Axios

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) on Thursday ordered the termination of the state's participation in all federal, pandemic-related unemployment benefit programs.

Driving the news: McMaster cited labor shortages, but some experts say it's the job climate and not unemployment benefits that is determining the pace at which people are returning to work.

Actress Jennifer Garner will team up with the Biden administration in a coordinated campaign to encourage vaccinations around Mother's Day, Axios has learned.

Driving the news: The administration is eager to keep up the pace of inoculations now that all adult Americans are eligible but the pace of vaccinations is starting to slow.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a press conference on Thursday that the Navy is "looking into" the case of a SEAL acquitted of murder in 2019, reports the Washington Post.

Driving the news: On an episode of “The Line” podcast that aired Tuesday, retired Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, who was accused of war crimes, told the host that an Islamic State fighter who had been imprisoned in Iraq in 2017 died from "medical treatments" he received.

The U.S. Army announced Thursday that it will allow female soldiers to wear ponytails "in all authorized U.S. Army uniforms."

The big picture: The Army announced earlier this year major changes to its grooming policy, including allowing some ponytails in certain circumstances. Thursday's policy update is intended to help give female soldiers "more practical" option, the Army said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week condemned Republican efforts to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) as House GOP conference chair.

Why it matters: A number of Democrats have spoken out against attempts to punish Cheney for her criticism of former President Trump, framing the discussion as one essential to the maintenance of American democracy.

Two murders in Puerto Rico have again brought attention to the rise in violence against women on the island.

Why it matters: Around 20 women and girls have been killed in suspected femicides so far this year, per a Puerto Rican advocacy group.

Joint efforts to stem the increased number of migrants heading to the U.S. will likely be at the top of discussions when Vice President Kamala Harris and Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador hold their virtual meeting on Friday.

The big picture: The U.S. government has consistently asked its southern neighbor to prevent immigrants from reaching the border, mostly through threats like former President Trump’s talk of tariffs.

The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) and a coalition of partners launched a new cultural campaign Thursday to drive funding and support for the AAPI community.

Why it matters: The See Us Unite campaign is backed by big names, including the Ford Foundation and MacArthur Foundation, and comes as Asian American leaders push to address a yearlong spike in deadly anti-Asian violence.

Tens of thousands of abandoned oil wells are polluting Latino and Native American communities across the country, and a freshman Latina congresswoman wants the U.S. government to do something about it.

Why it matters: The orphaned wells are leaking methane, potentially contaminating groundwater in some of the nation's poorest communities, and no one is responsible for clean up.

Pioneer Public Affairs, a lobbying firm focused on climate and clean energy, unveiled new hires Thursday including Charlie Ellsworth, who until weeks ago was a budget aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Driving the news: Other names include Dr. Sweta Chakraborty — whose resume includes work with the climate action social network We Don't Have Time — and Brian Willis, who spent years with the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign.

At an event on Thursday that banned all local media outlets except for Fox News, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a controversial elections overhaul bill that imposes sweeping new restrictions on voting.

Why it matters: The law increases restrictions on drop boxes, requires voters to sign up for mail-in ballots every year and limits who can drop off ballots at drop boxes.

YouTube is spending $7 million to fund two new programs to help journalists looking to build an audience on YouTube, executives tell Axios.

Why it matters: It's the first time YouTube is spending money to fund journalism independently of the $300 million Google has dedicated to journalism programs through its Google News Initiative.

A number of Republican lawmakers are celebrating and promoting provisions of President Biden's American Rescue Plan in their home constituencies, despite unanimously voting against the sweeping COVID rescue bill, AP writes.

Why it matters: Polling suggests the $1.9 trillion plan, the defining legislative victory of Biden's presidency thus far, is widely popular among the American public. Democrats have said they'll make their Republican colleagues' votes a sticking point during the 2022 midterm elections.

Former Republican pollster Frank Luntz tells Kara Swisher on her New York Times podcast "Sway" that Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election "could cost the Republicans the majority in the House in 2022."

Why it matters: The former president is still the most popular figure in the Republican Party, but his baseless claims about the election have alienated moderates and key GOP leaders — including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).

Two of the seven Confederate statues near Tampa Bay still remain: the Stonewall Jackson Monument in Ft. Mead and a Confederate soldier statue outside a Brooksville courthouse.

When the others came down: Most Confederate monuments in Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas counties were removed in 2017 after white supremacists rioted in Charlottesville.

• An exception: The Cow Cavalry Monument in Plant City was removed along with nine others around the state in 2020.

The Oversight Board's decision Wednesday to uphold Facebook's suspension of former President Trump found few fans in Washington and exposed the company to a new round of attacks.

Why it matters: While the board urged Facebook back to the drawing board to better define its rules and processes around political speech, political actors on both left and right agree that the social media giant already has too much power.

The independent Oversight Board sent former President Trump's suspension from Facebook back to the company Wednesday because it found Facebook's original referral of the case to be "lazy," a member of the board told Axios.

What they're saying: "We felt it was a bit lazy of Facebook to be sending over to us a penalty suggestion that didn't exist in their own rulebook, so to speak, in their own community standards," said former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, an Oversight Board member, at an Axios event.

India has seen demand for oxygen jump "seven-fold" as the country set a new world record for daily COVID-19 cases on Thursday, per AP.

By the numbers: India's health ministry reported 412,262 new infections, taking the official tally past 21 million, and 3,980 deaths from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours. The official death toll now stands at 230,168. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher.

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was sentenced Thursday to 10 months in prison for taking part in an unauthorized vigil marking the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, per Reuters.

The big picture: Wong is already serving a 13.5-month prison term for organizing an unauthorized assembly during 2019 pro-democracy protests, a sentence made possible by a national security law imposed by China's government in 2020. The new sentence means additional jail time for Wong.

Argentina's government has this week launched a "Green Mondays" campaign that calls on citizens to replace meals containing meat with plant-based ones on Mondays in an effort to tackle climate change.

Why it matters: Cattle ranches contribute to 22% of all emissions in Argentina, making them the "biggest contributor" in the country, per Bloomberg. The campaign is part of a growing worldwide environmental movement away from meat.

Go deeper... New culture war: the meat you eat

The United Kingdom's government announced Wednesday it has deployed two Royal Navy patrol vessels to the island of Jersey "as a precautionary measure," as tensions over fishing rights escalate with France.

Why it matters: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement the government took the action to protect Jersey against potential threats of "a blockade" of French fishing boats at the island, which is off the coast of northwest France.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters Wednesday he's "100%" focused on "stopping" the Biden administration.

Why it matters: McConnell's comments come as President Biden seeks to push through his administration's nearly $4 trillion infrastructure plan. Biden is due to host his first bipartisan meeting with Republican leaders including McConnell next week.

Adolescents vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to remove face masks if they're outside at summer camps, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday.

Why it matters: Critics had called CDC guidance, issued last month, stating that everyone at summer camps should be masked unless eating, drinking or swimming "unfairly draconian."

The Pentagon said Wednesday it's tracking the uncontrolled descent of the Long March-5B Y2 rocket that carried a Chinese Space Station module to orbit last week.

Details: Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby told reporters the rocket's debris was expected to return to Earth "somewhere around" May 8 and that the U.S. Space Command has said "almost the entire body of the rocket" remains intact. "It's too soon to know exactly where it's going to come down," he added.

Facebook's continued suspension of Donald Trump's account extends the silencing of Joe Biden's most potent critic — and the current president's control over the national political narrative into his second 100 days.

Why it matters: Biden has been able to successfully focus on COVID-19 relief, his infrastructure plan and fielding his new administration, in part, because Trump hasn't been able to shake his social media muzzle and bray about the migration crisis or any White House misstep.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is all but rolling out the red carpet for her own ouster as House GOP conference chair next week and her expected replacement with Trump defender Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).

Why it matters: Cheney’s political falling out with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is the ultimate proxy war between Republicans who remain beholden to a former president who falsely claims the election was stolen from him, or breaking free from Donald Trump to refocus on traditional conservative values.

President Biden plans to test Republicans’ appetite to pay for any part of his proposed $4.1 trillion in infrastructure and social spending before deciding whether to pursue one big tax-and-spend package or two smaller ones, Axios has learned.

Driving the news: Biden is wary of boxing himself in, since it would dictate whether he seeks a bipartisan or all-Democratic approach. He told reporters on Wednesday, "I'm willing to compromise. But I'm not willing to not pay for what we're talking about. I'm not willing to deficit-spend."

Happy, an Asian elephant kept in New York's Bronx Zoo, will get a habeas corpus case at the New York State Court of Appeals.

Why it matters: This represents the first time the highest court in any English-speaking jurisdiction will hear such a case brought on behalf of a nonhuman animal, and could represent a landmark moment for both animal rights and zoos.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced plans to impose massive fines on four airline passengers for unruly behavior, including two who allegedly assaulted flight attendants after refusing to comply with face mask guidelines.

Why it matters: The proposed civil penalties ranging from $9,000 to $32,750 are part of the FAA's new "zero tolerance" policy, introduced after an uptick in incidents of disobedient passengers on flights stemming from their refusal to wear masks and January's U.S. Capitol riot. Airlines have reported some 1,300 cases since February — about 1,000 more than in a typical year.

The Trump presidency was a "difficult time" for Ukraine, during which the country tried to maintain "bipartisan support" from Republicans and Democrats, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday.

The state of play: Ukraine found itself uncomfortably involved in U.S. domestic politics on account of Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani's dealings in the country.