In other news, the CDC has now identified at least 117 cases of the coronavirus here in the United States.
The actual number of cases is probably far higher, but we have no way of seeing it yet because testing has been so poor.
Meanwhile, 10-year Treasury bond yields have fallen below 1 percent for the first time in our history.
Finally, Trump has installed another loyalist stooge to a top intelligence post. It's one of Devin Nunes's buddies.
A White House lawyer and former counsel to the House Intelligence Committee under Devin Nunes has been named senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council, the latest instance of President Donald Trump elevating a trusted loyalist to control the intelligence community.
Michael Ellis, a deputy to White House lawyer John Eisenberg, started in the role on Monday, according to a senior administration official and a former national security official. Ellis left the counsel’s office, so he won’t be dual-hatted with his new job.
The office of the director for intelligence serves as the day-to-day connective tissue between the intelligence community and the White House. Sensitive information coming in from the intelligence agencies will go to that office, especially if it is in hard copy form. [...]
Ellis has been in the White House counsel’s office since 2017, and was reportedly one of the White House officials who showed Nunes intelligence reports that led to the congressman’s probe into surveillance of the Trump campaign team.
Ellis also featured in the Ukraine scandal, according to testimony heard by the House Intelligence Committee during the impeachment investigation.