The political internet rewards polarization over power:

• Online attention favors the loud, not the leaders, Axios' Neal Rothschild and Sara Fischer write from exclusive NewsWhip data.

Why it matters: Online engagement helps politicians build bigger national profiles and more fundraising power, incentivizing them to be more outrageous and divisive.

Topping the list are lightning rods from each party — politicians who fire up their base while providing ammunition for the other party.

• Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) generate the most social-media interactions (likes, comments, shares) per article — a measure of how much their names light up the internet.

The most powerful newsmakers aren't the buzziest:

• President Biden ranks lowest on interactions per article among 23 well-known, active politicians Axios analyzed — above only Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

🤯 Mind blown: Moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona [Corrected] — who stood in the way of Biden's $2 trillion spending plan and became villains of the left — are near the bottom of the list, just above the president.

Between the lines: The politicians who drive the highest average interactions are more often discussed by critics than their fans.

• Nine of the 10 top stories about Ocasio-Cortez from last year were from right-wing outlets. Just two of the top stories about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) were from the right, per NewsWhip data.
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🔥 Hot spots: See an Axios table of 19 hyperpartisan House seats that are open in the midterms .

With bellwether tech stocks down 10%+ since the New Year, the industry is once again debating whether it faces a "big one" — a financial earthquake that will end a two-decade run of spectacular growth.

• But tech's giants know they'll come out on top regardless, Axios managing editor Scott Rosenberg writes.

💡 Here's why: Each of the tech giants is sitting on an enviable hoard of cash — tens or hundreds of billions of dollars — that they can use to buy whatever's left of value in the rubble of a crash.

• Antitrust and regulatory efforts will have less traction if a down market leads to recession. More candidates and lawmakers could become boosters of business in the name of economic recovery.

Zoom out: Wall Street took a rollercoaster ride yesterday, with major indices dropping as much as 4% before closing a bit up.

• That followed weeks of woe for investors in many tech stocks, including industry leader Netflix and trendy high-flier Peloton.
• 🔮 Axios' Dan Primack called a market top in startup investments at the end of last week.

Of course, Big Tech firms would pay a price in a stock collapse.

• Declining share value and underwater stock option prices make it harder to recruit and retain talented engineers and managers.
• The bigger price will be paid by smaller firms with less cushion.

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Two new Biden administration drives — mailing at-home COVID-19 tests to those who ask, and offering free N-95 masks — are hugely popular, each backed by 84% of Americans in a new installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

• But people who may need those tools most — the unvaccinated — are less likely to take advantage of the offerings, Axios managing editor Margaret Talev writes.

👀 44% of U.S. adults surveyed said they'd already ordered free tests through the government portal.

• That included half of vaccinated respondents — but just one in five unvaccinated people.

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Miami Beach reopened world-famous Ocean Drive to one lane of southbound traffic yesterday, nearly two years after it was closed to expand outdoor dining and give the public more space during COVID.

• A new two-way bike lane replaces parking spaces on the east side.

Ian Bremmer's Eurasia Group today debuts a China COVID-19 Containment Disruption Index (CDI), tracking the economic effects of Beijing's zero-tolerance approach to COVID.

• Why it matters: Containment is sharpening "nationalism in the domestic discourse, particularly online," Bremmer tells me. "Nationalist netizens feel compelled to defend China against criticism of its policies, even (especially) domestic critics."

"China's leadership has incentives to lean into this mood to rally the population around Xi amid a difficult period," Bremmer adds.

• 🥊 "This is one of the factors behind the growing pressure that foreign firms in China face from criticism on social media and state media."

Go deeper: Eurasia Group's Top Risks 2022."

Omicron infections are trending down nationally — but the number of deaths is as high now as it was during the summer's Delta wave, Axios' Bob Herman writes.

• Why it matters: Although vaccines have been available for roughly a year, more than 2,000 people are dying from COVID in the U.S. every day right now. That number has been rising for the past week, according to the latest seven-day rolling averages.

Roughly three out of four deaths are people who are 65 or older, according to the CDC.

• Unvaccinated people are 100 times more likely to die from COVID than those with three doses of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna).

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United Van Lines' annual index shows the top inbound states for moves in 2021 were South Dakota, South Carolina, West Virginia and Florida.

• Why it matters: Lower density states were the winners, Alissa Widman Neese writes for Axios Columbus. Nine of the top 10 "outbound" states are considered densely populated.

New Jersey was the top outbound state for the fourth year running.

• Other exodus leaders: Illinois, New York, Connecticut and California.

Interactive map.

The ski industry has invested millions of dollars in more efficient snowmaking systems amid questions about whether the practice is a wise use of energy and water, AP reports.

• Why it matters: Snowpack in the U.S. West has decreased about 20% in the last century, making machine-made snow more vital each year.

What's happening: Some resorts have dug storage ponds to collect water in the spring. A few are eying the use of reclaimed wastewater.

• Vail's modern snow guns automatically shut down when the weather gets too warm. Older technology required workers to monitor the temperature and manually turn off the system.

Above: "The Melted Gondola," an art piece, sits atop the Aspen Mountain ski area in Colorado to promote action on climate change.