The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1,700 points Thursday morning after President Donald Trump’s long-awaited response to the coronavirus epidemic triggered a massive sell-off on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 plunged by 7 percent, triggering a circuit breaker, which halts all trading on the New York Stock Exchange for 15 minutes.

All three major averages sank after Trump’s Oval Office address Wednesday night failed to satisfy traders who were hoping for more concrete steps to stanch any economic slowdown from the viral outbreak.

It was the second time trading was temporarily halted on Thursday morning, after all three major averages sank below the 5 percent “limit down” marker in premarket activity.

In his address from the Oval Office, Trump announced he would be halting all inbound flights from Europe in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus. That created immediate panic as Americans abroad rushed to buy last-minute tickets home, and also fueled trader concern that suspended travel and trade between the U.S. and the European Union would come at a steep economic cost.

Travel stocks continued their double digit plunge, with airlines and hotels hardest hit.

Markets were also underwhelmed by Trump’s economic stimulus package, which offers emergency loans to small businesses, deferred tax payments for some people, but made no mention of paid sick leave or free testing for the coronavirus, which continues its spread across the U.S.

It’s the second time this week that markets have suspended futures trading: The S&P 500 hit the threshold on Monday morning after an oil production spat between Russia and Saudi Arabia pushed the price of oil down by 30 percent overnight, the biggest drop since the Gulf War, in 1991.

Trading was also halted later that day, when the S&P fell by more than 7 percent just minutes after the opening bell on Monday, triggering a circuit breaker.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is set to open with a decline of more than 1,100 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are currently down by just under 5 percent.

Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/trading-wall-street-temporarily-suspended-after-trump-s-crisis-response-n1156406

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Source Article from https://slate.com/technology/2020/03/college-classes-online-coronavirus.html

United wasn’t immediately available for comment. Delta said it was in contact with the government and working to comply with the ban. Delta said in a statement that it would “quickly make adjustments to service, as needed, in response to government travel directives.”

The Association of Flight Attendants called the ban “irresponsible” and accused the Trump administration of announcing the ban for political reasons. “Without any consultation with the industry, we don’t even know what this means,” said Sara Nelson, president of the union.

It is far from clear whether Mr. Trump’s order will help stop the outbreak in the United States. The virus is now being spread by Americans who have had no contact with regions that have high rates of infection. Italy was one of the first countries to cut off all travel from China and Hong Kong after the coronavirus first publicly emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in January. It is now the center of Europe’s outbreak.

Still, the order adds to the barriers being erected around the world. India on Wednesday put a halt to all tourist visas. China since January has restricted the ability of its own people to travel, and it has added growing restrictions for visitors as well. Anti-immigrant groups in Europe have called for even tighter borders.

Such barriers undermine the confidence of the world’s consumers. In the United States, in Europe, in China and around the world, consumers have emerged as a major economic force, as more countries grow more prosperous and as widespread internet access encourages them to buy even more.

They have grown even more important since the United States launched a trade war with China, shaking global manufacturing. Consumers helped pick up the slack.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/business/trump-europe-travel.html

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what’s happening in the world as it unfolds.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/politics/coronavirus-congress-routines/index.html

As it stands now, the campaign’s senior leadership remains a kitchen cabinet of new and old advisers, a setup Biden has used throughout a political career that spans more than four decades. His former chief of staff, Steve Ricchetti, functions as campaign chairman; his longtime adviser Tom Donilon is the strategist; the candidate’s sister Valerie Biden Owens is a close adviser, and the campaign apparatus is overseen by Dunn, a veteran of the Obama campaigns, and Greg Schultz, the campaign manager.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-turns-his-focus-from-sanders-to-trump–and-rebooting-his-own-campaign/2020/03/11/399fe872-63b3-11ea-845d-e35b0234b136_story.html

The U.S. State Department warned Americans late Wednesday to avoid traveling abroad, in response to a coronavirus outbreak that’s reached pandemic status.

Also Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised U.S. citizens to avoid travel to much of Europe, where the coronavirus has become more widespread than anywhere but China.

The warnings by the State Department and the CDC followed the earlier announcement by President Donald Trump on national television restricting travel from Europe for 30 days starting Friday.

The State Department issued a global travel warning of Level 3 — “reconsider travel” — one level below its strongest warning. The CDC advised Americans to “avoid nonessential travel” to Europe — a Level 3, its highest warning.

The CDC warning covers essentially the entire continent — 29 countries and principalities — including some of the most popular destinations for U.S travelers, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2020/03/12/coronavirus-state-department-warns-americans-reconsider-traveling-abroad/5029446002/

Two American service members and one British service member were killed in a rocket attack on a base in Iraq on Wednesday, according to two U.S. officials. The attack has the potential to once again ratchet up tensions in the Middle East.

The U.S.-led coalition confirmed in a statement that 12 others were wounded when 18 107-mm Katyusha rockets impacted the large training facility at Camp Taji — which houses U.S. troops — at 7:35 p.m., local time in Iraq.

Following the attack, Iraqi Security Forces found a rocket-rigged truck, a few miles from Camp Taji.

While the U.S. is not confirming who it believes is behind the attack, Iranian-backed militia groups have been found responsible for similar attacks on bases that house U.S. forces. And the Trump administration has warned that another Iranian attack that killed Americans would warrant a response.

“On the military side, we’ve warned the Iranians repeatedly — I’ve done so personally myself — that an attack that took American lives would not be tolerated,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a speech in January.

In December, an attack by the Iranian-backed militia group Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) on a base in northern Iraq killed an American contractor. That led the U.S. to take military retaliation against the group, carrying out airstrikes on several locations in Iraq and Syria.

Tensions continued to escalate, as demonstrators attacked the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Then on Jan. 2, the U.S. military conducted a strike on Qassem Soleimani, killing the top Iranian general as he left Baghdad International Airport. The U.S. said he was plotting additional attacks against U.S. personnel and interests in the region. But in a show of force, the Iranians launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at bases in Iraq where U.S. troops were present, causing traumatic brain injuries to more than 100 American service members.

Speaking about the death on Soleimani in January, Pompeo said, “Judging from the type and intensity of the strike, the regime certainly must now understand what we will do if they ever again pose risk to American lives. If Iran escalates, we will end it on our terms.”

He and others in the administration have claimed the strike on Soleimani re-established deterrence with Iran. But Pompeo has acknowledged “it’s not everlasting.”

There have now been four American troops killed in Iraq this year alone.

Over the weekend, two U.S. Marine Raiders, Gunnery Sgt. Diego Pongo and Capt. Moises Navas, were killed during an anti-ISIS mission in northern Iraq.

ABC News’ Conor Finnegan contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/americans-service-members-killed-rocket-attack-base-iraq/story?id=69541726

Dance, theater and music students fretted that after months of rehearsals there would be no performances. Seniors were already mourning their commencement, assuming that it, too, would be canceled, and that the Class of 2020 might be together for the last time.

Some altruistically minded students worried about going home and perhaps unwittingly infecting their older and more vulnerable parents and grandparents should the virus already be present at their schools.

On Wednesday, the closures continued. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York declared that the state and city university systems would move to distance learning, as did the University of Pennsylvania, several California State campuses, the Claremont Colleges, Iowa State, Georgetown, Pepperdine, Villanova, Notre Dame, Michigan State and Washington University in St. Louis, among others.

Infectious disease specialists said that dormitories, with their communal bathrooms as well as dining halls with open buffets, are like cruise ships, with students squeezed together and facing increased risk of infection. Emptying them out, if only partially, is necessary, they said.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/us/colleges-cancel-classes-coronavirus.html

“Our pathetic, slow moving Federal Reserve, headed by Jay Powell, who raised rates too fast and lowered too late, should get our Fed Rate down to the levels of our competitor nations,” Trump wrote Tuesday on Twitter. “They now have as much as a two point advantage, with even bigger currency help. Also, stimulate!”

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-urged-mnuchin-to-pressure-feds-powell-on-economic-stimulus-in-explosive-tirade-about-coronavirus/2020/03/11/db7bfeea-63c9-11ea-b3fc-7841686c5c57_story.html

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    Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-europe-travel/index.html

    Reporting was contributed by Peter Baker, Elisabetta Povoledo, Steven Erlanger, Alissa J. Rubin, Alexandra Stevenson, Livia Albeck-Ripka, Derrick Bryson Taylor, Daniel Victor, Sui-Lee Wee, Annie Karni, Marc Santora, Megan Specia, Vindu Goel, Elian Peltier, Jason Horowitz, Emma Bubola, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Jorge Arangure, Matthew Futterman, Elaine Yu, Amy Qin, Alan Rappeport, Emily Cochrane, Karen Zraick, Sandra E. Garcia, Scott Cacciola, Sopan Deb, Brooks Barnes, Noah Weiland, Sheri Fink, Mike Baker, Monika Pronczuk, Melissa Eddy, Roni Caryn Rabin, Donald G. McNeil Jr., Andrew Keh, and Katie Thomas.

    Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/world/coronavirus-news.html

    President Trump meets with bankers to discuss a response to the coronavirus. Subscribe to The Washington Post on YouTube: https://wapo.st/2QOdcqK

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    Source Article from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gTbkdkycSk

    Senate Democrats on Wednesday unveiled more than a dozen “critical measures” intended to provide relief to local communities in the wake of the deadly coronavirus outbreak. 

    Democratic lawmakers have been pushing for a relief proposal that is “targeted to the people who need help,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told NBC News earlier Wednesday. 

    The Senate Democrats COVID-19 Economic and Community Services Proposal includes:

    • Emergency unemployment insurance funds to replace lost wages
    • Requiring businesses to allow workers to gradually earn up to 7 paid sick days
    • Loan payment relief for up to six months on federally insured mortgages and student loans
    • Federal funding for local communities
    • Grants for small businesses
    • Supplemental funding to public transportation agencies and Amtrak
    • Increased SNAP benefits
    • Additional funding for food banks, schools and nonprofits
    • Emergency mortgage and rental assistance
    • Additional financial assistance to housing providers 
    • Emergency grant aid to colleges

    The proposals were unveiled at a press conference on Wednesday in the midst of what seems to be a tense standoff between House Democrats and the Trump administration over how the government should address the growing health crisis. 

    President Donald Trump on Tuesday pitched Republican lawmakers on a 0% payroll tax rate for employers and employees that would last through the rest of this year and possibly longer. Trump has also indicated that his administration would propose relief to the airline and cruise ship industries, which have been impacted by the outbreak. 

    But Democratic lawmakers have signaled that they would not vote on a proposal that does not include relief measures aimed at easing the burden on hourly workers who might not have benefits and struggling small businesses. 

    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a March 9 press release issued prior to the president’s 0% payroll tax idea said that any proposal must prioritize paid sick leave, widespread and free coronavirus testing, affordable treatment for all, anti-price-gouging protections and enhanced unemployment insurance. 

    Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., emphasized Pelosi’s concerns on “Power Lunch” on Wednesday, telling CNBC that the priority is to make sure uninsured Americans “can get to a doctor or get a test without having to pay a lot of money.”

    “So the first thing I’d do is make sure we extended health care,” Khanna added. “We should make sure people who are taking time off from work are compensated so that they have that money that they can then spend. We should make sure people who have student loans aren’t defaulting on those loans.” 

    While the Democrats have suggested that they will also consider offering assistance to corporations, the relief effort should start “from the bottom up,” Schumer told NBC News, “targeted at the people who are most hurt.”

    The coronavirus, which is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China, has spread to dozens of countries globally, with more than 121,000 confirmed cases worldwide and at least 4,373 deaths so far, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

    There have been at least 1,050 cases in the United States and at least 30 deaths, according to the latest tallies from Johns Hopkins. 

    The outbreak, which the World Health Organization classified as a pandemic Wednesday, has roiled markets and led governments to take drastic actions as it rapidly spreads across the globe. 

    Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the number of deaths attributable to the coronavirus in the U.S.

    Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/11/senate-democrats-unveil-relief-proposal-in-response-to-coronavirus-outbreak.html

    The number of cases in Europe continues to rise, with more than 10,000 in Italy
    A UK health minister, Nadine Dorries, is among 382 cases in Britain
    There are now more than 1,000 confirmed cases in the US

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that according to experts, 60-70% of the German population could become infected with the coronavirus.

    She said that since there’s no cure yet, governments need to focus on slowing its spread.

    “When the virus is out there, the population has no immunity and no therapy exists, then 60 to 70% of the population will be infected,” she was quoted by the Reuters news agency as telling reporters in Berlin.

    “The process has to be focused on not overburdening the health system by slowing the virus’s spread. It’s about winning time.”

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    Source Article from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoHOYCbmJoE

    The campaigns for the two Democratic candidates have started to heed public health officials’ warnings about the dangers of campaigning during the coronavirus outbreak. President Donald Trump has taken a more muddled approach.

    A week ago, former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign told Vox it wasn’t planning on canceling rallies or other public events but was monitoring the outbreak. Now his campaign, along with that of Sen. Bernie Sanders have begun canceling events.

    Both candidates canceled rallies in Cleveland, Ohio, last night after being warned off by local public health officials. Sanders was scheduled to hold an event at a Cleveland convention center as primary election results were set to begin coming in from several states Tuesday evening.

    “Out of concern for public health and safety, we are canceling tonight’s rally in Cleveland. We are heeding the public warnings from Ohio state officials, who have communicated concern about holding large, indoor events during the coronavirus outbreak,” Sanders campaign spokesperson Mike Casca said in a statement.

    After initially saying that their own campaign event would go on, the Biden campaign ended up canceling a similar event in Cleveland after local health officials discouraged large gatherings in the area.

    As of March 11, 1,050 people in the US have tested positive for Covid-19, the disease stemming from novel coronavirus, and 29 people have died from it, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker. Public health officials have warned people from attending large gatherings of people where germs could be easily spread among many people quickly, in order to prevent transmission of the virus.

    “Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in the United States,” Nancy Messonnier, an official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told reporters on February 25. “It’s not a question of if this will happen but when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses.”

    Many states and localities have ordered cancellation of large gatherings and events, and numerous conferences, including SXSW in Austin, Texas and Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, Washington, have either canceled or postponed. And concern over spreading Covid-19 finally hit the political world after several elected officials at an annual conservative conference were notified that an attendee they had come into contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus.

    Trump’s reelection campaign, however, doesn’t seem to be taking the situation as seriously.

    Presidential campaign officials have a responsibility to protect rally attendees

    Central to political campaigning is human contact. Canvassers knock on thousands of doors every day; candidates shake hands with voters and donors at a myriad of events; and supporters gather in large (and often raucous) crowds at rallies — all things that public health experts would advise against in the middle of an outbreak.

    For public health officials, it all comes down to whether community spread is affecting an area hosting a campaign event.

    “If you’re talking about a campaign rally tomorrow in a place where there is no community spread, I think the judgment to have it might be a good judgement,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, at a press conference Monday. “If you want to talk about large gatherings in a place where you have community spread, I think that’s a judgement call. And if someone decides they want to cancel it, I wouldn’t publicly criticize it.”

    So far, presidential campaign events had mostly gone on as usual — until Tuesday evening. After listening to local health officials, the campaigns for both of the two major remaining Democratic presidential candidates canceled their Cleveland rallies out of an abundance of caution. When campaigns were still hosting events, the Biden campaign had posted staffers at the doors for several events Monday to provide squirts of hand sanitizer to everybody attending.

    Hand sanitizer — for all that it only goes so far, especially if an infected person is in attendance and spreading germs to others — has become a prerequisite for taking photos with Trump during fundraisers.

    The Trump campaign did not return comment for a previous story on how campaign officials were planning contingencies for a coronavirus outbreak, but Trump himself has been adamant that he would continue holding rallies.

    He defended holding a rally last Monday evening in Charlotte on the eve of the Super Tuesday primaries early last week. “These were set up a long time ago,” Trump told reporters during his White House meeting last week with Colombian President Ivan Duque. “And you could ask that to the Democrats, because they’re having a lot of rallies, they’re all having rallies, they’re campaigning. I think it’s safe, I think it’s very safe.”

    Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told the Washington Post Tuesday, “The campaign is proceeding as normal.”

    The campaign has dialed back on some public events, and currently does not have any big rallies featuring the president currently planned. First lady Melania Trump canceled a fundraiser in Beverly Hills due to a “scheduling conflict,” and the Trump campaign canceled a three-day bus tour through Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania featuring Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump that was supposed to start Monday.

    However, the campaign maintains that none of the cancelations were related to fears over coronavirus.

    In fact, on Tuesday the campaign announced a new event: one launching “Catholics for Trump” in Milwaukee on March 19. The Wisconsin event doesn’t appear to be a regular campaign rally, which often draws thousands of people in attendance, but it’s unclear how many are expected to attend. His campaign announced the event shortly after the White House coronavirus task force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, encouraged people to “avoid crowding.”

    At this point, with the World Health Organization declaring novel coronavirus a pandemic, campaigns have a duty to protect their supporters, staff, and the candidates themselves. It remains to be seen what modern campaigning during a global pandemic will look like.

    Source Article from https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/3/11/21174945/biden-sanders-trump-canceling-rallies-coronavirus

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    Source Article from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-11/trump-likely-to-reveal-sick-leave-tax-extension-plan-for-virus

    A U.S. soldier (standing) helps Iraqi security forces improve shooting skills at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad, in 2015.

    Karim Kadim/AP


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    A U.S. soldier (standing) helps Iraqi security forces improve shooting skills at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad, in 2015.

    Karim Kadim/AP

    The U.S. military confirmed a sustained rocket attack on Wednesday on a base near Baghdad where American personnel are housed.

    The attack killed two Americans, according to a U.S. military official, as well as one member of Britain’s armed forces, multiple news outlets have reported.

    Army Col. Myles Caggins, a military spokesman in Iraq, said a barrage of “more than 15 small rockets impacted Iraq’s Camp Taji base hosting Coalition troops” at 7:35 p.m. local time.

    He added that an investigation into the extent of the damage is ongoing.

    Caggins also retweeted a message from an account claiming to be the official Security Media Cell of the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office, that said that 10 Katyusha rockets had been launched from a missile platform attached to a truck south of the Rashidiya area. Photos show the platform contained three unfired missiles.

    “This is the second time in recent days that U.S. forces in Iraq have come under heavy fire,” NPR’s Greg Myre reported.

    The U.S. has about 5,000 troops supporting Iraq’s security forces and American troops periodically come under fire. Two Marines were killed on Sunday as they fought alongside Iraqi troops in a battle against Islamic State extremists holed up in caves.

    Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2020/03/11/814650144/2-americans-among-3-people-killed-in-latest-rocket-attack-in-iraq?ft=nprml&f=1003%2C1004

    Some older Italians said the streets had a wartime feel. Every day at 6 p.m., health and civil protection officials step out in front of national cameras and update the country on the number of infections (10,149 as of Tuesday night) and deaths (631, up 168 from the day before), a ritual that has added to the sense of calamity.

    A doctor in a hospital in the Lombardy city of Bergamo posted on social media a graphic account of the stress on the health system by the overwhelming number of patients. It was republished Tuesday in Italy’s largest newspaper, Corriere della Sera.

    “The war has literally exploded and battles are uninterrupted day and night,” the doctor, Daniele Macchini wrote, calling the situation an “epidemiological disaster” that has “overwhelmed” the doctors.

    “One after the other, these unfortunate people come to the emergency room,” he wrote. “They have far from the complications of a flu. Let’s stop saying it’s a bad flu.”

    Matteo Renzi, a former prime minister, said in an interview that the virus had 10 days of a head start on the government, and that sweeping measures like the government’s decree were necessary to save all of Europe.

    “Today the red zone is Italy,” he said. But in 10 days, he said, it will be Madrid, Paris and Berlin.

    Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/world/europe/italy-coronavirus-movement-restrictions.html