May 31, 2018

Trump vs. Trump on why he fired Comey

President Trump is challenging yesterday's New York Times story about fired former FBI acting director Andrew McCabe's memo, which recounted Trump's decision to fire James Comey as FBI director. In the document, McCabe alleged Trump had asked Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to link Comey's firing to the ongoing Russia investigation.

Flashback... Trump to NBC's Lester Holt in May of 2017 about his decision to fire Comey: "In fact, when I decided to just do it I said to myself, 'you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story. It's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won.'"

Go deeper: The Trump v. Comey war of words has hit a stalemate.

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Jennifer A. Kingson

6 mins ago - Economy & Business

The pandemic real estate market

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

It's not just emotional buying, real estate agents say: There are smart and strategic reasons that Americans of all ages, races and incomes are moving away from urban centers.

Why it matters: Bidding wars, frantic plays for a big suburban house with a pool, buying a property sight unseen — they're all part of Americans' calculus that our lives and lifestyles have been permanently changed by coronavirus and that we'll need more space (indoors and out) for the long term.

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Sam Baker

36 mins ago - Health

Coronavirus cases are falling, but don't get too comfortable

Data: The COVID Tracking Project, state health departments; Map: Andrew Witherspoon, Danielle Alberti, Sara Wise/Axios

America's coronavirus outbreak is slowing down after a summer of explosive growth.

By the numbers: The U.S. is averaging roughly 52,000 new cases per day — still a lot of cases, but about 10.5% fewer than it was averaging last week.

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Caitlin Owens

37 mins ago - Health

We're doing a lot less coronavirus testing

Data: The COVID Tracking Project; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

The U.S. is cutting back on coronavirus testing. Nationally, the number of tests performed each day is about 17% lower than it was at the end of July, and testing is also declining in hard-hit states.

Why it matters: This big reduction in testing has helped clear away delays that undermined the response to the pandemic. But doing fewer tests can also undermine the response to the pandemic.