The Commentariat -- April 23, 2020

Afternoon Update:

** Time to Pad the Walls of the Brady Press Room. Reed Richardson of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump offered up bizarre and possibly dangerous suggestions about medical research on the coronavirus at his daily White House briefing, suggesting that blasting patients with 'tremendous' amounts of UV light, even 'inside of the body'; as well as injecting them with the same disinfectants that are used to kill the viruses on surfaces might be effective treatments for Covid-19. Trump was riffing off of some still developing research presented by Bill Bryan, an official from the Science and Technology branch of the Department of Homeland Security, who had just detailed the half-life of the coronavirus under various heat, humidity, and light conditions. Bryan noted that the virus seemed to decay quicker under the ultraviolet light from the sun.... Trump ... began to discuss his own take on the data.... ' So, supposing we hit the body with tremendous, I don't know if it's ultraviolet or very powerful light, and I think you said that has been checked but you're going to test it,' Trump said, turning to Bryan.... ' Then I said what it if you brought the light inside of the body which you could do either through the skin or some other way and I think you said you were going to test that, too, sounds interesting,' he added next, again turning to Bryan for validation. But then Trump even went further, connecting the household bleaching agents in most surface disinfectants to a possible internal treatment for humans, which would be toxic and possibly fatal. 'Then I see the disinfectant, one minute. Is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside, or almost a cleaning. Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it'd be interesting to check that so that you'll have to use medical doctors with.... So we'll see, but the whole concept of the light, where it goes in one minute. That's pretty powerful." After Bryan diplomatically nixed Trump's "ideas," Trump doubled down, "waving his hand as if to demonstrate his imagined procedure." The article includes video.

Trump Thinks He's Entitled to His Own Facts. Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump said Thursday he disagreed with Anthony Fauci's statement that the U.S. does not yet have the testing capacity that it needs to effectively contain the spread of the novel coronavirus as stay-at-home restrictions are relaxed.... The president described the U.S. as more advanced than other nations on testing, claiming that other countries have inquired about American capabilities. 'We're doing very well on testing. We've tested far more than anyone else in the world and within a short period of time you'll be hearing about new tests that are coming out that are going to be incredible,' Trump said.... Fauci ... told Time in an interview published earlier Thursday that the U.S. needs to 'significantly ramp up' testing in order to contain future outbreaks.... Fauci ... was not present at Thursday's briefing...."

Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "The House overwhelmingly passed a $484 billion spending package Thursday as the unemployment crisis deepened, a stark illustration of how policymakers continue trying to rescue an unraveling economy amid growing despair. The legislation, approved 388-5, would restart a small-business loan program that was swamped by demand and allocate more money for health-care providers and virus testing. The vote was historic, as many lawmakers wore masks on the House floor, some even speaking through face coverings as they delivered impassioned remarks.... The legislation will now go to President Trump...."

He's a Liar, But We'll Vote for Him. Julie Pace & Anna Fingerhut of the AP: "... Donald Trump has made himself the daily spokesman for the nation's coronavirus response. Yet few Americans regularly look to or trust Trump as a source of information on the pandemic, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Just 28% of Americans say they're regularly getting information from Trump about the coronavirus and only 23% say they have high levels of trust in what the president is telling the public. Another 21% trust him a moderate amount.... Only about half of Republicans say they have a lot of trust in Trump's information on the pandemic -- and 22% [of Republicans] say they have little or no trust in what he says about the COVID-19 outbreak. But even as many Republicans question Trump's credibility during the pandemic, the overwhelming majority -- 82% -- say they still approve of how he's doing. That's helped keep the president's overall approval rating steady at 42%, about where it's been for the past few months."

Andrew Kaczynski, et al., of CNN: "The new spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services in a series of now-deleted tweets made racist and derogatory comments about Chinese people, said Democrats wanted the coronavirus to kill millions of people and accused the media of intentionally creating panic around the pandemic to hurt ... Donald Trump. Michael Caputo, a longtime New York Republican political operative who worked on Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, was appointed last week as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at HHS, a prominen communications role at the department which serves a central role in the federal government's response to the coronavirus pandemic. Caputo, a prolific user who often tweeted insults and profanity, recently erased nearly his entire Twitter history from before April 12." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump's HHS Department is pretty great. They hired a guy (apparently at Trump's behest) who's a xenophobic liar who falsely accuses Democrats of wishing death to millions; the guy who is running the department's pandemic response lacks much experience in anything but labradoodle breeding, and they fired a doctor who's an expert on vaccines because he pushed back against funding Trump's magical meds. Decency & competence are liabilities at HHS, not assets.

Oops. Ed Silverman, et al., of STAT: "The antiviral medicine remdesivir from Gilead Sciences failed to speed the improvement of patients with Covid-19 or prevent them from dying, according to results from a long-awaited clinical trial conducted in China. Gilead, however, said the data suggest a 'potential benefit.' A summary of the study results was inadvertently posted to the website of the World Health Organization and seen by STAT on Thursday, but then removed."

New York. Karen Matthews & David Caruso of the AP: "More evidence is emerging that far more New Yorkers have had the coronavirus than the number confirmed by lab tests, officials said Thursday, offering insight that could help authorities decide how and how quickly to let people stop isolating from friends and return to work. Blood samples collected from about 3,000 people indicated that nearly 14% had developed antibodies to fight a coronavirus infection, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at his daily news briefing. In New York City, the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S., 21% of the people tested had antibodies. It's not know yet how much protection antibodies provide or how long that immunity might last, and Cuomo cautioned that the data was preliminary. The sample of people tested was small. Participants were hastily recruited at shopping centers and grocery stores, meaning they were healthy enough to be out in public."

Katrin Bennhold of the New York Times: "As images of America's overwhelmed hospital wards and snaking jobless lines have flickered across the world, people on the European side of the Atlantic are looking at the richest and most powerful nation in the world with disbelief.... The pandemic sweeping the globe ... is shaking fundamental assumptions about American exceptionalism -- the special role the United States played for decades after World War II as the reach of its values and power made it a global leader and example to the world. Today it is leading in a different way: More than 840,000 Americans have been diagnosed with Covid-19 and at least 46,784 have died from it, more than anywhere else in the world.... And in the United States, [the pandemic] has exposed two great weaknesses that, in the eyes of many Europeans, have compounded one another: the erratic leadership of Mr. Trump, who has devalued expertise and often refused to follow the advice of his scientific advisers, and the absence of a robust public health care system and social safety net." ~~~

~~~ Yet There Will Be Heroes. Meagan Flynn of the Washington Post: "At his factory just off the Delaware River, in the far southeastern corner of Pennsylvania, Joe Boyce clocked in on March 23 for the longest shift of his life. In his office, an air mattress replaced his desk chair. He brought a toothbrush and shaving kit, moving into the Braskem petrochemical plant in Marcus Hook, Pa., as if it were a makeshift college dormitory. The casual office kitchen became a mess hall for him and his 42 co-workers turned roommates. The factory's emergency operations center became their new lounge room. For 28 days, they did not leave -- sleeping and working all in one place. In what they called a 'live-in' at the factory, the undertaking was just one example of the endless ways that Americans in every industry have uniquely contributed to fighting coronavirus. The 43 men went home Sunday after each working 12-hour shifts all day and night for a month straight, producing tens of millions of pounds of the raw materials that will end up in face masks and surgical gowns worn on the front lines of the pandemic." ~~~

Here's a partial response to a comment RAS made in yesterday's thread:

Danielle Garrand of CBS News: "Farmers around the country have been forced to dump milk and waste fresh produce as schools, restaurants and other institutions remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. In response, Supermarket chain Publix launched a new initiative Wednesday to help struggling farmers -- and get the food to Americans who need it most. The company's press release said it will purchase fresh produce and milk from farmers impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and donate the goods directly to Feeding America food banks that are in its 'operating area.' During the first week of the initiative alone, some 150,000 pounds of produce and 43,500 gallons of milk is expected to be donated, the company said.... In addition to the new initiative, Publix Super Markets Charities recently made donations which totaled $2 million to help Feeding America's member food banks amid the crisis." Mrs. McC: Publix is owned by its employees.

Jennifer Senior of the New York Times: "The president has decided he's had enough of running the country and is running full time for re-election instead. One could argue that this has been Donald J. Trump's approach from the start -- the last three years of shriek-tweeting, Fox-bingeing, and stadium rallies have had little to do with governance -- but it's much more obvious now that we're in the midst of a global emergency.... Trump's nightly news conferences, propaganda from the very beginning, are now aimed almost entirely at his base. They are campaign events. And ... the cable news outlets, which still carry the bulk of them live, ought ... check in with the Joe Biden camp before, during and after each one.... It would be harder to make the case for equal time for Biden if Trump were busy telling us what he's doing during these Potemkin pressers. But he's repeatedly telling us what he's not doing, because he's apparently responsible for nothing."

Sasha Pezenik of ABC News: "The eldest of ... Massachusetts Sen. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's three older brothers, Don Reed, died on Tuesday night from the coronavirus in Norman, Oklahoma, about three weeks after testing positive. He was 86.... Warren has been passionately outspoken about the pandemic's grip on the nation and world; and a vocal critic of the Trump administration's response to the COVID-19 crisis; releasing plans to combat its economic impact."

She Got Runned Over by a Damned Trump Bus. Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal Constitution: "... Donald Trump's opposition to Gov. Brian Kemp's plan to start reopening parts of Georgia's economy will force Republican candidates to pick between their party's leader or the state&'s top official amid the coronavirus pandemic. That tension quickly factored into the race between U.S. Kelly Loeffler, Kemp';s appointee to the seat, and U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, whom Trump initially favored. Loeffler said Thursday she supports Kemp's 'efforts to begin to get Georgians back to work safely,' while Collins was critical of the governor.... In a quirk of timing, [Loeffler] joined the governor on a tele-town hall shortly before Trump's press briefing where she spoke of Kemp's approach as a needed step.... 'Poor Kelly did this to herself. She asked Brian to help her across the political street and they both got hit by a bus,' said Collins spokesman Dan McLagan. 'Which then got backed over them. And caught fire.'"

Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "The husband of 'The View' personality Meghan McCain violated federal labor law while threatening employees of his right-wing website against unionizing. In 2019, Ben Domenech tweeted that that union organizing in his workplace would result in the employee being sent 'back to the salt mine.' 'FDRLST Media chief Ben Domenech's tweet was an "obvious threat" -- not a joke or an expression of opinion shielded by the First Amendment -- when viewed in light of workers' legally protected rights, Judge Kenneth Chu said Wednesday,' Bloomberg Law reports."

~~~~~~~~~~

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Jobless claim filings continued at a historically unprecedented pace last week with 4.4 million new signups for unemployment insurance, bringing the total of the past five weeks to 26.4 million, the Labor Department said Thursday. The total represented a decline of 810,000 from the previous week, but the five-week sum has now surpassed all of the job gains since the financial crisis...."

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here. "Lawmakers are gathering in Washington today to vote on a $484 billion coronavirus package that would revive a depleted loan program for distressed small businesses and provide funds for hospitals and coronavirus testing. But it will not provide money for state governments, even as governors across the country have had to divert resources to fight the virus while watching their revenue streams fall off a cliff.... Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, said that states should consider declaring bankruptcy rather than looking to the federal government.States do not now have the ability to declare bankruptcy to reduce their financial obligations, but Mr. McConnell raised the possibility of letting them do so."

Notes from Wednesday's Propaganda Briefing:

Here's Trump comparing the crowd he got for his speech last July 4th to crowds MLK used to get for his speeches pic.twitter.com/rwaO0YPj4G

-- Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 22, 2020

If we have embers of corona coupled with the flu, it's not going to be what we’ve gone through in any way, shape or form.... It's also possible it doesn't come back at all. -- Donald Trump, Wednesday's briefing

There will be coronavirus in the fall. -- Anthony Fauci, Wednesday's briefing ~~~

~~~ Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "The president's latest assertion seemed prompted by his anger with The Washington Post over an interview with Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published a day earlier. In that interview, Dr. Redfield warned that fall and winter would be taxing on Americans because influenza and the coronavirus would be circulating at the same time. 'He was misquoted,' Mr. Trump said.... On Wednesday, directed by the president to take the stage, Dr. Redfield said, 'When I commented yesterday that there was a possibility of next fall and winter, it could be more difficult, more complicated when we had two respiratory illnesses circulating at the same time.'... When pressed by reporters, Dr. Redfield said he had been accurately quoted." ~~~

~~~ Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued a candid warning Tuesday in a Washington Post interview: A simultaneous flu and coronavirus outbreak next fall and winter 'will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through,' adding that calls and protests to 'liberate' states from stay-at-home orders -- as President Trump has tweeted -- were 'not helpful.' The next morning, Trump cracked down with a Twitter edict: Redfield had been totally misquoted in a cable news story summarizing the interview, he claimed, and would be putting out a statement shortly. By Wednesday evening, Redfield appeared at the daily White House briefing -- saying he had been accurately quoted after all, while also trying to soften his words as the president glowered next to him."

Uh-Oh. Trump Hangs Kemp Out to Dry. Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "... Donald Trump said Wednesday he 'strongly disagrees' with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's decision to allow businesses like barbershops and nail salons to reopen, a day after he praised him during the White House briefing. 'I told the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, that I disagree strongly with his decision to open certain facilities,' Trump said at his daily coronavirus briefing Wednesday. 'But at the same time, he must do what he thinks is right. I want him to do what he thinks is right. But I disagree with him on what he's doing.' Kemp tweeted after the president's remarks that he appreciated Trump's 'bold leadership and insight during these difficult times,' but he didn't back down.... Asked about the same plan Tuesday, Trump praised Kemp as 'a capable man who knows what he's doing.'"

MSNBC: "President Trump said he did not know Dr. Rick Bright, a leading vaccine doctor who says he was ousted from his position for resisting the recommendation of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the coronavirus by the Trump administration. Yet after further questioning, the president began to question Bright's experience." This is a caption for a video of portions of Trump's "briefing," which is worth watching. ~~~

~~~ Michael Shear & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The official who led the federal agency involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine said on Wednesday that he was removed from his post after he pressed for rigorous vetting of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug embraced by President Trump as a coronavirus treatment, and that the administration had put 'politics and cronyism ahead of science.' Rick Bright was abruptly dismissed this week as the director of the Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, and removed as the deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response. He was given a narrower job at the National Institutes of Health. In a scorching statement, Dr. Bright, who received a Ph.D. in immunology and molecular pathogenesis from Emory University, assailed the leadership at the health department, saying he was pressured to direct money toward hydroxychloroquine, one of several 'potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections' and repeatedly described by the president as a potential 'game changer' in the fight against the virus." ~~~

~~~ From the New York Times' live updates Wednesday: "'I believe [my] transfer was in response to my insistence that the government invest the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the Covid-19 pandemic into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit,' [Bright] said in a statement to The Times's Maggie Haberman.... 'Specifically, and contrary to misguided directives, I limited the broad use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, promoted by the administration as a panacea, but which clearly lack scientific merit,' he said.... 'I will request that the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services investigate the manner in which this administration has politicized the work of BARDA and has pressured me and other conscientious scientists to fund companies with political connections and efforts that lack scientific merit,' he said." This is a follow-up to a STAT story linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Larry Elliott of the Guardian: "Donald Trump's botched handling of the Covid-19 crisis has left the US looking like a 'third world' country and on course for a second Great Depression, one of the world's leading economists has warned. In a withering attack on the president, Joseph Stiglitz said millions of people were turning to food banks, turning up for work due to a lack of sick pay and dying because of health inequalities. The Nobel prize-winning economist said: 'The numbers turning to food banks are just enormous and beyond the capacity of them to supply. It is like a third world country. The public social safety net is not working.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Lock Him Out! Gabby Orr of Politico: "As his own health officials continue to warn against nonessential travel, Trump has privately urged aides over the past week to start adding official events back to his schedule, including photo ops and site visits that would allow him to ditch Washington for a few hours. The day trips would be similar to those Vice President Mike Pence has made visiting businesses during the viral pandemic, according to three people familiar with the planning.... 'If there was a situation where the president was trying to violate his own guidelines, we would certainly have a conversation about that,' said an aide to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers." (Also linked yesterday.)

Aram Roston & Melissa Taylor of Reuters: In late January, HHS Secretary Alex "Azar tapped a trusted aide with minimal public health experience to lead the agency's day-to-day response to COVID-19. The aide, Brian Harrison, had joined the department after running a dog-breeding business for six years. Five sources say some officials in the White House derisively called him 'the dog breeder.'... Harrison, 37, was an unusual choice, with no formal education in public health, management, or medicine and with only limited experience in the fields." Mrs. McC: I do think breeding labradoodles is excellent experience for running a massive effort to save the nation from a looming pandemic. Maybe the reason I would not be up to the task is that I had my dogs neutered.

Betsy DeVos Is So Sweet. From the NYT's live updates for today: "The Education Department will prohibit colleges from granting emergency assistance to undocumented students, even those currently under federal protection, according to guidance issued to colleges and universities on Tuesday. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos ordered higher education institutions to distribute more than $6 billion in emergency relief only to students who are eligible for federal financial aid, including U.S. citizens or legal residents. The directive effectively excluded the hundreds of thousands of students who attend college under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals -- or DACA -- program, an Obama-era policy that protects hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children. Mr. Trump has moved to end the program, but that effort is awaiting Supreme Court review." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Erin Banco & Spencer Ackerman of the Daily Beast: "A Silicon Valley company co-founded by a close ally of ... Donald Trump will play a major new role in helping the government track the spread of the coronavirus, pulling information that is being used by top administration officials, including the president himself. Palantir, the data-mining firm created by investor Peter Thiel, is best known for its work with global intelligence, military, and law enforcement agencies. Now, the company has a contract with the Department of Health and Human Services to help the federal government create a new data platform called HHS Protect Now.... Palantir's involvement in the creation of a new government coronavirus data platform system underscores the Trump administration's reliance on close political allies of the president to respond to the global pandemic. Thiel was Trump's earliest and highest-profile backer in Silicon Valley, and delivered a prime-time speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention."

Coalition of the Witless. Matt Dixon of Politico: "Republican governors across the Southeast are teaming up to reopen the region's economy, even as they lack the testing to know how rapidly the coronavirus is spreading. One health expert called the political decision a 'perfect storm' for the virus to reassert itself. The newly formed coalition includes Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, a part of the country that has underfunded health systems, as well as high rates of obesity, diabetes and other illnesses that amplify the deadliness of the coronavirus. And unlike their peers in New York, New Jersey and other Northeastern states that have been working cooperatively since last week to restart their economies, the six in the South have lagged on testing and social distancing measures." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ William Wan, et al., of the Washington Post: "As several states -- including [Georgia,] South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida -- rush to reopen businesses, the sudden relaxation of restrictions will supply new targets for the coronavirus that has kept the United States largely closed down, according to experts, math models and the basic rules that govern infectious diseases.... Georgia, according to some models, is one of the last states that should be reopening. The state has had more than 830 covid-19 deaths. It has tested less than 1 percent of its residents -- low compared with other states and the national rate. And the limited amount of testing so far shows a high rate of positives at 23 percent."

Nevada. Michelle Price of the AP: "Nevada officials condemned comments Wednesday by Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman after she called for casinos and other nonessential businesses to reopen and suggested the city could serve as a test case to measure the impact during the coronavirus pandemic. One local official called her comments 'reckless and dangerous' and another described them as an 'embarrassment.' Goodman, during a 25-minute interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN, said she wants everything back open, including casinos, restaurants and small businesses, and a return of conventions.... Goodman for weeks has spoken out against Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak's orders shuttering casinos and nonessential businesses, calling it 'total insanity' that's 'killing Las Vegas.' Sisolak has repeatedly pushed back, saying that he understands the economic harm the order is causing but saving lives is more important.... The mayor said Wednesday that while she wants casinos to reopen, she offered no guidance on how they could do so safely and maintain social distancing, saying, 'That's up to them to figure out.'... She demurred when asked if she herself would enter a reopened casino, saying she has a family and doesn't gamble and is very busy. She also dismissed a Chinese study cited by Cooper showing the spread of COVID-19 in a restaurant, saying, 'This isn't China, this is Las Vegas, Nevada.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I saw much of the interview, and it was in-sane. It seems nothing is Goodman's job except maybe taking calls from constituents who want to get back to work. Devise a plan to safely re-open casinos & hotels? Nope. Arrange for virus testing? Nope.

"Concierge Treatment" for the Rich. Emily Flitter & Stacy Cowley of the New York Times: "The federal government's $349 billion aid program for small businesses devastated by the coronavirus pandemic was advertised as first-come, first-served. As many business owners found out, it was anything but. That's because some of the nation's biggest banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and U.S. Bank, prioritized the applications of their wealthiest clients before turning to other loan seekers, according to half a dozen bank employees and financial industry executives who spoke on the condition of anonymity.... Some businesses seeking coronavirus loans got to avoid flaky online portals or backed-up queues.... The two-tiered system paid off for well-to-do customers: By the time the Paycheck Protection Program ran out of money last week, many top clients of national and regional banks had already had their loans approved." ~~~

~~~ Jeanna Smialek, et al., of the New York Times: "Hotels, luxury resorts and management companies that funnel money back to a single company [-- Ashford Inc. --] have secured about $53 million in federal virus aid, the largest known amount to benefit one firm and the latest example of how the government's small business relief program is also helping big companies.... Those companies reported in public filings that their hotels had received millions in forgivable loans through a government program meant to help small businesses. The so-called Paycheck Protection Program ran out of its initial $349 billion on April 16, leaving many small companies with no assistance."

Benedict Carey & James Glanz of the New York Times: "By the time New York City confirmed its first case of the coronavirus on March 1, thousands of infections were already silently spreading through the city, a hidden explosion of a disease that many still viewed as a remote threat as the city awaited the first signs of spring. Hidden outbreaks were also spreading almost completely undetected in Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle, long before testing showed that each city had a major problem, according to a model of the spread of the disease by researchers at Northeastern University who shared their results with The New York Times. Even in early February -- while the world focused on China -- the virus was not only likely to be spreading in multiple American cities, but also seeding blooms of infection elsewhere in the United States, the researchers found. As political leaders grappled in February with the question of whether the outbreak would become serious enough to order measures like school closures and remote work, little or no systematic testing for the virus was taking place." ~~~

~~~ Allyson Chiu & Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "At least two people who died in early and mid-February had contracted the novel coronavirus, health officials in California said Tuesday, signaling the virus may have spread -- and been fatal -- in the United States weeks earlier than previously thought. Tissue samples taken during autopsies of two people who died at home in Santa Clara County, Calif., tested positive for the virus, local health officials said in a statement. The victims died on Feb. 6 and Feb. 17, respectively. Initially, the nation's earliest coronavirus fatality was thought to have occurred on Feb. 29, in Kirkland, Wash., a suburb of Seattle that rapidly became a hot spot.... Additionally, the early deaths could mean covid-19 may have been misdiagnosed in many people early this year, Eric Topol, a geneticist and researcher who directs the Scripps Research Translational Institute, told The Post." The New York Times story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

William Frey of the Brookings Institution: "There is a stereotypical view of the places in America that COVID-19 has affected most: they are broadly urban, comprised predominantly of racial minorities, and strongly vote Democratic.... While that perception of high-prevalence areas was accurate during the earlier stages of the pandemic, COVID-19's recent spread has changed the picture. During the first three weeks of April, new counties showing a high prevalence of COVID-19 cases are more suburban, whiter, and voted more strongly for Donald Trump than counties the virus hit first. These findings result from a new analysis of counties with high COVID-19 prevalence rates (more than 100 confirmed cases per 100,000 population) based on data available from The New York Times and the U.S. Census Bureau."

Kyle Bagenstose, et al., of USA Today: "A rash of coronavirus outbreaks at dozens of meat packing plants across the nation is far more extensive than previously thought, according to an exclusive review of cases by USA Today and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. And it could get worse. More than 150 of America's largest meat processing plants operate in counties where the rate of coronavirus infection is already among the nation's highest, based on the media outlets' analysis of slaughterhouse locations and county-level COVID-19 infection rates. These facilities represent more than 1 in 3 of the nation's biggest beef, pork and poultry processing plants. Rates of infection around these plants are higher than those of 75% of other U.S. counties, the analysis found."

Zack Beauchamp of Vox: "Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, media critics have warned that the decision from leading Fox News hosts to downplay the outbreak could cost lives. A new study provides statistical evidence that, in the case of Sean Hannity, that's exactly what happened." This is another take on a Daily Beast report linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Abdi Dahir of the New York Times: "The coronavirus pandemic has brought hunger to millions of people around the world. National lockdowns and social distancing measures are drying up work and incomes, and are likely to disrupt agricultural production and supply routes -- leaving millions to worry how they will get enough to eat. The coronavirus has sometimes been called an equalizer because it has sickened both rich and poor, but when it comes to food, the commonality ends. It is poor people, including large segments of poorer nations, who are now going hungry and facing the prospect of starving.... This hunger crisis, experts say, is global and caused by a multitude of factors linked to the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing interruption of the economic order: the collapse in oil prices; widespread shortages of hard currency from tourism drying up; overseas workers not having earnings to send home; and ongoing problems like climate change, violence, population dislocations and humanitarian disasters." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

~~~ On the Other Hand. Seth Borenstein of the AP: "As people across the globe stay home to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, the air has cleaned up, albeit temporarily. Smog stopped choking New Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world, and India's getting views of sights not visible in decades. Nitrogen dioxide pollution in the northeastern United States is down 30%. Rome air pollution levels from mid-March to mid-April were down 49% from a year ago. Stars seem more visible at night. People are also noticing animals in places and at times they don't usually. Coyotes have meandered along downtown Chicago's Michigan Avenue and near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. A puma roamed the streets of Santiago, Chile. Goats took over a town in Wales. In India, already daring wildlife has become bolder with hungry monkeys entering homes and opening refrigerators to look for food.... Researchers are tracking dramatic drops in traditional air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, smog and tiny particles. These types of pollution kill up to 7 million people a year worldwide, according to Health Effects Institute president Dan Greenbaum." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race

Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "Former Vice President Joe Biden said he plans to announce the members of a selection committee who will help choose his running mate by May 1 as speculation continues to mount over his vice presidential pick.... Biden added that the committee will likely take until July to narrow the hunt for a vice president down to the top three contenders." (Also linked yesterday.)

NEW. Jonathan Stempel of Reuters: "Ten of the world's largest banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, have been sued for allegedly conspiring over nearly 14 years to rig prices in the $9.6 trillion U.S. corporate bond market, costing ordinary investors billions of dollars.... The proposed class action filed on Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan said the banks have since August 2006 violated antitrust law by overcharging investors on 'odd-lot' trades, which are worth less than $1 million and comprise 90% of all corporate bond trading. Other defendants include Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland and Wells Fargo & Co, or their respective affiliates." --s

The Commentariat -- April 22, 2020

~~~ Sigh! But see Seth Borenstein's story, linked below.

Afternoon Update:

Uh-Oh. Jessie Hellmann of the Hill: "President Trump said Wednesday that he disagrees 'strongly' with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's (R) decision to allow bowling alleys, hair salons and other businesses to reopen on Friday. 'I want him to do what he thinks is right, but I disagree with him on what he's doing,' Trump said at a White House press briefing Wednesday. Trump said Kemp's decision violates guidelines the administration issued last week for states to follow before reopening parts of their economies." Trump said he told Kemp he disagrees with Kemp's decision.

** The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Wednesday are here. "The doctor who led the federal agency involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine said on Wednesday that he was removed from his post after he pressed for a rigorous vetting of a coronavirus treatment embraced by President Trump. The doctor said that science, not 'politics and cronyism' must lead the way. Dr. Rick Bright was abruptly dismissed this week as the director of the Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, and as the deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response. Instead, he was given a narrower job at the National Institutes of Health. 'I believe this transfer was in response to my insistence that the government invest the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the Covid-19 pandemic into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit,' he said in a statement to The Times's Maggie Haberman.... 'Specifically, and contrary to misguided directives, I limited the broad use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, promoted by the administration as a panacea, but which clearly lack scientific merit,' he said.... 'I will request that the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services investigate the manner in which this administration has politicized the work of BARDA and has pressured me and other conscientious scientists to fund companies with political connections and efforts that lack scientific merit,' he said." This is a follow-up to a STAT story linked below.

Allyson Chiu & Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "At least two people who died in early and mid-February had contracted the novel coronavirus, health officials in California said Tuesday, signaling the virus may have spread -- and been fatal — in the United States weeks earlier than previously thought. Tissue samples taken during autopsies of two people who died at home in Santa Clara County, Calif., tested positive for the virus, local health officials said in a statement. The victims died on Feb. 6 and Feb. 17, respectively. Initially, the nation's earliest coronavirus fatality was thought to have occurred on Feb. 29, in Kirkland, Wash., a suburb of Seattle that rapidly became a hot spot.... Additionally, the early deaths could mean covid-19 may have been misdiagnosed in many people early this year, Eric Topol, a geneticist and researcher who directs the Scripps Research Translational Institute, told The Post." The New York Times story is here.

Betsy DeVos Is So Sweet. From the NYT's live updates for today: "The Education Department will prohibit colleges from granting emergency assistance to undocumented students, even those currently under federal protection, according to guidance issued to colleges and universities on Tuesday. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos ordered higher education institutions to distribute more than $6 billion in emergency relief only to students who are eligible for federal financial aid, including U.S. citizens or legal residents. The directive effectively excluded the hundreds of thousands of students who attend college under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals -- or DACA -- program, an Obama-era policy that protects hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children. Mr. Trump has moved to end the program, but that effort is awaiting Supreme Court review."

Zack Beauchamp of Vox: "Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, media critics have warned that the decision from leading Fox News hosts to downplay the outbreak could cost lives. A new study provides statistical evidence that, in the case of Sean Hannity, that's exactly what happened." This is another take on a Daily Beast report linked earlier today.

Larry Elliott of the Guardian: "Donald Trump's botched handling of the Covid-19 crisis has left the US looking like a 'third world' country and on course for a second Great Depression, one of the world's leading economists has warned. In a withering attack on the president, Joseph Stiglitz said millions of people were turning to food banks, turning up for work due to a lack of sick pay and dying because of health inequalities. The Nobel prize-winning economist said: 'The numbers turning to food banks are just enormous and beyond the capacity of them to supply. It is like a third world country. The public social safety net is not working.'"

Lock Him Out! Gabby Orr of Politico: "As his own health officials continue to warn against nonessential travel, Trump has privately urged aides over the past week to start adding official events back to his schedule, including photo ops and site visits that would allow him to ditch Washington for a few hours. The day trips would be similar to those Vice President Mike Pence has made visiting businesses during the viral pandemic, according to three people familiar with the planning.... 'If there was a situation where the president was trying to violate his own guidelines, we would certainly have a conversation about that,' said an aide to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers."

Coalition of the Witless. Matt Dixon of Politico: "Republican governors across the Southeast are teaming up to reopen the region's economy, even as they lack the testing to know how rapidly the coronavirus is spreading. One health expert called the political decision a 'perfect storm' for the virus to reassert itself. The newly formed coalition includes Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, a part of the country that has underfunded health systems, as well as high rates of obesity, diabetes and other illnesses that amplify the deadliness of the coronavirus. And unlike their peers in New York, New Jersey and other Northeastern states that have been working cooperatively since last week to restart their economies, the six in the South have lagged on testing and social distancing measures."

Abdi Dahir of the New York Times: "The coronavirus pandemic has brought hunger to millions of people around the world. National lockdowns and social distancing measures are drying up work and incomes, and are likely to disrupt agricultural production and supply routes -- leaving millions to worry how they will get enough to eat. The coronavirus has sometimes been called an equalizer because it has sickened both rich and poor, but when it comes to food, the commonality ends. It is poor people, including large segments of poorer nations, who are now going hungry and facing the prospect of starving.... This hunger crisis, experts say, is global and caused by a multitude of factors linked to the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing interruption of the economic order: the collapse in oil prices; widespread shortages of hard currency from tourism drying up; overseas workers not having earnings to send home; and ongoing problems like climate change, violence, population dislocations and humanitarian disasters." ~~~

~~~ On the Other Hand. Seth Borenstein of the AP: "As people across the globe stay home to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, the air has cleaned up, albeit temporarily. Smog stopped choking New Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world, and India's getting views of sights not visible in decades. Nitrogen dioxide pollution in the northeastern United States is down 30%. Rome air pollution levels from mid-March to mid-April were down 49% from a year ago. Stars seem more visible at night. People are also noticing animals in places and at times they don't usually. Coyotes have meandered along downtown Chicago's Michigan Avenue and near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. A puma roamed the streets of Santiago, Chile. Goats took over a town in Wales. In India, already daring wildlife has become bolder with hungry monkeys entering homes and opening refrigerators to look for food.... Researchers are tracking dramatic drops in traditional air pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide, smog and tiny particles. These types of pollution kill up to 7 million people a year worldwide, according to Health Effects Institute president Dan Greenbaum."

Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "Former Vice President Joe Biden said he plans to announce the members of a selection committee who will help choose his running mate by May 1 as speculation continues to mount over his vice presidential pick.... Biden added that the committee will likely take until July to narrow the hunt for a vice president down to the top three contenders."

~~~~~~~~~~

Erica Werner & Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "The Senate passed a $484 billion deal Tuesday to replenish a small-business loan program that's been overrun by demand and to devote more money to hospitals and coronavirus testing. President Trump said he would sign it into law. The legislation, which came together over days of intense negotiation that followed a bitter partisan standoff, would increase funding for the Paycheck Protection Program by $310 billion. It would also boost a separate small-business emergency grant and loan program by $60 billion, and direct $75 billion to hospitals and $25 billion to a new coronavirus testing program.... Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday for the first time that larger firms would now be blocked from using this program, and Trump called on some big companies that had already obtained taxpayer-backed loans to return the money.... The deal also includes another $60 billion in emergency loans and grants for a separate Small Business Administration program that is also out of money and would allow agricultural companies to qualify for these funds, as sought by some GOP senators. ~~~

~~~ Jordain Carney of the Hill: "The agreement was passed by a voice vote.... Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the only senator who has been infected with the coronavirus, said shortly before its passage that he opposed the funding, but would not block its passage and require his colleagues to come back to Washington for a formal roll call vote.... The House is expected to pass the bill on Thursday morning, with members returning to Washington for a recorded vote." ~~~

~~~ Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump said Tuesday that he is going to ask large businesses and institutions such as Harvard University to return money that they received as part of a coronavirus relief package. 'I'm going to request it,' Trump told reporters at the White House, singling out the Ivy League school. 'Harvard is going to pay back the money. They shouldn't be taking it. I'm not going to mention any other names, but when I saw Harvard -- they have one of the largest endowments anywhere in the country, maybe in the world. They're going to pay back the money,' the president added." Mrs. McC: It's a rare day when Trump is right about something for the right reason, but this may have been that day.

Gee, Nobody Saw This Coming. Jeff Stein & Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "Senior White House and Trump administration officials are planning to launch a sweeping effort in the coming days to repeal or suspend federal regulations affecting businesses, with the expected executive action seen by advisers as a way to boost an economy facing its worst shock in generations, two people familiar with the internal planning said. The White House-driven initiative is expected to center on suspending federal regulations for small businesses and expanding an existing administration program that requires agencies to revoke two regulations for every new one they issue, the two people said. While the plan remains in flux, changes could affect environmental policy, labor policy, workplace safety and health care, among other areas." The Raw Story has a summary story here. Mrs. McC: If Trump can't kill you one way (Covid-19), he'll kill you another (fall into a vat of chocolate). (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Update. Nick Miroff, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump said Tuesday he will halt immigration to the United States for 60 days, a freeze that will block green card recipients from moving to the country but will continue to allow temporary workers on nonimmigrant visas to enter. The president provided a rationale for the unprecedented decision that was primarily economic, arguing that he wants Americans to have access to work as millions of people have lost their jobs amid the coronavirus crisis. Senior White House officials and attorneys met Tuesday to sort out the logistics and legal implications of President Trump's late-night Twitter proclamation that he would stop immigration to the United States, a move that came with little indication of who the U.S. government would bar from entry amid the coronavirus outbreak. Trump said the executive order was still being written as of Tuesday night.... The president also said seasonal farm laborers would not be affected by the measures, and the suspension 'will help to conserve vital medical resources.'... Aides said privately that the president had once more announced a sweeping policy that was not yet ready for implementation, and his administration was trying to piece together an executive order for him to sign that would catch up to his whim." ~~~

~~~ Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump said on Tuesday that he would order a temporary halt in issuing green cards to prevent people from immigrating to the United States, but he backed away from plans to suspend guest worker programs after business groups exploded in anger at the threat of losing access to foreign labor. Mr. Trump, whose administration has faced intense criticism in recent months for his handling of the coronavirus crisis, abruptly sought to change the subject Tuesday night by resuming his assault on immigration.... While numerous numerous studies have concluded that immigration has an overall positive effect on the American work force and wages for workers, Mr. Trump ignored that research on Tuesday, insisting that American citizens who had lost their jobs in recent weeks should not have to compete with foreigners when the economy reopens.... Lawyers at the Justice Department were still studying whether the president had the legal authority to unilaterally suspend the issuance of green cards, an order that caught officials at the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security off guard...." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Actually, the dynamic of Trump's turnaround on guest laborers probably is that Trump realized that Eric wouldn't be able to hire cheap foreign labor for some Trump properties. Plus, I'm not sure how "guest workers" are immune from the coronavirus, whereas your average Norwegian would-be immigrant is not. (And does Trump realize his order is barring Scandanavians and other WASPs as well as people from "shithole countries"? His tweet-order seems to present a flaw in his master-race plan.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Mrs. McCrabbie: Turns out Trump's big immigrant ban is a joke. According to John Harwood, who appeared on CNN this morning, the total number of would-be undeserving, job-sucking immigrants Trump has banned from entry onto our golden shores is about 75,000. With at least 22 million Americans out of work because of the pandemic, 75,000 is nothing but a rounding error to mollify Trump's base of xenophobic morons.

~~~ What Conflict of Interest? Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump's signature hotel in the nation's capital wants a break on the terms of its lease. The landlord determining the fate of the request is Mr. Trump's own administration.... In recent weeks, the president's family business has inquired about changing its lease payments.... The Trump Organization owns and operates the luxury hotel, but it is in a federally owned building on Pennsylvania Avenue.... If [the General Services Administration] denies the [Trump Organization's] request, the agency risks running afoul of the president, who appoints its leader; but if it accommodates the Trumps, the agency is likely to draw fire from critics.... The request to the G.S.A. is one of a number of attempts by the Trump Organization to get breathing room from its lenders and other financial partners."

Just Ignore Him. Asawin Suebsaeng, et al., of the Daily Beast: "... the White House's coronavirus response has diverged into two camps: one that defends whatever the president has chosen to care about or watch on TV, and another that actively works to ignore and paper over those excesses. The most recent, glaring example of that wild discrepancy came over the weekend, when Trump began encouraging protests against stay-at-home orders overseen by Democratic governors in several states. The president's messaging took on the language of uprising.... Rather than correct the record or even push back internally, [officials] have tried to proceed as if the president didn't just do what he had so clearly done.... [The task force] is now a team operating on a parallel but separate track: working to ameliorate a public-health crisis despite Trump pushing policies that scientists say could make that task harder." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

"I Didn't Say That": ~~~

Ed O'Keefe of CBS News: "... Democratic governors asked the White House on Monday for help encouraging Americans to adhere to these local guidelines. The request came amid mixed signals from President Trump over who is ultimately responsible for determining when Americans can resume normal activities. Over the past week, Mr. Trump has insisted that only he could order an economic restart, but later told governors 'you're gonna call your own shots' on when and how to reopen and released federal guidelines on how to do so. But over the weekend, he tweeted support for small bands of conservative protesters that rallied in the state capitals of Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia and elsewhere against restrictions put in place by Democratic governors. Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday he would be speaking to all 50 governors on Monday to discuss testing and reopening the states. On the call, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said her state is using the White House guidelines to implement 'what we think are going to be best practices here in Michigan for the cautious, thoughtful, slow reopening of certain sectors of our economy. As we do that, any help on the national level to reiterate the importance of stay-at-home orders would be helpful,' Whitmer told Pence, according to audio of the meeting obtained by CBS News." Mrs. McC: Good luck with that. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Marissa Lang of the Washington Post: "Registered nurses gathered Tuesday in front of the White House to read the names of health-care workers who have died fighting the coronavirus pandemic. Wearing masks and standing six feet apart, the nurses held up photographs of the deceased as Melody Jones, a member of the National Nurses United union, addressed the news media in an otherwise empty Lafayette Square. The names came from all over the country.... The protest stood in stark contrast to demonstrations in recent days in some parts of the country in which protesters have demanded the reopening of nonessential businesses.... More than 9,000 health-care workers in the United States have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those numbers are believed to be an undercount of infections due to a lack of tests in many areas. The nurses said Tuesday that they wanted to bring their demands for more personal protective equipment directly to President Trump"s doorstep." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: A real president would have gone out into the square to meet these front-line American heroes and/or invited them in to discuss their needs. But Donald Trump is a gutless, careless fake president*.

Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "Attorney General William Barr will consider legal action to force governors to ease social distancing requirements for their states.... [Barr] told talk radio host Hugh Hewitt that extraordinary measures to fight the spread of coronavirus were justified, but Barr argued that at some point they infringed on constitutional rights, reported Bloomberg. 'We have to give businesses more freedom to operate in a way that's reasonably safe,' Barr said. 'To the extent that governors don't and impinge on either civil rights or on the national commerce -- our common market that we have here -- then we'll have to address that.'... 'These are very, very burdensome impingements on liberty, and we adopted them, we have to remember, for the limited purpose of slowing down the spread, that is bending the curve,' Barr said. 'We didn't adopt them as the comprehensive way of dealing with this disease.' The attorney general agreed with Trump's call to reopen businesses in the weeks ahead, and which GOP governors have signaled they're willing to do soon." ~~~

~~~ Pete Williams of NBC News: Barr "called stay-at-home orders 'disturbingly close to house arrest.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I feel so much better knowing Bill Barr is looking out for me.

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A coronavirus-related policy shift that could have cleared the way for thousands of federal prisoners to be sent home early was abruptly reversed this week, according to friends and family members of inmates. Prison officials indicated earlier this month that inmates who had served less than half their sentences could still be considered for early release to limit the spread of infection behind bars. However, inmates in various prisons who had been put into prerelease quarantine almost two weeks ago were advised Monda by authorities that the policy had changed.... However, shortly after this article was published Tuesday, a Justic Department spokesman suggested yet another course correction and indicated that officials at the Bureau of Prisons were confused or given inaccurate guidance about previous directives from Attorney General William Barr.... The reversal reported by inmates ... on Monday could have dashed the hopes of several well-known prisoners seeking release from federal custody, including former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen. Neither man has served half his sentence." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The second I read the first sentence of Gerstein's report I thought, "Ah, the Michael Cohen Rule." Trump probably threw a fit when he found out Cohen would get to go home.

Common Dreams, republished in the Raw Story: "Reporting out Monday shed new light on the fact that millions of U.S. citizens are not eligible to receive coronavirus stimulus checks because of who they married. This large group, as the Los Angeles Times reported, is made of American citizens who file taxes jointly with a spouse who uses an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number &-- an identification the IRS issues to workers who don't have a Social Security Number. Those with ITINs include those who are undocumented and those who may be in the legalization process."

Huh. Nicholas Florko of STAT: "Rick Bright, one of the nation's leading vaccine development experts and the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, is no longer leading the organization, officials told STAT. The shakeup at the agency, known as BARDA, couldn't come at a more inopportune time for the office, which invests in drugs, devices, and other technologies that help address infectious disease outbreaks and which has been at the center of the government's coronavirus pandemic response. Bright, whose departure was confirmed by three industry sources and two current Trump administration sources, will instead move into a narrower role at the National Institutes of Health. Gary Disbrow, Bright's former deputy at BARDA, will serve as the acting director of the office, an HHS spokesperson confirmed to STAT.... None of the sources articulated the reason for Bright's departure, though several mentioned recent chafing between Bright and Bob Kadlec, [a] current HHS assistant secretary...."

Alex Daugherty of the Miami Herald: "Miami Democratic Rep. Donna Shalala, the lone House Democrat on the committee set up to oversee $500 billion in taxpayer money being used for coronavirus-related payouts to large businesses, violated federal law when she failed to disclose stock sales while serving in Congress.... [T]he transactions were not publicly reported as required by the STOCK Act, a 2012 law that ... requires [members of Congress] to report stock sales and purchases within 45 days.... There isn't any evidence that Shalala bought or sold stocks based on inside information." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Arf. My guess is that Shalala isn't a crook; she just accidentally forgot to follow the law. But whatever the reason, it would seem she's not the best person to serve as a watchdog over financial transactions. I realize it's her staff who will do the work, but a 79-year-old probably isn't someone you want to put in charge of poring over the fine print of thousands of financial documents.

Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "Even as states move ahead with plans to reopen their economies, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Tuesday that a second wave of the novel coronavirus will be far more dire because it is likely to coincide with the start of flu season. 'There's a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through,' CDC Director Robert Redfield said in an interview with The Washington Post.... 'We're going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time,' he said. Having two simultaneous respiratory outbreaks would put unimaginable strain on the health-care system, he said.... In a wide-ranging interview, Redfield said federal and state officials need to use the coming months to prepare for what lies ahead. As stay-at-home orders are lifted, officials need to stress the continued importance of social distancing, he said. They also need to massively scale up their ability to identify the infected through testing and find everyone they interact with through contact tracing." A Raw Story summary report is here.

Marilynn Marchione of the AP: "A malaria drug widely touted by ... Donald Trump for treating the new coronavirus showed no benefit in a large analysis of its use in U.S. veterans hospitals. There were more deaths among those given hydroxychloroquine versus standard care, researchers reported.... Hydroxychloroquine made no difference in the need for a breathing machine, either.... The nationwide study was not a rigorous experiment. But with 368 patients, it's the largest look so far of hydroxychloroquine with or without the antibiotic azithromycin for COVID-19, which has killed more than 171,000 people as of Tuesday. The study was posted on an online site for researchers and has not been reviewed by other scientists.... The NIH and others have more rigorous tests underway." ~~~

     ~~~ An "MD at a major academic medical center wrote to Josh Marshall of TPM: "It's a retrospective study. That means medication choice was up to the docs.... The patients who got HC or HC + azithro were more likely to have poor oxygenation, have high blood pressure, have anemia, have high levels of inflammation at baseline! Usually, the sicker you start, the worse you do. I'm just saying that this should allow the real clinical trials the space to get done." ~~~

~~~ Tracy Connor & Adam Rawnsley of the Daily Beast: "President Trump was grilled Tuesday about his flogging of an anti-malaria drug as a coronavirus treatment after a government-funded study showed it didn't help veterans and was associated with more deaths. He dodged. 'I don't know of the report,' he said at the daily briefing.... The team [of researchers] acknowledged that patients who got hydroxychlroquine were likely to be among the most critically ill, but even accounting for that, the death rate [of the patients who got hydroxychloroquine] was outsize." ~~~

~~~ It's Over When the Hannity Aria Ends. Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "After weeks of incessantly hyping an unproven anti-malarial drug as a potential miracle cure for the coronavirus, Fox News has seemingly ditched its nearly round-the-clock promotion of hydroxychloroquine. Unsurprisingly, the change in tone coincided with President Donald Trump's own retreat from touting the drug, and comes as multiple studies have shown no benefit to COVID-19 patients." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Joe Palca of NPR: "A panel of experts convened by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases recommends against doctors using a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for the treatment of COVID-19 patients because of potential toxicities. 'The combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin was associated with QTc prolongation in patients with COVID-19,' the panel said. QTc prolongation increases the risk of sudden cardiac death. The recommendation against their combined use would seem to fly in the face of comments made by President Trump suggesting the combination might be helpful. On March 21, for example, the president described them in a tweet as having a 'real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine.'... He has repeatedly touted the use of the drugs during televised coronavirus task force briefings.... The expert panel, convened by the NIH Institute that Dr. Anthony Fauci directs, produced a set of guidelines for doctors to use in treating COVID-19 patiens.... For the most part, the guidelines are agnostic about the use of experimental medications.... But occasionally, there are recommendations explicitly against certain therapies."

Jin Wu & Allison McCann of the New York Times: "At least 28,000 more people have died during the coronavirus pandemic over the last month than the official Covid-19 death counts report, a review of mortality data in 11 countries shows -- providing a clearer, if still incomplete, picture of the toll of the crisis. In the last month, far more people died in these countries than in previous years, The New York Times found. The totals include deaths from Covid-19 a well as those from other causes, likely including people who could not be treated as hospitals became overwhelmed.... In Paris, more than twice the usual number of people have died each day, far more than the peak of a bad flu season. In New York City, the number is now four times the normal amount.... The differences are particularly stark in countries that have been slow to acknowledge the scope of the problem." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Annals of "Journalism", Ctd. Watching Hannity Is Dangerous to Your Health. Bob Brigham of RawStory: "Anew [sic] study from the University of Chicago's Becker Friedman Institute for Economics found that 'greater viewership of "Hannity" relative to "Tucker Carlson Tonight" was strongly associated with a greater number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the early stages of the pandemic.'... The researchers commissioned a poll of more than 1,000 Fox News viewers, which found that Carlson's viewers were more likely to change their behavior earlier than Hannity's viewers.... The researchers then compared the death rate in counties that favored either host, finding 'approximately 30% more COVID-19 cases' in areas that preferred Hannity than those that watched Carlson." --s

Delaware. Karl Baker of the Delaware News Journal: "George Gianforcaro, owner of the small, Newark, Delaware-based Indutex USA, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not pay him when it took possession of two imported shipments of masks bound for customers across the United States.... He said he does not know where the seized N95 masks are today, or whether they have been distributed to medical facilities or others.... In an emailed statement, FEMA appeared to deny Gianforcaro's charge without addressing the specific claims.... Gianforcaro canceled the remainder of the order.... 'Let's not forget I paid $4 million for this product on March 18,' Gianforcaro said, referring to the million-mask order. 'This is getting very, very expensive. I don't have any money and I don't have any product and there's people that are asking for it.'" --s

Georgia. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp ... has a bold plan to turn his state into the place to die. Kemp, a Republican and an ally of President Trump, just called for the reopening within days of his state's gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, body-art studios, barbers, nail salons, cosmetologists, aestheticians, beauty schools, massage therapists, theaters, private social clubs and dine-in restaurants. He's doing this even though the state ranks near last in testing, even though it's not clear that covid-19 cases are declining there, and even knowing 'we're probably going to have to see our cases continue to go up,' as Kemp himself said.... It has been 88 years since Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis developed the idea of states serving as 'laboratories of democracy.' But even that great thinker probably couldn't have imagined states serving as actual laboratories, experimenting with the spread of infectious diseases in their populations. Now several Republican governors, with Trump's encouragement, are racing to reopen during the pandemic, using their constituents as lab rats to see what happens when you relax virus containment." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Obviously Milbank doesn't care about people like me, who are so bored sitting home that it seems like a great time to fly down to Georgia & get a tattoo.

Michigan. Matt Viser & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's [D] administration on Tuesday abruptly canceled a no-bid contract to help track the spread of the coronavirus in Michigan, a day after announcing the hiring of a state Democratic consultant and a national firm that has worked for prominent Democratic causes. The reversal comes amid complaints that the governor tapped politically connected firms to collect health data on state residents and monitor sensitive medical information.... The Michigan contract, worth nearly $200,000 over the next eight weeks, was signed Monday and allowed the hiring of a subcontractor to help with 'contact tracing,' a process to track residents with the coronavirus and those with whom they have interacted.... The episode illustrates the political and ethical pitfalls involved in the large amounts of money suddenly being spent across the country to curb the coronavirus outbreak and boost the economy."

Texas. Brendan Cole of Newsweek: Texas Lt. Gov. "Dan Patrick [R], who turned 70 this month, faced a social media backlash in March for telling Fox News that many of his generation were willing to 'take a chance' and return to work because an economy that was shut down by the coronavirus would harm future generations. As parts of Texas started to reopen this week following weeks of restrictions, Patrick defended his comments on Monday, telling anchor Tucker Carlson again that the recent economic hardship had left him 'vindicated.'... Comparing the death toll in Texas with its population, he went on to say, 'every life is valuable but 500 people out of 29 million and we're locked down and we're crushing the average worker, we're crushing small business, we're crushing the markets, we're crushing this country.... There are more important things than living, and that's saving this country for my children and my grandchildren and ... for all of us....'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Wisconsin. Republicans Are Dangerous to Your Health. Alison Dirr of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Officials have identified seven people who appear to have contracted COVID-19 through activities related to the April 7 election, Milwaukee Health Commissioner Jeanette Kowalik said Monday. Six of the cases are in voters and one is a poll worker, Kowalik said.... Tuesday will mark the 14th day since the election -- a time frame during which epidemiologists agree symptoms typically appear." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Sapna Maheshwari & Vanessa Friedman of the New York Times: "American department stores, once all-powerful shopping meccas that anchored malls and Main Streets across the country, have been dealt blow after blow in the past decade. J.C. Penney and Sears were upended by hedge funds. Macy's has been closing stores and cutting corporate staff. Barneys New York filed for bankruptcy last year. But nothing compares to the shock the weakened industry has taken from the coronavirus pandemic.... Even as they have worked to transform themselves for e-commerce with apps, websites and in-store exchanges, the outbreak has laid bare how dependent the department stores have remained on their physical outposts.... None of them were in as immediate dire straits as Neiman Marcus, which has both an enormous debt burden ... and a raft of expensive rents in the most high-profile shopping destinations, signed during boom times."

Anna Nicolaou & Alex Barker of the Financial Times: "Walt Disney will stop paying more than 100,000 employees this week, nearly half of its workforce, as the world's biggest entertainment company tries to weather the coronavirus lockdown.... The decision leaves Disney staff reliant on state benefits ... even as the company protects executive bonus schemes ... typically worth $1.5bn. By contrast some big multinationals, including L'Oréal and Total in France, have vowed to forgo state aid in a show of solidarity with taxpayers.... In Orlando, home to more than 70,000 Disney cast members, Florida offers unemployment payments of up to $275 a week for 12 weeks -- among the lowest rates in the US." [Firewalled]--s

** Fiona Harvey of the Guardian: "The world is facing widespread famine 'of biblical proportions' because of the coronavirus pandemic, the chief of the UN's food relief agency has warned, with a short time to act before hundreds of millions starve. More than 30 countries in the developing world could experience widespread famine, and in 10 of those countries there are already more than 1 million people on the brink of starvation, said David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme." --s

Martin Matishak & Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of putting Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Tuesday's bipartisan report, from a panel chaired by North Carolina Republican Richard Burr, undercuts Trump's years of efforts to portray allegations of Kremlin assistance to his campaign as a 'hoax,' driven by Democrats and a 'deep state' embedded within the government bureaucracy.... Senators and committee aides examined everything from the sources and methods used for the intelligence-gathering, to the Kremlin's actions itself. The 158-page report is heavily redacted, with dozens of pages blacked out entirely. But its final conclusions were unambiguous." A New York Times report is here.

Presidential Race. Steve M.: Whatever the arc of the coronavirus pandemic, "Trump's numbers won't change much. They never do. A slight majority of the country doesn't trust his leadership, but the minority that thinks he's an amazingly good president still might be enough to win the Electoral College, even if we have a six-figure death toll and an unemployment rate well into the double digits on Election Day. Trump will just keep arguing with reporters, identifying scapegoats (today it's immigrants, tomorrow it will be blue-state governors with ongoing lockdowns), and promising miracles (though he appears to have already moved on from hydroxychloroquine, which was found to be a bust in another study). The base won't abandon him, even though we'll probably never have all the tests we need -- tests for the sick, tests to trace infection patterns, tests for antibodies -- as long as he's president."

Tim Mak of NPR: "The National Rifle Association's legal troubles have cost the powerful gun rights group $100 million, according to a recording of the group's board meeting obtained by NPR. In the January 2020 recording, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre criticizes ongoing investigations by the New York and Washington, D.C., attorneys general, bemoaning 'th power of weaponized government.' And he told the NRA's board of directors, assembled for the group's winter meeting in January, that the organization has had to make $80 million in cuts to stay afloat.... The NRA announced layoffs and pay cuts in late March, blaming the coronavirus crisis for these measures." Mrs. McC: The head of the shoot-'em-up society has a lot of nerve complaining about "weaponized government." ~~~

~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "There is no violin small enough.... Normally, I'd support intervention to support the laid off workers, but in this case I'd say thoughts and prayers should be more than sufficient."

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Laurie Roberts of the Arizona Republic: "Unless Rep. Shawnna Bolick really is living in a tiny box on Bell Road [in a UPS store], she may be in a heap of trouble. In fact, the first-term legislator could be disqualified for running for reelection this year. If that happens, look for Republicans to break out in a wholesale sweat.... Bolick will have a chance to explain at a hearing before Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott McCoy on April 29.... The loss of one seat would give the parties a 30-30 split in the House, essentially clearing a spot at the table for Democrats when laws are made.... If they take two seats, Democrats would seize control of the House for the first time since 1966." --s

The Commentariat -- April 21, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Manu Raju & Clare Foran of CNN: "Congressional negotiations have reached a deal on a bill that includes hundreds of billions of dollars in new funding for small businesses hurt by the coronavirus outbreak, three sources familiar tell CNN. The text of the bill should be unveiled as soon as Tuesday afternoon as the two sides give the deal a final read. Lawmakers will try to pass it in the Senate at 4 p.m. ET when the chamber convenes for a pro forma session."

Jin Wu & Allison McCann of the New York Times: "At least 28,000 more people have died during the coronavirus pandemic over the last month than the official Covid-19 death counts report, a review of mortality data in 11 countries shows -- providing a clearer, if still incomplete, picture of the toll of the crisis. In the last month, far more people died in these countries than in previous years, The New York Times found. The totals include deaths from Covid-19 as well as those from other causes, likely including people who could not be treated as hospitals became overwhelmed.... In Paris, more than twice the usual number of people have died each day, far more than the peak of a bad flu season. In New York City, the number is now four times the normal amount.... The differences are particularly stark in countries that have been slow to acknowledge the scope of the problem."

Gee, Nobody Saw This Coming. Jeff Stein & Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "Senior White House and Trump administration officials are planning to launch a sweeping effort in the coming days to repeal or suspend federal regulations affecting businesses, with the expected executive action seen by advisers as a way to boost an economy facing its worst shock in generations, two people familiar with the internal planning said. The White House-driven initiative is expected to center on suspending federal regulations for small businesses and expanding an existing administration program that requires agencies to revoke two regulations for every new one they issue, the two people said. While the plan remains in flux, changes could affect environmental policy, labor policy, workplace safety and health care, among other areas." The Raw Story has a summary story here. Mrs. McC: If Trump can't kill you one way (Covid-19), he'll kill you another (fall into a vat of chocolate).

Just Ignore Him. Asawin Suebsaeng, et al., of the Daily Beast: "... the White House's coronavirus response has diverged into two camps: one that defends whatever the president has chosen to care about or watch on TV, and another that actively works to ignore and paper over those excesses. The most recent, glaring example of that wild discrepancy came over the weekend, when Trump began encouraging protests against stay-at-home orders overseen by Democratic governors in several states. The president's messaging took on the language of uprising.... Rather than correct the record or even push back internally, [officials] have tried to proceed as if the president didn't just do what he had so clearly done.... [The task force] is now a team operating on a parallel but separate track: working to ameliorate a public-health crisis despite Trump pushing policies that scientists say could make that task harder."

"I Didn't Say That": ~~~

Ed O'Keefe of CBS News: "... Democratic governors asked the White House on Monday for help encouraging Americans to adhere to these local guidelines. The request came amid mixed signals from President Trump over who is ultimately responsible for determining when Americans can resume normal activities. Over the past week, Mr. Trump has insisted that only he could order an economic restart, but later told governors 'you're gonna call your own shots' on when and how to reopen and released federal guidelines on how to do so. But over the weekend, he tweeted support for small bands of conservative protesters that rallied in the state capitals of Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia and elsewhere against restrictions put in place by Democratic governors. Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday he would be speaking to all 50 governors on Monday to discuss testing and reopening the states. On the call, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said her state is using the White House guidelines to implement 'what we think are going to be best practices here in Michigan for the cautious, thoughtful, slow reopening of certain sectors of our economy. As we do that, any help on the national level to reiterate the importance of stay-at-home orders would be helpful,' Whitmer told Pence, according to audio of the meeting obtained by CBS News." Mrs. McC: Good luck with that.

Brendan Cole of Newsweek: Texas Lt. Gov. "Dan Patrick [R], who turned 70 this month, faced a social media backlash in March for telling Fox News that many of his generation were willing to 'take a chance' and return to work because an economy that was shut down by the coronavirus would harm future generations. As parts of Texas started to reopen this week following weeks of restrictions, Patrick defended his comments on Monday, telling anchor Tucker Carlson again that the recent economic hardship had left him 'vindicated.'... Comparing the death toll in Texas with its population, he went on to say, 'every life is valuable but 500 people out of 29 million and we're locked down and we're crushing the average worker, we're crushing small business, we're crushing the markets, we're crushing this country.... There are more important things than living, and that's saving this country for my children and my grandchildren and saving this country for all of us....'"

Republicans Are Dangerous to Your Health. Alison Dirr of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Officials have identified seven people who appear to have contracted COVID-19 through activities related to the April 7 election, Milwaukee Health Commissioner Jeanette Kowalik said Monday. Six of the cases are in voters and one is a poll worker, Kowalik said.... Tuesday will mark the 14th day since the election -- a time frame during which epidemiologists agree symptoms typically appear."

~~~~~~~~~~

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Here's the most discouraging story I've read about Covid-19: ~~~

~~~ Jeff Wise of New York: "Hopes for a return to normal life after the coronavirus hinge on the development of a vaccine. But there's no guarantee, experts say, that a fully effective COVID-19 vaccine is possible.... Not all viral diseases are equally amenable to vaccination. 'Some viruses are very easy to make a vaccine for, and some are very complicated,' says Adolfo García-Sastre, director of the Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.... Unfortunately, it seems that COVID-19 is on the difficult end of the scale.... At this point, it's not a given that even an imperfect vaccine is a slam dunk. The way that the COVID-19 virus behaves out in the wild makes it hard to predict how it will respond to vaccination.... A recent study in China ... found that many patients who actually had the disease showed very low levels of antibodies in their blood after they recovered -- and in some cases had none at all. This might indicate that people who recover from the disease or get vaccinated against it might be able to catch it nonetheless."

Trump's Latest Threat to the Essence of the Nation: It's the "Foreigners"' Fault. Katie Rogers, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump said on Monday evening that he intended to close the United States to people trying to immigrate into the country to live and work, a drastic move that he said would protect American workers from foreign competition once the nation's economy began to recover from the shutdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak. 'In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens,' Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter, 'I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!' In recent weeks, the Trump administration has used health concerns to justify aggressively restricting immigration.... But the president's late-night announcement on Monday signals his most wide-ranging attempt yet to seal off the country from the rest of the world.... It was not immediately clear what legal basis Mr. Trump would claim to justify shutting down most immigration."

"A Lot of People Love Trump." -- Trump. Ted Johnson of Deadline: At Monday's 5 pm Trump Show, [PBS reporter Yamiche] "Alcindor pressed the president about someone she recently interviewed who said his family got sick and did not take precautions 'mainly because the president wasn't taking it seriously.' 'Are you concerned that downplaying the virus maybe got some people sick?' she asked. Trump replied, 'And a lot of people love Trump. A lot of people love me. You see them all the time. I guess I am here for a reason, and for the best of my knowledge I won. And I think we are going to win again. I think we are going to win in a landslide.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC said, "That is the answer of a sociopath." Mrs. McC: One reason Alcindor is a super-successful reporter and I'm not is that my follow-up question would have been: "That's your answer? This family got sick because they listened to you and your response is, 'I'm here for a reason.' Using the royal 'we,' you say, 'We're going to win in a landslide'?? Where's your sympathy for the family? Where's your apology? Where's your contrition? Where's one normal response to an American tragedy?" However, this was Alcindor's follow-up: ~~~

~~~ Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "When [Alcindor then] asked [Trump] about rallies he held in February and March, Trump lied, ' don't know anything about rallies. I haven't left the White House in months, except to give a wonderful ship, the Comfort ... Why was Nancy Pelosi holding a street fair in Chinatown?'" ~~~

(~~~ Rem Rieder of FactCheck.org: "Pelosi did visit Chinatown in late February in an effort to encourage people to go there to eat and shop. But she did not support parades or parties, try to show the coronavirus didn’t exist or delete a tweet of her visit, as Trump [has] claimed.... On the same day as Pelosi's visit, Trump tweeted, 'The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!'")

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Monday are here. “President Trump mounted a lengthy defense of the country's coronavirus testing capacity during his daily briefing on Monday, even as governors in several states scrambled to access testing materials. Mr. Trump and members of the White House coronavirus task force said they had shared information with state officials about where to find machines to process test samples, and Vice President Mike Pence again said there was' enough testing capacity for every state in America' to make decisions about lifting restrictions.... But officials at the briefing -- including Mr. Trump, who brandished a thick binder that he said listed about 5,000 testing facilities -- emphasized lab capacity over another issue that state officials have underscored recently: an insufficient supply of materials needed to conduct the tests. Pressed about the disconnect, Mr. Trump reacted dismissively to several governors." ~~~

~~~ Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "President Trump said on Twitter that the demand for more tests was driven by the same 'Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats' who earlier had demanded the federal government intervene to provide more ventilators for acute-care coronavirus patients.... [At his 5 pm show Monday,] Trump directed some of his ire at Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), the head of the National Governors Association, who he said 'didn't understand much about what was going on' when he criticized the federal government's performance in addressing the testing issue."

Trump's Evil Plan. Jonathan Chait: "President Trump's current pandemic strategy -- emphasize current; like the cliché about the weather, if you don't like it, wait a few hours -- is a baffling knot of contradictions. He is hurling all responsibility to state governments, leaving it to them to devise effective tests and to decide when to relax social distancing. At the same time, he is starving them of the resources to handle the job. And even as Trump hides behind a policy of deference to governors, he is goading right-wing protesters to force their hand.... Yet there does appear to be a strategy here. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday afternoon that Trump has 'asked White House aides for economic response plans that would allow him to take credit for successes while offering enough flexibility to assign fault for any failures to others.' Trump's seemingly paradoxical stance is an attempt to hoard credit and shirk risk.... On the surface, he is deferring responsibility and blame to the governors. Just below the surface, he is coercing them to resume economic activity as fast as possible, regardless of what public-health officials say." Read on. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Hating people is a waste of energy. I'm beginning to have trouble not wasting my energy on Trump.

Delusions of Grandeur. Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: The 5 pm Trump Propaganda Show is an embarrassing extravaganza every day. David Smith of the Guardian (April 18) wrote an account of this past Saturday's installment of Trump's sideshow. The story is full of chestnuts like this one: "The president ended the briefing-cum-rally as he began, talking about anything but the coronavirus. He attacked the Democratic congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as having a 'very strong anti-Israel bent'. He said of North Korea: 'Look, if I wasn't elected, you would right now -- maybe the world -- would be over'."

Katharine Seelye, et al., of the New York Times describe some of the cloak-and-dagger lengths to which state governors & hospital administrators have gone to try to secure protective gear & other supplies for medical workers & to protect the gear frombeing seized by federal agents or otherwise disappearing. For instance, "In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat ... this month announced a nearly $1 billion deal to buy hundreds of millions of masks from China. He has refused to provide details of the contract even to state lawmakers amid reports of deals getting upended at the last minute, either from countries offering higher prices or from federal agencies stepping in and seizing goods." Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) got his wife Yumi to help get more testing kits; she speaks fluent Korean & called two Korean labs to negotiate the deal.

The Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Monday are here. Fauci Puts a Damper on the Trumpendrooler Protests. "Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's top infectious-diseases expert, said Monday in response to protests of various states' stay-at-home orders that reopening the economy too early would backfire.... '... unless we get the virus under control, the real recovery economically is not going to happen.'... Fauci on Monday also cautioned against drawing too many conclusions from antibody tests, which determine whether a person was already infected with a virus. Many of the tests in circulation have not been validated or calibrated, he warned. Fauci added that although antibodies for other viruses generally confer immunity upon people who have them, experts have not proved that protection exists for the coronavirus and how long it lasts if it does exist." (Also linked yesterday.)

Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "The White House and Congress on Monday tried to design another giant bailout package aimed at combating the coronavirus pandemic's economic and health fallout, scrambling to resolve last-minute snags over loan access and testing.... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on CNN Monday evening, '... now we're down to fine print, but I feel very optimistic and hopeful that we'll come to a conclusion tonight so that it can be taken up [Tuesday] in the Senate and Wednesday in the House or Representatives.'... The new package would amount to roughly $470 billion in new spending, with $370 billion directed to small businesses, $75 billion going to hospitals, and $25 billion set aside for testing." ~~~

~~~ Jonathan O'Connell of the Washington Post: "The federal government gave national hotel and restaurant chains millions of dollars in grants before the $349 billion program ran out of money Thursday, leading to a backlash that prompted one company to give the money back and a Republican senator to say that 'millions of dollars are being wasted.' Thousands of traditional small businesses were unable to get funding from the program before it ran dry. As Congress and the White House near a deal to add an additional $310 billion to the program, some are calling for additional oversight and rule changes to prevent bigger chains from accepting any more money.... Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) criticized the program, saying that 'companies that are not being harmed at all by the coronavirus crisis have the ability to receive taxpayer-funded loans that can be forgiven.'... Some of the companies receiving money are clients of JPMorgan Chase, adding fuel to criticism that Wall Street banks had helped their clients obtain large amounts."

Tom Boggioni of RawStory: "According to a report from the Daily Beast, Attorney General Bill Barr appears poised to take the lead and attempt to force governors to re-open their states during the coronavirus pandemic -- even at the risk of ramping up the spread of the virus when it appears to be slowing down. In the process, he could become the face of Donald Trump's failures to stem the COVID-19 health crisis." --s The Daily Beast story is firewalled. (Also linked yesterday.)

Patrick Wintour, et al. of the Guardian: "US hostility to the World Health Organization scuppered the publication of a communique by G20 health ministers on Sunday that committed to strengthening the WHO's mandate in coordinating a response to the global coronavirus pandemic. In place of a lengthy statement with paragraphs of detail, the leaders instead issued a brief statement saying that gaps existed in the way the world handled pandemics." --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Oil Prices Drop to Minus $30/Barrel. That's Right: Minus. Stanley Reed & Clifford Krauss of the New York Times: "Something bizarre happened in the oil markets on Monday: Prices fell so much that some traders paid buyers to take oil off their hands. The price of the main U.S. oil benchmark fell more than $50 a barrel to end the day about $30 below zero, the first time oil prices have ever turned negative. Such an eye-popping slide is the result of a quirk in the oil market, but it underscores the industry's disarray as the coronavirus pandemic decimates the world economy. Demand for oil is collapsing, and despite a deal by Saudi Arabia, Russia and other nations to cut production, the world is running out of places to put all the oil the industry keeps pumping out -- about 100 million barrels a day. At the start of the year, oil sold for over $60 a barrel but by Friday it hit about $20. Prices went negative -- meaning that anyone trying to sell a barrel would have to pay a buyer $30 -- in part because of the way oil is traded." ~~~

~~~ Fred Imbert of CNBC: "Stocks fell sharply Monday, retreating after back-to-back weekly gains, as a historic decline in U.S. crude prices raised concerns about the economic damage being done by coronavirus shutdowns. A delay in funding the for the depleted small business rescue loan program also weighed on sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 592.05 points lower, or 2.5%, 23,650.44. The S&P 500 slid 1.8% to 2,823.16. The Nasdaq Composite pulled back 1% to 8,560.73."

"Send in the Quacks." Paul Krugman: "... why is there such a close alliance between modern conservatism and quackery? One answer is that a political movement that demands absolute loyalty considers quacks more reliable than genuine experts.... Another answer is that the modern right is driven in large part by the grievances of white men who don't feel that they're getting the respect they believe they deserve, and Fox-fueled hostility to 'elites' who claim to know more than guys in diners -- which, on technical subjects like epidemiology, they do -- is a key part of the movement.... Finally, there has historically been a strong association between right-wing extremism and grifting.... Fake experts have reached a kind of apotheosis under Donald Trump...."

Colorado. Denver nurses stop anti-lockdown nuts: ~~~

Georgia. Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday that certain businesses can reopen this week in a move that breaks from the majority of state leaders and defies the warnings of many public health officials. Kemp said specifically that fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios, barbers, hair and nail salons, and massage therapy businesses can reopen as early Friday, April 24. Theaters and restaurants will be allowed to open on Monday, April 27, while bars and night clubs will remain closed for now.... According to an influential model often cited by the White House, from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Georgia hit its projected 'peak' for daily deaths 13 days ago, on April 7. But that same model predicts that dozens of people will die each day in the coming week. And to limit a resurgence of the virus, the model says that Georgia shouldn't start relaxing social distancing until after June 15 -- when the state can begin considering other measures to contain the virus, such as contact tracing and isolation." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: On the bright side, Kemp does make Florida's Ron DeSantis look a little smarter. At least DeSantis (so far) hasn't recommended physical interactions among strangers in which sweat-sharing, touching, extended touching & breaking the skin takes place.

Iowa. Stephen Joyce, et al., of Bloomberg, republished in Yahoo! Finance: "Hundreds of National Guard personnel are being activated in Iowa as coronavirus sweeps through meat-processing plants in a state that accounts for about a third of U.S. pork supply. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (r) said 250 National Guard members have been moved to full-time federal duty status and could help with testing and contact tracing for workers at plants operated by Tyson Foods Inc. and National Beef Packing Co. Activating guard soldiers is the latest attempt to contain the disease, which has forced a growing number of slaughterhouses and meat-processing plants to slow or halt operations. The disruptions are stoking concerns for eventual fresh-meat shortages in grocery stores as well leaving some farmers without a market for their animals. That's pushing down prices for hogs and cattle, while making meat more expensive. Wholesale pork posted its biggest three-day gain in six years."

Kentucky. Christina Zhao of Newsweek: "Democratic Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced Sunday that the state had set a grim record with 273 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, the highest single-day rise to date. Kentucky's increase in infected individuals comes after protesters took to the streets throughout the week to call for the state to be reopened. With the 273 additional confirmed infections, Kentucky now has 2,960 cases of the novel virus and 1,122 recoveries. Beshear also announced four new deaths on Sunday, bringing the total number of fatalities across the state to 148."

South Dakota. It's the "Foreigners"' Fault. Albert Samaha & Katie Baker of BuzzFeed News: Gov. Kristi Noem (R) & Smithfield Foods executives blame "living circumstances in certain cultures ... [unlike] your traditional American family" for the huge outbreak of coronavirus among workers in Smithfield's South Dakota pork processing plant. Noem said in a Fox "News" interview "that '99%' of the spread of infections 'wasn't happening inside the facility' but inside workers' homes, 'because a lot of these folks who work at this plant live in the same community, the same buildings, sometimes in the same apartments.' But internal company communications and interviews with nearly a dozen workers and their relatives point to a series of management missteps and half measures that contributed significantly to the spread of the virus."

Texas. Not Their Best Rodeo. Perla Trevino of the Texas Tribune & ProPublica: "The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the city's largest annual event, attracting 2.5 million people and generating nearly $400 million in economic activity for the region.... Days before the ... rodeo kicked off, area politicians celebrated this great piece of Americana -- dubbed the world's largest livestock show -- which was going forward in the age of the coronavirus. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, a 29-year-old rising political star..., reassured residents that 'the overall risk of COVID-19 to the general public within our counties remains low at this time.'... Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner ... posted a video of himself line dancing to the 'wobble.' But over at the Rodeo Houston headquarters, organizers worried that the 20-day event would have to be shut down early as they watched a global increase in coronavirus cases... Enough evidence existed [at the time] that 'something was probably going to develop during that time period. We just didn't know how or when, [Dr. Kelly Larkin, an ER physician and longtime rodeo board member] told ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.... Many in the community were urging organizers and city leaders to cancel the event.... Ultimately, on March 11, after eight days, the rodeo shut down. A police officer from a neighboring county who attended a pre-rodeo barbecue tested positive for the new coronavirus...."

Ishaan Tharoor of the Washington Post: "Countries such as Germany and South Korea moved to ease restrictions this week, but they have established far more efficient and widespread regimes of contact tracing and testing for the virus [than the U.S].... Even then, they remain wary about the possibility of a second wave ravaging their countries.... German Chancellor Angela Merkel..., in contrast to Trump..., urged local authorities to maintain and enforce social distancing rules to ensure that the country's slowdown in infections would continue.... And none of the indignation of Trump supporters over their apparent loss of rights during a global public health crisis can be heard in the messaging from authorities in countries that are slowly trying to restart their economies."

Brazil. Tom Phillips of the Guardian: "Former presidents, politicians and newspaper editorial boards have lined up to denounce the 'moronic' and 'anti-democratic' behaviour of Brazil's far-right leader after he hit the streets to egg on protesters demanding a return to military dictatorship. As the number of deaths caused by Covid-19 rose to nearly 2,500 on Sunday, Jair Bolsonaro left his presidential palace in Brazil's capital, Brasília, to fraternize with flag-waving radicals." --s

Singapore. Hannah Beech of the New York Times: "After recording its first coronavirus case on Jan. 23, the prosperous city-state [of Singapore] meticulously traced the close contacts of every infected patient, while keeping a sense of normalcy on its streets. Borders were shut to populations likely to carry the contagion, although businesses stayed open. Ample testing and treatment were free for residents. But over the past few days, Singapore's coronavirus caseload has more than doubled, with more than 8,000 cases confirmed as of Monday, the highest in Southeast Asia. Most of the new infections are within crowded dormitories where migrant laborers live, unnoticed by many of the country's richer residents and, it turns out, the government itself. The spread of the coronavirus in this tidy city-state suggests that it might be difficult for the United States, Europe and the rest of the world to return to the way they were anytime soon, even when viral curves appear to have flattened.... If anything, the trials of this intensely urban, hyper-international country hint at a global future in which travel is taboo, borders are shut, quarantines endure and industries like tourism and entertainment are battered."

Damian Carrington of the Guardian: "High levels of air pollution may be 'one of the most important contributors' to deaths from Covid-19, according to research. The analysis shows that of the coronavirus deaths across 66 administrative regions in Italy, Spain, France and ;Germany, 78% of them occurred in just five regions, and these were the most polluted. The research examined levels of nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant produced mostly by diesel vehicles, and weather conditions that can prevent dirty air from dispersing away from a city." --safari: Seem appropriate to remember that the EPA has stopped enforcing environmental regulations now. (Also linked yesterday.)

Jason Wilson of the Guardian: "An emerging shortage of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) caused by the coronavirus pandemic may affect food supply chains and drinking water, a Washington state emergency planning document has revealed. The document, a Covid-19 situation report produced by the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), contains a warning from the state's office of drinking water (ODW) about difficulties in obtaining CO2, which is essential for the process of water treatment.... Th main reason for national shortages, according to the CEO of the Compressed Gas Association (CGA), Rich Gottwald, is a ramping down of ethanol production." --s

Justin Wise of the Hill: "President Trump on Sunday lashed out at FBI leadership over the origins of the investigation into Russian election interference, calling investigators who led the probe 'human scum.' Trump made the remarks during a White House briefing after being asked about a pair of his former associates who were sentenced to prison following charges stemming from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Asked whether he'd pardon Paul Manafort and Roger Stone so they wouldn't be exposed to the coronavirus while in prison, Trump said, 'You'll find out.'" Mrs. McC: If you sometimes think maybe Trump isn't mentally disturbed, he's so often ready to disabuse you of your generous musings.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Israel. David Halbfinger & Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and his former challenger, Benny Gantz, agreed Monday night to establish a unity government, a deal that finally breaks a yearlong political impasse and keeps Mr. Netanyahu in office as he faces trial on corruption charges. After three inconclusive elections in the past year, the creation of the new government forestalls what had appeared to be an inevitable fourth election and offers a deeply divided Israel a chance for national healing as it battles the coronavirus pandemic."

North Korea. Jim Sciutto, et al., of CNN: "The US is monitoring intelligence that suggests North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, is in grave danger after undergoing a previous surgery, according to [US officials].... A South Korean source told CNN Monday that the country's top leaders are very much aware of reports about Kim's health status but cannot independently verify details published by Daily NK.... South Korea's Unification Ministry and Defense Ministry have given a 'no comment.'"