Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Indefensible: “The number of coronavirus tests analyzed each day by commercial labs in the U.S. plummeted by more than 30 percent over the past week, even though new infections are still surging in many states and officials are desperately trying to ramp up testing so the country can reopen.”
* Time is of the essence: “Top Democrats and the Trump administration were in talks about a new COVID-19 aid package Wednesday as new data showed a popular small-business loan program could be out of money as soon as Wednesday.”
* A new online portal: “The IRS released an online form Wednesday that allows Americans to upload their bank account information so they can get their coronavirus stimulus payments quickly.”
* Speaking of Treasury: “Major U.S. airlines, roiled by the coronavirus pandemic, will be participating in the federal government’s Payroll Support Program, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Tuesday.”
* CDC and FEMA: “A team of government officials — led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — has created a public health strategy to combat the novel coronavirus and reopen parts of the country.”
* If Trump publishes anti-FAA tweets, I guess we’ll know why: “Pilots are prohibited within two days of flying from experimenting with two yet unproven medications to prevent coronavirus infection, the Federal Aviation Administration has determined. ‘Use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to prevent coronavirus infection is disqualifying while on the medication and for 48 hours after the last dose before reporting for flight or other safety related duties,’ a new FAA directive says.” * The appeal on this should be interesting: “A federal court has struck down a 2018 Agriculture Department rule that reversed nutrition standards for sodium and whole grains in school meal programs once championed by the former first lady Michelle Obama.” * That was unfortunate: “White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway erroneously asserted on Wednesday that the number 19 in COVID-19, which stands for the year in which the virus was discovered, stood for a strain of the disease.” 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."
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