Updated Nov 21, 2018 - Economy & Business

Pfizer, AT&T join Walmart in pulling support from Cindy Hyde-Smith over hanging comments

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. Photo: Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

Pfizer has joined Walmart in announcing they will withdraw campaign donations to Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is currently running in Mississippi's special Senate race, over her remarks about attending a public hanging, ABC News reports. Companies including AT&T, Leidos and Boston Scientific, have requested their donations be refunded.

The backdrop: At a campaign event this month, Hyde-Smith told a supporter that if he invited her to a public hanging, she would be "on the front row." Following public backlash, Hyde-Smith in a statement that it was "an exaggerated expression of regard, and any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation is ridiculous," Roll Call reports.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include the latest company withdrawals.

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Fadel Allassan

1 min ago - Politics & Policy

Hundreds gather to pay tribute to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg along Supreme Court steps

Photo: Alex Brandon/AP

At the Supreme Court steps Friday night hundreds of people gathered to pay tribute to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — singing in a candlelight vigil, with some in tears.

Details: If there is a singular mood at the Supreme Court tonight, it’s some kind of a daze manifested by silence.

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Margaret Talev, Mike Allen

10 mins ago - Politics & Policy

A court fight for the ages

The flag flies at half-staff as people mourn on the Supreme Court steps last night. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Ruth Bader Ginsburg — feminist icon, legal giant, toast of pop culture — left this statement with granddaughter Clara Spera as cancer closed in: "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."

The big picture: For all that the nation owes "Notorious RBG" — the hip-hop-inspired nickname she enjoyed and embraced — Republicans are planning to do their best to be sure her robe is quickly filled, despite that last wish, with her ideological polar opposite.

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Axios

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8:15 a.m. ET: 30,539,903 — Total deaths: 952,629— Total recoveries: 20,800,482 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 8:15 a.m. ET: 6,726,353 — Total deaths: 198,603 — Total recoveries: 2,556,465 — Total tests: 92,163,649 — Map.
Politics: In reversal, CDC again recommends coronavirus testing for asymptomatic people.
Health: The dwindling chances of eliminating COVID-19 — Massive USPS face mask operation called off — The risks of moving too fast on a vaccine.
Business: Unemployment drop-off reverses course — 1 million mortgage-holders fall through safety net — How the pandemic has deepened Boeing's 737 MAX crunch.
Education: At least 42% of school employees are vulnerable.