POLITICO NIGHTLY: 1 million deaths was a choice

 

View in browser   BY MYAH WARD Presented by Signage is posted at a Curative Covid-19 test facility at the Larkspur Ferry terminal in Larkspur, Calif. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images ’IT WASN’T BY ACCIDENT’ — The U.S. will soon pass a once-unfathomable milestone: 1 million Americans dead from Covid. This staggering figure also comes as the White House warns 100 million Americans could be infected this fall. The whopping numbers have done little to encourage preparation for the next wave. The path for Covid funding remains murky, as President Joe Biden told lawmakers to pass Ukraine aid separately, and Democrats try to make deals across the aisle to salvage the stalled pandemic package. Without the money, Americans might find it difficult to track down virus essentials like vaccines, tests and treatments as the U.S. faces its next surge. To talk through this moment, Nightly checked in with Peter Hotez , dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, who is battling a case of Covid himself, to discuss how we got here, what it means and where the pandemic goes next. This conversation has been edited. 1 million deaths. Did you ever think we’d get here?  For me, the big reckoning was the fact that we’ve not really come to a real national dialogue about what happened after May 1, 2021. That was the day the White House announced that there are so many Covid vaccines that any American who wants to get vaccinated can get vaccinated. Yet we lost another 200,000-300,000 Americans after that date. Those who were defiant to vaccines were overwhelmingly in red states, and the redder the county as measured by Trump voters in the 2020 election, the higher the vaccine refusal and the greater the loss of life. It wasn’t by accident. It was a deliberate effort by members of the House Freedom Caucus, in the House, some U.S. senators, amplified nightly on Fox News. I don’t even call it misinformation or disinformation anymore. I call it anti-science aggression, to convince millions of Americans not to take a Covid vaccine. And at least 200,000 Americans between May 1 and the end of 2021 died needlessly from Covid because of it. And everyone’s afraid to talk about it because it’s very unpleasant to have to point out that these deaths occurred along such a strict partisan divide. Even the White House won’t talk about it in that way. So, with an exhausted public, how would you re-engage Americans at this point? Is it by having these “unpleasant” conversations?  You can understand the first wave of deaths in New York in the spring of 2020. You can even start to understand the second wave of deaths in the summer of 2020, in Texas, in the southern U.S. when we’re just trying to understand it. But then as you move forward, you have to start to come to terms with the fact that a majority of the deaths were probably preventable. And certainly just about all of the deaths after May 1 were preventable. And I think that needs to be front and center. That these are not accidental deaths. The people who lost their lives and died after May 1 were themselves victims of anti-science aggression. If you look at the big-picture threats to the U.S. that we spend billions of dollars every year to combat, like global terrorism, nuclear proliferation, or cyberattacks. Anti-science aggression kills more Americans than all those things combined by far. And yet we don’t recognize it as such. That’s critically important to point that out. Alongside Americans being “done” with the pandemic, there’s also the concern about Covid funding running out if Congress doesn’t act. How important is this money in your view?  We have to recognize that the mRNA boosters are not holding up as well as we’d like. We’re going to have to probably go — unless we come up with a better technology, which I think we should, but that’s a different matter — we’re gonna need to ask the American people to get boosted yet again. And we’re gonna have to provide those vaccines. And we’re going to need an ongoing amount of Paxlovid, for instance. I mean, why am I talking to you right now? I’m talking to you right now because I’m the beneficiary of Paxlovid, which I’m on right now, and I’m the beneficiary of having my second booster. And even though it’s not ideal to ask Americans to continue to boost, it’s still going to be essential. The White House is warning we could see 100 million infections this fall. How do you see this fall and winter unfolding?  I know that’s what the White House is doing, but I don’t quite understand the logic of jumping to fall and winter. We still have two big peaks that are hitting us before fall and winter. We have this current BA.2.12.1, which is now about to become the dominant variant. It’s so transmissible, all you need to do is give a dirty look to that subvariant and you become infected. It’s up there with measles. So that’s issue No. 1. And issue No. 2 is we’ve had a terrible wave of Covid-19 both for the last two summers in Texas in the southern United States. I’m expecting that again. Even before the fall, we’re going to have another wave over the summer from variant TBD, to be determined. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at mward@politico.com, or on Twitter at @MyahWard.   A message from Save American Solar Jobs: The Biden administration’s Commerce Department is threatening to implement massive tariffs of up to 250% on solar panel components imported by American solar manufacturers for assembly in the U.S. This tariff threat is devastating the American solar industry, costing U.S. jobs, hurting domestic manufacturing, raising inflation and undermining efforts to address climate change. President Biden: Tell Your Commerce Department to Stop Undermining U.S. Solar Manufacturing.   WHAT'D I MISS? — Ukraine’s foreign minister rues U.S. delay in providing weapons: Dmytro Kuleba made it clear that he believes if the United States and other Western allies had only trusted Kyiv more — and provided the weapons Kyiv requested in the months prior to Russia’s late February invasion — thousands of lives may have been saved. A senior administration official pushed back on Kuleba’s comments, noting that well before the Russian invasion, the United States provided “as much assistance as possible that they could put to immediate use.” — Top intel official warns Putin’s invasion could become ‘more unpredictable and potentially escalatory’: Russia’s offensive in Ukraine could enter a more volatile and bloody chapter as the war grinds on over the coming months , the top U.S. intelligence official told lawmakers, warning that Vladimir Putin intends to expand the offensive beyond the eastern Donbas region. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Russia’s refocus on Donbas after failing to capture the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv was likely “only a temporary shift” and assessed that “Putin’s strategic goals have probably not changed.” More on Russia: Nahal Toosi explores how The White House’s messaging on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has evolved over time, and why “victory” will be challenging for the U.S. to define. — Yellen: Banning abortion would be ‘very damaging’ to U.S. economy: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen argued today that banning abortion would be “very damaging” for the economy by reducing women’s ability to balance their careers and their families. “I believe that eliminating the right of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades,” she said in response to a question at a Senate Banking Committee hearing. — Gasoline prices spike to all time high, again: Gasoline and diesel fuel prices hit an all-time high today, just two months after the last record-breaking prices were recorded . The nationwide average price for a gallon of regular gas was $4.37, a 17-cent jump just in the past week according to AAA, while diesel clocked in at $5.55 per gallon. That surpasses record high prices from early March, a surge that touched off a wave of talk in Congress about possibly waiving the federal gas tax, and which caused several states to create state-level gas tax holidays. — Tom Reed resigns, setting up a second special House election in New York: New York Rep. Tom Reed announced his immediate retirement from Congress today, seven months before his final term was due to conclude. The resignation means that New York will soon have two special elections on the ballot for congressional districts that are currently being redrawn. As recently as March 2021, Reed has been a frontrunner for the GOP nomination in the 2022 gubernatorial race. But after he faced allegations of sexual misconduct, he announced he would soon end his political career.   DON'T MISS DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED:  Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today.     AROUND THE WORLD EUROPE TRIES TO GET HUNGARY TO YES — EU officials are considering offering financial compensation to Hungary in an attempt to persuade Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to sign up to the bloc’s proposed sanctions on Russian oil. According to three EU officials, the money could be channeled to Budapest as part of the bloc’s new energy strategy, which is due to be set out next week, to end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels. Cutting off the European market for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s oil exports is seen as vital to limiting a lucrative source of revenue that helps him finance his war in Ukraine. Securing Hungary’s support for the plan to block all EU imports of crude and refined fuels from Russia is essential to maintaining the political objective of strong and united European opposition to Putin’s actions.   A message from Save American Solar Jobs:     NIGHTLY NUMBER 400 million The number of Covid-19 vaccine doses destroyed as a result of the lack of standards at Emergent’s Bayview facility in Baltimore , according to an investigation by the key pandemic oversight congressional committees. The company allegedly hid batches with potential quality issues from federal regulators in February 2021 following months of internal communication about the substantial problems at the facility.   STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.     PARTING WORDS UFO TALK GOES PUBLIC ON THE HILL — A House committee will hold a public hearing on UFOs next Tuesday for the first time in decades, as Congress presses the Pentagon and other national security agencies for more answers on reports of mysterious aircraft violating protected airspace, Bryan Bender writes. The session before the House Intelligence Committee’s Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee comes five months after the National Defense Authorization Act required the military to establish a permanent UFO research office and take a series of other steps to collect and investigate reports of “unidentified aerial phenomena.” “The American people expect and deserve their leaders in government and intelligence to seriously evaluate and respond to any potential national security risks — especially those we do not fully understand,” the panel chair, Rep. André Carson, said in a statement today. “Since coming to Congress, I’ve been focused on the issue of unidentified aerial phenomena as both a national security threat and an interest of great importance to the American public.” Testifying before the panel will be Ronald Moultrie, the Pentagon’s top intelligence official, and Scott Bray, the deputy director of naval intelligence.   A message from Save American Solar Jobs: The Biden administration’s Commerce Department is threatening to implement massive tariffs of up to 250% on solar panel components imported by American solar manufacturers for assembly in the U.S. This tariff threat is devastating the American solar industry, costing U.S. jobs, hurting domestic manufacturing, raising inflation and undermining efforts to address climate change. There is a better solution already on the table. Congress should pass the clean energy tax credits and incentives that have been stalled since last year. These policies will drive the expansion of domestic solar panel component manufacturing and ensure we have the infrastructure needed to fight climate change and create jobs. President Biden: Tell Your Commerce Department to Stop Undermining U.S. Solar Manufacturing.   Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter Chris Suellentrop @suellentrop Tyler Weyant @tweyant Myah Ward @myahward   FOLLOW US

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Trump explodes after batshit plan exposed

It's Our Democracy!

Today’s Action: Tell Congress to expand and balance the Supreme Court!

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Today's Top Stories:

Trump attacks "weak" Mark Esper after "missiles into Mexico" memoir claim
The disgraced ex-president dubbed his ex-Pentagon chief "Yesper" in an extremely salty press release — which tells you all you need to know about the veracity of the allegations.

Take Action: Tell Collins and Murkowski: Losing Roe is YOUR fault — do something!

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VIDEO OF THE DAY: Jen Psaki just schooled a Fox News reporter with a brilliant smackdown
The reporter tried to carry water for Republicans and their terrible tax plans, but ended up spilling it everywhere.

Take Action: Keep social media from poisoning our kids' brains!

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Supreme Court's bombshell Roe decision set to BACKFIRE
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen: Wow.

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World on track to breach catastrophic 1.5°C threshold in next 5 years
The increasingly frantic alarms from scientists are being largely ignored by the leaders of the world.

Take Action: Sign to support the EPA's emission regulations for heavy duty trucking!

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Markets in free fall as frenzied sell-off continues into a third day
Despite the sunny job reports, the American economy is still deep in the throes of chaos.

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Swastikas fly at Disney as neo-Nazis join deranged right-wing "groomer" protests
In Ron DeSantis' Republican Party, there's room for all manner of maniacal hate.

Take Action: Demand DeSantis condemn the Florida Nazi rallies or resign!

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Russia's "Victory Day" parade rings hollow as Ukraine war progress grinds to a halt
The annual celebration of the USSR's historic victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 was turned into a grotesque mockery overshadowed by the carnage inflicted upon Ukraine — and how little Putin has to show for it.

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Ron Johnson: Wisconsin doesn’t need jobs or child healthcare
OD Action partner: Wisconsin is waking up to the horrors of their Republican senator, but we all need to do our part to flip this Senate seat blue!

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White House drops COVID funding from Ukraine aid bill
The Republican refusal to help the American people in any way shape or form squashed yet another priority of the Biden administration.

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Over half of US in drought as wildfires burn, tornado activity surges
Things are going JUST FINE.

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KKK-themed Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department gang exposed by reporters
An alleged leader of the "IPA" gang, Deputy Konrad Thieme, was arrested last week for two counts of felony assault on an unarmed woman experiencing a mental health crisis and one count of lying about the incident.

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Senate races to pass bill boosting protection of Supreme Court family members
Wow, look how fast the Senate can act when they feel like it!

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Oof

Solar energy projects grind to a halt over US-China tariff row

Russian missile obliterates Ukrainian hotel beloved by Russian elite

Escaped Alabama inmate apprehended in Indiana, prison guard dead

Meghan McCain's new book is a massive flop

Serial rapist who recieved probation for his crimes is arrested again

Number of Americans refusing COVID vaccine hasn't budged in a year

News from abroad

Son of brutal, US-backed dictator wins election in the Phillippines

11 journalists killed in Mexico so far this year

Russian ambassador splattered with red paint in Poland

Sri Lankan prime minister resigns as protests over economic crisis turn deadly

Hope...

Hero bomb-sniffing terrier awarded medal by President Zelenskyy

NASA releases stunning Hubble telescope images

New gadget tracks blood sugar level, alcohol, muscle fatigue at the same time

Experimental Epstein-Barr vaccine shows promise in mice tests

US announces plan to battle illegal fishing in the Pacific

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Today’s Action: Tell Congress to expand and balance the Supreme Court!

With the recently leaked draft of the SCOTUS majority opinion set to gut Roe v. Wade, the fate of women’s reproductive rights in the United States is hanging by a fraying thread. Not so fun facts: five of the six conservative justices currently sitting on the Supreme Court were a) appointed by presidents who lost the popular vote when they first took office and b) confirmed by some of the slimmest Senate margins in US history. And that’s arguably not even the worst part.

In 2016, Republicans stonewalled then-President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee for 293 days, refusing to hold hearings, and ultimately gifting the open seat to Trump in early 2017. Four years later, in the waning days of the 2020 election, Republicans jammed through a deeply unpopular Supreme Court justice in a historically short period of time. They succeeded by ignoring their own voters' opinions, their own precedent, and their own committee rules — to the detriment of all other legislative needs, including pandemic relief. A court that should be a 5-4 left-leaning majority is now one completely unrepresentative of America. 

Call (202-224-3121) or write your members of Congress and demand they support the expansion of the Supreme Court!

Changing the number of justices has precedent, would allow for more accurate representation, and is more necessary than ever. It’s not just abortion rights at risk if Roe v. Wade is successfully overturned. Part of Justice Alito’s ridiculous argument against protecting the right to abortion is that the right to privacy is not explicitly stated in the Constitution. This myopic, originalist argument would clear the way for multiple other precedents to be unraveled — same-sex intimacy, same-sex marriage, access to contraceptive care, and more. 

It doesn’t stop at the judicial level. Conservatives across the country, emboldened by a radically imbalanced court, are systematically disenfranchising millions of voters and criminalizing abortion seekers. Expanding the court means protecting the voices of marginalized communities across the country. 

Call (202-224-3121) or write your members of Congress and demand they restore balance and representation to the Supreme Court by expanding its numbers!

PS — Please don't forget to sign the petition to demand the Louisiana legislature vote down the barbaric bill to make abortion a homicide, and be sure to follow OD Action on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 

 

Coronavirus wave this fall and winter could potentially infect 100 million, White House warns

By Kaitlan Collins, CNN

Updated 12:14 PM EDT, Sat May 7, 2022

WashingtonCNN — 

The Biden administration is issuing a new warning that the US could potentially see 100 million Covid-19 infections this fall and winter, as officials publicly stress the need for more funding from Congress to prepare the nation.

The projection of 100 million potential infections is an estimate based on a range of outside models that are being closely tracked by the administration and would include both the fall and winter, a senior administration official told CNN. Officials say this estimate is based on an underlying assumption of no additional resources or extra mitigation measures being taken, including new Covid-19 funding from Congress, or dramatic new variants.

The White House is sharing these estimates as officials renew their push to get Congress to approve additional funding to combat the virus and as the nation approaches a coronavirus death toll of 1 million. Officials have said the White House will commemorate the moment when the US surpasses 1 million deaths from Covid-19.

The Biden administration has been sounding the alarm for weeks that additional funding is needed to continue the federal Covid-19 response, even as it seeks a return to “normal” with many pandemic-era restrictions lifting.

The 100 million estimate was first reported by The Washington Post.

CNN has reported that the Biden administration requested $22.5 billion in supplemental Covid-19 relief funding in March in a massive government funding package but it was stripped from the bill. That request included funding for testing, treatments, therapeutics and preventing future outbreaks. Negotiators were able to reach an agreement on a scaled-back $10 billion package, but Congress left Washington in April without passing that bipartisan bill amid a disagreement over the Title 42 immigration policy – a pandemic-era rule that allowed migrants to be returned immediately to their home countries, citing a public health emergency.

Officials have argued that without new funding, the US could be left unprepared for future waves.

LINK

POLITICO NIGHTLY: Why progressives hate Elon Musk

 

View in browser   BY CALDER MCHUGH Presented by Connected Commerce Council Elon Musk waves while providing an update on SpaceX's Starship, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, near Brownsville, Texas. | Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald via AP BLOCKED AND REPORTED — He not only created a growing fleet of electric vehicles, he made gasless cars cool. He wants to build, essentially, the fastest trains ever. He condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and sent satellite internet terminals to the Ukrainian people. So why do so many liberals hate Twitter’s soon-to-be owner, Elon Musk, so much? It wasn’t always this way. Not all that long ago, it was conservatives who denounced Musk. Ten years ago during a 2012 presidential debate with Barack Obama, Mitt Romney called Tesla a “loser,” lumping it in with the bankrupt solar energy company Solyndra. What changed since then? Here are three big developments that turned Musk into a liberal bogeyman. Trump was banned from Twitter. After former President Donald Trump’s attempt at a Jan. 6 coup, Twitter kicked him off the service. Progressives are worried that Musk (a self-declared moderate who suggested he would vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016) wants to bring Trump back. This is the simplest explanation, and it’s part of the story. But it’s not all of it by a long shot. There are two other aspects of progressive thinking that have become much louder, and more important, since the Obama administration. The first: The rise of the “ban billionaires” movement. If you were to ask your garden-variety, well-educated, politically active, MSNBC-watching liberal why they dislike Musk, they might give you an answer based on his wealth: “No one should be that rich.” This sentiment comes largely from a renewed class consciousness in the Democratic Party since Bernie Sanders’ 2016 primary run. Musk has made this debate a little personal. “ I keep forgetting that you’re still alive,” he tweeted at Sanders a few months ago, in response to a boilerplate statement from Sanders asking that “the extreme wealthy pay their fair share” of taxes. Even a more centrist Democrat who doesn’t object to the existence of billionaires might point to Musk’s continued troubles with the SEC or the Black workers suing Tesla for discrimination. Without question, “ban billionaires” and the increased concerns over income inequality and racial equity is a big part of Musk’s declining reputation among progressives. But it’s not all of it, either. The biggest reason: The way progressives interpret the phrase “free speech” has changed. Musk says he wants to make Twitter a haven for “free speech” on the internet. But when progressives hear Musk advocate for free speech, they think less of John Stuart Mill’s marketplace of ideas and more of the kind of talk you hear on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Over the past two years in particular, Musk has embraced a narrow and specific understanding of free speech. It’s one that’s shared by other powerful people who have built a brand on heterodox thinking, like Rogan. Call it the “just asking questions” philosophy, or maybe “Roganomics.” Especially in the Covid era, liberals have argued that we should trust the wisdom of credentialed experts. Musk does not seem to trust these experts, and he often uses his large platform on Twitter (where he has 86 million followers at last count) to regularly question them. Like Rogan, he pairs this set of beliefs with a native understanding of the internet and its denizens. He writes like an active Reddit user or a 4chan “edgelord,” someone stirring controversy with a smirk on his face, obscuring what’s sarcastic and what he actually believes. A new Vanity Fair profile of some leading figures in the New Right describes this rhetorical pose in detail. This style of communication makes a horde of internet users believe that Musk is just like them. Which is precisely what bothers a large number of extremely online progressives. Plus, for some liberals, Musk’s stirring of “controversy” has turned into simple misinformation. Since the beginning of the pandemic (he tweeted on March 6, 2020, “The coronavirus pandemic is dumb”), Musk has regularly questioned accepted science. Particularly in the wake of the Jan. 6 riots, the commonly held progressive position on free speech has shifted from, “The answer to bad speech is more speech,” to something along the lines of, “There is some misinformation, in particular from well-known institutions or people, that companies have to curb in order to protect small-d democratic values.” Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author on Twitter at @calder_mchugh. A message from Connected Commerce Council: Why is Small Biz so big on Tech? Because digital tools make it easier to compete with the big guys. Google Ads help small businesses reach customers cheaply, while Amazon Prime gives marketplace sellers access to millions of customers and guaranteed two-day shipping. No wonder 85% of businesses say digital tools help them compete. Don’t wreck the tech that empowers their success. Learn why blocking Tech has big consequences for small business.   NIGHTLY NUMBER Nearly 60 percent The percentage of the U.S. population that has antibodies due to Covid-19 infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a steep rise that marks the first time during the pandemic when more than half of Americans have shown evidence of the virus infection.   JOIN US ON 4/29 FOR A WOMEN RULE DISCUSSION ON WOMEN IN TECH : Women, particularly women of color and women from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, have historically been locked out of the tech world. But this new tech revolution could be an opportunity for women to get in on the ground floor of a new chapter. Join POLITICO for an in-depth panel discussion on the future of women in tech and how to make sure women are both participating in this fast-moving era and have access to all it offers. REGISTER HERE.     WHAT'D I MISS? — Kamala Harris tests positive for Covid: The vice president, who is fully vaccinated and doubly boosted, tested positive for Covid but was experiencing no symptoms , the White House said today. The last time Harris saw President Joe Biden in person was on April 18, according to her office, but the announcement still reinforces concerns about the virus closing in on the 79-year-old president. — Biden to comply with forthcoming order to keep Title 42 in place: The Biden administration said it will adhere to an expected court order from a Louisiana judge that would block the lifting of a Trump-era deportation policy used to expel more than 1 million migrants at the southern border. The pandemic measure was set to expire on May 23. — Austin says U.S. believes Ukraine ‘can win’ war against Russia: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin delivered his assessment at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where he hosted dozens of his global counterparts for a “Ukraine Defense Consultative Group” focused on the country’s security needs. — Justices hear fight over asylum-seekers waiting in Mexico: The Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in the Biden administration’s appeal of lower-court rulings that required the reinstatement of the “Remain in Mexico” policy . The controversial immigration program began during the Trump administration and forces some people seeking asylum in the U.S. to return to Mexico until their hearings. — Sanders pressures Biden on Amazon unions: The Vermont senator sent Biden a letter today, obtained by POLITICO, asking him to cut off federal contracts to Amazon until the company stops what he calls its “illegal anti-union activity.” And asked if Biden has fallen short in his union support thus far as president, Sanders said bluntly in an interview: “Yes, he has.” — Greens push climate compromise with Manchin: Environmental groups are pressing Democrats this week to seize their last best chance to pass party-line legislation to tame climate change. Advocates have dramatically scaled back their expectations from the early days of the Biden administration, and many say it’s time to toss in the towel on some of the progressives’ social policies in order to secure a narrower deal on Sen. Joe Manchin’s terms.   A message from Connected Commerce Council:     AROUND THE WORLD WHERE LE PEN WON — Emmanuel Macron was reelected as president of France on Sunday, but his far-right rival Marine Le Pen made a strong push across large swaths of the country, write Giovanna Coi and Cornelius Hirsch. The National Rally candidate led in more than 18,000 of the 35,000 mainland French communes, albeit mostly in sparsely populated, rural areas, while Macron won the big cities and generally did better in densely populated areas, winning 58.5 percent of the vote overall. Le Pen polled well in her traditional strongholds in northeastern France and in the southeast, as well as in French overseas territories. She also made gains in the traditionally more left-leaning southwest of the country, taking several of the larger administrative districts known as départements . The map shows the second round of presidential elections by commune in 2017 and 2022, with Macron in yellow and Le Pen in blue. POLITICO WORLD LEADER PRETEND — Global health advocates, including WHO officials, are concerned that the U.S. and European countries are beginning to ease pandemic guidance and funding — affecting the world’s response against Covid-19, writes health care reporter Erin Banco. Many Western governments are relaxing public health guidelines such as mask mandates and dropping Covid-19 financing from budgets. But here in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa, officials are still trying to ramp up primary vaccinations. The differing strategies muddle the direction of the global health community’s fight and have led to tensions with leaders who emphasize the virus still poses a threat. Over the last several months, top health officials in the U.S., Europe, Africa and global health organizations have held a series of conversations about how to confront the ongoing threat from the virus. Some countries worry the global health community is moving on too soon just as Covid-19 funding eases — including in the U.S., where Congress failed to approve $5 billion in additional global pandemic spending. That affects countries like Ghana, which rely on aid from the U.S. Agency for International Development to launch vaccination campaigns.   DON'T MISS ANYTHING FROM THE 2022 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from the 25th annual Global Conference. This year's event, May 1-4, brings together more than 3,000 of the world’s most influential leaders, including 700+ speakers representing more than 80 countries. "Celebrating the Power of Connection" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect influencers with the resources to change the world with leading experts and thinkers whose insight and creativity can implement that change. Whether you're attending in person or following along from somewhere else in the world, keep up with this year's conference with POLITICO’s special edition “Global Insider” so you don't miss a beat. Subscribe today.     PARTING WORDS C-SUITE SORROW — Corporate America has been chalking up profits this year, but some executives are sounding deeply uncertain about the country’s economic future. They are nowhere near as dour as Republicans about the state of the union — nor are they as pessimistic as many voters. But on public conference calls, first-quarter earnings reports and in private conversations, companies from Goldman Sachs to Tesla are voicing caution about the economy in ways that should unnerve Democrats already facing brutal midterm elections. If CEOs grow even more wary about the burgeoning set of risks, they could pull back in hiring and spending, denting the Covid-19 recovery, writes chief economic correspondent Ben White. Some companies are lowering their guidance to investors on future results because there are simply too many unknowns in the economy — the path of interest rates amid soaring inflation, the stability of the housing market, the recovery path for damaged supply chains and whether the country will ever shake off the Covid hangover. The uncertainty is reflected in stock market turbulence, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged nearly 1,000 points, or close to 3 percent, last Friday, in part on softening earnings reports — only to rebound today before tumbling another 810 points. The Dow has fallen for four weeks in a row and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index for three straight weeks. “Senior management is out there just as clueless as we are as to which way things are going to go,” said Jack Ablin, founding partner at investment firm Cresset Asset Management. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. A message from Connected Commerce Council: Small businesses get a big hand from Tech. Digital tools like Google Business Profile, Instagram Paid Ads and Microsoft Teams make way for new business opportunities and greater growth—empowering smaller shops to more easily stand out and find new customers. Matter of fact, 92% of small businesses use digital services to connect with customers. That’s why wrecking their Tech is just bad business. Discover all the ways Tech helps drive small business success.     Follow us on Twitter Chris Suellentrop @suellentrop Tyler Weyant @tweyant Myah Ward @myahward   FOLLOW US

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