White House winding down coronavirus task force. Your Wednesday morning political 'cheat sheet' from UtahPolicy.com

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Situational awareness - May 6, 2020

Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City

TICK TOCK

55 days to the 2020 Utah primary elections (6/30/2020)

181 Days to the 2020 election (11/3/2020)

259 days to inauguration day (01/20/2021)

264 days to the start of the 2021 Utah Legislature (1/25/2021)

Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning:

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Today At Utah Policy

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

Salt Lake Tribune

Other

NATIONAL HEADLINES

Pivot

The White House is beginning to wind down the coronavirus task force even though the number of cases and deaths in the U.S. continue to rise [NBC News].

Price of doing business?

President Donald Trump said in an interview Tuesday states must reopen even if it leads to more coronavirus infections and deaths [Bloomberg].

Whistleblower

Dr. Rick Bright, who headed the federal agency responsible for developing drugs to fight the coronavirus, filed a whistleblower complaint on Tuesday claiming he warned about the virus in January but was met with hostility from members of the Trump administration. He claims he was reassigned to a lesser role because he tried to "prioritize science and safety over political expediency" [Reuters].

No bailouts?

President Trump said it would be unfair to Republicans if Congress were to pass bailouts for states because most of those in financial trouble are run by Democrats [NBC News].

Fumbled response

President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner led a mostly inept effort to find safety gear during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. His team included a group of young volunteers who had little experience and few connections to suppliers [New York Times].

While President Trump was urging states to lift coronavirus lockdowns, his own health and emergency management officials were privately warning that states were still seeing a shortage of masks and other medical protective gear [Politico].

RBG

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg is back in the hospital. The 87-year-old was treated for a gallbladder condition [BBC].

Economy

U.S. household debt reached $14.3 trillion in the first quarter of 2020 as Americans added $155 billion of debt [Reuters].

Unemployment is getting worse as temporary layoffs are turning into permanent job losses [Bloomberg].

Airbnb cut about 25 percent of its global workforce [TechCrunch].

Employees at meat plants are quitting over fears they will get sick from coronavirus [Bloomberg].

Disney took a $1.4 billion hit to earnings because of COVID-19 [WSJ].

Norwegian Cruise Lines says there is "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue [CNBC].

Starbucks will reopen 85 percent of its U.S. coffee shops in the next week [Washington Post].

Roadblock

President Trump's desire to include a payroll tax cut in the next round of coronavirus financial aid is not gaining much traction among Republicans in Congress [Politico].

Investigations

The House Judiciary Committee says it intends to keep investigating President Trump for potentially impeachable offenses [CNN].

Facebook

The social media platform booted several pages linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory on Tuesday. They also removed accounts linked to the anti-immigrant group VDARE [AP].

BUSINESS HEADLINES

Policy News

More National Headlines

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1861 - Arkansas secedes from the Union.

1863 - Civil War: Confederate forces commanded by Gen. Robert E. Lee routed Union troops under Gen. Joseph Hooker at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia.

1877 - Chief Crazy Horse of the Oglala Lakota surrenders to United States troops in Nebraska.

1889 - The Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public.

1915 - Babe Ruth hits his first major league home run.

1935 - New Deal: Executive Order 7034 creates the Works Progress Administration to provide work for the unemployed.

1937 - The German zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire and is destroyed while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people are killed.

1940 - John Steinbeck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.

1941 - Josef Stalin became the official leader of the Soviet government.

Wise Words

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."George S. Patton

Lighter Side

"After recently being given poll numbers that showed him trailing former Vice President Joe Biden, President Trump reportedly yelled at his campaign manager and threatened to sue him. Unfortunately, Trump's lawyers already have their hands full suing his bathroom scale, his mirror and the passage of time."- SETH MEYERS

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