Aug 21, 2018

Michael Avenatti attends 2018 VMAs

Michael Avenatti attends the 2018 MTV VMAs at Radio City Music Hall. Photo: Matthew Eisman/FilmMagic

Michael Avenatti, attorney for Stormy Daniels and outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, told Variety that he was "surprised" he received an invite to Monday night’s MTV Video Music Awards, which drew some of the biggest names in Hollywood including Cardi B, Madonna and Jennifer Lopez.

During his interview on the "pink carpet," Avenatti said that he's "serious" about running for president in 2020: "I’m serious about it. I’m seriously looking at it… I'm traveling around talking to people in the country, and you know, I’ve been really surprised at how much enthusiasm there is out there for the potential... I think I have a real shot if I decide to do it."

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Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8 a.m. ET: 679,977 — Total deaths: 31,734 — Total recoveries: 145,625.
U.S.: Leads the world in cases. Total confirmed cases as of 8 a.m. ET: 124,686 — Total deaths: 2,191 — Total recoveries: 2,612.
Federal government latest: Trump announces new travel advisories for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, but rules out quarantine enforcement. Per CDC, those residents should "refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days," with the exception of critical infrastructure industry workers.
State updates: Alaska issues a stay-at-home order — New York tries to nearly triple hospital capacity in less than a month and moved presidential primary to June 23. Some Midwestern swing voters who backed Trump's initial handling of the virus balk at call for U.S. to be "opened up" by Easter.
World updates: In Spain, over 1,400 people were confirmed dead between Thursday to Saturday.
🚀 Space updates: OneWeb filed for bankruptcy amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk
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 ReadingUpdated 18 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Dave Lawler

The year of the protest meets the year of the lockdown

Hong Kong demonstrators protest a government ban on face masks in October. Photo by Laurel Chor/Getty Images

The year of the mass uprising has collided with the year of the coronavirus lockdown, leaving protest movements around the world stalled.

The big picture: The enduring images of 2019 are of protest — from Hong Kong to Khartoum, across the Middle East and through much of Latin America. Seemingly overnight, though, social distancing has made such mass demonstrations almost unthinkable.

Go deeper1 hour ago - World

Axios

Coronavirus updates: Global death toll tops 30,000

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens and confirmed plus presumptive cases from the CDC

The novel coronavirus has now killed more than 30,000 people around the world — with Italy reporting over 10,000 deaths, per Johns Hopkins data.

The big picture: The number of deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. surpassed 2,000 on Saturday. The United States leads the world in confirmed coronavirus infections — more than 124,000 by early Sunday. The number of those recovered from the virus in the U.S. passed the 1,000-mark on Saturday evening.

Go deeperUpdated 5 hours ago - Health