Sep 21, 2017

Graham and Cassidy to debate Sanders on health care next week

Sens. Lindsey Graham, Bill Cassidy, and Bernie Sanders. Photos: Ron Sachs / CNP / MediaPunch / IPX / AP, John Minchillo / AP

Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy will face off against Sens. Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar in a CNN town hall hosted by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash next Monday to debate the future of American health care.

Why it matters: It stands to play into the "socialism vs. federalism" binary choice on health care that Graham has been floating all week. NBC News' Frank Thorp tweeted that a Democratic source told him: "This is exactly the debate Graham and Cassidy want to have. Sanders is looking out for himself rather than being a team player."

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Axios

Coronavirus kills 2 Diamond Princess passengers and South Korea sees first death

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. U.S. numbers include Americans extracted from Princess Cruise ship.

Two elderly Diamond Princess passengers have been killed by the novel coronavirus — the first deaths confirmed among the more than 600 infected aboard the cruise ship. South Korea also announced its first death Thursday.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed more than 2,100 people and infected over 75,000 others, mostly in mainland China, where the National Health Commission announced 114 new deaths since Wednesday.

Go deeperUpdated 2 mins ago - Health

Courtenay Brown, Rashaan Ayesh

Morgan Stanley to buy E*Trade in a $13 billion deal

Photo: Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Morgan Stanley is buying E*Trade Financial, the company known for helping everyday Americans manage their money, in a $13 billion all-stock deal, the investment bank said Thursday.

Why it matters: The deal signals Morgan Stanley's desire to bulk up in wealth management, a strong profit arm of its business model. As the WSJ notes, Wall Street banks have been looking for steadier sources of revenue, now that "postcrisis regulations and a long period of eerie calm in the markets" have taken a toll on profits.

Go deeperUpdated 8 mins ago - Economy & Business

Scott Rosenberg

The rise and rise of ransomware

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Ransomware attacks are becoming smarter, more common, and more dangerous.

What's happening: In ransomware incidents, attackers take systems down and demand payment (usually in bitcoin) to restore access to them.

Go deeper1 hour ago - Technology