WTF Just Happened Today

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

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1/ Bipartisan congressional negotiators reached an agreement on a $8.3 billion emergency spending bill to address the coronavirus. The deal – more than triple the size of the Trump administration’s $2.5 billion request – provides more than $3 billion for research and development of vaccines, $2.2 billion for the CDC, $950 million to support state and local health agencies, $836 million for the National Institutes of Health, plus additional spending to address the coronavirus overseas. The bill is expected to be sent to Trump’s desk by the end of the week after passing both the House and Senate. (Washington Post / CNBC / Politico / Wall Street Journal / New York Times)

• A 10th person in Washington State died from coronavirus. In total, 28 people in Washington State have been diagnosed. (Seattle Times)

• Local health officials in California announced the state’s first COVID-19 death, bringing U.S. fatalities to at least 11. (CNBC)

2/ Trump blamed Obama for making it harder for his administration to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. While it’s not entirely clear what “decision” Trump was referring to, he called it “very detrimental” and claimed that it hampered his ability to enact widespread testing for the virus. Health experts and government officials during Obama’s presidency, however, said they were unaware of any policy or rule that would have affected the way the FDA approves tests related to the current crisis. (New York Times)

3/ A coalition of 19 states are suing to block the Trump administration’s diversion of $3.8 billion from the Pentagon to the border wall. The states – California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin – argue that redirecting money already allocated by lawmakers violates Congress’ appropriation powers. The states also argue that diverting billions from defense programs “will cause damage to their economies, harming their proprietary interests.” (Politico)

4/ The U.S. conducted an airstrike against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan days after signing a historic peace deal. Taliban fighters were reportedly “actively attacking” an Afghan government checkpoint. The drone strike – conducted as a “defensive” measure – came hours after a call between Trump and Taliban chief negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. After the call, Trump said: “We’ve agreed there’s no violence. We don’t want violence. We’ll see what happens.” (ABC News / CNN /...

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