A man sleeps on the pavement as the country's army was called to assist the police in enforcing a full day lockdown, with people allowed out of their houses for a very limited number of purposes, in an effort to limit the spread of the new coronavirus in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, March 25, 2020. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
March 26, 2020 - 3:38 AM
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
1. UNITED STATES PASSES GRIM TOLL American deaths from the coronavirus pandemic top 1,000, another milestone for a global outbreak that has taken 21,000 lives worldwide and is wreaking havoc on economies and ordinary life.
2. ‘PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER’ The Senate passes a $2 trillion economic rescue package, the largest economic relief bill in U.S. history, steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the pandemic.
3. PANDEMIC WEIGHS HEAVILY ON MEDICAL FACILITIES U.S. hospitals are rushing to find beds for a coming flood of COVID-19 patients, opening older closed hospitals and re-purposing other medical buildings.
4. TRUMP'S QUANDARY: COMMERCE VS. LIFE The president’s desire to reopen the economy by Easter thrusts the administration into the delicate position of weighing the revival of commerce versus the value of American life.
5. G20 TO COORDINATE VIRUS RESPONSE Saudi Arabia will virtually chair leaders of the world's 20 most powerful economies to try and co-ordinate a response to the fast-spreading coronavirus.
6. ESTONIA’S DRUG WAR TAKES UNLIKELY TURN The shift in the Baltic nation from plant-based drugs, like heroin, to synthetic ones, like fentanyl, boosts unscrupulous chemists and helps cement China's role in the global narcotics trade.
7. ‘I'M HAPPY THAT HE HAS ACCEPTED THAT HE IS GUILTY’ The man who slaughtered 51 worshippers at two New Zealand mosques unexpectedly pleads guilty to all charges, sparring survivors and relatives of the victims of a trial.
8. HOW MARKETS REACTED TO STIMULUS BILL Global share prices and U.S. futures declined after the U.S. Senate passed a $2.2 trillion virus aid package and sent it to the House.
9. BALLPARKS REMAIN EMPTY ON 'OPENING DAY' Today was supposed to be Major League Baseball's opening day and it’s still unclear when the season might begin.
10. ‘HUMBLED AND Honoured’ Will Smith personally thanked Joyner Lucas in a video on social media after the rapper released a tribute song honouring Smith’s career work.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020