WHAT'S BREWING
GUTTED U.S. AIRLINE INDUSTRY TO GET $25 BILLION BAILOUT The nation’s biggest airlines have tentatively agreed to terms for $25 billion in government aid to pay workers and avoid massive layoffs in an industry that has been slammed by the coronavirus pandemic. The assistance will include a mix of cash and loans, with the government getting warrants that can be converted into small ownership stakes in the leading airlines.Ten airlines — including Delta, American, United and Southwest – fell in line after objecting to some of the Treasury Department’s demands. [AP]
PELOSI URGES AMERICANS TO IGNORE TRUMP'S LIES House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) assailed the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic in a letter to Democratic colleagues, saying the American people must instead “insist and act on the truth” as the nation reels from the ongoing crisis. Trump has grown increasingly aggressive, casting blame on governors, reporters and international health officials rather than what critics have said was a slow national response as cases appeared. [HuffPost]
YOU WON'T HAVE TO PAY BACK RELIEF CHECKS Videos and online reports claiming that millions of Americans will have to repay the relief checks they receive from the federal government under the $2.2 trillion coronavirus economic recovery bill are not true. The government began issuing the one-time payments this week. The money is not an advance, and won't have to be repaid. [AP]
TRUMP CAMPAIGN RELEASES WEAK LIST OF 'DECISIVE ACTIONS' Pressed for what he did between January and March to combat the coronavirus pandemic, Trump claimed: “A lot.” His campaign soon offered 20 items from February. But items on the list attributed to Trump personally are mainly his statements about the virus and his self-proclaimed success in containing it. His two sentences in his Feb. 4 State of the Union address, in which he claimed he would take “all necessary steps” to protect Americans, is listed as an accomplishment. [HuffPost]
SANDERS: IT WOULD BE 'IRRESPONSIBLE' TO OPPOSE BIDEN Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said it would be “irresponsible” for his strongest supporters not to get behind Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race. In an interview with The Associated Press, Sanders warned that progressives who “sit on their hands” in the months ahead of the November vote would just be enabling Trump’s reelection. Former President Barack Obama also endorsed Biden on Tuesday. [HuffPost]
MCDONALD'S APOLOGIZES FOR SIGN BANNING BLACK PEOPLE McDonald’s has apologized after video shared online showed signage at a restaurant in China that said Black people were barred from entering. “We’ve been informed that from now on black people are not allowed to enter the restaurant,” the laminated sign said. In a statement provided to HuffPost, a spokesperson for McDonald’s Corp. said the sign was “not representative of our inclusive values.” [HuffPost] | 
