Sep 20, 2017

Driving today: the Bloomberg Global Business Forum

Mike Allen

Bloomberg looms over yesterday's rehearsal. Photo: Mike Allen / Axios

Basketball legend LeBron James will open today's first-ever Bloomberg Global Business Forum, at the Plaza Hotel in New York, with a taped video for world leaders: "We all know the world needs us to step up. ... Great leaders emerged during the darkest, most difficult times for a simple reason: They were needed."

Axios is one of only two U.S. media partners for the event, giving us exclusive access and insights that you'll see all day here in the Axios stream, including my afternoon interview with former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg. The lineup includes Bill Clinton, Apple's Tim Cook, Alibaba's Jack Ma and French President Emmanuel Macron.

A twist: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is holding a competing event nearby — the inaugural Goalkeepers, featuring remarks and Q&A with former President Obama.

  • Mike Bloomberg will leave his forum to speak at the Gates event, and Bill Gates will leave his event to speak at Bloomberg's.

Pulling back the camera ... "The US Government-In-Exile Has A New President: And Mike Bloomberg has a big new platform," by BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith: "Bloomberg is reviving part of the [Clinton Global Initiative's] original role as a kind of US government in exile."

  • "The former New York mayor is inheriting not a conference, but a platform for an alternative American diplomacy."
  • Bloomberg, in an emailed comment: "Actions taken by the private sector, while not replacing official diplomatic channels, can often carry more weight than words spoken (or tweeted) by public officials."
  • Why it matters: "This isn't the first project Clinton has passed off to Bloomberg; that was the Clinton Climate Initiative. ... Bloomberg's new stage is a sign that ... the former mayor is likely just getting started."

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Trump signs $2 trillion relief bill as U.S. coronavirus case count tops 100,000

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

President Trump signed a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package on Friday, as infections in the U.S. topped 100,000 and more cities experience spikes of the novel coronavirus.

The big picture: The U.S. has the most COVID-19 cases in the world, exceeding China and Italy, per data from Johns Hopkins. A second wave of American cities, including Boston, Detroit, New Orleans and Philadelphia, are reporting influxes of cases.

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Coronavirus updates: Italy records deadliest day with nearly 1,000 dead

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens and confirmed plus presumptive cases from the CDC

Italy on Friday reported 969 COVID-19 deaths over a 24-hour period, marking the deadliest single-day for the country since the global outbreak began, according to data from the Health Ministry.

The big picture: The U.S. now leads the world in confirmed coronavirus cases, as the number of global cases nears 600,000. Governments around the world are trying to curb the medical and financial fallout of COVID-19, as infections surge across Europe and the U.S.

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 595,800 — Total deaths: 27,324 — Total recoveries: 131,006.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in cases. Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 103,942 — Total deaths: 1,689 — Total recoveries: 870.
  3. Federal government latest: President Trump signed the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill to provide businesses and U.S. workers economic relief.
  4. State updates: Nearly 92% of cities do not have adequate medical supplies — New York is trying to nearly triple its hospital capacity in less than a month.
  5. World updates: Italy reported 969 coronavirus deaths on Friday, the country's deadliest day.
  6. Business latest: President Trump authorized the use of the Defense Production Act to direct General Motors to build ventilators for those affected by COVID-19. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has been appointed to enforce the act.
  7. 🏰 1 Disney thing: Both Disney World and Disneyland theme parks in the U.S. are closed until further notice.
  8. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing.
  9. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

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