Apr 24, 2017 - Politics & Policy

Trump and Pence's allies are reaping White House perks

Charlie Neibergall / AP

"Trump, Pence allies rake in millions as new Washington lobbyists," by USA Today's Fredreka Schouten and Maureen Groppe:

  • "Brian Ballard, a longtime Florida lobbyist and a fundraiser for both Trump's campaign and inaugural committee, appears to lead the pack, signing up 20 federal clients since opening his Washington lobbying operation this year."
  • Avenue Strategies, started last year by Corey Lewandowski, describes him as overseeing "all aspects of a historic presidential campaign where Donald J. Trump won 38 Republican primaries and caucuses and received more votes than any presidential candidate in the history of the Republican Party."
  • His co-founder is Barry Bennett, a former Trump campaign adviser who managed the presidential campaign of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.
  • "Stuart Jolly, who worked as Trump's field director in the primaries, recently became president of the Sonoran Policy Group, and the firm has added New Zealand and the Czech Republic as international clients.

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Axios
Updated 23 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 6:30 p.m. ET: 20,177,521 — Total deaths: 738,716 — Total recoveries: 12,400,156 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 6:30 p.m. ET: 5,130,784 — Total deaths: 164,603 — Total recoveries: 1,670,755 — Total tests: 62,513,174 — Map.
  3. States: Georgia reports 137 coronavirus deaths, setting new daily record — Florida reports another daily record for deaths.
  4. Health care: Trump administration buys 100 million doses of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine.
  5. Business: Moderna reveals it may not hold patent rights for vaccine.
  6. Sports: Big Ten scraps fall football season.
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Voters cast ballots in Minnesota, Georgia, Connecticut, Wisconsin and Vermont

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Bob Herman
52 mins ago - Health

Trump administration buys 100 million doses of Moderna's vaccine

A volunteer in Moderna's vaccine clinical trial receives a shot. Photo: Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The U.S. government has agreed to buy 100 million doses of Moderna's experimental coronavirus vaccine for $1.5 billion, or $15 per dose.

Why it matters: The Trump administration, through Operation Warp Speed, has now bought initial batches of vaccines from Moderna, GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi, Pfizer, Novavax, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca before knowing whether they are safe and effective. The federal government also appears to own some of the patent rights associated with Moderna's vaccine.