May 15, 2020 - Politics & Policy

McConnell: “I was wrong" on Obama administration's pandemic playbook

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News on Thursday that the Obama administration did leave behind a pandemic playbook after initially criticizing them for failing to do so.

  • "I was wrong. They did leave behind a plan. So, I clearly made a mistake in that regard. As to whether or not the plan was followed and who is the critic and all the rest, I don't have any observation about that because I don't know enough about the details of it to comment on it in any detail."
  • Flashback: McConnell said on Monday that "we want to be early, ready for the next one, because clearly the Obama administration did not leave to this administration any kind of game plan for something like this."

The big picture per Axios' Rebecca Falconer: President Obama has rarely commented on Trump since leaving office, but he has begun to speak out on the president and his administration's policies. McConnell noted former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush "kept their mouths shut" on successors because they deemed it inappropriate to comment on other presidents.

Go deeper: McConnell calls Obama's criticism of Trump "classless"

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Axios
Updated 7 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 a.m. ET: 20,119,511 — Total deaths: 737,126 — Total recoveries: 12,370,465 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9 a.m. ET: 5,095,163 — Total deaths: 163,473 — Total recoveries: 1,670,755 — Total tests: 62,513,174 — Map.
  3. Public health: State testing plans fall short of demand
  4. Axios-Ipsos poll: 1 in 2 has a personal connection.
  5. Business: Moderna reveals it may not hold patent rights for vaccine.
  6. World: New Zealand reports first local cases for 102 days — Why you should be skeptical of Russia's vaccine claims.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Rebecca Falconer
Updated 4 hours ago - Health

New Zealand reports first local coronavirus cases for 102 days

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after a press conference at Parliament on July 22 in Wellington, New Zealand. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Auckland is locking down and the rest of New Zealand faces lesser restrictions for 72 hours after a four members of the same family tested positive for COVID-19, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: It's the first cases not in managed isolation for 102 days, Ardern said at a news briefing.

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Orion Rummler
12 hours ago - Health

Georgia governor: It's up to schools to enforce wearing masks

Gov. Brian Kemp at a press conference on Aug. 10. Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday said the responsibility should be on schools to enforce a mandate on face coverings, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports.

Why it matters: Georgia is reporting the fifth-most coronavirus cases in the country, per Johns Hopkins, and the risk of spread in the state is high.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow