Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The CDC has already disavowed this report: “A draft government report projects covid-19 cases will surge to about 200,000 per day by June 1, a staggering jump that would be accompanied by more than 3,000 deaths each day.”
* A strange day at SCOTUS: “It was a day of firsts — the first time the justices were not together for oral argument, with each of them calling in by phone. The first time the audio of the argument was available live, streamed on news websites and available on C-SPAN. And the first questions since March 2019 from Clarence Thomas — who often goes several years without asking any.”
* Baffling: “The federal government is considering rolling back infection control requirements in U.S. nursing homes — even as the long-term-care industry’s residents and workers are overwhelmed by the coronavirus.”
* Playing a risky game: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday backed President Trump’s assertion that the coronavirus originated in a research laboratory in Wuhan, China, though the nation’s intelligence agencies say they have reached no conclusion on the issue.”
* I wish he’d stop making rosy predictions: “President Trump said Sunday that his administration is confident the United States will have a vaccine for the novel coronavirus by the end of the year. ‘We think we are going to have a vaccine by the end of this year,’ Trump said during a virtual Fox News town hall Sunday evening.”
* Not what the world needs right now: “South Korean officials said their troops exchanged fire with North Korea on Sunday morning along the tense land border dividing the two countries.”
* A scary scene: “The mayor of an Oklahoma city amended an emergency declaration requiring customers to wear face masks while inside businesses after store employees were threatened with violence.”
* A welcome acknowledgement: “Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday said he should have worn a mask when visiting the Mayo Clinic, a reversal that came after a harsh backlash for not adhering to the hospital’s policy during the coronavirus pandemic.” * NRA: “The National Rifle Association has laid off dozens of employees, canceled its national convention and scuttled fundraising, membership and shooting events that normally would be key to rallying its base in an election year.” * Oh my: “White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow defended his claim on Feb. 25 that the U.S. had ‘contained’ the coronavirus ‘pretty close to airtight,’ arguing on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ Sunday that his comments were ‘based on the actual facts’ at the time.” * For our radar: “President Trump is not happy with FBI director Christopher Wray and would love to replace him, according to three sources who’ve discussed the matter with the president.” 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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