Axios

A former top policy aide to Kamala Harris is moving to K Street, where she'll advise a prominent law and lobbying firm's clients on economic and tax policy, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Yasmin Rigney Nelson was a senior policy advisor in Harris' Senate office. Her new role as a senior principal at the firm Bracewell makes her the most senior ex-staffer for the new vice president to move into Washington's influence industry since Harris was sworn in in January.

Over 400 organizations are calling on President Biden to include paid family leave in the sprawling infrastructure package he'll begin to unveil this week.

Why it matters: The paid-leave provisions for coronavirus patients and caregivers enacted during the pandemic expired last year, and advocacy groups and members of Congress want to make similar federal allowances permanent.

A judge ordered on Monday that New York must immediately begin providing coronavirus vaccines to those behind bars in state prisons or jails, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: The Times notes that at least 1,100 New York prisoners have tested positive for the coronavirus in the last month and five have died. The order now makes New York one of only a handful of states vaccinating a broad prison population.

Voting machine maker Dominion last Friday filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, related to its coverage of the 2020 presidential election, and it's likely not done suing media companies.

What they're saying: "We're looking at other media outlets, and making sure we can meet all of the elements of defamation," Dominion attorney Thomas Clare tells the Axios Re:Cap podcast. "There were other outlets that played a similar role to Fox in spreading these lies. I expect that we're going to be holding them accountable as well."

Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) in a letter on Monday admonished the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for their unequal treatment of men's and women's basketball teams during this month's March Madness tournaments.

Catch up quick: Women's collegiate basketball teams were given a fraction of the resources during their March Madness tournament that the men's teams were provided, including unequal access to workout equipment and the availability of quality COVID-19 tests.

President Biden on Monday pleaded with governors, mayors and local leaders to maintain or reinstate mask mandates in order to help America reach the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it matters: Biden's comments came hours after CDC Director Rochelle Walensky warned of her sense of "impending doom" of a potential fourth wave of COVID-19 cases.

32 U.S. senators and 101 U.S. representatives have co-sponsored a resolution to condemn anti-Asian hate after shootings in Atlanta killed eight victims, including six Asian women.

Why it matters: The push comes amid a yearlong spike in hate and violence against Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Congressional leaders introduced the resolution, whose co-sponsors are all Democrats, last week.

President Biden announced Monday that 90% of Americans will have a vaccination site within five miles of their homes by April 19.

Driving the news: The administration is increasing the number of pharmacies in the federal vaccination program from 17,000 to nearly 40,000 across the U.S., and plans to set up a dozen more mass vaccination sites by April 19.

A Michigan judge ruled Monday that three men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) will stand trial for gang membership, felony firearm and providing material support to terrorism, but dismissed charges of threat of terrorism, the Detroit News reports.

Why it matters: Paul Bellar, Joseph Morrison and Pete Musico are three of the seven men accused of having ties to the Wolverine Watchmen, a militia group charged in the plot. Whitmer wasn't the only governor they allegedly planned to target, the FBI has said.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky went off script at a briefing Monday and made an emotional plea to Americans not to let up on public health measures amid fears of a fourth wave.

What they're saying: “I'm going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom," Walensky said, appearing to hold back tears. "We do not have the luxury of inaction. For the health of our country, we must work together now to prevent a fourth surge."

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) announced Monday that he has prostate cancer, and will undergo surgery in North Carolina next week.

The big picture: The 60-year-old was first elected to the Senate in 2014 and won reelection against Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham in 2020. He tested positive for coronavirus late last year after attending a celebration for Amy Coney Barrett's introduction as a Supreme Court nominee.

The U.S. government will cut off all trade engagement with Myanmar as bloodshed continues in the Southeast Asian country, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Monday.

Why it matters: Police have led an increasingly violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters since the military overthrew Myanmar's democratically elected government in February. Myanmar security forces killed over 100 people Saturday in the bloodiest day since the coup.

Senators in both parties plan to push the White House to create a "chief manufacturing officer" who would report directly to President Biden, mirroring representation now enjoyed by science and technology, Axios has learned.

• The idea has endorsements from a whole host of trade groups, representing both industry and labor.

Why it matters: Every modern White House talks about its desire to elevate manufacturing, particularly as America's economy has become more services-oriented.

Rescue teams on Monday fully freed the "Ever Given" container ship that's been stuck in the Suez Canal for a week, hours after partially refloating the skyscraper sized vessel.

Go deeper: Read the full story

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extended its nationwide ban on evictions through the end of June, the agency confirmed in a statement Monday.

Why it matters: The order comes as the current ban on evictions was set to expire in two days. The moratorium is a public health measure aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19 by keeping people out of crowded settings like homeless shelters and allowing people who may be ill to self-isolate, the CDC notes.

President Biden is expected to show his cards this week when it comes to energy and climate provisions he'll ask Congress to include in a big-dollar infrastructure package.

Why it matters: Biden campaigned on major investments in zero-carbon power, electric vehicle charging, climate-resilient infrastructure and more.

President Biden's handling of the coronavirus pandemic has a 72% approval rating among Americans, an ABC News/Ipsos poll indicates.

The big picture: That number was 68% just before Congress approved Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. The increase may be at least partly be due to the law's passage.

Economists are becoming positively giddy about the potential for economic growth this year as President Biden and Congressional Democrats look set to push forward a $3 trillion infrastructure bill.

What we're hearing: "Stimulus helps build the bridge for the recovery to reach the other side, but an investment in infrastructure is the fuel to jump start the economic engine," Beth Ann Bovino, U.S. chief economist at S&P Global, says in an email.

47% of Americans said they belong to a church, synagogue or mosque in 2020, down from 50% in 2018, according to a Gallup poll out Monday.

Why it matters: It's the first time in the eight decades that Gallup has tracked the trend that a majority of Americans do not belong to a church.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) believes he has found a route to moving additional bills by simple majority, beyond the one additional use of reconciliation that most on Capitol Hill had thought was his limit.

Why it matters: If the Senate parliamentarian upholds Schumer's interpretation, Democrats can pass more pieces of the party's agenda without having to bust the filibuster rule, which requires at least 60 votes — and therefore 10 Republicans in the 50-50 Senate.

President Biden's plan to pay for his coming infrastructure package with big tax hikes already is meeting some resistance from moderate Democrats, a stumbling block for his progressive ambitions.

Why it matters: If this discomfort turns to outright opposition in the House and Senate, Biden will face a complicated path to cover more than $3 trillion he is expected to seek, in multiple proposals, for infrastructure as well as social welfare.

Leading members of former President Trump's White House coronavirus task force opened up on the pressures of working in the administration in a CNN special report, broadcast Sunday.

Of note: In CNN's "COVID War: The Pandemic Doctors Speak Out," Anthony Fauci recalled that Trump tweeting "LIBERATE" blue states in order to push them to reopen "hit me like a punch to the chest," while Deborah Birx said "fault No.1" with the administration was it didn't "provide consistent messaging to the American people."

Two senior members of former President Trump's White House coronavirus task force accused former Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar in a CNN special report, broadcast Sunday, of political interference.

Driving the news: Former CDC chief Robert Redfield told CNN's Sanjay Gupta that what he was "most offended by was the calls" from Azar's office "that wanted me to pressure and change the MMWR [Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on COVID-19]. He may deny that, but it's true."

Record torrential rainfall lashing Tennessee has flooded Nashville-area buildings and resulted in the deaths of at least four people, authorities said Sunday.

Details: Nashville Mayor John Cooper (D) told a briefing that 7 inches of rain had fallen in two days in Nashville — the second highest on record. Authorities told the briefing at least 130 people were rescued from the floods overnight.

The World Health Organization's probe into the COVID-19 pandemic origins is not an investigation, it's "essentially a highly chaperoned, highly curated study tour," a WHO adviser and former Clinton administration official told CBS' "60 Minutes" Sunday.

Why it matters: Jamie Metzl's comments that China's government set the mission's ground rules and had "veto power" over who could be on the research team add to concerns raised by the Biden administration and others that the Chinese Communist Party may have interfered in the investigation.