Tipsheet: Experts fear 'national naivete' on COVID optimism

View in your browser     Experts fear 'national naivete' on COVID optimism BY REID WILSON   After an unprecedented month of strict social distancing and an economic lockdown that has cost tens of millions of jobs and untold billions in damage, Americans saw the faintest glimmers of hope that the worst of the coronavirus crisis may be passing. But public health officials and experts say the optimistic projections of an America that gets back to work by the beginning of May, or even later in the summer, are more than misplaced. Rushing back to something approaching normal, they fear, would risk a second wave of the virus, one that would create a new tsunami of cases, deaths and economic damage. Read the full story here     Trump calls decision on reopening US the biggest of his life BY MORGAN CHALFANT AND BRETT SAMUELS President Trump on Friday described the decision on when and how to reopen the country as the most difficult one he’s had to make in his life, underscoring the careful line he is walking between concerns about the economy and public health during the coronavirus outbreak. Read the full story here     Public health officials push back on May opening BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL    Public health experts are pushing back against suggestions the Trump administration could relax social distancing measures and open much of the country by May 1, warning that acting too soon will risk a resurgence of the virus. Read the full story here     Fauci expects 'real degree of normality' by November election BY TAL AXELROD   Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said he expects a “real degree of normality” by the November elections as a partisan battle breaks out over voting by mail. Read the full story here       IRS launches web tool to help non-filers get their coronavirus rebates BY NAOMI JAGODA   The Treasury Department and IRS announced Friday that they have launched a web tool to help ensure that people who are not typically required to file tax returns receive their coronavirus relief payments. Read the full story here     GOP to spend more than $1M on ads praising Trump's coronavirus response BY MAX GREENWOOD   The Republican National Committee (RNC) is spending more than $1 million on a digital ad campaign lauding President Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Read the full story here     Pandemic spurs court fights over mail-in voting BY JOHN KRUZEL   Election officials are scrambling ahead of the November vote to ramp up alternative methods like mail-in voting as the coronavirus pandemic raises concerns about the safety of in-person voting. Read the full story here     Democrats say Trump campaign ad singles out Locke over race BY JONATHAN EASLEY   President Trump's reelection campaign released a new ad on Friday accusing former Vice President Joe Biden of being soft on China, eliciting outrage from Democrats, who said the ad singled out a prominent American citizen because of his race. Read the full story here     Judge orders MGM to hand over 'Celebrity Apprentice' Trump tapes BY MARINA PITOFSKY   A judge ruled this week that MGM must release unaired footage from “The Celebrity Apprentice” to entrepreneurs who claim they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars after President Trump and his children endorsed a multilevel marketing company on the reality show prior to the president’s election. Read the full story here     Louisiana church expecting 2,000 at Easter service despite coronavirus: 'Satan and a virus will not stop us' BY BROOKE SEIPEL   While many churches across the nation plan to hold their Easter services online Sunday, a Louisiana pastor says his church near Baton Rouge is expecting a crowd of 2,000 or more despite federal coronavirus guidance advising social distancing.   Read the full story here     How to craft a better coronavirus bailout BY MICHAEL DAVIS   OPINION | Congress has produced a bailout bill that’s full of mistakes. We just don’t yet know what they are. In those 900 pages of dense legalese we will find sections where the language is sloppy and the intent is unclear. There will be embarrassing unintended consequences.  Read the full story here     Sanders's fate sealed by the over 40 crowd BY BRIAN ARBOUR   OPINION | Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) finished first among voters between the ages of 30 and 39, with 43 percent of the vote. Among those in their 40s, Sanders only won 31 percent of the vote.  Read the full story here     The Washington Post: An attack plan emerges, but it’s not from the White House BY LENA H. SUN, WILLIAM WAN AND YASMEEN ABUTALEB   States and top experts are pursuing a national strategy against coronavirus. The question is whether their effort can succeed without the federal government. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Biden and Cuomo: Friends, allies and supporting players no longer BY ALEXANDER BURNS   A personal friendship has grown into a crucial political alliance as the two men have emerged as pillars of the Democratic Party in a national crisis. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: Virus toll in senior facilities is greater than US reported BY ANNA WILDE MATHEWS AND JON KAMP The new coronavirus has hit more than 2,100 nursing homes and other senior facilities around the U.S., killing over 2,300 people, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal, an indication the pandemic’s toll in these facilities has been greater than the federal government has reported. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Crime drops around the world as COVID-19 keeps people inside BY STEFANIE DAZIO, FRANKLIN BRICENO and MICHAEL TARM The coronavirus pandemic that has crippled big-box retailers and mom and pop shops worldwide may be making a dent in illicit business, too. In Chicago, one of America’s most violent cities, drug arrests have plummeted 42% in the weeks since the city shut down, compared with the same period last year. Part of that decrease, some criminal lawyers say, is that drug dealers have no choice but to wait out the economic slump. Read the full story here     Reuters: WHO says looking into reports of some COVID patients testing positive again BY STEPHANIE NEBEHAY   The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that it was looking into reports of some COVID-19 patients testing positive again after initially testing negative for the disease while being considered for discharge. 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