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THE BIG DEAL—Democratic leaders report ‘some progress’ in stimulus talks with White House: Democratic leaders announced slow progress with White House negotiators Monday after meeting for nearly two hours in Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiHillicon Valley: Trump backs potential Microsoft, TikTok deal, sets September deadline | House Republicans request classified TikTok briefing | Facebook labels manipulated Pelosi video Trump says he’s considering executive action to suspend evictions, payroll tax Trump won’t say if he disagrees with Birx that virus is widespread MORE’s (D-Calif.) office on Capitol Hill.

• At this rate, no deal is expected before the end of the week, even after millions of unemployed Americans saw the $600-a-week federal boost to state unemployment benefits expire last week.
• Pelosi told reporters Monday that negotiators are still trying to map out possible common ground, while Senate Democratic Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerMeadows: ‘I’m not optimistic there will be a solution in the very near term’ on coronavirus package Biden calls on Trump, Congress to enact an emergency housing program Senators press Postal Service over complaints of slow delivery MORE (N.Y.) said he thinks an agreement is still possible.

“It was productive. We’re moving down the track, but we still have our differences. We are trying to have a clearer understanding of what the needs are,” Pelosi said after meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinTrump won’t say if he disagrees with Birx that virus is widespread On The Money: Democratic leaders report ‘some progress’ in stimulus talks | Prosecutors hint at probe into ‘possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization’ Democratic leaders report ‘some progress’ in talks with White House MORE and White House chief of staff Mark MeadowsMark Randall MeadowsTrump won’t say if he disagrees with Birx that virus is widespread On The Money: Democratic leaders report ‘some progress’ in stimulus talks | Prosecutors hint at probe into ‘possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization’ Democratic leaders report ‘some progress’ in talks with White House MORE.

“The needs are that millions of children in our country are food insecure. Millions of people in our country are concerned about being evicted,” she added. “The way we can correct so much of that is for us to defeat the virus. Much of our discussion has to be on how we defeat the virus, and that takes dollars and policy.”

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton explains here.

The prognosis: Asked if a deal might emerge in the next 48 hours, both Democratic leaders remained silent. Staffs on both sides plan to work late into Monday evening.

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What’s on the table: 

• The Democratic relief proposal would increase the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s maximum benefit by 15 percent. It would also provide a new 12-month moratorium on evictions for renters who do not pay.
• The proposal from the White House and Senate GOP does not include an increase in food stamp benefits or an eviction moratorium, but it does provide $105 billion to help colleges and schools resume classes in the fall. More money in the proposal would go to schools that resume in-person classes.

LEADING THE DAY

Prosecutors hint at probe into ‘possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization’ The Manhattan district attorney’s office on Monday hinted that its subpoena for President TrumpDonald John TrumpWhite House sued over lack of sign language interpreters at coronavirus briefings Wife blames Trump, lack of masks for husband’s coronavirus death in obit: ‘May Karma find you all’ Trump authorizes reduced funding for National Guard coronavirus response through 2020 MORE‘s tax returns is part of an investigation into potential fraud allegations detailed in media reports in recent years.

In response to the latest legal challenge by Trump’s attorneys, New York County prosecutors said that news reports about the president’s financial history provide sufficient justification for requesting the extensive amount of information from the accounting firm Mazars in their grand jury investigation.

The Hill’s Harper Neidig breaks it down here.

What prosecutors are eyeing:

• A footnote in the court filing listed three media stories published in 2018 and 2019 about the president’s financial history. One of them, a Washington Post story published last year, reported that Trump had inflated his net worth to potential lenders and investors.
• Prosecutors also cited a 2018 New York Times investigation that found Trump had employed “dubious tax schemes” that included “outright fraud” while managing the Trump Organization, which he still owns, in the 1990s.
• A third story, from The Wall Street Journal, details former Trump attorney Michael CohenMichael Dean CohenOn The Money: Democratic leaders report ‘some progress’ in stimulus talks | Prosecutors hint at probe into ‘possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization’ Prosecutors hint at probe into ‘possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization’ Federal appeals court rejects Stormy Daniels libel case against Trump MORE‘s allegations that the president directed him to pay hush money to two women who claim to have had affairs with the president. Those allegations had been previously cited by the prosecutor’s office in issuing the subpoena.

Trump backs potential Microsoft, TikTok deal, sets September deadline: President Trump said Monday that social media platform TikTok must end its U.S. operations on Sept. 15 if a pending deal with Microsoft to buy the company from Chinese group ByteDance does not go through.

“We set a date — I set a date of around Sept. 15, at which point it’s going to be out of business in the United States,” Trump told reporters. “But if somebody, and whether it’s Microsoft or somebody else, buys it, that will be interesting.” 

Trump noted that he approved of Microsoft buying TikTok. Microsoft confirmed Sunday that it had spoken to Trump and was in talks to buy TikTok from ByteDance, a Beijing-based company that is currently under investigation by the Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). 

“I don’t mind whether it’s Microsoft or somebody else — a big company, a secure company, a very American company — buys it,” Trump said Monday. “It’s probably easier to buy the whole thing than to buy 30 percent of it.”

The Hill’s Maggie Miller has more here.

GOOD TO KNOW

• The government should again impose strict coronavirus-related lockdowns for a month or longer across the U.S. in order to boost the economy, a top Federal Reserve official said Sunday. 
• Stephen MooreStephen MooreTrump says he’s considering executive action to suspend evictions, payroll tax On The Money: Democratic leaders report ‘some progress’ in stimulus talks | Prosecutors hint at probe into ‘possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization’ Conservatives urge Trump to take unilateral action to suspend payroll tax collection MORE, a member of the White House’s economic recovery task force, is urging President Trump to direct the IRS to suspend collecting payroll taxes, arguing that doing so would help the middle class and benefit the president politically.
• Five takeaways from Big Tech’s blowout earnings

ODDS AND ENDS

• Tailored Brands, the company that owns Men’s Wearhouse, has joined a growing list of retailers filing for bankruptcy protection amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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The U.S. on Sunday saw its smallest daily increase in coronavirus cases in nearly four weeks after hitting an all-time high in July.

The U.S. recorded over 47,000 new cases on Sunday, the lowest figure since July 6, The Wall Street Journal reported. California, the hardest-hit state, is also down from its peak, recording 9,032 cases Saturday after a peak of over 12,000 on July 21. Florida, meanwhile, reported 7,084 new cases.

Despite the decline, Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, said Sunday the virus is more widespread than ever and recommended that schools in areas of heightened risk should use distance-learning models rather than return to in-person classes.

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The U.S., which has more cases than any other country, hit its peak to date in July. More than 1.9 million new cases were reported last month, more than double the cases of any previous month, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Elsewhere, however, several other countries are seeing a surge in cases as well. India reported more than 50,000 new cases for the fifth consecutive day, reaching a total of more than 1.8 million. More than 38,000 people have died from the virus in India thus far.

Australia’s Victoria state has declared a state of disaster after reporting 429 new cases. President TrumpDonald John TrumpOklahoma City Thunder players kneel during anthem despite threat from GOP state lawmaker Microsoft moving forward with talks to buy TikTok after conversation with Trump Controversial Trump nominee placed in senior role after nomination hearing canceled MORE pointed to the Australian announcement in a recent defense of the U.S. handling of the virus.

China, where the virus is thought to have originated in a wildlife market in the city of Wuhan, reported 92 new cases over the weekend. The majority of these were in the western region of Xinjiang, which added 58 cases, the newspaper reported.

Hong Kong, which has also seen a recent surge in cases, recorded fewer than 100 cases Monday for the first time in close to two weeks. The city recorded 80 new cases Monday, the WSJ reported.

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Southwest Airlines has cut down on cleaning practices between trips as it moves to reduce the time it takes to make its planes ready for consecutive flights, according to an internal memo obtained by USA Today.

The memo states that crew members would focus on sanitizing tray table areas and lavatories, which are considered high-traffic areas of the planes, and would no longer wipe down seat belts and arm rests between trips. The memo reportedly went into effect Aug. 1.

“These are the most important areas to clean between each flight as they are prone to contamination from Customer use and food/beverage consumption,” the memo reportedly reads.

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The company stressed to The Hill in a statement that those procedures eliminated from between-flight cleaning would still be done overnight, and added that the planes undergo electrostatic cleaning every 30 days.

“We’re also providing sanitizing wipes to Customers, upon request, to wipe down any on-board surface. Since flight schedules have increased, other areas of the aircraft will be disinfected during our overnight cleaning process, when Southwest Teams spend six to seven hours per aircraft cleaning all interior surfaces,” said a Southwest spokesperson.

The airline’s CEO said in July that he believes air travel to be no more dangerous in terms of the risk of contracting coronavirus than any other form of public activity. 

“[We’re] doing everything we can to make it as safe as humanly possible,” Gary Kelly told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

“I don’t think the risk on an airplane is any greater risk than anywhere else,” he added.

The company added in the memo that it has no plans yet to end the blocking of middle seats, thereby ensuring that no passenger will be seated directly next to each other sharing an armrest. Southwest also requires passengers to wear face masks on board.

“If a customer is unable to wear a face covering or mask for any reason, Southwest regrets that we will be unable to transport the individual,” the airline has said. “In those cases, we hope the customer will allow us to welcome them onboard in the future, if public health guidance, or other safety-related circumstances, regarding face coverings changes.”

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– Below is a new promo for John Cena hosting the 2017 Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards on Saturday, March 11th:

My slime is NOW! The @nickelodeon #KCA is Saturday, March 11th! pic.twitter.com/6k6WvUkCWJ
— John Cena (@JohnCena) February 19, 2017

– Nia Jax picked up a squash win on RAW over a woman named Sarah Pierce. The enhancement talent was portrayed by Southern California indie wrestler Heather Monroe.

– As noted, WWE announced that former World Heavyweight Champion Dallas Page will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 33 weekend. Triple H tweeted the following on the induction:

Manager, performer, master of the Diamond Cutter, Yoga Instructor, good friend of over 25 years & now @WWE Hall of Famer. Congrats @RealDDP! pic.twitter.com/PrY68cedpV
— Triple H (@TripleH) February 20, 2017

Follow Marc on Twitter at @this_is_marc. Send any news, tips or corrections to us by clicking here.

WWE Considering Big Turn, Must See New Maryse & Noelle Foley, Triple H Ready to Push Former TNA Star on RAW, WrestleMania 33 Main Events, WWE Star Gets Backstage Heat, New GIFs & Galleries, More