Feb 26, 2018 - World

Strongmen rise

Chinese President Xi Jinping greets Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Summit in Da Nang, Vietnam. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Chinese President Xi Jinping solidified his grasp on power yesterday, with the country's Communist Party abandoning term limits to allow Xi to serve long past his 2023 expiration date.

The global picture: This is "the latest and arguably most significant sign of the world’s decisive tilt toward authoritarian governance, often built on the highly personalized exercise of power," Steven Lee Myers reports for the N.Y. Times.

"The list includes Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey..."
"Authoritarianism is also reappearing in places like Hungary and Poland that barely a quarter century ago shook loose the shackles of Soviet oppression."
Timeline: How Xi president positioned himself to rule for life

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Updated 16 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 1 p.m. ET: 11,137,846 — Total deaths: 526,156 — Total recoveries — 6,003,824 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 1 p.m. ET: 2,809,108 — Total deaths: 129,509 — Total recoveries: 883,561 — Total tested: 34,213,497 — Map.
States: America's exceptionally uneventful Fourth of July — ICU beds in Arizona's hot spot reach near capacity.
Public health: U.S. coronavirus infections hit record highs for 3 straight days.
Politics: Trump extends PPP application deadline — Kimberly Guilfoyle tests positive.
World: Mexican leaders call for tighter border control as infections rise in U.S.
Sports: 31 MLB players test positive as workouts resume.
1 📽 thing: Drive-in movie theaters are making a comeback.

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52 mins ago - Health

U.S. coronavirus infections hit record highs for 3 straight days

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

The U.S. has reached new highs in single-day coronavirus infections for three consecutive days this week, per data from Johns Hopkins and the COVID Tracking Project.

The big picture: The number of coronavirus cases increased in the vast majority of states over the last week, and decreased in only two states plus the District of Columbia, Axios' Andrew Witherspoon and Caitlin Owens report.

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Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Colorado police chief fires officers who reenacted Elijah McClain's death

LaWayne Mosley, father of Elijah McClain, wears a t-shirt with is son's picture on it during a press conference in Oct. 2019. Photo: Andy Cross/MediaNewsGroup/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Interim Aurora, Colo., police chief Vanessa Wilson fired two officers for reenacting the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain and a third officer for commenting on the photo that captured the "despicable act," The Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: McClain died in the summer of 2019 after police officers held him in a chokehold and paramedics used a sedative, ketamine. People have been protesting McClain's death recently after the police killing of George Floyd revitalized the movement against police brutality.

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