THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020 🌎

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Kristen Welker

NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker became the talk of the internet for a while Wednesday (until today's Media Loser took the focus) for a truly impressive feat during a live report on MSNBC.

Welker was reporting from the White House on coronavirus stay-at-home orders and President Donald Trump's encouraging of protesters who oppose continued restrictions, when a huge lighting rig almost fell on her. And then almost fell on her some more.

As the two giant pieces of equipment came for her, Welker deftly dodged and continued speaking, not losing her cool, in an impressive move that had Twitter ready to put her in the NFL draft.

Sharing the clip, the @ProFootballTalk account tweeted "First-round pocket presence."

Though Welker coolly kept her composure, anchor Andrea Mitchell was beside herself watching, and interrupted Welker to ask if she was alright.

“We’re okay. It fell in front of me. It’s okay,” Welker said — before delivering the rest of her report with extraordinary stoicism.

Later, Welker retweeted the ProFootballTalk remark, saying "Put me in, coach!" She also tagged the Philadelphia Eagles in her tweet. The Eagles responded, writing "Scouting report: Prospect clearly has superior knowledge of the game and raw talent to complement her speed. Elite ability to avoid contact in small spaces."

Now that is a cool media win right there.

MEDIA LOSER:
Carolyn Goodman

After Welker's buzz died down, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman became the talk of the internet Wednesday afternoon, after she appeared on CNN for an interview with Anderson Cooper on the issue of reopening the gambling mecca for business.

It was an absolute trainwreck of an interview that actually resulted in Cooper saying to Goodman's out loud and on air “that’s really ignorant.”

The interview began with a series of back-and-forth replies as Cooper pressed the mayor on whether she was specifically calling for all business, including casinos, to be reopened, and the mayor replied with generalized answers about people needing to work and the city's reputation for hospitality.

Cooper noted that Goodman is “talking about encouraging hundreds of thousands of people to come to Las Vegas,” adding, “I get the financial losses people are suffering, which is awful, but you’re encouraging, I mean, hundreds of thousands of people coming there....and then returning home to states around America and countries around the world.”

“Doesn’t that sound like a virus petri dish?” he asked.

“No, it sounds like you’re being an alarmist,” Goodman snapped back, echoing the "liberate" protesters who have come out in some cities and states to oppose lockdowns.

And that barely scratches the surface of this circus of an interview.

It was so much, in fact, that Cooper and colleague Brianna Keilar were still flabbergasted in a later segment.

The A-Block

Iran

“I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea,” wrote President Donald Trump on Twitter Wednesday.

The president’s abrupt announcement comes a week after the Navy reported that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “conducted dangerous and harassing approaches” on U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later in the day said Iran must be “held accountable” after reportedly launching a new military satellite into orbit.

Potential for toxicities

A National Institutes of Health panel put together by Dr. Anthony Fauci has issued a recommendation against treating Covid-19 patients with a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin — which President Donald Trump has previously promoted — because of the “potential for toxicities.”

Big oops

New York ABC7 anchor Bill Ritter had to do some on-air course correction this week after erroneously reporting that a man had tragically died from the coronavirus — when he’s actually making a remarkable recovery.

Remarkable is a good word for the video itself, too.

They don’t have time to be afraid

Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst choked up as he delivered a report from the intensive care unit of Tel Aviv’s second largest hospital.

He described doctors’ efforts to keep up with the demands of pandemic, and conveyed the gravity of the situation in an intense report.

“Both humanizing and haunting at the same time,” Yingst said in reflection of the story.

This guy for president

A New Yorker’s passionate and expletive-laced rant, which laid out the insanity of the federal government’s economic relief efforts amid the coronavirus pandemic, went viral this week and into Wednesday morning.

It was something.

Kicked out

The scientist leading the Trump administration’s effort to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus claims he was abruptly reassigned after expressing strong objections to pursuing research into the drug hyrdoxychloroquine, which President Trump has lavished with public, glowing praise as a Covid-19 treatment.

Dr. Rick Bright, who was the director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), was suddenly booted from his job this week and effectively demoted, he says.

Disney v Disney

Disney heir Abigail Disney — great-niece of Walt Disney — put the Walt Disney Company on blast for protecting dividends and bonuses while furloughing 100,000 workers. It was an epic rant.

Must-Watch Clip of the Day

Cops Cheer Docs

Healthcare workers from all over the United States have been in New York City for several weeks to help fight the massive Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak in the city.

As they left, following their final shift, they were surprised by a moving display from the NYPD. 

Don't read about it. Watch it.

Links We Like

No, Not All of The Coronavirus Victims Would Have Died Soon Anyway
- via National Review
We Need Great Leadership Now, and Here’s What It Looks Like
- via New York Times
The 'Anti-Lockdown' Protests Could Make or Break Trump's Reelection
- via The Guardian
'It Felt Like My Bones Were Breaking': Nurse with Covid-19 Thought She Was Going To Die
- via USA Today
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