Feb 28, 2019

The U.S. economy grew 2.9% in 2018

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Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis; Chart: Chris Canipe/Axios

U.S. gross domestic product grew at a 2.6% annual rate in the final quarter of last year, bringing 2018’s annual growth to 2.9%, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.

Why it matters: That's just shy of the 3% growth the Trump administration has touted. The shutdown-delayed GDP report marks a deceleration from the 3.4% growth rate seen in the third quarter. The BEA estimates that the shutdown — which was mostly in January, rather than in the fourth quarter — "subtracted about 0.1 percentage point from real GDP growth in the fourth quarter."

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Axios

Updated 36 mins ago - Health

World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it's too early to say whether next month's elections will be postponed after she announced Tuesday four people had tested positive for COVID-19 after no local cases for 102 days.

Zoom in: NZ's most populous city, Auckland, has gone on lockdown for 72 hours and the rest of the country is under lesser restrictions.

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Axios

Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8 p.m. ET: 20,188,678 — Total deaths: 738,668 — Total recoveries: 12,452,126 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 8 p.m. ET: 5,138,850 — Total deaths: 164,480 — Total recoveries: 1,714,960 — Total tests: 63,252,257 — Map.
States: Georgia reports 137 coronavirus deaths, setting new daily record — Florida reports another daily record for deaths.
Health care: Trump administration buys 100 million doses of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine.
Business: Moderna reveals it may not hold patent rights for vaccine.
Sports: Big Ten scraps fall football season.

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Rashaan Ayesh

3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Voters cast ballots in Minnesota, Georgia, Connecticut, Wisconsin and Vermont

Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Primary elections are being held on Tuesday in Minnesota, Georgia, Connecticut, Vermont and Wisconsin.

The big picture: Georgia and Wisconsin both struggled to hold primaries during the coronavirus pandemic, but are doing so again — testing their voting systems ahead of the general election. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is facing a strong challenger as she fights for her political career. In Georgia, a Republican primary runoff pits a QAnon supporter against a hardline conservative.