~~

~~~ Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "The Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday announced that it will ramp up the amount of short-term loans it offers banks, an effort to keep cash flowing smoothly through the financial system as markets gyrate amid fears about economic fallout from the coronavirus." ~~~

~~~ Michael Bloom of CNBC: "With U.S. stocks set to plunge at the open, investors will be watching for additional market circuit breakers that could halt trading. Futures contracts hit 'limit down' on Sunday evening after CME-traded stock index futures contracts sank 5%, halting trading below that level and preventing futures from falling any further. According to the New York Stock Exchange, a market trading halt may occur at 'three circuit breaker thresholds' on the S&P 500 due to large declines and volatility. The exchange classifies this at three levels based on the preceding session's close in the S&P 500."

Darius Tahir of Politico: "The government's top infectious disease expert on Sunday said that the coronavirus outbreak is getting worse and warned elderly and sick people to think twice before traveling or circulating in crowds. The remarks from Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, signaled a change in tone from health officials representing the Trump administration, making it clear that the outbreak is past the point where it can be prevented from spreading or easily tracked. That contrasted with the more measured language from some Trump officials including Vice President Mike Pence." (Also linked yesterday.)

Matt Wilstein of the Daily Beast: "After Surgeon General Jerome Adams advised on State of the Union Sunday morning that older Americans and those with underlying medical issues should 'think very carefully' before taking long flights or going into big crowds, CNN host Jake Tapper noted him that all three men currently running for president -- Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump -- fall into that at least one if not both of those categories. 'Should those three stop traveling? Should they stop holding rallies?' Tapper asked. Without answering that question directly, Adams told Tapper that he has been reminding President Trump to wash his hands frequently. 'But speaking of being at risk, the president, he sleeps less than I do and he's healthier than what I am,' the surgeon general, who is in his mid-40s, insisted." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Two Degrees of Separation. Toluse Olorunnipa, et al., of the Washington Post: "A growing sense of concern and uncertainty about the reach of the novel coronavirus has begun to take hold in the White House, after an attendee at a recent political conference where President Trump spoke tested positive for covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. Trump was photographed shaking hands with Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union who confirmed that he had been in direct contact with the infected man during the Conservative Political Action Conference last month. The handshake at CPAC put Trump just two degrees of separation away from the virus that he has sought to minimize.... There is growing tension among Trump administration officials, who now see the rapidly spreading outbreak as a black swan event that could consume the president's fourth year in office, even as Trump remains reluctant to see much cause for concern.... The White House is ... being cleaned more regularly and people with flu-like symptoms are being urged not to come into the complex.... Trump, 73, had no campaign rallies scheduled as of Sunday evening, marking the first time this year that there were no such events on the books."

Justine Coleman of the Hill: "President Trump in an early morning tweet on Sunday accused the 'Fake News Media' of attempting to 'make us look bad' on the administration's coronavirus response. The president called the White House's plan to combat the growing outbreak in the U.S. 'perfectly coordinated and fine tuned.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Taylor Dolven of the Miami Herald: "The U.S. State Department is warning U.S. citizens not to take cruises, delivering what could be a major blow to one of South Florida's largest industries. In a travel advisory issued Sunday evening, the State Department said there is an increased risk of infection of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, on cruise ships. 'U.S. citizens, particularly travelers with underlying health conditions, should not travel by cruise ship.' The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has an equal warning, urging people to 'defer all cruise ship travel worldwide.' The announcements are direct contradictions of statements made Saturday by Vice President Mike Pence, who traveled to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale to reassure cruise company CEOs that cruising would continue, albeit with ramped-up screening and sanitizing protocols to be announced in the coming days." Mrs. McC: So much for message control.

The U.S. State Department is warning U.S. citizens not to take cruises, delivering what could be a major blow to one of South Florida's largest industries. In a travel advisory issued Sunday evening, the State Department said there is an increased risk of infection of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, on cruise ships. "U.S. citizens, particularly travelers with underlying health conditions, should not travel by cruise ship."

Rishika Dugyala of Politico: "Sen. Ted Cruz announced on Sunday that he is under self-quarantine after having interacted with the person who tested positive for coronavirus at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference. In a statement released on Twitter, the Texas Republican wrote that he was informed of the interaction on Saturday night, and that he had engaged in a brief conversation and handshake with the affected individual.... 'I'm not experiencing any symptoms, and I feel fine and healthy,' Cruz said in the statement. 'Given that the interaction was 10 days ago, that the average incubation period is 5-6 days, that the interaction was for less than a minute, and that I have no current symptoms, the medical authorities have advised me that the odds of transmission from the other individual to me were extremely low.' He added that physicians advised him that the interaction did not meet the CDC criteria for self-quarantine. However, 'out of an abundance of caution' for his constituents, Cruz said, he decided to remain in his Texas home for a full 14 days." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This could be the first responsible thing Ted has done in his public career.

Sandi Doughton of the Seattle Times: "Testing for the novel coronavirus in the Seattle area will get a huge boost in the coming weeks as a project funded by Bill Gates and his foundation begins offering home-testing kits that will allow people who fear they may be infected to swab their noses and send the samples back for analysis. Results, which should be available in one to two days, will be shared with local health officials who will notify those who test positive. Via online forms, infected people can answer questions about their movements and contacts, making it easier for health officials to locate others who may need to be tested or quarantined, as well as to track the virus' spread and identify possible hot spots.... The Gates Foundation recently announced it's committing $5 million for coronavirus response in the Seattle area, and much of that will go for the expanded testing and analysis."

Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "Columbia University announced on Sunday night that it was canceling classes on Monday and Tuesday and that classes would be taught remotely for the rest of week after a university community member was quarantined for exposure to the new coronavirus.... Barnard College, which is considered one of Columbia's four undergraduate colleges but is an independent institution, announced that it was taking the same precautions.... [The town of Scarsdale, N.Y.] N.Y., announced on Sunday that a middle school teacher had tested positive for the virus and that classes had been canceled for the week at all public schools there.... Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York declared a state of emergency on Saturday as the number of coronavirus cases rose.

Chico Harlan & Stefano Petrelli of the Washington Post: "Italy on Sunday launched a complicated and urgent plan to restrict the movement of roughly 16 million people, a measure that unleashed confusion about how it could be enforced and whether it would be enough to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The plan to lock down large swaths of the north was the first major attempt by a democracy during the coronavirus crisis to radically halt the routines of daily life -- an effort that will have significant impacts on civil liberties. But in the hours before and after the measure became law, people continued to stream out of the northern hubs of Milan and Venice on trains and planes for southern Italy or elsewhere in Europe. Sunday, then, provided the first glimpse of a coronavirus lockdown, European-style...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race

Hope Yen & Will Weissert of the AP: "As the coronavirus hits more states, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Sunday his campaign is gauging when it may become necessary to cancel the large campaign rallies that public health experts say could be breeding grounds to spread the potentially deadly illness. 'Obviously what is most important to us is to protect the health of the American people,' Sanders said as he appeared in a series of TV interviews. 'And what I will tell you, we are talking to public health officials all over this country.'"

Kyle Balluck of the Hill: "Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden's presidential campaign early Monday." ~~~

~~~ Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Mr. Booker's endorsement comes 24 hours after Senator Kamala Harris of California endorsed Mr. Biden, and the two senators will appear with him at a rally in Detroit on Monday night." ~~~

Sarah Mucha of CNN: "US Senator and former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said Sunday she's endorsing Joe Biden for president, the latest in a series of high-profile announcements from Democrats backing the former vice president."

Ben Smith of the New York Times: "While [Bernie] Sanders's criticism of the media has more merit than most reporters like to acknowledge, the media has often gotten Mr. Sanders right, too. His weaknesses, from a rigid attachment to the battles of an earlier generation to his struggle to persuade older black Democrats to join his revolution, aren't media inventions. They're good, fair stories. And in 2020, far more than in 2016, the media has also captured his strengths: his consistency, his commitment to the poor, his deep popularity with young people."

Zak Cheney-Rice of New York: "Trump is going to try dampening black voter enthusiasm for Biden by contrasting the two men's criminal justice records. The framing will be simple: Trump signed a bipartisan criminal-legal reform bill, the First Step Act, and has been generous with his pardon powers toward unjustly imprisoned black people.... Trump's is not a meritless strategy. It has the benefit of a soft target.... While Trump's status as a self-styled reformer is laughable, Biden's record is grotesque. Most of its lowlights occurred in the 'tough on crime' 1980s and 1990s, when he was a senator.... Back then, he viciously characterized people who commit crimes as sociopathic 'predators' who are beyond rehabilitation.... He authored the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act..., which Biden liked to call the '1994 Biden crime bill' as recently as 2015. Its main legacy is cruelty: It expanded the death penalty, eliminated education funding for imprisoned students, created harsher sentencing guidelines for a wide range of crimes, and increased funding for local police departments and corrections departments.... Perhaps more than any other official of the era, he embodied the Democratic impulse to outflank Republicans from the right by locking more people in jails and prisons.... He said he was 'not at all' ashamed of his involvement as recently as 2016."

Twitter Knocks Trump's Fake News. Cat Zakrzewski of the Washington Post: “Twitter applied its new 'manipulated media' label for the first time on Sunday to a deceptively edited video of former vice president Joe Biden. The video was shared by White House social media director Dan Scavino and retweeted by President Trump. The video was the first test of a new policy the social media company implemented on March 5 to label tweets that contain manipulated or synthetic media, ranging from edited videos to more sophisticated examples known as 'deepfakes' that can fabricate events that never happened. In this case, the altered video of Biden -- who has surged to the front of the Democratic race to oust Trump in November -- is based on a speech he gave in Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday. It was then shared on Twitter by Scavino, only edited to make it appear as if Biden inadvertently endorsed Trump for reelection.... Twitter applied the ["! Manipulated media"] label to Scavino's tweet at about 5 p.m. on Sunday evening, about 18 hours after Scavino first shared the video."

Matt Steib of New York: "In an interview with Axios on HBO, [Donald Trump, Jr.,] challenged Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic front-runner Joe Biden, to a nepotism contest. 'Let's talk about who profited off of whose public service,' the president's eldest son said.... 'I'm not going to say I haven't benefited from my father's last name, just like Hunter Biden did. That would be foolish to say But I haven't benefited from my father's taxpayer-funded office.' That too would be foolish to say: Trump Jr. is the vice-president of an organization that the president has fattened repeatedly while in office -- from bilking the Secret Service to reportedly requiring the U.S. military to spend taxpayer funds at his hotels. DJT also saw his book shoot to the top of the New York Times bestseller list only after the Republican National Committee purchased thousands of copies."


Amy Guthrie of the AP: "Women filled the streets of the world's largest cities Sunday to protest gender violence and inequality on International Women's Day, with the mothers of murdered girls leading a march in Mexico City and participants in Paris inveighing against the 'virus of the patriarchy.' While many protests were peaceful celebrations others were marred by tension, with security forces arresting demonstrators at a rally in Kyrgyzstan and police reportedly using tear gas to break up a demonstration by thousands of women in Turkey."

News Ledes

The New York Times' live updates of developments in the coronavirus epidemic are here. "Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy has extended restrictions on movement to the entire nation, banning public gatherings and telling eople not to travel except for work or emergencies."

New York Times: "Max von Sydow, the tall, blond Swedish actor who cut a striking figure in American movies but was most identified with the signature work of a fellow Swede, the director Ingmar Bergman, died on Sunday. He was 90."

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