Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Governors take charge

The U.S., with more than 23,000 coronavirus deaths, now leads the world in both infections and fatalities. The Trump administration’s two month lag in producing large numbers of tests, which continues to this day, and a lack of early social distancing allowed the virus to ravage the nation, and New York City in particular. Despite suffering more than 700 deaths on Easter Sunday, New York may have reached a plateau of coronavirus infections. (It still doesn’t have enough tests.) There are now over 1.9 million confirmed cases of the virus worldwide, and over 118,000 have died. Here’s the latest. —Josh Petri

Bloomberg is mapping the pandemic globally and across America. For the latest news, sign up for our Covid-19 podcast and daily newsletter.

Here are today’s top stories

U.S. governors have been at the forefront of America’s fight against the coronavirus. Now they’re organizing to lead the way out of the crisis. States on both coasts have formed coalitions to devise coordinated reopenings of their economies. President Donald Trump has tweeted he has the final say, but the Constitution may not be on his side. Governors are the ones who have the legal authority to lift restrictions that they put in place.

There are 70 coronavirus vaccines in development globally, and three are already being tested in human trials, according to the World Health Organization.

The $2.2 trillion bailout passed in late March includes a weekly $600 increase in unemployment benefits. That money is being held up, however, by computers using a 60-year-old programming language. Democrats in Congress are seeking billions of dollars more for hard-hit states while Republicans want to wait and see what happens. Even without more bailout money, the federal budget deficit is on track to exceed $3.8 trillion this year, and the nation’s debt will rise to levels not seen since the end of WW II.

The core responsibility of a government is to protect its citizens, write John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge in Bloomberg Opinion. The pandemic reveals that key institutions in Europe and the U.S. are no longer up to the job. 

A sailor aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt died from complications related to Covid-19, two weeks after the captain of the aircraft carrier was fired by then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly for writing a memo warning the service about the potentially dire situation aboard the ship. Following an uproar, Modly resigned.

A powerful storm that unleashed deadly tornadoes in the U.S. South and strong gusts of rainy wind in the Northeast could further stress the national disaster response system, which is already at its limit due to the ongoing pandemic.

What’s Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director says the Fed’s latest efforts to combat the coronavirus crisis, including a facility to buy up to $500 billion worth of state and local debt, was urgently needed, but unlikely to be enough to save the towns, cities and states bearing the brunt of the crisis. Over the weekend, a bipartisan group of governors called on Congress to fund an additional $500 billion to help states meet shortfalls. Without extra help, they argue, spending cuts could stifle both a recovery and the public health effort.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

• Senator Bernie Sanders formally endorsed Joe Biden for president.
• Biden will begin vetting VP candidates in the coming days.
• Goldman Sachs contends U.S. stocks have likely bottomed out.
• Apple is designing new iPhones despite the pandemic.
• Amazon will hire 75,000 more workers to meet growing demand.
• The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments via conference call.
• The auto industry is terrified of an impending car-price collapse.

What you’ll want to read tonight in Businessweek

The Post Office Is Essential and Endangered

Throughout the U.S., as local governments have asked or ordered their citizens to stay home, Americans have been reminded of the role the U.S. Postal Service plays in their life: 

A mail carrier on his run in Midtown Manhattan on April 4.

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