Sep 6, 2017

Dems back bill tying 3 month debt-ceiling raise to Harvey aid

Alex Brandon / AP

Senate Minority Leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Wednesday that Democrats would vote for a Hurricane Harvey relief bill that involves a three-month debt-ceiling increase:

"Democrats are prepared to offer our votes for the Harvey aid package, and a short term debt limit increase of three months. Given Republican difficulty in finding votes for their plan, we believe this proposal offers a bipartisan path forward to ensure prompt delivery of Harvey aid as well as avoiding a default, while both sides work together to address government funding, DREAMers, and health care."

House Speaker Paul Ryan shot back in his Wednesday briefing, calling their proposal "ridiculous and disgraceful": "To play politics with the debt ceiling like Schumer and Pelosi I don't think is a good idea... it puts in jeopardy the kind of hurricane response we need to have."

Go deeper

Axios

China tries to contain coronavirus, as Apple warns of earnings impact

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's NHC; Note: China refers to mainland China and the Diamond Princess is the cruise ship offshore Yokohama, Japan. Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios

As China pushes to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus — placing around 780 million people under travel restrictions, per CNN — the economic repercussions continue to be felt globally as companies like Apple warn of the impact from the lack of manufacturing and consumer demand in China.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed at least 1,775 people and infected more than 70,000 others, mostly in mainland China. There are some signs that new cases are growing at a slower rate now, although the World Health Organization said Monday it's "too early to tell" if this will continue.

Go deeperUpdated 2 hours ago - Health

Ina Fried

Apple will miss quarterly earnings estimates due to coronavirus

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple issued a rare earnings warning on Monday, saying it would not meet quarterly revenue expectations due to the impact of the coronavirus, which will limit iPhone production and limit product demand in China.

Why it matters: Lots of companies rely on China for production, but unlike most U.S. tech companies, Apple also gets a significant chunk of its revenue from sales in China.

Go deeper2 hours ago - Technology

Orion Rummler

America's dwindling executions

The Trump administration wants to reboot federal executions, pointing to a 16-year lapse, but Pew Research reports the government has only executed three people since 1963.

The big picture: Nearly all executions in the U.S. are done by states. Even those have been steadily dropping for two decades, per the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) — marking a downward trend for all executions in the country.

Go deeper4 hours ago - Politics & Policy