Feb 2, 2017

Former Obamacare exec: Trump team sabotaged signups

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Joshua Peck, the former Chief Marketing Officer of Healthcare.gov, wrote today that "there should be no doubt" that the Trump administration was at least somewhat successful in its attempt to sabotage Obamacare signups in the final days before the open enrollment deadline.

Peck estimates that Trump's executive order on Obamacare and his administration's moves to slash the Obamacare outreach budget might have prevented 480,000 people from signing up.

Why it matters: It's just an estimate — and admittedly, a biased one — but it shows how much the former Obamacare team believes the Trump administration blew their momentum.

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Stef W. Kight, Sarah Grillo
32 mins ago - Politics & Policy

America's exceptionally uneventful Fourth of July

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Amateur fireworks and small backyard cookouts are winning the weekend as the coronavirus takes the flash out of the Fourth of July.

What's happening: Public parades and fireworks displays around much of the country are being cancelled to prevent mass gatherings where the virus could spread. Hot-dog contests and concerts will play to empty stands and virtual audiences — all while American pride treads an all-time low.

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Fadel Allassan
15 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Americans reflect on Independence Day amid racism reckoning

A Black Lives Matter banner and a United States flag on the facade of the U.S. embassy building in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: Simon Shin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

America's leaders are rethinking how they view Independence Day, as the country reckons with the historic, unequal treatment of people of color during a pandemic which has disproportionately affected nonwhite Americans.

Why it matters: The country’s legacy of racism has come into sharp focus in the weeks of protests following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody. From Confederate statues to Mount Rushmore, Americans are reexamining the symbols and traditions they elevate and the history behind them.

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Axios
Updated 17 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 7 p.m. ET: 11,031,905 — Total deaths: 523,777 — Total recoveries — 5,834,337 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 7 p.m. ET: 2,788,395 — Total deaths: 129,306 — Total recoveries: 790,404 — Total tested: 34,213,497 — Map.
  3. States: ICU beds in Arizona's hot spot reach near capacity.
  4. Public health: The states where face coverings are mandatory — Fauci says it has been a "very disturbing week" for the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S.
  5. Economy: The economy may recover just quickly enough to kill political interest in more stimulus.
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