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Friday's Daily Briefing: House to vote on $2 trillion aid bill

Editors  |  Paste BN

We made it to Friday, Daily Briefing readers! Celebrate by treating yourself, perhaps to a doughnut like these selling in New York featuring the likeness of renowned immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci, longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Today, the House is expected to vote on the $2 trillion aid package the Senate passed late Wednesday, the MLB is trying to save baseball and two Grammy-winners are dropping new albums.

It's N'dea and here's the news you need to know as you cruise into the weekend. Let's get this bread 🍞 (read: make one of these easy bread recipes while you're staying home).

P.S. How are you coping with a new normal? Paste BN is considering launching a newsletter about navigating life in today’s world. We’d love your input on what would be most helpful to your everyday life in this survey: https://forms.gle/vbRvHEMdAavPPcd26 

Coronavirus: House to vote on $2 trillion stimulus package

The House is expected to vote Friday on the $2 trillion coronavirus economic rescue package, which was passed by the Senate late Wednesday. President Donald Trump plans to sign the bill once it clears the House, which is slated to reconvene at 9 a.m. ET. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., predicted a "strong, bipartisan vote" on the bill. The package includes one-time payments of $1,200 to individuals making less than $75,000, as well as $500 per child, $367 billion for small businesses, more than $130 billion toward the health care system, expanded unemployment benefits and $500 billion in loans for ailing industries.

Southwest slashing flights in response to coronavirus

Southwest Airlines plans to cancel 1,500 daily flights beginning Friday as the effect of the coronavirus outbreak continues to send shockwaves through the industry. The cuts represent a nearly 40% reduction in flights for Southwest, the nation's largest domestic carrier. Airlines are also revamping their food, drink and seating policies in an effort to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Beginning Friday and lasting through April 30, American will offer "limited" food and beverage options "to further provide for social distancing and minimal contact between flight attendants and customers," the airline announced Tuesday.

Want more coronavirus news? Here's the latest:

The number of Americans filing initial applications for unemployment benefits jumped nearly twelvefold to a record 3.3 million last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. Hours after the U.S. surpassed China as the global leader in coronavirus cases, President Donald Trump said he had a "very good conversation" with Chinese President Xi. 

I’ll be rounding up the biggest updates related to coronavirus every day in the newsletter so you can stay informed. Want daily coronavirus updates in your inbox? Sign up here.

Some Grand Canyon trails close as appeal to close all US parks goes on 

Grand Canyon National Park officials announced that three of the canyon's most popular trails — Bright Angel, South Kaibab and North Kaibab — will temporarily close at noon Friday, with some other operations being modified. The development comes as local governments in Arizona and the Navajo Nation were waiting for an answer on their request for federal officials to shut down the national park as cases of the coronavirus grow in surrounding areas. Some parks, including Yosemite, Joshua Tree and Pearl Harbor National Memorial, have already temporarily closed. But the Trump administration is keeping some parks open and newly free of charge during the coronavirus pandemic, even as managers try and fail to keep visitors a safe distance apart. 

MLB owners to vote on proposal after agreement to save '20 season reached

Major League Baseball and the Major League Players Association reached a tentative agreement Thursday evening on key economic issues in hopes of salvaging the majority of the 162-game season, even if it means playing the World Series in late November, an executive with direct knowledge told Paste BN Sports. MLB owners will vote Friday to ratify the agreement, two executives told Paste BN Sports. The deal includes a commitment from MLB and the players to play as close to a full regular-season schedule as possible, with games in October and a postseason in November, providing the COVID-19 crisis dissipates.  The biggest issue in negotiations was service time, and the two sides agreed that if there's a season of any length, players would receive credit for a full year as if it was a regular season.  

Want a break from coronavirus news? We've got you covered

Grammy-winning acts set to release albums amid virus pandemic

Legendary grunge rockers Pearl Jam and British pop sensation Dua Lipa are back with new albums Friday amid the coronavirus pandemic. Pearl Jam is back with the 12-song "Gigaton," the band's 11th studio album and first since 2013's "Lightning Bolt." Paste BN's Patrick Ryan says that not giving up is a running theme throughout the album and that, "defiant spirit and resilience has long been a trademark of Pearl Jam's music but feels all the more reassuring in these uncertain times." Dua Lipa's sophomore album is arriving a week early and Ryan notes the 2019 best new artist Grammy winner doesn't disappoint: "Future Nostalgia" delivers on the promise of the "New Rules" hitmaker's 2017 self-titled debut and is filled with euphoric disco throwbacks ("Hallucinate"), thumping synth ballads ("Cool") and shimmering bedroom anthems ("Pretty Please").

In better news: The bison meme we all need right now

NBC Montana reporter Deion Broxton was just trying to do a shoot from Yellowstone National Park when he looked over and saw a herd of bison heading in his direction.

So he did what anyone would do in that situation: he uttered, “Oh no, I ain’t messing with you,” packed up and bolted. Smart man.

He then uploaded the footage to Twitter and became a viral star, and of course that means he became a meme. Don't worry, he also got a shot of the bison in question, from a safe distance.

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