Feb 27, 2017 - Politics & Policy

George W. Bush on Russia: "we all need answers"

Today / NBC

From Matt Lauer's interview with former president George W. Bush on the TODAY Show:

On freedom of religion: "I think it's very important for all of us to recognize that one of our great strengths is for people to be able to worship the way they want to or not worship at all. A bedrock of our freedom is the right to worship freely."
On Russia: "I think we all need answers...if [Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Richard Burr] were to recommend a special prosecutor, then it'd have a lot more credibility with me."
On Trump's immigration ban: "I am for an immigration policy that's welcoming and upholds the law."
On the media: "I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy…Power can be very addictive. It can be corrosive, and it's important for the media to hold people to account."
On presidential nostalgia: "People ask me, 'Do you miss being president?' The answer's not really, but I miss saluting people who volunteer to wear the uniform."

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Updated 7 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 30,065,728 — Total deaths: 944,604— Total recoveries: 20,423,802 — Map
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 6,674,070 — Total deaths: 197,615 — Total recoveries: 2,540,334 — Total tests: 90,710,730 — Map
Politics: Former Pence aide says she plans to vote for Joe Biden, accusing Trump of costing lives in his coronavirus response.
Health: Pew: 49% of Americans would not get COVID-19 vaccine if available today — Pandemic may cause cancer uptick — The risks of moving too fast on a vaccine — COVID-19 racial disparities extend to health coverage losses.
Business: Retail sales return to pre-coronavirus trend.

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Ina Fried, author of Login

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Scoop: How the Oracle-TikTok deal would work

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

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Driving the news: The deal, in the form of a 20-page term sheet agreed to in principle by the companies, would give Oracle unprecedented access and control over user data as well as other measures designed to ensure that Americans' data is protected, according to the source.

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10 hours ago - World

How the EU plans to take on human rights abusers

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Amid a global assault on human rights stretching from Belarus to Hong Kong to Yemen, the European Union signaled yesterday that it may act to deter corrupt kleptocrats and state abusers by hitting them where it hurts: their assets.

Driving the news: Europe's chief executive Ursula von der Leyen revealed in her first-ever State of the Union speech that she will bring forth a European Magnitsky Act, a sanctions framework modeled after a U.S. law that restricts malign actors' access to travel and the global financial system.

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