-Apr 26: Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, warns that Americans will have to continue avoiding crowds for several months. Trump lashes out at the New York Times for reporting that he spends most mornings watching cable television and arrives at the Oval Office as late as noon.  In full page ads in major national newspapers, Tyson Foods warns that “the food supply chain is breaking” and grocery stores are facing meat shortages.

-Apr 27: The U.S. passes 1,000,000 total coronavirus cases as worldwide total passes 3,000,000.  In a 2-page memo titled, “Balancing Public Safety with the Preservation of Civil Rights,” Attorney General Bill Barr instructs all 94 United States Attorney Offices to monitor state and local emergency responses that violate “the constitutional rights and civil liberties of individual citizens.” He says that the Department will bring cases in federal court against “overreach” by state and localities.Trump declares that there will be new pressure put on state governors to develop their own plans for developing further testing. “The testing is not going to be a problem at all,” he says. New York cancels its Democratic presidential primary, endorsing Biden as a matter of course. The Washington Post releases data showing that excess deaths rose by 154,000 in March, as routine medical tests plummet. This correlates with our research. The White House cancels Coronavirus Task Force briefings. Mississippi and Montana ease stay-at-home orders. The Washington Post reports that President Trump received more than a dozen classified briefings from U.S. intelligence agencies warning about potentially devastating political and economic fallout from the COVID-19 coronavirus in January and February. Trump says he would consider billing China for the damages done by the pandemic.*