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TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Doctors and hospital officials across the United States begin making decisions about whose lives to save as the COVID-19 toll climbs higher. In the United Kingdom, it’s still not totally clear who is in charge as Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in intensive care with breathing problems.

Meanwhile, amid fears of deadly contagion, Wisconsin – or some of it -- went to the polls. Who won? Who knows! Can we call it a real election? Let’s consult the Magic Eight Ball.

And lastly, the pandemic economy has hit the oil and gas business harder than most. Which could be, belive it or not, good news for renewable energy projects.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

The US reported its largest one-day total of deaths due to coronavirus so far: more than eighteen hundred people. And that’s not including a number of states that had yet to report statistics last night. America’s worse-than-useless president said QUOTE our strategy is totally working... I will protect you ENDQUOTE_._ If you believe that, Donald Trump has a miracle cure to sell you.

Speaking of which: Surpise, surprise! It turns out there were some problems with the French research on the malaria drug Trump has been pushing as a COVID-19 treatment, hydroxychloroquine (HI-DROXIE-CHLOR-O-QUEEN). Bottom line, as the Guardian reported: the one hundred percent cure rate claimed on Fox News for this drug is false.

Rationing and triage in American hospitals is inevitable, the Washington Post reported, based on interviews with doctors and administrators around the country. This means that doctors -- and their employers – are now be making decisions about who gets access to life-saving equipment, and who gets left to die. Most jurisdictions are likely to prioritize pregnant women. Some may give preference to medical workers on the grounds that they can help save others. Some are debating whether to give preference to politicians, police and other officials. The elderly and disabled don’t carry a lot of weight with the people who will make these decisions, the Post reported. And then there is the matter of who can afford treatment. In the absence of

federal leadership, corporations will be deciding who lives and dies. These questions are hugely political. They are no longer theoretical. And they’re not confined to the United States.

In the United Kingdom, conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson entered his second night in the intensive care unit of a public hospital. Johnson was immediately put on oxygen when he arrived, and more than twenty-four hours later is still having trouble breathing. The latest word was, the prime minister may be in line for a ventilator. His friends and associates told the British press he thought disease was for the weak and believed himself largely immune to infection. Johnson left his foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, in charge. But the Cabinet will not, or cannot, say who among them has the launch codes to the country’s nuclear weapons. Blimey!

Some encouraging news, from Wuhan, the Chinese city where COVID-19 was first detected: train service resumed for the first time since the government imposed a strict lockdown in late January. That’s eleven weeks, for those of you still able to comprehend time.

STORY TWO

Against the best advice of pretty much everyone in a position to give it, including the governor, the state of Wisconsin held an election yesterday. It was – predictably! -- a farce. Only five polling locations – out of one-hundred and eighty – were open in Milwaukee, a city of six hundred thousand people. Lines stretched on for hours in some places. As well as a farce, it was a spectacle. A Republican election official appeared on television to tell people it was safe to come out and vote. He was covered, head to toe, in protective gear – masks, gloves, a gown, the whole shebang. Easy for you to say, guy! Most poll workers – and voters -- had far less protection.

When the US Supreme Court overruled Wisconsin’s own governor and lower federal district judges to ensure the election proceeded on its pre-pandemic schedule, their order allowed for delayed reporting of the results. At least, that’s what state election officials determined. So we probably won’t know who won until next Monday, April 13. There were no exit polls. Turnout stands to be low. Biden is likely to win. Sanders suspended his get out the vote efforts.

Biden wanted the vote to proceed on schedule, as did Republicans, who were hoping to win a powerful state judgeship. Sanders joined local Democratic officials, as well as election integrity advocates in calling for delays and adjustments in light of the pandemic. Whatever

the result for the Democratic primary, the Supreme Court’s intervention in Wisconsin means it matters for the general election. Responding to reports of long lines and voter suppression, vote-by-mail advocate Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon said, QUOTE this cannot happen in November ENDQUOTE. He is pushing for nationwide vote-by-mail to be included in the next COVID-19 relief bill. In another ludicrous press conference last night, Trump called vote-by- mail corrupt, even though he recently voted by mail in Florida. Make of that what you will.

Also yesterday, Biden got a formal endorsement from influential Georgia Democratic Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis. And before the polls closed in Wisconsin, Sanders held an online panel discussion on why the coronavirus is hitting African-American communities harder, and what to do about it.

STORY THREE

Despite the best efforts of the Republican Party and the failing global oil and gas industry, the US is on track for record renewable energy usage this year. That’s according to a forecast cited a New York Times report on the collapsing fossil fuels business. If the Greater Depression has a silver lining, it may be the end of the oil-powered economy.

Fossil fuels took an even bigger dive than the rest of the stock market since the coronavirus basically shut down the global economy. But renewable energy sources are likely to expand their share of the energy market this year, despite the overall economic stagnation. This year, renewables will account for more than twenty percent of US electricity consumption for the first time, the Times reported.

In some markets, including California and Texas, electricity from wind and solar is cheaper than from coal and natural gas – even after oil prices tanked. And the federal government has declared electricity production an essential activity, so even in states whose governors have ordered construction to be paused, new solar and wind projects can move forward.

And the sooner the better: a new study linked air pollution to places hit harder by coronavirus.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

The world’s largest facial recognition company, Clearview A.I. employed a number of alt-right and neo-Nazi extremists, according to a Huffington Post immigration. Clearview contracts with law enforcement and immigration agencies and the far-right employees may have had access to inside information on police and intelligence investigations. The company was backed by Trump’s biggest booster in Silicon Valley, Facebook investor Peter Thiel.

Trump’s acting Navy secretary, Thomas Modly, resigned yesterday and was replaced in his musical chair by an undersecretary from the Army. This was after a recording emerged of Modly being heckled on a call with sailors from a nuclear carrier who were exposed to COVID-19. Their former captain, Brett Crozier, was fired for trying to get them treated onshore. Modly called Crozier stupid and naive. Famous last words!

Trump signed an executive order this week laying claim to resources on asteroids in space, as well as on the moon, for American corporations. The order may contradict existing international treaties. Last person off the planet loses!

The Spanish social democratic government will be permanently expanding unemployment benefits in response to the coronavirus. Some reports called it a universal basic income program but that’s not quite right – only the poorest will benefit from the new monthly payments, and those who’ve been thrown out of work during the nationwide lockdown. Still, it’s a lot more than we’re getting.

That’s all for the AM Quickie. Join us this afternoon on the Majority Report.

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