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Tuesday's Daily Briefing: Mini-Super Tuesday, Trump's stimulus plan

Editors  |  Paste BN

Good morning, Daily Briefing readers! Today, we're seeing the effects of coronavirus everywhere. The outbreak may affect the primaries as voters head to the polls for mini-Super Tuesday, Italy will begin a country-wide lockdown, President Donald Trump is pushing an economic stimulus after the stock market took a tumble and sports leagues are closing their locker rooms to the media and postponing some games.

It's N'dea and I've got all the news you need to know today.

BTW: Did you know the news happens at night, too? I don't want you to miss a thing, so sign up for the Evening Briefing, an after-hours roundup of the latest Paste BN stories you’ll want to know.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders look toward mini-Super Tuesday 

Six states will head to the polls Tuesday as former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders continue to battle for the Democratic nomination. Biden currently holds the lead in national pledged delegates with 664, while Sanders trails slightly with 573 delegates. Up for grabs Tuesday: a combined 352 delegates from Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, and Washington. After a Super Tuesday comeback, Biden will be looking to extend his lead, while Sanders will be looking to close the small gap and re-take the delegate lead.

Also in the news

Trump floats financial relief for firms, workers as coronavirus spreads

President Donald Trump's administration will meet Tuesday with House and Senate leaders to discuss an economic stimulus package that would provide financial relief for workers and businesses hurt by coronavirus. "The main thing here is we are taking care of the American public," Trump said at a White House news conference Monday. Trump’s decision to push for a stimulus package marked a reversal for the White House, which has insisted that the fundamentals of the economy are solid and that the coronavirus would cause only a short-term blip in growth. U.S. stocks endured their worst drop since 2008 on Monday as a free fall in oil prices and mounting coronavirus cases frightened investors and pushed major indexes to the edge of a bear market. 

Italy expands travel restrictions to entire country to contain coronavirus

Italy begins its country-wide lockdown Tuesday in an attempt to combat coronavirus. The nation has registered the largest number of cases outside of China. Two days after imposing the strict measures on a quarter of the country – in the hard-hit north – Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte urged all 60 million Italians to stay home. The only travel allowed will be for proven work reasons, health conditions or other cases of necessity. The nationwide restrictions will be in effect until April 3 and include extending the closures of schools and universities and closing pubs, eateries and cafes at dusk. 

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Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max crash anniversary marked 

Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of the deadly crash of the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max jet, an incident that has had far-reaching consequences for the aeronautics industry. All 157 people aboard were killed when the Nairobi, Kenya-bound aircraft came down six minutes after takeoff from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. The incident occurred five months after another brand-new 737 Max crashed off the coast of Indonesia, killing 189 people. The Ethiopian crash brought about the grounding of all Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 planes, which remain out of service. Ethiopian investigators mostly blame Boeing for the crash, saying in an interim report Monday that there were design failures and inadequate training for pilots. A full analysis is expected later this year with a final report.

Sports leagues to close locker rooms to media over coronavirus concerns

Due to coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns, Major League Baseball – along with the National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and Major League Soccer – will close locker rooms and clubhouses to the news media and any non-essential personnel beginning Tuesday, according to a joint statement by the four leagues. In addition, the leagues will consider further options to protect themselves from the potential pandemic while preparing for and playing out their respective seasons. For now, neither the NBA nor MLB plan to postpone games nor play them without fans. The adjustments come as COVID-19 virus cases and fatalities continue increasing worldwide. Sports leagues are responding in kind: Italy's Serie A – the country's premier soccer league – announced its season has been suspended until at least early April in the wake of a countrywide lockdown.

In better news: The flu blinded an Iowa girl. Now she can see again.

An Iowa girl blinded after complications from the flu has regained her eyesight months after she nearly died in the hospital, her mother says.

Jade DeLucia, 4, spent Christmas fighting to survive after a case of the flu hospitalized her and caused seizures and swelling in her brain that blinded her.

But weeks after leaving the hospital, Jade can see again.

"She was following people around, she was giving high fives, and it was awesome," her mother Amanda Phillips told KCRG-TV.

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