What you need to know today about the virus outbreak

Distressing images of morgue trucks in New York City, taking away the rising number of dead from the coronavirus, have underscored the latest grim projections for the entire country.

Experts warned that there could be 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the U.S. even if social distancing guidelines are maintained. America now has more than 4,000 dead from the outbreak.

Here are some of AP’s top stories Wednesday on the world’s coronavirus pandemic. Follow APNews.com/VirusOutbreak for updates through the day and APNews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak for stories explaining some of its complexities.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:

— New York is the deadliest hot spot in the U.S., with more than 1,500 deaths statewide, most of them in New York City, which is bracing for things to get much worse in the coming weeks.

— Donald Trump, the self-styled “wartime president” is enjoying the high ratings of his briefings and boasting they're up there with "The Bachelor." Meanwhile, on the streets of the country, people are recoiling in the wake of each passing stranger's exhalation.

— The IRS and the Treasury Department say Americans will start receiving their economic impact checks in the next three weeks. AP's business team sets out what you need to do to get your check.

— Facing intense surges in the need for hospital ICU beds, European nations are on a building and hiring spree, throwing together makeshift hospitals and shipping coronavirus patients out of overwhelmed cities. The key question is whether they will be able to find enough healthy medical staff to make it all work.

— The coronavirus pandemic couldn't come at a worse time for rural communities across the U.S. that have lost their hospitals. Nearly 200 small-town hospitals have closed nationwide since 2005, often...