“President Biden has a new Covid-19 goal: at least one vaccine dose to 70% of US adults and 160 million fully vaccinated by July 4. That would mark a sharp slowdown in vaccination pace, something that’s already happening across the country. So far, about 145 million people -- about 56% of all adults in the US -- have gotten at least one dose. States are also getting ready to vaccinate 12- to 15-year-olds once the FDA approves the Pfizer vaccine for that group. Pfizer also has its eye on authorization for 2- to 11-year-olds in September. Meantime in Brazil, the parliamentary inquiry into the government's Covid-19 response has begun. The nation's former health minister said yesterday that President Jair Bolsonaro was warned about the consequences of ignoring science and common pandemic safety measures.” Read more at CNN
“A federal judge has rejected the Justice Department’s attempts to withhold the release of a secret memo, written for former Attorney General William Barr, regarding the department's opinion not to charge Trump with obstruction at the end of the Mueller investigation. Judge Amy Berman Jackson dismissed the DOJ's reasoning that the largely redacted March 2019 memo was legal reasoning to help Barr make a decision about Trump. She said she believed Barr and his advisers had already decided they wouldn't charge the President with a crime and the memo was partly strategic planning -- and therefore could be made public. The decision adds to the criticism federal judges and others have had about Barr and his handling of the end of the Mueller probe -- and his desire to keep documents related to the investigation under wraps.” Read more at CNN
“Facebook's Oversight Board is due to rule at 9 am ET whether former President Donald Trump's suspension on the platform should remain permanent . In January, the tech giant suspended Trump's accounts on Facebook and Instagram after a group of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. The decision at the time had the support of most Americans, according a survey from the Harris Poll. But Trump supporters and free speech advocates warned it set a dangerous precedent.” Read more at USA Today
“The number of babies born in America last year was the lowest in more than four decades, according to federal figures released Wednesday that show a continuing U.S. fertility slump.
U.S. women had about 3.61 million babies in 2020, down 4% from the prior year, provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics shows. The total fertility rate—a snapshot of the average number of babies a woman would have over her lifetime—fell to 1.64. That was the lowest rate on record since the government began tracking it in the 1930s, and likely before that when families were larger, said report co-author Brady Hamilton. Total births were the lowest since 1979.
Because the Covid-19 pandemic emerged in March, the figures capture just a short period at year’s end when the unfolding health and economic crisis could be reflected in women’s decisions about getting pregnant. Women typically have fewer babies when the economy weakens. Fears of getting sick, making medical appointments and delivering a baby as a deadly virus spread also dissuaded some women from pregnancy.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Cheney watches as Scalise speaks at a press conference last month. Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images
“Bulletin ... House Republican leaders openly turn on House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney: The top two leaders, Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise, are working behind the scenes to boost Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York to replace Cheney, Punchbowl News reports.
Scalise, who as whip is the No. 2 leader, this morning released a statement to Axios backing Stefanik for conference chair: ‘House Republicans need to be solely focused on taking back the House in 2022 and fighting against Speaker Pelosi and President Biden’s radical socialist agenda, and Elise Stefanik is strongly committed to doing that.’
McCarthy, the House minority leader, was caught on a hot mic yesterday saying he's ‘lost confidence’ in Cheney and ‘has had it with’ her, as Axios' Kadia Goba scooped. Hear the audio.
Top Republicans told Axios' Alayna Treene they want to replace Cheney with a woman.
What to watch: Members expect the process to oust Cheney to begin a week from today, when the House GOP conference meets next. (The House is out this week.)
It would take up to a two-thirds vote of the 212 caucus members to replace her — a relatively high bar if a secret ballot is held, and one that Cheney cleared in a previous vote to remove her in February.” Read more at Axios
“Derek Chauvin's lawyer seeks new trial in George Floyd case. An attorney for the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder said a change of venue should have been granted and alleged prosecutorial and jury misconduct.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Crack cocaine trafficking kingpins convicted more than a decade ago can ask courts to reduce their prison terms under a 2018 federal law. The Supreme Court on Tuesday sounded skeptical that people convicted of older low-level crack crimes can do the same.
The seemingly odd circumstance results from the wording of the First Step Act, a bipartisan 2018 law signed by former president Donald Trump. Aimed at reducing racial disparities in sentencing, the law allows prisoners convicted of older crack crimes to seek reduced sentences.
But it specifically addresses crack possession only above 5 grams for one category of possession and above 50 grams for another category, leaving some justices doubtful that it's meant to apply to everyone.” Read more at Boston Globe
“The ongoing withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan could threaten the progress of women’s rights in the country, even if the Taliban doesn’t fully take power, according to a newly declassified US intelligence report. The report says progress for women’s rights in Afghanistan over the last two decades probably relied more on ‘external pressure than domestic support’ and thus could falter without foreign backing. The report also concluded the Taliban’s policies toward women, girls and ethnic minorities hasn’t changed, putting them in potential danger when it comes to issues like child marriage and sexual violence. The US secretary of state has warned the Taliban that any backslide in Afghan women's rights would carry diplomatic consequences.” Read more at CNN
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has missed a deadline to form a new government, extending the country’s long political deadlock. Instead, Netanyahu bounced the mandate to form a new government back to President Reuven Rivlin, who now must decide which of Israel's other political leaders he might entrust with trying to form a governing coalition. Israel has gone through four elections in two years, and none has resulted in a definite governing structure in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. The government’s future may hinge on Naftali Bennett, a former defense minister and right-wing party leader. Both Netanyahu and another major party leader have offered Bennett the prime ministership in a sort of rotation deal. Bennett says he’s not opposed to forming a unity government made up of a wide array of parties.” Read more at CNN
“Mexico’s train crash. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has vowed to punish those responsible for an overpass collapse that caused a train crash, killing at least 24 people in Mexico City on Tuesday. The elevated train line was built in 2012 and has long been at the center of allegations of corruption and cut corners during its construction. The incident also puts pressure on Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, the former Mexico City mayor who presided over much of the rail project, as well as current Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum. Both city leaders are considered strong candidates to succeed López Obrador when he leaves office in 2024.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“The World Trade Organization’s General Council, the group’s highest decision-making body, gathers today for a two-day meeting. A proposal to waive intellectual property protections on COVID-19 vaccines is set to top the agenda.
The waiver proposal, initially brought forward by India and South Africa in October and now supported by roughly 100 other countries, has languished for months as rich countries (all of whom also happen to be vaccine-rich) have blocked its discussion at the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) council.
It also comes at a time of wildly unequal vaccine distribution. As World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently pointed out, one in four people in high-income countries have received a dose; in low-income countries the proportion is closer to 1 in 500.
The election of Joe Biden as U.S. president has revived the proposal’s chances. On the campaign trail, Biden said sharing vaccine technology without regard to patent rules was ‘the only humane thing in the world to do.’
Katherine Tai, the U.S. trade representative, has been in discussions over the past month with pharmaceutical CEOs and public health advocates to craft a way forward. However, her office, along with the rest of the White House, has remained tight-lipped regarding their final decision amid a fierce internal debate.
Opponents of the waiver, say it won’t do enough, that IP concerns are not currently the main obstacle to vaccine production, and that a waiver would discourage pharmaceutical companies from innovating in the future. They point to more practical concerns, like shortages in raw materials and a lack of manufacturing capacity, as the more pressing issues.
Supporters of the waiver say it would free up additional capacity among producers who are currently wary of legal troubles as well as force the kinds of technology transfer that voluntary arrangements, like the WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), have failed to do.
Whose patents? The waiver’s proponents also say that pharmaceutical companies should not get to decide on vaccine technology and production made possible by massive public investment: The Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed pumped $18 billion into vaccine production; the CEO of BioNTech, the company that developed the technology behind Pfizer’s vaccine, has credited EU research and development funding for its success; and the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. medical research agency, did much of the heavy-lifting on the therapeutic effects of mRNA, the basis for many of today’s COVID-19 vaccines.
The popular move. For Biden, supporting the Indian-South African proposal, or a version of it, would also be the popular move: A recent Data for Progress poll found that 60 percent of Americans supported the waiver.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Despite divorce, the Gates Foundation's mission stays intact. The foundation is one of the world’s wealthiest philanthropies, with a $49.8 billion endowment in 2019. Bill and Melinda Gates' divorce announcement put its future in question, but no changes in their roles or the organization are planned. ‘We continue to share a belief in that mission,’ the couple said.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Aracely Saucillo (left) and Marylin Castillo perform with Mexica Ballet Folclorico during Cinco de Mayo festivities in downtown L.A. in 2011. Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
“Cinco de Mayo was long marketed in the U.S. as a fun holiday for getting drunk and eating tacos, Axios race and justice reporter Russell Contreras writes. But its origins are linked to California Latinos who saw a battle in Mexico in 1862 as a victory for abolition during the Civil War.
Why it matters: Protests after the death of George Floyd, which brought Latino and Black advocates together over the past year, have prompted a re-examination of this lesser-known piece of U.S. history.
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla and the victory of Mexico's ragtag army, made up largely of Indigenous soldiers, against the better-equipped and trained French forces of Napoleon III.
Don't forget: Cinco de Mayo isn't Mexican Independence Day. That's Sept. 16.” Read more at Axios
“Former ‘19 Kids and Counting’ star Josh Duggar is expected to appear in federal court on Wednesday following his arrest on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography. The court appearance will determine if the former reality star, who has been in jail since being arrested by the United States Marshals Service last week, will be eligible to be released on bail. A federal grand jury in the Western District of Arkansas indicted Duggar, alleging that in 2019 he ‘knowingly’ received images of children under the age of 12. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.” Read more at USA Today
“12.2% — The jump in U.S. home prices in February from a year ago, the largest annual increase since 1991. Low interest rates appear to be benefiting some millennial buyers, but many young adults who are already saddled with debt must weigh whether to stretch their finances to lock in a more affordable mortgage rate.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“5.5 million — The number of federal student-loan borrowers who were in default as of the end of last September. The Biden administration named Richard Cordray, the former head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to oversee the $1.6 trillion federal student-loan program. Cordray said he aimed to help fulfill the agency's mandate to help students get ahead and ‘not be burdened by insurmountable debt.’” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“2 million — The pieces of content Facebook said it reviews daily for potential removal due to rule violations. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company makes the wrong decision in these matters as often as 10% of the time, which would mean some 200,000 cases daily. Some users have found themselves in ‘Facebook Jail’ for posts they've made and have struggled to get an explanation as to why.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Lives Lived: Patrick O’Connell helped shatter the stigma surrounding AIDS by developing awareness-raising campaigns, one of which included a red ribbon that became ubiquitous. He died at 67.” Read more at New York Times
“Vaccinated Americans are easing up on wearing masks — but so are unvaccinated Americans, Axios managing editor David Nather writes from a new Ipsos poll.
Overall, 57% of the respondents said they still wear a mask at all times when leaving the house. 47% of unvaccinated Americans say that.” Read more at Axios
“Seychelles, the island nation that has fully vaccinated more of its population against Covid-19 than any other country, has reintroduced curbs for two weeks as infections surge.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Corruption showdown | South Africa’s ruling party is moving to force members charged with corruption or other serious crimes to step aside. Those in the firing line include African National Congress Secretary-General Ace Magashule, who’s being prosecuted for graft and is a rival of President Cyril Ramaphosa.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Strongarm tactics | Colombia faces a wave of criticism from foreign governments and human rights organizations over the police’s use of force during demonstrations against plans to raise taxes. At least 20 people have died in clashes that prompted the resignation of Alberto Carrasquilla as finance minister.
New Finance Minister Jose Manuel Restrepo says he will seek to shore up the budget without resorting to the types of tax hikes that stirred the unrest.” Read more at Bloomberg
Demonstrators clash with riot police in Cali, Colombia on April 29.
Photographer: Paola Mafla/AFP/Getty Images
“It's not just you: America’s new normal temperature is a full degree hotter than it was just a generation ago.
The big picture: New 30-year averages released today showed warmer average temperatures in all but a few parts of the U.S., AP reports.
In Chicago and Asheville, North Carolina, the new yearly normal temperature jumped 1.5 degrees in a decade. Seattle, Atlanta, Boston and Phoenix had their normal annual temperatures rise by at least half a degree.
Charlottesville, Virginia, saw the biggest jump in normal temperatures among 739 major weather stations. Other large changes were in California, Texas, Virginia, Indiana, Arizona, Oregon, Arkansas, Maryland, Florida, North Carolina and Alaska.
Between the lines: The western U.S. is much drier in the new normal, with some areas facing sustained mega-droughts.
The eastern two-thirds is getting more precipitation.
The bottom line: Even Fairbanks, Alaska, less than 200 miles from the Arctic Circle by road, is no longer classified ‘a sub-Arctic climate’ because of the rising normal temperatures, tweeted climate specialist Rick Thoman.
It's now a ‘warm summer continental’ climate.” Read more at Axios
“Social-media interactions about Donald Trump have fallen 91% since January, Axios' Neal Rothschild writes from exclusive NewsWhip data.
Why it matters: When Trump lost his social media accounts, he lost his once-immense power to make himself the center of attention.
Clicks on Trump stories fell 81% from January to February, another 56% from February to March, and 40% from March to April, according to exclusive data from SocialFlow.
"Trump’s social media superpower was never his ability to tweet — it was his ability to get the media to cover what he tweeted," SocialFlow CEO Jim Anderson tells Axios.” Read more at Axios
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