We're coming to you from Alexandria, Virginia.
First off, the coronavirus is in Europe in a big way.
Italy is battling a breakout of cases - with five deaths have been reported, schools have been closed around Milan and this week's Venice Carnival celebrations have also been canceled.
Some news channels are reporting a state of lockdown as a search widens for what they're calling patient zero.
This will have a real economic impact - not only is Northern Italy the powerhouse of the nation’s economy, but Italy is the third-largest economy in the EU.
Not surprisingly, global stocks are being sold off and all major global trading markets are down as the coronavirus has now spread from Asia to Europe in a big way.
Second, AP reports, India pours on the pageantry with colorful welcome for Trump.
Trump kicked off two days in India with a huge campaign-style rally in the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a reprise of a raucous event the pair staged in the US last year and a visit to the Taj Mahal.
Third, in the Palmetto State, South Carolina Democrats will go to the polls for their primary on Saturday but before the voting, they will be holding a debate tomorrow down there in Charleston.
The debate will be hosted by CBS News, and seven candidates have qualified: Biden, Bloomberg, Buttigieg, Sanders, Steyer, and Warren
There are now more and more news stories about Sanders being the front runner.
The New York Times has a great headline, Sanders looks to knockout Biden as pressure builds on Democrats.
AP has, Sanders’ 2016 movement now as a political machine to push it and last night, Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes opened the program with a 15-20 minute with Sanders.
They discussed the race, and I must say during the interview, Sanders certainly seemed much more presidential.
So make some time and check out the interview from last night’s 60 Minutes.
Four, here are some commercial news stories we are watching.
Intuit is near a deal to buy personal-finance portal Credit Karma for about $7 billion in cash and stock.
Amazon is back out with the new show called “Making the Cut. This be very similar to the Bravo show Project Runway.
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn host 12 designers who will face challenges and assignments that will test their design skills and their abilities to run all aspects of a business.
You catch the new show on Amazon Prime and the winner’s products will be promoted globally on Amazon’s retail platform. More smartness from Amazon combing unscripted programming and commerce
Not surprisingly, one of the largest food companies in the world, Cargill is going to launch a plant-based hamburger and we'll go after the other fake meat companies, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.
Cargill has the capital and distribution to make a serious impact - plus this os further confirmation that meat from animals will soon be considered a luxury item reserved for special occasions as plant protein feeds more diets.
Five, today 1:00 pm Eastern, the city of Los Angeles will host a memorial service in honor of Kobe Bryant in the other passengers who perished in that tragic helicopter crash.
Staples Center will host about 20,000 people.
You can watch the memorial service on ESPN and other news channels.
And finally, The three football associations of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland announced a ban on heading during training sessions for children up to age 11 and will take effect immediately.
Numerous studies have shown that former football players have been negatively impacted the neurons in the human brain - so limiting headers makes some sense.
That's all we got for today.
We will be back tomorrow.
Enjoy the ride and plan accordingly.
-Marc A. Ross | Founder @ Caracal
