WTF Just Happened Today

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

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1/ Trump’s re-election campaign sued the New York Times for libel over a 2019 opinion article, accusing the newspaper of intentionally publishing a false story about a “quid pro quo” between Russian officials and Trump’s 2016 campaign. The suit alleges that the Times “has engaged in a systematic pattern of bias” against Trump by falsely reporting “as fact a conspiracy with Russia” with the “intentional purpose” of damaging Trump’s chances for reelection. Trump’s campaign argues that the op-ed conclusion “is false” and that the Times published the essay “knowing it would misinform and mislead its own readers.” To win the lawsuit, however, the Trump campaign will have to prove that the Times knew in March 2019 that the op-ed was false because of what was later confirmed in the Mueller report, which was published in April 2019. (CNBC / Reuters / Mediate / New York Times)

2/ Trump appointed Mike Pence to coordinate his administration’s response to the coronavirus, saying his administration has the situation under control and is “ready to adapt” if the disease spreads. Trump maintained that the risk to the U.S. from the deadly coronavirus “remains very low” and that “We’re very, very ready for this.” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar added that “Our containment strategy has been working.” Trump also said the U.S. is “rapidly developing a vaccine.” The statement was immediately contradicted by Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who said a vaccine won’t be ready for more than a year. Trump also contradicted federal health officials warning that the spread of coronavirus in the U.S. was “inevitable,” saying “I don’t think it’s inevitable.” (New York Times / Politico / NBC News / NPR / CNBC / CNN / Axios / CBS News / The Guardian / Associated Press / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)

3/ During the press conference, the CDC confirmed the first case of the coronavirus in a person in Northern California who did not travel to a foreign country or have contact with a confirmed case. “At this point, the patient’s exposure is unknown,” a CDC statement said. “The case was detected through the U.S. pub...

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