California Gov. Gavin Newsom (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Pool)
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California shuts down as Gov. Newsom announces statewide coronavirus 'stay-at-home' order
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday evening announced he's enacting a "statewide order" for its nearly 40 million residents to "stay at home," a wide-reaching measure for the most populous state in the country as the coronavirus spreads.
The order took effect at midnight Friday. The order prohibits gatherings outside and requires nonessential businesses to close. The measure is intended to slow the spread of the virus. “We need to bend the curve in the state of California,” Newsom said during a news conference. “There’s a social contract here. People, I think, recognize the need to do more. They will adjust and adapt as they have.”
Public events have been canceled and bars, dine-in restaurants, gyms and clubs will be closed. Essential services such as grocery stores, pharmacies and banks will stay open.
Newsom's office projected the virus will infect more than half of California’s within two months, according to a letter he sent to President Trump on Wednesday where he said the state has been disproportionately impacted. Click here for more on our top story.
Other coronavirus developments:
- What the government can and can’t do in a health emergency
- House Minority Leader McCarthy pans California gov's 'stay at home' order
- Two LA Lakers test positive for coronavirus, showing no symptoms, team says
- Coronavirus in the US: State-by-state breakdown
McConnell stimulus plan would pay Americans $1,200 per person, $2,400 per couple
Saying lawmakers "need to take bold and swift action as soon as possible," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday introduced legislation to provide as much as $1,200 per person and $2,400 per couple in the U.S. amid the coronavirus outbreak and skyrocketing jobless claims. (Click here to read McConnell's proposal.)
The draft legislation, obtained by Fox News, would provide minimum payments of $600, and aid would be phased down at adjusted gross income thresholds of $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 per couple. Additionally, there would be $500 payments for each child. The rebate amount is slated to then be reduced by $5 for each $100 a taxpayer’s income exceeds the legislation's threshold. The amount is therefore reduced to zero for single taxpayers with incomes exceeding $99,000 and $198,000 for joint filers.
The IRS would determine income based on taxpayers' 2018 tax returns, or 2019 tax returns in cases where there is no 2018 return -- a provision The Federalist's Sean Davis called "idiotic," given that many "jobs or businesses disappeared within the last month." Qualifying income includes earned income, as well as Social Security retirement benefits and certain compensation and pension benefits paid to veterans. Click here for more.
Other related developments:
- Ray Dalio says US corporations may lose $4T in crisis, Trump stimulus needs to be doubled
- Former Warren, Clinton aides leading 'coronavirus war room' targeting Trump's response to pandemic
- Coronavirus: How to help US doctors, patients
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., departs on Capitol Hill in Washington, after a vote on a coronavirus response bill. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Dianne Feinstein, 3 Senate colleagues sold off stocks before coronavirus crash: reports
Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and three of her Senate colleagues sold off stocks worth millions of dollars in the days before the coronavirus outbreak crashed the market, according to reports.
The data is listed on a U.S. Senate website containing financial disclosures from Senate members. Feinstein, who serves as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and her husband sold between $1.5 million and $6 million in stock in California biotech company Allogene Therapeutics, between Jan. 31 and Feb. 18, The New York Times reported.
When questioned by the newspaper, a spokesman for the Democrat from San Francisco said Feinstein wasn’t directly involved in the sale.
Reports identified the three other senators as Richard Burr of North Carolina, Kelly Loeffler of Georgia and James Inhofe of Oklahoma, all Republicans. Burr, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, used more than 30 transactions to dump between $628,000 and $1.72 million on Feb. 13, according to ProPublica. Click here for more.
Other developments:
- Coronavirus: Everything you need to know
- Marsha Blackburn: US can no longer rely on China for our medicine supply chain
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#TheFlashback: CLICK HERE to find out what happened on "This Day in History."
SOME PARTING WORDS
Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel addresses three major myths surrounding the coronavirus outbreak.
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Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for making us your first choice in the morning! Keep your spirits up -- we are getting through this coronavirus outbreak together. We'll see you in your inbox first thing Monday morning.
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