promoearn: Unemployment claims could shatter last week's record

Thursday, April 2

Unemployment claims are soaring as the coronavirus pandemic shuts down businesses.

Thursday's Daily Briefing: Unemployment claims could set new record

Unemployment claims could reach 3.5 million, Michigan's governor will hold a coronavirus town hall and more news you need to know Thursday.

Good morning, Daily Briefing readers!

Today, unemployment claims could break the record set last week, Michigan's governor will hold a town hall on coronavirus and Dolly Parton will read you a bedtime story.

Fun fact: It's also International Fact-Checking Day, an annual celebration and call for more facts in public health, journalism, and everyday life. Shout out to the USA TODAY Fact Check team, which is dedicated to verifying claims and fighting misinformation. Celebrate by checking out this list of recent fact-checks related to coronavirus.

It's N'dea, and here's the news you need to know today.

Unemployment claims could set record amid millions of new layoffs

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg estimate a Labor Department report Thursday will show 3.5 million Americans filed initial applications for unemployment insurance last week, up from the record 3.3 million who sought benefits the prior week . Some expect a far bigger total, such as Bank of America expecting 5.5 million unemployment claims. The numbers could mark just the initial wave of a punishing couple of months. Several factors likely pushed the count higher last week, analysts say, including a flood of applications delaying claims and more layoffs and furloughs nationally.

•	St. Louis Fed estimates: Unemployment could top 32% as 47M workers are laid off amid coronavirus
•	See the list: Which states will be hit hardest by coronavirus-related job losses?
•	Where the jobs are: Companies that are mass hiring during the coronavirus pandemic

Here's how you can help a local business survive

You can help save a local business by buying a gift card and using it now, or later. Gannett's new platform Support Local, allows you to search for businesses in your community, add a business if you can't find it, and buy gift cards. Share the site with your friends, and help businesses in your community make it through the difficult time we are all facing.

Michigan governor to hold coronavirus town hall

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will hold a live town hall Thursday to give viewers a chance to ask questions about the coronavirus pandemic. Commercial and public TV stations in the Detroit area are teaming up to produce the show, which will be telecast from 7 to 8 p.m. EDT. Michigan is one of the states hit hardest by the coronavirus, with 259 deaths among more than 7,600 cases reported. Last week, President Donald Trump said he asked Vice President Mike Pence not to call governors he says have not been "appreciative," including Whitmer, whom he referred to only by gender. "Don't call the woman in Michigan," Trump said. Whitmer replied on Twitter that "right now, we all need to be focused on fighting the virus, not each other."

•	'Don't call the woman in Michigan': Trump says not all governors 'appreciative'
•	Mapping the coronavirus outbreak: See cases in all 50 states

Florida governor to accept state residents off cruise ships

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said his state was willing to accept Floridians on board two Holland America cruise ships seeking to disembark in Florida after more than 190 guests and crew reported flu-like symptoms, including eight passengers who tested positive for COVID-19. State officials, DeSantis said, are "working on a solution" to disembark other passengers, including foreign nationals, in a way that does not drain resources in South Florida, the state's epicenter of COVID-19 cases. There are 24 guests from Florida on the MS Zaandam and 25 on the MS Rotterdam. The ships, currently carrying a total of 1,200 passengers including 304 Americans, are set to arrive in Fort Lauderdale early Thursday. Carnival Corp., Holland America's parent company, reported in a recent SEC filing that approximately 6,000 passengers still aboard its ships are expected to disembark by the end of April.

•	Earlier coverage: Holland America ships get OK to transit Panama Canal for Florida
•	Illnesses: Royal Caribbean evacuates sick crew members from two cruise ships
•	CDC report: Coronavirus genetic material stayed on surfaces for up to 17 days on Diamond Princess cruise

Want more coronavirus news? Here's the latest

More than 1,000 people died of coronavirus in the United States on Wednesday alone as the country braced for what President Donald Trump predicted would be a "horrific" couple of weeks.

The U.S. death toll was at 5,138 early Thursday, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard. Worldwide, the virus has killed more than 47,200 and infected nearly 940,000.

I'll be rounding up the biggest updates related to coronavirus every day in the newsletter so you can stay informed. Want daily coronavirus updates in your inbox? Sign up here.

•	Coronavirus live updates: Los Angeles mayor tells residents to wear masks; Dow slumps
•	The first US coronavirus patients are being treated with convalescent plasma therapy. Will it work? Not even the doctors know.
•	A New Jersey doctor is the first emergency physician to die from coronavirus in the US
•	'It's horrible': Hospitals cancel surgeries because of coronavirus, leaving Americans in pain
•	Legal sex workers in Nevada struggling during coronavirus closures
•	In celeb news: Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and legendary jazz musician Ellis Marsalis Jr. die of coronavirus
•	Wimbledon canceled for first time since World War II due to coronavirus outbreak in UK
•	Zoom issues: People hijacking streams, possible security flaws
•	You want hand sanitizer, cleaning wipes and paper towels. Here's where you can still get them.
•	Will coronavirus cancel the conventions? Biden says 'it's hard to envision' a Dem convention in July

Storytellers Project: Tune in for a live storytelling show

Now more than ever, Americans want to feel connected. So the Storytellers Project is launching a series of national virtual storytelling nights as part of the USA TODAY Network's response to the novel coronavirus. This live show will air on network websites and social channels, including Storytellers Project's YouTube channel and Facebook page, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Thursday. Organizers hand-picked the best stories from more than 1,000 to be told live. Five Americans from across the country will tell a true story that affirms our most deeply held values — hope, perseverance, compassion and love.

Lindsey Braun tells her story during the Des Moines Register Storytellers Project at Hoyt Sherman Place on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, in Des Moines.

Brian Powers/The Register

Need a break from coronavirus news? Here's what else is happening

•	Ina Garten is all of us: Watch this Food Network star make herself a massive cocktail
•	Trump threatens Iran – again – if it attacks US interests in Iraq
•	California engineer ran train 'off the end of rail tracks' in attempted attack on USNS Mercy in Los Angeles, DOJ says
•	NASA received over 12,000 applications this year to be an astronaut in the Artemis program
•	FDA says do not take Zantac, requests removal of all ranitidine products from the market
•	Working out from home: Yes, you can do strength training at home without fancy equipment.
•	Review: Stunning 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always' finds drama in the drone of everyday life

Dolly Parton wants to read you and your kids a bedtime story 📚

Beloved pop culture icon Dolly Parton will begin a weekly web series Thursday called "Goodnight With Dolly," where she'll read a bedtime story . Parton will read stories, pulled from her international book donation program Imagination Library, each Thursday at 8 p.m. EDT for the next 10 weeks. She'll read books "specifically chosen for their appropriate content at this unique time." The singer said that this project is something she had been wanting to do for a while, "but the timing never felt quite right." Viewers can watch the web series on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

•	Encouragement: Dolly Parton says 'Don't be too scared, it's going to be all right'
•	Pitching in, with their wallets: Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Dolly Parton and more stars make donations to help amid coronavirus
•	Dolly the trendsetter: Celebs take on Parton's 'LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Tinder' challenge

In addition to "Goodnight with Dolly," Parton announced her plans to donate $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to fund research of the coronavirus.

Larry McCormack, The Tennessean

In better news: Go ahead. Get extra guac, you deserve it 🌯

Dining rooms across the country are closed because of the coronavirus pandemic but one of the year's most popular food days is still going on.

Thursday is National Burrito Day and while Mexican food chains didn't exactly go the whole enchilada, the day hasn't been canceled.

One of the biggest deals is a chance for healthcare workers to score a free burrito from Chipotle Mexican Grill. The rest of us can get free Chipotle Queso Blanco added to an entree on digital orders. Here are the deals available at participating locations Thursday.