Unemployment claims in Washington State jump by 181,975: That is "a 41% increase over the previous week’s already record-breaking number," Seattle Times reports. "The week’s tally amounts to seven times as many claims as were filed at the peak of Great Recession."

The claims in the construction sector: Amounted a "fivefold increase over the prior week."

Nationally, the latest job losses amounted to 701,000. That's in addition to the nearly 10 million in the previous two weeks. “This is nothing compared to what we’re going to see,” one expert tells the New York Times.

Even though the feds extended unemployment benefits to freelancers, gig workers, and independent contractors: The state says "it will take a couple of weeks" for those claims to be able to be processed.

So those people just have to wait? Yes. Yes they do. "The good news [this group of people] will be eligible to receive retroactive payments back to their eligibility date, but not only their regular benefits, also the $600 per week enhancement that the Federal act included as well," Nick Demerice of the the Employment Security Department tells King5News.

Virginia Mason Medical Center furloughs workers, cuts pay: It's "because of a sharp revenue drop amid the coronavirus outbreak," KIRO reports. "The financial strain stems from a significant reduction in clinic visits and elective procedures that were halted."

Children are temporarily allowed on pot farms. The state "made the change at the request of a cannabis trade group which said pot producers—especially those in remote central and eastern Washington—will have a hard time finding childcare during the COVD-19 crisis and continue doing their essential work."

Jeff Bezos donates $100 million: To the food bank network Feeding America, "the largest non-profit focused on food security," the billionaire wrote on Instagram.

Nancy Pelosi moves aggressively... "to scrutinize the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic," New York Times reports. She wants "to create a special bipartisan committee to oversee all aspects of the government’s response, including how it distributes more than $2 trillion in emergency aid."

Scientists find two flies doing the nasty, trapped in prehistoric amber: Click here to see two 41-million-year-old mating, long-legged flies in Australia. "Such a thing is exceptionally rare in the fossil record, because it means absolutely nothing happened in the moments between when the flies were living and when they died and became entombed. It’s comparable to what happened to humans in 79 A.D. at Pompeii, when volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius smothered and froze some Romans in a flash."

Music venues in the city "are sounding an alarm." A coalition of more than 25 nightclubs has "unveiled a list of five areas it says financial relief is needed in order to stave off a wave of permanent closures," Seattle Times reports. "The approved $10,000 economic disaster grants are helpful, but wouldn’t quite cover a month of insurance for Neumos, sibling club Barboza and the street-level Runaway bar, all housed in the same Capitol Hill complex."

That coalition? It's called the Washington Music and Nightclub Association, and they need your help. What do they want? According to their website, they want you

to call your Sen. Patty Murray, Sen. Maria Cantwell & your U.S. Rep and tell them in order for Nightlife to survive in WA we need the following below ASAP

• Cash assistance (not loans!)
• Rent forgiveness & reduction
• Financial payments & assistance for the workforce
• Tax relief
• Insurance relief & revisions

Please call 202.224.3121 and tell them music venues are small businesses and need these things above. #1 is most important and can’t stress that enough: No direct cash support equals no live music venues.

Speaking of the Seattle music scene: The morning Message to the City on Slog today comes from John Roderick of The Long Winters.

Want to watch John sing something? Of course you do. You have nothing else to do. In honor of the condition of the world today, here is his band The Long Winters (in their 2013 lineup) performing "Stupid."

Would you rather see John sing solo? Maybe a cover of Neutral Milk Hotel? Coming right up.

Want to watch some livestreams of concerts? Or other arts and cultural happenings? We've got the most comprehensive list of options in the city right here.

Wanna see a list of just the recommended stuff for this weekend? Here are our top picks for livestreamed cultural events.

What's for lunch today? Here's all your takeout and delivery options.