WTF Just Happened Today

Friday, February 28, 2020

Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free

1/ A federal appeals court blocked Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” immigration policy, which required people applying for asylum at the border to wait in Mexico while their claims for protection were reviewed. The court ruled that the policy “is invalid in its entirety due to its inconsistency with” federal law, and “should be enjoined in its entirety.” Some 59,000 people have been sent back to Mexico since January 2019. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals also issued a separate ruling that upheld a lower court’s block on an administration policy denying asylum to those who crossed the southern border illegally. (Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / CNN / Reuters)

2/ Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney suggested that Americans ignore the media’s coverage of the coronavirus while acknowledging that the outbreak will likely cause disruptions to everyday life in the U.S., such as school closures and changes to public transportation. Mulvaney claimed that the media ignored the administration’s early efforts, because it was preoccupied with thinking impeachment “would bring down the president.” Mulvaney then suggested that the news media only switched to the coronavirus because “they think this is going to be what brings down” Trump. He then urged Americans to “Turn off your televisions for 24 hours.” (New York Times / CNBC / Washington Post / Bloomberg / The Hill)

• Several House Republicans walked out of a closed-door coronavirus briefing with health officials after Democrats criticized the Trump administration’s response to the virus as disorganized and lacking urgency. (Politico)

• A worldwide threats assessment in 2018 and 2017 warned about the increasing risks of a global pandemic that could strain resources and damage the global economy. Intelligence analysts even mentioned a close cousin of the COVID-19 strain of coronavirus by name, saying it had “pandemic potential” if it were “to acquire efficient human-to-human responsibility.” The 2019 worldwide threat assessment reported “that the United States and the world will remain vulnerable to the next flu pandemic or large-scale outbreak of a contagious disease that could lead to massive rates of death and disability, severely affect the world economy, strain international resources, and increase calls on the United States for support.” (NBC News)

3/ The Trump administration is considering a tax cut package as part of the Whit...

Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.