“Nearly half of US adults could have a first Covid-19 vaccine dose by the weekend, and the country will have enough vaccines for all Americans by the end of next month. However, there are several reasons to temper any optimism that brings. For one, some willing adults may be waiting until the end of the year to get vaccinated because of slow rollouts in some states. Hospitals are also noticing younger and younger patients, and experts say youth sports and extracurriculars may be contributing to the rise. Researchers have also reported as many as 1 in 3 people infected with Covid-19 have longer term mental health or neurological symptoms. A quick look around the world: Chile is postponing its elections for five weeks due to a surge in cases, and India keeps breaking single-day case records, this time with a high of 115,000 new infections.” Read more at CNN
“A new study finds the many types of odd skin reactions COVID-19 can cause including COVID toes, a measles-like rash and shingles can be rare, and thankfully brief, side effects of getting the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. The minor, though sometimes itchy and annoying, reactions were seen in a database of 414 cases of delayed skin problems linked to the vaccines and reported to health care professionals. The findings appeared Wednesday in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. The delayed skin responses described in the study often start a day or so after vaccination but can appear as long as seven to eight days later. None caused a life-threatening reaction, a finding author Dr. Esther Freeman found reassuring. Because the cases only include those reported to a dermatological registry, it's impossible to say how common they are across all people getting the vaccines from the data.” Read more at USA Today
“Nearly 80 percent of teachers and school employees in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine dose, the C.D.C. said.” Read more at New York Times
“Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has issued an executive order to ‘mitigate the impact’ of Georgia’s new election law. The city can’t change or stop the state law, but her order will focus on things like voter education and efforts to inform people of what the new law requires them to do. Private corporations are still pushing back on the bill, creating an unusual rift between Republican lawmakers and big businesses -- two entities that are often allies. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned big businesses they would face ‘serious consequences’ after accusing them of employing ‘economic blackmail’ in attempts to influence voting laws in the aftermath of Georgia’s decision. By one tally, lawmakers in all but three states have introduced bills in state legislatures this year that would restrict ballot access.” Read more at CNN
“Chauvin trial: A use-of-force instructor at the Minneapolis Police Department testified that officers have never been trained to use the type of knee-on-neck restraint that Derek Chauvin employed against George Floyd.” Read more at Axios
“Arkansas became the first state in the US to prohibit physicians from providing gender-affirming treatment for trans people under age 18 after the state's General Assembly voted Tuesday to override the governor's veto of an anti-trans bill that he called a ‘vast government overreach.’
The state's Republican-controlled House voted 71-24 to override Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson's veto of HB 1570 Tuesday afternoon, with the Republican-controlled Senate overriding his veto by a vote of 25-8 shortly after.
The new law represents a significant step backward for trans Americans fighting for equality in Arkansas, and it comes as Republicans in a number of states push other policies aiming to restrict trans people from participating in common activities, like high school and college athletics. Tuesday's action was swiftly denounced by LGBTQ advocates, who vowed to mount a legal challenge against the law.
The Arkansas Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act passed the state Senate late last month by a vote of 28-7. The state House had passed it in early March by a vote of 70-22.” Read more at CNN
“A leak in a Tampa-area reservoir has caused panic along the Gulf Coast since it was discovered a little more than a week ago. The local public safety department warned the leak could cause a collapse of nearby phosphogypsum stacks, waste that is created during fertilizer production and phosphate rock mining. Such a combination would be catastrophic if it were to leach into nearby waterways. Since the leak was discovered, around 34 million gallons a day are being moved as part of a controlled release through pumps, vacuum trucks and other methods, and about 180 million gallons of water have been successfully released. Local officials say they’ve mitigated the crisis, and there are also plans for a long-term solution. Still, the leak is ongoing, and the fact that such toxic substances were sitting abandoned for 20 years raises serious environmental concerns.” Read more at CNN
“More Americans identify as Democrats than Republicans by a margin that hasn't been seen in a decade, according to a report released by Gallup on Wednesday . An average of 49% of adults age 18 and older reported Democratic Party affiliation or said they are independent with Democratic leanings throughout the first quarter of 2021, the pollster said. The survey was conducted by phone from January-March.” Read more at USA Today
“Building pressure | President Joe Biden today will give his second major speech on his $2.25 trillion infrastructure program in a bid to appealdirectly to Republican voters while lawmakers are in their home districts during the congressional recess. With Republicans largely opposing the plan, the administration is making its case by reaching out to governors, mayors and the broader public through phone calls, briefings and local TV appearances.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland is deliberately staying out of the public limelight as he works to restore the credibility of the Department of Justice, Chris Strohm reports.” Read more at Bloomberg
“The U.S. Department of Education launched its second investigation into Louisiana State University since the school's chronic mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations came to light amid reporting by USA TODAY. The federal agency's Office for Civil Rights notified the university of the Title IX compliance investigation in a letter dated March 31. The agency will examine LSU's handling of student complaints of sexual assault and harassment from the 2018-2019 academic year to the present.” Read more at USA Today
“In final weeks of the Trump administration, Representative Matt Gaetz asked for a blanket pardon for himself and congressional allies.” Read more at New York Times
“Representative Alcee Hastings, a longtime Florida congressman, died at 84.” Read more at New York Times
“John Boehner, the Republican former House speaker, blamed Donald Trump for inciting the attack on the Capitol.” Read more at New York Times
“The U.S. today raised the prospect of a joint boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China.
‘A coordinated approach will not only be in our interest but also in the interest of our allies and partners,’ said State Department spokesperson Ned Price. (CNBC)
Why it matters: An Olympics boycott by the U.S. and its allies could help persuade the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into Beijing's actions in Xinjiang, human rights lawyer Djaouida Siaci tells Axios' Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian.
This would be the first U.S. boycott of a Games since Moscow in 1980.
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney has called for an economic and diplomatic boycott.
The big picture: Secretary of State Tony Blinken warned Beijing last month that the U.S. is willing to ‘push back’:
‘China uses coercion and aggression to systematically erode autonomy in Hong Kong, undercut democracy in Taiwan, abuse human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet, and assert maritime claims in the South China Sea that violate international law.’
Between the lines: Price said in a follow-up tweet that ‘we don’t have any announcement regarding the Beijing Olympics … but we will continue to consult closely with allies and partners to define our common concerns and establish our shared approach to the PRC.’
What's next: Pay attention to whether Beijing seeks to pressure U.S. companies and Olympics sponsors.” Read more at Axios
“China's armed forces conducted simultaneous military exercises to the west and east of Taiwan, flanking the self-governing island by air and sea. China said the display of an aircraft carrier and warplanes was a routine training exercise, but analysts say it was a warning to Taiwan and its supporter, the US. Even though China and Taiwan have been governed separately for more than seven decades, Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed that Beijing will never allow the island to become formally independent and has refused to rule out the use of force, if necessary, to take the island back. After diplomatic talks between the US and Japan last month, US officials say the two countries are prepared to push back against Chinese threats to stability and order in Asia.” Read more at CNN
“Nuuk rebuke | The people of Greenland have voted to oust a government that was planning to welcome foreign companies eager to tap the island’s rare-earth metals. Despite its population of just 56,000, Greenland has grabbed global headlines in recent years, not least when then-U.S. President Donald Trump expressed interest in buying it in 2019. Though he was rebuffed, the island’s significant untapped natural resources have made it a target of international attention.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Lives Lived: The Catholic theologian Hans Küng challenged the Vatican on birth control, abortion and more. Küng was censured for it, all the while exerting his influence globally as a sought-after speaker and prolific author. He died at 93.” Read more at New York Times
“Paul Ritter, a Tony-nominated actor in theater, film and TV who appeared in the 2019 ‘Chernobyl’ miniseries and 2009's ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,’ has died, his representative confirmed. He was 54. The actor died Monday evening at home after suffering from a brain tumor, surrounded by his wife and sons, representative Isabella Riggs confirmed to USA TODAY.” Read more at USA Today
“Ray Fisher is continuing to speak out about alleged inappropriate conduct on the set of 2017's ‘Justice League.’ Among the latest allegations, Fisher, who accused director Joss Whedon of ‘gross, abusive’ behavior last year, claims he learned several executives producers expressed concerns about having ‘an angry Black man’ at the center of the movie.” Read more at USA Today
“Carnival Cruise Line threatened to move its ships out of U.S. waters Tuesday after canceling additional cruises departing from U.S. ports through June 30. Carnival has 14 home ports along the east and west coasts and the Gulf of Mexico in the U.S., a spokesperson said.” Read more at USA Today
“Iowa basketball star Luka Garza made history Tuesday, becoming the first college athlete to sell his own NFT card. Garza's NFT looks similar to a trading card — four different images of the Iowa center are on the square, along with his signature. A portion of the proceeds will go toward the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital.” Read more at USA Today
“Ketchup is the next COVID-19-related shortage. More specifically, some chains are seeing shortages of the supplies of the small individual packages restaurants give with pickup, takeout and delivery orders. Kraft Heinz confirmed to USA TODAY that it is working to increase supplies.” Read more at USA Today
“Reality TV star and businesswoman Kim Kardashian West is now worth $1 billion, up from $780 million in October, according to a Forbes report, earning her a spot on the outlet's World's Billionaires List.” Read more at USA Today
“Singer Demi Lovato has revealed she isn't completely sober following her near-fatal 2018 overdose. Lovato said she still drinks alcohol and uses marijuana in moderation and has referred to herself as ‘California Sober,’ a controversial and somewhat fluid colloquialism to describe people who abstain from most substances. This is what experts think of the approach.” Read more at USA Today
“Jeff Bezos backs increasing the corporate tax rate. Amazon's chief executive also said he supports President Biden's focus on major U.S. infrastructure spending. Had the minimum tax Biden proposed been in place for 2020, Amazon’s cash taxes would have been about double what it reported.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Toshiba receives a buyout offer. The Japanese company said it received a proposal for acquisition from private-equity firm CVC Capital, in a deal that could be valued at more than $20 billion if completed. It said it would seek further details about the offer and consider the proposal carefully.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“20 — The minimum number of states that are moving to make alcohol-to-go sales permanent, after lifting restrictions at the start of the pandemic last year. Outside of alcohol sales, many states are weighing other deregulation efforts, including to help healthcare providers more easily provide services across state lines and to let notaries conduct regular business by video.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“37% — The percentage of Americans who told researchers they would embrace autonomous vehicles, even if AVs were shown to cause accidents at half the rate of human drivers. AVs have been estimated to be able to reduce traffic fatalities by 90%, but even as the technology behind them improves, scientists say consumers’ potentially unrealistic safety expectations remain an obstacle.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“A new billionaire was minted every 17 hours over the past year, and the world's wealthiest are $5 trillion richer than a year ago, Forbes reports today with the release of the 35th annual Forbes World's Billionaires list.
The top 6:
Jeff Bezos is the world’s richest person for the fourth year in a row ($177 billion).
Elon Musk rocketed to No. 2 from No. 31 last year ($151 billion).
Bernard Arnault and family, LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton0n), $150 billion.
Bill Gates, $124 billion.
Mark Zuckerberg, $97 billion.
Warren Buffett, $96 billion.
Forbes counts a record 2,755 billionaires (worth $13 trillion), including 493 newcomers.” Read more at Axios
“Former Vice President Mike Pence today launches Advancing American Freedom, a policy and advocacy organization ‘to promote the pro-freedom policies of the last four years.’
After lying low since the inauguration 77 days ago, Pence said the 501(c)(4)'s goals include ‘promoting traditional conservative values and promoting the successful policies of the Trump administration.’
The group also will ‘oppose the expansion of government’ under the Biden administration.
Why it matters: Pence, 61, is automatically part of 2024's opening top tier, and is giving a sense of his early message as he reengages in public life.
His first major open-press speech will be April 29, to the Palmetto Family Council in Columbia, S.C.
The advisory board includes Kellyanne Conway, Jim DeMint, Ed Feulner, former Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Newt and Callista Gingrich, Heritage Foundation President Kay James, Larry Kudlow, Robert Lighthizer, Club for Growth President David McIntosh, Ed Meese, Rick Santorum, Seema Verma, Russ Vought and Scott Walker.” Read more at Axios
Stephen Miller is launching America First Legal, a group that will challenge Biden initiatives at odds with Trump-era priorities.PHOTO: ANNA MONEYMAKER/ZUMA PRESS
“WASHINGTON— Stephen Miller has come to admire the effectiveness—and aggressiveness—of the legal campaign Democrats and their supporters mounted against the Trump administration’s agenda.
Now, the former senior White House adviser during Donald Trump’s presidency hopes to return fire.
Mr. Miller, an architect of the last administration’s restrictive immigration policies and a leading backer of its socially conservative initiatives, is launching this week a new organization, America First Legal, to challenge Biden administration initiatives at odds with Trump-era priorities.
‘Anything the president does that we believe to be illegal is fair game,’ he said.
The group, Mr. Miller said, would tap into the expertise of Trump administration lawyers, work with Republican state attorneys general and partner with lawyers around the country who need legal and financial resources for their cases.
The group also has broader ambitions, Mr. Miller said, to eventually get involved in litigation that goes beyond the Biden administration, including to support police officers, go after big tech companies and take on other business interests whose positions run counter to those he embraced in the White House.
The conservative legal arsenal is hardly bare. Republicans, much as they did during the Obama administration, already have launched a series of challenges, including to Biden limits on oil-and-gas production, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton succeeded early in blocking Mr. Biden’s planned 100-day pause on deportations.
Mr. Miller said he comes to the new project after observing firsthand how relentless litigation from groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union can slow down a White House. When the Trump administration pursued a new initiative, he said, ‘we wouldn’t get just one lawsuit in one court, we’d get six lawsuits in six courts.’
‘It was an extraordinarily effective tactic, and there’s no counterpoint to that on our side,’ he said.
The 35-year-old Mr. Miller isn’t a lawyer, but a political operative who worked for conservative lawmakers including Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.) before hitching his star to Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. He said he left the White House believing ‘that the most important thing we could do as people who philosophically believe in traditional values, conservative values…was to develop and launch a conservative answer to the ACLU.’
Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, suggsted he was unfazed by that prospect. ‘Good luck to him pushing positions that he was unable to secure when he was sitting in the West Wing,’ he said. ‘He’ll have a tough road to travel.’” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Venture capitalists are plowing money into startups that help content creators to directly monetize their work, writes Dan Primack, author of Axios Pro Rata and host of Axios Re:Cap, our afternoon podcast.
Patreon, a platform that connects creators with fans, today will announce $155 million in fresh funding at a $4 billion valuation.
Last week: Newsletter platform Substack snared $65 million at a $650 million valuation, celeb messaging app Cameo added $100 million at a valuation north of $1 billion, and music distribution startup UnitedMasters secured $50 million in an Apple-led round.
Roblox, which paid more than $300 million to game creators last year, raised $520 million from VCs in January before going public.” Read more at Axios
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