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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Axios

Updated 14 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8 a.m. ET: 6,294,222 — Total deaths: 376,077 — Total recoveries — 2,711,241 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 8 a.m. ET: 1,811,277 — Total deaths: 105,147 — Total recoveries: 458,231 — Total tested: 17,340,682 — Map.
Public health: Nearly 26,000 coronavirus deaths in nursing homes have been reported to federal health officials —Coronavirus looms over George Floyd protests across the country.
Federal government: Trump lashes out at governors, calls for National Guard to "dominate" streets.
World: Former FDA commissioner says "this is not the time" to cut ties with WHO.
🎧 Podcast: The virus didn't go away.

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Dion Rabouin

18 mins ago - Economy & Business

More than 1 in 6 black workers lost jobs between February and April

Adapted from EPI analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

As is often the case, the staggering job losses in the coronavirus-driven recession have been worse for black workers.

By the numbers: According to a report from the Economic Policy Institute, titled "Racism and economic inequality have predisposed black workers to be most hurt by coronavirus pandemic," more than 1 in 6 black workers lost their jobs between February and April.

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Dion Rabouin

27 mins ago - Economy & Business

Coronavirus could lower GDP by $15.7 trillion

Reproduced from Congressional Budget Office; Chart: Axios Visuals

The CBO released projections on Monday for U.S. nominal GDP to be lower by $15.7 trillion over the next decade than its estimate in January as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

What they're saying: It predicts that when adjusted for inflation GDP will be $7.9 trillion lower over the next decade and down by $790 billion in the second quarter of this year — a 37.7% quarterly contraction.

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