Feb 3, 2017

Thrive Capital hires the White House's former product chief

Thrive Capital, the VC firm of Ivanka Trump's brother-in-law, Joshua Kushner, has hired the former White House head of product under President Obama.

Josh Miller, who joined the White House in 2015, will focus on technologies that help underprivileged Americans, according to the New York Times. At the White House, Miller helped lead various projects that impacted Americans such as an affordable diaper program for low-income families.

Party Ties: Joshua's brother, Jared, is a top adviser to President Trump. Despite his brother's close involvement with the Trump administration, Joshua Kushner—a Democrat—is showing no sign of switching camps. Many of the companies in Thrive Capital's portfolio supported Hillary Clinton, as the Times points out, and Miller was an appointee under Obama.

Go deeper

Fadel Allassan
33 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Americans reflect on Independence Day amid racism reckoning

A Black Lives Matter banner and a United States flag on the facade of the U.S. embassy building in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: Simon Shin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

America's leaders are rethinking how they view Independence Day, as the country reckons with the historic, unequal treatment of people of color during a pandemic which has disproportionately affected nonwhite Americans.

Why it matters: The country’s legacy of racism has come into sharp focus in the weeks of protests following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody. From Confederate statues to Mount Rushmore, Americans are reexamining the symbols and traditions they elevate and the history behind them.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 2 p.m. ET: 10,945,600 — Total deaths: 523,035 — Total recoveries — 5,797,206 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 2 p.m. ET: 2,767,669 — Total deaths: 128,951 — Total recoveries: 781,970 — Total tested: 33,462,181 — Map.
  3. Public health: The states where face coverings are mandatory — Fauci says it has been a "very disturbing week" for the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S.
  4. Economy: The economy may recover just quickly enough to kill political interest in more stimulus.
  5. States: Florida reports more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases, and its most-infected county issues curfew.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Rashaan Ayesh
6 hours ago - Sports

Washington Redskins to review team name amid public pressure

Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

The Washington Redskins have announced they will be conducting a review of the team's name after mounting pressure from the public and corporate sponsors.

Why it matters: This review is the first formal step the Redskins are taking since the debate surrounding the name first began. It comes after weeks of discussions between the team and the NFL, the team said.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow