Mar 8, 2019 - Science

Report: U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson to resign

Photo: Douglas Graham/Roll Call/Getty Images

U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson will resign as she eyes a return to academia, according to a Reuters report. A Pentagon spokesperson told the WSJ: "I think this is true."

Between the lines: Although Wilson said in 2017 she was opposed to the creation of a "Space Corps," which was a service proposed to oversee military operations in space, she currently is leading the creation of Space Force. She was not asked to resign by anyone in the Trump administration, per Reuters, and plans to step down at the end of May. The University of Texas Board of Regents is reportedly in the process of considering whether she will be the next president of University of Texas at El Paso.

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Axios

10 mins ago - Health

Coronavirus testing czar: Lockdowns in hotspots "should be on the table"

The Trump administration's coronavirus testing coordinator Adm. Brett Giroir said on ABC's "This Week" that "everything" — including the "stringent lockdowns" that many governors implemented in March and April — should be "on the table" in states where new infections are skyrocketing.

Why it matters: President Trump said in June that the U.S. "won't be closing down the country again" — a view shared by many Republicans who believe that the economic damage caused by stay-at-home orders was too great to justify a second round of lockdowns.

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Axios

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8:30 a.m. ET: 12,740,971 — Total deaths: 565,716 — Total recoveries — 7,022,846 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 8:30 a.m. ET: 3,247,782 — Total deaths: 134,815 — Total recoveries: 995,576 — Total tested: 39,553,395 — Map.
Politics: Trump wears face mask in public for first time.
Public health: Fauci hasn't briefed Trump on the coronavirus pandemic in at least two months — We're losing the war on the coronavirus.
States: Louisiana governor issues face mask mandate.
World: India reimposes lockdowns as coronavirus cases soar.

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Zachary Basu

2 hours ago - World

Hundreds of thousands vote in Hong Kong's opposition primaries

Photo: Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images

Organizers say more than 500,000 Hong Kong residents have voted in primary elections held by pro-democracy opposition groups on Saturday and Sunday, despite fears of a government crackdown under Beijing's draconian new national security law, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: The primaries, which aren't part of the city's official political process, are intended to whittle down the field of pro-democracy candidates in order to avoid splitting the vote against pro-China ruling politicians in September's legislative elections.