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Stormy Daniels wins TV war: overshadows taxes, health care

Caitlin Owens, author of Vitals

Tax cuts and the Affordable Care Act are supposed to be big issues in the midterm elections, but both have faded from the attention of the cable news networks now that they're no longer front and center in Congress, according to data from GDELT, a service that monitors television news coverage.

Expand chart
Data: GDELT Television Explorer. Volume in all tracked national stations using keywords: Obamacare, repeal and replace, Affordable Care Act; tax cuts, tax plan, tax bill, tax reform; Stormy Daniels. Chart: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

Why it matters: Democrats are campaigning hard on the GOP's unpopular attempt to repeal and replace the ACA, and Republicans are pushing the financial benefits of their tax law. But while the tax cuts have gotten another burst of attention during tax filing season, both issues are getting less cable news attention than Stormy Daniels right now. Both parties will have to hope that changes in time for the elections.

Go deeper

Caitlin Owens, author of Vitals
37 mins ago - Health

Who benefits from Biden's move to reopen ACA enrollment

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Nearly 15 million Americans who are currently uninsured are eligible for coverage on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, and more than half of them would qualify for subsidies, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation brief.

Why it matters: President Biden is expected to announce today that he'll be reopening the marketplaces for a special enrollment period from Feb. 15 to May 15, but getting a significant number of people to sign up for coverage will likely require targeted outreach.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Sara Fischer, author of Media Trends
2 hours ago - Technology

Big Tech bolts politics

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Big Tech fed politics. Then it bled politics. Now it wants to be dead to politics. 

Why it matters: The social platforms that profited massively on politics and free speech suddenly want a way out — or at least a way to hide until the heat cools. 

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Felix Salmon, author of Capital
2 hours ago - Economy & Business

GameStop as a metaphor

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

A half-forgotten and unprofitable videogame retailer is, bizarrely and incredibly, on the lips of the nation. That's because the GameStop story touches on economic and cultural forces that affect everyone, whether they own a single share of stock or not.

Why it matters: In most Wall Street fights, the broader public doesn't have a rooting interest. This one — where a group of small traders won a multi-billion-dollar bet against giant hedge funds by buying stock in GameStop — is different.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow