Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Italy: “Italy’s prime minister announced Monday that the lockdown placed on millions in the Lombardy region has been extended to the entire country in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus.”
* I hope you didn’t follow Team Trump’s investment advice: “Wall Street took a beating on Monday, as collapsing oil prices and fears about the impact of the coronavirus almost nudged the American economy out of the longest bull market in history, exactly 11 years to the day since it began.”
* Important warnings: “New guidance from the CDC urges travelers, especially the elderly and those with compromised health, to avoid long plane trips ‘and especially’ cruises — a stark shift in rhetoric from an administration that had previously appeared reluctant to discourage Americans from moving around the globe…. The State Department on Sunday also recommended against cruise travel.”
* On the Hill: “At least six members of Congress have vowed to stay away from Capitol Hill this week because they interacted with individuals who tested positive for coronavirus.”
* No one has time for this: “North Korea launched three short-range projectiles off its east coast on Monday, Seoul’s military said, in Pyongyang’s second weapons test in a week after a period of inactivity.”
* One of the weekend’s most striking reports: “Erik Prince, the security contractor with close ties to the Trump administration, has in recent years helped recruit former American and British spies for secretive intelligence-gathering operations that included infiltrating Democratic congressional campaigns, labor organizations and other groups considered hostile to the Trump agenda, according to interviews and documents.”
* Typical: “President Trump will skip the annual bipartisan St. Patrick’s Day luncheon hosted by Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Capitol Hill this week, White House officials said Sunday, the latest in a series of tit-for-tat snubs between the two most powerful leaders in the nation’s capital.” * Sometimes, a headline captures a story perfectly, Part I: “Matt Gaetz made light of coronavirus by wearing a gas mask. Now he is in quarantine.” * Sometimes, a headline captures a story perfectly, Part II: “Trump ‘didn’t know people died from the flu.’ It killed his grandfather.” 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
