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THE BATTLE FOR THE PROGRESSIVES Sen. Ed Markey is touting an endorsement from Progressive Mass this morning, a statewide group that says 96 percent of its members prefer him to Rep. Joe Kennedy III.

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Beyond being a boost for Markey, the progressive endorsement illustrates a point of tension between Markey and Kennedy in the Senate primary. Their supporters and staffers often go back-and-forth over which of the two Democrats is more progressive.

Markeys supporters insist the incumbent is more progressive, pointing to his work on the Green New Deal in particular, and cast Kennedy as a moderate. Kennedys campaign often pushes back.

Just objectively not true, Kennedy spokesperson Emily Kaufman wrote on Twitter in March, pointing to an analysis of Kennedy's voting record by the database ProgressivePunch. And the campaign has taken it a step further, pointing out Markeys past positions on the Iraq War and the 1994 crime bill. He aint no Bernie, Kaufman wrote of Markey.

For Progressive Massachusetts, the endorsement boiled down to Markey being earlier to progressive issues like Medicare for All, said member Jonathan Cohn. You want to have people you can count on to be with you, rather than people that you spend a lot of time pressuring, Cohn said.

Despite the battle for the progressive title, its not a guarantee that primary voters will even want a progressive candidate when they cast ballots in September. When it comes to Medicare for All, for example, Democratic voters in Massachusetts arent exactly sold. Only 28 percent of likely Democratic presidential primary voters said they preferred that health care option, according to a WBUR poll from the fall.

And Massachusetts voters rejected progressive candidates on Super Tuesday. Former Vice President Joe Biden won the Democratic primary here in an upset, even as polls showed the two progressives Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders tied for the prize days before the election.

Biden won 34 percent of the vote, while Sanders got 27 percent and Warren got 21 percent. A caveat: combining Sanders and Warrens vote totals would have put the two progressives ahead of Biden in terms of vote share. Either way, Cohn is taking Super Tuesday with a grain of salt.

People approach elections at different levels somewhat differently, Cohn said. There was probably a certain sentiment by Super Tuesday among some voters who wanted the primary to be over so they could focus on taking out Trump, which is less of a dynamic when it comes to the September primary.

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TODAY Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell is a guest on WGBHs Boston Public Radio. Rep. Ayanna Pressley is a guest on WGBHs Basic Black.

Coronavirus in Massachusetts: 70 more COVID-19 deaths as toll passes 500; state now releasing racial and ethnic data, by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: The death toll associated with coronavirus stands at 503 after health officials announced 70 new fatalities on Thursday. The number of statewide COVID-19 cases increased to 18,941, up 2,151 from Wednesday.

New unemployment claims dip as state's jobless rate rises, by Christian M. Wade, The Salem News: The number of first-time unemployment claims dipped slightly in the past week, even as the state's unemployment rate jumped to its highest level in years. There were 139,582 new jobless claims filed in Massachusetts for the week that ended April 4, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday. Overall, at least 468,639 new benefits claims have been filed by Massachusetts workers in the past three weeks.

Reports of child abuse and neglect are plummeting across New England. Thats not a good thing, by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: In a normal week in March, Massachusetts officials can be bombarded with thousands of allegations of children being left unsupervised, beaten, or worse. But, almost overnight, those reports have been sliced by more than half. Child welfare workers who spend their nights hustling to emergency calls are seeing far fewer. None of that is good news.

Baker allows foreign-trained doctors to practice here, by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: The Baker administration on Thursday announced several executive orders to support the health care workforce and expand its capacity, including easing licensing restrictions for foreign-educated doctors. One order allows graduates of international medical schools who have successfully completed at least two years of postgraduate resident medical training to be eligible for licensure in the Commonwealth.

Students might not return to classes until fall, by Christian M. Wade, The Salem News: As parents get used to their children learning at home and school districts struggle to expand remote learning, school administrators are becoming increasingly skeptical that students will return for the rest of the school year. Schools across the state remain closed until May 4 under an executive order issued by Gov. Charlie Baker aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Coronavirus Surge Overwhelms State Unemployment System As Officials Scramble To Keep Up, by Tori Bedford, WGBH News: As the state anxiously waits to see whether a surge of coronavirus patients will swamp the hospital system, waves of newly unemployed workers have already swamped the state's unemployment system, leaving thousands with neither paychecks nor answers. Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Rosalin Acosta promised listeners on a telephone town hall Monday that help would be coming for tens of thousands of unemployment applicants she just couldnt quite say when.

Massachusetts Attorney Generals office investigating complaints of personal protective equipment price gouging, by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: As doctors and nurses at UMass Memorial work to treat COVID-19 patients, the health care systems CEO said the system has fallen victim to price gouging of protective gear. UMass Memorial Health Care, like hospital systems across the country, is struggling to make sure there is enough personal protective gear, or PPE, for doctors, nurses and staff responding to the COVID-19 crisis, CEO Dr. Eric Dickson has said.

Senate bill would cancel MCAS test this year, by Anastasia E. Lennon, The Patriot Ledger: The Senate has approved a proposal that would waive MCAS testing for the rest of the school year because of disruptions and school closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Senates version of the bill includes changes to the House version, which calls for Education Commissioner Jeff Riley to either modify or waive the standardized test requirement this year.

Chelsea city manager sounds urgent alarm, calls for residents to stay home 24 hours a day, by John R. Ellement, Boston Globe: Chelsea is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak and residents should now shift to a voluntary 24-hour-a-day curfew to slow the spread of the disease in the city, where 387 people have the illness and at least 10 have died, including five at the Chelsea Soldiers Home, the city manager said Thursday. These are desperate times,' said City Manager Thomas Ambrosino in a telephone interview.

MBTA Worker Dies From COVID-19, Union Says, by Zeninjor Enwemeka, WBUR: An MBTA employee has died from COVID-19, according to the Boston Carmen's Union. The T's largest union says Andrew Wong passed away last Tuesday after testing positive for COVID-19. Wong worked for the transit agency for 22 years and was an inspector at the Southampton Garage, according to the union.

Psychological, economic toll piling up, by Steve Koczela, CommonWealth Magazine: A perfect storm of economic, social, and political crises brought on by coronavirus are battering Massachusetts residents. The economic devastation is spreading, with 20 percent reporting losing a job since the crisis began, and a third of those still employed losing a portion of their paycheck. The worst of the damage is among those with the least to lose, with lower income, hourly, and part time workers reporting the greatest setbacks.

Troubling signs at state elder care facilities, by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: The number of coronavirus cases at the states nursing homes continued to mount dramatically on Thursday, amid troubling warnings from industry officials and explosive charges from the former head of the Holyoke Soldiers Home that he notified Baker administration officials about the spread of the deadly virus at his facility and received no assistance to fight it.

Early Boston Data Shows Disturbing Racial Disparities In COVID-19 Infections, by Isaiah Thompson, WGBH News: New data released by Boston officials Thursday suggests that African American and Latino residents have contracted the COVID-19 virus at substantially higher rates than Whites. City officials cautioned that the data does not give a full picture of COVID-19 infections by race in Boston.

God certainly understands': Marty Walsh urges Bostonians to stay home for Passover, Easter Sunday, by Christopher Gavin, Boston.com: Mayor Marty Walsh will not be seeing his mother this Easter Sunday the first time they have spent the holiday apart. But Walsh said hes doing so out of necessity as the region braces for an expected surge in COVID-19 cases, and hes urging other Bostonians keep their distance from relatives and loved ones, too, during the Passover and Easter observances.

Mass. To Launch Spanish Language Unemployment Site, by Simn Rios, WBUR: The Mass. Department of Unemployment Assistance will launch a web platform that will allow the hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers in Massachusetts apply for benefits in their native language. With a skyrocketing number of people applying for unemployment, the department has come under fire for having a monolingual online application system, including claims that the English-only system could open the state to liability under federal civil rights law.

The coronavirus undercut these candidates efforts to get on the ballot in Massachusetts. Now, theyre suing. by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: The three plaintiffs are different candidates with different hurdles. However, their signature-gathering efforts have followed identical paths; the coronavirus has turned a requirement that in most years would be a formality into a major roadblock to the ballot.

Coronavirus prompts federal judge to order release of at least 33 immigrant detainees in Massachusetts, by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: U.S. District Court Judge William Young on Thursday ordered the release of 16 immigrants from detention centers in Massachusetts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The latest decision brings the total of released detainees to 33, according to Lawyers for Civil Rights, one of the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit calling for their release during the coronavirus pandemic.

Neal: 60 Million Stimulus Checks Expected To Go Out Monday, by Arjun Singh, WGBH News: Americans who earn less than $99,000 a year can expect to receive stimulus checks from the federal government beginning Monday, Rep. Richard Neal said Thursday on Boston Public Radio. As Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Neal had significant influence over the language that was put into the stimulus bill. Neal said 60 million checks are expected to go out Monday.

Mass. marijuana regulators table vote on retail licenses for The Botanist after Acreage Holdings restructures contracts with affiliates, by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: State cannabis regulators have again tabled a vote on provisional retail licenses for The Botanist following restructuring by its owner, conglomerate Acreage Holdings, Inc. The Botanists applications for retail stores in Worcester and Shrewsbury were initially up for a vote by the Cannabis Control Commission in February, but the vote was tabled so staff could investigate Acreages ownership and control of other companies and whether a license cap would be violated.

Herald: DATA FLOW: Mass. team will study U.S. sewage to map real Covid spread Globe: Reports of child abuse drop, but DCF wary; Nursing homes struggled with infections

Coronavirus at Holyoke Soldiers Home: State got daily updates after first COVID-19 case identified, suspended superintendent says, by Cynthia G. Simison, Springfield Republican: From the time the first resident of the Soldiers Home in Holyoke tested positive on March 21 for the COVID-19 coronavirus, the homes leadership provided daily reports to multiple state agencies, says Bennett W. Walsh, the suspended superintendent. Walsh, in a statement issued today on his behalf by former Hampden district attorney William M. Bennett, also says he requested National Guard assistance at the home on March 27 and was denied.

New Bedford establishes coronavirus recovery centers in former nursing homes, by Kiernan Dunlop, The Standard-Times: The city is preparing for the possibility of a surge of patients with COVID-19 from throughout the region who need medical care but cant be accommodated by local hospitals. New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, joined by Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan, announced Thursday that two former nursing homes in the Whaling City will act as Southeastern Massachusetts Regional Care Centers for those recovering from the coronavirus.

Framingham schools impose hiring freeze amid financial uncertainty caused by coronavirus crisis, by Zane Razzaq, MetroWest Daily News: The school district imposed a full and immediate hiring freeze for this school year, as financial uncertainty clouds the upcoming fiscal year. Lincoln Lynch IV, executive director of Finance and Operations, outlined the plan in a April 3 memo to the districts administrative council.

Wilmington officials ask state for assistance as nursing facilities report more COVID-19 cases, by Emma Murphy: Lowell Sun: After seven people died from COVID-19 at skilled nursing facility AdviniaCare, where a total of 84 residents are infected, town officials are requesting assistance from the COVID Command Center, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Public Health.

Worcester field hospital, pandemic provide lessons and legacy, UMass hospital chief says, by Steven H. Foskett Jr., Telegram & Gazette: The field hospital at the DCU center set up to accept overflow cases of COVID-19 became operational at 7 a.m. Thursday. At 7:01 a.m., it got its first call, and later in the day, staff were in discussions with Boston-area medical centers about transferring patients, said Dr. Eric W. Dickson, president and chief executive officer of UMass Memorial Health Care, which is overseeing the facilitys operation

WELCOME TO THE WORLD: Newton City Councilor and congressional candidate Jake Auchincloss and his wife Michelle welcomed their first child Teddy on Wednesday night.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Max Clermont, and Elaina Nigro.

HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND to former Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson, Henry Gass, Matt Tannenbaum, Kevin Gilnack, Ted Dooley, Todd Domke, and most importantly my wonderful mom Darlene Murray, who all celebrate Saturday. And to Sunday birthday-ers Romneycare and Dan Manning.

NEW EPISODE: FLOUR POWER - On this weeks Horse Race podcast, hosts Steve Koczela, Jennifer Smith and Stephanie Murray speak with Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz about the coronavirus pandemic. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud or watch the Zoom video.

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The battle for the PROGRESSIVE label CHELSEA emerges as 'EPICENTER,' calls for 24 hour curfew How to finish the SCHOOL YEAR - Politico