Updated Dec 2, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Duncan Hunter says he'll plead guilty in corruption case

Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) told KUSI News on Monday that he will plead guilty on one count of misuse of campaign funds.

The big picture: Hunter's scheduled plea change — first hinted at in documents filed in federal court, per the San Diego Union-Tribune — comes six months after his wife changed her own plea. The couple was indicted in 2018 on allegations that they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds for personal use, including on gas, groceries, lavish dinners and vacations.

  • Hunter was one of the first two Republican members of Congress to endorse then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016. The other was Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), who pleaded guilty to insider trading and resigned from Congress earlier this year.

Go deeper: GOP primary heats up as ex-Rep. Darrell Issa challenges Duncan Hunter in California

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 2 p.m. ET: 11,317,637 — Total deaths: 531,729 — Total recoveries — 6,111,910 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 2 p.m. ET: 2,852,807 — Total deaths: 129,718 — Total recoveries: 894,325 — Total tested: 34,858,427 — Map.
  3. States: Photos of America's pandemic July 4 — ICU beds in Arizona hot spot near capacity — Houston mayor warns about hospitals
  4. Public health: U.S. coronavirus infections hit record highs for 3 straight days.
  5. Politics: Former Trump official Tom Bossert says face masks “are not enough”
  6. World: Mexican leaders call for tighter border control as infections rise in U.S.
  7. Sports: Sports return stalked by coronavirus
  8. 1 📽 thing: Drive-in movie theaters are making a comeback.
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Kendall Baker
6 hours ago - Sports

Sports return stalked by coronavirus

Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Austin Meadows bumps elbows Friday during a workout at Tropicana Field. Photo: Kim Klement/USA Today Sports via Reuters

When MLB teams arrived at the ballpark this weekend for the first summer workouts of 2020, the comforting sounds of baseball brought smiles to players' faces.

Between the lines: Even the loudest crack of the bat couldn't mask the eerie silence or distract from the ever-present coronavirus threat.

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Fadel Allassan
6 hours ago - Health

239 scientists call on WHO to recognize coronavirus as airborne

People walk at the boardwalk in Venice Beach. Photo: Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images

A group of 239 scientists in 32 countries is calling for the World Health Organization to revise its recommendations to account for airborne transmission as a significant factor in how the coronavirus spreads, the New York Times reports.

The big picture: The WHO has said the virus mainly spreads via large respiratory droplets that fall to the ground once they've been discharged in coughs and sneezes. But the scientists say evidence shows the virus can spread from smaller particles that linger in air indoors.

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