Cases passes the 1,000 mark. I can say we will see more cases and things will get worse than they are right now. How much worse well get will depend on our ability to do two things to contain the influx of people who are infected coming from the outside and the ability to contain and mitigate within our own country. And we begin the hour right there, with the rapidly growing number of Novel Coronavirus cases here in the United States and the nowfurious Public Health response. Now 1,006 confirmed cases across the country. That is a big spike, nearly 300 more cases just in the last 24 hours. The Trump National security adviser this morning with very strong words for china, accusing beijing of a coverup that let the virus spread around the world unchecked. This morning, more alarm bells for the economy. The markets falling sharply at the open. Goldman sachs warning investors, the bull market could soon end. Reports say the april 15th tax filing deadline could be put off to soften the economic body blow. That economic anxiety and uncertainty is a side effect of a muchrooming Public Health crisis. Democrats in congress pressing the president to declaring a National State of emergency to allow Disaster Relief money to be directed at the coronavirus response. In some places, there is already dramatic action. More colleges and universities canceling classes, for example, telling students to stay off campus until further notice. Ohios governor last night asking joe biden and Bernie Sanders to cancel big events planned in cleveland. The new york governor establishing a containment zone around a cluster in a new york city suburb while warning the virus has spread much more than we know. In Washington State, governor jay inslee barring gatherings of 250 or more people. It is a tough decision to interrupt everyday life, but the risk of not doing it, governor inslee says, is also great. When something doubles every day, it gets to a very large number very quickly. So, if there are 1,000 people infected today, in seven or eight weeks, there could be 64,000 people infected in the state of washington, if we dont somehow slow down this epidemic. Washington state hit hard, also massachusetts. We begin our coverage there with cnns athena jones. Athena, tell us the latest there. Obviously a big conference there, blamed for a lot of the cases in massachusetts. The governor declaring a state of emergency. Reporter hi, thats right. A Conference Held last month by biogen at the hotel behind me is responsible or the case about 70 of the 92 cases in this state are connected to a Conference Held last month by that Biotech Company based in cambridge, but were also here because of all of the schools and colleges that are taking precautionary measures across the country, canceling inperson classes. Why . Because College Campuses can be conducive to contagion. Were talking about large groups of students, staff, faculties, living, working, studying, eating all in close quarters, so this is all about social distancing, trying to prevent large gatherings like this and prevent the spread of this virus. Some schools here in the boston area and beyond are going even further than just moving Classes Online. Theyre essentially asking students to leave for spring break and not come back, at least until further notice. Harvard canceling inperson classes, moving to virtual instruction. About ten days from now or so when spring break ends, theyre asking students not to come back after spring break, and theyre even saying, we need you to move out of your dorms by this weekend. M. I. T. Is also now moving all Classes Online starting march 30th. Classes are canceled march 16th to the 20th. Previously, they had only suspended lectures with 150 students or more. Now, the context here in massachusetts is that this is a state where the number of coronavirus cases has more than doubled just in the last day 51 new cases announced yesterday, bringing the total to 92. Again, 70 of those 92 related to this biogen conference. But lots of schools taking these steps. And social distancing and virtual instruction, those are becoming the norm or the rule here, john. Makes you snap back a little bit when you put it that way, doubled in just the last day. Athena jones, appreciate your reporting from the ground in boston. March, of course, a marquee month on the sports calendar, but now with the public debate about the coronavirus extends to whether fans should stay home. This morning, dr. Anthony fautschie says the answer to that question in his view is a very clear yes. We would recommend that there not be large crowds. If that means not having any people in the audience when the nba plays, so be it. Cnns andy scholes joins our conversation. Andy, if you listen to mr. Fauci, so about it, from the nba to major league baseball, wow yeah, and thats got to be startling for those leagues to hear that, because as of now, we have not heard a definitive answer about what will happen say with march madness, john. The ncaa sent out mixed messages yesterday. A statement earlier in the day, president mark emmert said their Advisory Panel of experts they put together, nor the cdc had advised against holding sporting events, adding that if circumstances changed, they would make decisions accordingly. Then later in the day, they released another statement just saying they were continuing to monitor the virus and will make decisions in the coming days, but theyre running out of time. Selection sunday is this weekend. Teams need to know where theyre going. Fans need to know if they can go watch their teams play. As for the nba, theyre holding highlevel discussions today and tomorrow. And according to espn, they have a wide range of scenarios they are discussing. The leagues considering moving some games to cities that have yet to suffer outbreaks, playing in empty arenas, or just postponing games altogether. And john, you know, weve already seen some events postponed around the country the Ivy League Conference tournament for basketball was flat out canceled. That was supposed to be held at harvard. There are College Basketball tournaments being held, but in cleveland, the midamerican conference has no fans in the stands, same being said for the big west conference in anaheim. So, some people have already made the decision to have no fans in the stands. Some Big Decisions still ahead, though, for the nba, and of course, march madness. Big decisions to come, and thats both a cultural question and a big economic question. Andy scholes, appreciate the reporting. Keep in touch as we learn more about these Big Decisions. Also up on capitol hill this morning, a sobering reminder from dr. Fauci about the lethality of this Novel Coronavirus. I think if you count all the cases of minimally symptomatic or asymptomatic infection, that probably brings the mortality rate down to somewhere around 1 , which means it is ten times more lethal than the seasonal flu. Dr. Jean is the director of Infectious Diseases at the university of alabama at birmingham. Dr. Moratso, thank you for your time today. The most important thing for us as we try to get through this is to go to the experts and bring people facts. When you hear dr. Faucis talk like that, what does it tell you about what the federal government and the experts are learning about the lethality of this disease and their questions about, you know, the multiplication of the cases . He says its going to get worse. Yeah, i agree with dr. Fauci, and i find thats always a good idea. Hes an incredibly trusted source whos been through many epidemics and has access to great information. And the point hes making is that people need to understand that this is potentially a really devastating epidemic that is already gaining a foothold and shows no signs of slowing down in the United States. So, clear, consistent messaging from a trusted Public Health source like dr. Fauci and some of our colleagues at the cdc is absolutely essential for people to have access to. And so, part of the question now is, are states prepared and are there different strengths and weaknesses as we go from state to state, especially in the Community Hardest hit . Governor cuomo of new york yesterday creating that containment zone around the new york city suburb of new rochelle. Listen to him this morning talk being how, well, we think weve got this now, but if we keep ramping up, there could be strain. We have enough equipment. We have enough hospital beds. But if these numbers dont slow, were starting to plan backup quarantine hospital facilities, mobile popup hospitals, if you will, to make sure we have the capacity for acute cases that need hospitalization. What is your sense, dr dr. Marrazzo, a, of what is the biggest need and what should the preparations be in places that are hardest hit, but also those who may be starting to see early cases, knowing whats around the corner for them a week or two or three down the road from now . And to the average american out there sitting hearing a governor talking about we may need a backup plan for quarantine and the like, what should you be thinking today . Its a great question. When you hear the governor of new york and people in new york city talking about needing a backup plan, you know thats really serious. New york is very crowded. Its got a very diverse community, lots of travel in and out. Its also got some of the top medical and Research Institutions in the world, and its also a state that has generally excellent Public Health and insurance coverage. You compare that to other states where, for example, theres been no expansion of medicaid and other opportunities to really get people access to health care. Not only that, many of those states have some of the highest comorbidities that seem to have a big impact on the likelihood of mortality with this infection. Were talking about diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, things that you see in abundance in some of the states that have the least resources to do good Public Health or clinical care. So, i really think that the attention to those states needs to be early and aggressive. One huge challenge, john, has been our inability to really track whats going on with this infection because weve been hamstrung by the lack of availability of diagnostic testing. And im sure youve heard about this. The cdc has been very behind the curve on this. We are probably about a month behind where we should be in our capacity to test, and we cant do this type of aggressive and effective Public Health management, such as theyre doing in new rochelle, without knowing where these infections are. Lets hope we get caught up in that month, back month behind in the testing part. Dr. Jeanne marrazzo, thank you for joining us to help us understand this and i hope youll come back as we deal with this in the weeks and months ahead. Thank you very much. Our washington correspondent Kaitlan Collins is here. And you hear the doctor talk about how important it is to get the testing ramped up. Thats been a question for the administration, a frustration around the country. Now you have pressure from democrats on capitol hill who want the president to declare a National Emergency. This is a president whos been saying all along, the weathers going to get warm, its going to go away, cases are going to disappear. What is the sentiment at the white house . Theyve already asked for a stimulus package which says we have a problem. A National Emergency would mean we have a bigger problem. Yeah, but as the days go by and youre hearing the sobering warnings from health officials, you are not hearing that reflected in the president s statements and today its more on display than any other, when you have people like dr. Fauci on the president s task force up on capitol hill saying you shouldnt be holding large gatherings, while the president is telling his campaign he still wants to move forward with these rallies. Hes saying its not like the flu. The president keeps comparing it to the flu. And he is saying it is going to get worse before it gets better, while the president is telling people yesterday, just stay calm, its going to go away. Of course, people should stay calm at a time of panic, but the question that people surrounding the president , his own aides and advisers have, is why is he not pushing the message that they are telling people, what exactly is going to help them prepare for this outbreak that is, of course, now happening and spreading across the United States. So youre still seeing that disconnect between the president and his own health officials, and hes still frustrated, because thats right, he did go to capitol hill yesterday. He walked out of that lunch with republicans, and they did not come out with any kind of concrete plan of exactly what theyre going to do to try to blunt the Economic Impact of all of this. Heres another disconnect. The president has said several times that hes in touch with president xi of china, that president xi is on top of this, and he believes president xi is doing the right thing. Listen to this just a short time ago from the president s National Security adviser. Rather than using best practices, this outbreak in wuhan was covered up. It probably cost the World Community two months to respond. I had a w. H. O. Team been on the ground, had a cdc team, which we had offered to be on the ground. I think we could have dramatically curtailed what happened, both in china and whats now happening across the world. Covered up . Cost the world two months . Saying they missed out on two months of potential response is really staggering. But also, we knew bib this in december. Thats when it was first reported about this. There were warning signs flashing in january and people say the administration was slow to respond to that. It wasnt until the end of the month, something the president has repeatedly pointed out about the travel restrictions they have imposed, but officials we spoke to, people who used to work in this white house say they dont feel like enough was done in the immediate aftermath and they hope they start taking it seriously, the president starts taking it more seriously now because they want to be able to blunt the impact so it doesnt get worse than what were seeing playing out across the nation. Come back to this a bit later in the program, washingtons response and what comes next. When we come back after a break, to 2020 politics. A massive night for joe biden. He now has command of the democratic race. Bernie sanders planning to make a statement in about 45 minutes. He is standing at a very difficult crossroads. dad vo i saw them out of the corner of my eye. Just a blur when they jumped the median. 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Its like getting a Samsung Galaxy s20 5g, and not getting it with at t. Americas best network. Bingo no, you cant have bingo. I just called out two numbers. You do this every week get the most from your revolutionary Samsung Galaxy s20 5g. Switch now and get one for 10 a month from at t. Building 5g on americas best network. We need you. We want you. And theres a place in our campaign for each of you. And i want to thank Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their Tireless Energy and their passion. We share a common goal, and together we will defeat donald trump. We will defeat him together. That was joe biden last night in pennsylvania reaching out to a rival who now faces a moment of choosing. We are going to hear from Bernie Sanders in vermont at the top of the hour. Lets take a look at last night and why the results in the second super tuesday caused such a big problem. Michigan is really the only place you have to go. Well look at other places, but look at michigan. 53 36 . Look at the map. Every county in michigan. Every county in michigan filling in with biden blue. Contrast that to four years ago. That light blue is Bernie Sanders, when he had a stunning upset of Hillary Clinton. Bernie sanders needed michigan last night to give himself momentum, a win and delegates to carry on. Instead, wow look at that for joe biden. Joe biden also won missouri and he won mississippi. And out west, yes, Bernie Sanders won north dakota, but joe biden winning idaho last night with 49 of the vote there. Again, go back four years ago, Bernie Sanders won this over Hillary Clinton with 78 . Move back to today. We have yet to call Washington State. Its a very close race here, though, 32 32 . If you round that up, 33 33 , if you round it up. 2,000 votes separating the two candidates. Going back in time, Bernie Sanders won with 73 of the vote against Hillary Clinton. So, the overall map, if you look at 2020, filling in with biden blue. Bleak for sanders. Lets also take a look at this. One of the things sanders told us was that he would turn out young voters in record numbers. That was his coalition. Well, that simply hasnt happened in 2020. In iowa, youth turnout was up a little bit, but in every other state, vermont, new hampshire, texas, michigan, missouri, youth turnout down from 2016. One other way to look at this. Heres where we are. Joe biden has won more than half of the delegates allocated so far. In the rest of the democratic contests, he only needs to win 49 to get the majority, to be the nominee. Bernie sanders is getting 42 of the delegates so far. In the contests to come, he would have to win 55 , a little more than 55 . That math is daunting, overwhelming, some say impossible. Senator sanders did not make a Public Statement last night, meeting with his Campaign Team today to discuss the road ahead. Again, cnn is live in burlington, vermont, for us. Were going it hear from the senator at the top of the hour, we expect, ryan. What are you hearing from inside the campaign . Reporter you know, john, they are being very tightlipped as to what exactly Bernie Sanders is going to tell us here in this 1 00 p. M. Press conference. I have to say, ive talked to numerous aides over the past 24 hours. At no point has any aide even suggested the idea of sanders exiting the race, but theyve also been very careful to acknowledge that he has really pe performed below expectations in both of the last two super tuesday contests. They expected to do much better in states like michigan in states like texas, you know, even in a state like california, where they expected to run up the delegate total, they fell well short of their longterm goal. So, what is the path forward for Bernie Sanders . That is perhaps what were going to learn during this 1 00 p. M. Press conference. Now, what his aides have said consistently, even after the results last night, was that he had every intention of participating in the debate on sunday against joe biden and that one of the things that he had really been focused on since the beginning of this race was the opportunity to debate joe biden one on one, and thats the opportunity that is still in front of him on sunday, should he choose to participate. So, you know, there are a lot of mixed signals right now coming from the campaign. We know that for the most part, that senator sanders and his wife, jane, have been together, basically alone since they returned here to burlington last night, and that, basically, the counsel is between the two of them as they look for a path forward. We hope to get more incisight io the status of this campaign coming up in less than an hour. Ryan, come back if you learn anything at the top of the hour. With me in studio, lisa lair with the New York Times, aaron haynes with the 19th, and molly ball with time. Its a difficult moment for any candidate. Senator sanders has run before. He knows the math of the race. I dont think he expected what we have seen in the last ten days, this remarkable joe biden surge. The question is, if youre Bernie Sanders, a traditional candidate would probably say, im gone, the math is overwhelming. Hes not a traditional candidate. He views himself as the leader of a movement. Do you stay in, thinking you get that oneonone debate, you have something to say to joe biden . Maybe you dial back the tone a little bit in respect of the math . Well, i could see it going either way, honestly. Because on the one hand, you know, Bernie Sanders has always been more of a team player than a lot of his supporters. He was never bernie or bust. He did, you know, endorse and campaign for Hillary Clinton quite vigorously after the convention in 2016, but he also stayed in until the convention, and that bothered a lot of hillarys people because he stayed in past the point when it was mathematically impossible for him to win the nomination based on the delegate count. Something weird would have had to have happened at the convention. So, did he learn from that, that Something Weird isnt going to happen at the convention, or do you look back on the last ten days and say, this race has been all up and down all over the place, everything could happen, weve got to stay to the bitter end, because who knows what is coming . So, not knowing whats on Bernie Sanders mind, i could see either being the case. The calendar, the math next week is not favorable to Bernie Sanders if you look at whats happened demographically so far. Looking at what happened so far, Bernie Sanders ran in 2016. He was the big surprise. We all underestimated him. We should all plead guilty to that. He ran a very Strong Campaign against Hillary Clinton, but look at this. His support among men from 2016 to 2020 is down. His support among independents from 2016 so now is down. Among whites with a college degree, down. Whites no college degree, down. Union members, down. Rural democrats, down. Thats a pretty bleak outlook. Right. And he has not made any progress with the base of the Democratic Party, which is black voters. So, when hes looking at the math, i think thats the main thing that has not changed from 2016, that he is not improved with black voters, which is the path to the nomination. If he is not able to do that, i dont know what he would be able to change or do differently, especially up against a candidate who has frankly had half a century of experience with black voters, you know . So, i dont know how he can change his strategy in a way that would get black voters on board or get him the kind of coalition, especially with older and more reliable voters, you know, between now and the convention that could really get him to make up that ground. And one of the fascinating things about senator sanders is he is an almost 80yearold candidate, but he does represent he does represent these aggressive, activist young democrats, democratic voters and new democrats in Congress Like alexandria ocasiocortez, who love his energy, love his issues, position, love his fight, loving his willingness to fight the establishment. This was her take last night, aoc, as she is called saying tonight isnt good. Theres no sugarcoating it, tonights a tough night. Tonights a tough night for the movement overall. Older voters, which we know are much more reliable voters, which turn out, have decisively gone to former Vice President biden. Theres a generational divide in the Democratic Party on health care, on climate change, on foreign policy, on pretty much every policy imaginable. Shes right about the generational divide. Shes absolutely right, and its going to be incumbent on joe biden. He started with an olive branch last night. Hes going to have to do a lot more work there. But my question in this context well come back to biden later is what does senator sanders do now, in the sense that he knows the energy, to your point . He knows some of his supporters did not follow him in 2016 when he said its time to get on board the clinton train right here. How do you think about that at the moment . Not just his own future, but how does he get his supporters . If his goal is, as he says, beating donald trump . Well, he certainly has to take steps in that direction. He has to urge his people to get behind joe biden. I think it may be a little easier for him this time around than it was in 2016. First of all, his relationship with joe biden is very different than his relationship was with Hillary Clinton. Second of all, the Democratic Party is in this moment of existential crisis. You cannot overstate how petrified democrats are of doing anything that could inadvertently lead to the reelection of President Donald Trump or lead to them getting blamed for the reelection of President Donald Trump, whether they are actually at fault or not. And i think even Bernie Sanders, who has his own loyal base of support, does not want to be in that position. I think the aoc comments are interesting, because certainly, if he gets out of this race, its going to set off a real scramble for who represents that wing of the party. Who does the torch pass to . Is it aoc . Is it somebody else . What about Elizabeth Warren . And the final point is that these young voters that they are talking about, that they counted on, they just didnt show up. Turnout went up among older voters. We didnt see that in the races that happened amongst younger voters, and thats a real big problem, not only for Bernie Sanders, but for his sort of liberal movement. Right. I brought it up over there, but i want to bring it up again. If you look at this, just dont fault the effort. Senator sanders has tried really hard. You see him on College Campuses, and that is to be applauded. You want everybody to vote. If youre eligible to vote, no matter your age or ethnicity, whatever. It just has not happened and its stunning in the sense that its down. To the point of the relationship being different, we have seen joe biden and Bernie Sanders yucking it up during the breaks of the debate, talking to each other. And senator sanders has been quite clear on the campaign trail about his intentions. Joe biden is a friend of mine. Joe and i have known each other for many years. What joe has said, he will support me if i win the nomination. I have said i will support him. Because we want to beat trump. That goes without saying. Biden is a friend of mine. Joe biden is a decent guy. What joe has said is if i win the nomination, hell be there for me. What i have said, if he wins the nomination, ill be there for him. Joe biden is a decent guy, and i know that if i win the nomination, hell be there for me. He wins, ill be there for him. We always say, senator sanders is consistent on the issues and his policy views. He has been consistent on this. The question is at this moment, when the math is so daunting against you, if that is what you truly believe and we all believe that is what he truly believes if you stay in with the debate scheduled sunday, can you stay in and do sort of a polite debate with joe biden, or is the better option if youre trying to unify the party to make the painful decision to step back . Well, but thats the other question is he really has nothing to lose if he does do the debate, except besides hurting joe biden potentially. That really is the only factor in that. Its going to be this debate where were now all injeblcted with coronavirus concerns, theres going to be no audience, just the two of them. It will be different than the other debates, and joe biden is obviously well aware of this, and thats why you heard him mention Bernie Sanders so many times in his speech last night. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders was not speaking at all, which i think is really telling of how that night just went so differently than they expected i it. The fact that he went back to vermont, made no public address and were just going to hear about him, not until 1 00 this afternoon, i think really tells you a lot. An important moment in the democratic campaign. Well come back to it later, but first an important update from the World Health Organization on the Novel Coronavirus. Mywws been an amazing journey. 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Has now declared that this outbreak is a pandemic, and this is a major, major announcement. Its a decision that the World Health Organization has not made lightly. And the fact that they are calling this a pandemic really shows that this outbreak has hit all continents, except for antarctica. Its spread across so many countries. The World Health Organization director general tedros said that this outbreak has hit a number of countries that has tripled recently. So, the number of countries that have been hit by this outbreak has tripled. And again, a pandemic declaration is pretty serious. This is a major moment, john. A major moment, and well watch now to see how it intensifies the worlds response. Jacqueline, appreciate the breaking news. Coming up, Bernie Sanders has a decision to make because joe biden is building a remarkable coalition. That chad really was raised by wolves . Which one is your mother . Thats her right there. Oh, gosh. 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Because being effective means getting results. Were waiting to hear from senator Bernie Sanders at the top of the hour. Cnn is told through correspondent ryan nobles, the vermont senator is expected to stay in the democratic debate for president and attend the debate with just two candidates, sanders and joe biden in phoenix, arizona. Again, we are expecting to hear from senator sanders at the top of the hour, but ryan nobles is told by a source familiar with senator sanders plans that he plans to stay in the democratic race. Lets bring in the people in the room. Its a big decision for the senator. We talked about this, he views himself as the leader of a movement, someone whos trying to challenge what he calls the establishment of the Democratic Party, to move aggressively on medicare for all, climate change, other trade issues as well, but he can also do the math and he understands that it is not impossible, but it is beyond improbable that he can make up joe bidens delegate lead. What does it tell us that hes decided, im going to have this debate . We assume that means hes going to go on through next weeks contest. The map is not favorable to him ohio, florida, illinois, arizona. Whats it tell us . And lets remember, he probably cant campaign, right . Both of the candidates have been canceling Campaign Events because of the coronavirus. And so, if Bernie Sanders cant hold these big stadium rallies that hes used to doing, what is the Campaign Going to consist of, a series of, you know, videotaped statements that are released on youtube or twitter . So you know, my question would be, just because Bernie Sanders wants to debate on sunday, does joe biden decide to debate on sunday if theyre both in the race, or does joe biden say, i consider myself all but to have wrapped up the nomination in all but name, and so, i am going to ignore this and focus on trump. Thats what he was doing in that speech last night, a lot of shoutouts to sanders supporters, but basically saying, from now on, the opponent were focused on is trump. That adds an interesting wrinkle because that would be an interesting bit of defiance by biden, but at the same time, he needs the sanders voters, so what would the reaction be . That will be an interesting moment to play out. I want to run through the math. Senator sanders ran last time, has a great base of support across the country. Its not turning into wins right now, but its a strong base of support. But the math is overwhelming. Hes won 42 of the pledged delegates so far, meaning he would have to win 55 of those remaining to get there. Think about in at home. If you have been winning 42 , the odds of you suddenly flipping and winning 55 against the same opponent, especially as we move into states where the demographics are not as favorable to you, sorry. Well, to your point, maybe its not exactly about the math. Maybe it is about the movement for him and his supporters who want to feel like this is a fair process for him, want to feel like he has gone through this, and even if he does not win, even if they know that hes not going to be able to win, any insinuation that hes being pushed out or urged to get out before he makes that decision is not something thats going to help get those supporters on board for a general election to vote for joe biden, should he become the eventual nominee, so that could also be part of senator sanders calculation in staying in and letting this process play out, not just for himself, but for his supporters who may be skeptical about how he is being treated as this process continues. Its an interesting point. Going to vermont, cnns ryan nobles is back with us now. Well hear momentarily from the senator. Your reporting says to expect him in arizona, correct . Reporter yeah, that is right, john. A source with direct knowledge of senator sanders plans here at his press conference thats scheduled to begin at the top of the hour tells me that senator sanders has every intention of staying in the race for the time being, and most specifically, we told you the last time we talked, that hes looking forward to that oneonone debate with joe biden. And you know, despite what happened on tuesday night, i dont think this comes as that big of a surprise. You know, senator sanders has been very consistent in his desire to see that oneonone debate with joe biden, and also, his campaign believes that no matter what, this is good for the democratic primary and the democratic process going forward. So, this is definitely something, though, that did require some deliberation from sanders and his team. I know he spent a lot of time with his wife, jane sanders and his other advisers over the past 24 hours, assessing what the path forward should be, but the news here, john, is that when senator sanders comes out here at the top of the hour, that is what we expect him to tell us. Now, these plans are always fluid, and until it comes out of senator sanders mouth himself, we are not going to know for sure, but the plan is right now that he is going to tell everyone that he is staying in the race and that he will be in that debate on sunday. John . Well look forward to what he is saying around the tanel here. This is an interesting moment. If senator sanders does as ryans reporting and stays in the race, congressman jim clyburn, who was absolutely critical to joe bidens win in South Carolina says its time to shut this down. My understanding is senior people in the Biden Campaign relayed to him, please, dont do that. We dont want to alienate the sanders supporters. But there will be a debate on his tone. What senator sanders says is as important as what he decides in terms of staying in. Again, look at the michigan exit polls. Women, joe biden gets 58 , black voters, 66 . White College Voters 55 . Union households 55 . Urban voters 57 . Suburban voters 53 . This is biden winning everywhere. And so, if youre sanders, again, i get he views his responsibility as the leader of a movement, but as someone whos also said goal number one is to defeat donald trump, wheres the sweet spot . I think its going to be a fascinating debate, right . Because in some ways, you could see joe biden feeling the need to be really kind to Bernie Sanders, because he needs to keep his supporters in the fold. So, you could actually see him praising his opponent quite a lot. And Bernie Sanders also, you imagine, would be kind of delicate about this. He knows what the numbers are. Thats why there was this discussion. Thats why we didnt hear from him last night. But i just heard the same thing that ryan nobles heard from Bernie Sanders, one of his top campaign guys, that hes staying in, hes going to debate, but its going to be a really delicate dance going forward. Bernie sanders at this point is really waging his campaign for his side of the Democratic Party, for his ideology, rather than in any realistic view for the nomination. So, how this happens and how democrats Stay Together through this process is going to be rough. But not to mention that people do like Bernie Sanders ideas, even if they are not voting for him. And i think that that is something that Vice President biden is also aware of. And one of the things that was most striking from these numbers from michigan is you saw just how much 2016 was about a dislike for Hillary Clinton. And a lot of the issue with that was the Bernie Sanders supporters did not only go and vote for Hillary Clinton, a lot of them voted for donald trump. I dont think thats likely something that youll see again, because what it seemed to be is that there are these collegeeducated white voters or not collegeeducated white voters who are voting for joe biden and going out and turning out for him. That was what helped boost donald trump so much in 2016, is instead of voting for Hillary Clinton, they wanted to vote for donald trump. So, it will be interesting to see how that factor plays into all of this. But its also really hard to see how its just going to be this lovefest between Bernie Sanders and joe biden on sunday night. They disagree on a lot. The Trump Campaign is trying to say theyre really similar, two sides of the same coin. They disagree on a lot of things, so its hard to see how if theyre pressed on that, how Bernie Sanders is all of a sudden going to, like, not hit joe biden over his support for the iraq war. Well, were going to hear from senator sanders in a few moments. Well take a quick break and come back and wait on senator sanders and also waiting on reaction from the Biden Campaign and his surrogates. A delicate moment in the democratic race. Robinhood believes now is the time to do money. Without the commission fees. So, you can start investing today wherever you are even hanging with your dog. So, what are you waiting for . Download now and get your first stock on us. Robinhood. 9. 95 . No way. . 9. 95 . Thats impossible. Hi, im jonathan, a manager here at Colonial PennLife Insurance company, to tell you it is possible. If youre age 50 to 85, you can get Life Insurance with options starting at just 9. 95 a month. Okay, jonathan, im listening. Tell me more. Just 9. 95 a month for Colonial Penns number one most popular whole Life Insurance plan. There are no Health Questions to answer and there are no medical exams to take. Your acceptance is guaranteed. Guaranteed acceptance . I like guarantees. Keep going. 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Saying im married to a registered nurse. I probably get told ten times a day what to do, and shes right. Cnns lauren fox is with us up on capitol hill. Lauren, different members, different responses. Reporter exactly right, john. Ill tell you, ive seen a lot more purell stations here on capitol hill than ever before in my time covering washington. But i was riding the train yesterday with pat roberts, who is 83. Hes the chairman of the Senate Agricultural committee. He was literally just using his elbows to try to hold on, because hes been told by his staff to try not to touch surfaces, try not to touch his face. He said, you know, thats really hard. There are some gestures ive had my entire life that now i find myself trying not to do because im trying not to touch my face. Meanwhile, hes carrying around wet wipes, which is something a lot of lawmakers are doing. Heres what other republicans said about how theyre dealing with the threat of coronavirus. One of my colleagues said she just decided to put her hand over her heart, and that replaced the traditional handshake. My schedules not changed at all. My structure, what im doing. Still shaking hands, still meeting people, still going through the process. Im not fistbumping or giving a chicken wing or whatever it is were doing nowadays. Reporter how youre changing what youre doing when you go back to your district during this spring break . Not what i was gonna do. Reporter and of course, next week is recess and all right a lot have been canceled. I talked to senator dick shelby, chairman of the appropriations committee, 86 years old. I said, are you nervous to be up here on capitol hill . And he said, well, im here, as he slowly backed away from the scrum of reporters surrounding him. John . Lauren fox on the hill. I guess different strokes for different folks. Well watch as this one plays out. A quick programming note for us here. A lot of questions about the coronavirus, right . Join Anderson Cooper and sanjay gupta for a second cnn town hall, coronavirus facts and fears tomorrow night at 10 00 p. M. Eastern on cnn. Were waiting to hear from senator Bernie Sanders at the top of the hour. Thanks for joining us at inside politics today. Well see you tomorrow. Brianna keilar will bring you the Bernie Sanders news after a quick break. Billions of mouths. Billions of problems. Morning breath . Garlic breath . Stinky breath . Theres a therabreath for you. Therabreath fresh breath oral rinse instantly fights all types of bad breath and works for 24 hours. So you can. Breathe easy. Theres therabreath at walmart. My body is truly powerful. I have the power to lower my blood sugar and a1c. Because i can still make my own insulin. And trulicity activates my body to release it like its supposed to. Trulicity is for people with type 2 diabetes. Its not insulin. I take it once a week. It starts acting in my body from the first dose. 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And moments from now, senator Bernie Sanders will be speaking publicly, and we could learn the direction of his Campaign Just hours after joe biden racked up some major wins, leaving Bernie Sanders a distant second in the race for the democratic nomination for president. Biden winning in michigan, a state that Bernie Sanders was hoping would be key to his candidacy, but a source with knowledge of his plan tells cnns ryan nobles that sanders is expected to stay in the race. So, we will be bringing you his comments live as soon as he begins there in burlington, vermont. In the meantime, the latest on the coronavirus, which the World Health Organization officially declared a pandemic just moments ago. Heres what were seeing in the u. S. Right now, a dramatic rise in the number of cases in just a week and a half. There were 71 cases at the beginning of march. Now we are up over 1,000 cases and climbing. There are cases in 39 states. 18 have declared states of emergency, and that includes Washington State and new york, where both are experiencing large clusters of cases. I can say we will see more cases and things will get worse than they are right now. How much worse well get will depend on our ability to do two things to contain the influx in people who are infected coming from the outside and the ability to contain and mitigate