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Updated 31 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Sen. Kelly Loeffler to continue quarantine after receiving negative COVID test

Sen. Kelly Loeffler addresses supporters during a rally at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agriculture Center on Thursday. Photo: Jessica McGowan/Getty Images

Sen. Kelly Loeffler's (R-Ga.) campaign announced Sunday that a previously inconclusive coronavirus test came back negative, but she will continue to follow CDC guidelines and self-isolate until she's able to get a more conclusive negative result.

Why it matters: Loeffler has been campaigning at events ahead of a Jan. 5 runoff in elections that'll decide which party holds the Senate majority. Vice President Mike Pence was with her on Friday.

Axios Hard Truths
Read our new series of deep dives that explain how race and inequality hold us back.
4 hours ago - World

Netanyahu says Biden must not go back to Iran deal

Photo: Abir Sultan/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that President-elect Biden's administration “must not go back to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran."

Why it matters: The comments — at the annual memorial ceremony for David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister — signal that Netanyahu is planning to repeat the public campaign against an Iran deal that he engaged in during the Obama administration.

GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer: Transition should start "tomorrow morning"

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said on "Meet the Press" on Sunday that it is past time to "cooperate with the transition" to President-elect Joe Biden, adding that he believes President Trump still has the right to continue fighting in court over election results.

Driving the news: Trump has refused to allow the transition process to begin as he has sought to discredit the election results in swing states across the country — baselessly alleging mass voter fraud.

A season of COVID uncertainty

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

The frightening, post-election COVID surge is making everything feel strange, different and unsettled all over again.

Why it matters: With Thanksgiving canceled, doctors quitting their practices and grocers limiting purchase quantities (again), Americans have the ambient sense that our safety net is unraveling. Not only are things not returning to normal, they may not return to normal for a long time.

Updated 14 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump campaign asks Georgia for another election recount

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Georgia will conduct another presidential election results recount following a Trump campaign request on Saturday.

Why it matters: State election officials and Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Friday certified Georgia's election results that show President-elect Joe Biden officially won the state by just over 12,600 votes.

Judge tosses Trump campaign bid to block Pennsylvania vote certification

Election workers count ballots at the Philadelphia Convention Center Photo: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

A judge in Pennsylvania on Saturday dismissed a Trump campaign lawsuit that sought to invalidate millions of votes and block the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the state.

Why it matters: The ruling is another blow to President Trump and his campaign as they seek to discredit election tallies in Pennsylvania and other key swing states, citing baseless and unproven claims of widespread voter fraud. Counties in Pennsylvania must certify their election totals and send them to secretary of the commonwealth by Monday.

Updated 16 hours ago - Politics & Policy

GOP Sen. Pat Toomey: Trump has exhausted all plausible legal options

Sen. Pat Toomey during a Senate hearing in May. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) congratulated President-elect Joe Biden on his election win, saying in a statement, "President Trump has exhausted all plausible legal options to challenge the result of the presidential race in Pennsylvania."

Why it matters: Toomey made the announcement hours after a Republican judge in his home state dismissed a Trump campaign lawsuit that sought to block the certification of Pennsylvania's election results.

Updated 18 hours ago - Health

FDA authorizes emergency use of Regeneron antibody treatment given to Trump

The corporate and research and development headquarters of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Tarrytown, N.Y. Photo: Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images


The Food and Drug Administration announced Saturday evening it has granted emergency use authorization for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' antibody cocktail given to President Trump to treat his COVID-19 infection last month.

Why it matters: Regeneron's two monoclonal antibodies, casirivimab and imdevimab, are for people who tested positive for the coronavirus and "who are at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19" — including people who are 65 and older, and/or people with certain chronic illnesses, per an FDA statement.

Updated 21 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Vaccines: Pfizer applies for FDA emergency use authorization for vaccine.
  2. Health: U.S. surpasses 12 million COVID-19 cases — Why we're numb to 250,000 coronavirus deaths — Americans line up for testing ahead of Thanksgiving.
  3. Travel: Air travel's COVID-created future — Over 1 million U.S. travelers flew on Friday, despite calls to avoid holiday travel.
  4. Education: America's teachers are running on empty.
  5. Politics: Ben Carson says he was "desperately ill" with the coronavirus — Sen. Rick Scott tests positive.
  6. World: Europe's brutal coronavirus surge begins to ease after restrictions — Canada's Trudeau: "A normal Christmas" is out of the question.
23 hours ago - Health

U.S. surpasses 12 million COVID-19 cases

People wait in line to get tested for COVID-19 at the Ann Street School Testing Center in Newark, New Jersey. Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. surpassed 12 million coronavirus cases on Saturday, per data from Johns Hopkins University, the second time the country has recorded more than 1 million new cases in less than a week.

Why it matters: The grim milestone comes as the U.S. prepares for the Thanksgiving holiday, when millions of people, despite warnings, planning to travel and gather with family and friends.

Air travel's COVID-created future

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Ann Ronan Pictures, Bettmann/Getty Images

A look at the future of air travel as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday week while coronavirus cases are surging and the CDC is urging Americans to avoid travel.

Felix Salmon, author of Capital
Nov 21, 2020 - Economy & Business

The surprisingly strong U.S. consumer

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Most Americans are doing surprisingly well, financially, in the face of a major pandemic raging across the country.

Why it matters: The health of the U.S. consumer is one of the main reasons why a second stimulus is perceived to be much less urgent than the first one was.

Bryan Walsh, author of Future
Nov 21, 2020 - Health

Why we're numb to 250,000 coronavirus deaths

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The U.S. passed 250,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 this week, a figure that is truly vast — too vast, perhaps, for us to comprehend.

Why it matters: The psychic numbing that sets in around mass death saps us of our empathy for victims and discourages us from making the sacrifices needed to control the pandemic, while it hampers our ability to prepare for other rare but potentially catastrophic risks down the road.

Nov 21, 2020 - Economy & Business

Journalists face volatile media landscape

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The pandemic has been a nightmare for thousands of journalists out of work —and for additional thousands trying to navigate jobs amid fear and uncertainty.

Why it matters: Recent departures, deals, layoffs and restructurings amid the pandemic have journalists questioning whether there's stability anywhere within the industry.

Nov 21, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Biden aims to deflect fights over first Cabinet picks

Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

President-elect Joe Biden has made his choice for secretary of state, three people familiar with the matter tell Axios, moving quickly to assemble a Senate-confirmable Cabinet even as President Trump refuses to concede the election.

The big picture: Biden already has said he's made his choice for Treasury, and both picks may be aimed at defusing confirmation fights with Senate Republicans and internal battles with Democratic progressives.

Michigan GOP leaders after Trump meeting: "We will follow the law"

Photo: Tasos Katopodis via Getty Images

Republican leaders in Michigan said they "have not yet been aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election" in the state after meeting with President Trump at the White House Friday.

Why it matters: The meeting was part of a long-shot effort by Trump and his campaign to prevent Michigan from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state, per NYT. But state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R) and Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield (R) made clear they would not be intimidated into diverging from the normal election process.