Feb 8, 2018

"Pod Save America" signs deal for HBO series

Image: Joshua Blanchard / Getty Images

"Pod Save America," a popular podcast hosted by former Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor and Dan Pfeiffer, has signed a deal with HBO to produce a series of TV specials that follow the 2018 midterm campaigns.

Why it matters: The podcast debuted in January 2017 and rapidly grew to an average of more than 1.5 million listeners per episode. From this momentum, the four hosts founded their own company, Crooked Media. It joins "2 Dope Queens" as HBO's second podcast-turned-TV-special.

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Axios
Updated 19 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8 a.m. ET: 12,520,431 — Total deaths: 560,830 — Total recoveries — 6,900,718 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 8 a.m. ET: 3,184,722 — Total deaths: 134,830 — Total recoveries: 983,185 — Total tested: 38,856,341 — Map.
  3. Public health: The reality of the coronavirus bites.
  4. Trade: Trump says he's no longer considering phase-two trade deal with China because the pandemic damaged the two countries' relationship.
  5. 🎧 Podcast: Rural America has its own coronavirus problem.
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Sam Baker
2 hours ago - Health

We're losing the war on the coronavirus

Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

By any standard, no matter how you look at it, the U.S. is losing its war against the coronavirus.

Why it matters: The pandemic is not an abstraction, and it is not something that’s simmering in the background. It is an ongoing emergency ravaging nearly the entire country, with a loss of life equivalent to a Sept. 11 every three days — for four months and counting.

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Jacob Knutson
13 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump commutes Roger Stone's sentence

Roger Stone arriving at his sentencing hearing on Feb. 20. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

President Trump on Friday evening commuted the sentence of his longtime associate Roger Stone, according to two senior administration officials. Stone in February was sentenced to 40 months in prison for crimes including obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress.

Why it matters: The controversial move brings an abrupt end to the possibility of Stone spending time behind bars. He had been scheduled to report to prison on July 14.

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