Jun 21, 2018

John Bolton will visit Russia soon, Kremlin says

Axios

John Bolton at the White House. Photo: Mike Theiler/Pool via Getty Images

President Trump's National Security Adviser John Bolton is set to visit Russia soon, AP reports, citing Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. The White House has yet to confirm or deny the plans for a visit.

The backdrop: The Kremlin has floated Vienna as a potential location for a Trump-Putin summit, and Putin said earlier this month that he's willing to meet with Trump "as soon as the U.S. side is ready." Putin also said he "welcomed Trump’s call to bring Moscow back into the G7" and that he shares Trump's concern about the escalation of an arms race between the U.S. and Russia.

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Alayna Treene, Courtenay Brown, Dan Primack

America's small business bailout is off to a bad start

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Websites have crashed, phones are jammed and confusion reigns as businesses rushed at today's kickoff to get their chunk of the $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program.

Why it matters: This is a race to save jobs in the present and the future, and to ensure that as many workers as possible keep their benefits and paychecks during the coronavirus lockdown.

Go deeperArrow22 mins ago - Health
Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 p.m. ET: 1,076,017 — Total deaths: 58,004 — Total recoveries: 225,335 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3 p.m. ET: 261,438 — Total deaths: 6,699 — Total recoveries: 9,428 — Map.
  3. Business latest: Mark Cuban criticizes "arrogant" 3M on respirator production — The wartime mobilization effort to produce ventilators and medical supplies got started too late.
  4. Oil latest: The amount of gasoline American drivers are consuming dropped to levels not seen in more than 25 years, government data shows.
  5. Politics latest: Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are worried about the difficulties of delivering the $2.2 trillion in stimulus aid.
  6. Jobs update: The U.S. lost 701,000 jobs in March, but the new report doesn't reflect the height of the virus' impact on the economy.
  7. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
  8. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Keep ReadingArrowUpdated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy
Amy Harder

Coronavirus fuels historic drop in gasoline demand

Reproduced from EIA; Chart: Axios Visuals

The amount of gasoline American drivers are consuming dropped to levels not seen in more than 25 years, government data shows.

Driving the news: When most of us are staying home and not driving, this is one of the most predictable—but nonetheless still staggering—upshots of the unfolding coronavirus crisis.

Go deeperArrow2 hours ago - Energy & Environment