May 14, 2018

St. Louis prosecutor drops blackmail case against Gov. Greitens

Missouri Governor Eric Greitens addresses a crowd. Photo: Michael Thomas/Getty Images

The criminal charges against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, who was indicted by a St. Louis grand jury on felony invasion of privacy, have been dropped after Greitens' defense team planned to call St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who was prosecuting the case, to the witness stand, per the Kansas City Star. Gardner's office has requested that a special prosecutor refile the charges against Greitens.

The background: Greitens allegedly blackmailed a woman with whom he had an extramarital affair with photos taken while she was blindfolded and had her hands tied, threatening to make them public if she went public with the affair. Greitens has denied the allegations.

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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

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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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Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index: The virus hits home

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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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