5 things to know for March 30: Coronavirus, strikes, trades probe, China, North Korea

This won’t be over by Easter. President Trump has officially extended social distancing guidelines until April 30. Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. (You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.)

1. Coronavirus

More than 700,000 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed across the globe, including nearly 140,000 in the US. That’s more cases than any other country. The nation’s top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said based on models, the US could see millions of cases and 100,000 or more deaths before this is all over. The CDC and state governments have taken drastic measures in response to the growing threat, including domestic travel advisories in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and highway checkpoints in Florida and other states. President Trump even reportedly considered a citywide quarantine for the hard-hit New York City metro area, but the state’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo said such a drastic measure would be chaotic and possibly illegal. Half a world away in Moscow, a citywide quarantine just began today. While social distancing is the preferred measure of fighting the disease, concern is growing for places like India’s densely populated slums, where social distancing is not a possibility. Follow the latest updates here.

2. Strikes

Employees from two essential players in coronavirus commerce are planning strikes today. Workers for the food delivery company Instacart have accused the company of not providing enough protections during the pandemic. They are demanding safety items including hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and sprays, along with hazard pay and an expansion of coronavirus pay to include those with underlying health conditions. Before the strike, Instacart said it will provide more hand sanitizer to some shoppers and make it easier for customers to set custom tip amounts. Meanwhile, Amazon employees at the company’s Staten Island, New York, facility plan to walk off the job after the company kept the location open despite a confirmed case of coronavirus there. The leader of the walkout says more employees have tested positive for the virus at the facility than the company has publicly acknowledged.

3. Justice Department probe

The Justice Department has reportedly started to probe a series of stock moves made by lawmakers ahead of the sharp market downturn sparked by the coronavirus outbreak. The inquiry, which is still in its early stages, has so far included outreach from the FBI to at least one lawmaker, Sen. Richard Burr, seeking information about trades. Burr, the North Carolina Republican who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, attracted public scrutiny after it was reveal he decided to sell between $628,000 and $1.7 million in stocks weeks before the full awareness of the crisis became public. Under insider trading laws, prosecutors would need to prove the lawmakers traded based on material non-public information they received in violation of a duty to keep it confidential. So far, there is no indication Burr used such information in his decisions.

4. China

The Trump administration has criticized China over the last few weeks for what it sees as the country’s role in the coronavirus pandemic, but it appears another factor may be softening President Trump’s tone — trade. Last week, when asked about Beijing’s responsibility for the outbreak, Trump said that despite it all, China was still buying American agricultural products. Administration officials say there’s concern in the White House that the pandemic may lead China to back out of promises made in the Phase One trade deal to purchase $80 billion in US farm and seafood products over two years. Keeping these agreements with China afloat is an important part of Trump’s campaign promise to shift the trade deficit with the country.

5. North Korea

North Korea fired an unidentified projectile into the sea off the coast of Japan this weekend. It’s the sixth missile launch by the Kim Jong Un regime in less than a month, which marks a sudden surge in the country’s missile testing after a long lull. At the beginning of 2020, after stalled denuclearization talks with the US failed to restart, Kim announced that his country would bolster its nuclear defenses and shrug off self-imposed moratoriums on major weapons testing. After this weekend’s launch, Japan’s Self Defense force called North Korea’s renewed nuclear activity “a serious issue for the whole international society.”

BREAKFAST BROWSE

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A dog, a beer and some good karma? Not a bad way to to lift your spirits.

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Spoiler alert: They’re in jail. Or really, really mad about “Tiger King.”

Plastic-eating bacteria could be a step toward solving the world’s pollution crisis

These bacteria have quite a sophisticated palate.

‘Quarantine Together’ is the dating app for these isolated times 

Everyone will have an interesting story to tell when the kids ask how their parents met.

The Getty Museum is asking people to recreate famous art using household objects

Gotta harness that quarantine creativity!

THIS JUST IN …

Wimbledon is likely to be canceled 

The grand slam event’s organizing body will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday to make a final decision, but according to the German Tennis Federation’s vice president Dirk Hordorff, the tournament, set to begin on June 29, is certain to be canceled.

TODAY’S NUMBER

$33,077.16

That’s how much a towel worn by Kobe Bryant during his farewell speech after his last NBA game recently sold for at auction.

TODAY’S QUOTE

“As the President fiddles, people are dying.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who told CNN’s Jake Tapper she believes President Trump’s downplaying of the coronavirus has cost American lives. 

TODAY’S WEATHER

AND FINALLY

Stoffle, the badger who won’t be tamed 

Feel like clawing at the walls? This honey badger can relate. (Click to view)