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Tampa Bay

Axios Tampa Bay

The CDC on Monday shortened its recommended isolation time for people who test positive for COVID-19 from 10 days to five days if they're asymptomatic.

The big picture: Industries across the country are strained with employees in quarantine as Omicron cases surge. The new guidance seeks to balance "what we know about the spread of the virus and the protection provided by vaccination and booster doses," per CDC director Rochelle Walensky.

The new guidance goes a step further than last week's recommendation for health care workers, which shortened their isolation from 10 days to seven days if they're asymptomatic. 

Zoom in: The updated guidance advises that after the recommended isolation period, people should wear face masks for at least five days to "minimize the risk of infecting others."

The CDC also shortened the quarantine period for those exposed to the virus who are unvaccinated or haven't received a booster to five days, followed by "strict mask use." 

Those have received a booster do not need to isolate after exposure but "should wear a mask for 10 days."

What they're saying: "The Omicron variant is spreading quickly and has the potential to impact all facets of our society," Walensky said in a statement.

"Prevention is our best option," she added. "Get vaccinated, get boosted, wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial and high community transmission, and take a test before you gather."

CDC cuts COVID isolation period recommendation in half

The new guidance comes as industries across the country are strained with employees in quarantine.

Rochelle Walensky. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

CDC director Rochelle Walensky. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Coronavirus

The U.S. health system faces critical questions about cost, access and equity. Technological advances and new discoveries about diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s are transforming patient care and reshaping public health.

Health

People across South Africa and worldwide are remembering "moral compass" Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died in Cape Town on Sunday at the age of 90. 

Driving the news: Tutu, who helped bring down apartheid in South Africa, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. 

Tutu was also the first Black bishop of Johannesburg and later became the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town. He was known for working tirelessly for racial justice and LBGTQ rights.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called Tutu "a towering global figure for peace & justice." 

Former President Obama described him as "a moral compass" and "universal spirit."  

The big picture: Until Tutu's requiem Mass on Jan. 1, South Africa will hold a week of mourning, including the cathedral bell ringing for 10 minutes at noon local time for five days, per AP. 

A woman poses for a photograph by South African anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu's statue on the wake of his death at the Victoria and Albert Waterfront in Cape Town on December 26, 2021

A woman poses for a photograph next to Tutu's statue at the Victoria and Albert Waterfront in Cape Town on Dec. 26. Photo: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP via Getty Images

A poster of South African anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu hangs at the Methodist Church after the news of his death, in Cape Town on December 26, 2021.

A poster of Tutu hangs at the Methodist Church after the news of his death, in Cape Town on Dec. 26. Photo: Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images

A couple stands by a picture of the late South African Nobel Peace Price Archbishop Desmond Tutu on the wake of his death outside St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town on December 26, 2021.

A couple stands by a picture of Tutu outside St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town on Dec. 26. Photo: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP via Getty Images

Bystanders walk past the Cape Town City Hall litten in purple at night to honour South African anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu following his death

Bystanders walk past the Cape Town City Hall lit in purple at night to honor Tutu following his death. Photo: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP via Getty Images

This photo illustration shows an assortment of newspaper front pages featuring Desmond Tutu, including The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Telegraph and the Irish Independent's.

The front pages featuring Tutu collected from a store in London, England, on Dec. 27.

An image depicting the late South African Nobel Peace Price Archbishop Desmond Tutu is seen on December 26, 2021 on the facade of the Cape Town City Centre on the wake of his death in Cape Town. 

An image depicting Tutu is seen on the facade of the Cape Town City Centre on Dec. 26. Photo: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP via Getty Images

In photos: Desmond Tutu remembered

Tutu, who helped bring down apartheid in South Africa, died on Sunday at the age of 90.

lowers are seen next to a portrait of South African anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu outside St. George's cathedral in Cape Town on December 26, 2021

Flowers are seen next to a portrait of South African anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu outside St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town on Dec. 26 after the news of Tutu's passing. Photo: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP via Getty Images

South Africa

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

World

Just three of 11 federal leaders were viewed positively in a Gallup poll released Monday. 

The big picture: Chief Justice John Roberts received the highest approval rating, followed by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and NIAID director Anthony Fauci. 

By the numbers: Roberts received a 60% approval rating. He was the only leader to receive bipartisan majority support, with 55% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans saying they approved of his handling of his job. 

Powell had a 53% approval rating and Fauci received 52% approval.

About 85% of Democrats approved of Fauci, while 19% of Republicans and 48% of Independents said the same. 

About 67% of Democrats approved of Powell, while 30% of Republicans and 55% of Independents said the same.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) received the lowest approval rating with 34% of those surveyed saying they approved of how he's handled his job. He is the only leader to not receive majority support from either major party or Independents. About 46% of Republicans approved of McConnell, while 21% of Democrats and 35% of Independents said the same. 

About 44% of those surveyed approved of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), while 53% disapproved. About 76% of Democrats approved of Schumer's handling of his job, while just 11% of Republicans said the same. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) received a 40% approval rating. About 71% of Democrats said they approved of Pelosi, while just 6% of Republicans said the same.  

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy received a 46% approval rating, with 71% of Republicans and 23% of Democrats surveyed saying they approved of how he's handling his job. 

Meanwhile, President Biden received a 43% approval rating. 

About 44% of those surveyed said they approved of how Vice President Kamala Harris was handling her job. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of State Antony Blinken each received a 49% approval rating. 

What they're saying: "While this is by no means an exhaustive list of public officials, the leaders rated were selected based on being some of this year's more high-profile figures in the federal government," Gallup noted of its poll, conducted  Dec. 1–16.

Methodology: Based on telephone interviews conducted Dec. 1–16, with a random sample of 811 adults, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. 

America's 3 most popular federal leaders

Roberts is the only leader in the poll who received bipartisan approval.

Chief Justice John Roberts sits during a group photo of the Justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on April 23, 2021

Chief Justice John Roberts. Photo: Erin Schaff/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Supreme Court

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

Morning Joe-7 36 35 Am - 7 38 08 Am-2021-12-27

A COVID vaccine requirement should "seriously" be considered for domestic air travel in the U.S. as a response to the Omicron variant of the virus, NIAID director Anthony Fauci told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday.

Why it matters: The U.S. is now experiencing another wave of coronavirus cases driven by the Omicron variant.

Early data from South Africa, where the variant was first discovered, suggests that it spreads easier but may cause milder disease than previous variants. 

What he's saying: “When you make vaccination a requirement, that’s another incentive to get more people vaccinated,” Fauci said. “If you want to do that with domestic flights, I think that’s something that seriously should be considered.”

"The group we're really concerned about is the unvaccinated people because even if this virus is inherently less severe, just the volume of the number of cases that we're going to have could actually put a stress on the hospital system," he said earlier in the interview.

The latest: Fauci on Monday evening clarified that he does not expect such a mandate to be implemented "in the reasonably foreseeable future.”

"It's on the table, and we consider it, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen," he told CNN.

The big picture: Fauci also said the CDC is considering shortening the isolation and quarantine time for essential workers who have been exposed to or contracted the virus, after it shortened the quarantine time for health care workers last week. 

Go deeper: The ongoing U.S. failure on rapid COVID tests

Editor's note: This post was updated with Fauci's later comment that he does not expect that a vaccine mandate for domestic flights to be implemented soon.

Fauci wants to “seriously” consider vaccine mandate for domestic flights

The U.S. is experiencing another wave of coronavirus cases driven by the Omicron variant.

Anthony Fauci

Axios AM

Blake Masters, co-author of tech pioneer Peter Thiel's blockbuster "Zero to One," and now a Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Arizona, is offering NFTs with a limit of 99 copies. 

Why it matters: Masters, 35, told Axios the plan is to attract support "from folks who are less conventional political donors and more founders and builders who want to see new thinking and new energy in our politics." 

What's happening: Masters is leaning into his Silicon Valley ties with an "Origins NFT" that shows a rotating rendition of the early cover art he used to help persuade Thiel, his former Stanford Law professor, to collaborate on "Zero to One," published in 2014. 

The NFTs will go to donors who give the maximum of $5,800 — half for the primary, and half for the general election if he wins.

Zoom out: Masters, who lives in his native Tucson, helps run Thiel Capital, a multibillion-dollar firm that invests in tech startups, and is president of the Thiel Foundation.

The Republican primary also includes Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. Both aim to take on Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.

Masters — who was a guest on Tucker Carlson's show last week — held a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago that included former President Trump as a speaker. That gives Masters' camp hope for an endorsement.

Between the lines: The idea is to give donors a sense of ownership. Real-life events are planned for the virtual club. 

Masters said: "The best NFT projects aren't just random 'art on the blockchain,'" but instead "create or support certain communities where people share an excitement about something in particular."

Arizona Senate candidate brings NFTs to politics

To attract support "from folks who are less conventional political donors," Masters told Axios.

The candidate's NFT shows this early cover art. Photo: Blake Masters for Senate 

2022 elections

Image of Blake Masters speaking at a podium

Powerful CEOs worry about their job security as much as the rest of us do — in fact, maybe even more. 

The big picture: An eye-popping 72% of CEOs are worried about losing their jobs due to the disruptions facing their industries, according to a new report out today from the global consulting firm AlixPartners. 

The intrigue: That figure jumped 20 percentage points compared to just a year ago, when 52% of CEOs told AlixPartners they were anxious about job security. 

Why it matters: The frenetic pace of change in businesses and the world has accelerated since the onset of the pandemic — leading to a spike in CEO anxiety. 

Case in point: 94% of executives say their business models need to change within the next three years — but 57% fear their company isn't adapting fast enough.

"A CEO’s job is stressful in the best of times ... These statistics are telling, about the pressure that senior executives are feeling to move, and move quickly, to be agile to pivot into new strategies," AlixPartners CEO Simon Freakley tells Axios. 

State of play: Overhauling global supply chains for today and the future, and reimagining recruitment and retention while skills needs change rapidly, were top of mind for CEOs this year. 

That’s while digital transformation reshapes the workflow for companies — and even the disruptors get disrupted, Freakley says. 

The bottom line: No need to pity CEOs — they're paid hundreds of times the average worker's wages to worry more than the rest of us. But it’s a sign of today's increasingly complex business landscape that CEO anxiety is on the rise. 

Top CEO worry for 2022: Job security

Anxiety in the C-suite is on the rise, with 72% of CEOs worried about losing their jobs.

Illustration of a large shadow, spelling 2022, cast on a CEO nameplate. 

CEOs

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Axios

Monday's top stories

CDC cuts COVID isolation period recommendation in half

In photos: Desmond Tutu remembered

America's 3 most popular federal leaders

Fauci wants to “seriously” consider vaccine mandate for domestic flights

Arizona Senate candidate brings NFTs to politics

Top CEO worry for 2022: Job security

Study: 10 biggest climate disasters of 2021 cost $170 billion

New supply chain crisis: medical supplies

Wall Street predicts expensive, bumpy 2022

What to expect from America's third year of COVID

Moon, Mars and asteroid missions top 2022 space goals