Today in one sentence: Senators reached an agreement on a $2 trillion stimulus package to combat the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic; Trump's businesses are prohibited from receiving loans or investments from Treasury programs under the coronavirus stimulus package; the Trump administration has not released unemployment funds to three states Trump has formally declared coronavirus disaster areas; and the global death toll from the new coronavirus surpassed 20,000.

  • Editor’s note: The White House coronavirus task force briefing just started and a last-minute dispute over unemployment aid is delaying a Senate vote on the aid package. Per usual, who the f*ck knows what’s going to happen. So instead of waiting indefinitely, here we go instead.

1/ Senators reached an agreement on a $2 trillion stimulus package to combat the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic – the largest relief package in American history. The package will provide direct payments to Americans, $130 billion in funding for hospitals, $350 billion in small business loans, $250 billion in unemployment insurance benefits, and $500 billion in loans for distressed companies. A vote is expected Wednesday afternoon. The House is expected to take it up no sooner than Thursday. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin promised that Trump would “absolutely” sign it if Congress passes it. The package is the third Congress has considered to address the pandemic. Trump previously signed into law a $8.3 billion emergency aid and relief package providing paid leave, free testing and additional aid for families affected by the pandemic. (New York Times / CNN / NBC News / Washington Post / Politico / The Guardian)

  • ⚠️ What’s in the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill: Direct cash payments, expanded unemployment insurance, small business support, assistance for corporations, public health funding, state aid, and more. (CNN / NBC News / CBS News)

  • 💰 Who would get what and when from the $2 trillion stimulus package: Individuals who earn $75,000 or less would get direct payments of $1,200 each, with married couples earning up to $150,000 receiving $2,400. An additional $500 per child will be tacked on to that. Payments would scale down as income rises, phasing out at $99,000 for singles and $198,000 for couples without children. (ABC News / CNBC)

  • 💻 Live Blogs: New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / NBC News / CBS News / The Guardian

2/ Trump’s businesses are prohibited from receiving loans or investments from Treasury programs under the coronavirus stimulus package. Firms owned by Trump, Pence, members of Congress, or heads of executive departments would all be excluded from receiving that aid under the new stimulus package, including companies controlled by their children, spouses or in-laws. (Bloomberg / CNBC / Washington Post / CBS News / The Guardian)

  • The Senate’s $2 trillion stimulus package includes a $17 billion federal loan program – aimed at providing assistance to Boeing – for businesses deemed “critical to maintaining national security.” The carve-out is separate from the $58 billion the Senate package is providing in loans for cargo and passenger airlines, as well as the $425 billion in loans it is allocating to help firms, states and cities hurt by the current downturn. (Washington Post / New York Times )

3/ The Trump administration has not released unemployment funds to three states Trump has formally declared coronavirus disaster areas. New York, California, or Washington state all requested access to several aid programs provided under a disaster declaration, including disaster unemployment assistance. A senior administration official said the administration is holding off on approving requests for disaster unemployment assistance because Congress is expected to provide similar protections in the stimulus package. (Politico)

  • State unemployment websites and systems crashed stemming from a “historic increase” in people applying for unemployment. New York State’s Department of Labor has seen a 1000% increase in claims. (ABC News)

  • At least 1 million Californians filed unemployment claims this month. The initial claims data has never before surpassed 1 million, and it was 285,000 last week. (CNBC)

😷 COVID-ables.

  • The global death toll from the new coronavirus surpassed 20,000 and the number of confirmed COVID-19 infections worldwide climbed to more than 454,000. More than 61,000 people have tested positive and more than 800 have died of the disease in the United States. (John Hopkins University)

  • A drug for malaria that Trump promoted as a treatment for coronavirus is no more effective than conventional care. The report published by the Journal of Zhejiang University in China showed that patients who received Hydroxychloroquine didn’t fight off the new coronavirus more often than those who did not get the medicine. (Bloomberg)

  • A CDC epidemiologist estimates that the peak of coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. will peak in three weeks, after which “most of the damage will be done.” (CNN)

  • New York state has 10 times the COVID-19 cases California has. Why? New York is testing far more people — three times as many as California — and as a result identifying more cases. (San Francisco Chronicle)

  • Idaho ordered residents to self-isolate and close non-essential businesses for at least 21 days. (NBC News)

  • About 3,200 NYPD officers have called out sick as 177 uniformed officers and another 34 civilian NYPD employees tested positive for the coronavirus. (Politico)

  • New York City’s morgues are expected to reach capacity next week. (Politico)

Last year today: Day 795: No conclusion.
Three years ago today: Day 65: Shit list.