What A Day - No Test For The Sicked

Episode Date: March 5, 2020

Super Wednesday kicked off with a bang: former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg dropping out of the race. Plus, the race in Maine was narrowly called for Biden. Now we wait as Senator Elizabeth Warren reassesses her path forward after a disappointing night. Some coronavirus updates: the death toll from COVID-19 rose to 11 on Wednesday. American cases have surpassed 100, with at least 50 in California and 39 in Washington State. The Trump administration won’t say who will cover the cost of testing for uninsured Americans. Plus, info on the situation in Italy and Iran. And in headlines: a peace deal with the Taliban, extreme wait-times at the polls in CA and TX, and the exciting debut of “fleets.”

it's thursday march 5th i'm akilah hughes and i'm gideon resnick and this is what a day the only daily news podcast that promises to never ever touch your face even if you ask us even if you ask us nicely we're not going to touch your face for you i will absolutely never do such a thing even if you give me five hundred. I mean, I might do it for $500. On today's show, coronavirus headlines, but first, the Super Tuesday that never ends. Nightclub going up, going up on a Tuesday. Wow. Well, some more of the dust has settled on Super Tuesday, and we have some more updates for you.

Starting with this key race alert, former Vice President Joe Biden has narrowly won Maine. That's the 10th state he took on Tuesday and another surprise for him in a very impressive night. There are still votes being counted in California and elsewhere to determine the final delegate allocation. Yesterday, we got word from Senator Elizabeth Warren's campaign that she is reassessing her path forward after a disappointing night. And former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden. Well, after yesterday's results, the delegate math had become virtually impossible and a viable path to the nomination just no longer existed. And I will not be our party's nominee. But I will not walk away from the most important political fight of my life, and I hope you won't walk away either.

I've always believed that defeating Donald Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it. And after yesterday's vote, it is clear that candidate is my friend and a great American, Joe Biden. So, yeah, he's out. It's always interesting how the candidates sound the best sometimes when they're on their way out, like most kind of cogent speeches. The first good night of sleep of his life. Yeah, exactly. But this whole turn for Bloomberg has been interesting because initially last year, he decided not to run for president thinking that Biden was too strong and he wouldn't beat him. And then he reversed course when it seemed like Biden was struggling late last

year thinking that he could peel votes away from him. And we saw how that turned out. And one of the things historically that we're probably going to look back on as the main contributor, or one of the contributors, at least to Bloomberg's kind of swift downfall was when he actually got in front of voters at that debate featured, how do we say, Warren's filleting of Bloomberg, which, you know, appeared to be the start of the downturn in polling for him. But after this going forward, Bloomberg's campaign said on Wednesday that they still intend to put their resources behind the Democratic nominee in the general election. Like he said there, obviously hopes that it is Biden. And Bloomberg's exit, you know, is another one in a series of exits over the past week that kind of brings us one step closer to

what appears to quickly be coming a race between two frontrunners, Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders. Yeah. And Biden is collecting the moderate infinity stones. What did he have to say? Well, he was in Los Angeles Wednesday, and he was discussing his victories, as well as the turnout that was exceptionally high in a lot of the states that he won. After this, he's off to campaign in some of the other states that are coming up. Meanwhile, Sanders was in Vermont and expressed disappointment with how Tuesday went, particularly saying that he wished that he had been able to turn out even more young voters. That's obviously been a part of the electoral strategy that he has been talking about. He also, though, had this newsworthy moment where he discussed Warren's campaign, and he told reporters that

the two of them had actually spoken on the phone earlier in the day, and that it was important to, quote, respect the time and the space that she needs to make a decision about where she wants to go. That was a similar message that we got from Warren's campaign manager in an email to staff members on Wednesday. So we'll have to see what she ends up deciding in the coming days. But that's about all we heard on the record from the campaign. But then to add to the intrigue, there was a story in the Washington Post from unnamed sources, so we'll couch it in that, saying that there were top surrogates and allies of Warren and Sanders that were talking about maybe collabing, you know, coming up with some way that they would be able to work together, including specifically members of Congress who back Sanders talking to Warren about a possible endorsement. Now, the story also noted that Biden associates had made similar overtures. So it sounds like a lot of calls are coming in and out of the Warren campaign office right now. And Warren has a long history with both of these candidates. I mean,

she has been close with Sanders for some time, but, you know, in 2016, did not endorse him during the primary against Clinton. She eventually endorsed Clinton when she won the nomination. Then Warren has also previously clashed with Biden in one instance, specifically over bankruptcy legislation. And then in 2015, reportedly met with Biden when he floated the idea of them being on the same presidential ticket. So long and short of it is that Warren has been sought after in some capacity for a while. That's right. So that's the latest on the presidential palace intrigue. We haven't gotten a chance to talk about the down ballot races that happened on Tuesday, though. So what were some of the notable ones there?

Yeah, so this is not entirely comprehensive, but just a couple quick ones I think we should go through. Jessica Cisneros, a 26-year-old immigration attorney, narrowly lost a primary in Texas's 28th district against an eight-term incumbent. That's Henry Cuellar. He is one of the last remaining anti-abortion Democrats in Congress, so the race got a lot of attention. She was backed by Justice Democrats and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Then also in Texas, Wendy Davis, a name that we haven't heard maybe in some time, easily won a congressional primary in the 21st District. She's going to face an incumbent Republican. That's Chip Roy in November. Davis is known for the 13-hour filibuster that she

mounted to block a restrictive abortion bill in Texas and then her run for governor after that. Yeah, beat his ass, Wendy. Yeah. And then moving over to Alabama, Jeff Sessions, remember him, is seeking his old Senate seat and is now facing a runoff against Tommy Tuberville, a Republican and former Auburn football coach. Not exactly the outcome Sessions was hoping for. Right. But also Roy Moore was in the mix and got shellacked. So there's a lot to unpack there. And then one more quickly, the 25th District in California, which was formerly occupied by Representative Katie Hill, she left her seat amid an ethics inquiry and a right-wing website posting nude photos of her.

Democrat Christy Smith and Republican Mike Garcia are likely to advance to a May runoff to fill her seat. That's going to be an interesting one to watch because it could either stay blue or flip to red. So keep those in mind, folks. Yeah, well, we will keep you all updated on more of these races and the presidential primary as the weeks go forward. It's our job to tell you about the coronavirus, and it's been a few days since we checked in, so that is what we are doing. That's right. There are a lot of updates to go over, Akilah. Rundown? Yeah, let go. So let's start domestic. The death toll from COVID-19 rose to 11 on Wednesday. American cases have surpassed 100, with at least 50 in California and 39 in Washington state. A public health emergency was declared for our very own LA County.

Yeah, so we aren't yet taking bets on how soon we'll be working from home, but we obviously can't rule that out. I simply don't have enough soup or bread. So testing has been an issue, specifically the lack of testing. The Trump administration has promised to ramp up supplies. But what is the latest on those one million tests that they promised? Yeah. So yesterday, the CDC drastically widened the scope of testing, allowing anyone who wants to get tested for COVID-19 to do so as long as they have doctor permission. But, yeah, experts say there's not going to be a million tests by the end of the week. We all knew that. It's just going to take longer.

On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence held a press conference where he said that testing would be covered by Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance plans, although he declined to take questions about who would cover the cost for uninsured Americans. Can the uninsured get tested? Gentlemen, ladies, can the uninsured get tested? Screamers for the camera, they can't get you anywhere. Well, how about answering the question? You look like an answer. Wow. Okay, so that was a reporter asking Pence a question while he walked away.

And a White House staffer saying, screaming for the camera won't get you anywhere. Yikes. I think it did. Yeah, it did. Now you're on our show, so that's what's up. Anyways, on the question of cost, congressional Democrats are pushing the administration to make sure testing is affordable for all

after an uninsured man who was tested in Miami ended up with a bill for over $3,000. And more on the government response. The Senate is moving fast on an $8.3 billion emergency aid bill approved by the House, and Trump is expected to sign it. So that's three times more money than the White House initially asked for. As a refresher, in Trump's initial conference on the virus, he lamented, quote, Chuck Schumer and the Democrats for issuing the higher budget.

So, oh, what a difference a week makes. Yeah, I want to see what he's thinking in another week. And what is happening outside of the United States, around the world? All right, well, we have a few follow- ups. According to the World Health Organization on Tuesday, quote, about 3.4 percent of reported covid-19 cases have died. So this makes the virus more deadly than the flu, but still less contagious. There are a few asterisks, though. The death rate cited doesn't include mild cases that weren't detected because people didn't seek medical attention. And it primarily reflects the experience in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the epidemic began.

So we're going to know more when we know more. Moving on to Iran, 8% of the country's parliament has contracted the virus, which is terrifying. On Monday, an advisor to the Supreme Leader died and he was 71. The Iranian government also released 54 000 people from jail for fear of the virus spreading in that environment but anyone sentenced to more than five years won't be let out which i don't know yikes like seems like an additional punishment yeah like what if you got six years so now you have to die of the coronavirus it seems unfair cruel and unusual um we haven't spoken about italy in a few days what's going on there? All right. So in Italy, things have gotten worse. All schools in Italy will be closed until at least

March 15th. Worldwide, some 300 million students are out of school for the virus. Italian officials reported over 3,000 people are infected so far, which makes Italy's outbreak the second worst outside of China. And only South Korea has more instances. So in France, the Louvre reopened, but there was no major line. Oh, red flag. Yeah, reports claim that there was enough space to take pictures in front of the Mona Lisa. But if you've been there, you know that, like,

it's pretty much a madhouse in that room, so clearly the demand is down. Yeah, yikes. So we're going to have more on this as it unfolds, but in the meantime, visit cdc.gov slash COVID-19 for suggestions on how to stay safe, make a plan for potential shutdowns. And please, please remember to wash your hands and do it for longer than the automatic water takes. Because if I hear the bathroom door open before the water turns off, you're dead to me.

It happened and I'm mad. You've been called out. You know who you are. You know who you are. You know who you are. Let's wrap up with some headlines. Headlines. Just days after signing a peace deal with the Taliban, the U.S. military announced it conducted its first airstrike against Taliban forces since signing. A military official said the attack was an attempt to counter a Taliban assault on Afghan government forces. This attack is a departure from the Trump administration's recent deal with the group, in which Trump became the first U.S. president to

ever directly speak to a Taliban leader. Afghan officials were not a part of the talks. Shortly after the deal, however, the Taliban began ramping up its attacks, raising concerns that the deal has left the United States Afghan allies vulnerable to more violence. All right. Voters in Texas and California faced extreme wait times for polling stations on Super Tuesday. Texas saw some of the worst waits, with reports of up to seven hours spent in line. That's almost twice as long as it takes to get on the good Star Wars ride at Disneyland. Communities with higher black and Latinx populations face the longest waits due to not having enough polling places or voting machines for a very high turnout.

In Harris County, where Houston is, local Republican officials chose to divide machines equally between Democrats and Republicans, even though the Democratic primary was due to have a higher turnout. The Leadership Conference Education Fund found that Texas counties have closed over 500 polling places in minority communities since 2012, which disproportionately hurt Black and Latinx voters. Lines are expected to get even longer come November. A state lawmaker representing Harris County, home to some of the longest lines of the night, stated that big changes need to happen, and I agree with them. Yeah, second to that.

For the first time, scientists have used a gene editing technique called CRISPR to edit somebody's DNA while it was still in their body. Science. Now, go ahead and do me to cure my pathological addiction to reading posts that make me upset. CRISPR is adapted from the antiviral defense systems of bacteria that can precisely target and cut short sequences of DNA from longer strands. This time, it was used on patients with a rare genetic mutation that causes blindness. By injecting the eye with hundreds of billions

of copies of a virus which contains CRISPR machinery, scientists hope to restore the production of a vision-linked protein and then gradually restore sight. If these first in-body trials are successful, it could allow doctors to treat other genetic diseases like Huntington's and muscular dystrophy. They should also consider switching the name from the black mirror word CRISPR into something nice like Happy DNA or Snoopy Tech. Love Snoopy Tech. All right, speaking of big breakthroughs, Twitter has begun testing out a stories feature groundbreaking post that will self-delete in 24 hours. Mr. Trump, this is your opportunity to get in on the ground floor of an exciting new technology. These so-called fleets are meant to be a little more private than tweets since they can't show up in search or get refleeted.

Yikes. And they seem similar to these stories on almost every other social media network right now, but with a focus on text. Very punk rock. They're already being tested in Brazil, not long after activist investor Elliott Management Corp. bought a large stake in Twitter to push for big changes. Elliott Management thinks Twitter could make more money, especially if they push out Twitter CEO and intermittent fasting success story Jack Dorsey. Let that man eat more food. Eat it normally. And those are the headlines. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, pick us up from the airport and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just fleets like me, what a day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com

slash subscribe. I'm Akilah Hughes. I'm Gideon Resnick. And thanks again for not touching our faces. Even if you don't have the coronavirus, my skin is very sensitive. You cannot look at me or touch me or smell me. What A Day is a product of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Charlotte Landis.

Sonia Tunn is our assistant producer. Our head writer is John Milstein, and our senior producer is Katie Long. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.