Axios AM: Mike's Top 10 — Scoop: Biden's closing blitz — "Housewives for Trump" — Spotify's Joe Rogan dilemma

1 big thing: Cases at all-time high ahead of Election Day | Thursday, October 29, 2020

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Facebook   Axios AM By Mike Allen ·Oct 29, 2020 ☕ Happy Thursday! Today's Smart Brevity™ count: 1,169 words ... 4½ minutes. 📊 What we're watching: Record third-quarter GDP numbers are expected later this morning. Shortly after, you'll get a Thought Bubble special from Axios experts.     1 big thing: Cases at all-time high ahead of Election Day Data: The COVID Tracking Project, state health departments; Map: Andrew Witherspoon, Sara Wise/Axios In the final week before Election Day, new coronavirus infections have soared to an all-time high — virtually guaranteeing that the pandemic will be the most prominent issue in America as voters choose the next president, Axios health care editor Sam Baker and visual journalist Andrew Witherspoon report. The big picture: Cases are surging and local hospitals are straining at the very moment that voters are choosing between President Trump, who continues to insist that the pandemic is almost over, and Joe Biden, who has made the crisis a centerpiece of his campaign. "We're turning the corner," Trump said Tuesday night in West Salem, Wis. "We're rounding — like this racetrack. Look at this, it's perfect. We're rounding the curve. We will vanquish the virus." Joe Biden said yesterday in Wilmington: "Even if I win, it's going to take a lot of hard work to end this pandemic. I'm not running on the false promise of being able to end this pandemic by flipping a switch. ... We will start on Day 1 doing the right things. We'll let science drive our decisions." The virus gained strength over the past week in 41 states, including nearly every important battleground states: Wisconsin reported new single-day records for cases, hospitalizations and deaths — all in the same day. New infections were up 16% in Arizona, 21% in Florida, 22% in Ohio, 23% in Wisconsin, 25% in Michigan and 33% in Pennsylvania. The bottom line: This will almost certainly get worse before it gets better. The virus is expected to spread more easily as colder weather causes people to move their socializing indoors. Share this map.     2. Scoop: Biden's closing blitz Via YouTube   In the campaign's final few days, Joe Biden is spending tens of millions of dollars on online ads featuring swing-state workers, with a special emphasis on Pennsylvania, Axios' Alexi McCammond reports. Why it matters: Biden is betting that COVID is on the ballot, amplifying stories about the realities and hardships of those affected by the pandemic. The Pennsylvania ads feature frontline workers, small-business owners, teachers, farmers, veterans, seniors, union workers and football players. Through Friday, Biden will have three ads in rotation on the YouTube homepage masthead as a national component of the closing ad campaign. Snapshots: A college football player in Arizona talks in one ad about the struggles of missing out on practice during the pandemic. In Florida, seniors who are concerned about catching the virus and keeping their business afloat talk about how life has changed for them. A veteran from Iowa talks about his experience working directly with Biden in the past. Share this story.     3. Pandemic throws wrench into Americans' acceptance of science Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   Recent focus groups in battleground states suggest some voters are more skeptical of scientists amid the pandemic, Axios' Amy Harder writes. Why it matters: The response to COVID provides a hyper-fast glimpse into how the world might address climate change over a longer period. Climate change, because it's slower moving, is going to be even harder. Over the past six months, swing voters in five battleground states expressed increasing skepticism about science as the pandemic took over America. These focus groups were part of a broader project by the nonpartisan research firms Engagious and Focus Pointe Global. The voters were asked whether scientific experts are a net-plus or net-minus when it comes to guiding public policy during the pandemic. In earlier months (April to July), more voters said scientists were a net-positive. In more recent months (August to October), the voters were more evenly divided. Share this story.     A message from Facebook A vote counted is a voice heard     Check your registration status, explore voting options in your state and get access to the latest, official information from election authorities in our Voting Information Center on Facebook and Instagram. Explore the Voting Information Center now     4. Pics du jour: Philly rage Photo: Michael Perez/AP Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney imposed a 9 p.m. citywide curfew, and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw pledged to release 911 calls and body-worn camera footage of the police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr., The Inquirer reports. Above: Protesters tossed what authorities believe was blood. Go deeper. Below: Cleaning up at a looted Walmart. Photo: Michael Perez/AP     5. Biden's China plan Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images   Joe Biden is planning to confront China across the globe, embracing some of President Trump's goals but rejecting his means, Axios' Hans Nichols reports. Why it matters: Trump sees China mainly through a trade and coronavirus lens. Biden views the relationship as a contest that will determine the international order for generations. "There's a technology competition, a military competition, an economic competition, an ideological competition and a diplomatic competition," said Ely Rattner, a Biden China adviser. What we're watching: Biden has called President Xi Jinping a "thug" and his campaign has accused China of "genocide" of Uighurs in Xinjiang, a term that the Trump administration has not deployed. Keep reading.     6. Tales from the trail The N.Y. Times' Nate Cohn: "There were a lot of polls Wednesday ... Was there a single state poll that qualified as good news for the president? Maybe the Ipsos poll showing him down only a point in Arizona? Otherwise, I don't think so." Photo: Evan Vucci/AP Spotted yesterday at a Trump rally at Phoenix Goodyear Airport in Goodyear (Maricopa County), Ariz. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images Joe Biden attends a coronavirus briefing yesterday at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Del. 👀 The Economist's endorsement: "Why it has to be Joe Biden" Courtesy The Economist     7. AOC: "I want to be a mirror" Photograph: Tyler Mitchell for Vanity Fair   Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told Vanity Fair's Michelle Ruiz how time as a bartender and waitress helped her to realize that the U.S. isn't "good enough right now" — and why "we have to be better": "The main reason why I feel comfortable saying that the ACA has failed is because it failed me and it failed everyone that I worked with in a restaurant," she says. She would take wads of cash tips to doctor appointments. "You try buying insurance off of Obamacare," she tells me, a line meant for her out-of-touch colleagues. ... As a bartender, she did buy a plan, paying $200 per month, she says, for the "privilege" of an $8,000 deductible. ... The first time she saw a doctor or dentist in years was when she became a congresswoman. Keep reading.     8. Spotify has a Joe Rogan dilemma Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   Spotify is getting slammed for allowing Joe Rogan, one of the world's most popular podcasters, to host far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Axios' Sara Fischer writes. Why it matters: The company, which still distributes mostly music, will encounter more of these jams as it expands its podcast business. Internal emails leaked to BuzzFeed News show that Spotify's general counsel has defended the company's decision to allow Rogan to host Jones. "We are not going to ban specific individuals from being guests on other people's shows, as the episode/show complies with our content policies," a memo said. "Spotify has always been a place for creative expressions." When Jones disputed the effectiveness of vaccines, Rogan pushed back and asked his producers to pull up the articles he referenced for more context. Share this story.     9. 🗳️ Post-election art: Calling winners CBS News election set, on Broadway in Times Square for the first time. Photo: CBS News Esquire's Kate Storey goes inside election night at The Associated Press, which has called America's elections since 1848: Stephen Ohlemacher, the agency's election-decision editor: "In the simplest terms, we declare a winner once we come to the conclusion that the trailing candidate will not catch the leader." Ohlemacher will bring a sleeping bag and a change of clothes to the D.C. bureau. He said that this Sunday, he'll rest: That is the day when we set time away. I tell my team: "I don't want you to look at it. I don't want you to think about it. I want you to take that Sunday and just chill and do whatever it is that makes you happy in this world, and just relax." We'll come back on Monday and worry about it then. Keep reading.     10. ⚾ 1 smile to go Via Twitter of L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti   L.A. City Hall is lit in Dodger blue to salute the World Series champs.     A message from Facebook Explore Facebook's Voting Information Center     More than 39 million people have visited our Voting Information Center, which makes it easy to check your registration status, explore voting options in your state and prepare to vote safely. Explore the Voting Information Center now   📬 Thanks for starting your day with us. Invite your friends to sign up for Axios AM/PM.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox. And make sure you subscribe to Mike's afternoon wrap up, Axios PM.   Follow Axios on social media: