Biden wins Florida, Illinois as coronavirus disrupts voting

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden won the Florida and Illinois primaries on Tuesday, building on a remarkable surge as he barrels toward the Democratic presidential nomination at a time when the nation is gripped by concern about the new coronavirus.

The former vice president’s victories were another blow to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose early strength has evaporated as African Americans and working-class whites across the country have sided with Biden.

But Tuesday’s primaries demonstrated the tremendous uncertainty confronting the Democratic contest as it collides with efforts to slow the spread of the virus that have shut down large swaths of American life. Polls were shuttered in Ohio even as voting moved forward in Florida, Illinois and Arizona, where some voters and elections officials reported problems.

It marked the third week in a row Biden piled up wins after his victory in South Carolina last month revived his once-flagging campaign. Since then, most of his party’s establishment lined up behind him as the best option to unseat President Donald Trump in November.

Trump clinched the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday after primary victories in Florida and Illinois, an expected development considering he had no major competition.

___

Trump pushes for massive aid from Congress, checks to public

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a massive federal effort Tuesday, President Donald Trump asked Congress to speed emergency checks to Americans, enlisted the military for MASH-like hospitals and implored ordinary people — particularly socially active millennials — to do their part by staying home to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

His proposed economic package alone could approach $1 trillion, a rescue initiative not seen since the Great Recession. Trump wants checks sent to the public within two weeks and is urging Congress to pass the eye-popping stimulus package in a matter of days.

As analysts warn the country is surely entering a recession, the government is grappling with an enormous political undertaking with echoes of the 2008 financial crisis.

At the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed the Senate would not adjourn until the work was done.

“Obviously, we need to act,” McConnell said. "We're not leaving town until we have constructed and passed another bill."

___

Disruption grows: Nations try to slow virus, help economies

BERLIN (AP) — Mass disruptions shuddered across the globe Tuesday as governments struggled to slow the spread of the coronavirus while also trying to keep their economies afloat. The chaos stretched from Lithuania, where border traffic jams were nearly 40 miles (64 kilometers) deep, to Detroit, where bus service came to a sudden stop when drivers didn't show up for work.

European Union leaders, meanwhile, agreed to shut down the bloc's external borders for 30 days. In the United States, West Virginia became the last state to report a case of the disease, confirming that it has spread nationwide.

And the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump was considering a plan to immediately return to Mexico all people who cross the southern border illegally, according to two administration officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the plan hasn’t been finalized.

Increasingly worried about the economic fallout of the global shutdown, the U.S., Britain and the Netherlands announced rescue packages totaling hundreds of billions of dollars, while longtime International Monetary Fund critic Venezuela asked the institution for a $5 billion loan.

But it was everyday people who suffered most.

___

AP VoteCast: Biden chips away at Sanders coalition

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden on Tuesday chipped away at Bernie Sanders' coalition of young, liberal and Latino voters to secure solid wins in the presidential primaries of Florida and Illinois.

With concerns growing about the spread of the new coronavirus, more Florida and Illinois voters said they trusted the former vice president on health care issues than the Vermont senator. They also expressed more confidence that Biden could successfully challenge President Donald Trump in November's general election.

Most Democratic voters in Florida, Arizona and Illinois said they have anxieties about contracting the COVID-19, but their worries are notably measured considering the pandemic that has all-but shuttered public life across the U.S.

About 4 in 10 voters in the primary election in Florida and roughly a third in Arizona and Illinois said they are “very” concerned that they or a family member may get infected with COVID-19. About 40% of voters in each state felt somewhat concerned, according to AP VoteCast surveys of thousands of Americans voting in the presidential primaries.

In just a few weeks, the coronavirus has upended that race, the global economy and Americans' daily routines, as government officials have closed schools, warned against travel, shuttered restaurants and advised millions of workers to stay home.

___

US life with COVID-19: A state-by-state patchwork of rules

As the nation struggles to reconcile itself to a new and spreading peril, it also struggles with a patchwork of rules that vary dizzyingly from place to place: For now, your life and lockdown in the shadow of COVID-19 depends on where you live.

In some places, many ordinary Americans are making public health choices, searching their own conscience and deciding for themselves what risk they’re willing to endure. In others, government has made at least some of those decisions.

Ohio canceled its presidential primary to avoid crowds, but the polls opened Tuesday morning in Florida, Illinois and Arizona. Bars in some states prepared for hordes of St. Patrick’s Day revelers, while elsewhere others are stacking the stools up on tables and locking the doors.

Casinos in some states have shut down, yet others remain open, where hundreds or even thousands of people touch the same slot machines and gambling chips. Spring breakers are partying by the hundreds on some beaches, while police are sweeping others, ordering people away through loud speakers.

The federal government on Monday urged Americans not to gather in groups of 10 or more and asked older people to stay home, as the number of infections in the U.S. climbed to more than 4,500, with at least 88 deaths. But hard rules have been left up to the states, creating what New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo derided as a “hodgepodge."

___

Ex-California Rep. Duncan Hunter gets 11 months in prison

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Former California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter was sentenced Tuesday to 11 months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing campaign funds and spending the money on everything from outings with friends to his daughter's birthday party.

The ex-Marine's attorneys had asked for most or part of his sentence be spent in home confinement, citing his military service fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his nearly six terms in Congress. Hunter, 43, resigned from Congress in January after representing one of Southern California's last solidly Republican districts.

But U.S. District Court Judge Thomas J. Whelan said given the amount of money Hunter misspent and the number of years he carried out the pilfering, home confinement was not an option.

Prosecutors ahead of Tuesday's sentencing submitted 87 pages to the judge that showed a corrupt congressman who intentionally and repeatedly stole from his campaign funds for a decade.

“Today's sentence reinforces the notion that the truth still matters, that facts still matter,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Halpern said after the hearing.

___

Iraqi officials say rockets strike Baghdad's Green Zone

BAGHDAD (AP) — At least three rockets struck Baghdad's fortified Green Zone near the American Embassy late Tuesday, a day after an attack on a training base south of Baghdad where U.S.-led coalition troops and NATO trainers were present, Iraqi security officials said. It was the fourth such attack in the span of a week.

At least three rockets struck the Green Zone, the seat of Iraq's government and home to several foreign embassies, two Iraqi security officials said. Myles Caggins, spokesman for the coalition, said the rockets fell at least 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the embassy.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The previous evening, rockets hit the Basmaya base near the Iraqi capital, an Iraqi army statement said. The projectiles landed in an area that includes agricultural land and a factory, according to the statement. No more details were provided.

A Spanish contingent of the coalition and NATO trainers are present at the Basmaya site. There was no immediate confirmation of the attack from the coalition and no militant group claimed responsibility for the assault.

___

When Irish eyes are absent: Virus subdues St. Patrick's Day

BOSTON (AP) — St. Patrick's Day revelers across the world tried to salvage the holiday with makeshift celebrations after parades and parties were scrapped and residents were urged to hunker down at home to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

It was the first St. Patrick's Day in more than 250 years without a large parade in New York City, but a small group of organizers marched the rain-soaked streets early Tuesday anyway — observing "social distancing," they said — to keep the tradition alive.

Led by police cars with flashing lights, people in uniforms and sashes marched up Fifth Avenue before dawn with a banner and flags as bagpipe music played. The brief march wasn't advertised, and the sidewalks were largely empty.

In Savannah, Georgia, which canceled its hugely popular parade for the first time in 99 years, there were no bagpipers, no cheering crowds — just two men in green blazers carrying a large Irish flag as they trudged along largely abandoned sidewalks.

“It's really strange,” said Bill Bradley, carrying the flag on its long wooden pole. “It's almost like a dream, like living in some kind of nightmare.” Bradley and his friend John Lowenthal, members of one of Savannah's Irish social societies, opted to walk the parade route on their own.

___

Brady leaving Patriots, says 'football journey' is elsewhere

For two decades, Tom Brady was the face of the Patriots, and even of the NFL. When he turns 43 in August, his home address no longer will be in New England.

The six-time Super Bowl champion plans to keep playing. But the centerpiece of the Patriots’ dynasty, the most successful quarterback in league history, says he is leaving the only pro team he has ever known.

Brady posted Tuesday on social media “my football journey will take place elsewhere.”

The comments were the first to indicate the Patriots icon would leave New England. Statements later by team owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick made it clear that Brady's remarkable stint there is over.

In a two-part message, Brady thanked the Patriots and the fans and said “FOREVER A PATRIOT.”

___

Spreading birthday card love in the time of coronavirus

NEW YORK (AP) — Mona Helgeland was sad for her children. Their birthdays were coming up but they were self-quarantined because of the coronavirus and going to miss celebrating with friends and family.

So, the Norwegian single mother of two went on Facebook groups and asked people to send greeting cards. She said she has been “blown away by the kindness.” In just a few days since that first post, she has received dozens of cards from across the world - from Alaska to South Africa.

"It's beautiful. I started crying," Helgeland, 37, said about the cards that some have posted with drawings of her son's favorite Japanese cartoon characters, or cows, zebras and hearts, as well as photos from the studio where they make the Harry Potter films that her children love.

To Helgeland, who has a painful spinal joint disorder called ankylosing spondylitis, the message during these uncertain times is clear: “It’s important to stay positive and take care of each other and spread love, not just the virus.”

Tens of millions of people were hunkered down Tuesday. Countries across the globe shut their borders, and cities locked down, closing schools and businesses to try to curb the spread of the virus, which has infected more than 190,000 people and killed more than 7,500.