TRUMP, BIDEN HAVE PHONE CHAT OVER CORONAVIRUS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he had a “really wonderful, warm conversation” with Joe Biden about the coronavirus outbreak.
“He gave me his point of view, and I fully understood that, and we just had a very friendly conversation,” Trump said at his daily press briefing yesterday.
The president said he and Biden agreed not to share the details of their conversation — but confirmed an earlier statement from the Biden campaign that the Democrat offered “suggestions" on how to address the pandemic. Biden had said he'd like to share with Trump some lessons he learned from dealing with similar crises during the Obama administration.
But Trump added: “It doesn't mean that I agree with those suggestions."
CONFUSION REIGNS AMONG SMALL BIZ OWNERS SEEKING LOANS
NEW YORK (AP) — Small business owners hoping for quick loans from the government are in a holding pattern — waiting on their bank to either take their application or, if it did, send them the money.
Business owners began submitting applications to banks, credit unions and other financial institutions late last week, or at least trying to. If successful, owners received notifications that their applications had been received, but for many, they hadn’t gotten word as of yesterday afternoon.
Two of the nation's largest banks, J.P. Morgan Chase and Citibank, aren't yet set up to take applications. That leaves their small business customers to worry that the $349 billion the government has budgeted for the relief loans will run out before they can apply.
COVID-19 OUTBREAK AFFECTING WIS. PRIMARY
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Voters in Wisconsin face a choice today: vote in a presidential primary election or heed warnings from public health officials to stay away from large crowds during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hours after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers issued an order postponing the election for two months, the conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court sided with Republicans who said he didn't have the authority to reschedule the race on his own. Conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court quickly followed with a ruling that blocked Democratic efforts to extend absentee voting.
The decisions leave Wisconsin as the only state with an election scheduled in April that is proceeding as planned.
CHILDREN SICKENED BY DONATED THC-TAINTED CANDY
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Two Utah children have been released from the hospital after ingesting THC-infused candy that was in donated bags of food.
Dozens of families picked up the bags filled with several items Friday at a Baptist church in Roy, about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, KUTV reported.
Authorities say the candy containing the main psychoactive component in marijuana was packaged like Nerds ropes, distinguishable only by the word “medicated” above the candy logo. The children hospitalized after eating it are expected to make a full recovery.
Utah Food Bank staffers were horrified to learn what happened, and say they are doing more screening to make sure nothing like it will happen again.
BODY OF JFK NIECE’S DAUGHTER RECOVERED FROM BAY
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The body of the daughter of former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend has been found in about 25 feet of water and recovered. Meanwhile the search continues for her son — after the two went missing following a canoeing accident last Thursday.
The body of 40-year-old Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean was found about 2.5 miles south of her mother’s residence in Shady Side, Maryland. The recovery came after a days-long search that involved aviation and underwater imaging sonar technology.
Authorities say they will resume searching today for McKean’s son, 8-year-old Gideon McKean. The search began after authorities got a report of two people on a canoe in the Bay that seemed overtaken by strong winds.
SHARK KILLS AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE WORKER
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — A shark fatally mauled a young Australian wildlife worker on the Great Barrier Reef.
Queensland officials say today that the 23-year-old victim worked for the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.
Police say the man was in the water, returning to a vessel chartered by the service when he was attacked yesterday near North West Island. He suffered extensive injuries to his leg and arm and died at a hospital hours later.
Detective Senior Sergeant Tony Anderson says the ranger had been doing maintenance work before the attack. The victim was the last person out of the water.
There have been at least three shark attacks on the Great Barrier Reef over the past 18 months.