Earlier today Vice President Mike Pence and the COVID-19 task force held a press briefing to update the media on the latest developments. VP Pence notes tests delivered to the cruise ship “Grand Princess”, anchored and holding off the coast of California, have resulted in 21 persons testing positive (19 were crew members).
Additionally, in a private-public contract agreement, private medical testing companies Quest Diagnostics and Lab-Corp will be assisting the government with rapid test manufacture and distribution.  [CDC Website Here]

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The White House Coronavirus Task Force includes: Vice President Mike Pence; Ambassador Debbie Brix, White House Corona Virus Response Coordinator; Secretary Alex Azar, Department of Health and Human Services; Dr. Robert Redfield, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Anne Schuchat, Principal Deputy Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Stephen Hahn, Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Food and Drug Administration; Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
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This afternoon National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow discusses the jobs report, coronavirus fears, the Federal Reserve, and the steps the Trump administration is taking to address the illness.  Two background issues should be noted:
First, the Wall Street multinationals are starting to propose that the federal government should be considering ‘bailing them out’. The Coronavirus is hurting business operations overseas, and the corporations who left the U.S. to exploit overseas profits are now asking for a “bailout”. No way, no how, it should never be considered.
Secondly, there are politically manipulative localized regions, under the control of Democrats, that are cancelling public events under the auspices of Coronavirus containment. In many cases these control agents appear to be making efforts to disrupt localized economies; and create a wider, weaponized, economic impact. Watch which areas cancel which events and you will see a pattern of left-wing control of the area (ex. Miami-Dade FL, Austin TX, Chicago IL, Seattle WA, etc.)
The administration needs to be smart and wise to the underlying efforts. Shut up and listen to Trump; he’s got this. Here’s Kudlow:

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Jumpin’ ju-ju bones.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics highlights an excellent jobs report for February with 273,000 new jobs added; and an upward revision of 85,000 job gains in December and January.  Total new jobs with revisions 358,000; that’s exceptional.
Main Street USA is very strong, exceptionally strong; and the fundamentals of the U.S. economy show balance and overall strength.  Keep in mind, while all of this growth is happening the full impacts of the renegotiated trade deals have yet to kick in.

Highlighting the strength in the overall economy the construction sector added 42,000 jobs in February, following a similar gain in January (+49,000). In 2019, construction job gains averaged 13,000 per month. In February, employment gains occurred in specialty trade contractors (+26,000) and residential building (+10,000). This specific metric is important because it highlights economic expansion from U.S. workers and households having financial strength for home purchasing.

(BLS DATA) Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 273,000 in February, and the unemployment rate remains at 3.5 percent. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.0 percent.
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised up by 37,000 from +147,000 to +184,000, and the change for January was revised up by 48,000 from +225,000 to +273,000. With these revisions, employment gains in December and January combined were 85,000 higher than previously reported. (link)

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Earlier today New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo complains to the media about only getting $35 million in initial emergency funding for Coronavirus impacts.  WATCH:

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Last night CTH did our first review of the $8.3 billion COVID-19 appropriation as it passed through congress.  It is loaded with pork spending and foreign aid.  The bill was $7.8 billion at the beginning of the day and ended with $8.3 billion on final passage.
The emergency Coronavirus appropriation passed 96-1 in the Senate. The Senator voting against the bill was Rand Paul of Kentucky.
The foreign aid section is roughly $3 billion of the spending.  Senator Rand Paul proposed an amendment to rescind unobligated balances of current foreign aid appropriations because so much new money is being spent on this bill.  His amendment was defeated.
Here’s the breakdown:
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Earlier today President Trump traveled to Tennessee to tour some of the devastated areas severely impacted by recent tornadoes.  The president met with local and state officials along with FEMA response teams while surveying the devastation prior to meeting with the residents of Cookeville, Tennessee, and Nashville suburbs.
Video and Transcript Added:

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. This is Governor Bill Lee, and he’s done a fantastic job of working with FEMA and the federal government and state government and everybody, Bill. And this is real devastation like you’ll never seen, hopefully, again. This was about as big a tornado as you can have. It was 50 miles long, which is extraordinarily long, and a very wide one. And you see what’s happened. We saw it from the helicopter very well. You did too.
I just want to thank you very much for the great job you’re doing.
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Prior to departing the White House for a visit with Tennessee disaster workers and victims, President Trump signs an $8.3 billion appropriations bill funding the ongoing efforts to combat Coronavirus.  [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. Good morning. I’m going to Tennessee to meet with the governor and a lot of people. And it’s something. It’s really something. I guess some of you are coming along, I assume. Is that right?
Q No.
THE PRESIDENT: You going?
Q There’s a crew out at Andrews waiting on you.
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If you’ve ever wondered why it is impossible to have a conversation with modern liberals about politics, this video snippet is a case study in the answer.
MSNBC host Brian Williams and New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay are having a serious discussion about money, politics and Michael Bloomberg’s spending in the primary election.  You have to watch it to believe it.
Think about how many people were involved in creating, preparing and producing what you are about to witness.  WATCH:
[wpvideo RmTlzkRd]
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Federal Judge Reggie Walton delivered a ruling today (pdf version here) creating a firestorm narrative fight around the Mueller report.   However, before reviewing the substance of the ruling it’s important to remember where Walton comes from.
For more than a decade DC Judge Walton has been skeptical of official government statements and the officials who deliver them.  Going back to the early years of the Obama administration, and continuing through the IRS case(s) in Obama’s second term, Judge Walton’s suspicions have been consistent.  Walton consistently wants to see the raw data, and doesn’t trust government presentations or interpretations of the underlying data.

It is against this outlook from the bench where Judge Walton tells the DOJ he wants to see the unredacted Mueller report so he can evaluate whether a FOIA lawsuit has any merit.
In the FOIA lawsuit Buzzfeed wants the unredacted Mueller report.  The DOJ has refused to release the unredacted report because, despite Bill Barr’s instructions to the corrupt Mueller group, team Mueller included grand jury information in their final version.
This is the heart of the issue.  The DOJ is saying all redactions were made based on DOJ policy and laws; Buzzfeed is challenging that assertion and saying they suspect the DOJ removed material from the Mueller report simply to advance a political narrative.
Judge Walton is saying he wants to see the unredacted report so he can make up his own mind on whether legally FOIA-able material exists.  However, Walton is also going one big step further and actually questioning the credibility of AG Bill Barr.  That’s the part where the resistance media is having a field day.
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U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams appeared for an interview this afternoon to discuss the coronavirus along with ongoing efforts by the administration to address illnesses and continue proactive containment.  [COVID-19 Website Here]
General Adams emphasizes “keeping things in perspective” and apply common sense approaches that everyone should follow: Wash hands frequently; cover your cough; clean household surfaces with disinfectant, and maintain good personal hygiene standards.

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Michigan and the subsequent 125 Democrat delegates is a critical state for the presidential primary contest between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.   Michigan (125 delegates), Idaho (20), Mississippi (36), Missouri (68), North Dakota (14), and Washington State (89) all vote next Tuesday March 10th.
Former Vice-President Joe Biden, an advocate for outsourcing U.S. jobs via corrupt trade deals, is hoping to leverage his phony pro-union bona-fides & crush Bernie Sanders in Michigan.
However, Bernie has a strong ground team in Michigan, understands the importance in delegate accumulation, and also knows it is critical to defeat the ‘unelectable‘ narrative the DNC Club has deployed against him.
Michigan is also critical for Bernie because his positions on Cuba have damaged his hopes in Florida (219 delegates) voting on March 17th.
If Bernie is going to mount a progressive charge against the power of the DNC apparatus he needs a strong outcome from working class voters in Michigan, Illinois (155) and Ohio (136 delegates).  The primary contests in Illinois and Ohio are held on March 17th along with Florida.
Into this critical moment comes Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer who is: (a) part of the professional party apparatus; and (b) endorsing the party candidate, Joe Biden.

MICHIGAN – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) on Thursday endorsed Joe Biden for president, a significant boost for the former vice president ahead of next week’s primary in the Wolverine State.

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