Stranger Than Fiction

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TOP NEWS

• COVID-19 has triggered a global food crisis. https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-global-food-crisis-shortages-11589385615

• Wisconsin’s Supreme Court blocks the governor from extending the state’s stay-at-home order. “We’re the Wild West,” Evers told MSNBC’s Ali Velshi on Wednesday night, reacting to the state Supreme Court’s ruling and the scenes of people partying in bars all across Wisconsin. “There are no restrictions at all across the state of Wisconsin. … So at this point in time … there is nothing compelling people to do anything other than having chaos here.”

• Economists expect another 3 million Americans sought jobless benefits last week. More than 33 million Americans have filed unemployment claims in the seven weeks since the coronavirus led to widespread business closures in mid-March, and economists expect another 3 million filed last week. Many people who filed weeks ago are still awaiting payments.

• Republican wins House seat in CA election. Republican Mike Garcia beat Democrat Christy Smith in the special election to fill the seat of the former US representative Katie Hill, who resigned amid scandal in late 2019. In 2018, Democrats had secured the suburban Los Angeles district for the first time in since 1990.

WHAT I’M READING + WATCHING + LISTENING TO

• There haven’t been a lot of stories of foresight and preparedness in this pandemic. This is one.

• FBI seize cell phone belonging to Senator in investigation into stock trades he made as the novel coronavirus first struck the U.S.

• BREAKING DOG NOSE NEWS

THE COMMENT

“We’re no longer trying to eliminate the virus. Instead, we are accepting that Americans will have to live with it. If that’s the case, then our efforts should pivot from justifying why reopening is a good idea to figuring out how best to reduce the harm it is certain to cause. If employees have to go to work, let’s at least come up with evidence-based practices that help them do so more safely. Should workplaces all get regular deep cleaning, close off any communal areas and meet new standards for ventilation? Can employees be mandated to wear masks, work six feet apart and keep a contact diary?” - Leana S. Wen

THE STRANGEST

• Florida lizard breaks world poop record, dies constipated

THE AV ROOM