Mar 14, 2018

Trump promises to unveil "phase two" of his tax plan

President Trump answering questions about Rex Tillerson before going to view border wall prototypes. Photo: by Mark Wilson/Getty Images

President Trump spoke at a roundtable discussion on tax reform and tax cuts on Wednesday evening at Boeing in Missouri alongside Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. During the event, Trump reinforced his intention to eventually begin a "phase two" of his new tax plan.

"We're actually going for a phase two, which, additionally to the middle class, will help companies. It's going to be something, I think, very special."

Trump touted his tax reform plan as something "bigger than anything ever passed in the history of our country" and also went at Democrats for not having a single vote in favor of the tax reform plan. "Now they're regretting it," he said.

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Inside hackers' pivot to medical espionage

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

A wave of cyber-spying around COVID-19 medical research is once more demonstrating the perils of treating cybersecurity as a separate, walled-off realm.

Driving the news: U.S. officials recently announced an uptick in Chinese-government affiliated hackers targeting medical research and other facilities in the United States for data on a potential COVID-19 cure or effective treatments to combat the virus. Additionally, “more than a dozen countries have redeployed military and intelligence hackers to glean whatever they can about other nations’ virus responses,” reports the New York Times.

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The downsides of remote work

Data: Reproduced from Prudential/Morning Consult "Pulse of the American Worker Survey"; Chart: Axios Visuals

The coronavirus pandemic has forced a large-scale experiment in working from home. It has gone well enough that many companies are expanding their remote work expectations for the foreseeable future, and remote employees want to continue to work that way.

Yes, but: The downsides of remote work — less casual interaction with colleagues, an over-reliance on Zoom, lack of in-person collaboration and longer hours — could over time diminish the short-term gains.

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Hong Kong's economic future hangs in the balance

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

As Beijing forces a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong, the once semi-autonomous city's status as one of Asia's largest financial hubs is at risk.

Why it matters: Political freedoms and strong rule of law helped make Hong Kong a thriving center for international banking and finance. But China's leaders may be betting that top firms in Hong Kong will trade some political freedoms for the economic prosperity Beijing can offer.

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