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Norway's prime minister recalls the past 4 years without U.S. leadership on climate change.
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Updated 2 hours ago - World

U.S. to send India supplies as country faces record COVID surge

Family members transport a COVID-19 patient on a stretcher as they leave a hospital in New Delhi on April 24. India surpassed the U.S. daily cases record April 22. Photo: Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images

The Biden administration has pledged to send vital resources and supplies to India, as the country set a new global daily COVID-19 cases record for a fifth straight day Monday.

The big picture: As hospitals continued to be overwhelmed with coronavirus patients amid a widespread oxygen shortage, India's health ministry reported 352,991 more infections, taking the total past 17 million. A record 2,812 deaths were confirmed Monday, taking the total to 195,123 since the pandemic began.

Updated 4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Chloé Zhao becomes first woman of color to win Oscars Best Director

Chloé Zhao accepting the Best Director Oscar onstage during the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station in Los Angeles on Sunday. Photo: Todd Wawrychuk/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images

Chloé Zhao made history on Sunday when she was awarded the Best Director Oscar for "Nomadland" — making her the first female of color and first Asian American woman to win the prestigious prize in the Academy Awards' 93-year history to win.

Why it matters: Zhao's victory is a win for Asian American women in Hollywood, who are often overlooked for main character, producer and director roles. "Nomadland" went on to win the Best Picture Oscar.

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Norway's prime minister recalls the past 4 years without U.S. leadership on climate change.
Updated 5 hours ago - World

Iraq launches investigation into Baghdad hospital fire that killed 82

A funeral ceremony on Sunday for three of the people who died at the Baghdad Ibn al-Khatib fire in Iraq. Photo: Karar Essa/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi announced Sunday an urgent investigation into a fire at a hospital in southeastern Baghdad that killed at least 82 people and wounded 110 others a day earlier.

Driving the news: Kadhimi has given investigators 24 hours to report back over the fire, which started on a floor designated for the pulmonary intensive care unit of the Ibn al-Khatib hospital after an accident caused an oxygen tank to explode, according to officials.

Updated 6 hours ago - World

Indonesian navy finds sunken submarine in pieces and declares crew dead

An Indonesian military officer shows the ripped crew escape suit from sunken Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Nanggala 402 during a press conference at Ngurah Rai Military Air Base in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia on Sunday. Photo: Johanes Christo/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Indonesian navy officials said Sunday the submarine that went missing last week had been found "cracked apart" on the seabed near the island of Bali, as they declared all 53 crew members dead, per Al Jazeera.

What they're saying: "There were parts of KRI Nanggala-402 — it was broken into three pieces," Navy Chief of Staff Yudo Margono told reporters. "The hull of the ship, the stern of the ship, and the main parts are all separated, with the main part found cracked."

The E.U. will allow vaccinated Americans to visit this summer

Dome of Positano on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. Photo: Daniele Orsi/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The E.U. is planning to allow fully vaccinated Americans to visit and travel within its borders this summer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the New York Times Sunday.

Why it matters: Von der Leyen didn't specify when the rules will officially be relaxed, but the prospect of opening up tourism to Americans displays a buoyed confidence in the both the American and E.U. vaccination campaigns.

11 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Biden's three tools for selling progressive policies: Jobs, jobs, jobs

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

President Biden has found a key tool for selling the most progressive parts of his agenda during his first 100 days: make them all about jobs.

Why it matters: Long considered a centrist Democrat, Biden has had to court and cater to his party's progressive wing to maintain support in a narrowly divided Congress. Talking jobs also has the benefit of resonating with the moderates and conservatives he needs in 2022 and beyond.

11 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Biden close to naming ambassadors for EU and NATO

President Biden walks with his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, after attending Mass in Delaware on Saturday. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

President Biden is leaning toward nominating Mark Gitenstein to be his ambassador to the European Union and Julie Smith as his envoy to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.

Driving the news: Some Biden advisers want to have the EU and NATO ambassadors announced ahead of Biden’s first foreign trip as president, when he heads to the United Kingdom for the G-7 and then Brussels for a NATO summit in June.

Biden telegraphs tough moves with preemptive actions

A child protests World War I-era Armenian genocide outside the Turkish ambassador's residence in Washington on Saturday. Photo: Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images

President Biden has repeatedly telegraphed tough decisions with earlier announcements designed to cushion the blow.

Driving the news: On Friday, the White House announced a generic call with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey. Less than 24 hours later, the president issued a statement labeling a World War I Armenian massacre "genocide," angering the Turks.

Biden's 100-day numbers: Vaccinated Americans

Data: CDC via Our World in Data; Chart: Will Chase/Axios

Joe Biden promised as president-elect to get 100 million coronavirus vaccine shots in American arms during his first 100 days in office; since taking office, he's more than doubled that goal — and more than a quarter of Americans are now fully vaccinated.

By the numbers: Not quite 1% were vaccinated when Biden took office, although the Trump administration managed to reach an important milestone of 1 million doses administered in a day.

Democratic senators call on Biden to expand Medicare in American Families Plan

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at the Senate on April 13. Photo: Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and 16 Democratic senators sent President Biden a letter on Sunday calling for his American Families Plan to significantly expand Medicare.

Why it matters: The plan, expected to be announced ahead of Biden's address to Congress on Wednesday, is one of several massive proposals brought by the administration to ease mass economic pain caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. military starts Afghanistan withdrawal

U.S. troops near Bagram, Afghanistan in 2014. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Image

The American military has begun its withdrawal from Afghanistan, Gen. Austin Miller, the head of the U.S.-led coalition there, said at a press conference Sunday, per the New York Times.

Why it matters: Miller's statement comes about two weeks after President Joe Biden formally announced that the U.S. would execute a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan and effectively "end America’s longest war."

Mike Allen, author of AM
16 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Exclusive: Frank Luntz previews a feasible immigration compromise

A man looks across the Rio Grande in February, while waiting to show immigration documents to officers at the U.S.-Mexico crossing in Matamoros, Mexico. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

A poll and series of focus groups has honed a one-two punch for a doable immigration deal: Give Democratic lawmakers a real path to citizenship for Dreamers, and give Republicans tight border security that's more realistic than a wall.

Why it matters: The formula — by Frank Luntz, who rose to fame as a Republican pollster but in recent years has taken a more bipartisan approach to policy — would make real progress on one of the nation's biggest tragedies that Capitol Hill has failed to confront.

Polls show Biden approval in low 50s at 100-day mark

President Biden at the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate on April 23. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Just over half of Americans approve of the job President Biden is doing as he approaches the 100th day of his term, NBC News and ABC News/Washington Post polls out Sunday indicate.

Why it matters: Biden has spent trillions within months of taking office to combat the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, while overseeing a national vaccination campaign and facing backlash for a growing humanitarian crisis at the border.

Updated Apr 25, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Troy Carter wins Louisiana special election for U.S. House seat

Photo: Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

Louisiana state Sen. Troy Carter (D) defeated his colleague, state Sen. Karen Carter Peterson (D), in a special election Saturday for Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District seat, a majority-Black district that includes most of New Orleans and extends into Baton Rouge, according to AP.

Why it matters: Carter, who is known for being willing to work across party lines, secured several high-profile endorsements before the race, including the No. 3 Democrat in the House of Representatives, Rep. Jim Clyburn (S.C.).

Unarmed Virginia Black man shot by sheriff's deputy while on 911 call

Virginia state police are investigating reports that an unarmed Black man was shot by a sheriff's deputy who mistook his cordless house phone for a gun. The deputy had earlier given him a ride home, authorities said.

Driving the news: Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office released video late Friday of the shooting of Isaiah Brown, 32, who's in critical condition in a hospital with 10 bullet wounds following the shooting early Wednesday.