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India's COVID-19 death toll surged past 200,000 on Wednesday, as the country set another daily global cases record.

Of note: Medical experts and members of India's opposition parties say the actual death toll and case numbers are much higher, a charge Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party denies.

Officials are stepping up efforts to reach some of the world's most remote regions in a global vaccination drive, as the world crosses 1 billion total COVID-19 vaccines administered.

The big picture: Most doses have gone to rich countries so far, but President Biden's pledge to soon export 60 million doses could be a global game-changer. The WHO is pushing to increase trust and investment in vaccines during World Immunization Week, which runs until Friday, with the message that "vaccines bring us closer."

Top White House officials have quietly been meeting — on the Hill and over the phone — with Republican senators who drafted a counterproposal to President Biden's infrastructure plan, multiple sources tell Axios.

What we're hearing: The GOP senators say they're optimistic the Biden administration is open to concessions and can reach a compromise. They've been heartened by their talks with White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti and legislative affairs director Louisa Terrell.

During his first 100 days, President Biden's successes at times have been overshadowed by news of the record number of migrant minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border — overwhelming government resources.

By the numbers: There's still a record number of migrant children being held in shelters overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, and the administration has had to open 13 emergency shelters since late February, sometimes through big contracts with nonprofit groups.

President Biden's address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday will be noteworthy not because of the COVID-restricted audience but because he'll stand before two women in the House Chamber.

Why it matters: The joint address is not a State of the Union speech, though it will have the usual trappings: an announcement of the president's arrival, and clapping as he walks down the aisle. Almost everything else will be different.

A low-key group is quietly harvesting contact information for Republicans in key presidential swing states who share a distaste for the Chinese government, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The group, Stand Up to China, is run by some plugged-in Republican consultants. Its focus on states that will host early presidential nominating contests suggests an effort to elevate an issue at the top of GOP voters' minds in the 2024 race or leverage it on behalf of some yet-unknown candidate.

1. Health: Fully vaccinated people don't need to wear masks outside — Long COVID is the next wave of the pandemic — Employers crafting post-COVID benefits show new commitment to mental health.
2. Vaccines: Pfizer CEO says oral drug to prevent COVID-19 could be ready next year — Political leanings sway seniors' vaccine enthusiasm — State university systems begin requiring COVID-19 vaccines for fall.
3. World: Brazil rejects Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, citing safety concerns — Some foreign students will be allowed back into U.S. this fall — Biden's move to share vaccine doses could be a global game changer
4. Economy: Taking stock of Big Oil's pandemic recovery — New home sales surge as lumber prices skyrocket.
5. Variant tracker: Where different strains are spreading.

President Biden nominated Ed Gonzalez, the sheriff of Harris County, Texas, on Tuesday to be the next director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Why it matters: Gonzalez, a seasoned law enforcement official, is known for criticizing the Trump administration's immigration policies, per AP.

President Biden plans to ask Congress to pay for the entirety of the $1.8 trillion in new spending on health care, child care and education he’ll unveil on Wednesday night, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.

Why it matters: Biden’s decision to fully offset both the $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan he announced last month, and the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan being rolled out in his joint address, all but guarantee big political battles on both the spending and tax sides of the combined $4 trillion proposal.

The FBI confirmed Tuesday it will open a civil rights investigation into the death of Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man fatally shot by sheriff's deputies in North Carolina last week.

The big picture: Police in Elizabeth City shot Brown five times, including in the back of his head, according to an independent autopsy report released by family attorneys Tuesday. The autopsy was performed Sunday by a pathologist hired by the family.

Chinese sports retailer Anta is continuing to use Xinjiang cotton, rebuffing international scrutiny of forced labor in the Xinjiang cotton industry as the Chinese government denies allegations of human rights violations there.

Why it matters: Anta is the official Olympics uniform supplier and refuses to say if it uses Xinjiang cotton in them. Its products have not been directly tied to forced labor. Due to the opacity of supply chains in China and the secrecy surrounding forced labor factories, it's very difficult to determine which products are tainted.

An Israeli cabinet meeting exploded into a shouting match today after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to install a loyalist as justice minister despite the attorney general’s determination that such a move was illegal.

The latest: The Israeli supreme court issued an injunction to block Netanyahu's move on Tuesday night. The court will convene on Wednesday for a hearing on the matter.

Fully vaccinated people can venture outdoors without masks, according to updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Tuesday.

The big picture: The guidelines come as more than nearly 29% of people in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated and more than 42% have received at least one dose.

U.S. Air Force researchers are partnering with a quantum computing company to use its machine learning algorithms, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Quantum is the next generation of computing, and its growing adoption by the military shows the progress of the technology as it gradually moves out of the lab and into the real world.

Podcasts have historically been open and freely distributed, but new subscription offerings for podcasts from Apple and Spotify aim to challenge that status quo.

Between the lines: As the subscription podcast ecosystem develops, it wouldn't be surprising if other major podcast publishers start to toy with the idea of putting some of their podcasts behind a paywall.

Spotify on Tuesday launched its new subscription podcast platform that gives creators the ability to create podcasts exclusively for paid subscribers on and off Spotify.

Why it matters: The move follows Apple's announcement last week that it has launched a new podcast subscription service within Apple podcasts.

The free speech debate that has engulfed social media platforms is now extended to any information gatekeeper, even those not obligated to host anyone's speech.

The big picture: More books have been canceled recently by publishers wary of the potential blowback they could face for giving controversial figures or ideas a platform. Some publishers are facing pressure from frustrated employees to censor controversial authors or ideas.

President Biden will sign an executive order on Tuesday requiring federal contractors to pay workers a minimum wage of $15 an hour.

Why it matters: The order will make good on a promise Biden made his second day in office to raise the minimum wage for a range of federal workers.

Tech platforms have built the heart of their businesses around secretive computer algorithms, and lawmakers and regulators now want to know just what's inside those black boxes.

Why it matters: Algorithms, formulas for computer-based decision making, are responsible for what we get shown on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube — and, increasingly, for choices companies make about who gets a loan or parole or a spot at a college.

Europe seems poised to set the global standard for vaccine passports, now that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has signaled that vaccinated Americans will be allowed to travel to the continent this summer.

Why it matters: Opening up travel to vaccinated Americans will bring new urgency to creating some kind of trusted means for people to prove they've been vaccinated.

There are millions of Americans who have the skills to get higher-level, higher-paying jobs but aren't considered for those roles because they don't have college degrees.

Why it matters: Companies hire based on credentials, not skills — and that's limiting the economic mobility of millions of skilled workers without degrees and leaving firms with smaller pools of talent.

Companies and governments around the world are racing to figure out how to clean up human-made junk that is cluttering space.

Why it matters: Trackers are seeing more and more close calls between satellites, as companies work to deploy constellations of hundreds to thousands of small spacecraft, adding to fears that those small satellites could become junk themselves.

Seniors are more enthusiastic about the coronavirus vaccines than younger Americans, but even that high-risk population is still subject to some partisan divides, according to Axios-Ipsos polling over the last several months.

The big picture: In the most recent waves of our Axios-Ipsos survey, 85% of seniors said they had already been vaccinated, or were likely to get vaccinated.

Marine scientists announced Monday they've uncovered at a former industrial waste site off the Southern California coast some 25,000 barrels that their research indicates contain the toxic chemical DDT.

Why it matters: Scientists had previously detected in the area near Santa Catalina Island "high levels of DDT in marine mammals including dolphins and sea lions," with exposure to DDT and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, per a statement from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Several state university systems and public universities have announced in the past week that they will require students returning to campuses in the fall to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Why it matters: The expansion into state and public school systems will significantly boost the number of institutions requiring coronavirus vaccines.

The pandemic-wracked job market has continued to steadily heal since President Biden took office, helped along by mass vaccinations that have rekindled an economic reopening.

The latest sign: New unemployment filings — one proxy for layoffs — have hit pandemic-era lows in recent weeks. The data is volatile, but the milestone is noteworthy.

All three states that missed out on expected congressional gains from the 2020 census — Arizona, Florida and Texas — have big Hispanic populations, the Cook Political Report's Dave Wasserman tells Axios.

Why it matters: It's a lost shot at more muscle for one of America's fastest-growing voter groups, in some of America's fastest-growing states.

President Biden is committed to increasing capital gains taxes for the richest Americans when they die, before they pass wealth to their heirs, according to people familiar with the matter.

Why it matters: Eliminating the so-called stepped-up basis is central to Biden’s plan to find additional revenue to pay for the roughly $1.5 trillion in new spending he'll unveil during a major speech Wednesday night.

A prominent Republican fundraiser abruptly closed shop last year to start a COVID-relief business that ended up under federal investigation. Now he wants his former clients to settle up, Axios has learned.

What's happening: Mike Gula, a veteran GOP consultant, is trying to recoup money from at least three Republican House campaigns from what he says are outstanding fees and expenses owed to his firm, Gula Graham.