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TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Trump sets new guidelines for limiting the spread of the coronavirus, as local jurisdictions lock down even more.

Meanwhile, in Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine defies a court’s decision and orders polling places to close on Tuesday, postponing the state’s primary election for fears of spreading the virus.

And lastly, Congress prepares to fight over bailouts. Are they for needy Americans suffering under the strain of a pandemic? Nope, they’re for the cruise and casino industry.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

President Donald Trump finally appears to be taking the novel coronavirus pandemic seriously -- clearing the lowest possible bar we could set.

In a live press conference on Monday afternoon, Trump announced new federal guidelines for managing the spread of the disease. They include basically the same rules for social distancing we should all know by now: avoiding groups of more than 10 people, refraining from traveling whenever possible, and often closures of bars, restaurants and other public spaces.

The rules are not mandatory, however: instead, Trump is largely leaving that discretion up to local jurisdictions, which are responding with varied levels of strictness. Seven counties in the San Francisco Bay area have gone on full lockdown, instructing residents to quote “shelter in place” and avoid all non-essential trips outside of the home.

Trump claims a nationwide lockdown on the scale of Italy won’t happen in the U.S., but it’s hard to tell if that’s a good or a bad thing -- if it’s necessary to stop the spread of the virus, we don’t exactly want a president to refrain from making the call because it looks bad politically. It’s just another sign the guy in charge may not know what he’s doing.

In a conference call earlier, Trump also sprang a fast one on local governments: he told state governors that they should not wait for federal help for much-needed medical supplies like ventilators, and should instead quote “try getting it yourselves.” Very reassuring!

The Democratic primary election is, you guessed it, in chaos today. Four states were due to vote: Arizona, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio. But Ohio’s Governor is convinced the public health risk is too much to hold a primary, and is instead trying to put off physical voting by any means necessary.

On Monday, Ohio Governor Mark DeWine announced that he would order polling stations across the state to be closed on Tuesday, in open defiance of a court order that said it was too late to delay the election, a step that states like Kentucky and Georgia have already taken for their upcoming primaries.

In a statement, DeWine said quote: "It is clear that tomorrows in person voting does not conform and cannot conform with these CDC guidelines. We cannot conduct this election tomorrow."

It’s a bit unclear what happens now: DeWine said that the Ohio Secretary of State would petition the courts to quote “extend voting options.” DeWine wants to move the primary voting deadline back to June, when he hopes that people will be able to safely go the polls.

DeWine is a Republican, but he’s absolutely got a point: there really isn’t a safe or responsible way to ensure that busy polling stations don’t contribute to the spread of the disease.

Election officials in Arizona, Florida and Illinois disagreed, however, issuing a statement that their primaries would go on and be conducted in accordance with CDC guidelines for sanitizing voting equipment and limiting exposure at polling stations.

What does this mean for Biden and Sanders, both of whom will be looking to pick up delegates tomorrow? It means it’s an absolute mess. Sanders’ national press secretary Briahna Joy Gray has been publicly supportive of limiting in-person voting in today’s primaries, but it’s unclear what the conflicting orders and fear of the virus will do to turnout for either candidate.

With the Arizona, Florida, and Illinois elections going on as planned, we’ll just have to wait till the results start to come in to see.

President Trump is considering bailing out some of the most vulnerable and vital people in America: casino owners, airline tycoons, and oil and gas executives. See, you thought we were going to say “service workers,” but nope. Not in this administration!

According to the New York Times, lobbyists from the gambling industry have joined their voices to those in the cruise ship, airline and oil industries in asking the government for emergency help due to lost business from the global pandemic.

Congress will take up the case this week, as assistance for these specific industries is expected in the next aid package, which could come to the floor today. The Trump admin has already helped bail out the oil and gas industry, and the luxury travel and gambling industries want in as well.

This is the next major test for Congressional Democrats, after they resoundingly failed to pass an adequate paid sick leave bill in the last package of aid, instead leaving in huge holes for major corporations to go on treating their employees like dirt.

Will Nancy Pelosi fight to have bailouts, tax breaks, rent freezes or eviction protections included for actually vulnerable people in the next package of aid? We’ll see, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

The government of Spain nationalized all private hospitals in the country, adding them to its public healthcare network to unify its response to the coronavirus and treat as many people as possible. Nice that they have that option!

California Governor Gavin Newsom, in an executive order, waived portions of California laws around residential and commercial evictions, giving hurting businesses and people more time to recover from the coronavirus recession without fear of being put out on the street.

In one of the most surreal stories from the global pandemic, a house full of reality TV contestants on Germany’s Big Brother have been insulated from the outside world for nearly the entire duration of the crisis, and have no idea of its extent. The producers plan to tell the cast in a live-aired episode on Tuesday night.

A court in Ohio ordered the release of hundreds of at-risk prisoners from county jail this weekend, in a move the ACLU said should be considered around the country, as prison populations are particularly vulnerable to the spreading coronavirus. The ACLU is also suing a Seattle-area ICE center for the release of vulnerable detainees.

That’s all for the Majority Report’s AM Quickie today. Stay tuned for the full show this afternoon, and stay healthy and inside if you can!