Oct 4, 2019

Source: Pompeo didn't promise Giuliani he'd investigate Ukraine envelope

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican yesterday. Photo: Vatican Media via Reuters

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo never promised Rudy Giuliani he'd investigate the contents of an envelope that the State Department's inspector general delivered to Congress on Wednesday — or anything related to Ukraine — a source with knowledge of Pompeo's discussions tells Axios.

  • The only Ukrainian project Pompeo oversaw was ex-envoy Kurt Volker's work to reduce corruption and fight Russian aggression, the source says.

Why it matters: This disclosure shows that Pompeo, who has been eyed as a possible candidate for Senate in Kansas, wants to quash any perception that he facilitated the interference of politics in U.S. foreign policy.

Go deeper: State Dept. watchdog highlights suspect documents in Ukraine hearing

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Axios
Updated 15 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 12,220,166 — Total deaths: 553,438 — Total recoveries — 6,696,632 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 3,111,902 — Total deaths: 133,195 — Total recoveries: 969,111 — Total tested: 38,032,966 — Map.
  3. Public health: More young people are spreading the virus — Cases rise in 33 states — Florida reports highest single-day death toll since pandemic began.
  4. Science: World Health Organization acknowledges airborne transmission of coronavirus.
  5. 1 🐂 thing: How the world could monitor for potential pandemic animal viruses.
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Axios
2 hours ago - Podcasts

Inside Joe Biden's economic plan

Joe Biden on Thursday returned to his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to give his first major speech on economic policy since becoming the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee.

Axios Re:Cap digs into Biden's plans, how they developed and how they may change, with former U.S. Commerce secretary and campaign surrogate Penny Pritzker.

Dave Lawler
2 hours ago - World

Countries grapple with whether to lock back down as hotspots emerge

Tokyo in the time of coronavirus. Photo: Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty

Many politicians and public health officials sounded a similar lockdown refrain in the spring: let’s do this right so we only have to do it once.

Reality check: While some countries have thus far managed to keep cases under control after opening up, dozens of countries that had initially turned a corner are now seeing a worrying rebound. They have to decide if and how to return to lockdown — and whether their populations will stand for it.

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