May 31, 2017

Trump called Roger Stone after firing Comey

Seth Wenig / AP

One day after tweeting that he had "not spoken to Roger [Stone] in a long time," President Trump called Stone after watching him on various news shows in the aftermath of the firing of FBI Director James Comey, per The New Yorker.

The reason for Trump's call: Simply to tell Stone that he did a good job on television — not surprising, as Trump is known to value loyalty above all else.

But a wrinkle: Because Stone is a witness at the center of the federal government's Russia investigation, this could compound potential obstruction of justice concerns for Trump. One of Obama's White House ethics lawyers told The New Yorker: "Trump just added another item to the investigators' checklist."

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Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Marisa Fernandez

U.S. coronavirus updates: Death toll nears 11,000

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Recorded deaths from the novel coronavirus surpassed 10,900 in the U.S. early Tuesday, per Johns Hopkins data. More than 1,000 people in the U.S. have died of coronavirus-related conditions each day since April 1.

Why it matters: U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on Sunday this week will be "the hardest and saddest week of most Americans' lives" — calling it our "our Pearl Harbor, our 9/11 moment."

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Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 11:30 p.m. ET: 1,347,803 — Total deaths: 74,807 — Total recoveries: 277,402 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 11:30 p.m. ET: 368,196 — Total deaths: 10,986 — Total recoveries: 19,828 — Map.
Trump administration latest: President Trump's economic adviser Peter Navarro warned White House colleagues in late January the coronavirus could take over half a million American lives and cost close to $6 trillion, memos obtained by Axios show.
2020 update: Wisconsin Supreme Court blocks governor's attempt to delay in-person primary voting delayed until June.
States latest: West Coast states send ventilators to New York and other states with more immediate need — Data suggest coronavirus curve may be flattening in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
World update: U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved to intensive care as coronavirus symptoms worsen.
Stocks latest: The S&P 500 closed up 7% on Monday, while the Dow rose more than 1,500 points.
What should I do? Pets, moving and personal health. Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Keep ReadingUpdated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Jonathan Swan, Margaret Talev

Docs: Navarro memos warning mass death circulated West Wing in January

Image from a memo to President Trump

In late January, President Trump's economic adviser Peter Navarro warned his White House colleagues the novel coronavirus could take more than half a million American lives and cost close to $6 trillion, according to memos obtained by Axios.

By late February, Navarro was even more alarmed, and he warned his colleagues, in another memo, that up to two million Americans could die of the virus.

Driving the news: Navarro's grim estimates are set out in two memos — one dated Jan. 29 and addressed to the National Security Council, the other dated Feb. 23 and addressed to the president. The NSC circulated both memos around the White House and multiple agencies.

Go deeper2 hours ago - Health