February 08, 2022

Good Tuesday morning. Smart Brevityβ„’ count: 1,191 words ... 4Β½ minutes. Edited by Zachary Basu.

⚑ Biden science adviser Eric Lander resigned after Politico revealed he bullied colleagues. Lander apologized for speaking to Office of Science and Technology Policy staff in "a disrespectful or demeaning way."

  • Why it matters: He's the first Cabinet-level official to resign or be let go from the Biden administration.

πŸ“± At 12:30 p.m. today, please join Axios' Ina Fried and Sara Fischer for a virtual event on internet safety, including what TikTok is up to. Register here.

1 big thing: Gender gap for jobs

Stefan Wermuth/ Getty Images

Editor's note: The headline, graphic and story were corrected to reflect that BLS data from January cannot be compared to the prior month due to an annual re-weighting of employment numbers based on the latest population data.

Men's labor force participation rate was up to 70% in January, according to numbers from the Labor Department released Friday. The women's rate is 58%.

Why it matters: Issues with schools and daycare centers kept women, who are typically primary caregivers to children, out of the workforce throughout the pandemic β€” and it's still happening, Axios Markets co-author Emily Peck writes.

This holds back the economic recovery, keeping women on the sidelines at a time when companies are desperate to hire.

Read the full story.

2. Press bullied at Olympics

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

A Chinese security official yanked a Dutch reporter out of his live shot during the Olympics opening ceremony.

  • Why it matters: The press environment in China has deteriorated dramatically in the past two years. Foreign journalists have been kicked out. Intimidation and physical violence have become more common, Axios' Sara Fischer and Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian report.

The reporter β€” Sjoerd den Daas, a correspondent for Dutch broadcaster NOS β€” tweeted that just after going live, he was "forcefully pulled out of the picture without any warning by a plainclothes man wearing a red badge that read, 'Public Safety Volunteer.'"

  • "He did not identify himself," he wrote, "When asked, they couldn't say what we had done wrong."

Flashback: The atmosphere of intimidation is dramatically different from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Chinese authorities made it easier for journalists all around the world to enter China for months leading up to the Olympics and allowed them to travel freely, in what was seen as a sign of greater opening up to the world.

  • In 2022, leaders in Beijing seem less interested in garnering approbation from Western democracies and their reporters β€” and more interested in demonstrating that their rules matter most.

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3. Exclusive poll: COVID forever

How should the U.S. handle COVID-19 at this time?
Data: Axios/Ipsos poll. Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Only one in 10 Americans thinks COVID will be eradicated by this time next year, Axios managing editor Margaret Talev writes from the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

  • Why it matters: The new poll shows Americans are coming to terms with living with COVID. But it reveals zero consensus on how.

πŸ—³οΈ Look at these party splits (1,049 polled; margin of error: Β±3.3 points):

  • 21% of overall respondents (43% of Republicans but just 3% of Democrats) said "open up and get back to life as usual with no coronavirus mandates or requirements."
  • 23% overall (14% of Republicans and 34% of Democrats) said "mostly keep coronavirus precautions and requirements."
  • 51% of respondents support businesses requiring proof of vaccination to enter β€” 25% of Republicans, but 72% of Democrats.

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4. πŸ“· Pic du jour

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Speaker Pelosi joined a bicameral, bipartisan group of lawmakers last night for a moment of silence on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol for the 900,000+ Americans who have died from COVID.

πŸ”” The Washington National Cathedral tolled its funeral bell, the bourdon, 900 times. The ritual lasted 1 hour, 25 minutes. (YouTube)

5. First look: Biden to sell BBB in swing district

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) greets supporters in Orange, Va., in 2020. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

President Biden will take his Build Back Better roadshow to the swing district of Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) on Thursday, Axios' Hans Nichols has learned.

  • Biden will highlight his proposal to reduce prescription-drug prices.

Why it matters: Spanberger was one of the most pointed critics of Biden's sweeping social agenda after Democrats were thumped in statewide elections in November.

Democrats in swing states and vulnerable districts have been distancing themselves from Biden on social media as his poll numbers have hit their lowest point, Axios has reported.

  • The president's trip to Virginia will be his second jaunt out of Washington to tout his nearly $2 trillion plan since he said during a news conference last month he had to go out and sell his proposals more aggressively.

πŸ‘€ What we're watching: On Thursday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the Consumer Price Index for January. It's expected to come in at 7.3% β€” the highest reading since 1982.

  • Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has cited surging inflation as one of the main reasons he declared the negotiations over Biden's spending bill dead back in December.

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βš–οΈ Go deeper: How the White House is framing the Supreme Court selection.

6. Spanish-language misinformation mess

Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

Spanish-language misinformation on social media platforms is flourishing, even as tech companies add more moderators, adopt stricter content rules, add context labels and block offending accounts, Axios' Ashley Gold and Russell Contreras write.

  • Why it matters: Latinos are increasingly turning to social media for news during the pandemic β€” including important elections where Spanish-language misinformation sometimes sits unchallenged, posing threats to health and democracies.

What's happening: Where platforms are quick to remove misinformation posts in English, some identical posts in Spanish remain online.

Get more stories like this from our twice-weekly Axios Latino, a collaboration with Noticias Telemundo.

7. Coach fliers get new love

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The coach passenger is king β€” perhaps for the first time ever β€” as airlines scramble for a larger share of the booming leisure travel market, Joann Muller writes in Axios What's Next.

  • What's happening: As the pandemic wanes, major carriers that traditionally make most of their money off premium business travel have shifted their attention to wooing vacationers.

Driving the news: Spirit Airlines and Frontier Group are merging in a $2.9 billion deal that will create the fifth-largest U.S. airline.

  • The airlines said the deal would save $1 billion a year for consumers through lower prices and create "America's most competitive ultra-low fare airline."
  • The combination of the country's two largest budget carriers will help them compete against American, Delta, United and Southwest, which together control 80% of the U.S. air travel market.

Keep reading.

8. πŸ“Ί Charted: Tuning out Olympics

Viewership for the <span style="background:#FFA515; padding: 5px;">Summer</span> and <span style="background:#3FB4FF; padding: 5px;">Winter</span> Olympics opening ceremony
Data: Nielsen. Chart: Will Chase/Axios

U.S. viewership of the Winter Olympics, like last year's Summer Games in Tokyo, is being hurt by the ban on fans, who add to the excitement of watching live, Axios Media Trends expert Sara Fischer writes.

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