Vice President Mike Pence took control of the U.S. response to the coronavirus Thursday by pledging an “all hands on deck” effort, hoping to contain panic over the outbreak that fueled another rout on Wall Street.

Mr. Pence toured an operations center that is tracking the disease known as COVID-19 and said he has reached out to Republican and Democratic congressional leaders to forge a united front against the virus.

“I want to assure you in the days ahead the full resources of the government will be brought to bear,” Pence told reporters at a meeting of his new team at the Department of Health and Human Services. Read Full Story

• The Hill: Pence Taps Career Health Official to Coordinate WH Coronavirus Response
• Washington Examiner: Lindsey Graham: GOP Will ‘For Sure’ Take Back House if Sanders is Dem Nominee
• The Washigton Free Beacon: Dem Candidates Skip Senate Born-Alive Vote
• Townhall: Coronavirus Crisis Is Trump’s Time to Lead
• PJ Media: Ted Cruz Slams Dems: ‘Party of the Rich’ Who ‘Sip Their Lattes, Look Down on Working Class Americans’

President Donald Trump said in an early morning tweet on Wednesday that he will hold a news conference at 6 p.m. to address his administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.

In the post, he continued to blame the media and Democrats for overstating the danger of the disease, even as health experts have warned of its spread.

Trump accused MSNBC and CNN of “doing everything possible to make the Coronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible.” Read Full Story

• The Hill: Republicans Give Barr Vote of Confidence
• Washington Examiner: Native Americans Demand Elizabeth Warren ‘Fully Address the Harm’ of Heritage Claim
• The Washington Times: Trump Would ‘KO’ Sanders in Presidential Matchup: Rasmussen Voter Poll
• Townhall: Charleston Chaos: A Messy Debate That Changed Little
• American Thinker: Sorry, Democrats: Party’s Over

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said that the United States has reached an “understanding” with the Taliban on a reduction of violence across Afghanistan, paving the way for a peace agreement between both sides to be signed on February 29.

Pompeo said in a statement early in the morning that, after discussions in Doha, Qatar, U.S. and Taliban representatives “have come to an understanding with the Taliban on a significant and nationwide reduction in violence across Afghanistan.” A deal is expected to be signed if the weeklong agreement to reduce violence holds.  Read Full Story

• The Hill: Graham: Trump Has ‘Legal Authority’ to Pardon Stone
• Washington Examiner: Thousands Brave Freezing Weather to Camp Out Ahead of Colorado Trump Rally
• The Washington Free Beacon: Steyer: Trump Won the Democratic Debate
• Townhall: You Bernie Suckers Are Going to Get Fooled Again
• PJ Media: Are Teenagers Really the People We Want Deciding the 2020 Election?