Nov 2, 2017

Top small business lobby "unable to support" GOP tax plan

Photo: J. Scott Applewhite / AP

The National Federation of Independent Business, the nation's powerful lobbying arm for small businesses, has come out against the newly released GOP tax plan, saying that it "leaves too many small businesses behind," per the WSJ. The group is concerned about limits preventing businesses from getting the proposed 25% pass-through tax rate, though it indicated its openness to working with Congress to reach a compromise. (Go deeper: What's in the GOP tax plan.)

Why it matters: Republicans have pitched their tax plan as an engine for job creators across America — and small businesses make up a huge part of that. Immediate pushback against the bill from them isn't a great look.

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Axios

14 mins ago - Health

Coronavirus testing czar: Lockdowns in hotspots "should be on the table"

The Trump administration's coronavirus testing coordinator Adm. Brett Giroir said on ABC's "This Week" that "everything" — including the "stringent lockdowns" that many governors implemented in March and April — should be "on the table" in states where new infections are skyrocketing.

Why it matters: President Trump said in June that the U.S. "won't be closing down the country again" — a view shared by many Republicans who believe that the economic damage caused by stay-at-home orders was too great to justify a second round of lockdowns.

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Axios

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8:30 a.m. ET: 12,740,971 — Total deaths: 565,716 — Total recoveries — 7,022,846 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 8:30 a.m. ET: 3,247,782 — Total deaths: 134,815 — Total recoveries: 995,576 — Total tested: 39,553,395 — Map.
Politics: Trump wears face mask in public for first time.
Public health: Fauci hasn't briefed Trump on the coronavirus pandemic in at least two months — We're losing the war on the coronavirus.
States: Louisiana governor issues face mask mandate.
World: India reimposes lockdowns as coronavirus cases soar.

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Zachary Basu

2 hours ago - World

Hundreds of thousands vote in Hong Kong's opposition primaries

Photo: Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images

Organizers say more than 500,000 Hong Kong residents have voted in primary elections held by pro-democracy opposition groups on Saturday and Sunday, despite fears of a government crackdown under Beijing's draconian new national security law, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: The primaries, which aren't part of the city's official political process, are intended to whittle down the field of pro-democracy candidates in order to avoid splitting the vote against pro-China ruling politicians in September's legislative elections.