Mar 22, 2017

Rules Committee update: You haven't missed a thing

David Nather

More than three hours later, the House Rules Committee still hasn't gotten around to taking up any actual amendments that House members want to add to the GOP Obamacare repeal bill before it goes to the floor tomorrow. They've spent the whole time arguing about whether the GOP bill is being rushed, whether Obamacare was rushed, and whether the Republicans' "continuous coverage" rule — penalizing people who don't stay insured — is an adequate substitute for Obamacare's individual mandate.

Oh, and Rep. Alcee Hastings did quote Janis Joplin. The response from Rules Committee chairman Pete Sessions: "I promise not to talk about ZZ Top."

They've recessed for House votes, and have yet to take up any of the more than 20 proposed amendments they're supposed to consider. On the bright side, one House GOP aide tells me the meeting probably won't last all night: "All dayer, maybe. Not all nighter."

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Axios

South Korea and Italy see spikes in coronavirus cases

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

The novel coronavirus has spread to more nations, and the U.S. reports a doubling of its confirmed cases to 34 — while noting these are mostly due to repatriated citizens, emphasizing there's no "community spread" yet in the United States.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed at least 2,446 people and infected almost 79,000 others, mostly in mainland China. New countries to announce infections recently include Israel and Lebanon, while Iran reported its sixth death from the virus. South Korea's confirmed cases jumped from 204 Friday to 433 on Saturday and Italy's case count rose from 3 to 62 by Saturday.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 1 hour ago - Health
Axios

Bernie Sanders wins Nevada caucus

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders waves to supporters at a campaign rally on Friday in Las Vegas. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Sen. Bernie Sanders is projected to handily win the Nevada Democratic primary caucus, becoming the clear frontrunner among 2020 Democratic presidential primary election candidates.

Why it matters: Nevada is the first state with a diverse population to hold a nominating contest, highlighting candidates' abilities to connect with voters of color — particularly Latino voters.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Rebecca Falconer

Heat wave melts 20% of snow cover from Antarctic island in days

The effects of February's record heat wave on Eagle Island in Antarctica. Photo: NASA

Antarctica's Eagle Island now has a side that's almost ice-free following this month's searing heat wave in the region, images released by NASA show.

Why it maters: "The warm spell caused widespread melting on nearby glaciers," NASA said in its report. It's the third major melt event of the 2019-2020 Southern Hemisphere summer, following warm spells in January and last November, according to the United Nation's World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Go deeperArrow2 hours ago - Energy & Environment