The Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort passes lower Manhattan on its way to docking in New York, Monday, March 30, 2020. The ship has 1,000 beds and 12 operating rooms that could be up and running within 24 hours of its arrival on Monday morning. It's expected to bolster a besieged health care system by treating non-coronavirus patients while hospitals treat people with COVID-19. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
1. WHERE VIRUS IS USED AS AN EXCUSE TO QUELL DISSENT In places like Serbia, Hungary and Israel, leaders are assuming more power while they introduce harsh measures they say are necessary to halt the coronavirus spread.
2. POLITICAL PRISONERS FEAR INFECTION In some cells in Iran, Syria and other countries in the Middle East, prisoners crammed into filthy jails fear the coronavirus could run rampant.
3. '~PLEASE COME HELP US' New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says up to 1 million more health care workers are needed for his virus-ravaged city as the U.S. closes in on China's death toll of 3,300.
4. PROJECTIONS SHAPING VIRUS POLICY White House officials are relying on statistical models to predict the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and try to protect as many people as possible.
5. `FOR SOMEONE LIKE YOU, THIS MUST BE HELL' Extroverts, and introverts, too, face quarantine challenges as self-isolation designed to arrest the coronavirus' spread turns the tables on many societal norms.
6. WHAT THE EPA IS PLANNING Legal challenges are expected as the environmental agency plans to roll back Obama-era standards for raising vehicle mileage standards and producing electric automobiles.
7. DEBATE ON MAIL-IN BALLOTS REVIVED Democrats have argued that elections should be conducted by mail to make them easier for voters, but logistical challenges and Republican opposition would be major barriers to overcome.
8. GLOBAL STOCKS MOSTLY RISE World shares were mostly higher after China reported strong manufacturing data, extending an overnight rally on Wall Street.
9. SONY PICTURES DELAYS ANTICIPATED FILMS The Hollywood studio clears out its summer calendar due to the viral outbreak, postponing the releases 'œGhostbusters: Afterlife'ť and the Marvel movie 'œMorbius'ť to 2021.
10. USA BASKETBALL MAY FACE ROSTER CHALLENGES FOR 2021 Knowing when the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics will be solves one problem for the organization, but NBA free agency in 2021 creates another.
In this March 26, 2020, photo, Serbian army soldiers patrol in Belgrade's main pedestrian street, in Serbia. Since declaring nationwide state of emergency Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has suspended parliament, giving him widespread powers such as closing borders and introducing a 12-hour curfew. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
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Muslims wearing face masks wait for a bus that will take them to a quarantine facility, amid concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus at the Nizamuddin area of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. Police has cordoned off the area after several people who attended an Islamic congregation earlier this month here tested positive for Covid-19. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo)
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Medical personnel check people inside their cars to find out if they have symptoms of COVID-19 in Guarulhos on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Monday, March 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
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Police officers walk across an empty Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. The Russian capital has woken up to a lockdown obliging most people in the city of 13 million to stay home. The government ordered other regions of the vast country to quickly prepare for the same as Moscow, to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
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David Yamada, a nurse at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, participates in a vigil in Los Angeles, Monday, March 30, 2020. The vigil was put on to celebrate the steps that have been made at the medical center in protecting nurses' health and safety during the COVID-19 outbreak, and to call on further action from the federal government and demand additional improvements for nurses everywhere. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, March 30, 2020, in Washington, as President Donald Trump listens. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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A medical staffer works at the Santo Spirito hospital in Rome, Monday, March 30, 2020. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)
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An elderly man, wearing a protective face mask as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus, prays during mass at a church in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, March 29, 2020. COVID-19 causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
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Thai Buddhist monks wear face shield to protect themselves from new coronavirus as they walk to collect alms from devotees in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
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