Feb 22, 2019

White House exploring Acosta's responsibility in Jeffrey Epstein case

President Trump and Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/Getty Images

President Trump's spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Friday that the White House is "looking into" Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta's participation in Jeffrey Epstein's case and the alleged sweetheart plea deal following accusations of underage sexual abuse, the Associated Press reports.

Details: Acosta continues to defend the deal, calling it "appropriate," according to the AP. Sanders described the proceedings as "complicated," adding "they made the best possible decision and deal they could have gotten at the time," and that, to her knowledge, Trump's faith in Acosta has gone unchanged.

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Axios
Updated 26 mins ago - Health

World coronavirus updates

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

The number of deaths from the novel coronavirus surpassed 400,000 worldwide on Sunday morning, per Johns Hopkins.

By the numbers: Almost 6.9 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 globally and more than 3 million have recovered from the virus. The U.S. has reported the most cases in the world with over 1.9 million.

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Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Rashaan Ayesh
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

George Floyd updates

Protesters gather north of Lafayette Square near the White House during a demonstration against racism and police brutality, in Washington, D.C. on Saturday evening. Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AFP via Getty Images

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have been rallying in cities across the U.S. and around the world to protest the killing of George Floyd. Huge crowds assembled in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Chicago for full-day events on Saturday.

Why it matters: Twelve days of nationwide protest in the U.S. has built pressure for states to make changes on what kind of force law enforcement can use on civilians and prompted officials to review police conduct. A memorial service was held for Floyd in Raeford, North Carolina, near where he was born. Gov. Roy Cooper ordered all flags to fly at half-staff to honor him until sunset.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 6,898,613 — Total deaths: 399,832 — Total recoveries — 3,087,714 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 1,920,061 — Total deaths: 109,802 — Total recoveries: 500,849 — Total tested: 19,778,873 — Map.
  3. Public health: Why the pandemic is hitting minorities harder — Coronavirus curve rises in Florida — How racism threatens the response to the pandemic — Some people are drinking and inhaling cleaning products in attempt to fight the virus.
  4. Tech: The pandemic is accelerating next-generation disease diagnostics — Robotics looks to copy software-as-a-service model.
  5. Business: Budgets busted by coronavirus make it harder for cities to address inequality — Sports, film production in California to resume June 12 after 3-month hiatus.
  6. Education: Students and teachers flunked remote learning.
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