| THE BIG STORY
The US is still messing up its response, and Northern Italy is under quarantine
China responded to the coronavirus outbreak with a massive lockdown, restricting the movement of hundreds of millions of people. It seems to be working.
South Korea was less authoritarian but even more effective: they didn’t lock down the country, but they did roll out a massive testing program. Hundreds of thousands of people have been tested, helping authorities track the outbreak with great precision. It also seems to be working.
The US has opted for a different path, of...not doing much? As of Friday, only about 2,200 people nationwide appear to have been tested, BuzzFeed News found when we contacted every health department in the country. Testing capacity was finally increased toward the end of last week, so this week we should see an increase in the number of people being tested — and testing positive.
That’s already being reflected in the numbers, as you can see in our new live tracker page for the US outbreak. There have now been 566 confirmed cases in the US, up from just 101 a week ago.
Internationally, Italy took a dramatic step in an attempt to control the outbreak this weekend: it will quarantine the Northern region of Lombardy, home to 16 million people and the cities of Milan and Venice. People will not be able to enter or leave the quarantine zone without special authorization; museums, gyms and nightclubs will be temporarily closed.
We've launched a daily coronavirus newsletter that brings you everything you need to know about the outbreak. No panic, no fear mongering, just the facts. You can sign up here. For important information and updates, check the CDC’s dedicated coronavirus site.
STAYING ON TOP OF THIS
Stock markets are crashing around the world A few things happened over the weekend that led to financial markets having a freakout.
The biggest of them: Saudi Arabia launched an oil price war against Russia, causing the price of a barrel of crude oil to fall by more than 25% in a single day — the most since the beginning of the first Gulf War in 1991. Low oil prices can be good news for regular people, cutting the cost of a tank of gas. But they’re bad news for the oil and gas industry, which employs hundreds of thousands of Americans and supports entire economies around the world.
And as discussed, the coronavirus continues to coronavirus.
So on Sunday, traders did all the things they do when they expect things are going to get really bad: They made huge bets that US stock prices would fall, and they moved their money into safe haven investments like US treasury bonds, which hit prices never seen before, ever. On Monday morning, stock markets around the world all absolutely tanked. The US market will almost certainly do the same when it opens for trading at 9:30.
SNAPSHOTS Bernie Sanders abandoned plans to give a speech on race at a town hall in Flint, Michigan this weekend. Sanders and his allies “decided it was probably better to let the people of color who were on the panel discuss instead,” his spokesperson said.
An MSNBC guest referred to Meghan Markle as “five clicks up from trailer trash” live on air. The channel quickly ended the interview with Victoria Mather, who was identified as a Vanity Fair correspondent, but isn’t.
A woman died in ICE custody on Sunday. The 22-year-old Guatemalan woman was the eighth detainee to die since October 1.
Elizabeth Warren was a guest on Saturday Night Live this weekend. Days after ending her presidential campaign, she joked she’s been winding down by “prank-calling banks, drag-racing Subarus, avoiding Twitter.”
FOR A CHANGE OF PACE Take a trip to Selma, Alabama
This weekend marked the 55th anniversary of the first Selma to Montgomery march, when civil rights demonstrators were brutalized by Alabama state police as they attempted to march peacefully to the state capital. Images of the violent police response were transmitted worldwide; it was a turning point for the civil rights movement.
Today, the Old Depot Museum in downtown Selma preserves the city’s long, complicated history. Gabriel Sanchez spoke with the museum’s curator, Beth Spivey, and put together a beautiful photo essay on the town, the museum and its artifacts. If you’re looking for a change from *gestures wildly* all this, check it out.
Ty Wright for BuzzFeed News RIP, MARNIE Marnie, one of the OG dogs of Instagram, has died. She was 18. Marnie was adopted from a shelter in Connecticut when she was 11. She was blind in one eye, she had a head that was at a permanent tilt to the left and a tongue that was always hanging out. And she became an Instagram celebrity.
“I’m grateful to the universe for entrusting me with her beautiful soul and providing me with the perfect best friend and companion,” wrote Marnie’s human, Shirley. “When I hear from people that Marnie has made them adopt their senior dogs it’s truly the most beautiful legacy she and I could hope to leave in this world.”
You are absolutely going to outperform the S&P 500 today,
Tom P.S. If you like this newsletter, help keep our reporting free for all. Support BuzzFeed News by becoming a member here. (monthly memberships are available worldwide) 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Tom Gara and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.
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