After a week of accelerating government responses to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Federal Government is working out how to put money in the hands of the workers and businesses whose finances are in jeopardy from the social distancing efforts we've all been asked to take part in. Part one of those efforts, a federal package that expands paid leave and promises that testing for the virus will be free, was approved by the House and Senate, and signed by President Trump yesterday. Part two is a trillion dollar stimulus package, part of which would help businesses keep workers on payroll, part of which would inject some fiscal fuel into hard-hit critical industries like airlines. A third part, according to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, will be direct payments (monthly, for the duration of the federal "national emergency" designation) of $1,000 to every American adult, plus an additional $500 per child. The House and Senate are still hammering out details, but this stimulus package is expected to be passed and signed in the coming days. On today's show, Rep. Tom Suozzi, U.S. Representative for NY's 3rd District, an area that includes parts of Long Island and Queens, NY, and member of the House Committee on Ways and Means talks about the Trump Administration's financial aid package to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 and how his district is responding to the pandemic.

With election officials weighing the importance of their role in democracy against the massive public health threat posed by COVID-19, should primaries be called off? Should early voting and vote-by-mail systems be expanded? If today's primary elections are postponed, does that set a precedent for potentially putting the general election on hold? This is just one of the places where pandemic meets politics.

On today's show, Vanita Gupta, current president and CEO of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights coalition, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR), former Acting Assistant Attorney General and head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in the Obama administration and former Deputy Legal Director of the ACLU, explains how the pandemic is eroding election integrity, and how to fortify voter rights and voter protections during this crisis.

Experts have told us to keep "social distance." But what does that mean? Is dog walking OK? Can I have dinner with a friend at their apartment? And how does social distancing work? There are a lot of questions about the most responsible way to behave right now. We've got answers to some of those questions, and on the questions we can't answer, some clarity on why that is.

On Today's Show:James Hamblin, doctor of preventive medicine, staff writer at The Atlantic and the co-host of The Atlantic's new podcast "Social Distance," lecturer at Yale School of Public Health and the author of the forthcoming book Clean: The New Science of Skin and the Beauty of Doing Less (Riverhead Books, 2020), talks about how and why to practice social distancing, what to do if you start feeling sick and more as the COVID-19 pandemic upends life around the world.

With the spread of novel Coronavirus looking to spread the health system thin, and with social distancing casting millions of workers into uncertainty, what's Congress doing about it? From an unemployment relief package, to sick leave, to maybe mobilizing the army reserves to help build temporary hospitals and coordinate contingencies, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries fills us in on what's being done on Capitol Hill amid this public health crisis.

On Today's Show, U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat representing NY's 8th district, including parts of Brooklyn and Queens, talks about the federal response to COVID-19.

Bill de Blasio is the mayor of the most populous city in the U.S. And right now, that means he's at the helm of efforts to navigate an outbreak of novel coronavirus. The situation changes, "not daily, but hourly," the mayor says, and is likely to get worse before it gets better. Some are calling on him to shut down the New York City public school system, which serves over 1 million students. The density of the city's school buildings could cause the virus to spread quickly, but de Blasio is reticent to close them for the duration of this public health crisis. For one thing, impoverished and homeless students rely on the system for food and shelter. For another, keeping kids at home could force parents who work in healthcare to abandon their posts to stay home with them. 

Last night, just hours after the World Health Organization officially designated COVID-19 a pandemic, President Trump announced new measures to combat its spread and mitigate its impacts, with proposals including payroll tax relief and small business grants. He also implemented a ban on travelers from most of Europe, with carve-outs for the U.K., Ireland, which both host golf courses owned by the President. 

On Today's Show:Dr. Ashwin Vasan, an epidemiologist & Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s public health policy adviser, breaks down the latest novel coronavirus news, and takes calls.

After two March shellackings, the Sanders campaign appears to have lost its path to the nomination. With Biden's lead poised to widening enough to avert a brokered convention, the question for the Democrats going forward is decreasingly, "Who?" and increasingly, "How?" How should Biden try to bring Sanders supporters on board? And will Sanders do a better job than in 2016 of uniting his base behind the party's candidate? 

On Today's Show:Gabriel Debenedetti, national correspondent for New York Magazine, breaks down yesterday’s primaries, the first contest after Super Tuesday narrowed the field, and the second of three major contest days in March.

Holly Bailey, Washington Post national political reporter, and Stephen Henderson, host of Detroit Today, preview what’s at stake in the six presidential primaries today, including the key contest in Michigan. Sanders beat Clinton there in 2016, but Biden leads the polls. 

Since Super Tuesday, some things have changed. Former Democratic nomination hopefuls Sens. Kamala Harris and Corey Booker endorsed Joe Biden over the weekend. The Rev. Jesse Jackson endorsed Sanders, a coda back to the 1988 democratic primary, in which Sanders endorsed Jackson, who was at the time, largely seen as a spoiler against Mike Dukakis. With Biden picking up more mainstream Democratic endorsements, the pressure is on the Sanders campaign to show strong numbers in Tuesday's contests, particularly in Michigan and Washington state, which he won in 2016, but appears to be falling behind in the polls this time around. 

Elena Schneider, national political reporter at Politico, where she covers the 2020 Democratic presidential primary and general election, previews this week’s primaries and caucuses and discusses the latest developments in the campaigns.

The day after Elizabeth Warren dropped out of the race, we asked her supporters to share what her campaign, meant to them, how they feel now that it's over, and who gets their votes now.