POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: BAKER blasts TRUMP’s immigration move — School is OUT, distance learning is IN — WARREN in the VEEPSTAKES

By Stephanie Murray GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. It's Earth Day! WARREN IN THE VEEPSTAKES — In the weeks after she dropped out of the presidential race in March, Elizabeth Warren was pretty quiet. The senator did not rush to endorse Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders, breaking with others in the primary field — namely Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar — who quickly threw their support behind Biden after ending their own campaigns. But now that Biden is the presumptive nominee and Warren has endorsed him, she has stepped back into the spotlight. She's live on Instagram with Miley Cyrus. She's sharing her email list with Biden. She is offering plans to ease the coronavirus crisis. She is the subject of vice presidential speculation. Warren, who polls well as a potential veep pick, has confidently answered "yes" when asked if she'd accept an offer to be Biden's running mate. To be sure, much of Warren's high profile comes from being in the Senate and governing in a pandemic — the Cambridge Democrat had a coronavirus plan back in January. But if we were operating in a world not dominated by the dual public health and economic crises, the veepstakes that's playing out now would probably get a little more attention. Biden has said he will choose a woman as his pick for VP. If he is eyeing Warren as a potential pick, it may be because she could bring in support from the progressive side of the Democratic Party. On the other hand, some are still bitter from her primary clash with Sanders. Warren also has a powerful base of small-dollar donors, something Biden has struggled with, and she became a well-known figure during the last economic crisis in 2008. This is still all up in the air, but there is one question that's already making the rounds: What would happen to Warren's seat in the Senate if she were on the ticket? I wrote last year about what a Senate vacancy would entail, so here's a refresher. Right now, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has the power to appoint an interim senator, and then the state would hold a special election to fill the seat. But if recent history is a guide, the vacancy laws are quite fluid. The legislature moved to change the rules in 2004 to ensure GOP Gov. Mitt Romney could not appoint a Republican in the event that then-Sen. John Kerry won the presidential election. Lawmakers changed the rules again in 2009 so Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick could appoint an interim senator. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com. TODAY — POLITICO Playbook co-authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman interview former Secretary of State John Kerry. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is a guest on WGBH's "Morning Edition." Rep. Katherine Clark is a guest on WGBH's "StreetTalk." Rep. Joe Kennedy III holds an "emergency broadcast" livestream in Brockton. Rep. Richard Neal visits the Springfield Materials Recycling Facility. Sen. Ed Markey and Alice Arena of Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station host a livestream. Markey speaks at the Massachusetts Sunrise Movement's Climate strike. Rep. Lori Trahan reads "The Lorax" on Facebook Live for Earth Day.   DON'T MISS TODAY'S VIRTUAL PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH JOHN KERRY: Join Playbook co-authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman today at 4 p.m. EDT for a virtual discussion with former Secretary of State John Kerry . Kerry weighs in on the global action needed to overcome the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and his latest message and thinking as a surrogate for the Biden campaign. Join the discussion. Have a question? Tweet it to @POLITICOLive using #AskPOLITICO. REGISTER HERE TO PARTICIPATE.     THE LATEST NUMBERS - "Coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts increase by 152, more than 1,500 new cases," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "One-hundred-fifty-two more people have died from the coronavirus in Massachusetts as the number of confirmed cases increased by 1,556 on Tuesday, according to state health officials. The 152 new deaths bring the state's COVID-19 death toll to 1,961, the state Department of Public Health announced. The state now has 41,199 confirmed cases of the highly contagious disease, an increase of 1,556 cases since Monday. The number of new daily reported cases has gone down each day since Thursday's count of 2,263 cases." DATELINE BEACON HILL - "Baker extends school shutdown until fall," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "Schools won't reopen until the fall, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday, as the state continues to battle a surge in COVID-19 infections and deaths. Baker said public and private K-12 schools, which were set to reopen May 4, will stay closed for the remainder of the academic year, and he urged students to continue to stay home and practice social distancing." - "State pausing part of its nursing home testing program; state data riddled with inaccuracies," by Laura Krantz, Laura Crimaldi and Robert Weisman, Boston Globe: "As the number of deaths in nursing homes from COVID-19 surpassed 1,000 on Tuesday, the state announced it will pause a key component of its plan for testing residents of long-term care facilities. Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders at a State House news conference said the state would temporarily stop shipping coronavirus test kits to nursing homes." - "Oops, nursing home COVID-19 deaths omitted," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "In creating a new dashboard for the state's war on COVID-19, key information on one of the so-far losing battles was inadvertently dropped on Monday. Deaths at long-term care facilities, which have skyrocketed in Massachusetts, were not included in the inaugural edition of the dashboard Monday night. Officials said that data failed to transfer from one database to another, and was mistakenly omitted. The dashboard released late Tuesday afternoon included the information, which indicated nursing home deaths from COVID-19 increased by 123 to 1,059, a gain of 13 percent from Monday." - "Massachusetts House passes a bill requiring COVID-19 reports from nursing homes, assisted-living facilities," by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: "Lawmakers in the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill that requires long-term care and assisted-living facilities to share daily reports on COVID-19 cases and deaths to health officials. The House passed the bill Tuesday afternoon after approving an amendment from Rep. Ruth Balser, a Newton Democrat, substituting new language, according to a transcript published by the State House News Service. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration." "Gov. Baker leaves door open for Massachusetts businesses to reopen before end of June if COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations decline," by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: "Gov. Charlie Baker's announcement extending school and daycare closures through June confirmed that the road to reopening Massachusetts will be much longer and more arduous than officials initially thought, but there's hope that businesses and agencies won't be shuttered for that long." - "Hospitals seek more virus aid," by Christian M. Wade, Gloucester Daily Times: "The state's hospitals are hemorrhaging more than $46 million a day as they battle the COVID-19 virus outbreak, and more relief is needed to keep them afloat, according to a trade group. The Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, which represents 70 hospitals, estimates that Massachusetts' acute care hospitals and affiliated physician groups are collectively losing more than $1.4 billion a month." FROM THE HUB - "Citing lack of universal testing, Mayor Walsh says there's no timeline for reopening Boston," by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: "Mayor Martin J. Walsh said Tuesday there is no timeline for a return to some semblance of economic normalcy in Boston, as key prerequisites to reopening the city, including universal testing for COVID-19, could be months away. Calling recent announcements about quick reopenings in places like Georgia ' dangerous and detrimental,' Walsh said Boston is 'still in the process of combating the virus.'" - "Doctors fear sick are forgoing treatment," by Christian M. Wade, The Salem News: "Emergency rooms are swamped with COVID-19 patients, and many doctors offices have cancelled checkups and other routine visits as health care facilities limit public access to avoid further spread of the respiratory illness. But health officials worry the precautions, coupled with public fear, are keeping people who need help from seeking it." - "State firms lagged in receiving federal coronavirus rescue money," by Larry Edelman and Shirley Leung, Boston Globe: "Massachusetts, New York, and other states hard hit by the coronavirus came up short in the first round of federal rescue money for small businesses, while states with far fewer cases such as Nebraska and North Dakota got proportionally more money." - "Health, economic disparities need to be addressed in recovery, advocates say," by Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: "The health and economic inequities exposed by the coronavirus pandemic in Boston's communities of color aren't new — and advocates say the longstanding disparities need to be addressed as the city looks to recover from the crisis. 'This isn't the first sort of crisis we've seen,' Michele Courton Brown, CEO of Quality Interactions and a member of the city's COVID-19 Health Inequities Task Force, said during a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce event Tuesday on health disparities during the outbreak." - "Museum of Science, Boston Announces Staff Furloughs And Layoffs," by Christian Burno, WBUR: "The Museum of Science, Boston announced 250 staff furloughs and 122 staff layoffs in the wake of the COVID-19 health crisis. This is part of the museum's cost-cutting measures, which started with the museum closing on March 12." PRIMARY SOURCES - "Mass. secretary of state crafting vote-by-mail package, cautions against mailing every voter a ballot," by Matt Stout and Victoria McGrane, Boston Globe: "Secretary of State William F. Galvin said Tuesday he is crafting a legislative package that would allow early voting by mail before September's primary election and expand the window people could send in ballots before November's general election amid fears the COVID-19 pandemic could drag into, and past, the fall. Galvin, the state's chief election officer, said he's finalizing details of the proposal, with the goal of releasing it in May to allow time for it to gain legislative approval." - FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: "Sunrise national spokesperson and Brookline High School senior Saya Ameli Hajebi endorses Alan Khazei for Congress," from the Khazei campaign: "Brookline resident and Brookline High School senior Saya Ameli Hajebi today announced her endorsement of Alan Khazei in the Fourth Congressional District race for his forward-thinking, structural agenda for climate action and the Green New Deal, citing his leadership on major social movements and his inclusive strategies for community-based programs." WARREN REPORT - "It is time to pause all debt payments and cancel student loan debt amid coronavirus outbreak, Elizabeth Warren says," by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: "As lawmakers hammer out a fourth COVID-19 relief package, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown on Tuesday proposed a host of measures, including pausing all debt payments, to provide quick relief to American consumers grappling with a pandemic that's cost millions their jobs and made it tougher to pay bills." FROM THE DELEGATION - "Livestreams Replace Floor Speeches As Lawmakers Make Their Cases From Home," by Kimberly Atkins, WBUR: "When Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced her Essential Workers Bill of Rights legislation earlier this month, she couldn't make the usual Senate floor speech to urge her colleagues to include it in the next coronavirus response package. So instead, she did it from the sunroom of her Cambridge home, via video conference with co-sponsor Rep. Ro Khanna of California." - "US Rep. Richard Neal hails aid for hospitals, calls for money to state and local governments in next stimulus bill," by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: "Rep. Richard E. Neal said Tuesday he expects to go back to Washington later this week and vote on a new $484 billion coronavirus relief bill, legislation he said he spent the weekend hashing out with the Trump administration while working in concert with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others." TRUMPACHUSETTS - "Baker was asked about Trump's vow to halt immigration. He didn't mince words," by Jaclyn Reiss, Boston Globe: "After Governor Charlie Baker announced the closure of Massachusetts schools for the rest of the academic year amid the coronavirus pandemic, he also spoke about a slew of other topics at a Tuesday afternoon press conference — and fielded pointed questions from reporters. One such question had to do with President Trump's claim that he will sign an executive order 'to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States' because of the coronavirus." - "Massachusetts lawmakers pledge to fight President Donald Trump's order to halt immigration," by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: "Several Massachusetts lawmakers say President Donald Trump's plan to halt immigration amid the COVID-19 pandemic smacks of racism and scapegoating designed to divide the nation at a time when tens of thousands of Americans have died in less than two months. The lawmakers, all Democrats, pledged Tuesday to fight an upcoming executive order announced in Trump's tweet after 10 p.m. on Monday night." - "Harvard says to keep stimulus grant after Trump vows it will be returned," by Steve Holland and Alexandra Alper, Reuters: "Harvard University said it plans to keep an $8.6 million grant it received as part of a stimulus package to blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus lockdown, contradicting U.S. President Donald Trump who pledged the university would return it. Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, Trump pointed to the institution's ample endowment - worth nearly $41 billion - as the reason why it should hand over the money." IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN - "Harvard pledges net-zero investment in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050," by Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe: "Facing pressure from faculty, students, and alumni to divest from fossil fuels, Harvard on Tuesday announced that it planned to move its $41 billion endowment to a net-zero investment in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The slow move toward a more environmentally friendly investment policy is likely to disappoint those who had pushed for a swift withdrawal of investments in oil and gas companies." ABOVE THE FOLD — Herald: "POWER COUPLE," "CLASS OF COVID-19," — Globe : "Schools will stay closed until Sept. at earliest," "Mass. firms lag in getting SBA money." FROM THE 413 - "Jail tests indicate hidden COVID-19 problem," by Michael Connors, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "Tests in recent days on almost two dozen inmates with no signs of illness at the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction have come back positive for COVID-19 in eight cases. 'That's almost 35 percent positive in a group of inmates with no symptoms, who have been practicing physical distancing for several weeks, have been supplied with protective masks and have been quarantined for the past 10 days,' Sheriff Patrick J. Cahillane said." THE LOCAL ANGLE - "Why coronavirus has seemingly spared Fall River and New Bedford so far," by Tonya Alanez and Naomi Martin, Boston GLobe: "Across the country and through much of Massachusetts, the coronavirus has hit immigrant and low-income communities especially hard. But New Bedford and Fall River, two gateway cities south of Boston, are seemingly bucking that demographic trend, registering far lower rates of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths than comparable cities." - "Cohasset warns parents of $300 fines if kids don't stop gathering in groups," by Johanna Seltz, Boston Globe: "Alarmed by the number of young people gathering outside in groups, Cohasset officials have sent letters to parents warning of $300-a-day fines for their children's failure to comply with the state's advisory to stay at home to limit the spread of COVID-19. The letters noted that on specific dates, the Cohasset police had dispersed groups of young people that included the family's son or daughter." - "UMass Memorial has seen 30% increase in ventilated coronavirus patients since Friday; CEO says underserved population suffering disproportionally," by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: "Worcester County appears to now be a COVID-19 hot spot in Massachusetts, according to the CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care, who said the system has seen a 30% increase in the number of ventilated patients since Friday. UMass Memorial, a system of hospitals in Central Massachusetts, is getting tighter on critical care space, but still has some capacity and plans to open additional surge areas." - "Mitchell says state coronavirus numbers for New Bedford are off," by Kiernan Dunlop, SouthCoast Today: "On Monday, Mayor Jon Mitchell announced that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Whaling City were substantially higher than what was being reported by the state and later said the Greater New Bedford area was on a different curve of viral transmission than the rest of the state. While the state was reporting 188 cases of COVID-19 in the city on Monday morning, the city's Health Department had tracked more than 250 positive cases, according to a post to Mitchell's Facebook page." - "More COVID-19 deaths at Wilmington nursing facility," by Emma Murphy, The Lowell Sun: "AdviniaCare at Wilmington is continuing to battle rising COVID-19 deaths. As of Monday, 28 residents at the skilled nursing facility have died of COVID-19, a spokesperson for AdviniaCare confirmed. Town officials have zeroed in on the facility since its March 31 announcement that it intended to temporarily designate the nursing facility for COVID-19 care." TRANSITIONS - Elijah P. Bresley joins Sherin and Lodgen LLP. HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Yasmina Vinci and Evan Dobelle. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you're promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.   BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: A DIFFERENT KIND OF NEWSLETTER: "The Long Game" explores the convergence of private sector leaders, political actors, and NGO/Academic experts on the key sustainability issues of our time. Subscribe for a nuanced look at sustainability news, trends, solutions and the leaders focused on building a future for generations to come. Launching soon. Subscribe today.       Follow us on Twitter Stephanie Murray @StephMurr_Jour   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters Follow us

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