Dec 11, 2017

The week ahead: Alabama election, ACA deadline, and net neutrality vote

Here's what to watch out for this week:

Monday: President Trump holds a Space Policy Directive signing ceremony.
Tuesday: Polls are open in Alabama's special election, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. ... Trump signs the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2018.
Wednesday: Tax conference committee public hearing. This isn't where the actual decisions will be made — look for mostly just statements. But if there are major issues Republicans haven't solved by this point, this is where they could spill out into the open.
Thursday: The FCC votes on whether to repeal net neutrality rules. A repeal could allow internet providers to block or slow down content, or charge more for content like streaming video.
Friday: Last day of open enrollment for Affordable Care Act coverage for 2018. Spoiler alert: It's likely to be way down from last year.

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Pandemic forces startups to shift gears

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Spaces CEO Brad Herman had an early warning about COVID-19 because his startup supplies VR attractions to a number of theme parks in China. Realizing that the business he spent the last few years building was going to evaporate, Herman quickly found a new way to apply his team's know-how: helping companies host Zoom teleconferences in VR.

Why it matters: Many startups are rethinking the viability of their core businesses in the wake of the coronavirus. Spaces' move is one of many such pivots likely to crop up in the coming months.

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International coronavirus treatment trial uses AI to speed results

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The first hospital network in the U.S. has joined an international clinical trial using artificial intelligence to help determine which treatments for patients with the novel coronavirus are most effective on an on-going basis.

Why it matters: In the midst of a pandemic, scientists face dueling needs: to find treatments quickly and to ensure they are safe and effective. By using this new type of adaptive platform, doctors hope to collect clinical data that will help more quickly determine what actually works.

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We can't just flip the switch on the coronavirus

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

It feels like some big, terrible switch got flipped when the coronavirus upended our lives — so it’s natural to want to simply flip it back. But that is not how the return to normalcy will go.

The big picture: Even as the number of illnesses and deaths in the U.S. start to fall, and we start to think about leaving the house again, the way forward will likely be slow and uneven. This may feel like it all happened suddenly, but it won't end that way.

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