The Commentariat -- March 13, 2020

Afternoon Update:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~~~~~~~~~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Presidential Race

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

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

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

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

Beyond the Beltway

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

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

The Commentariat -- March 12, 2020

Afternoon Update:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~~~~~~~~~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha

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

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

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

Presidential Race

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Commentariat -- March 11, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~~~~~~~~~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Senate Races

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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