January 1, CDC Warns Seniors to ‘Stock up’, Avoid Crowds

This Day in History | 1864

President Abraham Lincoln signs a document promoting Ulysses S. Grant to the rank of lieutenant general of the U.S. Army, leading all Union troops against the Confederate Army.

Ok, now its starting to get serious. By no  means is it time to panic, but the CDC is now warning the most vulnerable among us including seniors over the age of 60 to stock up on supplies and avoid crowds. But still, there’s growing proof that we are well past the point of containment and the coronavirus is living among us. President’s chief of staff is self quarantining. We still don’t know whether the president’s been tested, but we do know that he shook hands with people who shook hands with CPAC patient zero.

Also today, Stock futures erased big losses in after-hours trading Monday and turned positive after President Donald Trump floated the idea of ” a payroll tax cut or relief” to offset the negative impact from the coronavirus. The potential tax incentives come on top of an $8.3 billion spending package Trump signed last month. Oil prices also saw some respite early Tuesday.

And, St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Ireland have been canceled amid concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus.

Tuesday’s primaries — Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Washington — could deal a fatal blow to Bernie Sanders’ reeling campaign.

A spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan says the U.S. is moving ahead with plans to cut the number of forces in the country from about 13,000 to 8,600 over the next four and a half months.

Harvey Weinstein has been injured at Riker’s Island, his spokesman says the disgraced Hollywood mogul may have a concussion. 

And finally, there might not be a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Boston this year, but there was plenty of green on display yesterday when the city’s first recreational marijuana shop opens. 

Read all about it!

-Fraser Dixon

CDC: Americans Over 60 Should ‘Stock Up’ on Supplies, Avoid Crowds

(The Hill) – Older Americans, especially those with underlying health conditions, should stockpile supplies and avoid unnecessary travel, a top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Monday.

Most Americans are likely at risk of catching the novel strain of the coronavirus, said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Older Americans are especially susceptible to serious outcomes. 

“As the trajectory of the outbreak continues, many people in the U.S. will at some point in time this year or next be exposed to this virus, and there’s a good chance many will become sick,” Messonnier said. “The reason to stock up now is to kind of stick close to home.”

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Investors Look for Market Bounce After Trump Floats Payroll Tax Cut

(CNBC) – Around 5:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicated an opening surge of 1,000 points on Tuesday. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures also pointed to a sharply higher open for the two indexes on Tuesday.

Stock futures erased big losses in after-hours trading Monday and turned positive after President Donald Trump floated the idea of ” a payroll tax cut or relief” to offset the negative impact from the coronavirus. The potential tax incentives come on top of an $8.3 billion spending package Trump signed last month.

The market suffered a historic sell-off in the previous session, with the Dow and the S&P 500 plunging 7.8% and 7.6, respectively, both posting their worst day since 2008. The Dow’s 2,013-point drop was also the biggest point drop for the 30-stock average ever.

The deep stock rout is putting the record-long bull market in jeopardy. With Monday’s drop, the S&P 500 is 19% below its intraday all-time high of 3,393.52 from Feb.19. The benchmark would fall into bear market territory if it slumps 20% from its peak or more.

Meanwhile, oil prices saw some respite early Tuesday. As of 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 5.4% at $32.81 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude futures added 5% at $36.10 per barrel.

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Coronavirus Cancels St. Patricks Day

(NBC News) – St. Patrick’s Day festivities in the Republic of Ireland have been canceled amid concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus.

The cancellations have come at the advice of health officials to help slow the spread of the virus, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Monday. There have been 19 cases of COVID-19, the disease associated with the coronavirus, in the Republic of Ireland.

The canceled events include the national St. Patrick’s Festival parade in Dublin on March 17.

“But I think it’s really important to get across a very important fact: The vast majority of people who get COVID-19 in the next couple of weeks or couple of months will not do so because they attend a mass gathering. They will most likely pick it up in their own home from their family or from interactions with friends and others,” Varadkar said.

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Biden Could Wrap up Nomination with Michigan Win

(Politico) – It’s less than half the size of Super Tuesday. But Tuesday’s collection of misfit primaries — Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Washington — could prove just as consequential by dealing a fatal blow to Bernie Sanders’ reeling campaign.

Michigan, with 125 delegates at stake, is the biggest prize among the 6 states voting. It was the site of Sanders’ miraculous upset win over Hillary Clinton in 2016, but the outlook seems grim for his campaign this time around: A handful of new polls released in the last two days suggest Joe Biden leads by double-digits.

All together, there are 352 delegates — representing roughly 9% of the total delegates — up for grabs. Sanders doesn’t have to win all of them, but at a minimum he can’t get blown out in Michigan, and he likely needs to win Washington — where he romped in 2016 — to have a plausible case for going forward.

Here’s a state-by-state look at the March 10 map

US Begins Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan

(AP) — American troops have begun leaving Afghanistan for the initial troop withdrawal required in the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement, the U.S. military confirmed Monday, amid political chaos in Kabul that threatens the deal.

Army Col. Sonny Leggett, spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement that the U.S. is moving ahead with plans to cut the number of forces in the country from about 13,000 to 8,600 over the next four and a half months.

Another U.S. official said hundreds of troops have headed out of the country as previously planned, but they will not be replaced. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss the movement ahead of a public announcement.

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Report: Harvey Weinstein Injured at Riker’s Island

(CNN) – Convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein fell sometime Sunday morning while at Rikers Island jail, his spokesperson Juda Englemayer told CNN. Englemayer said Weinstein was dizzy before he fell.

“Harvey says his head throbs all the time and thinks he has a concussion. He has not been officially diagnosed,” Englemayer said.

Englemayer, who spoke to Weinstein by phone Sunday evening, says Weinstein has “had a lot of time to think about his life and what he’s done,” adding, “He said he wasn’t a nice guy and that’s how he got here.”

Movie mogul Weinstein doesn’t walk steadily and doesn’t have a walker in jail, Englemayer said. During his recent trial, Weinstein used a walker to get in and out of court.

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Boston’s 1st Recreational Pot Shop Opens

(AP) – Boston’s first pot shop opened Monday, marking the first recreational marijuana store to open in a major East Coast city.

Pure Oasis is also among the few retail stores in the country owned and operated by people of color, who experts say have struggled to break into the industry. Massachusetts’ ballot initiative was the first to insert specific language aimed at encouraging people of color and others harmed by the war on drugs to participate in the new industry.

Matt Simon, New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, hailed the opening as a “huge milestone” for the East Coast, where most jurisdictions — save for Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine and the District of Columbia — have approved cannabis for medicinal use only.

“This is only the beginning,” he said. “The fact that this is just the first in Boston shows how this is such an early market on this coast.”

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