Oct 24, 2018

Rouhani: Saudis wouldn't have killed Khashoggi without U.S. protection

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Photo: Luiz Rampelotto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani weighed in Wednesday on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, saying he doesn't "think that a country would dare commit such a crime without the protection of America," reports Reuters, citing Iranian state media.

The big picture: Saudi Arabia is key to the U.S. pressure campaign against Iran, a regional enemy of the Saudis and a target of some of the Trump administration's most hawkish rhetoric. As one well-wired Republican told Axios' Mike Allen, "Constraining Iran is the priority and Saudi is a critical ally in that effort. That 'trumps' the horrible human rights violation."

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Erica Pandey

America's funeral homes buckle under the coronavirus

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Morgues, funeral homes and cemeteries in hot spots across America cannot keep up with the staggering death toll of the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it matters: The U.S. has seen more than 10,000 deaths from the virus, and at least tens of thousands more lives are projected to be lost. The numbers are creating unprecedented bottlenecks in the funeral industry — and social distancing is changing the way the families say goodbye to their loved ones.

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Navarro memos warning of mass coronavirus death circulated in January

Image from a memo to President Trump

In late January, President Trump's economic adviser Peter Navarro warned his White House colleagues the novel coronavirus could take more than half a million American lives and cost close to $6 trillion, according to memos obtained by Axios.

The state of play: By late February, Navarro was even more alarmed, and he warned his colleagues, in another memo, that up to two million Americans could die of the virus.

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Margaret Talev

Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index: The virus hits home

Data: Ipsos/Axios poll; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

The share of Americans who know someone who's tested positive has more than tripled in just a few weeks, to 14%, according to the latest installment of our Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

It's still highest in the Northeast, but last week alone it doubled in the South — and it's becoming most pronounced among people who still must leave home to work.

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