The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on every aspect of life. Hospitals and health care workers are overwhelmed as the number of those infected grows every day. The global economy has been upended and entire industries have come to a halt leaving millions without jobs. As Americans wait for a coordinated federal response, small business owners are running out of resources to keep their livelihoods afloat and their employees on the payroll. Lenore Estrada is the founder of Three Babes Bakeshop in San Francisco and the Executive Director of SF New Deal. She's had to lay off most of her employees and lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in business. She joined Politics to share how things have changed since the start of the economic downturn.  Congressman Colin Allred of Texas weighs in on the $2 trillion stimulus package out of Washington this week. Among many things, the stimulus package is supposed to provide relief for small businesses struggling to adapt to the loss in traffic. The Washington Post's Paul Kane covered the 2008 financial crisis in addition to the ongoing one. He joins Amy Walter to analyze the details of the stimulus package and how Democrats are working to ensure there are checks on assistance for large corporations.  First responders are putting their lives on the line throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. James Augustine is the Medical Director of South Fulton, Georgia. He describes how first responders are adjusting to the realities of the pandemic.  Finally, Anita Dunn, senior adviser to former Vice President Joe Biden, shares how campaigning has changed as a result of the pandemic.

Faith Communities Find Creative Ways to Congregate Amid Pandemic Places of worship are transitioning to creative ways of holding services that protect their congregations from the spread of the coronavirus. What COVID-19 Means for VA Clinics in the U.S. For years, the Department of Veterans Affairs has had to deal with crisis after crisis. As COVID-19 spreads across the country, the VA is once again finding itself in hot water.  Joking from a Distance: Maria Bamford on Workshopping New Material Online As part of a series of check-ins with different comedians, The Takeaway speaks with stand-up comic Maria Bamford about workshopping her material in a moment of social distancing.

The Big Challenges Latin America Faces with Coronavirus In Latin America, the reported number of cases has remained low, and not all governments are taking precautions. Some leaders don’t seem to be taking the risks very seriously, either.  How Coronavirus is Affecting the Primaries As the coronavirus pandemic continues, so does the campaign for President of the United States. But it looks different than just a few weeks ago. Online Games Like Animal Crossing are Giving People Ways to Still Gather and Socialize Video games like Nintendo's, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, are giving people opportunities to hang out in virtual spaces when they can't in real life.  Bonus: What PG&E's Involuntary Manslaughter Guilty Plea Means for the Company's Future On Monday, California utility company Pacific Gas and Electric announced that they’ll plead guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter for their role in the 2018 Camp Fire.

How Effectively is the Media Covering Trump's Handling of COVID-19? Most television and radio news outlets are airing President Trump's coronavirus press briefings, despite the president's tendency to put out misleading information. Immigration Advocates Call on ICE to Release Detainees Immigration advocates and attorneys have called on ICE to release migrants and asylum seekers who are at risk of contracting COVID-19.  Nurses Call for More Protective Gear, Training in the U.S.  In some parts of the country, nurses are already struggling to secure the equipment and training they need to safely care for their patients.  Takeaway Host Tanzina Vega on Motherhood and Social Isolation Host Tanzina Vega gives us an update from her home in Queens, New York, where she is on maternity leave.

Across the Globe, Health Care Workers Are On the Front Lines of Pandemic In the U.S., health care workers are sounding the alarm on severe equipment shortages in the country. COVID-19: Are Rural Hospitals Prepared for the Pandemic? For years, rural healthcare facilities have struggled to stay afloat. How COVID-19 is Putting More Strain on Homeless Shelters The rapid acceleration of coronavirus is stressing an already overcrowded shelter system.  How Sex Workers Are Impacted by COVID-19 A look at how sex workers are impacted by COVID-19.

This week, a look at the way coronavirus is reshaping our worldview. Louisiana was the first state to postpone their primary contest as a result of the ongoing public health pandemic. Several states have since followed its lead. Louisiana's Secretary of State R. Kyle Ardoin joins Politics to explain the reasoning behind the decision to move their primary. The global economy has slowed considerably as communities attempt to contain the spread of coronavirus. Economist and Howard University professor Andria Smythe describes the tools that policymakers are using to soften the economic blow.  Wendy Parmet, professor of law and the director of Northeastern University's Center for Health Policy and Law in Boston, discusses the power that state and local governments have to deal with a public health crisis.  During times of crisis, people look to the President. A strong show of leadership has the power to calm nerves and reassure audiences that everything will be okay. Professor Barbara Perry is the Presidential Studies Director at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. Professor Perry weighs in on what the role of the president has been historically and what lessons can be applied to the ongoing pandemic.  Check out our ongoing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.

Amazon's Sales Are Up But Their Workers Don't Feel Safe Americans are hunkering down to slow the spread of the coronavirus. As people spend more time at home trying to avoid contact, they’re also shopping online more. In Africa, Number of Reported Coronavirus Cases is On the Rise On Wednesday, the World Health Organization said Africa should “prepare for the worst” as the disease continues to spread across the region. Keep Calm and Stream On Let’s talk about entertainment in the age of COVID-19.

Puerto Rico's Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic Governor Wanda Vazquez has issued stricter guidelines to citizens on the island than we have seen anywhere on the mainland U.S., with a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. How Much Will Workers Benefit from a Congressional Stimulus Package? From paid sick leave to $1,000 checks, The Takeaway looks at what potential stimulus packages from Congress could mean for workers across the country. DOJ Drops Charges Against Russian Firms Implicated in 2016 Election Interference You might have missed what the Department of Justice did this week: they dropped charges against two Russian firms accused of funding efforts to interfere in the 2016 election. U.S. Soccer President Resigns Following Equal Pay Backlash The U.S. women's soccer team filed a gender discrimination lawsuit, and the Soccer Federation's response has left them in hot water.