Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez on Tuesday advised states to expand mail-in and early-voting options amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, The Hill reports.
Where it stands: The Trump administration implored people not to gather in groups greater than 10, and lawmakers nationwide are encouraging citizens to remain in their homes to prevent contracting or spreading COVID-19. Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, Louisiana and Puerto Rico have pushed back their originally scheduled primary dates, as Florida, Illinois and Arizona move forward as planned with Tuesday's primaries.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that a decision will be made within the next 48 hours on whether to order the city's more than 8 million citizens to shelter in place amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Why it matters: New York has already shut down public schools, banned gatherings of more than 50 people and forced restaurants to offer only takeout and delivery — but this would be another more drastic step for the nation's most populous city.
Three states are set to move forward with primaries today, even as the coronavirus pandemic shuts down schools, restaurants and large gatherings across the world.
Why it matters: Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden are competing for votes in Arizona, Florida and Illinois and their total trove of 664 delegates. But Ohio has declared a public health emergency, postponing the primaries because of concerns about COVID-19.
Former California GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter was sentenced on Tuesday by a federal judge to 11 months in prison for stealing and misspending campaign funds, AP reports.
The state of play: Hunter also received three years of supervised probation. His attorney had requested home confinement for his client, citing his prior service as a Marine.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday that the Trump administration is discussing sending checks to Americans "immediately" to help cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Driving the news: Mnuchin, who has been working closely with bipartisan leadership on Capitol Hill to pass new legislation to provide coronavirus relief, announced a series of economic stimulus efforts at the White House designed to help small businesses, corporations and individuals.
State governments are increasingly calling for the closure of bars and restaurants, a drastic step to enforce "social distancing" that follows similar measures in Europe, where the coronavirus outbreak has put tremendous strain on health resources.
Driving the news: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would issue an executive order at 5 pm Tuesday closing all bars and nightclubs for 30 days. Restaurant closures will be determined by municipality, but those that remain open must comply with CDC guidelines restricting gatherings to less than 10 people.
Over the past few days there's been a noticeable uptick in conservatives using the terms "Wuhan virus" and "Chinese virus," according to a new report from The Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab provided exclusively to Axios.
Why it matters: This is in opposition to guidance from the World Health Organization, which requested back in February that the epidemic be referred to as coronavirus or Covid-19, rather than terms that could stigmatize individuals with Chinese ancestry.
A startling new report from Imperial College London warns that 2.2 million Americans and 510,000 Britons could die from coronavirus if extreme action isn't taken to change the course of the outbreak.
Why it matters: The report's dire warnings prompted a quick course correction from both the American and British governments on their strategies, but its strict recommendations and long timeline — 18 months — to stem the tide could have far-reaching implications for both populations and economies.
Mail-in ballots are becoming states' saving grace for their 2020 primary contests as the coronavirus crisis deepens in the U.S.
Why it matters: Amid CDC guidance that gatherings shouldn't exceed 50 people, the states voting today — Arizona, Florida and Illinois — all have multiple confirmed cases of the illness and are pushing citizens to consider their mail-in options.
Strong majorities of Americans trust the major health agencies to protect the country from the coronavirus, while fewer trust President Trump, according to an Axios/SurveyMonkey poll.
Why it matters: The results suggest that health officials have a high degree of credibility in this crisis — and that Trump is on safer ground when he closes ranks with them, as he did in his unusually candid remarks about the outbreak at Monday's press conference.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced via Twitter Monday night the state's top health official would order the polls to be closed, hours before voters were due to cast ballots in the presidential primary.
Why it matters: An Ohio judge rejected earlier Monday a request supported by DeWine to postpone in-person voting for Tuesday's state presidential primaries until June 2 over the coronavirus outbreak, per local media.
Former Vice President Joe Biden was declared on Monday the winner of the Democratic presidential primary in Washington state, AP reports, narrowly defeating Bernie Sanders.
The big picture: Biden was also the winner of Michigan, Mississippi, Idaho and Missouri on Tuesday — snatching most of the delegates up for grabs from Sanders, who faces a quickly narrowing path to the Democratic nomination.
