☕ Good Tuesday morning. Today's Smart Brevity™ count: 1,290 words ... 5 minutes.
☕ Good Tuesday morning. Today's Smart Brevity™ count: 1,290 words ... 5 minutes.
White House aides have advised President Trump to avoid the Oval Office while he's still infected. But they’re making arrangements for him to work out of the Diplomatic Reception Room, and use it as a backdrop for future televised remarks, two White House officials tell Axios' Alayna Treene.
A taste of Trump's attitude about the virus played out on live TV last evening as he returned by Marine One at sunset after three nights at Walter Reed: He walked up to a White House balcony, took off his mask for the cameras, put it in his jacket pocket, adjusted his suit, straightened his tie and lingered to give purposeful thumbs-ups and salutes.
Reflecting widespread dismay among administration officials, a White House source told Axios' Alexi McCammond:
The big picture: The White House — despite its infinite access to the best resources available — continues to respond to its own coronavirus outbreak about as recklessly as possible, Axios' Caitlin Owens writes.
Among those endangered by Trump's approach:
Editor's note: This item has been corrected to reflect the fact that the Diplomatic Reception Room is not located in the West Wing.
The Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index found that 21% of respondents said they'd be more likely to wear a mask in the wake of President Trump's illness, Axios managing editor David Nather writes.
But the numbers were a wash as to whether people would trust Trump more or less to provide accurate information on the coronavirus.
Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice President Pence will be separated by plexiglass at tomorrow's V.P. debate in Salt Lake City, Axios' Alexi McCammond reports.
👨🏽🚀 Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who has tested positive, said he'll go to the Capitol "in a moon suit," if necessary, to vote to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Republicans who have tested positive ...
Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: NASA
Space — once the purview of the wealthiest and most technologically advanced nations — is now open to brands, private citizens and commercial companies, all at NASA's urging, Axios Space author Miriam Kramer writes.
Estée Lauder sent its Advanced Night Repair skincare product to the International Space Station aboard a Cygnus spacecraft launched Friday. Astronauts will photograph it for the company's social media accounts.
Dr. Fauci testifies on the Senate side on Sept. 23. Photo: Alex Edelman/Pool/Getty Images
Axios' Margaret Talev interviewed Dr. Anthony Fauci yesterday during a Partnership for Public Service Zoom ceremony awarding him the top honor of the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals® (Sammies).
Whenever you walk into the White House, or to a congressional chamber, tell yourself that "this might be the last time that I'm walking into that place ... I might have to say something that's going to get people to not like what they're hearing, and might have them not ask me back."
So, would I rather be on the right side of the truth, or would I like to be asked back because I told somebody something that they wanted to hear? ... And ... though over many years now — through Reagan, through George H.W. Bush, through Clinton, through George W. Bush, through Obama and now even through President Trump — I have had to, more often than you would think, tell people things that they did not want to hear. And I'm still here.
Yesterday's announcement in Stockholm. Photo: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images
N.Y. Times Quote of the Day ... Michael Houghton, who along with two other scientists was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus:
Great science is often a group of people.
Joe Biden held a town hall with NBC's Lester Holt at Pérez Art Museum in Miami last night, aired live on NBC and MSNBC. See video. Photo: NBC News
To try to revive the online frenzy of 2014's Ice Bucket Challenge, Joe Biden's campaign today launches an #ImVotingFor social-media campaign, led by high-profile surrogates who have a combined 150+ million followers.
How it works: The partners — elected leaders, digital creators and celebrities — will tag three people with #ImVotingFor, and ask them to do the same.
Launch participants include:
Live links to the participants.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell warned the league's 32 teams of penalties including potential loss of draft choices or forfeits of games for violations of COVID protocols that force changes in the schedule, AP reports.
The context: The NFL was forced to reschedule Sunday's game between the Steelers and Titans when Tennessee had the league's first coronavirus outbreak, which affected 20 organization members, including 10 players.
Photo: The Smithsonian’s National Zoo
The National Zoo said its 6-week-old giant panda cub is male, based on DNA analysis:
A painting [blue paw marks] created by male giant panda Tian Tian (tee-YEN tee-YEN), the cub’s father, was used to reveal the sex of the cub to giant panda keepers and fans online.
The cub weighs 3.6 pounds and measures 14 inches from nose to tail tip.
📱 Thanks for starting your day with us. Invite your friends to sign up for Axios AM/PM.