The Commentariat -- April 5, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Sarah Kliff & Julie Bosman of the New York Times: "Across the United States, even as coronavirus deaths are being recorded in terrifying numbers -- many hundreds each day -- the true death toll is likely much higher.... The undercount is a result of inconsistent protocols, limited resources and a patchwork of decision-making from one state or county to the next.... With no uniform system for reporting coronavirus-related deaths in the United States, and a continued shortage of tests, some states and counties have improvised, obfuscated and, at times, backtracked in counting the dead."

John Ismay of the New York Times Magazinke: "Capt. Brett E. Crozier, the Navy captain who was removed from command of the coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, has tested positive for Covid-19, according to two Naval Academy classmates of Crozier's who are close to him and his family." ~~~

~~~ Lindsay Cohn, et al., in the Washington Post: "Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden condemned the Navy leadership in a tweet. Retired rear admiral and former Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby called the firing 'reckless and foolish.' And retired Adm. Mike Mullen, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said relieving Crozier of command 'was a really bad decision.' President Trump ... [said] Saturday [that] .. Crozier's letter was 'not appropriate' and insinuating Crozier was responsible for exposing his sailors to the virus by making a stop in Vietnam -- a stop that was pre-scheduled by the regional command.... Complicating the optics of the situation is the involvement of [acting Navy Secretary Thomas] Modly himself. Last summer, Trump intervened in the Navy's handling of a personnel action involving Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher, ultimately resulting in the November 2019 removal of then-Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer and the installation of Modly.... Many questioned the appropriateness of civilian political intervention into internal professional processes.... The fact it was a political appointee associated with another highly politicized case who relieved Crozier ... may contribute to a perception that this is more about political embarrassment than a breach of security."

Marisa Taylor & Aram Roston of Reuters: "In mid-March..., Donald Trump personally pressed federal health officials to make malaria drugs available to treat the novel coronavirus, though they had been untested for COVID-19, two sources told Reuters. Shortly afterward, the federal government published highly unusual guidance informing doctors they had the option to prescribe the drugs, with key dosing information based on unattributed anecdotes rather than peer-reviewed science.... The episode reveals how the president's efforts could change the nature of drug oversight, a field long governed by strict rules of science and testing.... 'The president is short-circuiting the process with his gut feelings,' said Jeffrey Flier, a former dean of Harvard Medical School." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Yeah But, Trump pushed the drugs because he was receiving expert advice from his "personal science advisor": ~~~

~~~ Rosalind Helderman, et al., of the Washington Post: "Rudolph W. Giuliani ... has cast himself in a new role: as personal science adviser to a president eager to find ways to short circuit the coronavirus epidemic. In one-on-one phone calls with Trump, Giuliani said, he has been touting the use of an anti-malarial drug cocktail that has shown some early promise in treating covid-19, but whose effectiveness has not yet been proved. He said he now spends his days on the phone with doctors, coronavirus patients and hospital executives promoting the treatment, which Trump has also publicly lauded.... Giuliani's advice to Trump echoes comments the former New York mayor has made on his popular Twitter feed and a podcast that he records in a makeshift radio studio installed at his New York City apartment, where he has repeatedly pushed the drug combination, as well as a stem cell therapy that involves the extraction of what Giuliani termed placenta 'killer cells.'"... Giuliani's controversial comments have helped him regain a bit of the prominence he had during impeachment -- last week, he was back in the spotlight when Twitter briefly locked his account for promoting misinformation about covid-19."

Mary Spicuzza of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Assembly Republicans are calling on Gov. Tony Evers to allow in-person services for Easter and Passover amid the deadly coronavirus pandemic.... Evers declined the request. The [request] came one day before Republicans in the Assembly and Senate stalled Evers' move to push back Tuesday's election due to the coronavirus pandemic...."

Rowena Mason & Peter Walker of the Guardian: British PM "Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital with coronavirus after suffering persistent symptoms for 10 days. Downing Street insisted it was just a precautionary measure but Johnson's admission on a Sunday evening comes after days of rumours that his condition has been worsening.... It is understood Johnson remains in charge of the government, although Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state, is poised to take charge if he should worsen."

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April Is the Cruelest Month

Saturday in Mixed Messages. Juan Perez & Marie French of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Saturday warned that America's 'toughest week' of the coronavirus crisis is coming up, predicting 'there will be death' as the number of Covid-19 cases surges in the days ahead. The president said he was committed to supplying hotspots around the country with medical supplies needed to combat the outbreak, noting that the federal government has agreed to handle infected patients at field hospitals in Dallas, New Orleans and New York.... But the president also signaled his growing impatience with the stringent social distancing measures states had put in place around the country.... 'We have to open our country again,' Trump said. '... We don't want to be doing this for months and months and months." ~~~

~~~ From the New York Times' live updates for Saturday: Trump "suggested again that Americans might be able to congregate for Easter Sunday services.... He said he would again like to consider relaxing social distancing rules for Easter services and that he had told advisers, 'maybe we could allow special for churches' gatherings that were possibly outside with 'great separation.'" ~~~

~~~ Michelle Stoddart of ABC News: "... Donald Trump pushed to reopen the country Saturday ... while talking at a briefing with the White House coronavirus task force.... '... The cure cannot be worse than the problem itself. We've got to get our country open,' Trump said. The president discussed a Saturday morning call he had with commissioners of most of the major sports to discuss the effects of coronavirus to the industry, emphasizing that he wants fans 'back in the arena' as soon as they can be.... 'No, I can't tell you a date, but I think it's going to be sooner rather than later.' He said that sports aren't 'designed' for closures, which he said is also true of the country, emphasizing that he wants citizens to get back to work. 'It has to get open. This country was not designed to be closed,' Trump said. 'Think of it. We're paying people not to go to work, how about that? How does that play?'" ~~~

~~~ Jessica Glenza of the Guardian: "Donald Trump has directly urged Americans worried about Covid-19 to take a little-studied anti-malaria drug for the disease, despite potentially serious side effects and a lack of data on safety and efficacy in treatment of the pandemic virus. At a lengthy, rambling and combative briefing on Saturday afternoon, the president also sought to discredit media reports of his administration's failures and called some outlets in the White House press corps 'fake news'. Media reports about shortages of ventilators and personal protective equipment, he claimed, relied on state governors asking for more supplies than they needed.... The drug repeatedly pushed by Trump, hydroxychloroquine, has only shown anecdotal promise.... [Trump] said he 'may take it' himself, though he would 'have to ask my doctors about that'. The president's own public health advisers, who stood with him in the briefing room on Saturday, have warned against taking hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19." ~~~

     ~~~ Katherine Seley-Radtke in the Conversation (April 3), republished by Yahoo! News: "On Saturday [March 28] the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of two antimalarial drugs, hydroxychloroquine and a related medication, chloroquine, for emergency use to treat COVID-19. The drugs were touted by President Trump as a 'game changer' for COVID-19. However, a study just published in a French medical journal provides new evidence that hydroxychloroquine does not appear to help the immune system clear the coronavirus from the body. The study comes on the heels of two others - one in France and one in China - that reported some benefits in the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for COVID-19 patients who didn't have severe symptoms of the virus.... There are already other clinical studies that showed it is not effective against COVID-19 as well as several other viruses. And, more importantly, it can have dangerous side effects, as well as giving people false hope."

~~~ Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Saturday defended his decision to fire the intelligence community's top watchdog, calling the sacked official a' total disgrace' over his handling of a whistleblower complaint that led to the president's impeachment. 'I thought he did a terrible job. Absolutely terrible,' Trump said of Michael Atkinson, who was let go from his role as the inspector general of the intelligence community on Friday night. 'He took this terrible, inaccurate whistleblower report and he brought it to Congress,' Trump added. The initial report was largely corroborated by witnesses testimony and the summary describing Trump's phone call with the president of Ukraine, which was the subject of the whistleblower complaint. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump mused about House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) being the whistleblower's 'informer,' without citing evidence.... 'They give this whistleblower a status that he doesn't deserve. He's a fake whistleblower,' Trump concluded. 'And frankly, somebody ought to sue his ass off.'... Some Republican senators expressed uneasiness with the president's actions and praised Atkinson. Sen. Chuck Grassley, for example, said the firing of Atkinson 'demands an explanation.'... Also on Saturday, the office of the director of national intelligence announced that Thomas Monheim, who has served in top legal positions throughout the intelligence community, was named acting inspector general." ~~~

     ~~~ Natasha Bertrand of Politico: "Two weeks before he was fired, Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson told the Senate's top Democrat that the past six months had been 'a searing time for whistleblowers,' and rebuked public officials who fail to defen whistleblowers when the stakes are highest. In a letter to ... Chuck Schumer dated March 18, Atkinson took a thinly veiled swipe at those who had failed to defend the intelligence official who first reported concerns about Trump's conversation with the president of Ukraine last summer.... Atkinson ... wrote the letter in response to Schumer's request one month earlier that all inspectors general investigate 'instances of retaliation against anyone who has made, or in the future makes, protected disclosures of presidential misconduct.' Trump waged rhetorical war on the whistleblower last fall, calling for the anonymous official to be 'exposed' and 'questioned,' while accusing him of having 'ties to one of my Democratic opponents' and perpetrating a 'hoax.' Some lawmakers used closed-door hearings during the impeachment probe to gather information about the whistleblower and get his alleged identity into the congressional record." ~~~

~~~ Trump Knocks Another American Hero. Juan Perez of Politico: "A Navy commander's written alarms about a coronavirus outbreak aboard his aircraft carrier 'looked terrible'..., Donald Trump said Saturday, as he praised military leaders who removed the USS Theodore Roosevelt's top officer [Capt. Brett Crozier] from his post.... 'I thought it was terrible, what he did, to write a letter. I mean, this isn't a class on literature. This is a captain of a massive ship that's nuclear powered. And he shouldn't be talking that way in a letter,' Trump said.... Trump said he fully supported Crozier's removal, though he said, 'I didn't make the decision.'" ~~~

     ~~~ David Ignatius of the Washington Post: "The sudden firing of Capt. Brett Crozier ... has created another unsettling moment for a country traumatized by the worsening pandemic -- and for a Navy already rocked by President Trump's remarkable intervention last year in disciplinary cases involving the elite Navy SEALs. Crozier's crew cheered him as a hero as he walked alone down the gangway.... Former vice president Joe Biden tweeted his support for Crozier.... A half-dozen former top Navy officials said in interviews Saturday that [Acting Navy Secretary Thomas] Modly's intervention was a mistake that they feared would have a chilling effect on commanders and encourage them to suppress bad news that might upset political leaders.... By Wednesday, Modly told a colleague he was thinking of relieving Crozier and that Trump 'wants him fired.'... The acting secretary had the authority to sack Crozier but in doing so undermined the uniformed officers who normally oversee such personnel decisions." ~~~

     ~~~ Juan Cole: "The Trump administration has forced [Capt. Brett Crozier] to retire because his letter warning of large scale deaths on his ship somehow made its way to the San Francisco Chronicle. [Thomas Modly,] one of those grey 'acting' high officials -- with whom Trump has surrounded himself in preference to actual confirmed cabinet secretaries and undersecretaries -- forced Crozier out.... Modly got the go-head for the ouster of Crozier from secretary of defense Mark Esper.... Crozier is a better man than Modly, by orders of magnitude. As Acting Navy Secretary Modly was certainly briefed repeatedly in January and February on the dangers of the coronavirus.... What did he do about that, as he sat around watching Trump call the deadly pandemic a 'hoax,' a 'nothing,' 'like the flu,' and promising it would go away quickly whatever it was? Modly knew that Trump was lying to the American public and that his lies would cost hundreds of thousands of American lives." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Saturday are here. "At least 276,000 people in the United States have tested positive for the virus, and officials believe the number of people who have been infected is far higher. More than 7,000 people have died, including at least 3,565 in New York State." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Saturday are here. "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he is trying to convince the United States not to block the export of 3M respirator masks to Canada. By stopping shipments of critical medical supplies, the United States would be 'hurting itself as much as Canada' because essential goods and services flow both ways across the border, Trudeau said Saturday at a news conference. On Friday, 3M revealed it is under pressure to stop exporting masks to other countries, including Canada, after the White House used the Defense Production Act to order the company to prioritize U.S. orders and cease shipments to Canada and Latin America." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** The Fish Rots from the Head. Yasmeen Abutaleb, et al., of the Washington Post: "By the time Donald Trump proclaimed himself a wartime president -- and the coronavirus the enemy -- the United States was already on course to see more of its people die than in the wars of Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq combined.... The United States will likely go down as the country that was supposedly best prepared to fight a pandemic but ended up catastrophically overmatched by the novel coronavirus, sustaining heavier casualties than any other nation.... It took 70 days from that initial notification for Trump to treat the coronavirus not as a distant threat or harmless flu strain well under control, but as a lethal force that had outflanked America's defenses and was poised to kill tens of thousands of citizens. That more-than-two-month stretch now stands as critical time that was squandered. Trump's baseless assertions in those weeks, including his claim that it would all just 'miraculously' go away, sowed significant public confusion and contradicted the urgent messages of public health experts.... Other failures cascaded through the system." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Daniel Drezner of the Washington Post: "In January, when Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar first tried to brief President Trump about the coronavirus threat, the president got distracted and wanted to talk about vaping instead. That same month, Trump told a CNBC reporter that he was not worried about a pandemic; by March, he was claiming, 'I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.' After declaring a national emergency, Trump fumed about the images of empty airports and grounded planes on television. He has publicly compared his poll numbers with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's. He has responded to anodyne questions from reporters by saying they are 'nasty' and demanding that journalists 'be nice.' In other words, not even a crisis as massive as the novel coronavirus has stopped the president from behaving like a cranky toddler. Trump's toddler traits have significantly hampered America's response to the pandemic.... For Trump's staff, crisis management revolves around managing the president's temper, not managing the actual problem."

This Week in Narcissism. Ashley Parker & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "The novel coronavirus has decimated the economy, turned hospitals into battlefields and upended the daily lives of every American. But in Trump's White House, certain symptoms remain: a president who governs as if producing and starring in a reality television show, with each day a new episode.... Trump still seems to lurch from moment to moment, with his methods and messages each day disconnected from -- and in some cases contradictory to -- the ones just prior."

Nancy Cook of Politico: "When ... Donald Trump exacted revenge Friday night by ousting the chief watchdog for the intelligence community, it was just one more instance of the president's addiction to sideshows.... In the weeks since the coronavirus first hit the U.S., Trump has continued to pursue pet projects dating back to his 2016 campaign such as rolling back Obama-era regulations, building the border wall and fighting with the Federal Reserve. A new White House personnel director, 29-year-old Johnny McEntee, has meanwhile been hunting for political appointees who have shown any hint of disloyalty to Trump and ordering them transferred or fired."

** Elise Viebeck, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump and a growing number of Republican leaders are aggressively challenging efforts to make voting easier as the coronavirus pandemic disrupts elections, accusing Democrats of opening the door to fraud -- and, in some cases, admitting fears that expanded voting access could politically devastate the GOP. Around the country, election officials trying to ensure ballot access and protect public health in upcoming contests face an increasingly coordinated backlash from the right. Much of the onslaught of litigation has been funded by the Republican National Committee, which has sought to block emergency measures related to covid-19, such as proactively mailing ballots to voters sheltering at home.... Democrats and their allies in the civil rights community are also seizing the moment, arguing that the current crisis has created an urgent need for many of the voting policies they have pushed for years, including mass expansion of mail balloting and relaxation of voter ID, signature and witness requirements." See related story linked below under "Presidential Race."

Ken Delanian & Stephanie Ruhle of NBC: "The co-founder of a huge private equity firm sent an email this week to Jared Kushner and other Trump administration policymakers seeking to relax rules on coronavirus relief money in a way that would benefit the company, according to sources familiar with the matter. Kushner's family real estate business has financial ties to the company, Apollo Global Management. A source close to Kushner says there was nothing remarkable about his receipt of the email, from Apollo co-founder Mark Rowan.... But Apollo is not just any business: It made a $184 million loan in 2017 to Kushner Companies[.]" --s

Spencer Ackerman of the Daily Beast: "Thousands of National Guardsmen around the country are in contact with people who've contracted COVID-19. But while the federal government has called on them for frontline assistance in battling the pandemic, it's not giving them what they need to protect themselves: access to the military's health insurance.... According to the National Guard's advocates and the U.S. governors' association, the guardsmen are activated on orders that last 30 days. That puts them one single day shy of the requirement allowing the military health insurance system known as TRICARE -- think of it as Medicare For All In Uniform -- to cover them." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Dana Hedgpeth, et al., of the Washington Post: "... experts say more than 5 million people who identify as American Indians and Alaskan Native are especially vulnerable [to the coronavirus]. 'When you look at the health disparities in Indian Country -- high rates of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, asthma and then you combine that with the overcrowded housing situation where you have a lot of people in homes with an elder population who may be exposed or carriers -- this could be like a wildfire on a reservation and get out of control in a heartbeat,' said Kevin Allis, chief executive of the National Congress of American Indians. 'We could get wiped out,' Allis said. About half of Native Americans ... live in small homes, where the virus can easily spread through families. Houses often lack electricity and running water so washing hands is more challenging, health experts at Johns Hopkins University said." Access to this story is free to nonsubscribers.

Marty Johnson of The Hill: "Some cash-strapped states have dipped into their election security funds provided to them by the $2.2 trillion stimulus package to help pay for their responses to the coronavirus outbreak. The money from the from the mammoth bill was included to help states protect the 2020 elections from malicious cyber activity. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Tennessee, and Alabama have either used or intend to these funds, as the pandemic continues to plague the country ABC News reports." --s

Brian Kemp Is One Stupid Governor. J.D. Capelouto & J. Scott TrubeyAtlanta Journal-Constitution: "Elected leaders in two coastal Georgia communities on Saturday blasted Gov. Brian Kemp's statewide shelter-in-place order, which allows beaches to reopen with social distancing, saying the mandate undermines local efforts to contain the coronavirus.... Local officials previously closed beaches on Tybee and St. Simons islands, while the state-owned Jekyll Island also closed its beaches. Kemp's order, which took effect Friday, nullified local ordinances that did not match the statewide shelter-in-place order, doing away with many local actions such as beach closures.... Early Saturday morning, a reporter with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution walked St. Simons main beaches and they looked as they did in pre-coronavirus days. People were walking dogs jogging and just strolling. Barricades the county erected last month to close beach parking lots were set aside, and Georgia State Patrol cruisers patrolled beachside neighborhoods." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: As you may recall, "Kemp said he wasn't aware that asymptomatic people could transmit coronavirus as he announced he was preparing to issue a state-wide shelter-in-place order.... He said his decision to issue the shelter-in-place order came after he found out that people could transmit the virus before they started showing symptoms.... Researchers and health officials have long said that coronavirus can be transmitted by carriers before they show symptoms or those who don't ever show symptoms." You can bet that some of the folks cavorting on Georgia beaches thanks to Kemp, are asymptomatic carriers.

Bill Bowman of the Franklin Reporter & Advocate: "Somerset County's entire 35,000-mask order of N-95 and surgical masks targeted for various health care workers has been 'commandeered' by the federal government, the Somerset County Freeholder Director said on April 3.... Freeholder Director Shanel Robinson ... said the vendor did not say which federal agency confiscated the order.... Robinson said Gov. Phil Murphy's administration 'has gotten involved' and is trying to find out why the masks were taken.... 'We've been waiting on that order for two-and-a-half, three weeks. 'You don't just take them,' [Robinson] said. 'You have a conversation.'" --s ~~~

~~~ Josh Marshall of TPM: "[W]hat I'm more interested in are reports of federal authorities confiscating physical shipments en route to states, local governments or regional hospital systems.... It's also very unclear just who is seizing the supplies, what they're being used for or who is getting access to them. The assumption seems to be that they are being handed over to FEMA for distribution to other parts of the country.... In any case, we need to know more.... But these seizures of shipments are at best causing confusion for desperate states and hospitals. And they seem so haphazard that they are raising legitimate questions about whether they are being allocated to states in a preferential or politicized fashion. We need to know more." --s

Maureen Dowd interviews somebody worth interviewing about being a shut-in & other matters: Larry David. "I asked what he fears most and he replied: 'Anarchy and a potential dental emergency -- and not necessarily in that order.'"

From the Dept. of Stupid. Matt Shuham of TPM: "Anti-government extremist Ammon Bundy led a meeting last week where he agitated for Idahoans to physically defy the state's stay-at-home order, which is meant to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.... In American history, Bundy argued, dying for liberty's sake had been celebrated. 'Now it's the exact opposite, flipped upside down,' he said. 'In order to save lives, we have to take freedom. That's where we're at right now.' Bundy told the AP that he wasn't opposed to social distancing in itself, but that he objected to the state forcing him to do so." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The core of right-wing "philosophy" is a child pouting: "You aren't the boss of me!"

Presidential Race

Wisconsin's Republican Leaders Are Vicious AND Irresponsible. Natasha Korecki & Zach Montellaro of Politico: "Wisconsin's Republican-led legislature refused to delay Tuesday's primary election, formally rejecting on Saturday a call from the state's Democratic governor, Tony Evers, to halt in-person voting amid the coronavirus pandemic. The move comes as Republicans on Saturday also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a lower court ruling that expanded absentee balloting in the state. State Republicans on Saturday gaveled into a special session called by Evers then immediately closed the session without taking action. Republicans indicated they had adjourned until Monday. It is now up to the governor to try to find other emergency measures to delay the election. Evers suggested on Friday that he would attempt to do so.... Mayors across the state have pleaded for a delay, amid a severe shortage of poll workers sickened by coronavirus or fearful of contamination.... Wisconsin's health officials have reported more than 2,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19, and 56 deaths." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: There is no excuse for Wisconsin's GOP. None. In many if not most states, officials pretty much leave it to the parties to decide how their nominees are selected. Particularly in this unique life-and-death crisis, both parties should be free to make whatever decisions they wish on when & how their primaries are run.

Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "A small group of Bernie Sanders's top aides and allies -- including his campaign manager and his longtime strategist -- have encouraged the independent senator from Vermont to consider withdrawing from the presidential race, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. The group includes campaign manager Faiz Shakir and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), a top Sanders surrogate and ally, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive private discussions. Sanders himself has become more open to the prospect of dropping out..., especially if he suffers a significant defeat in Tuesday's Wisconsin primary, which polls suggest Joe Biden will win handily."

Marianna Sotomayor of NBC News: "In a virtual fundraiser with donors Friday night, former Vice President Joe Biden said that he has formally alerted Sen. Bernie Sanders that he will move forward with a vice presidential vetting process even though neither has become the Democratic nominee. He also disclosed to donors participating in the billed 'fireside chat' that he has had casual conversations with emerging leaders in the Democratic Party about possibly serving in his administration if he's elected President of the United States." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Commentariat -- April 4, 2020

Afternoon Update:

April Is the Cruelest Month. The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Saturday are here. "At least 276,000 people in the United States have tested positive for the virus, and officials believe the number of people who have been infected is far higher. More than 7,000 people have died, including at least 3,565 in New York State." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Saturday are here. "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he is trying to convince the United States not to block the export of 3M respirator masks to Canada. By stopping shipments of critical medical supplies, the United States would be 'hurting itself as much as Canada' because essential goods and services flow both ways across the border, Trudeau said Saturday at a news conference. On Friday, 3M revealed it is under pressure to stop exporting masks to other countries, including Canada, after the White House used the Defense Production Act to order the company to prioritize U.S. orders and cease shipments to Canada and Latin America."

** The Fish Rots from the Head. Yasmeen Abutaleb, et al., of the Washington Post: "By the time Donald Trump proclaimed himself a wartime president -- and the coronavirus the enemy -- the United States was already on course to see more of its people die than in the wars of Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq combined.... The United States will likely go down as the country that was supposedly best prepared to fight a pandemic but ended up catastrophically overmatched by the novel coronavirus, sustaining heavier casualties than any other nation.... It took 70 days from that initial notification for Trump to treat the coronavirus not as a distant threat or harmless flu strain well under control, but as a lethal force that had outflanked America's defenses and was poised to kill tens of thousands of citizens. That more-than-two-month stretch now stands as critical time that was squandered. Trump's baseless assertions in those weeks, including his claim that it would all just 'miraculously' go away, sowed significant public confusion and contradicted the urgent messages of public health experts.... Other failures cascaded through the system."

Juan Cole: "The Trump administration has forced [Capt. Brett Crozier] to retire because his letter warning of large scale deaths on his ship somehow made its way to the San Francisco Chronicle. [Thomas Modly,] one of those grey 'acting' high officials -- with whom Trump has surrounded himself in preference to actual confirmed cabinet secretaries and undersecretaries -- forced Crozier out.... Modly got the go-head for the ouster of Crozier from secretary of defense Mark Esper.... Crozier is a better man than Modly, by orders of magnitude. As Acting Navy Secretary Modly was certainly briefed repeatedly in January and February on the dangers of the coronavirus to the United States public and to the US Navy What did he do about that, as he sat around watching Trump call the deadly pandemic a 'hoax,' a 'nothing,' 'like the flu,' and promising it would go away quickly whatever it was? Modly knew that Trump was lying to the American public and that his lies would cost hundreds of thousands of American lives."

Marianna Sotomayor of NBC News: "In a virtual fundraiser with donors Friday night, former Vice President Joe Biden said that he has formally alerted Sen. Bernie Sanders that he will move forward with a vice presidential vetting process even though neither has become the Democratic nominee. He also disclosed to donors participating in the billed 'fireside chat' that he has had casual conversations with emerging leaders in the Democratic Party about possibly serving in his administration if he's elected President of the United States."

Spencer Ackerman of the Daily Beast: "Thousands of National Guardsmen around the country are in contact with people who've contracted COVID-19. But while the federal government has called on them for frontline assistance in battling the pandemic, it's not giving them what they need to protect themselves: access to the military's health insurance.... According to the National Guard's advocates and the U.S. governors' association, the guardsmen are activated on orders that last 30 days. That puts them one single day shy of the requirement allowing the military health insurance system known as TRICARE -- think of it as Medicare For All In Uniform -- to cover them."

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Your Late Friday Night News Dump. We interrupt our continuous coronavirus coverage to bring you this late-breaking news of a bit of Trump's unfinished impeachment business: ~~~

~~~ Natasha Bertrand & Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "... Donald Trump has fired the intelligence community's chief watchdog, Michael Atkinson, who was the first to sound the alarm to Congress last September about an 'urgent' complaint he'd received from an intelligence official involving Trump's communications with Ukraine's president. Trump formally notified the Senate and House intelligence committees of his intention to fire Atkinson and remove him from his duties, to take effect 30 days from Friday, according to two congressional officials and a copy of the letter obtained by Politico dated April 3.... Trump said in the letter that he 'no longer' has the fullest confidence in Atkinson.... In a statement, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) described the firing as 'retribution' and called it 'yet another blatant attempt by the President to gut the independence of the Intelligence Community and retaliate against those who dare to expose presidential wrongdoing. At a time when our country is dealing with a national emergency and needs people in the Intelligence Community to speak truth to power, the President's dead of night decision puts our country and national security at even greater risk.'..." ~~~

~~~ Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: Trump "has weighed removing [Atkinson] for months, officials said, but has been periodically talked out of it. ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "Mr. Atkinson's fate was sealed after the trial on impeachment charges ended, said one administration official, who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. The official described the move as part of a broader shake-up of the intelligence community that the president has set in motion in the past several weeks.... Mr. Atkinson had been nominated to the position by Mr. Trump and confirmed unanimously by the Senate.... Rather than being permitted to serve for another month [as required by law], the White House has told Mr. Atkinson that he is being placed on administrative leave, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The move effectively circumvents the 30-day safeguard by sidelining him immediately." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If you're wondering about the kind of inspector general Trump prefers, scroll on down the page to read about his nomination of his impeachment lawyer Brian Miller as the special inspector general under the pandemic recovery act.

Somehow, sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful Resolute Desk, wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens -- I just don't see it. -- Donald Trump, at a press briefing Friday, though he stopped receiving foreign dignitaries weeks ago

Carly Simon should update "You're So Vain." -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

Update: Oh wait. Simon did allow the song to be used in an anti-Trump ad. ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here. "President Trump said at his daily White House briefing on Friday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that Americans use basic 'nonmedical, cloth' masks. 'You can do it. You don't have to do it. I'm choosing not to do it,' Mr. Trump said. 'It's only a recommendation.'... He stressed that medical masks should be reserved for health care workers and that masks are not a substitute for social distancing.

"President Trump would not say, in response to a question, whether he is taking steps to ensure that the 2020 presidential will take place as scheduled if the coronavirus is still present this fall, but he insisted the election would not be postponed. 'The general election will happen on Nov. 3,' Mr. Trump said. Mr. Trump added that he does not approve of voting by mail, an idea gaining currency amid concerns that in-person voting would expose people to the coronavirus. 'I think a lot of people cheat with mail-in in voting,' he said. 'It should be, you go to a booth and you proudly display yourself.'

"At least one million [coronavirus] infections have been detected worldwide, but experts suspect the true number is far larger because of asymptomatic cases and delays in widespread testing. The Australian medical chief estimated that there are between five million and 10 million cases. As Beijing and Washington declared a détente in their sniping, it emerged that the C.I.A. had been warning the White House since at least February that China was vastly underestimating the scale of the crisis, limiting the usefulness of its data in predictive models.

[Leader of the Free World Gets High Marks.] "Germany has been held up as a model across Europe as its laboratories work around the clock to process coronavirus tests, a key measure that has resulted in its relatively low number of casualties.... Chancellor Angela Merkel returned to her office on Friday, ending 14 days in quarantine after a doctor who administered a vaccine to her tested positive. The chancellor has seen her approval ratings jump over her government's handling of the crisis."

The Washington Post's live updates for coronavirus developments Friday are here. Bill Barr Appears Human. "Significant outbreaks of the novel coronavirus at three federal prisons have prompted Attorney General William P. Barr to order the release of vulnerable inmates to home confinement. In a memorandum obtained by The Washington Post, Barr asked the Federal Bureau of Prisons to move elderly inmates and those with preexisting conditions from facilities in Danbury, Conn.; Oakdale, La., and Elkton, Ohio." C'mon. Bill Barr is Bill Barr. There has to be an angle here. Why do I think Paul Manafort & Roger Stone are going to figure into this story?

CNBC's live updates of coronavirus develops Friday are here. The updates include quite a few items of interest.

Frank Rich: "... the catastrophic failure of the Trump White House to mobilize government to procure and distribute medical essentials where needed is just the most visible piece of this Boschian landscape of chaos and horror. Now that Congress has enacted a $2 trillion stimulus package, we're sure to see the Trump family and its kleptocratic cohort play political and personal favorites with economic relief as well. The Trumps are nothing if not impressive in their ability to help themselves and their fellow grifters to every buck not nailed down. At a time when the president is insinuating that New York City hospital employees are stealing masks, inquiring minds want to know if the administration scheme to have FEMA bid against states for PPE, thereby driving up prices, was sheer dereliction of duty or a concerted effort to benefit war profiteers in or close to the White House."

Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "The C.I.A. has been warning the White House since at least early February that China has vastly understated its coronavirus infections and that its count could not be relied upon as the United States compiles predictive models to fight the virus, according to current and former intelligence officials.... Obtaining a more accurate count of the Chinese rate of infection and deaths from the virus has worldwide public health implications.... For American officials, the totals are critical to getting a better understanding of how Covid-19 will affect the United States in the months to come and of the effectiveness of countermeasures like social distancing.... But American intelligence agencies have concluded that the Chinese government itself does not know the extent of the virus and is as blind as the rest of the world.... Bureaucratic misreporting is a chronic problem for any government, but it has grown worse in China as the Communist leadership has taken a more authoritarian turn in recent years under Mr. Xi." ~~~

     ~~~ ** Mrs. McCrabbie: Barnes doesn't report it, but the fact that "the White House" has known since early February that China was underreporting the severity of the outbreak gives "the White House" -- i.e., Trump -- even less excuse for misleading Americans about the threat that Covid-19 posed here and for failing to prepare for the coming pandemic.

** The Dictator We've Been Waiting for. Arelis R. Hernández & Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "President Trump has used emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic to implement the kind of strict enforcement regime at the U.S. southern border he has long wanted, suspending laws that protect minors and asylum seekers so that the U.S. government can immediately deport them or turn them away. Citing the threat of 'mass, uncontrolled cross-border movement,' the president has shelved safeguards intended to protect trafficking victims and persecuted groups, implementing an expulsion order that sends migrants of all ages back to Mexico in an average of 96 minutes. U.S. Border Patrol agents do not perform medical checks when they encounter people crossing into the country.... During White House briefings on the pandemic, Trump has repeatedly brought up his border wall project, unprompted, and has touted construction progress, overstating the number of miles crews have completed as he says he is fulfilling his 2016 campaign promise." And Ivanka played flamenco as the Constitution burned. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Chuck Schumer & Rachel Maddow & I don't know who-all else are proposing that a military logistics expert head up the federal government's response to the coronavirus pandemic. If Trump were a normal Democratic president, I'd say that was a good idea. But Trump is Trump, and if he puts a military person in charge, the next thing you know we'll have martial law. Maybe there's someone at FEMA who could do it; maybe there's a retired general who could do it. But it must be a civilian who is not Jared Kushner or one of Trump's other flunkies. ~~~

~~~ Dara Lind of ProPublica: "For the first time since the enactment of the Refugee Act in 1980, people who come to the U.S. saying they fear persecution in their home countries are being turned away by Border Patrol agents with no chance to make a legal case for asylum. The shift... [is] the biggest step the administration has taken to limit humanitarian protection for people entering the U.S. without papers..., [allowing] Border Patrol agents to simply expel migrants with no process whatsoever for hearing their claims. The administration gave the Border Patrol unchallengeable authority over migrants seeking asylum by invoking a little-known power given to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. public health agency, to ban the entry of people or things that might spread 'infectious disease' in the U.S." --s

Here's How Jealous Trump Is of President Obama. Adam Cancryn, et al., of Politico: "Insurers were prepared to extend [Obamacare] coverage, HHS officials were largely on board, but the White House refused to reopen enrollment.... The White House ... rejected the prospect of allowing new sign-ups across the 38 Affordable Care Act marketplaces it controls -- a decision that shocked the health care industry, triggered widespread criticism and prompted a scramble within the administration to find a new way to care for the growing population left exposed to the pandemic. 'You have a perfectly good answer in front of you, and instead you're going to make another one up,' said one Republican close to the administration. 'It's purely ideological.'... 'It's a bad decision optics-wise,' one administration official said in the immediate aftermath. 'It politicizes people's access to health services during a serious national health emergency.'... Several states with control over their own health exchanges had already flung their doors open in the last month, in an acknowledgment of the deepening crisis that's already killed thousands and threatens to persist well into the summer."

Shawn Boburg, et al., of the Washington Post: "... on Feb. 8, one of the first CDC [coronavirus] test kits arrived ... at a public health laboratory ... [in] Manhattan. By then, the virus had reached the United States.... For hours, lab technicians struggled to verify that the test worked. Each time, it fell short, producing untrustworthy results. In the 21 days that followed, as Trump administration officials continued to rely on the flawed CDC test, many lab scientists eager to aid the faltering effort grew increasingly alarmed and exasperated by the federal government's actions.... In their private communications, scientists at academic, hospital and public health labs -- one layer removed from federal agency operations -- expressed dismay at the failure to move more quickly and frustration at bureaucratic demands that delayed their attempts to develop alternatives to the CDC test.... By then, the virus had spread across the country."

Rachana Pradham of Kaiser Health News: "A coronavirus test made by Abbott Laboratories and introduced with considerable fanfare by President Donald Trump in a Rose Garden news conference this week is giving state and local health officials very little added capacity to perform speedy tests needed to control the COVID-19 pandemic.... A document circulated among officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency this week shows that state and local public health labs were set to receive a total of only 5,500 coronavirus tests." --s ~~~

~~~ Update. Stephanie Lee & Dan Vergano of BuzzFeed News: "State labs are scrambling to get their hands on a new in-demand coronavirus test that can find a positive result in 'as little as five minutes.' But the federal government has planned to order it in quantities far below what would be needed to achieve widespread testing, according to emails obtained by BuzzFeed News.... According to the spreadsheet, all 50 state health departments, as well as some local health departments, would each receive 10 to 15 devices for a total of 780 devices distributed nationwide.... [BUT. A spokesperson for the test's manufacturer Abbott Laboratories] ... said Friday afternoon that the company started sending tests on Wednesday, and by the end of Friday 'will have shipped more than 190,000 of those rapid tests to 21 states.... In a press conference over the weekend in the Rose Garden..., Donald Trump praised the test.... On Wednesday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan told the Washington Post, 'We've talked to Abbott. They're shortly supposed to have a small amount of testing machines out to the states. No governor in America has received any yet.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It isn't clear from the BuzzFeed report how many -- if any -- test-reading devices above & beyond the original 780 ordered are going out to states now or shortly. The test swab doesn't read itself. Administering a so-called 15-minute test that has to be carried hundreds of miles to the nearest reading device means it's hardly a 15-minute test.

Jon Swaine of the Washington Post: "In September 2018, the Trump administration received detailed plans for a new machine designed to churn out millions of protective respirator masks at high speed during a pandemic. The plans, submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by medical manufacturer O&M Halyard, were the culmination of a venture unveiled almost three years earlier by the Obama administration. But HHS did not proceed with making the machine. The project was one of two N95 mask ventures -- totaling $9.8 million -- that the federal government embarked on over the past five years to better prepare for pandemics. The other involves the development of reusable masks.... Expert panels have advised the government for at least 14 years that reusable masks were vital. That effort, like the quick mask machine, has not led to a single new mask for the government's response." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: In fairness to Trump, the Obama & Bush II administrations did not do as much as they should have to prepare for future pandemics, either. Since it's impossible to foretell when a virus will strike, but a certainty that one will, the federal government should have been better prepared all along. ~~~

     ~~~ For instance, there's this fact-check by Matthew Brown of USA Today: "The claim: The Obama administration used and did not replenish the nation's emergency stockpile of medical supplies, including N95 masks[.]... We rate this claim TRUE because it is supported by our research. There is no indication that the Obama administration took significant steps to replenish the Strategic National Stockpile after it was depleted from repeated crises during Obama's tenure. Calls for action came from experts at the time concerned for the country's ability to respond to future serious pandemics. Such recommendations were, for whatever reason, not heeded." ~~~

     ~~~ Then again, there's this crap from the Crapper-in-Chief: ~~~

Jon Greenberg of Politifact: "... Donald Trump deflected blame for the slow start of testing for the new coronavirus in the United States. 'We inherited a broken test,' he said on Fox News' 'Fox and Friends' March 30.... [Obviously!] That flies in the face of logic. There could be no test for the virus that causes COVID-19 until the virus emerged." Mrs. McC: Trump's nonsensical claim also shows that he doesn't under the first thing about a disease that has overwhelmed the country & consumed his presidency*, notwithstanding the claim he made last month while visiting CDC HQ: "I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it. Every one of these doctors said, 'How do you know so much about this? ' Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president."

Nancy Cook & Dan Diamond of Politico: "The Trump White House is doubling down on a strategy to govern the coronavirus pandemic: pushing authority and responsibility for the response onto the states.... The approach could give the White House an opportunity to extract Trump from future criticism as the virus spreads throughout the nation and threatens to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans." --s

The notion of the federal stockpile was it's supposed to be our stockpile. It's not supposed to be states' stockpiles that they then use. -- Jared Kushner, White House press briefing Thursday ~~~

Here's What Happens When Jared Says Something Ignorant & False. Quint Forgey of Politico: "The official government webpage for the Strategic National Stockpile was altered Friday to seemingly reflect a controversial description of the emergency repository that White House adviser Jared Kushner offered at a news conference Thursday evening. According to a [new] brief online summary on the Department of Health and Human Services website, the stockpile's role 'is to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies. Many states have products stockpiled, as well.' But just hours earlier, the text characterized the stockpile as the 'nation's largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out.' The previous language stated that when 'state, local, tribal, and territorial responders request federal assistance to support their response efforts, the stockpile ensures that the right medicines and supplies get to those who need them most during an emergency.' Also stripped from the new summary is a sentence that affirmed the stockpile 'contains enough supplies to respond to multiple large-scale emergencies simultaneously.'" ~~~

~~~ Then Trump Defended the Clown Prince. Savannah Behrmann of USA Today: "... Donald Trump accused a reporter of asking a 'gotcha' question on Friday when asking about ... Jared Kushner's comments in which he referred to the national stockpile of medical supplies as 'our stockpile' and not one belonging to states.... CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang pressed Trump at Friday's briefing to clarify the Kushner's use of the word 'ours,' as Trump has become defensive over states needing resources from the national stockpile, claiming they should have their own, and the previous administration left them with hardly anything.... 'I mean, it's such a basic, simple question, and you try to make it sound so bad. You ought to be ashamed of yourself,' Trump continued, saying Jiang 'asked your question in a very nasty tone.'" The article includes a transcription of the full exchange, most of which also appears in Brian Williams' summary report embedded above. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Of course she's nasty. Not only did she challenge Slumlord Dynasty Boy, she's a minority woman, for Pete's sake.

Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "President Trump intends to nominate White House lawyer Brian D. Miller to serve as the inspector general overseeing the Treasury Department's implementation of the newly enacted $2 trillion coronavirus law, the White House said Friday night. If confirmed by the Senate, Miller would become Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery for the Department of Treasury, a key post in preventing fraud and abuse in the enormous new program. Currently, Miller is a special assistant to Trump and senior associate counsel in the White House Office of Legal Counsel. He played a role in attempting to defend Trump during the recent impeachment probe in Congress.... But critics pointed out that inspector generals are typically apolitical.... Former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who played a leadership role in Congress's response to the 2008 financial crisis, called the pending nomination 'contemptuous' and a 'blatant conflict of interest.'" ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Yes but, at least we know now that this won't be a problem: ~~~

     ~~~ Nepotism Normalized. Maggie Severns of Politico: "Jared Kushner's family business could be a prime beneficiary of a provision in the federal recovery bill that allows owners of apartment buildings to freeze federal mortgage payments on low- and moderate-income properties. Kushner Companies, the real estate firm started in 1985 by Kushner's father, Charles, controls thousands of low- and moderate-housing units across the country, some of which are funded through an $800 million federally backed loan the firm received in 2019." --s

Mark Niquette & Michael Sasso of Bloomberg: "The Small Business Administration has bumped up to 1% the interest rate lenders may charge small businesses under a $350 billion U.S. relief program after lenders complained that the previous approved rate of 0.5% was below even their own cost of funds.... Banks and other lenders that are key to carrying it out had said they lacked guidance on how to complete the loans, including what documentation is required from borrowers and how to verify it.... The program, part of the $2 trillion stimulus package signed by President Donald Trump on March 27, is central to help small businesses survive the devastating impact of the coronavirus outbreak..." --s (Firewalled.)

Chad Garland of Stars & Stripes reports on Capt. Brett Crozier's sendoff after the Navy relieved him of his command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. More on Crozier's removal linked yesterday.

Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, et al., of the New York Times: "In cities across America, many lower-income workers continue to move around, while those who make more money are staying home and limiting their exposure to the coronavirus, according to smartphone location data analyzed by The New York Times. Although people in all income groups are moving less than they did before the crisis, wealthier people are staying home the most, especially during the workweek. Not only that, but in nearly every state, they began doing so days before the poor, giving them a head start on social distancing as the virus spread, according to aggregated data from the location analysis company Cuebiq, which tracks about 15 million cellphone users nationwide daily." ~~~

~~~ Akilah Johnson & Talia Buford of ProPublica: "No, the coronavirus is not an 'equalizer.' Black people are being infected and dying at higher rates." The article explains why, based on historical data & on the scant data available that suggests race is a significant factor in the spread of Covid-19.

Mike Cason of AL.com: “Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris have issued an order for Alabama residents to stay at home except for 'essential activities' effective at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The governor announced the update to state measures to control the coronanvirus pandemic at the Capitol this afternoon. The order states that it will remain in full force and effect until 5 p.m. on April 30. 'Prior to 5:00 p.m. on April 30, 2020, a determination shall be made whether to extend this Order -- or, if circumstances permit, to relax this Order.'... The governor also issued a proclamation granting temporary relief from disclosures and evictions from residences." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Howell Raines, the former executive editor of the New York Times & an Alabama native said on MSNBC that the order was surprisingly strong and all the more remarkable because, "People down here don't want a governor like Andrew Cuomo who goes out looking for problems to solve." (Could be a slight paraphrase, but close.)

This is happening daily in New York City (and in other hard-hit cities around the world:

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Lachlan Markay & Lloyd Grove of the Daily Beast: 'Amid the mushrooming coronavirus crisis, Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch are girding for a pandemic of public-interest lawsuits over misinformation and conspiracy theories dispensed by certain Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network personalities such as Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Trish Regan. According to a top Murdoch executive, the father-and-son media moguls are ready to go to war with potential plaintiffs such as the Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics -- aka WASHLITE -- an activist non-profit that filed suit on Thursday against Rupert Murdoch, Fox News, and other defendants. The 10-page complaint, first reported by The Times of San Diego and filed in the superior court of Washington state's King County, seeks a judgment that the Murdoch-controlled outlets violated the state's consumer protection laws by 'falsely and deceptively disseminating "News" via cable news contracts that the novel Coronavirus, COVID-19 was a "Hoax," and that the virus was otherwise not a danger to public health and safety.'"

Daniel Lippman, et al., of Politico: "The White House is close to selecting a nominee to be the Pentagon's policy chief, following the ouster of John Rood in February as part of President Donald Trump's loyalty purge. Douglas Macgregor, a retired Army colonel and frequent Fox News commentator, and Anthony Tata, a retired Army brigadier general, former state bureaucrat and also a Fox News regular, are the leading candidates for the job of undersecretary of defense for policy[.]" --s

Presidential Race

Natasha Korecki & Zach Montellaro of Politico: "In a reversal, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced he wants to postpone his state's Tuesday election. The Democrat called the state legislature into a special session on Saturday to take up legislation that would avoid in-person voting and create an all-mail election with a deadline of May 26 to return ballots -- which was swiftly rejected by Republican leaders in the state. Evers had previously called for a predominantly mail-in election, but not for the election to be postponed. Republicans rejected Evers' earlier push for ballots to be mailed to every registered voter.... 'If they take no action, we'll be looking at whatever action we can take,' he said. 'We will continue to find ways to make sure Wisconsinites are safe, and that's the bottom line.'"

Andrew Desiderio & Besty Woodruf Swan of Politico: "A key Senate committee is vowing to press forward with its investigation targeting former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter, despite logistical challenges posed by the global coronavirus pandemic. The probe, which Democrats vigorously oppose, has fueled tension among the Senate's ranks, even breaking out into a rare and previously unreported verbal altercation between senators during a classified briefing.... Democrats have said the investigation targeting Hunter Biden threatens the integrity of the 2020 election and undermines U.S. national security, saying it could aid Russian intelligence.... Meanwhile, the delayed timeline for the investigation makes it likely that any information related to Hunter Biden could be released closer to Election Day." --s

Florida's 'Sh!t Sandwich'. Gary Fineout & Marc Caputo of Politico: "Already anxious about Trump's chances in the nation's biggest swing state, Republicans now are dealing with thousands of unemployed workers unable to navigate the Florida system to apply for help. And the blowback is directed straight at Trump's top allies in the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott.... Privately, Republicans admit that the $77.9 million system that is now failing Florida workers is doing exactly what Scott designed it to do -- lower the state's reported number of jobless claims after the great recession. 'It's a sh-- sandwich, and it was designed that way by Scott,' said one DeSantis advisor.... 'It was about making it harder for people to get benefits or keep benefits so that the unemployment numbers were low to give the governor something to brag about.'" --s

News Lede

CNN: "The search for two members of the Kennedy family -- Maeve Kennedy McKean and her son, Gideon -- was suspended 26 hours after they were reported missing in the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, Maryland, the Coast Guard said Friday night. Authorities confirmed McKean and her 8-year-old son were the missing individuals. They were last seen on Thursday evening."

The Commentariat -- April 3, 2020

Late Morning Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here. "At least one million [coronavirus] infections have been detected worldwide, but experts suspect the true number is far larger because of asymptomatic cases and delays in widespread testing. The Australian medical chief estimated that there are between five million and 10 million cases. As Beijing and Washington declared a détente in their sniping, it emerged that the C.I.A. had been warning the White House since at least February that China was vastly underestimating the scale of the crisis, limiting the usefulness of its data in predictive models.

[Leader of the Free World Gets High Marks.] "Germany has been held up as a model across Europe as its laboratories work around the clock to process coronavirus tests, a key measure that has resulted in its relatively low number of casualties.... Chancellor Angela Merkel returned to her office on Friday, ending 14 days in quarantine after a doctor who administered a vaccine to her tested positive. The chancellor has seen her approval ratings jump over her government's handling of the crisis."

The Washington Post's live updates for coronavirus developments Friday are here. "China on Thursday named Li Wenliang -- the Wuhan doctor killed by covid-19 after warning about the deadly new disease -- a 'martyr,' the highest honor Beijing bestows on citizens who die in service of the country. The announcement comes as Beijing and Washington wrestle over Li's legacy, with both sides trying to own the narrative. U.S. lawmakers are planning to introduce a bill named for Li that will empower the Trump administration to sanction foreign officials who spread misinformation about the coronavirus. In China, alarms raised by Li and other doctors about the new virus in Wuhan were initially suppressed by local officials. As the death toll rose, the official line changed, and Li was praised as a hero at the national level."

This is happening daily in New York City (and in other hard-hit cities around the world:

Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, et al., of the New York Times: "In cities across America, many lower-income workers continue to move around, while those who make more money are staying home and limiting their exposure to the coronavirus, according to smartphone location data analyzed by The New York Times. Although people in all income groups are moving less than they did before the crisis, wealthier people are staying home the most, especially during the workweek. Not only that, but in nearly every state, they began doing so days before the poor, giving them a head start on social distancing as the virus spread, according to aggregated data from the location analysis company Cuebiq, which tracks about 15 million cellphone users nationwide daily."

Abby Goodnough & Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times: "The Trump administration is close to recommending that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public, a change in position that reflects new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms and new data suggesting the United States is not yet slowing the rate of infections."

Nancy Cook & Dan Diamond of Politico: "The Trump White House is doubling down on a strategy to govern the coronavirus pandemic: pushing authority and responsibility for the response onto the states.... The approach could give the White House an opportunity to extract Trump from future criticism as the virus spreads throughout the nation and threatens to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans." --s

Rachana Pradham of Kaiser Health News: "A coronavirus test made by Abbott Laboratories and introduced with considerable fanfare by President Donald Trump in a Rose Garden news conference this week is giving state and local health officials very little added capacity to perform speedy tests needed to control the COVID-19 pandemic.... Yet a document circulated among officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency this week shows that state and local public health labs were set to receive a total of only 5,500 coronavirus tests." --s

Nepotism Normalized. Maggie Severns of Politico: "Jared Kushner's family business could be a prime beneficiary of a provision in the federal recovery bill that allows owners of apartment buildings to freeze federal mortgage payments on low- and moderate-income properties. Kushner Companies, the real estate firm started in 1985 by Kushner's father, Charles, controls thousands of low- and moderate-housing units across the country, some of which are funded through an $800 million federally backed loan the firm received in 2019." --s

Dara Lind of ProPublica: "For the first time since the enactment of the Refugee Act in 1980, people who come to the U.S. saying they fear persecution in their home countries are being turned away by Border Patrol agents with no chance to make a legal case for asylum. The shift, confirmed in internal Border Patrol guidance obtained by ProPublica [is] the biggest step the administration has taken to limit humanitarian protection for people entering the U.S. without papers..., [allowing] Border Patrol agents to simply expel migrants with no process whatsoever for hearing their claims. The administration gave the Border Patrol unchallengeable authority over migrants seeking asylum by invoking a little-known power given to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. public health agency, to ban the entry of people or things that might spread 'infectious disease' in the U.S." --s

Chad Garland of Stars & Stripes reports on Capt. Brett Crozier's sendoff after the Navy relieved him of his command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. More on Crozier's removal linked below.

Mark Niquette & Michael Sasso of Bloomberg: "The Small Business Administration has bumped up to 1% the interest rate lenders may charge small businesses under a $350 billion U.S. relief program after lenders complained that the previous approved rate of 0.5% was below even their own cost of funds.... Banks and other lenders that are key to carrying it out had said they lacked guidance on how to complete the loans, including what documentation is required from borrowers and how to verify it.... The program, part of the $2 trillion stimulus package signed by President Donald Trump on March 27, is central to help small businesses survive the devastating impact of the coronavirus outbreak..." --s (Firewalled.)

Daniel Lippman, et al., of Politico: "The White House is close to selecting a nominee to be the Pentagon's policy chief, following the ouster of John Rood in February as part of President Donald Trump's loyalty purge. Douglas Macgregor, a retired Army colonel and frequent Fox News commentator, and Anthony Tata, a retired Army brigadier general, former state bureaucrat and also a Fox News regular, are the leading candidates for the job of undersecretary of defense for policy[.]" --s

Andrew Desiderio & Besty Woodruf Swan of Politico: "A key Senate committee is vowing to press forward with its investigation targeting former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter, despite logistical challenges posed by the global coronavirus pandemic. The probe, which Democrats vigorously oppose, has fueled tension among the Senate's ranks, even breaking out into a rare and previously unreported verbal altercation between senators during a classified briefing.... Democrats have said the investigation targeting Hunter Biden threatens the integrity of the 2020 election and undermines U.S. national security, saying it could aid Russian intelligence.... Meanwhile, the delayed timeline for the investigation makes it likely that any information related to Hunter Biden could be released closer to Election Day." --s

Florida's 'Sh!t Sandwich'. Gary Fineout & Marc Caputo of Politico: "Already anxious about Trump's chances in the nation's biggest swing state, Republicans now are dealing with thousands of unemployed workers unable to navigate the Florida system to apply for help. And the blowback is directed straight at Trump's top allies in the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott.... Privately, Republicans admit that the $77.9 million system that is now failing Florida workers is doing exactly what Scott designed it to do -- lower the state's reported number of jobless claims after the great recession. 'It's a sh-- sandwich, and it was designed that way by Scott,' said one DeSantis advisor.... 'It was about making it harder for people to get benefits or keep benefits so that the unemployment numbers were low to give the governor something to brag about.'" --s

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lena Sun & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "The White House is expected to urge Americans to begin wearing cloth masks or face coverings in public to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, in a reversal of its earlier recommendations. President Trump said Thursday at a coronavirus task force briefing that 'a recommendation is coming out' but 'I don't think it will be mandatory. If people want to wear them, they can.' Vice President Pence, who heads the task force, confirmed the guidance would be released in 'coming days.' However, a White House official said the administration is considering guidance that it is 'narrowly targeted to areas with high community transmission' and the matter remains under discussion." The article is free to nonsubscribers.

Elizabeth Cohen of CNN: "A prestigious scientific panel told the White House Wednesday night that research shows coronavirus can be spread not just by sneezes or coughs, but also just by talking, or possibly even just breathing. 'While the current [coronavirus] specific research is limited, the results of available studies are consistent with aerosolization of virus from normal breathing,' according to the letter, written by Dr. Harvey Fineberg, chairman of a committee with the National Academy of Sciences. Fineberg told CNN that he will wear start wearing a mask when he goes to the grocery store.... His letter explains that research at a hospital in China shows the virus can be suspended in the air when doctors and nurses remove protective gear, or when floors are cleaned, or when staff move around. Research by the University of Nebraska shows that genetic material from the virus was found in patients' rooms more than 6 feet away from the patients, according to the letter. Fineberg said it's possible that aerosolized coronavirus droplets can hang in the air and potentially infect someone who walks by later." (Also linked yesterday.)

James Glanz, et al., of the New York Times: "Stay-at-home orders have nearly halted travel for most Americans, but people in Florida, the Southeast and other places that waited to enact such orders have continued to travel widely, potentially exposing more people as the coronavirus outbreak accelerates, according to an analysis of cellphone location data by The New York Times." Mrs. McC: The maps & charts that are part of this report paint a damning picture of bad behavior by people living in confederate areas of the country. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Orion Rummier of Axios: "Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci recommended on Thursday that all states across the U.S. implement stay-at-home orders, at a CNN town hall.... The recommendation stands in contrast to President Trump's calls for 'flexibility.' Nearly 4o states have issued stay-at-home orders to promote social distancing as a way to combat the novel coronavirus — but the orders vary in strictness and duration.... 'I don't understand why that's not happening," Fauci said ... of a nation-wide stay-at-home order. '... We really should be.'"

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Nonfarm payrolls dropped by 701,000 in March, according to Labor Department numbers released Friday that only begin to show the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus crisis. It was the first decline in payrolls since September 2010 and came close to the May 2009 financial crisis peak of 800,000. Some two-thirds of the drop came in the hospitality industry, particularly bars and restaurants forced to close during the economic shutdown. That headline number reflects the count from establishments the government surveyed for its report. The household survey, which asks individual residences about their employment situation, showed a plunge of nearly 3 million. The unemployment rate rose to 4.4% -- from 3.5% -- its highest level since August 2017 as employers just began to cut payrolls ahead of social distancing practices...."

Anneken Tappe of CNN: "The last three weeks have marked one of the most devastating periods in history for the American job market, as first-time claims for unemployment benefits have surged more than 3,000% since early March.... 6.6 million US workers filed for their first week of unemployment benefits in the week ending March 28 -- a new historic high. That was far greater than economists had expected.... Unemployment claims at this level suggest a severe job market decline hardly any American alive has ever seen in their lifetimes." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' business updates are here. "More than 6.6 million people filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, setting a grim record for the second straight week. The latest claims brought the two-week total to nearly 10 million. The speed and scale of the job losses is without precedent. Until last month, the worst week for unemployment filings was 695,000 in 1982.

"Oil prices spiked, lifting shares of energy companies, after President Trump said on Thursday that he expected the leaders of Russia and Saudi Arabia to announce oil production cuts.... Mr. Trump said in a tweet that he had spoken with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who had spoken with President Vladimir V. Putin.... The Kremlin denied that Mr. Putin had spoken to the Saudi crown prince, as Mr. Trump had said in his Twitter message. 'No, there was no conversation,' Dmitri S. Peskov, spokesman for Mr. Putin, told the Interfax news agency." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I find it a-mazing that "the stock market" continues to respond to Trump's fake news. And, sure enough ...,

~~~ Michael Crowley, et al., of the New York Times: "Leaning on two authoritarian leaders he has befriended as president, Mr. Trump spoke this week with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, urging them to bolster prices by cutting their domestic oil production. In two tweets on Thursday, Mr. Trump said that he expected they would jointly cut output by as much as 15 million barrels in a move that he said would 'be GREAT for the oil & gas industry!'" But there's no evidence such a deal is actually in the offing. "The picture emerged of a president eager to find some good economic news amid the pain of a largely shuttered domestic economy, and of an embattled Saudi leadership feeling financial strain of its own, perhaps seeking the favor of Mr. Trump. Analysts said the major outstanding question was how Moscow, which has been waging a price war with Riyadh, will respond." ~~~

~~~ Fred Imbert & Pippa Stevens of CNBC: "Stocks rose Thursday as oil's biggest one-day rally on record eased concern about financial and job losses in the energy sector. It was a volatile session as investors weighed a massive spike in unemployment claims that showed the growing negative impact shutdowns to stop the spread of the coronavirus are having on the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 469.93 points higher, or 2.2%, at 21,413.44. The S&P 500 was up 2.3% at 2,526.90 while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.7% to 7,487.31. At its session high, the Dow was up 534 points, or more than 2%. At its low of the day it was down more than 200 points."

Finally. Maegan Vazquez of CNN: "The White House announced Thursday that ... Donald Trump is invoking the Defense Production Act to clear up supply-chain issues encountered in the manufacturing of ventilators and to ensure the production of additional N95 face masks. Thursday's orders come amid increased fears of ventilator shortages and personal protective equipment around the country.... The order, which came in the form of a presidential memorandum, directs the supply of materials to make ventilators to six companies: General Electric Co., Hill-Rom Holdings Inc., Medtronic Public Limited Co., ResMed Inc., Royal Philips N.V. and Vyaire Medical Inc. It also directs acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to 'use any and all authority available under the Act to facilitate the supply of materials' to these companies. A second order invokes the Defense Production Act to authorize Azar and Pete Gaynor, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to 'use any and all authority available under the Act to acquire' N95 respirators from 3M." Mrs. McC: Of course Trump & Kushner think hospitals don't really need the life-saving equipment. ~~~

Massive amounts of medical supplies, even hospitals and medical centers, are being delivered directly to states and hospitals by the Federal Government. Some have insatiable appetites & are never satisfied (politics?). Remember, we are a backup for them. The complainers should have been stocked up and ready long before this crisis hit. -- Donald Trump, in tweets Thursday

"Long before the crisis hit"?? You mean when you were saying you had the disease under control & soon the number of victims would be down to zero? That's when the "complainers should have stocked up"? -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie ~~~

~~~ James E. Baker, a former NSC advisor, in a New York Times op-ed, castigates Trump for not using the full force of the Defense Production Act & other tools in his arsenel "to close the supply gap, allocate resources among states, and prepare for the production and distribution of the vaccine to come.... Its use is not as extraordinary as some suggest.... The Defense Department alone uses the prioritization authority some 300,000 times a year, while the government uses Title III incentives 20 to 30 times per year."

Philip Rucker & Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "In the three weeks since declaring the novel coronavirus outbreak a national emergency, President Trump has delivered a dizzying array of rhetorical contortions, sowed confusion and repeatedly sought to cast blame on others. History has never known a crisis response as strong as his own, Trump says -- yet the self-described wartime president claims he is merely backup. He has faulted governors for acting too slowly and, as he did Thursday, has accused overwhelmed state and hospital officials of complaining too much and of hoarding supplies. America is winning its war with the coronavirus, the president says -- yet the death toll rises still, and in the best-case scenario more Americans will die than in the wars in Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan and Iraq combined. The economy is the strongest ever and will rebound in no time, he says -- yet stock markets have cratered and in the past two weeks a record 10 million people filed for unemployment insurance.... He sometimes scolds reporters who question his version of events. The result is chaotic." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump relies on Trumpbots not to have the "first-rate intelligence ... to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function," as F. Scott Fitzgerald posited, but to have no memory whatsoever & to accept whatever Trump says at the moment as the true thing -- until it changes. Consistency is not a hobgoblin that unsettles their little minds.

Caroline Kelly & Jason Hoffman of CNN: "The White House released a letter from ... Donald Trump attacking Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in starkly personal terms on Thursday -- just moments after the President said that 'this is not the time for politics' ... at the White House daily coronavirus briefing.... 'I've known you for many years but I never knew how bad a Senator you are for the state of New York, until I became President,' Trump wrote to Schumer, disparaging his request as 'Democrat public relations letter and incorrect soundbites, which are wrong in every way.'... Trump claimed that if Schumer had spent less time on impeachment, New York might not have been 'so completely unprepared for the invisible enemy.'... Trump had attempted to keep the letter from being sent out after speaking with Schumer on the phone Thursday afternoon.... [Schumer had] called on the administration to select "one person, a military person, a general who knows how to deal with logistics and order mastering, who knows command and control.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Let's look at that sequence. (1) Deranged Prez* dictates an insane letter to a high government official. (2) Prez* speaks to official; official peels deranged Prez* off wall. (3) Prez* tells staff to hold back insane letter. (4) Prez* goes to press briefing. (5) Staff releases insane letter. Conclusion: Prez* has no control over himself or his staff.

"A Textbook Propaganda Campaign. Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "A review of hundreds of hours of programming and social media traffic from Jan. 1 through mid-March -- when the White House started urging people to stay home and limit their exposure to others -- shows that doubt, cynicism and misinformation about the virus took root among many of Mr. Trump's boosters in the right-wing media as the number of confirmed cases in the United States grew. It was during this lull -- before the human and economic toll became undeniable -- when the story of the coronavirus among the president's most stalwart defenders evolved into the kind of us-versus-them clash that Mr. Trump has waged for much of his life. Now, with the nation's economic and physical health in clear peril, Mr. Trump and many of his allies on the airwaves and online are blaming familiar enemies in the Democratic Party and the news media." (Also linked yesterday.)

David Enrich, et al., of the New York Times: "With some of its golf courses and hotels closed amid the economic lockdown, the Trump Organization has been exploring whether it can delay payments on some of its loans and other financial obligations, according to people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by The New York Times. Representatives of Mr. Trump's company have recently spoken with Deutsche Bank, the president's largest creditor, about the possibility of postponing payments on at least some of its loans from the bank. And in Florida, the Trump Organization sought guidance last week from Palm Beach County about whether it expected the company to continue making monthly payments on county land that it leases for a 27-hole golf club.... The company ... has opted to keep some of its properties open absent government orders to close, in contrast with the widespread shutdowns by some larger hotel chains."

Peter Baker & others at the New York Times take a stab at analyzing Jared Kushner's contributions to the White House's coronavirus response chaos. "At one of the most perilous moments in modern American history, Mr. Kushner is trying in a disjointed White House to marshal the forces of government for the war his father-in-law says he is waging. A real estate developer with none of the medical expertise of a public health official nor the mobilization experience of a general, Mr. Kushner has nonetheless become a key player in the response to the pandemic.... Mr. Kushner has embedded dozens of political appointees and recruits from the private sector in critical spots like FEMA. His 'impact team,' as he calls it, has been nicknamed the Slim Suit Crowd for its sartorial preferences by khaki-wearing FEMA veterans.... [A] senior official described the Kushner team as a 'frat party' that descended from a U.F.O. and invaded the federal government." ~~~

~~~ "Jared Kushner Is Going to Get Us All Killed." Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times seems a little skeptical that Jared is helping. According to Gabriel Sherman of Vanity Fair, Kushner said, "'I'm doing my own projections, and I've gotten a lot smarter about this. New York doesn't need all the ventilators.' (Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top expert on infectious diseases, has said he trusts Cuomo's estimate.) Even now, it's hard to believe that someone with as little expertise as Kushner could be so arrogant, but he said something similar on Thursday, when he made his debut at the White House's daily coronavirus briefing[.]... It's hard to overstate the extent to which this confidence is unearned.... Now, in our hour of existential horror, Kushner is making life-or-death decisions for all Americans, showing all the wisdom we've come to expect from him. 'Mr. Kushner's early involvement with dealing with the virus was in advising the president that the media's coverage exaggerated the threat,' reported The Times." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: To be clear, "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Thursday [said that] ... at the rate the state was using ventilators for coronavirus patients, it would run out in just six days." As Cuomo said during his Thursday presser, ventilators are expensive & New York State is broke. Therefore, it makes no sense that he would be begging to purchase ventilators the state & New York City don't need. But that punk Jared has the gall to accuse Cuomo of exaggerating.

What a lot of the voters are seeing now is that when you elect somebody to be a mayor or governor or president, you're trying think about who will be a competent manager during the time of crisis. This is a time of crisis, and you're seeing certain people are better managers than others. -- Jared Kushner, at Thursday's White House coronavirus briefing

Finally, Kushner says one true thing. Of course, his point was that Trump was doing a better than governors, but an AP poll shows that the majority of Americans know better. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

Mrs. McCrabbie: I believe it was safari who was wondering a few days ago whatever had happened to "presidential advisor" Ivanka Trump. Well, now we know. She is putting her valuable time to good use for the American people! ~~~

~~~ Tasos Kokkinidis of the Greek Reporter: "... Ivanka Trump said Tuesday she's mostly working from home during the coronavirus outbreak while also caring for her three children, learning to play guitar -- and now studying Greek mythology. Ms. Trump said she has been using the time 'to expand my own mind and explore things I normally wouldn't have prioritized.' That includes free online courses in Greek and Roman mythology, and learning to play the guitar." (Also linked yesterday.)

William Wan, et al., of the Washington Post: "Leading disease forecasters, whose research the White House used to conclude 100,000 to 240,000 people will die nationwide from the coronavirus, were mystified when they saw the administration's projection this week.... White House officials have refused to explain how they generated the figure.... They have not provided the underlying data so others can assess its reliability or provided long-term strategies to lower that death count. Some of President Trump's top advisers have expressed doubts about the estimate.... Anthony S. Fauci ... told others there are too many variables at play in the pandemic to make the models reliable.... Jeffrey Shaman, a Columbia University epidemiologist whose models were cited by the White House, said his own work on the pandemic doesn't go far enough into the future to make predictions akin to the White House fatality forecast."

Lara Seligman & Bryan Bender of Politico: "Defense Secretary Mark Esper is under fire for the Pentagon's response to the coronavirus pandemic as lawmakers, national security experts and people throughout the Defense Department's ranks fault him for a slow and uneven approach to the outbreak. Esper is coming under scrutiny for punting tough choices over how to slow the virus to local commanders, resulting in a hodgepodge of rules driven more by concerns over readiness than the need to contain the virus. Several military officials expressed frustration with a lack of top-down planning and guidance on decisions from buying equipment to social distancing."

Navy Brass Punishes Captain for Trying to Save U.S. Lives. Courtney Kube of NBC News: "The Navy announced it has relieved the captain who sounded the alarm about an outbreak of COVID-19 aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Capt. Brett Crozier, who commands the Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier with a crew of nearly 5,000, was relieved of his command on Thursday, but he will keep his rank and remain in the Navy." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Update. Quint Forgey of Politico: "Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said Friday ... that Crozier did not follow the proper chain of command in reporting his concerns, which Modly claimed were already being addressed at the time [Capt. Brett] Crozier sent his letter. Modly also faulted Crozier for sending the letter, which contained no classified information, over 'non-secure, unclassified email' and copying 'a broad array of people' on the correspondence. Crozier should have instead conveyed his warning via the 'direct line' Modly said he established between them 'way before his letter was written.' The remarks from the acting secretary came shortly after several videos began circulating on social media Friday morning showing Crozier disembarking from the carrier while a throng of crew members cheered his name and offered loud applause for their former commanding officer." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Just guessing here, but I suspect Crozier did "follow the proper chain of command" before he sent his letter, but got no satisfactory response. The fact that Modly said the problem was "already being addressed" suggests this is true: the brass would not be "addressing a problem" if they didn't know it existed.

PLAN AHea. Catherine Garcia of the Week: "In September, the Trump administration ended a $200 million pandemic early-warning program called PREDICT that trained scientists in laboratories around the world on how to find and respond to viruses that could spread from wild animals to humans. The program was launched by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2009, in response to the 2005 global spread of the H5N1 bird flu.... Over the course of the project [scientists] identified 1,200 viruses that had the ability to turn into pandemics, including more than 160 novel coronaviruses. Nearly 7,000 people in 30 countries were trained through PREDICT, including employees of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. That lab went on to identify SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.... PREDICT was funded twice, each time for five years, and although it ended in September, USAID on Wednesday granted an emergency extension to the program; experts will spend the next six months assisting foreign labs working to combat COVID-19."

"Utter Chaos." Stephanie Ruhle, et al., of NBC News: "Millions of small businesses are anxiously awaiting their slices of a $350 billion relief program that forms part of the government's $2 trillion economic support package. However, with just hours to go before launch, it wasn't until Thursday night that banks received their 31 pages of guidance from the Treasury Department on how to lend the money -- and some haven't even decided whether they can participate on the opening day. In a strongly worded statement, one of the nation's biggest lenders [Chase Bank] said the much-touted relief program for small business owners wasn't ready for prime time.... At a White House news briefing Thursday afternoon, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin maintained that the program is ready to go, and said he wasn't aware of the complaints." Mrs. McC: "I haven't heard that" seems to be the go-to answer by Trump & the Trumpets when reporters ask obvious questions about well-reported administration missteps. ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. The Check Is Not in the Mail. Kasie Hunt & Alex Moe of NBC News: "The first Americans to get relief payments from the government under the coronavirus legislation signed into law last month won't see the money until at least the week of April 13, according to new estimates from the Trump administration provided to House Democrats. Many people who don't have direct deposit information on file with the IRS might have to wait months to get the money."

Sheryl Stolberg & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi, moving aggressively to scrutinize the Trump administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, said Thursday that she would seek to create a special bipartisan committee to oversee all aspects of the government's response, including how it distributes more than $2 trillion in emergency aid. The announcement, which drew immediate objections from President Trump and the top House Republican, came as leaders were struggling to determine how Congress could perform its most basic functions -- both legislating and acting as a check on a president who has consistently stonewalled attempts at oversight -- when lawmakers were scattered around the country with the Capitol shuttered. The plan to create a select committee, which would require a House vote, reflects a particular sense of urgency among Democrats.... Ms. Pelosi said the panel would have subpoena power, meaning it could demand testimony and documents from the Trump administration. That raised the prospect of a new round of constitutional showdowns between Mr. Trump and the Democrat-led House...."

DeSantis Wins Pandering Prize. And It's a Killer. Sebastian Murdock of the Huffington Post: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) undercut his own stay-at-home order by exempting religious services from that necessary step to slow the spread of the coronavirus.... If the governor had finally decided to take the threat seriously, his order carved out a large exception for religious services conducted in churches, synagogues and other houses of worship, which are deemed to be 'essential business' and thus exempt from the stay-at-home mandate." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Steve Contorno of the Tampa Bay Times: "Hours after Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a statewide stay-at-home order Wednesday, he quietly signed another one that appeared to override restrictions put in place by local governments to halt the spread of coronavirus. However, DeSantis on Thursday said the amendment he signed does the reverse, instigating another round of confusion over the intent of his directives. The second order, first reported by the Tampa Bay Times, said that new state guidelines taking effect Friday morning 'supersede any conflicting official action or order issued by local officials in response to COVID-19.' It seemed to suggest that counties and cities could not place limitations that would be more strict than the statewide guidelines.... But then DeSantis said late Thursday that this was not the case. 'If (local governments) want to do more, they can do more in certain situations, he told reporters.... His office didn't respond to multiple requests for clarification." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This confusion -- "certain situations"??? -- is surprising, of course, because Donald Trump certified that DeSantis is a "great governor who knows exactly what he's doing."

~~~ Also. Joseph Fried of the New York Times: "Kevin Thomas Duffy, a federal judge who presided over decades of high-profile trials in Manhattan, including those of mob bosses, radical revolutionaries and the terrorists who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993, died on Wednesday in Greenwich, Conn. He was 87. A longtime colleague and friend, P. Kevin Castel, said the cause was Covid-19...."

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Paul Blest of Vice: "Leaked notes from an internal meeting of Amazon leadership ... reveal company executives discussed a plan to smear fired warehouse employee Christian Smalls, calling him 'not smart or articulate' as part of a PR strategy to make him 'the face of the entire union/organizing movement.'... The discussion took place at a daily meeting, which included CEO Jeff Bezos, to update each other on the coronavirus situation.... They discussed encouraging Amazon executives to use Smalls to discredit the wider labor movement at Amazon.... Amazon fired the warehouse worker Smalls on Monday, after he led a walkout of a number of employees at a Staten Island distribution warehouse.... Smalls ... claims he was singled out after pleading with management to sanitize the warehouse and be more transparent about the number of workers who were sick." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I heard an interview of Smalls on cable news, and he seemed "good enough, smart enough" and articulate enough to me. But it is inspiring to know that the richest man in the world is sitting around with the suits thinking up ways to trash an employee who wants to save the lives of workers who break their backs for Amazon -- for as little as $15/hour.

Presidential Race

Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Thursday declined to postpone Wisconsin's scheduled April 7 presidential primaries amid widespread worries that holding elections during the coronavirus pandemic could risk public health and curtail access to the polls. The ruling from U.S. District Judge William M. Conley means Wisconsin will remain the only one of 11 states originally scheduled to hold contests in April that has not postponed or dramatically altered voting amid the pandemic. However, in a 53-page ruling, Conley extended the deadline for absentee ballots to be requested by voters from Thursday to Friday, and extended the deadline for completed ballots to be received by local election officials by six days: from 8 p.m. on April 7 to 4 p.m. on April 13. He also prohibited the state from enforcing the requirement that absentee ballot envelopes bear a witness signature when voters include a statement that they were unable to obtain one safely. Conley made clear that he disagreed with the state's decision to go forward with the election, but he explained that he was constrained to consider only the constitutional rights of voters -- not public health."

Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "The Democratic National Committee on Thursday postponed its national convention because of the coronavirus, moving it from mid-July to mid-August.... The convention will still be held in Milwaukee, as planned, the week of Aug. 17, officials said, a week before Republicans plan to gather in Charlotte, N.C., to renominate President Trump." A TPM story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Senate Race. Maggie Haberman & Annie Karni of the New York Times: "President Trump's campaign is demanding that Jeff Sessions, the former Attorney General, stop attaching himself to the president in his effort to win back his old Senate seat in Alabama, after Mr. Sessions distributed a campaign mailer that mentioned the president 22 times. In an unusual letter to the Sessions campaign, which was obtained by The New York Times, the Trump campaign called Mr. Sessions' claim that he is the president's top supporter 'delusional.'... Mr. Trump has endorsed Tommy Tuberville, a former football coach, over Mr. Sessions in the runoff to be the Republican nominee taking on the incumbent Democrat, Senator Doug Jones, in the fall. The runoff is currently scheduled for July 14." The Hill has a summary story here. (Also linked yesterday.)

News Ledes

Washington Post: "Authorities continued searching Friday for two members of the Kennedy family who disappeared in the Chesapeake Bay after they had set out in a canoe to retrieve a ball in the water -- a mission that family said 'turned from rescue to recovery.' Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40, and her 8-year-old son Gideon Joseph Kennedy McKean went missing near Annapolis on Thursday evening while the family had gathered at a waterfront house owned by McKean's mother, family and authorities said."

AP: "Bill Withers, who wrote and sang a string of soulful songs in the 1970s that have stood the test of time, including 'Lean On Me,' 'Lovely Day' and 'Ain't No Sunshine,' has died from heart complications, his family said in a statement to The Associated Press. He was 81. The three-time Grammy Award winner, who withdrew from making music in the mid-1980s, died on Monday in Los Angeles, the statement said. His death comes as the public has drawn inspiration from his music during the coronavirus pandemic, with health care workers, choirs, artists and more posting their own renditions on 'Lean on Me' to help get through the difficult times."