Axios

President Trump said Tuesday it is "possible" that some lives will be lost as states reopen their economies amid the coronavirus pandemic, in an interview with ABC's David Muir.

The big picture: COVID-19 has killed more than 70,500 Americans and infected over 1.1 million in roughly three months since the country's first known death. Over 180,000 Americans have recovered from the virus, and more than 7.1 million tests have been conducted as of Tuesday.

Rick Bright, the former director of the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), filed a whistleblower complaint Tuesday alleging that the Department of Health and Human Services failed to take early action to mitigate the threat of the novel coronavirus.

Flashback: Bright said last month he believes he was ousted after clashing with HHS leadership over his attempts to limit the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat the coronavirus.

First it was testing and PPE, then ventilators: The next big coronavirus hurdle for the U.S. is contact tracing.

Why it matters: This is a must-have for reopening while limiting the death toll.

Vice President Mike Pence told reporters on Tuesday that the White House is in "preliminary discussions" to wind down its coronavirus task force, possibly in early June.

Why it matters: The task force, led by Pence, was formed in late January to help navigate the Trump administration's interagency response to the pandemic. The New York Times reported earlier Tuesday that it's not clear whether any group will replace the task force, even as the number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S. continues to surge.

The U.K. surpassed Italy on Tuesday to report the most coronavirus deaths in Europe, according to Johns Hopkins data and its own tracker.

Driving the news: The country, which prolonged its lockdown last month until at least the second week of May, has reported more than 196,000 cases compared to Italy's roughly 213,000. Imperial College London is undertaking the randomized testing of 100,000 people in England this week to gain data on when the lockdown might be able to lift, per The Guardian.

Go deeper: Italy reports lowest daily death toll since first day of lockdown

The economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic will likely make the U.S. space industry even more focused on government money and funding —and potentially set back advancements toward commercializing the industry.

Why it matters: For over 10 years, the space industry has been making strides to diversify its base of customers away from just government entities to more commercial customers and industries.

New York on Tuesday reported more than 1,700 previously undisclosed coronavirus deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities in the state, AP reports.

Why it matters: The new figures reveal a spike in nursing home deaths that includes people believed to have died from the coronavirus before their positive diagnosis could be confirmed.

Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama announced Tuesday that they will participate in a set of virtual graduation ceremonies amid the coronavirus crisis.

The state of play: The former president will deliver a nationwide commencement address to high school seniors on May 16 as part of The LeBron James Family Foundation's "Graduate Together," which will be aired by all major networks in primetime. Both Obamas will speak during YouTube's "Dear Class of 2020" event on June 6.

Pharma startups are in the media spotlight, after decades of playing second-fiddle to consumer and enterprise tech, but are facing their own pandemic-related challenges.

What's happening: Many clinical trials have been put on indefinite hold, particularly if they involved hospital sites. The upshot is that such startups are effectively in a holding pattern, with investors scrambling to decide whether or not to foot the elongated bill.

Of all the conspiracy theories floating around the internet related to the coronavirus, disinfectant has by far gone the most viral.

Why it matters: Unlike some of the other conspiracy theories gaining traction on the internet, the disinfectant theory has gone viral online in large part because it's so obviously nonsensical that it quickly became an internet meme after President Trump suggested it could be used as a cure for coronavirus.

Governments in Western democracies are being pressured by the news industry to come up with relief plans to support local media companies upended by the coronavirus pandemic — and some have already begun implementing small aid programs.

Why it matters: Most experts agree these efforts are not sustainable in supporting the local media ecosystem long-term.

President Trump lashed out on Twitter early Tuesday morning against the Lincoln Project after the anti-Trump group of Republican operatives released an ad, titled "Mourning in America," directly attacking the president's coronavirus response.

Why it matters: The Lincoln Project, which includes Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway's husband, George Conway, has been attempting to provoke the president with its provocative ad strategies — and it finally succeeded.

The number of high-poverty neighborhoods in the U.S. has increased at an alarming rate over the past 38 years, according to a new report out Tuesday from the Economic Innovation Group.

Why it matters: The analysis found that more and more neighborhoods that fall into poverty end up staying there. Stagnant wage growth in these places has made it very difficult for them to improve their fortunes even in good times — and that was before the severe economic crisis brought on by coronavirus.

Retailer J. Crew's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing Monday "is likely the first of many companies to restructure in- or out-of-court in the next one to two years," S&P Global Ratings analysts warn in a new report.

Driving the news: J. Crew is the eighth debt-issuing retail and restaurant company to default on its debt this year, equaling the total from all of 2019 in just over four months, S&P notes.

The number of U.S. mortgages in forbearance increased again in the last full week of April, but new requests slowed significantly from the pace earlier this year, data released Monday by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed.

Why it matters: A total of 3.8 million homeowners are now in forbearance plans, accounting for 7.54% of all mortgages, but that may actually be a good thing.

America was going through the final stages of a political realignment even before the virus hit. Now, our biggest national crisis since World War II has set off a tectonic shift, transforming the country in ways we couldn't have imagined.

That's the big idea of a new political frame by Doug Sosnik, a former White House political director for President Clinton whose periodic "big thinks" are eagerly awaited by political insiders and activists alike.

This pandemic may be caused by a virus, but desperate measures to save patients often include overprescribing antibiotics, which is raising concerns about furthering antibiotic resistance.

Why it matters: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) forces clinicians to look for other drugs to treat patients but the antibiotic pipeline is in dire straits. The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing how few options there are and the need for investment to be prepared for more antibiotic resistant infections to emerge, industry experts tell Axios.

Many hospitals may not make it out of the coronavirus pandemic.

The big picture: The most vulnerable organizations — especially those that treat more old, poor and non-white patients — are teetering on the edge of existence and have to compete with larger, affluent hospitals for federal aid.

Most Americans say they doubt the U.S. death count — but whether they think it's actually higher or lower depends on whether they're Democrats or Republicans, according to the latest installment of the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

Why it matters: This may be the most jarring evidence to date about just how deeply partisanship has infected our collective ability to trust institutional sources and agree on science and facts. Trust in government is abstract, but death counts are real.

Americans say they are getting less worried about leaving their homes and taking part in large group activities, according to the latest installment of the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

Why it matters: As states start to relax shelter-in-place orders and allow more businesses to open, there is increasing public appetite for the kind of activities that could help spur the economy toward recovery, the Axios-Ipsos results show.

The world now appears to be moving beyond peak lockdown, with at least 12 countries loosening restrictions today.

Why it matters: While regions and countries will likely be forced to reimpose lockdowns as the pandemic develops, we may not again see half of humanity constrained at the same time.