Today’s edition of quick hits:
* This could take a while: “Partisan tensions erupted on Monday afternoon as the Senate failed for a second time to advance a massive stimulus package to address the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with lawmakers accusing the other party of holding up negotiations.”
* The Federal Reserve this morning “announced aggressive new emergency measures to support the economy and ensure that credit flows to households and businesses as the country faces the prospect of a deep downturn from the coronavirus pandemic.”
* Oh my: “Several months before the coronavirus pandemic began, the Trump administration eliminated a key American public health position in Beijing intended to help detect disease outbreaks in China, Reuters has learned.”
* On this, he’s right: “Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams warned Monday that the coronavirus outbreak will worsen this week and said that people across the country are not taking the threat seriously enough. ‘I want America to understand this week, it’s going to get bad,’ Adams said in an interview on the TODAY show.”
* Maybe there should be some kind of federal management? “Corporate executives say they face a bewildering number of requests from dozens of nations around the world, along with governors and mayors around the country, for scarce supplies. The White House has not said who will set the priority list for deliveries. And it is not clear that any of it will arrive in time for the cities and the states that are hit the hardest, including New York.” * In news unrelated to the virus: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew to Kabul on Monday on an urgent, unannounced diplomatic rescue mission, but left eight hours later without a breakthrough in his attempt to bridge a political divide that has undermined U.S. efforts to pull all American troops out of Afghanistan.” * Olympic news: “The coronavirus may inevitably delay the Tokyo Olympics. But as the International Olympic Committee and organizers in Japan take as much as four weeks to make a final call, athletes, medical experts and others involved in the sporting world are pressing for a quicker end to the uncertainty.” See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
Latest Post
Recommended
