Warren is officially out of the race: The news was breaking this morning but now we have more information. The New York Times described the demise of Warren's campaign as "a death by a thousand cuts, not a dramatic implosion but a steady decline." Surprising, to some, was Warren's decision not to endorse Sanders or Biden. “I need some space around this,” Warren told reporters today. From the Times:
Addressing supporters and the press in front of her house in Cambridge, Ms. Warren said that, from the start, she had been told there were only two true lanes in the 2020 contest: a liberal one dominated by Mr. Sanders, 78, and a moderate one led by Mr. Biden, 77.
“I thought that wasn’t right,” Ms. Warren said, “But evidently I was wrong.”
About 1,000 think pieces rolled out in the wake of Warren's withdrawal: She was the wrong kind of radical. Sexism sank her. No, her loss isn't about sexism. #ThankYouElizabeth. "So 2148 was a bust. But next time a woman runs for president will be different!" Etcetcetcetcetc.
I am grieving. via @NYTimes https://t.co/jtq5So2bVE
— ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) March 5, 2020
Mother allowed him to travel today: Pence just got into Washington state (he elbow-bumped Inslee) to give a speech alongside Governor Inslee this evening. It was supposed to start at 5 pm but it didn't kick off until 5:50. Here's the link for the live stream:
Today's coronavirus updates:
• The death toll locally is up to 11 people.
• The number of confirmed cases locally has jumped to 70.
• One person has also died in California, and the number of confirmed cases worldwide is 90,000.
• Vice President Mike Pence is coming to Washington State today to meet with Gov. Jay Inslee. At 5 pm PST, you can watch their joint press conference here.
• King County Executive Dow Constantine yesterday encouraged employers to allow employees to work from home and suggested that high-risk people (e.g. older than 60) stay home if they can.
• Bothell's school district, which has more than 500 faculty and staff over the age of 60, is switching to online classes for the next two weeks.
• Facebook's local office is closed until March 9 after a contractor contracted COVID-19.
• If you are healthy, go eat in the Chinatown/International District and support local businesses. "It’s a very difficult time," said the owner of Green Leaf.
• A dog in Hong Kong has a "low-level" coronavirus infection, raising the specter that household pets "might be swept into the epidemic."
More updates here.
Some more details on who would be covered by Washington state when getting treatment for coronavirus, per the Seattle Times:
The order will apply to individual-market plans, as well as small-group and large-group employer plans, which cover about 1.2 million people, but not to self-funded employer plans, Medicaid and Medicare, which are regulated by the federal government, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s office said.
Many major employers have self-funded plans, including Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, the city of Seattle and King County, the office said. For such plans, employers cover claims rather than paying premiums to insurance carriers.
One good thing to come from coronavirus: Seattle is finally traffic-free. The apocalypse will have an upside.
7 a.m. in Seattle. Here is the traffic this morning compared to the usual traffic.
Amazon and Microsoft are now largely encouraging staff to work from home this month.https://t.co/4Noj8VKiyN pic.twitter.com/gtnvQnOD6S
— Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) March 5, 2020
Here's an idea: Encourage big tech companies (*cough* Amazon *cough*) to increase telecommunicating options year-round to clear up our roads. Also, tax them.
Starbucks is suspending reusable cups in stores during the COVID-19 outbreak: Sorry! You'll have to leave your favorite tumbler at home!
This shit is gonna get expensive: The economic cost of tech events canceled due to coronavirus is $666 million and rising
What's up with the stock market? It's up. It's down. It's up. It's down.
Is Trump's Facebook page trying to trick people into responding to a fake census? It appears so. The Trump campaign is running a series of Facebook ads that are asking users to respond to a census that is just a campaign survey for Trump. People have accused these ads of misleading users into thinking they're taking the 2020 US Census. Facebook confirmed with Recode that it is attempting to remove the ads.
Things are spooky out there: Let's end the day with that recent trailer for the new Candyman.