Jan 21, 2018

Tom Cotton: I wasn't offended by "shithole" meeting

Erica Pandey

Sen. Tom Cotton told NBC News' Chuck Todd that he "was not offended" by "some cursing behind closed doors" at the Oval Office meeting during which President Trump reportedly referred to Haiti and African nations as "shithole" (or, by some accounts, "shithouse") countries.

Cotton also slammed Senate Democrats for the government shutdown during his interview:

"When the Democrats sitting across the table don't get what they want, they run out, and they misrepresent what was a good faith effort to listen and to build trust ... and the media buys it hook, line and sinker."

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Axios

Situational awareness

Photo: BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images

Catch up on today's biggest news:

  1. CDC warns it's anticipating spread of the coronavirus in the U.S.
  2. SCOTUS rules that family of Mexican teen killed by border agent cannot sue
  3. Tokyo Olympics "looking at a cancellation" if coronavirus not contained by late May
  4. Mike Bloomberg's partner brushes off NDA concerns
  5. Trump acknowledges lists of disloyal government officials to oust
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Coronavirus spreads to new countries, while U.S. confirms 57 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.

Public health officials confirmed Tuesday the U.S. has 57 people with the novel coronavirus, mostly those repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship — an increase they had expected after the passengers were allowed to return home from Japan against their initial advice.

The big picture: COVID-19 has killed more than 2,700 people and infected more than 80,000 others, mostly in mainland China. There's only been two cases of person-to-person infections in the U.S. so far, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned today that Americans should prepare for the outbreak to broaden here.

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Miriam Kramer

Space tourism gets ready for launch

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Multiple space tourism companies are aiming to send their first customers to the edge of space before the end of this year.

Why it matters: Right now, most revenue in the space industry is tied up in government contracts, but experts say the maturing industry will need tourism to grow into the $1 trillion economy some predict it could be.

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