A federal judge Monday temporarily blocked a provision of Texas' coronavirus response that prohibited most abortions, the Statesman reports.
The big picture: Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an order on March 22 banning elective procedures in the state as a means to save medical supplies like masks and gowns for coronavirus cases. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said one day later that the order applied to abortions unless the woman's life was at risk.
Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) announced Monday that she was diagnosed with "presumed" coronavirus just days after she was on the House floor and attended Speaker Nancy Pelosi's signing ceremony for the stimulus bill last week.
The state of play: Velazquez, 67, said in a statement that her symptoms are mild and that she will isolate in her home. She added that, per guidance from Congress' attending physician, she would not seek laboratory testing to confirm the diagnosis.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a Monday press briefing that he won't get into a political tussle with President Trump — calling it "counterproductive" and "anti-American" — as his state deals with the most confirmed coronavirus cases in the country.
Florida's Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister issued a warrant for the arrest of megachurch pastor Rodney Howard-Browne on Monday after he refused to cancel his packed services and obey coronavirus social distancing orders.
The big picture: With at least 5,000 cases and 60 deaths as of Monday morning, Florida is a growing epicenter for the coronavirus outbreak. Gov. Ron DeSantis has declined to issue a statewide stay-at-home order, but a Hillsborough County order that took effect last week prohibits gatherings of more than 10 people.
President Trump brushed aside allegations that China — as well as Russia and Iran — are spreading misinformation about the origin of the coronavirus during a 64-minute call with "Fox & Friends" on Monday, telling the hosts that "every country does it."
Why it matters: Multiple verified Chinese government Twitter accounts have promoted different conspiracy theories, and Chinese foreign ministry deputy spokesperson Zhao Lijian suggested that the virus come from a U.S. military lab, Axios' Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian reports.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN Monday that President Trump decided to extend social distancing restrictions for another 30 days after viewing models projecting coronavirus deaths over the weekend.
Why it matters: The models project that the virus will infect millions of Americans and could kill 100,000 to 200,000 even with current guidelines in place, Fauci said Sunday.
There are now a lot of known knowns about the coronavirus: It's here, it's spreading, it's stressing hospitals, it's crippling the economy, it's slowed only by distance and isolation — and it's sure to get much worse before it gets much better.
Why it matters: Similarly, there is a sameness to the patterns and known unknowns. So now we hit the maddening stage of waiting.
President Trump is extending his administration's "15 days to slow the spread" shutdown guidelines for an additional month in the face of mounting coronavirus infections and deaths and pressure from public health officials and governors.
Driving the news: With the original 15-day period that was announced March 16 about to end, officials around the country had been bracing for a premature call to return to normalcy from a president who's been venting lately that the prescription for containing the virus could be worse than the impacts of the virus itself.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), whose husband has tested positive for the coronavirus, said on CNN Sunday that the hardest part of her experience is that it is "such a lonely disease."
Why it matters: Even for those who have not tested positive, the coronavirus pandemic is having a significant impact on Americans’ mental and emotional health, according to polling from Axios and Ipsos.
President Trump sent about a half-dozen tweets on Sunday touting the high television ratings that his coronavirus press briefings have received, selectively citing a New York Times article that compared them to "The Bachelor" and "Monday Night Football."
Why it matters: The president has been holding daily press briefings in the weeks since the coronavirus pandemic was declared, but news outlets have struggled with how to cover them live — as Trump has repeatedly been found to spread misinformation and contradict public health officials.
The senior Navy officer now in charge of fixing America's coronavirus supply chain is trying to fill the most urgent needs: ventilators and personal protective gear. But barely a week into his role at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he's still trying to establish what's in the pipeline and where it is.
Driving the news: "Today, I, as leader of FEMA's supply chain task force, am blind to where all the product is," Rear Adm. John Polowczyk tells Axios.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio brushed off his previous comments about the coronavirus pandemic on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, insisting that now is not the time to look backward.
Why it matters: De Blasio told New Yorkers in the early stages of the outbreak that they should continue their normal activities. "We want people to go about their lives," he said on March 13. "We want people to rest assured that a lot is being done to protect them."
A plane from Shanghai arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York Sunday morning carrying an extraordinary load: 12 million gloves, 130,000 N95 masks, 1.7 million surgical masks, 50,000 gowns, 130,000 hand sanitizer units, and 36,000 thermometers.
Why it matters: The flight is the start of what might end up being the largest government-led airlift of emergency medical supplies into the United States.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that models suggest the coronavirus will infect millions of Americans and could kill 100,000–200,000, though he stressed that the projections are "such a moving target."
Why it matters: Fauci has been the coronavirus task force's most outspoken advocate for emergency social distancing measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus, sometimes contradicting President Trump's more optimistic outlook.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ramped up her criticism of President Trump's coronavirus response on CNN"s "State of the Union" Sunday, claiming that his downplaying of the crisis has cost American lives.
The big picture: The U.S. is now reporting the most positive coronavirus cases in the world, with 124,686 confirmed as of Sunday morning. Pelosi argued on CNN that Trump's initial denial and subsequent delay in getting life-saving equipment to state governments have been "deadly."
President Trump gained ground on Joe Biden in the WashPost/ABC News poll this month, going from 7 points down in February to a statistical tie — Biden 49% to Trump 47% among registered voters.
Why it matters: Preferences among all adults has Biden standing at 50% and Trump at 44%, though the poll also tests national sentiment and not state-by-state competitions for an Electoral College majority.
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