[♪] lou: good evening, the coronavirus and deputy i can continue --coronavirus pandemics to spread around the world an italian national tested positive for the coronavirus. government officials changing their tone and text of the message they are delivering to the american people about the coronavirus. the centers for disease control. principal deputy director said the virus is not an immediate threat to the united states, but

moments later said it's not a matter of if but rather when it spreads throughout this country. >> based on what we know now we believe the immediate rise next united states remains low. it's not so much a question of if this will happen but a question of exactly when this will happen, and how much team in this country will become infected and how much of those will develop severe or more complicated disease. lou: sobering questions and important questions. trump administration officials briefing the senate on the nature of the threat which is clearly a coronavirus and deputy i can. pandemic. tonight we'll have a briefing as well and our briefing will be

from the head of the president's head of the coronavirus task force, alex azar who briefed the senate today. he joins us here tonight. because of the obvious spread of the coronavirus to new countries, the pandemic is worsening. the dow and s & p both dropping more than 3%. the 10-year treasury reaching a new record low and we'll have more on the market sell-off later on this show. the attorney general william barr meeting with senate republicans. he worked to convince the senators that the fisa courts should be reauthorized. the attorney general agreed the ability to spy on americans is beneficial to the safety of americans. >> these tools have been

overwhelmingly useful according to our intelligence advisors. i hope when the senate deal with the these expiring provisions in a couple weeks we'll be able to continue to have them in law to provide protection for the american people. lou: should congress reauthorize the fisa courts without with looking at how the fbi exploited it to take down president trump. gilead and moderna are making major strides to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus. the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases

will test the drug. and moderna has sent doses of its vac even to the institute for testing. dr. fauci talking about the time frame for when a vaccine would be available. >> getting a vaccine within a phase one trial within a 3-month period. you need three months to determine whether it is safe. once you do that, you graduate to a much larger trial. the ends of the number of people in a phase one trial is 45. when you go to a phase two trial you are talking about hundreds if not thousands of individuals to determine efficacy. that is a trial we'll have to conduct in the countries and areas where there is active transmission.

that itself even at rocket speed would take at least an additional 6-8 months. lou: three more countries, austria, croatia and nigeria confirming cases. there are more than 2,700 people dead from the virus. 80,000 infected. with 97% of those cases in china. 28,000 have recovered. the united states holding status quo the last 24 hours. no new cases reported and no one else reported as recovered. our next defendant briefed the senate today and will be briefing the house tomorrow on the spread of the coronavirus. we are happy to have with us, alex azar, the secretary of health and human services.

let's start with the should be change? tone on the part of all of the briefing officials in your organization, the cdc from it's now not a question of whether we'll have to deal with this pandemic but rather when. >> our messaging has been consistent. from day one we said we'll have additional cases in the united states. but thanks to president trump's historically aggressive containment effort we have contained the spread of the virus at this point. we have 14 case of u.s.4 u.s.-identified cases. we have had 14 for two weeks with no change. we have the president's aggressive border patrol action. the public health

infrastructure, our hospitals, doctors, everybody is rowing in the same direction to keep the american people safe. lou: there is no question, the public health system and agencies have done a terrific job and we would expect the same of the broad healthcare community in this country. but the tone did i think you would agree change. it attached great urgency and greater certainty about the prospect of having to deal with a pandemic. >> there is a progression. if we see additional cases and ask community-based transmission. you might have mentioned that. community-based transmission of some variety. we'll work aggressively to mitigate the impact of that. that's what cdc is talking about. lou: i was not criticizing you.

i was complimenting you. treating americans as adults is what i expect from our government. and i think it's wise for our government to prepare for the worst, hoping for the best. i think you and all of your folks have all of the talent and judge to the do just that. >> i couldn't say it better. we want to treat everybody like adults. the president insisted on radical transparency. that's what the cdc and mih were doing today. given what's happening in the world we'll probably see more cases here and probably see community spread of the disease. but we have the tools to deal with that. we have been preparing for decades for spread of virus like this. so we know what we are doing. this is what we do. i think part of the message to the american people is we need to take a bit of a deep breath.

the government is work on this. we are work with congress to insure we have the right resourcing, and the president is providing the aggressive leadership on this. lou: let me go through a number of issues i think will be helpful for our audience. has there been any sort of breakthrough with china getting our science, our medical research doctors in to china? is there any sign of greater transparency and willingness to work as a responsible member of the world community? >> the world health organization team went to china. they returned one from the tonight.line h. and one from the c.d.c. were part of that deal. they felt they got transparent

cooperation and access to data. the reporting on that will be coming up from the world health organization. lou: mr. secretary, i expect our government to report to us. i don't care about the w.h.o. and its united nations politics or sensibilities. i want to know what our government knows, and i would really appreciate it if you would acknowledge that's important for your department and this government. >> absolutely it is. it's just the protocol when the w.h.o. sends a team. that team prepares a report. there is a report from the w.h.o. that will come out very soon that they are reviewing. we'll get the information directly. and when we get it we'll transmit it to the american people being transparent with what we know. lou: there are some holes we are

contending with. we are having some real issues in terms of dealing with the flow of travelers across our borders. i'm talking about legal immigrants as well as travelers lying to our immigration authorities about where they have been and that creates a real margin for a terrible prospect for the coronavirus, doesn't it? >> we have always said we can't hermetically seal the border. the whole concept is can we slow the spread of the disease down, focus our resources. not that some people aren't going to sneak into the country. but by these unprecedented measures in terms of border control by the president. slow it down, buy ourselves time

as we continue to prepare and get ourselves ready. lou: is there any contingency plan on which you would suspend international travel? >> we'll always be looking at travel restrictions. we are assessing them every day. as we did with china. if there needs to be any appropriate restrictions on people coming into the united states -- lou: that is one of your contingency plans to shut down travel if necessary. >> we'll always look at travel from hotpots if we think it will be effective. we'll take whatever step necessary to protect the american people. lou: do you think you will get the $2.5 million you have asked for? >> i feel confident we'll get the $2.5 billion. if we need more, we'll ask for

more and work with congress on that process. lou: we thank you for the briefing. president trump is on his way back to the united states from his two-day trip to india. before leaving india president trump held a press conference from which he called stout suprem --called out sonia sotom. the president arguing she and justice is truth bader ginsburg might think about recusing themselves. >> i don't know how they couldn't recuse themselves with anything having to do with trump or trump-related. she is trying to take the people month feel a different way and get them to vote the way that she would like them to vote.

i thought it was so inappropriate. such a terrible statement for a supreme court justice. lou: up next, the coronavirus, testing the country's supply of medical supplies, most of which from manufactured in china. also, president trump clashing with a member of the left wing national media. telling that person she should be ashamed of their network's reporting. i think called it the worst in broadcast history. we'll take it up with ed rollins when we continue. i am totally blind. and non-24 can make me show up too early... or too late. or make me feel like i'm not really "there." talk to your doctor, and call 844-234-2424.

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lou: more signs that a bernie sanders victory would indeed doom the radical dimms. 8 local and state officials who won elections as democrat or independents have switched to the republican party as of today. president trump facing off with cnn's pesky jim acosta.

>> i saw your critics pointed out that ambassador grenell has no intelligence experience. how can you justify having an acting dni with no intelligence experience. president trump: i want month help from any country. i haven't been given membership from any country. if you see what cnn, your wonderful network said. i guess they apologized -- didn't they apologize for fact they said certain things that weren't true. what was their apology yesterday? what did they say? >> i think our record on delivering the truth is better than yours. president trump: your record is so bad you ought to be ashamed of yourself. you have the worst record in the history of broadcasting. lou: president trump is one of the most patient people i know. i can't examine my heart how i

would feel with somebody interrupting me like that under any circumstance let alone president of the united states and remain so calm, collected and polite when treated as rudely as a president could be. joining us now, ed rollins. how would you deal with that cnn -- >> he would have a hard time finding his bag if he was on an air force one trip. lou: that's one way to do it. >> i wouldn't let him sit in the front row. >> he's on the press plane. let's go to the poll. bloomberg sharing internal campaign polling with his opponents seeking the nomination. isn't that generous? do you believe he's sharing

anything that's negative to his own interests? >> if you look at the polls, 41 districts. if you knew bernie sanders was a communist and un-american -- there are 31 seats that democrats hold that trump didn't carry. he will win those because of the fact he has done so many things on the economy. at the end of the day, everyone has to run their own campaign. if bernie sanders ends up being the nominee, we'll beat him like a drum. lou: with joe biden is giving us no choice. i think any responsible observer, i don't understand why anyone in the democratic party has not walked up to this man who is an icon of the party and said trusted friends, members of the family to say joe, your time is passed here.

this is become a severe embarrassment to you. and think of the money people investing. this is not a man -- responsible person who was put forward to lead this country. >> after next week he will be gone. >> the problem is, these people are always vowntdsed by p -- by i co-an.he's never won anything outside of delaware. he will get embarrassed next week in south carolina. at the end of the day there is no place for him at all. he has no money. we have had three occasions to basically where the voters get a choice.

new hampshire, iowa and nevada. they picked 101 delegates. next tuesday 1,357 delegates. big day. lou: who emerged victorious? >> i think bernie sanders probably does. he and bloomberg. bloomberg sent $100 million on television in california. if he survivors tonight and does better than he did last time it will come down to bernie sanders and -- lou: that's an awful choice. you are saying that after all of this, starting out with 16, 20 candidates, i can't remember now. winnowing it down to a billionaire who bought his way on to a debate stage, and a cop tonight, a socialist, he's pretty much a cop tonight after

he has given fidel castro a bear hug in china. >> 15 states next week. until today no one else decides bloomberg had any money on television? they don't have the structure bernie sanders does. lou: nobody is going to have money like bloomberg. by tuesday it looks like he will have spent half a billion dollars. that job pays $400,000 a year, right? >> if you have got $50 million, inter day. lou: $60 million. compound interest and everything. be sure to vote in our poll tonight. do you believe our government is prepared for the coronavirus

pandemic they say is likely to hit this country? cast your vote on lou dobbs. like me on facebook, follow me on instagram @loudobbstonight. i will be joining "bulls and bears" hosted by david asman top at 5:00 on the fox business network. republican members of congress say they exposed more corruption in the d.c. swamp. more creatures work for robert mueller. also the coronavirus exposing the country's dependence on chinese medical products and pharmaceuticals. we take that up and more with michael pillsbury when we continue.

lou: joining us now, dr. michael pillsbury. author of "the hundred-year marathon." good to see you and good to have you with us. the dependency on china, it's becoming clear to our senators and congressmen we have been played for fools to the degree in which this country is dependent on china. 97% of our antibiotics manufactured in china. 80% of far suit cals. this is stunning stuff. >> i agree it's stunning. i commends senator hawley for his letter to the f.d.a. there is much about our supply chain with china that is not understood well at all. in 2017, the pentagon demand a

report on how much weapons systems were made with parts from china. in some cases 2/3 or more our weapons involved parts from china. in the pharmaceutical industry, even the wedding dress industry. lou: we are facing a pandemic, i don't think a delayed wedding will be alarming. perhaps to the bride and groom. the reliance from china or antibiotics. the origin of this coronavirus, still the public health authorities cannot say with any certainty what the origin was even at this late date. >> the cdc website tells the

story of how they created the cdc of china. detecting viruses is pretty good as long as they don't fear contacting beijing. which is something that went wrong in this case. information that should have been made available in deputies but was not. lou: it's a go ver -- it's a gos issue. it was perhaps a research lab some 300 yards from the epicenter of this outbreak. the fact that we don't know yet whether or not this an engineered virus. it's deeply troubling. transparency would mean we would have access to that knowledge. >> that's right. also it's quite importance that our cdc personnel and other

americans have not been allowed to go into china or in the caves our cdc people in beijing, we are dealing on second-hands information. dr. fauci expressed frustration that he can't get straight answers out of china. lou: secretary azar is being cautious as well. he said point blank we are waiting for the w.h.o. report on what they learned there. that's retrograde thinking in this country. that's not american policy to me. we are waiting on the united nations for a damn report? >> remember the president was going to get rid of the globalists. but it looks like our dependence on the global system is very

high. we have to begin to be suspicious. why are the chinese saying no to an american team. i don't think it's the bio weapons lab but i can't be sure. the whole issue of wild animals. it's embarrassing to the chinese that they caused a pandemic because they wanted to eat wild animals in this market. lou: they are responsible for what is a pandemic. while the research scientists and the bureaucrats at the w.h.o. may want to sit object their hands before declaring this as a pandemic. it's as a matter of anglo saxon wording, it's an outbreak and a pandemic by their own definition.

on this broadcast it's a pandemic. we'll decide what we say, not the government, and certainly not the united nations. your thoughts on where we go from here. ken cuccinelli made it clear there are serious gaps in our border control system. we know illegal immigrants from pouring across between the ports of entry in varying levels right now. low levels, but that could change with the weather. your thoughts about whether or not -- because i thought secretary azar was somewhat reticent when i asked, is one of the contingencies -- shutting count border? should it be? >> the russians shut down their border. they are not playing games with this virus. lou: and they haven't reported any more cases.

the degree of transparency is arguable. >> we rely a lot on dr. tony fauci. he trained the chinese in virus detection and what to do. he's in contact with them by phone. so we depends a lot on dr. fauci. lou: up next, attorney general barr on capitol hill. we'll be talking with congressman jim jordan about whether the fisa court should be reauthorized by congress which seems to be anxious to do so. we'll be right back. as a caricature artist, i appreciate what makes each person unique. that's why i like liberty mutual. they get that no two people are alike and customize your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. almost done. what do you think?

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lou: attorney general william barr today meeting with senators and he encouraged them to reauthorize provisions of the fisa program before the deadline. accord towing lindsey graham that meeting seemed to go in barr's favor. >> the fisa statute is expiring. he made a pretty strong case that the tools that are about to expire, he made a commitment make sure what happened in 2016, internally he's going to clean up that mess. lou: don't you feel better now.

joining us, congressman jim jordan, congressman, great to have you with us. let's start with the basic question. shouldn't you and the senate, should the house and the senate reauthorize those courts without, without reform? >> of course not. remember a report a few months ago, michael horowitz talked about when the fbi went to the fisa courts they lied 17 times to spy on a fellow american citizen. i appreciate the attorney general. i think he has done a great job. but we cannot just reauthorize this. i think it president understands this. the american people understand it. they started spying on four american citizens in 2016 before president trump was elected president. this has to be reformed. we are pushing to make reforms that need to be there. the idea that you have to be a

citizen advocate representing the interest of the-american citizen? we can't just reauthorize this. we have to make them change it. lou: why would every republican not consider that these courts were a political weapon in the hands of the deep state and the radical dimms who controlled that house of representatives, and anything they would support which apparently is to reauthorize, why would they want to disarm? >> i think the house republican conference is strongly in favor of reforms to the court. if the process is abused there have pop penalties for the fbi personnel. there has to be a mechanism in place. there is an advocate there for the individual who is the target

of the fisa warrant. you have to have those things in place. i go back to the fact. look what happened in 2016. they didn't tell the court that the person who put together the dossier, christopher steele was quote desperate to stop trump. they didn't convey that information to the court. they didn't convey to the court christopher steele was being paid by the clinton campaign. we have to make changes to this and i think it american people understand that. lou: is it your judgment this resthorgs, mitch mcconnell, lindsey graham, they seem like big fans of status quo, let them roll with political corruption. we'll take everybody's word for it suddenly. >> we'll have a big debate in the house judiciary committee.

we'll see how those go in the hearings tomorrow. but i think also there is a number of senators who understand. you talk to your constituents -- the legitimate functions the fisa court does. we have to have the reforms in place, the changes in place that protect fundamental liberties. what happened to the president. i love what emmet flood said in his letter to the attorney general. he said if they can do it to the president of the united states, imagine what they can do to you and i. if your name is mccabe and comey and strzok and clinton. that cannot stand. this is the first real opportunity we have to fundamentally change things and protect basic liberties. lou: he does not want any future

president to go through what he went through. we went through was made possible through that fisa court. >> well said. lou: thank you for everything you do. thanks so much. congressman jim jordan. >> we would like to congratulate a friend of this broadcast, kt mcfarland for the publishing of her new back to, it's available? bookstores and online today. we recommend it highly. jpmorgan chase goes political. we take it up with our a-team panel after these quick messages. please stay with us.

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lou: a big sell-off on wall street. the nasdaq fell 256 points. volume on the big board 5.6 million shares. disney today announcing bob iger stepping down as ceo and becoming executive chairman through 2021.

bob chapek will assume the role of ceo. jpmorgan chase, they are going political. the bank says they will no longer finance coal companies as well as oil and gas developments in the arctic. the pledge similar to one made by goldman sachs in december. what a decision. i should say decisions. a reminder to listen to my reports three times a day coast to coast on the salem radio network. joining us, amy tarkanian, former chair of the snef republican party and mark simone. let's start with the debate tonight. aren't reexcited? >> i hope it was a repeat of the debate in vegas. bernie sanders stands stall, he's the frontrunner.

>> i hope nevada was an exception and the rest of the states take heed and don't do a repeat. lou: have they finished the vote count? >> they did. i do believe he won. but it happened in 2016 to him in nevada with hillary. >> much to be learned in the course of this. thoughts about these these caucuses. they are the most ridiculous things to watch. they are a waste of time. they are antithetical to the idea of one person, one vote. >> about 150 people, they can't count it for a month and they want to run our healthcare. tonight you will see bloomberg get run out again. you go to a restaurant and the picture on the menu looks

incredible. but when it cop out it looks nothing like the menu. the stammering, stuttering -- >> what will be interesting though, and i never thought this would come out of my mouth. i agreed with former senator harry reid. he issued a statement -- lou: i saw him on television the other day. god bless. he's now requesting we get rid of our caucus and go back to a primary. he's the reasoning we have the caucus in the first place. lou: it's one of the few times would agree with harry reid. >> they will go after bernie and they will tear him apart. he's a crazy lunatic. lou: just because he loves china and fidel castro?

>> i dwars maybe. but there is literacy program. they don't even have a library or books there. the people of cuba are terrific people. they really are. but to imagine the poverty they live in, it's worse than most of the caribbean islands. it's a disaster. >> they hardly make $300 a year at the most. >> guaranteed a loss in florida with that one statement. lou: i think it may be a problem for him in more than one state. let's go to the coronavirus outbreak. your thoughts about it. i assume you have seen part of our coverage tonight. we got a briefing from the sake terry of health and human services. he says it's not a question of whether, it's a question of

when. >> i can appreciate the fact they are being open and honest about the state we are in. i'm a mother of four kids. the concern is not just bringing home the average cold. but the flu itself. i'd told my husband when i get back to nevada i want to stock up and be prepared for at least a good two weeks on medications and food and water. lou: the influenza we are experiencing this year has already killed 20,000 people. and the a and b strains has been vicious. the influenza kills 80,000 people sometimes a year. in this country. >> i were all over this. there was one case here, one case there.

322 cases in italy. this is spreading at an alarming rate. these countries are not on top of this. lou: we call it a pandemic on this show. we are talking about 37 countries and thousands of people who are ill. you think bernie wins again? >> easily. bernie doubles down and he's authentic. >> i hope not. lou: do you have a dog in this race? >> i think the president is going to be re-elected. it will be good for us. mark simone. thanks so much. i am totally blind. and non-24 can throw my days and nights out of sync, keeping me from the things i love to do.

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lou: in our poll last night we asked you should congress continue to authorize the fisa courts after the political attacks on president trump? 95% of you said yes. do not reauthorize. that's it for us. thank you for being with us. tomorrow evening kimberley strassel from the "wall street journal" is among our guests.

be sure to catch mere on bulls and bears at 5:00 p.m. eastern. follow me on twitter and like me laurencheryl: it is 5:00 a.m.c, even recession fears, seem to be weighing on markets this morning. the dow is down 207 in the premarket. a state of emergency has been declared in san francisco and an american soldier tested positive for the virus. lauren: it was a fiery debate last night. shouting matches between the 2020 democratic candidates with bernie sanders as the main target. but with just days before the first in the south primary, can joe biden keep his narrow lead? cheryl: mcdonald's auctioning off a cup of gold worth an estite