Axios Homepage

Some people don't get COVID despite being exposed to the virus — a mystery researchers are trying to unravel.

Why it matters: Understanding the small cohort of "never COVID" people could lead to new vaccine targets or other protections as the world enters the third year of the pandemic.

The number of abortions performed in Texas fell by 60% in the first month after the most restrictive abortion ban in the U.S. went into effect, according to data released Thursday by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

By the numbers: In August, there were a total of 5,404 clinic abortions conducted. That number fell dramatically in September to 2,197.

With rare bipartisan support, the Senate passed landmark workplace legislation on Thursday that forbids companies from forcing sexual harassment and assault claims into arbitration.

Why it matters: The secretive dispute resolution process keeps litigation out of the public eye and is widely considered to favor employers over workers. The bill is the first major piece of legislation to come out of the upheaval of the #MeToo era. It now heads to President Biden for his signature.

Irving-based Boy Scouts of America and attorneys representing thousands of sexual abuse survivors have reached a deal that will allow the BSA's bankruptcy plan to move forward.

• The new deal doesn't add any money to the latest $2.7 billion settlement offer, but it does add improvements to the claims process and enhances the BSA's child-protection policies, according to the LA Times.

It was only two years ago that former President Trump struck a mega trade deal with China, containing commitments by the Chinese to purchase vast sums of American exports. So how's it going?

Not great, according to calculations by Chad Bown of the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Sesame Street's decades-long presence on both sides of the border has come full circle with a Mexican American executive producer at the helm for its new season.

Why it matters: Sal Perez is the first Latino to serve in that role, although people of color have had a huge influence for years. The show is in production for its 53rd season.

People protesting vaccine mandates in Canada blocked the main U.S.-Canada border crossing in Manitoba on Thursday with a number of vehicles and farm equipment, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the province said.

Why it matters: Three ports of entry between the two countries have now been either temporarily closed or delayed by several hours over the protests, and auto factories that rely on those crossings have begun halting production.

Eileen Gu, the Chinese American freestyle skier who won big air gold for China this week, has become one of Beijing 2022's key figures.

Why it matters: Olympians choosing one country over another is nothing new, but they're not typically the face of the host nation — or at the center of a rift between the world's two biggest economies.

The House panel probing the Jan. 6 insurrection has found gaps in White House phone logs from the day of the attack, with investigators finding few records of calls that former President Trump made which are known to the committee, the New York Times reports.

State of play: There is no evidence that the logs were altered, per the Times, and Trump is known to have routinely used his personal cellphone. But the lack of information has made it more difficult to piece together what Trump was doing during the riot.

1. Health: COVID cases are plummeting, and deaths could decline soon — CDC recommends indoor mask use even as states lift COVID restrictions — Fauci: U.S. heading out of "full-blown pandemic phase".
2. Vaccines: Pharmacies view COVID as customer acquisition — "The next culture war": Vaccines for young kids — A new top-selling medicine: Pfizer's COVID vaccine.
3. Politics: Republican lawmakers target GoFundMe over Canadian COVID mandate protests — New York drops indoor mask mandate — Blue states move to drop mask mandates.
4. Business: Pandemic pushes teachers to pivot careers.
5. World: Boris Johnson signals early end to U.K. COVID restrictions — European countries increasingly ease COVID restrictions — Australia to reopen to double-vaccinated travelers.
6. Variant tracker

A lot of hopes are riding on inflation easing in 2022. That sure didn't happen in January, however.

• The 0.6% rise in the Consumer Price Index last month undermines the idea, which the Biden administration and the Federal Reserve have been betting on, that inflation will remain contained to a handful of industries and fade with time.

Russia and Belarus launched their largest joint military exercises ever on Thursday, a day after six Russian warships arrived in Crimea for naval drills that Ukraine says will paralyze commercial shipping in the Black Sea.

Why it matters: U.S. officials believe that Russia may use the exercises inside Belarus as cover to attack Ukraine from the north. Ukraine's foreign minister slammed the Black Sea maneuvers as "unprecedented" and a tactic of Russia's "hybrid war" designed to blockade Ukraine's southern ports.

While President Trump was in office, staff in the White House residence periodically discovered wads of printed paper clogging a toilet — and believed the president had flushed pieces of paper, Maggie Haberman scoops in her forthcoming book, "Confidence Man."

Why it matters: The revelation by Haberman, whose coverage as a New York Times White House correspondent was followed obsessively by Trump, adds a vivid new dimension to his lapses in preserving government documents. Axios was provided an exclusive first look at some of her reporting.

Former President Trump said Thursday that he was "under no obligation" to return White House records to the National Archives and Record Administration at the end of his presidential term.

Driving the news: Trump also denied that he destroyed or flushed "papers and documents down a White House toilet."

Just as American auto manufacturers showed signs of momentum in beating back supply chain snarls, Canadian anti-vaccine protesters are blocking a key connection to Detroit.

Driving the news: The convoy of Canadian truckers that shut down Ottawa recently to protest vaccination requirements and public health measures closed a key bridge connecting Canada to the U.S. for a fourth day Thursday.

🎿 Team USA wins gold in mixed team aerials

🏂 U.S. snowboarder Chloe Kim makes history with second Olympic gold

⛸️ Nathan Chen wins men's figure skating Olympic gold for U.S.

🥇 🥈 🥉 Legal issue delays Olympic team figure skating medal ceremony

📸 In photos: Winter Olympics Day 6 highlights

A Department of Homeland Security bulletin warns law enforcement across the U.S. that a convoy of truckers protesting vaccine mandates, similar to protests in Canada, could begin soon in the U.S., CNN reports.

Driving the news: A DHS official told Yahoo News truckers could "follow the Canadian model and shut down Washington."

Ready or not, states across the U.S. have begun another great unmasking as they prepare to enter the post-Omicron phase of the pandemic.

Why it matters: Reasonable experts don't exactly agree on whether it's the right time to start exposing our faces in public again, which makes it difficult to gauge how much of this broader shift is based in science versus changing risk tolerance.

Three-quarters of Americans say that U.S. democracy could be at risk without stronger regulation of false information online, according to a poll by bipartisan advocacy group the Future of Tech commission, results of which were shared first with Axios. The same survey found broad bipartisan support for stronger privacy regulation and increased spending on cybersecurity.

Why it matters: Congress is considering a range of new restrictions on tech, including bills related to privacy, competition and possible limits to Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which protects online platforms from being sued for user-contributed content.

The Biden administration is throwing open the doors for states to begin tapping $5 billion over five years from the bipartisan infrastructure law to expand electric vehicle charging on the nation's highways.

Why it matters: Transportation is the nation's largest source of carbon emissions. Charging growth is key to helping EVs move from a small — albeit growing — share of sales into becoming rivals for gas-powered cars and eventually replacing them in the market.

A slew of apps and games that simulate sports and casino betting are gaining popularity among children.

Why it matters: The line between gaming and gambling is getting blurrier — and social betting, which involves no real money, can lead kids to the real thing, experts say.

New COVID cases are plunging all across America, and Omicron's death toll is also slowing down.

The big picture: The U.S. is on its way out of this wave of the pandemic after less than two months.

Tesla is being sued over allegations of systemic racial discrimination at the company’s California facilities, a state regulatory agency announced late Wednesday. Tesla said ahead of the lawsuit that such action was "misguided."

Driving the news: California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) director Kevin Kish said in an emailed statement that the agency filed the lawsuit Wednesday in the Alameda County Superior Court following an investigation launched after "receiving hundreds of complaints from workers."

U.S. figure skater Nathan Chen won gold in the men's individual event at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Thursday.

The big picture: The 22-year-old was given a standing ovation at Beijing's Capital Indoor Stadium after his free skate, in which he pulled off all five of his quads, performing to a medley from the "Rocket Man" movie soundtrack.

Canada's transport minister said Wednesday that vaccine mandate protests disrupting a key U.S.-Canada border crossing this week are hurting supply chains, as nearby auto factories began halting production.

Why it matters: The Ambassador Bridge, which shut down Tuesday and has now been temporarily closed to commercial traffic due to the protests, is the busiest crossing between Canada and the U.S. and serves as a key link for the auto industry.

The failed Build Back Better negotiations have left the relationship between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) severely strained.

• Both senators — and their staffs — quietly question whether the other side can be trusted, four sources close to the situation told Axios.

Why it matters: Democrats are privately concerned the breach will affect any effort to revive President Biden's BBB agenda. A medical absence by Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) already deprives Schumer of a reliable party vote.