Axios PM

May 04, 2021
Good afternoon: Today's PM — edited by Justin Green — is 434 words, a 2-minute read.
You're invited: Join Axios' Margaret Talev and the Partnership for Public Service tomorrow at 12:30pm ET to celebrate the work done by the 2021 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals finalists.
- Our virtual event features Tony-nominated actress Adrienne Warren and a special message from President Joe Biden. Register here.
1 big thing: America's hotter new normal

It's not just you: America’s new normal temperature is a full degree hotter than it was just a generation ago.
The big picture: New 30-year averages released today showed warmer average temperatures in all but a few parts of the U.S., AP reports.
- In Chicago and Asheville, North Carolina, the new yearly normal temperature jumped 1.5 degrees in a decade. Seattle, Atlanta, Boston and Phoenix had their normal annual temperatures rise by at least half a degree.
- Charlottesville, Virginia, saw the biggest jump in normal temperatures among 739 major weather stations. Other large changes were in California, Texas, Virginia, Indiana, Arizona, Oregon, Arkansas, Maryland, Florida, North Carolina and Alaska.
Between the lines: The western U.S. is much drier in the new normal, with some areas facing sustained mega-droughts.
- The eastern two-thirds is getting more precipitation.
The bottom line: Even Fairbanks, Alaska, less than 200 miles from the Arctic Circle by road, is no longer classified "a sub-Arctic climate" because of the rising normal temperatures, tweeted climate specialist Rick Thoman.
- It's now a "warm summer continental" climate.
2. Biden's new vaccination target
President Biden speaks today at the White House. Photo: Alex Edelman/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Biden wants 160 million fully vaccinated Americans by the Fourth of July, with at least one dose in 70% of the eligible population.
- "Rather than getting hung up" on the "elusive" target of herd immunity, one official said, the administration will concentrate on getting as many people vaccinated as quickly and as expeditiously as possible.
The big picture: About 105 million Americans are fully vaccinated and 147 million have had their first dose, the N.Y. Times notes.
3. Catch up quick
Rep. Liz Cheney arrives for President Biden's address to Congress last week. Photo: Melina Mara/The Washington Post via AP
- Scoop: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he's "lost confidence" in Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) during a moment of candor caught on a hot mic, Axios' Kadia Goba reports.
- Exclusive: Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen sent a note to more than a dozen senators expressing his concerns with T-Mobile's plans to shut down an older CDMA phone network still used by millions of Dish customers, Axios' Ina Fried reports.
- Tiger Global is talking to investors about raising $10 billion for a new growth equity fund, just one month after raising $6.7 billion for its last one. Go deeper.
4. 1 smile to go: Meghan Markle children's book
Meghan Markle's first children's book will be published this summer, inspired by her husband Harry's relationship with their son, Archie.
- "The Bench," set to be published on June 8, "will explore the special bond between a father and son, as seen through a mother’s eyes," Variety reports.
"My hope is that 'The Bench' resonates with every family, no matter the makeup, as much as it does with mine," Markle said in a statement.
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