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Thursday, April 9

Austin High School seniors and best friends, clockwise from top left, Brooke Peterman, 17, Maddy McCutchin, 18, Lucia Saenz, 17, Reese Simek, 18, and Lily Tickle, 18, visit with each other in the parking lot at the school in Austin, Texas, on April 5, 2020. In the midst of a shelter in place order due to the coronavirus pandemic, the girls sat in the back of their cars to chat at a safe distance.

Joe Biden is leading President Trump in polling. 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment. It's Thursday's news.

As America marks 15,000 coronavirus deaths, the latest death toll projections could be closer to 60,000 than 240,000. Your stimulus check may be arriving shortly. And please, don't stop social distancing.

It's Alex, Patty and Steve with Thursday's news.

But first, there's a lot of information out there about COVID-19. Here's our guide to what you need to know about coronavirus.

The Short List newsletter is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe here!

15,000 lives lost

In the 41 days since the United States recorded its first coronavirus death, more than 15,000 people have died. Yet on a day marred by another grisly milestone in the nation's battle against the respiratory virus sweeping the globe, a silver lining. Senior White House adviser Anthony Fauci said the death toll from the coronavirus could be closer to 60,000 Americans, rather than the previously projected 100,000 to 240,000 deaths. That is, assuming full social distancing. But not all members of Trump's administration are in agreement about the best path forward.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director, National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health.

Jack Gruber

Barr: 'Draconian' measures should be revisited

Attorney General William Barr called the restrictions currently in effect to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus "draconian" and said they should be revisited next month. Asked by Fox News host Laura Ingraham about the balance between religious freedoms and the need to protect people, Barr said the federal government would be "keeping a careful eye" on states' use of broad powers to regulate the lives of their citizens.

Back to work? Baby steps, anyway.

And in a first, small step toward reopening the country, the Trump administration issued new guidelines to make it easier for essential workers who have been exposed to COVID-19 to get back to work if they do not have symptoms of the coronavirus . Essential employees, such as health care and food supply workers, who have been within six feet of a confirmed or suspected case of the virus can return to work under certain circumstances if they are not experiencing symptoms.

What about businesses?

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that parts of the economy could reopen by May. Asked by CNBC host Jim Cramer if the economy could be "open for business" in May, Mnuchin replied, "I do ... as soon as the president feels comfortable with the medical issues, we are making everything necessary that American companies and American workers can be open for business."

About the economy…

More than 6.6 million Americans filed unemployment benefit claims for the first time last week. The previous week's record 6.65 million jobless claims total was revised up by 219,000 to an all-time high of 6.86 million.

Have you checked your bank account today?

The much-awaited stimulus will begin flooding into millions of bank accounts next week, or possibly as early as Thursday or Friday. The first group — estimated to cover 50 million to 60 million Americans — would include people who have already given their bank account information to the Internal Revenue Service.

Give it to me straight

More than 450,000 cases have been confirmed in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University. Globally, there are more than 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 93,000 reported deaths. More than 346,000 people have recovered from the respiratory disease.

Real quick

•	Are Instacart shoppers stealing your groceries? The service's Twitter feed is rife with complaints from customers accusing personal shoppers of stealing their groceries.
•	Should you withdraw money from your 401(k)? Yes, the CARES Act allows no-penalty withdrawals and there is certainly a lot of people in need of help right now. But, here's what experts say.
•	We sat down with Harvard scientist Marc Lipsitch. He says, coronavirus "is the Big One … I hope never to see bigger."

Silly string or siphonophore?

Scientists on a research vessel have spotted a giant creature floating off western Australia that has been compared to a mass of silly string . The Schmidt Ocean Institute shared a stunning video of the Apolemia, a type of siphonophore, that was captured during an expedition of the deep sea Ningaloo Canyons. Although it's unclear exactly how long the animal is, the pilot of a remotely operated vehicle used lasers to determine the size of the siphonophore's outer ring and estimated it was 154 feet long based on its diameter.

Siphonophore are deep-sea predators related to jellyfish and corals that catch prey in their curtain of stinging cells.

Schmidt Ocean Institute

In election news...

Joe Biden holds an 8-point lead over President Donald Trump in a head-to-head match-up for president, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University . The poll, released Wednesday, found Biden is the top choice among 49% of registered voters and Trump the top choice of 41%. Biden is boosted by self-identified independent voters, who support him over Trump 44%-35%. The poll comes as Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out of the Democratic primary but urged his supporters to still back him in upcoming primaries ahead of the DNC convention.

What everyone's talking about

•	Prince William and Duchess Kate have a sweet Easter video call with students amid coronavirus. In the video, they first chat with two young boys who wore bunny ears in celebration of the upcoming Easter holiday.
•	Annnnndddd ... that's a wrap. 'Modern Family' finale recap: How life changes for all, from empty-nesting to far-away moves.
•	Cereal, snacks, baked goods fly off shelves. Yes, Americans are craving comfort food in the current crisis.

Here's how you can help a local business survive

More than ever, local businesses need your support. We are asking Short List readers to join us in supporting the local businesses that our communities rely on by purchasing a gift card at supportlocal.usatoday.com. We can get through this together.

A (paws) from the news

Now that many of us are working from home, you may have found yourself with a purr-fect new colleague: YOUR PETS! Email your pet pics to TheShortList@usatoday.com.

Meet Augie and Newman. They were told 6 feet is enough space for social distancing, but they have no idea how to measure a foot.