Jun 4, 2018 - Economy & Business

Gary Cohn kept jobs numbers from Trump

Gary Cohn speaking during a press briefing. Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

During his White House tenure, former National Economic Council director Gary Cohn chose to withhold jobs reports from President Trump until just before their release due to fears that Trump would signal their contents beforehand, per Politico's Ben White.

Why it matters: Cohn's concerns were validated last week when Trump tweeted prematurely about a positive jobs report, though White notes that Cohn's successor Larry Kudlow followed the usual protocol in notifying Trump. Trump's tweet disrupted markets and potentially violated a 1985 law preventing federal officials from speaking about a federal report until its release.

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Rebecca Falconer

Updated 47 mins ago - World

China says U.S. is "endangering peace" with high-level visit to Taiwan

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar during a June briefing in Washington, DC. Photo: Joshua Roberts/Getty Images

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced Tuesday night he will lead a delegation to Taiwan "in the coming days."

Why it matters: It's the highest-level visit by a U.S. cabinet official to Taiwan since 1979. Azar is also the first U.S. Cabinet member to visit the island state in six years. The visit has angered China, which views Taiwan as part of its territory. Chinese officials accused the U.S. Wednesday of "endangering peace" with the visit, AFP reports.

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Axios

Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3:30 a.m. ET: 18,543,662 — Total deaths: 700,714 — Total recoveries — 11,143,031— Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3:30 a.m. ET: 4,771,236 — Total deaths: 156,807 — Total recoveries: 1,528,979 — Total tests: 57,543,852 — Map.
States: New York City health commissioner resigns in protest of De Blasio's coronavirus response — Local governments go to war over schools.
Public health: 59% of Americans support nationwide 2-week stay-at-home order in NPR poll.
Politics: Trump's national security adviser returns to work after coronavirus recovery — Republicans push to expand small business loan program.
Sports: Indy 500 to be held without fans — Rafael Nadal opts out of U.S. Open.

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Dave Lawler

Updated 3 hours ago - World

At least 100 killed, 4,000 injured after massive explosion rocks Beirut

Photo: Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images

A major explosion has slammed central Beirut, Lebanon, damaging buildings as far as several miles away and injuring scores of people.

Driving the news: At least 100 people have been killed and over 4,000 injured in the blast — and the death toll is likely to rise, the Lebanese Red Cross said, per AP. Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the explosions occurred at a warehouse that had been storing 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate for the past six years.