I am the FIRST!!!
regular 4 post ff
infinite scroll 4 pff
Podcast: The art and business of political polling
The election is just eight days away, and it’s not just the candidates whose futures are on the line. Political pollsters, four years after wrongly predicting a Hillary Clinton presidency, are viewing it as their own judgment day.
Axios Re:Cap digs into the polls, and what pollsters have changed since 2016, with former FiveThirtyEight writer and current CNN politics analyst Harry Enten.
"Vaccine tourism" stretches states' supplies
Americans who are highly motivated to get vaccinated are traveling across state lines after hearing about larger vaccine supplies or loopholes in sign-up systems.
Why it matters: "Vaccine tourism" raises ethical and legal questions, and could worsen the racial socioeconomic and racial inequalities of the pandemic.
- "People are getting anxious and frustrated with the system, and the system is how it is because there’s just not enough vaccine for everybody who wants it," Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, said.
The big picture: Reports of wealthy couples taking private jets to Florida to get vaccinated have made national news, but Wendy Parmet, law and public policy and urban affairs professor at Northeastern University, said the problem is much deeper than a few ultra rich skipping the line.
- "If there’s not a lot of transparency and trust in the system, in its fairness and equity, then there are always going to be some people to game the system," creating a 'vicious cycle of inequity," she said.
What's happening: States like Tennessee that allocate doses by county population, rather than risk groups, forced essential workers to travel to rural counties with excess supply.
- Immunocompromised Louisiana residents traveled to Mississippi, where the state was prioritizing their illness.
- States are legally allowed to prioritize residents over visitors, asking for proof of address or a form of ID. The influx of "winter visitors" in Arizona caused Gov. Doug Ducey to request more shots earlier this year.
By the numbers: In the few states that are tracking out-of-state vaccinations, tens of thousands have been given shots.
- More than 30,000 people have traveled to Ohio to be vaccinated.
- In Florida, it's more than 82,000, not including part-time residents.
Yes, but: It's important for states to get shots to the people who may be less motivated to seek them out on their own, and when that require a broad brush, easing up on residency requirements may be worth it.
- "If you’re doing a mobile site in a hard-hit community, I wouldn’t worry about verifying residency at all. I think it’s at the larger scale sites maybe that makes sense while also giving an opportunity to access it somewhere else," said Govind Persad, a law professor at the University of Denver who specializes in health care ethics.
What to watch: More supply in the next month could also clear up some of these issues, Plescia said.
- "If you told somebody, 'We can get you a vaccine, it’s just going to be a week or two from now,' most people are probably going to wait for that. But I think some people are getting frustrated and anxious that it might be longer," he said.
Biden to unveil executive actions on gun violence prevention
President Biden is expected to present a series of executive actions on guns Thursday, including directing his Justice Department to tighten regulations on purchases of so-called “ghost guns."
Why it matters: The president has faced increased pressure from Democrats and gun violence prevention groups to act on the issue following a series of recent high-profile gun tragedies across the U.S.
Details: Biden is using the bully pulpit to issue a number of actions at the executive level while urging Congress to do its part to enact more permanent legislation, which could prove difficult given the split Senate.
- In what a senior administration official called an “initial” set of actions, the Department of Justice will introduce rules meant to minimize the proliferation of “ghost guns,” which are untraceable firearms assembled from kits.
- The DOJ will issue a proposed rule within 60 days that would subject any pistol outfitted with a stabilizing brace to the requirement of the National Firearms Act. Such a brace, used by the shooter in March at a grocery store in Boulder, Colo., could make a pistol essentially function as a rifle.
- The DOJ will publish “red flag” legislations for states to model on the local level and will also file a report on firearms trafficking for the first time since 2000.
- Biden will also announce on Thursday that the administration is investing in evidence-based community violence intervention. The president has proposed a $5 billion investment in such intervention as part of his initial infrastructure proposal.
- Biden will also nominate a gun control advocate to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
What they’re saying: Gun violence prevention advocacy groups are praising the executive actions while indicating there is still room for more action, such as providing more directives to agencies besides the DOJ, like HHS, that also work on the issue.
- Groups are also calling for a broad, unified national strategy from the White House as well as the appointment of a director specifically focused on gun violence issues.
- “We've been asking for a long time for them to prioritize this issue, and it's clear that they're going to start doing that,” Max Markham, policy director for March for Our Lives, told Axios.
Podcast: The Super League's rise and fall
Just after midnight this past Sunday, 12 of the richest and best-known European soccer clubs announced an agreement to form what they called the Super League. By Wednesday morning, outcry from fans, politicians and other soccer organizations stopped the Super League in its tracks.
Axios Re:Cap is joined by Financial Times sports editor Murad Ahmed to discuss the Super League’s very short roller coaster ride, why it struck such a nerve, and how the financial motivations behind the Super League could reshape soccer even if the Super League is never revived.



