7 Things: Huge stimulus coming, Alabama runoff election can be postponed, Ivey wants restaurants closed and more …

7. Biden trounces Bernie, Bernie stays in the race

• Former Vice President Joe Biden, the favorite for the Democratic presidential primary, took another couple of steps towards securing the nomination by blowing out U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in Florida, Illinois and Arizona in elections that saw big turnout in spite of the coronavirus.
• Sanders has still refused to drop out as pressure and the delegate gap grows with his campaign co-chair Nina Turner saying, “I want the senator to stay in,” adding, “I think other voters have a right to have a choice. This is not a coronation. We know what happened last time in 2016 — it gave us Donald J. Trump.”

6. State liquor stores are closing

• Due to the coronavirus, the Alabama Beverage Control (ABC) board has decided to close 78 stores across the state. 
• Any ABC stores that stay open will reduce their hours to 12:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., and there will only be five customers allowed in the store at a time. Customers will also not be allowed to go through the store freely. Instead, employees will retrieve products for them. 

5. SEC has canceled all spring sports

• For the rest of the athletic year, SEC sports competitions will be canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak. Schools won’t be allowed to hold practices, meetings or football pro days. 
• SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said, “This is a difficult day for all of us, and I am especially disappointed for our student-athletes.” The SEC baseball tournament that’s been held in Hoover since 1998 has about a $15 million economic impact on the Birmingham area every year. 

4. American media carries China’s water, China kicks them out

• The American media continues to attempt to police the language of President Donald Trump and others who accurately reference the Chinese source of the coronavirus pandemic, even though they did the exact same thing. 
• To thank these dutiful scribes, the Communist Chinese government is now booting American journalists from such prestigious outlets like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post from the country for what they called “entirely necessary and reciprocal countermeasures” in response to the Trump administration demanding they cut their state-run staff doing propaganda in the United States.

3. Ivey suggests Birmingham close restaurants

• With the number of coronavirus cases in Alabama increasing and a majority of them being in Jefferson County, Governor Kay Ivey is suggesting that Birmingham restaurants close their dining rooms for at least a week. 
• Ivey has also said that restaurants in Tuscaloosa, Walker, Blount, Shelby and St. Clair Counties close restaurants as well, only leaving drive-thru and take out as dining options. The Alabama Department of Public Health is urging the rest of the state to consider following these guidelines. 

2. State of Emergency could postpone the U.S. Senate runoff

• The U.S. Senate runoff between former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville is set to take place on March 31, but Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said that the State of Emergency issued by Governor Kay Ivey could postpone the runoff.
• Secretary of State John Merrill has previously requested that the vote be postponed if legally possible due to the coronavirus pandemic. While Ivey can postpone the vote during a State of Emergency, it’s yet to be announced if she actually will.

1. Bipartisan support for trillion-dollar stimulus

• The Trump administration, Republicans and Democrats in Congress are all in agreement that massive economic stimulus is needed to keep the economy afloat as we continue to deal with the coronavirus outbreak with some suggesting that every American household receives a check within the next two weeks.
• But wait, there is more: Multiple industries, including the hotel, energy and restaurant industries are clamoring for a government bailout with the airline industry declaring the coronavirus’ impact to be worse than 9/11.