Townhall Cartoons

Trump’s economic rescue package could approach $1 trillion

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a massive federal effort, President Donald Trump asked Congress to speed emergency checks to Americans, enlisted the military for MASH-like hospitals and implored ordinary people — particularly socially active millennials — to do their part by staying home to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

His proposed economic package alone could approach $1 trillion, a rescue initiative not seen since the Great Recession. Trump wants checks sent to the public within two weeks and is urging Congress to pass the eye-popping stimulus package in a matter of days.

As analysts warn the country is surely entering a recession, the government is grappling with an enormous political undertaking with echoes of the 2008 financial crisis.

At the Capitol on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed the Senate would not adjourn until the work was done.

“Obviously, we need to act,” McConnell said. “We’re not leaving town until we have constructed and passed another bill.”

But first, McConnell said, the Senate will vote on a House-passed package of sick pay, emergency food and free testing, putting it back on track for Trump’s signature — despite Republican objections. “Gag, and vote for it anyway,” he advised colleagues.

It was a signal of what the GOP leader called the “herculean” task ahead.

Senators gathered at an otherwise shut-down Capitol as Americans across the country were implored to heed advice and avoid crowds. Young adults, in particular, are being urged to quit going out because even seemingly healthy people can be spreading the virus that causes the COVID-19 illness.

Even so, presidential primary elections unfolded in Florida, Illinois and Arizona. Ohio’s was called off hours before the polls were set to open.

After a savage drop at the start of the week, the stock market rose as Trump and aides sketched out elements of the economic rescue package at a briefing. Economists doubted that would be enough to stop millions of jobs losses, even if in the short term.

Bigger than the $700 billion 2008 bank bailout or the nearly $800 billion 2009 recovery act, the White House proposal aims to provide a massive tax cut for wage-earners, $50 billion for the airline industry and $250 billion for small businesses. Two people familiar with he package described it to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

The amount that would be sent out in checks Americans is not yet disclosed. The White House said it liked GOP Sen. Mitt Romney’s idea for $1,000 checks, though not necessarily at that sum and not for wealthier people.

“This is a very unique situation,” said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, exiting a private briefing of Senate Republicans. “We’ve put a proposal on that table that would attract a trillion dollars into the economy.”

One GOP leader, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, told reporters afterward it “could be” up to $1 trillion.

Senate Democrats produced their own $750 billion proposal, which includes $400 billion to shore up hospitals and other emergency operations in response to the global pandemic and $350 billion to bolster the safety net with unemployment checks and other aid to Americans.

“The aid has to be workers first,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, not what happened in 2008, when the big banks took precedence. Schumer also said it’s time to call out the National Guard to provide security as communities reel from the crisis.

The slow-moving Congress is being asked to approve the far-reaching economic rescue as it tries to rise to the occasion of these fast times.

A roster of America’s big and small industries — airlines, hotels, retailers and even casinos — lined up for hoped-for aid.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.

Still, health officials are urging Americans to stay home to prevent an onslaught of cases that could overwhelm hospitals as happened in Italy, among the countries hardest hit.

As Congress considered aid, the Pentagon on Tuesday said it would provide 5 million respirator masks and 2,000 specialized ventilators to federal health authorities. And Medicare was immediately expanding coverage for telemedicine nationwide to help seniors with health problems stay home to avoid infection.

More than two dozen Senate Democrats urged Trump to invoke the Korean War-era Defense Production Act to increase production of masks, ventilators and respirators, as well as expand hospital capacity to combat the coronavirus. Federal officials said the administration is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to see about erecting temporary hospitals, as is done in the military, to handle an expected surge of cases.

Schumer compared the government response needed to a wartime mobilization.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who marshaled the earlier package through a bipartisan vote last week, fielded a call from Mnuchin on Tuesday morning and another from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in the afternoon, encouraged by the Fed chairman’s perspective that Congress could think big with interest rates at nearly zero.

In the call with Mnuchin, she and Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of the House Transportation committee, “emphasized that protecting workers’ paychecks and benefits was their top priority, and that immediate action was needed,” said Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill on Twitter.

The debate is sure to revive the sharp divisions over the costly bank bailout and economic recovery of the Obama and Bush eras.

Much about the proposed checks is not known, such as whether the amount would vary by the income of the recipient or whether everyone would get the same sum. Mnuchin said “it’s clear we don’t need to send people who make $1 million a year checks, OK?”

Economists from both parties endorsed mailing checks of at least $1,000 to all American households as the quickest way to offset the sharp slowdown in economic activity.

“We need to pay people to stay at home,” said Heidi Shierholz, a senior policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think-tank. The group predicted that without a huge stimulus package, the U.S. economy could lose three million jobs by this summer.

Still, some GOP senators were skeptical about the massive aid on the table. “I’m going to be very leery of doing something like in 2008,” said Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun.

“Right now, the plan around here is basically to just to start shoveling money out of a helicopter,” said Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. “This is a bad idea. … We don’t need a policy where Washington, D.C., handpicks winners and losers.”

Despite federal guidelines against so many people gathering, senators had no choice but to convene. Legislating cannot be done from home.

But late Tuesday, another lawmaker, Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., announced he would self-quarantine after contact with a constituent who later tested positive for coronavirus.

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Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Matthew Daly, Martin Crutsinger, Colleen Long, Chris Rugaber, Mary Clare Jalonick and Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.

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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Jussie Smollett prosecutor Kim Foxx wins Dem primary in hotly contested race

Cook County, Illinois State’s Attorney Kim Foxx prevailed in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, where she faced several challengers who had focused on the controversy surrounding her handling of the Jussie Smollett case.
Foxx drew national attention over Smollett's case, which began with a hate crime investigation, turned into charges against Smollett for an alleged hoax, and ended with Foxx dismissing the case altogether, drawing the ire of local police.
“This win is about all of us. I’ve spent the last four years working to reform a system that is not representative of the communities it serves - I’m ready to continue this work,” Foxx said.
The three Democrats who challenged Foxx made her handling of the Jussie Smollett case -- which is now before a special prosecutor-- central to the campaign.
Foxx abruptly dropped charges last year against the “Empire” actor, who was accused of staging a racist, anti-gay attack. Questions loom about whether she acted improperly for speaking to a Smollett relative and aide to former first lady Michelle Obama before the charges were dismissed.
Foxx had said that she had recused herself from the case due to those contacts, but her office continued to handle it instead of turning it over to a special prosecutor. A spokesperson later explained that Foxx only meant that she was recusing herself in the “colloquial” sense, and that she herself would not be involved.
Text messages later revealed that Foxx still gave her opinion on the matter to a deputy – saying Smollett was overcharged -- in the weeks before Smollett’s charges were dropped.
A special prosecutor reinstated the charges, which Foxx called political.
Foxx fended off challenges from Bill Conway, Donna More, and Bob Fioretti, with Conway placing a distant second despite his family pouring millions into his campaign.
About $10.5 million of the roughly $11.5 million he’s raised, comes from his father William Conway, co-founder of Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C.-based investment firm. By comparison, Foxx has raised nearly $3.5 million.
Cook County is heavily Democratic, so Tuesday’s nominee is likely the winner in November. In the GOP primary, Patrick O’Brien, a former assistant state’s attorney, defeated Christopher Pfannkuche, a prosecutor who has worked for several different agencies including the state’s attorney office.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

DHS considering plan to turn away asylum-seekers, people who crossed southern border illegally

Fox News has learned that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is considering a plan that would turn away asylum seekers and anyone who has crossed the southern border illegally, in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
The idea is currently being developed by DHS staff, but there is still more work to do to be done, before it's presented to President Trump for a final decision.
A DHS spokesperson told Fox News that the president has the authority to do whatever is necessary to protect the American public from this potentially deadly disease.
“President Trump is 100 percent committed to protecting the American people from coronavirus and all options are in the table," the official said.
Trump has long been a strong proponent of stronger border security and has favored a targeted approach to limiting illegal immigration.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) falls under DHS and would be subject to carry out the directive if it were approved.
This news comes after the European Union (EU) chose to close the bloc's borders to most foreigners, on Tuesday.
The ban is expected to last for at least 30 days, with citizens of the United Kingdom, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland likely being exempt.

Biden crushes Sanders in primary sweep of Florida, Illinois, Arizona

Joe Biden swept another round of delegate-rich contests Tuesday – winning in Florida, Illinois and Arizona – further cementing the former vice president as the dominant front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination over Bernie Sanders as the coronavirus threat scrambles the primary calendar for the foreseeable future.
Florida and Illinois will award a hefty 219 and 155 pledged delegates, respectively, while Arizona is worth 67 delegates. Together, the contests are likely to only add to the pressure on Sanders to reconsider his presence in the race.
Last week, Sanders vowed to press on after a string of defeats, signaling he wants to continue to pressure Biden to embrace more progressive policies.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about the coronavirus Thursday, March 12, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

"Our campaign has had a very good night," Biden told supporters in Wilmington, Delaware, before the Arizona race was called. "We've moved closer to securing the Democratic Party's nomination for president. And we're doing it by building a broad coalition that we need to win in November, with strong support from the African-American community, the Latino community, high school-aged people, educated people ... labor, teachers, suburban women, veterans, firefighters and so many more."
Once again, he extended an olive branch to Sanders in a nudge to convince him to step aside, though as recently as their debate on Sunday, Sanders showed little inclination to accept.
"Senator Sanders and I may disagree on tactics, but we share a common vision for the need to provide affordable health care for all Americans, reducing income inequality hat has risen so drastically, to tackling the existential threat of our time, climate change," he said. "Senator Sanders and his supporters have brought a remarkable passion and tenacity to all of these issues. ... Together, they have shifted the fundamental conversation in this country. So let me say, especially to the young voters who have been inspired by Senator Sanders. I hear you."
Earlier in the evening, Sanders gave an online address as well focused on the pandemic, providing a detailed list of proposals to address the medical and economic issues caused by the novel coronavirus.
Sanders said his proposals would cost "at least $2 trillion" and would include monthly $2,000 checks to American households.

Chicago residents line up for early voting at the Roden Library Monday, March 16, 2020, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In Florida, a key swing state in the general election, Sanders was walloped.
Biden was ahead in the state by a massive margin of 61.5 percent to 22.7 percent, with 82 percent of precincts reporting. The rout was somewhat expected, with the state's sizable Cuban- and Venezuelan-American population largely resistant to Sanders' democratic socialist politics and many voters angered after he defended former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's literacy programs.
Twenty percent of Democratic primary voters in the Florida primary were Hispanic -– a group that typically has been a strength for Sanders. Six-in-ten voted for Biden, who received approximately two-thirds of the vote among Puerto Ricans and almost six-in-ten among Cubans, according to the Fox News Voter Analysis.
Despite ongoing concerns about the coronavirus, seniors made up more than one-third of the electorate in Florida – the highest portion in any primary surveyed this year, the Fox News Voter Analysis showed. Biden easily won voters over the age of 65, with almost eight-in-ten supporting him.
Electability continued to play a factor in Biden's favor.

Evanston residents line up for voting at Trinity Lutheran Church in Evanston, Ill., Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Some polling places in Evanston have been moved in an effort to reduce exposure of senior citizens to the COVID-19 coronavirus.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Across all states voting on Tuesday, voters said they believed Biden was better positioned to win in November. Roughly 83 percent of voters in Arizona, Florida, and Illinois felt Biden could beat President Trump, while only about 62 percent of voters in those states had the same confidence in Sanders, according to Fox News Voter Analysis.
Meanwhile, Trump easily clinched the Republican presidential nomination with wins in the Illinois and Florida Republican primaries, officially dashing the hopes of any of the extreme long-shot candidates who challenged him in that primary.
A total of 441 delegates was at stake in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, and the big question was whether the coronavirus would affect turnout at the polls. Some early indications were that turnout in Florida actually may have been higher than 2016 figures.
Biden is moving closer to securing the Democratic presidential nomination but had faced the possibility of a setback if the older voters who tend to support him didn't show up. Sanders, meanwhile, couldn't afford to lose support from young voters who have been his most loyal supporters. In the end, Biden did not appear to suffer any measurable loss of support.
Problems related to the virus scare still reportedly popped up across the country, including in Florida, the biggest delegate prize of the evening.
In Okaloosa County on the Panhandle, two dozen poll workers dropped out, leaving supervisors scrambling to find replacements.
Millions of voters have already participated in some form of early voting. But there were some signs on Tuesday that voters — and poll workers — were staying home.
In Burbank, a small community southwest of Chicago, most of the voting stations stood empty at 8 a.m., the Associated Press reported. Only 17 people had voted, a pace that officials said was unusually slow.
In Palm Beach County, Florida, 800 volunteer poll workers backed out on Monday and just 100 new volunteers offered to take their place.
In Illinois, there was a push to relocate about 50 Chicago-area polling places after locations canceled at the last minute and said they would not be available for use on Tuesday.

Harold Goodman waits in line to vote in the presidential primary election at the Supervisor of Elections office, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Delray Beach, Fla. This polling station was made available after some precincts in Palm Beach County were unable to open after poll workers did not report to work. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

This may be the last batch of primaries for weeks -- at least of primaries featuring in-person voting -- should states holding upcoming contests continue to push them off.
Leaders in Ohio called off their primary just hours before polls were set to open as the federal government urged Americans not to gather in groups of 10 or more and asked older people to stay home. The state's Democratic Party said it was weighing options for challenging that move, which was pushed by the Republican governor.
Georgia has delayed its primary from March 24 to May 19, and Louisiana from April 4 to June 20. Additionally, Maryland has moved its April 28 primary to June 2, and Kentucky has pushed its primary from May 19 to June 23.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has reportedly warned that states that delay their primaries past June 9 could face a hefty delegate penalty -- angering some commentators who call the ultimatum reckless given the threat posed by coronavirus.
“The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy, and we must do everything we can to protect and expand that right instead of bringing our democratic process to a halt,” DNC chairman Tom Perez said in a statement. He is urging states to expand options like voting by mail in upcoming contests.

Sylka Edmondson talks with a senior citizen at the Lakefront Community Center, an Ohio polling center, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Euclid, Ohio. Ohio called off its presidential primary just hours before polls were set to open there and in three other states, an 11th-hour decision the governor said was necessary to prevent further fueling the coronavirus pandemic that has paralyzed the nation. Edmondson was handing out food to senior citizens. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

The tumult surrounding the virus has left the primary campaign in a state of suspended animation, but Sanders currently faces an increasingly tough path to the nomination. The coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the primary calendar could only amplify calls for Sanders to drop out of the race.
About half of the delegates in the Democratic primary have already been awarded and, with Biden looking at another big night Tuesday, he will pad an already large and perhaps insurmountable lead.
Biden's quest for his party's nomination now seems within reach. He needs less than half of the remaining delegates to become the nominee.
Fox News' Victoria Balara, Kimberly Anderson, Paul Steinhauser, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

March 2020 Townhall Cartoons

With borders and businesses closing, world hunkers down

BANGKOK (AP) — With borders slamming shut, schools and businesses closing and increasingly drastic restrictions on movement in place, tens of millions of people were hunkered down Tuesday, heeding government calls to isolate themselves and slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

From Southeast Asia to Europe to the Americas, people found their lives upended by lockdowns and social distancing.

Shoppers in Malaysia stood in long lines to stock up at picked-over supermarkets. Commuters in the Philippines waited in huge traffic jams at checkpoints set up to take their temperatures before entering the capital city. Officials in seven San Francisco Bay Area counties issued a sweeping shelter-in-place mandate, ordering millions of residents to stay at home and go outside only for food, medicine and outings that are absolutely essential.

The cancellations of treasured holidays and community events continued to build, with Thailand saying it was calling off its water festival in April and the organizers of the so-called “most exciting two minutes in sports”— the Kentucky Derby — reportedly prepared to announce the delay the horse race for the first time since World War II.

Fresh moves to contain the virus came even as Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the virus was first detected late last year and which has been under lockdown for weeks, reported just one new case on Tuesday.

The fronts in the battle have clearly shifted outside China, with its caseload now outnumbered by those outside its borders. And Spain is now the fourth-most infected country, surpassing South Korea, where new cases have been subsiding.

With the number of cases worldwide topping 181,000, a surge of patients in Madrid’s hospitals fueled worries across Europe of what lies ahead. Pleas went out to funnel masks and ventilators to places struggling with soaring caseloads.

“There is no easy or quick way out of this extremely difficult situation,” Mark Rutte, the prime minister of the Netherlands, said in the first televised speech by a Dutch premier since 1973.

The virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, for most people, but severe illness is more likely in the elderly and people with existing health problems. More than 79,000 people have recovered from the illness.

Nevertheless a growing sense of crisis has roiled financial markets. Shares reversed early losses in Asia on Tuesday after the U.S. stock market plunged to its worst day in more than three decades and huge swaths of many economies came to a standstill as businesses and travel shut down due to the outbreak.

Only China, Italy and Iran have more infections than Spain, where the number increased by roughly 20%, to 9,191 and fatalities rose to 309, according to the Spanish Health Ministry. It switched to a new reporting system, so the actual number may be higher.

A somber Rutte told viewers “a large part” of the Netherlands’ 17 million people are likely to contract the virus. So far, 1,413 people have tested positive and 24 have died. The government closed schools, restaurants and bars and banned gatherings of more than 100 people.

Countries from Canada to Switzerland, Russia and Malaysia announced sharp new restrictions on the movement of people across their borders.

“We have a window of time at the moment to slow the spread of the virus,” said Ulrike Demmer, a spokeswoman for Germany’s government, which reversed its earlier insistence that border controls would not work. It imposed new limits on crossings with France, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and Luxembourg, after German infections increased by more than 1,000 over 24 hours.

Malaysia banned foreign travel and is allowing only essential services to stay open. France allowed people to leave home only to buy food, go to work, or do other essential tasks, restrictions President Emmanuel Macron said were heightened because people hadn’t complied with earlier guidelines and “we are at war.”

India shut down the Taj Mahal to visitors. Most schools and entertainment facilities were already closed across India, the world’s second-most populous country with 1.3 billion people.

The first confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in Somalia, which has one of Africa’s weakest health systems after nearly three decades of conflict.

As the pandemic expanded its reach, China and South Korea were trying to hold their hard-fought gains. China is quarantining new arrivals, who in recent days have accounted for an increasing number of cases, and South Korea starting Thursday will increase screenings of all overseas arrivals.

Infections have continued to slow in South Korea’s worst-hit city of Daegu. But there’s concern over a steady rise of infections in the Seoul metropolitan area, where new clusters have emerged.

Italy reported another jump in infections, up more than 3,000 to 27,980. With 2,158 deaths — including 349 more in just the last 24 hours — Italy now accounts for well over a quarter of the global death toll. Cases, however, slowed in Lombardy, the hardest-hit region.

In the United States, officials urged older Americans and those with chronic health conditions to stay home, and recommended all group gatherings be capped at 50 people. Americans returning from abroad encountered chaotic airport health screenings that clearly broke all virus-fighting rules against having packed crowds close together.

School closings in 56 countries kept more than 516 million students home, the United Nations said. New York City joined those ranks Monday, closing a school system with 1.1 million students.

Still, some countries have resisted more stringent measures to contain the virus.

In Britain, bars and restaurants remained open and there was no ban on large events. The prime minister’s spokesman said closing schools hadn’t been ruled out, but “the scientific and medical advice is that that’s not a step which we should be taking at this point in time.”

A senior official from South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kwon Jun-wook, urged people to take the virus seriously and follow recommended precautions.

“In a similar way to how the Sept. 11 attacks completely changed people’s perception about security, quarantine authorities like us believe the daily lives of all the people around the world will be changed because of COVID-19,” Kwon told a briefing Tuesday. “From now on, if you are sick, you should voluntarily rest to prevent a spread to others.”

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Associated Press journalists Aritz Parra in Madrid, Adam Geller in New York, Mike Corder in Amsterdam, Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Frank Jordans in Berlin, Jill Lawless in London, Colleen Barry in Milan, Italy, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Kim Tong-hyung and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report.

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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

California legislature suspends meeting for first time in 158 years

The California Legislature approved up to $1 billion in new spending on Monday to combat the coronavirus outbreak, then suspended their work for the next month to try and contain the illness.
It is believed to be the first unexpected work stoppage in the California Legislature in 158 years, according to Alex Vassar, an unofficial legislative historian at the California State Library. And it came on the heels of extraordinary bipartisanship, as Republicans and Democrats alike voted overwhelmingly to give Gov. Gavin Newsom broad authority to spend during the crisis without their oversight.
“It is a request to step away from our desks much earlier than we would like. The demands of public health require it,” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said.
The California Legislature has rarely closed. The Legislature did not miss meetings during either of the world wars or in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. In 2001, when a semi-truck crashed into the Senate side of the Capitol, the Senate convened right on schedule about 12 hours later in the Assembly chambers. And last year, when a woman threw her own blood onto the floor of the state Senate in an act of protest on the session’s final day, lawmakers reconvened hours later in a committee room to finish their work.
The only time lawmakers did unexpectedly suspend their meetings was in 1862, when a flood consumed most of Sacramento and, legend has it, forced newly elected Gov. Leland Stanford to use a boat to attend his inauguration. Lawamkers missed a few days before reconvening in San Francisco to continue their work, according Vassar.
In 1919, during a flu pandemic, at least five lawmakers had symptoms and had to be quarantined. Leaders discussed whether lawmakers should stop meeting, but eventually decided to “disinfect the Capitol daily and to keep meeting,” Vassar said.
“It is an extremely rare occurrence for the Legislature to stop meeting during the regular session,” Vassar said.
Lawmakers agreed Monday to stay away until April 13. But legislative leaders in either chamber can decide to reconvene. And they can extend the recess if necessary.
“We will be prepared on a moment’s notice to return ton address any urgent action that we must take,” Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins said.
The legislation approved Monday gives Gov. Gavin Newsom $500 million to spend “for any item for any purpose” related to his March 4 declaration of emergency. In the future, Newsom could increase that spending by increments of $50 million — but only if he tells lawmakers about it three days in advance. The spending is capped at $1 billion.
“By taking this action we are placing an extraordinary degree of trust in Gov. Gavin Newsom. However, these are extraordinary times,” said Republican Assemblyman Jay Obernolte.
A separate bill would make sure public schools that closed because of the outbreak don’t lose funding. It would also allocate $100 million to schools for “personal protective equipment” or to pay for “supplies and labor related to cleaning.”
State law bans lawmakers from voting on bills unless they have been available for public review for at least three days. But lawmakers can waive that law if the governor asks them to. Newsom did that on Monday.
“Today I write to you to state the obvious: we must rise to the challenge facing our state with every tool at our disposal and without a second of delay,” Newsom wrote in a letter to the Legislature. “We cannot hesitate to meet this moment.”
Lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to approve his request.
Lawmakers were in action on Monday while most other entities in California were closed. Sunday, Newsom urged everyone 65 and older to stay home. Presumably, that order included the 25 lawmakers in the state Legislature who are older than 65.
Assemblyman Jose Medina, 66, said he was already on a plane headed to Sacramento on Sunday when Newsom asked people 65 and older to stay home. He attended Monday’s Assembly session, saying he thought his constituents would “appreciate that we are still doing the work of the state of California.”
“It’s nothing that I would take lightly, and I think that most folks my age and older are taking it seriously,” said Medina, a Democrat who represents Riverside.
But 73-year-old Assemblyman Bill Quirk stayed home. He lives in a retirement community in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife. While the two of them are healthy, many of their neighbors are not.
“If I were to bring home the coronavirus, 20 people could die, or maybe even 40,” Quirk said. “Some people think they are really important and they should always be working. And I can tell you I’m not so important that we can even risk one life here, period.”

Primaries go forward in three big states despite coronavirus, as Biden looks to shut out Sanders

No candidates in sight – no campaigning – and no canvassing.
Welcome to the first presidential primary during a pandemic in modern times.
Voters in three states will briefly head to the polls with trepidation on Tuesday - with the country facing an unprecedented crisis as the coronavirus has forced most Americans to self-isolate in their homes in hopes of stemming the spread of the outbreak.
CORONAVIRUS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
On primary eve – Ohio’s governor used an emergency order to postpone his state’s contest after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) urged against any gatherings nationwide of 50 people or more.
“We cannot conduct this election tomorrow,” Gov. Mike DeWine stressed.
While the polls will be closed in Ohio, contests in Arizona, Florida, and Illinois – will go forward on Tuesday.
And that could give Democratic presidential nomination front-runner Joe Biden a chance to deliver a potential knockout blow to Sen. Bernie Sanders – who’s fighting to avoid elimination from the White House race.
“This primary is far from over,” Sanders stressed in an email to supporters on the eve of the March 17 contests.
But in reality – the progressive senator from Vermont who’s making his second straight bid for the Democratic nomination is watching his window fast close.
The self-described democratic-socialist was the front-runner in the race for much of February – thanks to a partial victory in Iowa’s caucuses, an outright win in New Hampshire’s primary, and a shellacking of the rest of the Democratic field of contenders in Nevada’s caucuses.
But over the last two and a half weeks, Sanders has watched Joe Biden zoom past him in the race for the presidential nomination. Following a landslide win in South Carolina’s primary and sweeping victories in the coast-to-coast Super Tuesday states as well as last week’s mini Super Tuesday, the former vice president cemented his position as the unrivaled front-runner and has taken a commanding lead over Sanders in the all-important race for convention delegates.
At the same time, Biden’s seen a tidal wave of support and endorsements from current and former members of Congress, governors and state lawmakers and party rainmakers – as centrists, moderates, and the party establishment have all coalesced around the former vice president in hopes that they’ve found the contender who can take out President Trump in Novembers general election.
The public opinion polls in all four states voting Tuesday indicate Biden enjoying large double-digit leads. And Sanders lost all four of the states four years ago to eventual 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton.
With 219 pledged delegates at stake, Florida’s the biggest prize. Illinois has 155 delegates up for grabs, followed by Ohio at 136 and Arizona with 67.
While Sanders scored points at Sunday night’s Democratic presidential nomination debate – he didn’t deliver a knockout blow to Biden that was needed to change the primary narrative that the independent senator’s living on borrowed time.
If Tuesday’s primaries deliver another round of decisive victories by Biden, the chorus of calls for Sanders to step aside will grow louder. But Biden will still be short of the 1,991 pledged delegates needed to clinch the nomination. And with the primary calendar grinding to a halt after Tuesday's contests due to the coronavirus pandemic - there’s the possibility that Sanders could stay alive in a race that will be frozen in time.

Dr. Ronny Jackson says Trump prevented American coronavirus pandemic on level of Italy, Iran

Former White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson praised President Trump Monday night after he announced a list of guidelines that he and the White House coronavirus task force hoped will slow the spread of the pandemic within 15 days.
"The president has done everything he needed to do in this case," Jackson told "Hannity". "He’s acted quickly and decisively. He did what he always has done ... he went with his instincts."
"He put together a top-notch team and he was criticized.... despite that, he carried on and did what he needed to do for our country. He put the [China] travel ban in place," he added.
Jackson said he does not expect the virus to spread at the rate that it has in places like Italy and Iran due to the president's "quick and decisive actions," notably his decision to restrict travel into the U.S. from China in late January.
"What’s going on in Italy and Iran is not going to happen here I think, because of the president's quick and decisive actions. I think we are going to be more in line with what’s going on in South Korea and things of that nature," Jackson said.
He continued, "We are going to see that we got on it early ... the president stopped it quickly and it’s going to save countless American lives. I am proud that he’s acted so quickly and decisively in all of this."
Jackson also praised the coronavirus task force assembled by the president, and urged the public to "follow their instructions."

"...The president stopped it quickly and it’s going to save countless American lives."
— Dr. Ronny Jackson

"We are going to be okay," he said.
Asked to comment on the lack of tests available to the public, Jackson defended the administration, and called it just one example "of some of the regulations in government that the president has been getting rid of."