Aug 1, 2018

Trump to Jeff Sessions: End the Mueller investigation "right now"

President Trump called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to put a stop to the Mueller investigation in a tweet Wednesday morning.

'This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!"

Between the lines, from Axios' Jonathan Swan: This isn't a directive to Sessions, based on my last conversation with Rudy Giuliani. If Trump wanted to end the Mueller investigation, he could. He knows Congress would rise up against him.

More likely, this is just part of the broader effort to beat up on Mueller, trying to smear him and erode his credibility and use Trump’s superpowers over his base to move them against the probe.

Why it matters: Trump has repeatedly pressured Sessions to end the investigation on at least four occasions, Swan reported in May. The NYTimes reported last week that Mueller is scrutinizing the president's tweets as part of a wide-ranging obstruction of justice inquiry.

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 5 p.m. ET: 1,187,798 — Total deaths: 64,084 — Total recoveries: 245,949 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 5 p.m. ET: 301,902 — Total deaths: 8,175 — Total recoveries: 14,505 — Map.
Public health latest: CDC launches national trackers and recommends face coverings in public. Federal government will cover costs of COVID-19 treatment for uninsured. The virus is hitting poor, minority communities harder and upending childbirth.
2020 latest: "We have no contingency plan," Trump said on the 2020 Republican National Convention. "We're having the convention at the end of August."
Business updates: Restaurants step up for health care workers. Employees are pressuring companies to provide protections during coronavirus. America's small business bailout off to bad start.
Oil latest: Monday meeting among oil-producing countries to discuss supply curbs is reportedly being delayed amid tensions between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Education update: Many college-age students won't get coronavirus relief checks.
1 🏀 thing: The WNBA postpones start of training camps and season.
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.

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Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Marisa Fernandez

U.S. coronavirus updates: Death toll surpasses 8,000

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

Recorded deaths from the coronavirus surpassed 8,000 in the U.S. on Saturday afternoon, per Johns Hopkins data. The death toll in the U.S. has risen over 1,000 every day for the past four days, since April 1.

The big picture: As expected, COVID-19 death tolls are rising in the U.S. The CDC is recommending Americans wear face coverings in public to help stop the spread, marking a significant change in messaging from the Trump administration.

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Axios

World coronavirus updates: Spain tracks more cases than Italy

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens and confirmed plus presumptive cases from the CDC

Spain overtook Italy in its number of coronavirus cases on Saturday. The global death toll has surpassed 62,000, per Johns Hopkins data.

The latest: About half the planet's population is on lockdown amid the coronavirus crisis. Fatalities are exponentially increasing across Europe, with roughly half of deaths worldwide located in Italy and Spain.

Go deeperUpdated 3 hours ago - Health