| |
| |
A devastating March jobs report: |
| 
Via The Hill's Sylvan Lane, "The U.S. lost 701,000 jobs in March as the growing coronavirus pandemic devastated the American economy and ended more than a decade of uninterrupted employment growth, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department." https://bit.ly/346qVRq The broken streak: The outbreak broke a 113-month streak of job gains that began in October 2010. The unemployment rate: It rose from 3.5 in February to 4.4 in March -- that's the largest jump since 1975. |
| |
| For context, check out this graph of the past decade: 
|
| |
| REACTION -- THE STOCK MARKET DROPPED: |
| "The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down over 100 points, or 0.5 percent, and the S&P 500 fell 12 points, also 0.5 percent, in the opening minutes of trading." |
| |
| It's Friday! I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com -- and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook. Did someone forward this to you? Want your own copy? Sign up here to receive The Hill's 12:30 Report in your inbox daily: http://bit.ly/2kjMNnn |
| |
| |
| How many cases in the U.S.: 245,658 https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y How many deaths in the U.S.: 6,069 Pretty crazy to think about: Via The New York Times, "Half of humanity under lockdown orders: Roughly four billion people have been told to stay in their homes, but some U.S. states have resisted such measures." https://nyti.ms/2X2XrT3 Prediction for when coronavirus will peak in each state: https://bit.ly/2JDyOEp Cities across the country are in danger of becoming hotspots: What to watch, via The Hill's Jessie Hellmann: https://bit.ly/2JCy56s |
| |
| |
Possibly coming in the next few days -- a face mask recommendation: |
| Via The Hill's Brett Samuels, President Trump is expected to encourage some Americans to wear masks or face coverings in public to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. https://bit.ly/3bKRDlh Which Americans?: "The specific language of the guidance was not yet finalized as of Thursday afternoon, according to a person familiar with the matter, but it is likely to apply to those living in parts of the country that have been subject to outbreaks to curb asymptomatic individuals from spreading the virus." |
| |
| THE PROBLEM WITH FACE MASKS: |
| Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus response, told reporters that face masks can give people a false sense of security when they are still at risk. https://bit.ly/2V54LLs In Birx's words: "The most important thing is the social distancing and washing your hands. And we don't want people to get an artificial sense of protection because they're behind a mask. Because if they're touching things -- remember your eyes are not in the mask -- so if you're touching things and then touching your eyes you're exposing yourself in the same way." What we know: https://bit.ly/3bKRDlh |
| |
| |
On to the next stimulus: |
| Lawmakers are starting to think about the next legislative steps to help the country amid the coronavirus outbreak. https://bit.ly/39E4ep0 Timing: "The talks are in their preliminary stages, and any bill is unlikely to come together before both chambers return as soon as April 20. There are also plenty of hurdles as House Democrats signal they are moving quickly while Senate Republicans say they want to take a wait-and-see approach." |
| |
| FIVE THINGS BEING DISCUSSED FOR A NEW CORONAVIRUS RELIEF BILL: |
- Infrastructure: "Democrats and President Trump are seizing on Washington's perennial white whale -- a massive infrastructure package -- as they discuss next steps for Congress."
- Gaps: "Senate Republicans, while not committing to their own fourth bill, say Congress is likely to need to include 'fixes' to the $2.2 trillion bill passed last week as part of whatever lawmakers do next."
- More cash payments: "House Democrats are expected to ask for additional cash payments to Americans as part of the next bill."
- State and local help: "Democrats say they will push for more in stabilization funding for states and local governments."
- Health care: "As the number of cases in the United States continues to grow -- there were 236,339 cases in the United States as of early Thursday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University -- lawmakers say more needs to be done to bolster the health care system."
Context and details for each from The Hill's Jordain Carney: https://bit.ly/39E4ep0 Op-ed: https://bit.ly/2X6JDaf |
| |
| |
'How did covid-19 begin? Its initial origin story is shaky.': |
| Via The Washington Post's David Ignatius, "U.S. intelligence officials don't think the pandemic was caused by deliberate wrongdoing. The outbreak that has now swept the world instead began with a simpler story, albeit one with tragic consequences: The prime suspect is 'natural' transmission from bats to humans, perhaps through unsanitary markets. But scientists don't rule out that an accident at a research laboratory in Wuhan might have spread a deadly bat virus that had been collected for scientific study." The full story: https://wapo.st/2UXF931 |
| |
| |
| Celebrities have been crashing online Zoom classes: Kim Kardashian surprised Georgetown University students by joining their Zoom class. Matthew McConaughey joined an online class for University of Texas at Austin students. Oh, and Chris Harrison made an appearance in a Loyola Marymount University class. Photos: https://eonli.ne/2weZCYK |
| |
| |
Yikes: |
| 
|
| |
Wow -- here's a graphic to explain to last week's unemployment claims: |
| 
Back story: 6.6 million people filed unemployment claims during the week ending in March 28. https://cnn.it/2UCILse |
| |
| |
| The House and Senate are in. President Trump and Vice President Pence are in Washington, D.C. 11:30 a.m. EDT: President Trump received an intelligence briefing in the Oval Office. 2 p.m. EDT: Vice President Pence leads a White House Coronavirus Task Force meeting in the Situation Room. 3 p.m. EDT: President Trump is holding a roundtable with energy sector CEOs. Vice President Pence also attends. |
| |
| |
| 5 p.m. EST: The Coronavirus Task Force is holding a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/2JDwiOK 3 p.m. EDT Sunday: "Her Majesty The Queen has recorded a special broadcast to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in relation to the Coronavirus outbreak. The televised address will be broadcast at 8pm on Sunday 5th April, 2020." (Via The Daily Mail's Rebecca English) https://bit.ly/3aHz555 |
| |
| |
| Today is National Chocolate Mousse Day! For weekend planning purposes, tomorrow is National Cordon Bleu Day and Sunday is National Caramel Day. |
| |
| And because you made it this far, here is an animal alternative to football, posted by the NFL: https://bit.ly/2UFCbB3 Someone needs to sign that cat to a team. |
No comments:
Post a Comment