CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: March 20th

Glenn gives the latest coronavirus numbers, updating YOU on everything needed to know as Americans and officials monitor China's new COVID-19 virus:

Daily Stats as of 5:30 AM CT (from John's Hopkins)

  • Total Confirmed Cases Worldwide: 252,014 (up from 225,237 yesterday)
  • Total Confirmed Deaths Worldwide: 10,405 (up from 9,276 yesterday)
  • Total Confirmed Recovered Worldwide: 89,044 (up from 85,823 yesterday)
  • 182 Countries have confirmed cases (up from 176 yesterday), 4 more have suspected cases. Officially, only 13 countries on earth do not have at least 1 case of COVID-19.
  • 5% of Active Cases are considered serious (requiring hospitalization) steady from 5% yesterday but down from 19% just 3 weeks ago
  • US has 14,366 Confirmed Cases and 217 Deaths, up from 9,464 cases and 155 deaths yesterday
Governor of California Issues Shelter In Place Order for Entire Statehttps://www.npr.org/2020/03/20/818764136/california-issues-stay-at-home-order-as-coronavirus-infections-rise
  • Residents told to stay at home unless they need to leave to acquire food, medicine, medical care or for other emergencies.
  • Speaking at a late evening news conference in Sacramento, Newsom said his directive "goes into force and effect this evening and we are confident that the people of the state of California will abide by it, will do the right thing."
  • He said compliance would rely heavily on "social pressure," and not law enforcement.
  • No time-frame was given for how long the order would remain in place.
  • "We're going to keep the grocery stores open," he said. "We're going to make sure that you're getting critical medical supplies. You can still take your kids outside, practicing common sense and social distancing. You can still walk your dog."
  • Essential travel included trips to the grocery store, gas stations, farmers' markets, food banks, convenience stores, take-out and delivery restaurants, banks and ATMs.
  • The directive also exempts critical infrastructure such as food and agriculture, healthcare, transportation, energy and financial services.
California Shelter In Place Comes After Governor Projected 50% of Population Would Get COVID-19 by Mayhttps://thehill.com/policy/defense/488547-california-projects-56-percent-of-the-population-will-be-infected-over-8-week
  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in an official letter to the Trump administration that 56 percent of the state's population — 25.5 million people — is projected to be infected with the coronavirus over an eight-week period, according to the Los Angeles Times who received a copy of the letter: https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/3.18.20-Letter-USNS-Mercy-Hospital-Ship.pdf
  • In the letter, Newsom asked President Trump to deploy the USNS Mercy hospital ship to the port of Los Angeles until September of this year "to help decompress our current healthcare delivery system in the Los Angeles region in response to the COVID-19 outbreak."
  • A spokesperson for the governor's office stated: "Governor Newsom has been honest about the threat of the virus and its impact on the health and welfare of Californians. This projection shows why it's so critical that Californians take action to slow the spread of the disease – and those mitigation efforts aren't taken into account in those numbers. The state is deploying every resource at its disposal to meet this challenge, and we continue to ask for the federal government's assistance in this fight."
  • California has approximately 8,500 Intensive Care beds, and over 80% are already occupied, according to the LA Times.
  • COVID-19 Has a Serious Complication rate such that about 5-6% of patients require hospitalization, including about 4% who require Intensive care.
  • The average stay in Intensive Care due to COVID-19 is 20 days, according to the WHO.
  • If 25.5 Million people get COVID-19 over 8 weeks, and 4% require Intensive care, that is 1,147,500 people who require Intensive Care, lasting an average of 20 days each.
  • Yes: 8,500 beds exist, but over 1 Million beds may be needed over the next two months....Just in California.
In Related News, Marijuana Dispensaries Deemed Essential Under California Shelter In Place Orderhttps://nypost.com/2020/03/20/las-cannabis-dispensaries-deemed-essential-under-emergency-coronavirus-order/
  • The "safer at home" emergency order just announced by California requires all indoor malls, shopping centers, playgrounds and nonessential retail businesses to close effective midnight tonight.
  • LA County specifically set a date of April 19th, 2020, for all non-essential businesses to be closed.
  • However, allowed to operate — as long as they observe proper social-distancing guidelines and do not include more than 10 people in one place — are a list of essential services including city and county government services, grocery stores, hardware stores and, Marijuana Dispensaries.
  • Such stores are considered exempt due to being "medically necessary".
  • Also remaining open will be Liquor stores, officially deamed to be 'food or convenience store" businesses.
  • State Liquor stores in several other states, including Utah, New Hampshire and Deleware have already been closed.
Conspiracy Corner: CA Government Been Planning For COVID-19 Shutdown & Outbreak, Medical Emergency Since January...http://www.capradio.org/articles/2020/02/25/map-last-week-gov-newsom-made-286-sites-available-for-homelessness-solutions-heres-where-they-are/Turns Out Having Lots of TP Not a Bad Idea...Nearly Half of COVID-19 Victims Present With Digestive Issues & Diarrheahttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-digestive-symptoms-diarrhea-almost-half-of-patients/
  • Diarrhea and other digestive symptoms presenting in nearly half of coronavirus patients, Chinese researchers said in a new study.
  • Most patients with COVID-19 do have respiratory symptoms, but these findings from the early stages of the outbreak show that digestive problems are also prevalent in nearly half of patients with COVID-19.
  • "Clinicians must bear in mind that digestive symptoms, such as diarrhea, may be a presenting feature of COVID-19, and that the index of suspicion may need to be raised earlier in these cases rather than waiting for respiratory symptoms to emerge," wrote the investigators from the Wuhan Medical Treatment Expert Group for COVID-19 in early March.
  • The researchers analyzed data from 204 COVID-19 patients, average age of 55, who were admitted to three hospitals in the Hubei province between Jan. 18 and Feb. 28, 2020. The average time from symptom onset to hospital admission was 8.1 days.
  • However, the finding showed that patients with digestive symptoms had a longer time from symptom onset to hospital admission than patients without digestive symptoms, 9 days versus 7.3 days.
  • This suggests that patients with digestive symptoms sought care later because they didn't yet suspect they had COVID-19 due to a lack of respiratory symptoms, such as cough or shortness of breath, the researchers explained.
  • Patients with digestive symptoms had a variety of problems, including loss of appetite (nearly 84%), diarrhea (29%), vomiting (0.8%) and abdominal pain (0.4%).
  • As the severity of the disease increased, digestive symptoms became more serious, the researchers found.
  • Patients without digestive symptoms were more likely to be cured and discharged than those with digestive symptoms (60% versus 34%), according to the study published March 18 in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
  • "In this study, COVID-19 patients with digestive symptoms have a worse clinical outcome and higher risk of [death] compared to those without digestive symptoms, emphasizing the importance of including symptoms like diarrhea to suspect COVID-19 early in the disease course before respiratory symptoms develop," Dr. Brennan Spiegel, journal co-editor-in-chief, said in a journal news release.
Trump Administration Makes Anti-Malaria Drug Available for COVID-19 Patientshttps://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-fda-experimental-drugs-coronavirus
  • President Trump announced Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration is making experimental drugs available as part of the ongoing effort to tackle the spread of COVID-19.
  • Trump announced at a White House press briefing that chloroquine, a drug designed for use in malaria, will be made available to administer to patients.
  • He said it was one of a number of antiviral therapies to limit the symptoms of the virus that the administration is trying to get to Americans as quickly as possible.
  • "I have directed the FDA to eliminate rules and bureaucracy so work can proceed rapidly, quickly and fast," Trump said. "We have to remove every barrier."
  • FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn explained during the press conference it would be allowed under what's known "compassionate use" -- where doctors can request to use the experimental drug and get permission from the FDA to give to patients.
  • Hahn also said he didn't want to give "false hope" but said he was hopeful about the treatments.
  • "Chloroquine is not a cure for Coronavirus, but may be effective at treating respiratory symptoms and helping more patients recover," he said in a statement.
SARS-CoV-2 More Infectious For Longer Period Than SARS-1https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3076022/coronavirus-infects-faster-and-lasts-longer-sars-raising-new
  • The virus causing COVID-19 infects faster and lasts longer than SARS, raising new containment challenges, Chinese studies suggest.
  • Researchers found that on average, infected people expel virus particles from their bodies for a relatively long period of 20 days, even before symptoms appear.
  • Such a long asymptomatic spread period may explain why the virus has spread so quickly in Italy, Spain and other areas.
  • Findings indicate longer quarantine periods may be needed for patients, according to researchers from the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, who published in the medical journal Lancet.
  • The virus also remains persistent in the feces of children, suggesting it can be transmitted through a fecal-oral transmission route – meaning that contaminated feces from the infected child is somehow ingested by another person.
  • The study was issued by a team of Doctors which included China National Health Commission expert Dr. Cao Bin.
Walmart Giving Employees Cash Bonuses To Help Them Cope with COVID-19https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/walmart-giving-over-500-million-in-early-bonuses-to-employees-because-of-the-coronavirus-outbreak
  • In total Walmart is paying over $500 Million in early cash bonuses to employees this week.
  • Walmart announced it would be giving out nearly $550 million in early bonuses to its hourly employees amid the coronavirus outbreak.
  • "Walmart associates have gone above and beyond the call of duty in serving our customers during these unprecedented times," Walmart's CEO Doug McMillon told the Hill on Thursday. "We want to reward our associates for their hard work and recognize them for the work that is in front of us."
  • The company is giving full-time hourly employees a bonus of $300, while part-time workers will get $150. The store is also planning on moving up its quarterly bonuses to April for its associates.
  • The company also said it would be hiring another 150,000 people through May.
  • "Millions of Americans who are usually employed at this time are temporarily out of work, and at the same time we're currently seeing strong demand in our stores," McMillon said. "We're looking for people who see Walmart as a chance to earn some extra money and perform a vital service to their community."
Cities Urging People To NOT Flush Disinfecting Wipes Down Toilethttps://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/03/18/coronavirus-disinfecting-wipes-being-flushed-down-toilets-causing-major-pipe-problems/
  • First, Don't "Wipe" with Disinfecting Wipes. Clorox and Lysol type disinfectant wipes are meant for surfaces, not human bodies. Several children have been brought in with 'burns' from parents who are using Clorox wipes during diaper changes.
  • Second, cities are begging residents to NOT flush disinfectant wipes down toilets, they are NOT intended for sewers and do not break down in sewage systems.
  • A message on the City of San Francisco's public utility website read, "Please read the instructions on the package before flushing anything down the toilet. Use common sense. Don't be stupid."

Trump's Zelenskyy deal falls apart: What happened and what's next?

SAUL LOEB / Contributor | Getty Images

Trump offered Zelenskyy a deal he couldn’t refuse—but Zelenskyy rejected it outright.

Last Friday, President Donald Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington to sign a historic agreement aimed at ending the brutal war ravaging Ukraine. Joined by Vice President J.D. Vance, Trump met with Zelenskyy and the press before the leaders were set to retreat behind closed doors to finalize the deal. Acting as a gracious host, Trump opened the meeting by praising Zelenskyy and the bravery of Ukrainian soldiers. He expressed enthusiasm for the proposed agreement, emphasizing its benefits—such as access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals for the U.S.—and publicly pledged continued American aid in exchange.

Zelenskyy, however, didn’t share Trump’s optimism. Throughout the meeting, he interrupted repeatedly and openly criticized both Trump and Vance in front of reporters. Tensions escalated until Vance, visibly frustrated, fired back. The exchange turned the meeting hostile, and by its conclusion, Trump withdrew his offer. Rather than staying in Washington to resolve the conflict, Zelenskyy promptly left for Europe to seek support from the European Union.

As Glenn pointed out, Trump had carefully crafted this deal to benefit all parties, including Russia. Zelenskyy’s rejection was a major misstep.

Trump's generous offer to Zelenskyy

Glenn took to his whiteboard—swapping out his usual chalkboard—to break down Trump’s remarkable deal for Zelenskyy. He explained how it aligned with several of Trump’s goals: cutting spending, advancing technology and AI, and restoring America’s position as the dominant world power without military action. The deal would have also benefited the EU by preventing another war, revitalizing their economy, and restoring Europe’s global relevance. Ukraine and Russia would have gained as well, with the war—already claiming over 250,000 lives—finally coming to an end.

The media has portrayed last week’s fiasco as an ambush orchestrated by Trump to humiliate Zelenskyy, but that’s far from the truth. Zelenskyy was only in Washington because he had already rejected the deal twice—first refusing Vice President Vance and then Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It was Zelenskyy who insisted on traveling to America to sign the deal at the White House. If anyone set an ambush, it was him.

The EU can't help Ukraine

JUSTIN TALLIS / Contributor | Getty Images

After clashing with Trump and Vance, Zelenskyy wasted no time leaving D.C. The Ukrainian president should have stayed, apologized to Trump, and signed the deal. Given Trump’s enthusiasm and a later comment on Truth Social—where he wrote, “Zelenskyy can come back when he is ready for peace”—the deal could likely have been revived.

Meanwhile, in London, over a dozen European leaders, joined by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, convened an emergency meeting dubbed the “coalition of the willing” to ensure peace in Ukraine. This coalition emerged as Europe’s response to Trump’s withdrawal from the deal. By the meeting’s end, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a four-point plan to secure Ukrainian independence.

Zelenskyy, however, appears less than confident in the coalition’s plan. Recently, he has shifted his stance toward the U.S., apologizing to Trump and Vance and expressing gratitude for the generous military support America has already provided. Zelenskyy now says he wants to sign Trump’s deal and work under his leadership.

This is shaping up to be another Trump victory.

Glenn: No more money for the war machine, Senator McConnell

Tom Williams / Contributor | Getty Images

Senator McConnell, your call for more Pentagon spending is as tone-deaf as it is reckless. The United States already spends more on its military than the next nine countries combined — over $877 billion in 2023 alone, dwarfing China ($292 billion), Russia ($86 billion), and the entire EU’s collective defense budgets. And yet here you are, clamoring for more, as if throwing cash at an outdated war machine will somehow secure our future.

The world is changing, Senator, and your priorities are stuck in a bygone era.

Aircraft carriers — those floating behemoths you and the Pentagon so dearly love — are relics of the past. In the next real conflict, they’ll be as useless as horses were in World War I. Speaking of which, Europe entered that war with roughly 25 million horses; by 1918, fewer than 10 million remained, slaughtered by machine guns and artillery they couldn’t outrun.

That’s the fate awaiting your precious carriers against modern threats — sunk by hypersonic missiles or swarms of AI-driven drones before they can even launch a jet. The 1950s called, Senator — they want their war plans back.

The future isn’t in steel and jet fuel; it’s in artificial intelligence and artificial superintelligence. Every dollar spent on yesterday’s hardware is a dollar wasted in three years when AI upends everything we know about warfare. Worse, with the Pentagon’s track record, every dollar spent today could balloon into two or three dollars of inflation tomorrow, thanks to the House and Senate’s obscene spending spree.

We’re drowning in $34 trillion of national debt — 128% of GDP, a level unseen since World War II. Annual deficits hit $1.7 trillion in 2023, and interest payments alone are projected to top $1 trillion by 2026.

This isn’t sustainable; it’s a fiscal time bomb.

And yet you want to shovel more taxpayer money into a Pentagon that hasn’t passed a single audit in its history? Six attempts since 2018, six failures — trillions unaccounted for, waste so rampant that it defies comprehension. It’s irresponsible — bordering on criminal — to suggest more spending when the DOD can’t even count the cash it’s got.

The real threat isn’t just from abroad, though those dangers are profound. It’s from within. The call is coming from inside the house, Senator — and not just the House, but the Senate too. Your refusal to adapt is jeopardizing our security more than any foreign adversary.

Look at China’s drone shows — thousands of synchronized lights painting the sky. Now imagine those aren’t fireworks but weaponized drones, each one cheap, precise, and networked by AI. A single swarm could cripple our planes, ships, tanks, and troops before we fire a shot. Ukraine’s drone wars have already shown this reality: $500 drones taking out $10 million tanks. That’s the future staring us down, and we’re still polishing Cold War relics.

Freeze every bloated project.

Redirect everything — every dime, every mind — toward winning the AI/ASI race. That’s the only battlefield that matters. We’ve got enough stockpiles to handle any foreseeable war in the next three years and a president fighting to end conflicts, not start them. Your plea for more spending isn’t just misguided — it’s a betrayal of the American people sinking under debt and inflation while you chase ghosts of wars past.

Or is it even that senator? Perhaps I have buried the lede, but I am not sure if the following stats will help people understand why this op-ed might have been written by someone in your office.

Your state, Kentucky is:

  • 45th in GDP Per Capita
  • 44th in Employment
  • 42nd in High School Diplomas

And 11th in Defense-related defense contract spending

Who are you actually concerned about, Senator? The safety of the American people or your war machine buddies?

Thanks, but no thanks.

'MAD AS HELL': Here's what happened with the Epstein Files and what's next

Andrew Harnik / Staff, SAUL LOEB / Contributor, Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

Jeffery Epstein's despicable low-life clients escape justice yet another day.

If you followed last week's commotion surrounding the release of the Epstein Files closely, you likely came away from the situation feeling frustrated and confused. Many anticipated the full release of Epstein's damning evidence, with names and details that would bring the hammer of justice down on those who indulged their wicked desires on that infamous island. Instead, we were dealt another disappointment, vexed once more by the swamp creatures Trump swore to destroy.

Many have turned their frustration towards the ensemble of new media representatives, including Glenn's friend and BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler, who was among those chosen to break the story. But don't shoot the messenger, if you take a moment to hear Wheeler's side of the story as Glenn did on radio, it's clear that the party at fault is the same enemy we've been fighting the whole time: the Deep State.

While Trump has won back-to-back victories during his first few weeks in office, he hasn't even been president for two months yet. It should come as no surprise that the swamp is still full of monsters, and they are starting to fight back. The events surrounding the release of the Epstein Filesprove there is still a lot of work left to do.

What happened?

JIM WATSON / Contributor | Getty Images

To fully understand last week's events, we need to go back to an interview Trump's new attorney general, Pam Bondi, did with Fox on Wednesday, February 26th. On the night of the 26th, Bondi sat down with Fox News host, Jesse Watters, where she first announced that the next day, Thursday the 27th, she would be releasing the long-awaited Epstein Files, and even made hints that the contents would be of interest, saying they would "make you sick."

The next morning, Liz Wheeler and other "new" media hosts were summoned to the White House, though they did not know why at the time. No mainstream reporters were present and Wheeler speculates that the purpose behind that was to deny them this story in retribution for Trump's poor coverage. Then Bondi and Kash Patel, the new director of the FBI, came in with the now-infamous binders, along with a letter Bondi had written to Patel and informed the reporters of the bad news. They told them that the binders contained what they had previously believed to be the full Epstein Files, until Bondi received information from a FBI whistleblower. This allegedly happened after her interview on Fox, and revealed that the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and the FBI had withheld large portions of the Epstein Files from both Bondi and Patel.

After this meeting, the reporters were let out of the White House where they were ambushed by the mainstream media. Believing that they were going to immediately break the news, the new media reporters smiled and waved, gloating their exclusive access to the story while their antiquated counterparts took photos. Then the new media reporters learned that the White House forbade them from breaking the news until 3:30 pm EST, to avoid Trump's conference with the UK Prime Minister from being focused solely on the Epstein Files story. This explains why Liz Wheeler and her fellow media representatives were silent for so long. It was a bait-and-switch that they never intended.

What did we learn?

SAUL LOEB / Contributor | Getty Images

While initially this seems like a complete bust, there is new information we learned from this fiasco.

First, there was some new information in the binders, although a large portion of it was information we already knew. There was a copy of Epstein's Rolodex, essentially his contact list, which contained many of the same names we already knew had associated with Epstein in some capacity, though it's certainly not proof of any wrongdoing. The biggest reveal was a long list of known victims of Epstein and his degenerate client, although it was entirely redacted to protect the privacy of those on the list. This list was, allegedly, what Bondi was referring to on the Wednesday Fox interview, although Bondi's exact timeline is unclear and potentially suspicious.

The real takeaway from yesterday came from the letter Bondi sent Patel in response to the FBI leak. Not only did it prove our suspicions right, that this story is much deeper than we are being led to believe, but it reveals blatant betrayal within the government. The letter from Bondi orders Patel to knock some heads, get the real files, and compile a report highlighting who is hiding these files from Trump, Bondi, Patel, and the American people.

There are Deep State swamp creatures that are actively working against President Trump and his administration. Glenn likened this to aninternal Civil Warand encouraged Trump to take an axe to the whole system. We need to pull out this corruption root and stem.

What needs to happen next?

Drew Angerer / Staff | Getty Images

The next step is learning what Kash Patel found when he started knocking heads. According to Bondi's letter, the full Epstein Files and Patel's report were due on her desk by 8:00 AM February the 28th. The American people need to know what he found and soon. We have waited long enough.

There also needs to be immediate and hard-hitting action taken against SDNY, the corrupt FBI agents, and whoever else seeks to undermine Trump's presidency. Really, this should not come as a surprise, Trump has been in office for less than two months. That is a very short time to completely uproot the Deep State which has been twisting its corruption around every branch of our government for the better part of a century.

This is the first major hiccup of Trump's second term, amid nearly two months of victory after victory, and if anything proves the validity of DOGE's work gutting the government. While we can't let this slide, now is not the time to abandon hope, now is the time to double down and demand answers.

DOGE's top 5 BIGGEST cuts

Andrew Harnik / Staff | Getty Images

President Trump has only been in office for a month, and already, he seems to have accomplished more than most presidents do in their entire careers.

Nothing defines Trump's first month more than the newly established Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Equally controversial as it is popular, the department, headed by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has made it its mission to root out wasteful government spending. DOGE has already combed through a handful of agencies and eliminated billions of dollars of waste, and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down anytime soon.

DOGE is part of Trump's initiative to curb runaway government spending and to start to chip away at the Fed's crushing debt. At the time this article was written, U.S. debt sat at over $36 trillion, with an estimated $1.9 trillion a year federal budget deficit. According to the U.S. debt clock, Musk and the DOGE crew have already saved more than $136 billion, and that number only keeps growing.

To help track DOGE's progress, we've assembled a list of their top five biggest cuts:

1. USAID

MANDEL NGAN / Contributor | Getty Images

The United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, has been hit with the some of largest cuts out of any government agency and will potentially even be shut down. This comes after Musk and his team revealed theabsurd things USAID was funding, including a transgender opera in Colombia. The total cut came out to approximately $6.5 billion.

2. Department of Education

SAUL LOEB / Contributor | Getty Images

The Department of Education is another agency that faces extinction, much like USAID. The American school system has been found seriously lacking, with many students struggling to meet expectations despite the torrent of cash spent on education. Trump's new Secretary of Education pick, Linda McMahon, has sworn to turn the agency around and even oversee the closure of the department. DOGE has reportedly cut almost $1 billion in waste within the agency.

3. Institute of Educational Sciences

Steven Gottlieb / Contributor | Getty Images

The IES, or Institute of Educational Sciences, is tasked with tracking the academic progress of America's students and helping improve outcomes. The changes made by DOGE will not affect NAEP, also known as "The Nation's Report Card," and the College Scorecard, which tracks the spending, costs, and outcomes of universities. The agency was all but gutted by Musk's deep cuts, totaling $900 million.

4. Social Security Administration

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

For years, we've speculated that the Social Security Administration was a colossal waste of resources, but after Elon Musk posted a screenshot from the SSA database showing that there was a significant number of people over the age of 100 that were still consideredalive by the agency, it seems our suspicions are proved true. It's no small wonder Musk was able to trim over $230 million from the SSA.

5. General Services Administration

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

The GSA is the latest agency to be hit by the DOGE crew. The administration, which manages federal property and contracts, has started a massive "reduction in force" push, thinning the numbers of employees by a large margin. As of yet, upwards of $300 million have been cut by the once-bloated agency.