Wednesday News: “Global Stocks Rise as U.S. Clinches [$2 Trillion] Stimulus Deal”; “Coronavirus May Have Already Infected Half of U.K. Population,” Including Prince Charles; “Trump is playing Russian roulette with Americans’ lives”; “My mother is not expendable”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise (e.g., COVID-19), for Wednesday, March 25.

• Nearly three-quarters of people in G7 expect virus to make their households poorer: survey
• Economists fear downturn will be worse than Great Recession
• Global Stocks Rise as U.S. Clinches Stimulus Deal
• India’s coronavirus lockdown and its looming crisis, explained
• Oxford Study: Coronavirus May Have Already Infected Half of U.K. Population
• UK coronavirus live: Prince Charles tests positive for Covid-19
• How to Lock Down 2.6 Billion People Without Killing the Economy
• Germany Closes In on Historic Bailout to Counter Virus Blow
• Trump’s Reckless Rush to Reopen
• Trump’s hope for an Easter reopening clashes with coronavirus reality
• Republicans Seem to Think They Can Decide Who Dies (“They are not appreciating the random menace this virus poses—against their own or anyone else.”)
• Trump is playing Russian roulette with Americans’ lives
• Trump is missing the big picture on the economy (“In fact, as a matter of pure economics — even leaving aside moral considerations that should be taken into account — the president’s arguments are flatly wrong. When Trump tweets and says things like “we cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself” or “you can destroy a country by closing it down” and raises the prospect of reversing measures taken to promote social distancing, he misunderstands the fundamental economic problem posed by the pandemic, as well as the most rational, economically sensible way to address it. In the end, economic growth and well-being would be harmed, not helped, by the course he is advocating.”)
• Would Trump be willing to be the canary in the coal mine? (“Trump is apparently willing to risk other people’s lives. What about his own?”)
• Trump barrels toward calamity
• Trump’s goal of sending people back to work early is reckless
• The Fox News moment that revealed a dangerously confused president (“Trump wants Americans to flock to churches on Easter Sunday.”)
• Malaria Drug Chloroquine No Better Than Regular Coronavirus Care, Study Finds (Wait, Trump was wrong again? Shocked!)
• White House, Senators Strike Deal on Massive Stimulus Package
• Trump Is Inciting a Coronavirus Culture War to Save Himself
• Trump’s politics of revenge: He’s still picking winners and losers in a pandemic (“Trump’s petty, personal feuds and his hunger for approval will cause deaths — and expose Republican ideology”)
• Trump Is on a Collision Course (“Lindsey Graham is among the president’s allies who don’t want him to quickly reopen the country. He says the president should ‘err on the side of human life.'”)
• Coronavirus Is Advancing. All Americans Need to Shelter in Place.
• Congress and White House Strike Deal for $2 Trillion Stimulus Package (“The plan would provide direct payments to taxpayers, jobless benefits and a $500 billion fund to assist distressed businesses, with oversight requirements demanded by Democrats.”)
• Senate, White House reach deal on $2 trillion stimulus package (“Bill to send money directly to many Americans is largest bailout in history”)
• ‘Imaginary clock’: Governors reject Trump’s virus timeline
• Slow Response to the Coronavirus Measured in Lost Opportunity (“If the administration had reacted to the ventilator shortage in February, a private sector effort starting now might have made lifesaving equipment in mid- to late April. Now it is unlikely to be before June.”)
• Trump wants ‘the country opened,’ but easing coronavirus restrictions now would be disastrous, experts say
• Trump’s optimism about how quickly American life could return to normal collides with a darkening reality
• Trump bets that voters are as impatient as he is
• Clinical trials for coronavirus treatments begin in New York
• Officials blast Trump as they scramble for beds, supplies
• Scramble for medical equipment descends into chaos as U.S. states, hospitals compete
• No, Trump Can’t Revive the Economy Through Human Sacrifice
• Coronavirus in N.Y.: ‘Astronomical’ Surge Leads to Quarantine Warning
• Trump to New York: Drop Dead
• How Andrew Cuomo, New York Governor, Became the Politician of the Moment
• Trump Wants to Reopen Everything on Easter. Can He Do That Himself?
• Trump’s “wartime president” shtick is ghastly — and it could totally work (“Trump has found his 2020 strategy — posing as a real president on TV. Once again, cable news is his biggest ally”)
• ‘My mother is not expendable’: As Trump itches to get U.S. back to work, experts warn of deaths, economic calamity (“Returning quickly to normal has begun to gain traction among some on the right — and with the president himself.”)
• Bill Gates says we can’t restart the economy soon and simply “ignore that pile of bodies over in the corner”
• The coronavirus isn’t mutating quickly, suggesting a vaccine would offer lasting protection
• How states are responding to coronavirus, in 7 maps
• Biden Backers Worry He’s Ceded Ground to Trump on Virus (“’People I’m talking to are wondering why’s he not out there, every day, calming the nation, especially at a time like this?’ said one donor. ‘Why is he letting Trump run the show?'”)
• Bernie Sanders Plans to Participate in Next Debate, Campaign Says (The race is over, but ok.)
• The pandemic is driving media consumption way up. But ad sales are falling apart.
• Glenn Beck says older Americans should return to work: “Even if we all get sick, I would rather die than kill the country”
• Trump’s GOP: The Old Should Die and the Women Should Breed (“It’s a wild twist from the political party that effectively stopped attempts to provide health care to all Americans by claiming that to do so would initiate ‘death panels.'”)
• Terrence McNally, Tony-Winning Playwright of Gay Life, Dies at 81
• I probably have a ‘mild to moderate’ case of covid-19. I don’t think I could survive worse. (“The virus is now here. And it’s horrible.”)
• How to deal with people who carelessly risk infecting others (“Bring them to court.”)
• New Polling: 64% of Americans Now View Economy as “Not so good/Poor”; Down Sharply from 62% “Excellent/Good” in January
• Editorial: Governors feeling their way through pandemic fight
• Prof. Rachel Bitecofer’s “Post-Democratic Primary Update” Out, Has Biden 289-Trump 181 Electoral Votes, Virginia as “Safe D” State
• Video: Sen. Tim Kaine Pushes Economic Relief for Working Americans, Not Spending $2 Trillion “The Wrong Way”
• Senators Warner, Kaine Urge USDA to Approve Vital Food Assistance Program Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
• The Commonwealth Institute: Understanding Federal Action on COVID-19 and Potential Next Steps
• “Dear Liberty University board: Please stop Jerry Falwell Jr. before it’s too late”
• Virginia Mayor Calls Liberty University ‘Reckless’ For Letting Students Back To Campus (“Lynchburg Mayor Treney Tweedy is criticizing Jerry Falwell Jr.’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.”)
• Video: Gov. Ralph Northam’s Tuesday (3/24) Briefing on Coronavirus Situation in Virginia
• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Urges Quick Passage of Bipartisan Stimulus Agreement
• Metro to close 19 stations indefinitely to limit employees’ exposure
• New Data on COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, Deaths in Virginia as of 3/24
• Editorial: Should we all vote by mail in November?
• 7th District GOP Candidate Delegate John McGuire Wins Pre-File Race in Henrico County, Ramirez Comes in Second, Freitas Comes in Third (LOL, Freitas…)
• Virginia officials say they’re distributing protective equipment for medical workers. Not everyone is getting a share.
• Schools in Virginia begin the shift to a new reality: months of closure
• As groceries fly off shelves, farmers worry about next season’s crop
• GOP candidate sues Virginia election officials, says coronavirus thwarted efforts to get ballot signatures (“In the lawsuit, Faulkner and his campaign say they have collected just 3,769 signatures. They contend that social distancing guidelines that call for staying six feet away from other people have made it exceedingly difficult to approach Virginia voters and ask them to sign paperwork.”)
• Virginia Passed Gun Safety Laws Just in Time For Record Breaking Sales Prompted by Coronavirus
• Life in Virginia probably won’t return to normal for 2 or 3 months, Northam says
• Two die from coronavirus at Henrico rehabilitation center, marking first fatalities in Richmond area
• Lessons Learned from the 1918 Flu Pandemic in Virginia
• Animal Shelters Cope with COVID-19 Crisis
• As Pandemic Drags On, Local Businesses Say They Need Government Help — And Soon
• Fredericksburg area seniors and families coping with separation
• Colonial Williamsburg, Chrysler Museum, cultural venues offering online ‘visits’ during coronavirus shutdown
• Local governments scramble to make cuts, plan budgets amid suffering local tax revenues
• Fruit and veggies aplenty: Roanoke produce wholesaler pivots to retail as college market withers in pandemic
• Fairfax County extends tax deadlines in midst of coronavirus pandemic
• Clouds and cold showers today; nicer tomorrow