Mar 9, 2017

Tom Cotton tells GOP to “start over” on Trumpcare

Alayna Treene

Andrew Harnick / AP

Republican Senator Tom Cotton has come in hot with a Tweetstorm on the Obamacare repeal and replace process, which has been running into some very early issues:

"House health-care bill can't pass Senate w/o major changes. To my friends in House: pause, start over. Get it right, don't get it fast... GOP shouldn't act like Dems did in O'care. No excuse to release bill Mon night, start voting Wed. With no budget estimate! ... What matters in long run is better, more affordable health care for Americans, NOT House leaders' arbitrary legislative calendar."

Why it matters: Republicans can afford quite a few defections and still pass a bill through the House, but the Senate is an entirely different issue, and for Cotton to go public so early is a danger sign for House leadership.

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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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Axios

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 is now warning that Americans should prepare for a much broader outbreak 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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