Climate of Hope: The Bloomberg Bombshell the Media Missed (ThinkProgress)
For most of the media, the big political news story Tuesday was billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s announcement that he had decided not to join the already crowded Democratic presidential primary field. But that wasn’t the big story.

Bloomberg, the 9th richest man in the world, worth $55 billion, also announced that he would devote his efforts and resources to shuttering every remaining U.S. coal plant by 2030 — and then move on to replacing oil and gas with clean energy. His targeted effort with clear goals stands in sharp contrast to most of the actual 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, who have offered little more than vague support for a Green New Deal.

So, notwithstanding the major media’s coverage, the big story was that a man worth $55 billion and a track record of helping to shut down half the country’s coal plants has just committed to shutting down the rest by 2030, and then taking the country off fossil fuels entirely.

Hot on the Bloomberg:
European Central Bank Slashes 2019 Forecast – Unleashes Support Package for Economy Threatened by Slowdown (Bloomberg)

Trump-Russia: The Biggest Political Scandal in American History (Axios – Mike Allen & Jim VandeHei)
Even without seeing Robert Mueller’s report, or knowing what prosecutors with the Southern District of New York have unearthed, or what congressional investigators will find, we already have witnessed the biggest political scandal in American history.

Historians tell Axios that the only two scandals that come close to Trump-Russia are Watergate, which led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974, and the Teapot Dome scandal of the early 1920s, in which oil barons bribed a corrupt aide to President Warren Harding for petroleum leases.

Trade Wars Today: Deal or No Deal, Trump Trade War With China Scars Global Economy (Bloomberg)

Survival Strategy: How Theresa May Keeps Surviving Profound Historic Losses (Bloomberg Businessweek – International cover)
Push past defeat after defeat after defeat, keep calm, and carry on.

Catching Up to Netflix: AT&T Is Dragging HBO’s Streaming Strategy Out of the Dark Ages (Bloomberg Businessweek – US cover)

Ohio Today: ‘Gut-wrenching’ Day as Production Ends at Ohio GM Assembly Plant (Associated Press)
The last Chevrolet Cruze built at GM’s plant near Youngstown came off the assembly line Wednesday.

Flashback to 2017: Trump, in Youngstown, Ohio, says jobs are coming back to Ohio (Columbus Dispatch)
“Don’t move, don’t sell your house,” President Trump told the cheering audience at a MAGA rally in 2017.

TWEET OF THE DAY: @NRA: Anti-gun oligarch Michael Bloomberg has decided not to run for POTUS. This news may sound good at face value, but it is essential to understand that he is worth billions and is committed to preventing @realDonaldTrump’s re-election and destroying #2A.

Financial News Today:
-Wall Street Gets Relief From Tough Aspect of Fed’s Stress Tests (Bloomberg)
-China Said to Mull Tougher Rules on Private Equity, Hedge Funds (Bloomberg)
-Volcker 2.0 Is Said to Face Do-Over After Wall Street Wails (Bloomberg)

Climate of Hope II: UK Government Throws Weight Behind Offshore Wind Power Expansion (The Guardian)
Deal with wind sector aims to produce one third of UK’s electricity needs by 2030.

Architecture Today: China is building the world’s tallest sky bridge in Chongqing, designed by the same architect of the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Watch here. (TicToc by Bloomberg)

Dining Section: The Seven New Restaurants at New York’s Hudson Yards to Hit First (Bloomberg – Kate Krader)
With 25 new places to eat and drink, the $25 billion property is much more than a food court at the end of the High Line.

Best of late night.

On Donald Trump referring to Apple CEO Tim Cook as “Tim Apple”:

“Tim Apple is how your mom saves the number of that one guy at the Apple store who helped her set up her email.”
— James Corden

“I think I’m done, I think that’s it. I think I’m out. I guarantee you this means Trump calls himself Donald President.”
— James Corden

“Today is Ash Wednesday, it’s the first day of Lent. And with all the terrible things going on right now, this year for Lent I’m not giving up anything. I’m just giving up in general.”
— Jimmy Kimmel

“There are so many investigations swirling around Donald Trump right now, that R Kelly is like, ‘I’m glad I’m not that guy!’”
— Stephen Colbert