The US reported a record number of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 on Monday: 121,235 in all. With hospitalization rates this high, doctors warn hospitals will soon have to begin rationing care; essentially making life or death decisions about who gets the opportunity for treatment and who doesn’t. Some hospitals are already employing battlefield-level triage techniques to keep pace with the number of patients pouring in. As we close in on the one-year mark in the pandemic, new figures released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention reveal the infection rate in Wuhan, where the virus first started, could have been 10 times higher than the official figure. Meanwhile, cases of the Covid-19 variant discovered in the UK have been cropping up in other countries like South Korea and India. [CNN]
A couple of days ago, it looked impossible that $2,000 COVID relief checks — up from the $600 checks for individuals in the package President Trump signed Sunday — could pass the Senate.
That has changed with Trump's final-hours advocacy for bigger checks, Republican sources tell Axios White House editor Margaret Talev and me.
It's still an uphill battle. But Republican senators are feeling more pressure from constituents — pumped by Trump — to do more.
It could be too politically risky for some Republican senators to vote "no."
If Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell "brings it to the floor, it might get 60. Then Trump can claim victory," said a Republican source who provided a breakdown of how the vote could go.
Senators to watch: Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin — with one or two other spending hardliners needed.
The House yesterday voted overwhelmingly — 275-134 — for $2,000 checks, with 44 Republicans joining almost all Democrats.
🥊 A Wall Street Journal editorial (subscription) today calls the president's push for $2,000 checks "a Donald Trump in-kind contribution to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden."
If McConnell allows a vote, The Journal argues, it "would split the GOP caucus and upset fiscally conservative voters."
What's next: Senate consideration of $2,000 checks is unlikely to begin before Friday. [Axios]
The House has voted to override President Donald Trump’s veto of the wide-ranging defense bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act. This has implications far outside of defense policy since the vote forced Republican lawmakers to choose between loyalty to a President that all but demands it, and a bill that previously passed both chambers with veto-proof majorities. In the end, more than 100 House Republicans voted for the override. Now, the Senate will have its own vote, setting up a new test for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The $740 billion bill includes pay raises for America's soldiers, modernization for equipment and provisions to require more scrutiny before troops are withdrawn from Germany or Afghanistan. [CNN]
President-elect Biden, who has vowed to be clear-eyed and straight about the pandemic, plans a renewed warning in remarks on COVID-19 in Wilmington today, a transition official tells me.
Echoing a CDC forecast from last week, Biden is expected to say that, tragically, the infection rates and the number of deaths are expected to increase in the coming weeks.
Biden plans to call out the Trump administration for falling short on the pace of vaccine distribution, and will discuss his own plan to get people vaccinated as quickly as possible.
Why it matters: Although Americans have been getting blunt talk from their governors and from doctors on TV, President Trump has been AWOL on COVID since the election.
Biden is intentionally filling the vacuum, addressing the nation in terms that aim to balance hope and realism.
With a bluntness that has been missing from this administration, Biden talked Dec. 14 about "this dark winter of the pandemic," then said last week: "Our darkest days in the battle against COVID are ahead of us, notbehind us."
Biden has said he has a plan to aim to administer 100 million vaccine shots in his first 100 days (by May 1).
Anthony Fauci, who'll be Biden's chief medical adviser on COVID, on Sunday repeated his grim "surge upon a surge" prediction for post-Christmas cases.
Fauci told Dana Bash on CNN's "State of the Union": "I share the concern of President-elect Biden that as we get into the next few weeks, it might actually get worse."
What we're watching: Straight talk is easier when it's on Trump's watch. Biden's test will be to be just as blunt after he takes the oath. [Axios]
Stocks finish at records after stimulus bill passage. All three major U.S. stock indexes set new closing highs after Trump signed a Covid-19 aid bill, averting a government shutdown and ending uncertainty about the rollout of the spending package. U.S. stock futures rose this morning, suggesting the rally may continue. [Wall Street Journal]
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden is warning of massive damage done to the national security apparatus by the Trump administration and “roadblocks” in communication between agency officials and his transition team that could undermine Americans’ security.
During remarks Monday in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden said his team has faced “obstruction” from the “political leadership” at the Defense Department and the Office of Management and Budget as they’ve sought to gather necessary information to continue the transition of power.
“Right now we just aren’t getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. It’s nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility,” Biden said.
He warned that his team needs “full visibility” into the budget process at the Defense Department “in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch-up that our adversaries may try to exploit.” He also said they need “a clear picture of our force posture around the world and of our operations to deter our enemies.”
Biden’s remarks came after he was briefed by members of his national security and defense teams and advisers, including his nominees for secretary of State, Defense and Homeland Security, as well as his incoming national security adviser. The president-elect said his team found that agencies “critical to our security have incurred enormous damage” during President Donald Trump’s time in office.
“Many of them have been hollowed out in personnel, capacity and in morale,” he said. “All of it makes it harder for our government to protect the American people, to defend our vital interests in a world where threats are constantly evolving and our adversaries are constantly adapting.”
Trump has still refused to concede an election he lost by more than 7 million votes, and his administration did not authorize official cooperation with the Biden transition team until Nov. 23, weeks after the election. Biden and his aides warned at the time that the delay was hampering their ability to craft their own vaccine rollout plan, but have since said cooperation on that and other issues related to COVID-19 has improved.
Last week, however, Biden himself said that the Defense Department “won’t even brief us on many things” and suggested because of this, he didn’t have a complete understanding of the full scope of the recent cyberhack that breached numerous government systems.
On Monday, Biden said his team still gathering information about the extent of the cyberhack, but described the need to “modernize” America’s defense to deter future such attacks, “rather than continuing to over-invest in legacy systems designed to address the threats of the past.”
Pentagon officials pushed back on Biden’s characterization of the disconnect between the Defense Department and the Biden team. Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said in a statement that the department has conducted 164 interviews with over 400 officials, and provided over 5,000 pages of documents, which is “far more than initially requested by Biden’s transition team.”
Miller also said that his team is continuing to schedule meetings for the remaining weeks of the transition and “answer any and all requests for information in our purview.”
Biden also spoke in length about the need to rebuild global alliances, which he said were necessary to combat climate change, address the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for future epidemics, and confront the growing threat posed by China.
“Right now, there’s an enormous vacuum. We’re going to have to regain the trust and confidence of a world that has begun to find ways to work around us or without us,” he said.
Trump has implemented an “America First” foreign policy that saw the U.S. retreat from longstanding global alliances and treaties. The Trump Administration cut funding from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, withdrew from the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accords.
The shift away from international diplomacy also precipitated an exodus of staff from key agencies, like the State Department. Trump himself has had a contentious relationship with the intelligence community, criticizing its findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to boost his candidacy. And still other national security agencies have faced staff cuts and unstable leadership throughout Trump’s time in office as the president frequently fired his department heads with little notice, often leaving departments with acting secretaries or vacant positions in their top ranks.
The situation has left what experts say is a major morale crisis throughout the federal government, and Biden said Monday that “rebuilding the full set of our instruments of foreign policy and national security is the key challenge” he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris face when they take office on January 20. [AP]
American Airlines will put 737 Max back into the air
Boeing's 737 Max, the jetliner grounded for 20 months after two international crashes, is set to return to the skies with paying passengers on Tuesday. American Airlines' Flight 718, the first commercial 737 flight by a major U.S. airline since its recertification on Nov. 18, will depart from Miami around 10:30 a.m. ET and arrive at New York LaGuardia at 1:30 p.m. ET. Other airlines are planning to follow suit: United expects to resume Max flights again on Feb. 11 and Southwest hasn't announced a date for its return, though its CEO predicted it wouldn't be until spring. All Max jets worldwide were grounded in 2019 after two fatal crashes that together killed 346 people. In November, the Federal Aviation Administration approved changes — mainly in flight-control software — that allowed airlines to resume flying the plane. But it’s unclear whether the flying public will accept the plane or avoid it. [USA Today]
Kamala Harris to receive COVID-19 vaccine
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, are scheduled to receive their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday , transition officials said. Harris' vaccination is expected to be done live on camera, CNN reported. Harris will join a growing number of high-level officials who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, including President-elect Joe Biden, Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Dr. Anthony Fauci. Experts say it is important for top government officials to be among the first to receive doses of the vaccine in order to boost confidence among the American people. Inoculating them is also part of a plan to ensure the continuity of government. [USA Today]
New York State banned most evictions for at least another 60 days, as tenants struggle to pay rent during the pandemic. It’s one of the most comprehensive anti-eviction laws in the country. [New York Times]
A very small number of Covid patients who have never experienced mental health problems are developing severe psychotic symptoms, including hallucinations, paranoia and violent impulses, weeks after contracting the virus. [New York Times]
Investigators search for motive in Nashville bombing
Investigators on Tuesday are continuing to search for a motive in the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville, Tennessee. President-elect Joe Biden attended a national security briefing on Monday, telling reporters afterward that authorities "are working around the clock to gain more information on motive and intent,” and there needs to be "continuing vigilance across the board” against domestic attacks. Officials say they still aren’t sure what motivated 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner, who was killed in the blast, to blow up an RV downtown on Christmas morning, causing massive destruction to 41 buildings. Nearby residents were evacuated from their apartments. No one else was killed in the explosion. Authorities are expected to continue their investigation in the coming days to determine the type of explosives used in the blast and a motive. [USA Today]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In the days before he detonated a bomb in downtown Nashville on Christmas, Anthony Quinn Warner changed his life in ways that suggest he never intended to survive the blast that killed him and wounded three other people.
Warner, 63, gave away his car, telling the recipient that he had cancer. A month before the bombing, he signed a document that transferred his longtime home in a Nashville suburb to a California woman for nothing in return. The computer consultant told an employer that he was retiring.
But he didn’t leave behind a clear digital footprint or any other obvious clues to explain why he set off the explosion in his parked recreational vehicle or played a message warning people to flee before it damaged dozens of buildings and knocked out cellphone service in the area. [AP]
California's stay-at-home order likely to be extended
California's current stay-at-home order will likely be extended another three weeks , Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday. The official word will come Tuesday from state Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly. On Christmas Eve, California became the first state to hit the dire milestone of 2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. Even though residents have been under strict stay-at-home orders, hospitals have been flooded with the largest crush of cases since the pandemic began. If extended, the shutdown order will continue to prohibit residents from gathering; essential businesses must continue to operate at significantly lower capacity; bars, wineries, salons and restaurant dining will remain shut down and hotels can only be open for critical infrastructure support. Newsom said the state must prepare for an inevitable “surge on top of a surge” as the holiday season continues. [USA Today]
A judge in Saudi Arabia sentenced Loujain al-Hathloul, an activist who fought for women’s right to drive, to more than five years in prison on charges of undermining the kingdom. Her supporters called the case political persecution. [New York Times]
The police in Oakland, Calif., are investigating who vandalized a weeks-old ceramic statue of Breonna Taylor. [New York Times]
A federal judge again denied bail to Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and longtime companion of Jeffrey Epstein who is charged with abetting his abuse of teenage girls. Prosecutors called Maxwell “an extreme flight risk.” [New York Times]
“Judge blocks voter purge in 2 Georgia counties”: “A federal judge in Georgia on Monday ordered two counties to reverse a decision removing more than 4,000 voters from the rolls ahead of the Jan. 5 runoff elections that will decide control of the U.S. Senate.
“The judge, Leslie Abrams Gardner — the sister of former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, a prominent ally of President-elect Joe Biden who has led voter registration efforts across the state — concluded that the counties appeared to have improperly relied on unverified change-of-address data to invalidate registrations in the two counties.
“The bulk of the registrations that the counties sought to rescind, more than 4,000, were in Muscogee County, which Biden won handily in November. An additional 150 were from Ben Hill County, which Trump won by a wide margin.
“The suit, brought by national Democratic Party attorney Marc Elias’ group Democracy Forward, followed an effort to challenge the lengthy roster of voters simply because their registrations appeared to match U.S. Postal Service change-of address records. Voting officials in the two counties agreed to remove the voters, despite warnings from Democrats that such postal data is not a reliable or conclusive indicator that a voter has given up their local residence.” [POLITICO]
TRUMP’S TUESDAY — The president has no public events on his schedule.
PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDEN will receive the President’s Daily Brief. He will also deliver remarks on the ongoing Covid-19 crisis in Wilmington, Del. [POLITICO]
A Columbus, Ohio, police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Black man during a non-emergency call last week has been fired. Adam Coy shot Andre Hill within seconds of their encounter, as Hill walked toward Coy holding an illuminated cell phone in his left hand. Police Chief Thomas Quinlan recommended Coy's firing because he said Coy shot Hill, didn't activate his body-worn camera when he responded to the call, and failed to render aid. Coy turned his camera on after the shooting, and the camera's look-back feature captured the 60 seconds prior to him turning it on. Hill’s family and their attorney have called for transparency as the investigation unfolds. The incident is even more painful because it comes on the heels of another fatal police shooting of a Black man in the Columbus area earlier this month. Casey Goodson Jr. was shot and killed by a Franklin County Sheriff's Office deputy as he entered his apartment on December 4. That investigation is ongoing. [CNN]
Heisman Trophy finalists Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith have been selected to The Associated Press All-America team, leading a contingent of five Alabama players on the first-team offense.
Crimson Tide running back Najee Harris, tackle Alex Leatherwood and center Landon Dickerson are also first-team selections. No. 1 Alabama is the first team since 1980, when the AP All-America team began featuring two wide receivers and two running backs, to place a quarterback, running back and receiver on the first team.
Cornerback Patrick Surtain II gives the Crimson Tide six first-team selections, the most in the nation. No. 4 Notre Dame, Alabama’s College Football Playoff opponent this weekend, has two first-team All-Americans in offensive guard Aaron Banks and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. [AP]
Lin Qi, a 39-year-old billionaire Chinese gaming tycoon, passed away on Christmas Day, and now police are investigating whether he was poisoned. Lin’s company, Yoozoo, is one of China’s leading mobile game publishers, and is valued at about 6.8 billion yuan, or roughly $1 billion. Two days before his death, Yoozoo said in a statement that Lin had been admitted to the hospital due to “physical discomfort,” but was improving. A colleague of Lin's has now been detained in Shanghai, with authorities saying in a statement that they were first alerted to a suspected poisoning on December 17. Police said the colleague was "suspected of committing a major crime." [CNN]
$122 million — The Holy See’s expected deficit for 2020, largely reflecting lower rental income from commercial real-estate properties, tourism and contributions from Catholics. Pope Francis has stepped up long-planned overhauls to the Vatican’s finances, after pressure from the pandemic and financial scandals that have battered the Catholic Church’s reputation. [Wall Street Journal]
Argentina’s Senate considers abortion legislation. Argentina’s Senate is to consider legislation today that would legalize abortion in the country at up to 14 weeks of gestation, making it only the third Latin American country to allow unmitigated access to the procedure. A vote could come as soon as today but is likely to be taken later in the week.
According to the newspaper Clarín, 33 senators support the motion and 32 are opposed, with five undecided. A similar bill was rejected by the Senate in 2018 by 38 votes to 31, despite passing in the lower house. [Foreign Policy]
China reacts to U.S. Taiwan and Tibet resolutions. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China was “resolutely opposed” to two new U.S. bills signed into law underlining U.S. support for Tibet and Taiwan. The laws came into effect as part of the omnibus spending bill signed by President Trump on Sunday.
The acts include calls for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations and sanctions against any Chinese officials who interfere with Tibet’s selection of a successor to the Dalai Lama. “The U.S. should never implement any bills or provisions targeting China,” Zhao said. [Foreign Policy]
Rohingya refugee relocation continues. Officials in Bangladesh started moving a second group of nearly 1,800 Rohingya refugees to Bhashan Char Island on Monday, despite outcry from human rights organizations about the safety of the flood-prone artificial island.
Amnesty International has raised concerns that refugees are being forced to relocate and has called for an assessment of the island’s habitability to take place before any resettlement. [Foreign Policy]
NATO intercepts increase. NATO has reported “an increased level of Russian military air activity” along its borders in recent years as it released figures highlighting air policing activity. NATO jets scrambled to intercept unknown aircraft approaching its airspace more than 400 times in 2020, according to official figures, an increase on the previous year. NATO reported that almost 90 percent of those missions were responding to Russian military flights. [Foreign Policy]
India’s farmer protests. Roughly 1,500 telephone towers have had cables cut and generators stolen across Punjab in recent days, officials said, as the Indian state becomes the epicenter of farmer protests against agriculture reforms. Reliance, the company that operates the towers, is believed to be one of the firms deemed to benefit from the changes to farming regulations. Farm union leaders have denied any role in the vandalism of the towers. Talks between the government and farm unions are to resume on Wednesday. [Foreign Policy]
China will end 2020 as the only major country to see its economy grow, not shrink, Axios chief financial correspondent Felix Salmon reports.
Why it matters: China is operating from a position of great strength, with an economy expected to grow by 8.4% in 2021. The competition with the U.S. is likely to be fiercer during Joe Biden's presidency than at any point in history.
Columbia University historian Adam Tooze said: "However many times you hear the China growth story, it continues to have the capacity to shock and amaze. ... In scale and speed, it is unlike any previous experience."
By the numbers: China's economy is projected to grow by 2% in 2020 and by 8.4% in 2021. By the end of next year, its economy is expected to be 10.6% larger than it was at the beginning of this year.
By contrast, after shrinking by 3.6% this year and growing by a projected 4% next year, the U.S. economy is going to end 2021 just 0.25% larger than it was at the beginning of 2020.
The big picture: China managed to become a post-COVID economy within months of the virus striking.
Wuhan was the world's first big city to be locked down in an attempt to get the coronavirus under control. Today, its nightclubs are packed with revelers, none of whom feel the need to wear masks or social distance.
A Lancet study found that China made full and effective use of its centralized epidemic response system, as well as fresh memories of the SARS pandemic and a low incidence of nursing homes.
The lockdown, which lasted 76 days in Wuhan, was particularly strict, with only one member of each household permitted to leave home every couple of days for necessary supplies. It was also accompanied by an effective and efficient nationwide contact-tracing program.
China's factories are operating above their designed capacity, Sinovation Ventures CEO Kai-Fu Lee tells Axios from Beijing:
They're making up for pandemic-related reductions in manufacturing capacity in the rest of the world, as well as for the period of time they were shut down earlier this year.
The bottom line: China has never been stronger. It will take all of Biden's charm and diplomatic savvy to put together a coalition capable of constraining China. [Axios]
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