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In Iowa, ethanol trumps even healthcare

Amy Harder, author of Generate

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, is coming to Washington, D.C. Tuesday to make the case for ethanol in planned meetings with Vice President Mike Pence and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Driving the news: She'll be defending a federal mandate that requires refineries to blend biofuels — mostly corn ethanol — into the nation's gasoline supply. Corn-rich Iowa is the nation's top biofuels producer, and also a pivotal political battleground.

Highlights from my chat with her:

  • Why she's meeting with them: "In Iowa, we have Obamacare failing citizens in the state, so we're also going to be talking about that. The RFS, that's our priority though."
  • Is President Trump just backing the mandate because Iowa is an important political state? "He traveled the country and listened to U.S. farmers, and we made our case and he supported it. I'm very appreciative of that."
  • Critics say biofuel backers aren't open to any compromise. "That's not true. There used to be subsidies and we got rid of that. We have changed along the way."
  • Are you worried electric cars could erode the need and support for biofuels, which are liquid like oil, in the longer term? "That's part of the future too and we're embracing that in Iowa."

Go deeper

: Check out my latest Harder Line column on

the latest ethanol fights

.

Go deeper

Erica Pandey, author of What's Next
2 hours ago - Economy & Business

Movie theaters go out of style

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Vaccination rates are going up, people are going out to restaurants again — although the new COVID variant may get in the way — but they still aren't rushing back to the movies.

By the numbers: Some 49% of pre-pandemic moviegoers are no longer hitting theaters, according to a study from the film research company The Quorum, as reported by the New York Times.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Caitlin Owens
2 hours ago - Health

Vaccine mandates lose steam in the U.S. while Europe doubles down

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

European countries are doubling down on pressure campaigns to get people vaccinated just as Republicans continue to wage war — often successfully — against vaccine mandates in the U.S.

Why it matters: The starkly different approaches create a sharp contrast between the regions' approaches to vaccination, even as the Omicron variant rapidly spreads around the world.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Dave Lawler
3 hours ago - World

Two years of COVID-19

Expand chart
Data: Our World in Data; Chart: Axios Visuals

Two years ago Wednesday, the first case of a mysterious new respiratory disease was discovered in Wuhan, China. Now, the Omicron variant has deepened concerns about just how much longer the coronavirus pandemic will last.

The big picture: More than 5 million people have died since that first case. Most people on earth have lived through some form of lockdown. 54% of the global population has had at least one vaccination, though the shots have been distributed unevenly.

11 key dates (1 min. read)Arrow