Good morning from the WSJ Washington bureau. 

Trump's Day: President Trump participates in a Fox News “Virtual Town Hall” on the coronavirus pandemic in the Rose Garden this afternoon. The Coronavirus Task Force also meets this afternoon.

Markets: U.S. stock futures and global equities are rising this morning, following sharp swings Monday, as investors parsed central bank and government responses to the pandemic. S&P 500 futures gained about 5%.

Coronavirus: The U.S. now has the third highest number of cases worl-wide, with 46,450 reported infections, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Meanwhile, China is lifting its mass quarantine on Wuhan—where the coronavirus pandemic first emerged—on April 8.

Readers: Have a question about how Washington is responding to the coronavirus crisis? We'll try to answer them in our regular newsletter videos. Send your question to capitaljournal@wsj.com.

The stakes have rarely been higher for the nation: The risk of death to millions, and the cost of millions of jobs and potential bankruptcies if businesses and households can’t earn cash flow to pay their bills, report Jon Hilsenrath and Stephanie Armour. The White House is discussing easing social-distancing guidelines after the 15-day period ends amid the debate. Such a shift may not happen immediately after that period, an administration official said, adding that the White House is operating with a “high degree of caution.” Easing guidelines runs counter to the advice of public health experts, including in the administration.

• "We're not going to let the cure be worse than the problem," President Trump said at a press conference Monday evening.
• The U.S. surgeon general said on Monday the federal guidelines were working, but that “we really need more people to take this seriously.”
• Attorney General William Barr announced an executive order to prohibit the hoarding and price gouging of resources. 
• Hospitals and states say the nation’s safety net of medical-equipment supplies is falling short of need.
• The FDA is warning people to avoid any at-home tests for coronavirus.

Governors in New York, California and other states have ordered most businesses to shut and people to stay inside, with limited exceptions. Here is a guide to state coronavirus lockowns.

The Trump administration is postponing all court proceedings for asylum seekers in its “Remain in Mexico” program amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Supreme Court: Following guidance for social distancing, justices ruled remotely rather than summarizing their opinions on race, copyright and deportation from the bench.

Senate Democrats blocked the massive coronavirus rescue bill from advancing for a second straight day. Among the most controversial items in the bill is the $500 billion designated to help distressed businesses. Democrats worry that the money, under the control of the Treasury secretary, could become a political tool to reward favored companies, report Siobhan Hughes and Andrew Duehren, while Republicans accused Democrats of trying to add unrelated items to the bill, such as measures favoring renewable energy and unions. Debate continues today.

• The crisis is upending norms and rattling nerves on Capitol Hill. Colleagues are "acting like a bunch of kindergarteners," one lawmaker lamented.
• Coronavirus cases affecting Congress is bringing new urgency to remote voting. Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s husband is in the hospital with Covid-19.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s whatever-it-takes moment to help the U.S. economy arrived as lawmakers debated the plan to help reload the Fed’s weaponry, writes Nick Timiraos. The Fed's actions taken to backstop corporate debt and buoy small-business lending take the central bank well past the playbook it used in 2008.

• The big question now is how quickly the Fed can limit a deepening working-capital crunch across the economy.
• Coronavirus could trigger a global recession, the IMF said.

As the Senate struggles to pass a coronavirus rescue package, here's a look at four key differences between this bailout and the one of 2008 and 2009.

Government agencies are considering ordering air carriers to halt domestic passenger fights, Andy Pasztor and Alison Sider report. The TSA reported that passenger flow at its checkpoints was down more than 80% Sunday from the same day a year earlier.

Mortgage companies expect a severe cash crunch when Americans who lose jobs and income because of the pandemic stop making payments on their home loans, Andrew Ackerman reports.

The firearms industry is lobbying state and federal officials to have gun stores be categorized as essential businesses that are allowed to remain open during the nationwide shutdowns meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus, report Zusha Elinson and Jess Bravin.

A WSJ analysis of high-frequency data from a range of U.S. industries showed sharp declines in spending on hotels, restaurants, airlines and other travel. Spending boomed in other areas such as general merchandise and groceries, Gwynn Guilford reports.

President Trump has harnessed the unmatched media apparatus of the White House, while former Vice Preisdent Joe Biden plans a steady stream of broadcasts from his home. The crisis has made plain the platform and scrutiny that comes with the presidency, as well as the difficulty of garnering attention as a challenger, report Ken Thomas and Alex Leary.

The U.S. cut $1 billion in aid to Afghanistan, a deep hit for a country heavily reliant on foreign money, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's urgent diplomatic rescue mission failed to produce a breakthrough, report Dion Nissenbaum and Ehsanullah Amiri.

A U.S. military operation rescued an American woman from unspecified danger in Honduras, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said. The defense chief declined to offer specifics about the operation or the circumstances that led to it, Nancy A. Youssef results.

• While other Trump backers downplayed the threat, some of the president's earliest supporters were among the first to sound alarms over the coronavirus. (Vanity Fair)
• The international scientific community is working together as perhaps never before to stop the coronavirus. (Foreign Affairs)
• Two respected political handicappers now say the Electoral College map favors the Democrats. (CNN)

This newsletter is a production of the WSJ Washington bureau. Our newsletter editors are Tim Hanrahan, Kate Milani, Troy McCullough and Daniel Nasaw. Send feedback to capitaljournal@wsj.com. You can follow politics coverage on our Politics page and at @wsjpolitics on Twitter.