Nov 15, 2017

Trump defends "America First" in first speech after Asia trip

Erica Pandey

Trump addresses the nation after his trip to Asia. Photo: Evan Vucci / AP

President Trump gave a full-throated defense of his 'America First' approach to foreign policy Wednesday, fresh off a 12-day trip to Asia. "My fellow citizens, America is back," he said, before walking away from the podium amid shouted questions about Roy Moore.

The context: Trump is saying, "America First has been vindicated on the world stage," a source familiar with the speech told Axios' Jonathan Swan. "We view this as an exclamation mark on a year of foreign policy under Trump."

From the speech:

  • On the North Korean nuclear threat: "I spoke the truth about the evil crimes of the north Korean regime, and I made clear that we will not allow this twisted dictatorship to hold the world hostage to nuclear blackmail. I called on both China and Russia" to isolate the North Korean regime.
  • On KORUS: "At my discretion and direction, we are currently renegotiating the disastrous" U.S.-Korea free trade agreement.

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Infant dies after testing positive for coronavirus in Chicago

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An infant less than one year old died in Chicago, Illinois after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, the state health department said on Saturday.

Why it matters: The death would mark the first reported infant mortality from COVID-19 in the U.S. The fatality rate for the novel coronavirus in the U.S. is highest among those over 85 years old, per the CDC.

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Trump weighs quarantine of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut

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President Trump said on Saturday he is considering a "short term" quarantine of New York, New Jersey and parts of Connecticut — states that have already taken steps to quarantine residents and promote social distancing.

The big picture: With 112,000 people infected, the U.S. has the most COVID-19 cases in the world, exceeding China and Italy, per data from Johns Hopkins. A second wave of American cities, including Boston, Detroit, New Orleans and Philadelphia, are reporting influxes of cases.

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Coronavirus dashboard

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  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 4 p.m. ET: 649,904 — Total deaths: 30,249 — Total recoveries: 137,319.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in cases. Total confirmed cases as of 4 p.m. ET: 116,505 — Total deaths: 1,891 — Total recoveries: 921.
  3. Federal government latest: President Trump is considering a quarantine on New York, parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. He signed a $2 trillion stimulus bill to give businesses and U.S. workers financial relief.
  4. State updates: Alaska is latest state to issue a stay-at-home order — New York is trying to nearly triple its hospital capacity in less than a month and has moved its presidential primary to June 23. Some Midwestern swing voters that supported Trump's handling of the virus less than two weeks ago are now balking at his call for the U.S. to be "opened up" by Easter.
  5. World updates: In Spain, over 1,400 people were confirmed dead between Thursday to Saturday.
  6. 🚀 Space updates: OneWeb filed for bankruptcy amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
  7. Hollywood: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have returned to U.S. after being treated for coronavirus.
  8. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk
  9. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

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