Over 25,000 tons of COVID-related plastic waste pollutes world’s oceans, study finds

Over 25,000 tons of pandemic-related plastic waste pollute the global ocean, according to a study published in the journal PNAS on Monday.

Why it matters: Plastic waste poses a major threat to marine life and ecosystems. COVID-19 only increased the demand for single-use plastic, “intensifying pressure on this already out-of-control problem,” the researchers write.

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• The world has generated over 8 million tons of pandemic-related plastic waste. Most of this waste comes from hospitals and mainly accumulates on beaches and coastal sediments.

Threat level: “The released plastics can be transported over long distances in the ocean, encounter marine wildlife, and potentially lead to injury or even death,” the researchers said.

• “The plastic debris could also facilitate species invasion and transport of contaminants, including the COVID-19 virus,” they added.
• In Brazil, scientists found a protective mask in a dead penguin’s stomach, while other reports have documented fish entrapped in a medical glove.

For the record: A recent study estimated that 1.56 million face masks entered the oceans in 2020. The excess waste will serve a long-term risk, researchers caution.

The bottom line: “We find a long-lasting impact of the pandemic-associated waste release in the global ocean,” the study states.

• “At the end of this century, the model suggests that almost all the pandemic-associated plastics end up in either the seabed (28.8%) or beaches (70.5%).”
• The findings reflect the need to improve medical waste management mechanisms, especially in developing countries, researchers note.

The big picture: Plastic pollution in oceans and other bodies of water could more than double by 2030, per an October assessment by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

• Recycling won’t cut it anymore, the report found.
• “It is vital that we use this momentum to focus on the opportunities for a clean, healthy and resilient ocean,” UNEP executive director Inger Andersen said in a statement.

Worth noting: The study comes as world leaders tackle climate change at COP26 in Glasgow.

• More than 250,000 people have demanded greater action in protests around the world.

Source: https://www.axios.com/covid-plastic-waste-pollution-oceans-5a16aaa2-1bea-43d2-8cdc-176d171eab8d.html
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Senate Democrats unveil new income tax for billionaires

Senate Democrats on Wednesday released a billionaires’ tax proposal, designed to help support President Biden’s social spending and climate change legislation.

Why it matters: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the Billionaires Income Tax would raise “hundreds of billions of dollars” and would affect approximately 700 taxpayers who have more than $1 billion in assets or incomes of over $100 million a year.

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Details: “Under today’s tax system, [billionaires] don’t have to pay capital-gains taxes unless they sell their assets, and they can borrow against that wealth to finance their lifestyles,” the Wall Street Journal writes.

• The new plan would require billionaires to give the IRS a detailed account of how much the assets they own gained or lost each year.
• It will ensure“the wealthiest people in the country pay their fair share toward historic investments in child care, paid leave, and addressing the climate crisis,” said Wyden, who released the proposal.

The big picture: The unveiling of the plan comes as Biden and congressional leaders race to finish — and figure out how to pay for — their nearly $2 trillion social spending and climate package.

• The billionaire tax gained currency over the weekend because Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), a moderate and key negotiator, signaled her opposition to corporate, personal and capital gains tax hikes, Axios’ Hans Nichols writes.

Yes, but: Multiple Democrats in the House and Senate are skeptical of the billionaire tax proposal, including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), both for its implementation and its likelihood of getting tied up in the courts, reports Axios’ Alayna Treene.

• It would also fundamentally change the country’s tax system.

Of note: Senate leaders unveiled a separate plan to impose a 15% minimum book tax on corporations with more than $1 billion in profits.

Go deeper: Manchin waffles on billionaire tax

Source: https://www.axios.com/senate-democrats-billionaire-income-tax-8cd08775-b254-47ba-a80b-ad15805efbc6.html
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Moderna says COVID vaccine shows strong immune response in younger kids

Moderna on Monday released trial results for its coronavirus vaccine for children aged 6 to 11, saying it provides a “robust” immune response after two doses.

Why it matters: Moderna said it will officially submit the results to the Food and Drug Administration for authorization in “the near term,” meaning we could soon see two coronavirus vaccines available to protect approximately 28 million more kids in the U.S.

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• The FDA is set to authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children soon. Regulators said last week that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks for children between the ages of 5 and 11.

The big picture: The Biden administration released a plan last week to “quickly” vaccinate children between the ages of 5 and 11 after the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorize a vaccine for that age group.

How it works: Moderna’s trial examined “4,753 participants who were 6 to less than 12 years of age,” the company said.

• Trial participants received two 50 micrograms vaccine doses, half the dose given to adults.
• Most side effects “were mild or moderate in severity.” The most common were fatigue, headache, fever and injection site pain.

What to watch: Moderna said it will “soon” submit its results to the FDA, the European Medicines Agency and other global health regulators.

Go deeper: COVID vaccines for kids are getting closer

Source: https://www.axios.com/moderna-immune-response-children-covid-vaccine-565ab808-bb11-44d2-99d0-5b96c04604b7.html
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Moderna says COVID vaccine shows strong immune response in younger kids

Moderna on Monday released trial results for its coronavirus vaccine for children aged 6 to 11, saying it provides a “robust” immune response after two doses.

Why it matters: Moderna said it will officially submit the results to the Food and Drug Administration for authorization in “the near term,” meaning we could soon see two coronavirus vaccines available to protect approximately 28 million more kids in the U.S.

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• The FDA is set to authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children soon. Regulators said last week that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks for children between the ages of 5 and 11.

The big picture: The Biden administration released a plan last week to “quickly” vaccinate children between the ages of 5 and 11 after the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorize a vaccine for that age group.

How it works: Moderna’s trial examined “4,753 participants who were 6 to less than 12 years of age,” the company said.

• Trial participants received two 50 micrograms vaccine doses, half the dose given to adults.
• Most side effects “were mild or moderate in severity.” The most common were fatigue, headache, fever and injection site pain.

What to watch: Moderna said it will “soon” submit its results to the FDA, the European Medicines Agency and other global health regulators.

Go deeper: COVID vaccines for kids are getting closer

Source: https://www.axios.com/moderna-immune-response-children-covid-vaccine-565ab808-bb11-44d2-99d0-5b96c04604b7.html
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Supreme Court agrees to hear providers’, DOJ challenge to Texas abortion ban

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear two cases challenging Texas’ abortion law, which bans the procedure as soon as six weeks into pregnancy, but left the law in place in the meantime.

Why it matters: The high court will now officially hear three major abortion cases this term: Two on Texas and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a challenge to a Mississippi law that bans nearly all abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.

Source: https://www.axios.com/supreme-court-abortion-challenge-texas-ban-edd62275-dd7e-4288-aa03-3515505e46a5.html
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Texas urges Supreme Court to leave abortion ban in place, asks to overturn Roe v. Wade

Texas on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to keep in place a law that bans abortions after an embryo’s cardiac activity is detected, which can be as soon as six weeks and before many people know they are pregnant.

Driving the news: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the high court to ignore the Justice Department’s emergency request that they temporarily block the law while federal courts consider its constitutionality since it “lacks standing because it has not been injured by SB 8.”

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• Paxton also argues that the DOJ lacks standing because it is suing the state, adding that “Texas executive officials do not enforce SB 8,” so “there is therefore no state executive or judicial official who can be enjoined” to stop enforcing the law if a temporary injunction is granted.

The big picture: The court, which currently has a 6-3 conservative majority, previously allowed the law to go into effect but did not rule on its constitutionality.

Context: Instead of being formally enforced by the state, the law encourages private citizens to sue anyone who assists pregnant people with getting an abortion.

• Chief Justice John Roberts has called the Texas law’s enforcement “not only unusual, but unprecedented.”

Catch up quick: Earlier this month, a three-judge panel for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the DOJ’s initial emergency request to suspend the ban.

• In response, the DOJ on Monday asked the Supreme Court to temporarily block the law while federal courts consider its constitutionality.
• The department argued that the ban is “plainly unconstitutional” because it violates Roe “by banning abortion long before viability — indeed, before many women even realize they are pregnant.”

Between the lines: In its request, the DOJ also raised the possibility that the Supreme Court could take up their case (U.S. v. Texas) before lower courts reach a decision.

• Paxton said that if the court does decide to take up the case and hear arguments, it should consider overturning the 1973 landmark case Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortions in the U.S., and the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which upheld the right to get an abortion.

What’s next: The Supreme Court could either grant or reject the DOJ’s application, or it could decide to take up the entire case.

• If they decide to hear the case, it would mean the court would hear two major abortion cases this term that would challenge Roe, including Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a challenge to a Mississippi law that bans nearly all abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.

Read Texas’ response:

Source: https://www.axios.com/texas-supreme-court-leave-abortion-ban-75372304-7c2c-4274-9a3a-83c849ba15dc.html
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House votes to hold Bannon in contempt of Congress

The House of Representatives voted 229-202 on Thursday to hold former Trump strategist Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the Jan. 6 select committee.

Why it matters: The Justice Department will now consider bringing criminal charges against Bannon, marking a significant escalation in the Jan. 6 committee’s efforts to enforce subpoenas against Trump allies who refuse to cooperate.

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Between the lines: If the vote demonstrated Democrats’ united front in using any means necessary to uncover facts about Trump’s role in Jan. 6, it also showed similar unity among Republicans for opposing the investigation.

• A total of 9 Republicans, including Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) — the two Republicans on the Jan. 6 committee — voted in favor of the resolution.
• The others are Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Peter Meijer (R-Mich.),  Anthony Gonzalez (R-Oh.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), John Katko (R-N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.).
• Of the Republicans who voted for the resolution, all but two, Fitzpatrick and Mace, voted for Trump’s impeachment in January.
• Rep. Greg Pence (R-Ind.), whose brother Mike Pence was one of the high-profile targets of the Jan. 6 attack, was the only Republican who didn’t vote. “Congressman Pence has a family medical emergency he is attending to, however he would have voted no,” a Pence spokesperson said.
• House Republican leadership whipped against the bill, telling members the subpoenas go beyond congressional authority and that the select committee “does not get to step into the shoes of law enforcement.”

The big picture: Bannon is just one piece of a far broader investigation into the attack.

• The committee has subpoenaed three other former Trump aides, including former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and nearly a dozen organizers of a rally that preceded the attack.
• Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chair of the committee, said Wednesday Bannon is the only person subpoenaed by the panel who has “totally ignored the process.”
• The committee has also sent document requests to government agencies, as well as social media and telecom companies, to piece together a comprehensive report on the attack.

What to watch: There has not been a successful prosecution under the criminal contempt statute since the Reagan administration. Assuming DOJ does bring charges, experts say it could take months, or even years, for Bannon to be convicted.

Editor’s note: This post has been updated with a comment from Pence’s spokesperson.

Source: https://www.axios.com/bannon-contempt-congress-house-24e2ebcd-fbfd-4bfb-93a1-35b1fdf8fcf9.html
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CDC approves boosters for Moderna and J&J and mix-and-match

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent advisory panel voted unanimously to recommend booster doses of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine and allow people to mix-and-match doses.

The big picture: The agency aligns with the Food and Drug Administration authorization Wednesday night which said people could switch to whichever vaccine they wanted for their booster shot.

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Details: Boosters for Moderna’s two-dose vaccine and J&J’s single-dose shot may be taken by Americans over 65, as well as those over 18.

• Dosing for the Moderna booster will be less than its two-dose regiment and will be permitted six months after the third shot. J&J will be allowed after two months.
• The Food and Drug Administration authorization Wednesday night greenlit people could switch to whichever vaccine they wanted for their booster shot and authorized boosters for certain populations.

Still, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices panel weighed the challenge in allowing younger people to for a booster qualify based on increased exposure to risk, despite lack of data.

• Sarah Long, a committee member also at Drexel University College of Medicine raised concerns on the contentious topic of opening up booster eligibility to all adults.
• “I can’t say I am comfortable that anyone under 50, otherwise healthy, needs a booster at this time,” she said in the meeting Thursday.

The panel also heard safety updates about the rare risk of inflammatory heart problems such as myocarditis among recipients of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, especially in men ages 18 to 24.

• Serious side effects after all vaccines are extremely rare, five separate updates on vaccine safety showed.

State of play: Public health experts see a positive effect in unifying recommendations specific populations who took any of the three vaccines.

• The committee in late September did not support a Pfizer booster for people in high-risk workforces but was overruled by CDC director Rochelle Walensky. There’s no indication the director wouldn’t do the same if the panel voted narrowly again.
• Though the agency’s recommendations hold a large influence among the medical community, state and local health departments could veer from the guidance.

What’s happening: There’s also been debate whether once again the agency has acted too slowly in mixing-and-matching guidance for those who received J&J.

• “We have to acknowledge we’re in a situation where we don’t have as much data as we would like. But we still have to make practical decisions and I think there’s as much data to support mixing and matching as there is for boosters in general,” John Whyte, chief medical officer of WebMD, tells Axios.
• For months, small samples of preliminary booster data suggest neutralizing antibodies from an mRNA shot like Moderna would increase 76 times and 35 times with Pfizer as opposed to only four times with another J&J shot.

What’s next: Walensky has the final say and could sign off on the guidance for clinicians and pharmacies to rollout third shots as soon as Friday.

Source: https://www.axios.com/cdc-guidance-boosters-mix-and-match-902c873a-e0ee-4dd7-808a-924e415463fa.html
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The new cold war panic

The world has seen a power struggle between nuclear powers before, and has seen those countries inch closer to military conflict. But it’s never before seen a cold war between two countries as interconnected — with each other and with the rest of the globe — as the U.S. and China.

Why it matters: Escalating antagonism between the world’s two superpowers is likely to hinder global cooperation to fight climate change, divert resources to costly arms and tech races, complicate diplomacy for U.S. allies, and victimize Chinese and American citizens living in each other’s countries.

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The big picture: Experts have long debated whether a “cold war” is the right way to think about the rivalry between the U.S. and China.

• President Biden’s top aides reject that framing as a “self-fulfilling prophecy,” arguing that it should be possible for the two superpowers to “compartmentalize” on issues of mutual interest, The New York Times’ David Sanger reports.
• But so far, the Chinese have shown no interest in any such arrangement.

Driving the news: A report this weekend that China had tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile immediately drew comparisons to the Soviet Union’s 1957 launch of the Sputnik satellite, which raised alarms that the U.S. was falling behind in a technology race.

Yes, but: “This is not a Sputnik moment,” Joshua Pollack, a leading expert on nuclear and missile proliferation, told Axios. “The point about Sputnik is that the Soviets had beaten us to the punch, they put the first satellite up. … Weapons payload aside, this is old hat for the United States.”

Context: The missile launch is only the latest in a series of major headlines shaking the foundations of the U.S.-China status quo.

• Satellite images recently showed hundreds of new nuclear missile silos in western China.
• Recent months have seen a dramatic spike in Chinese incursions near Taiwanese air space.
• In September, the U.S., U.K., and Australia announced a new security pact, referred to as AUKUS, aimed at countering China in part through the transfer of U.S. nuclear submarine technology to Australia.
• Even NATO, the quintessential Cold War-era alliance, is expanding its focus to include Beijing.

Between the lines: Although the parallels to the Cold War are easy to draw, the world is a very different place now than it was in the 1950s — in ways that have direct implications for the nature of this competition and the people caught in the middle.

• China is the world’s top trading partner, whereas the Soviet Union implemented an economic embargo, blockading itself from trade with nations outside the Soviet bloc.
• The U.S. and China have close economic, educational, and people-to-people ties. There are 5.4 million people of Chinese heritage in the U.S.
• “The most important element of [U.S.-China] competition globally is economics and economic capabilities, and not military power and military capabilities, which makes it different from the Cold War,” M. Taylor Fravel, a professor of political science at MIT, told Axios.

There’s one point of broad agreement, though — just about nobody wants another cold war.

• Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass warned last year that adopting a cold war lens would mean tensions with China would become “the organizing principle of U.S. foreign policy,” which would in his view be a “major strategic error.”
• President Biden has repeatedly rejected that framing, saying at the United Nations in September, “We are not seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocs.”
• Beijing regularly accuses the U.S. of harboring a “Cold War mentality,” a claim it made most recently after the launch of AUKUS.

The bottom line: The U.S.-China relationship has deteriorated significantly over the past five years, but we’re not yet doomed to repeat the past.

Go deeper: The “new Cold War” started in Beijing

Source: https://www.axios.com/us-china-cold-war-missile-taiwain-submarines-475e719b-60b1-48aa-9281-d0d38442c39f.html
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New bipartisan bill to counter China’s economic coercion

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has announced a new bill that would establish an interagency task force to craft a response to China’s use of economic measures to further its geopolitical goals.

Why it matters: The draft bill represents growing awareness in the U.S. that economic coercion is a cornerstone of the Chinese Communist Party’s ability to project authoritarianism beyond its borders.

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• The bill, spearheaded by Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, and Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), also underscores deepening bipartisan agreement that China is America’s top foreign policy challenge.

Details: The bill lists numerous examples of China’s economic coercion, including:

• Its block on Norwegian salmon imports after a Chinese dissident lawyer received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.
• Restricting Chinese tourism to South Korea after Seoul deployed a U.S. missile defense system.
• China’s tariffs on Australian barley and wine after the Australian prime minister called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.

The task force would include appointments from within the Departments of Justice, Commerce, Treasury, Agriculture, and State, as well as the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, and consult with the private sector, industry groups, and NGOs.

• It would be required to submit a report of its findings, including an analysis of the tools the Chinese government uses to conduct economic coercion, and a list of recommendations on how the U.S. should push back.

What they’re saying: “The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) increasing use of economic coercion against foreign governments, companies, organizations, other entities, and individuals requires that the United States better understand these measures in order to devise a comprehensive, effective, and multilateral response,” the bill states.

• “PRC coercive economic measures [create] pressures for the private sector to behave in ways antithetical to United States national interests and competitiveness.”

Between the lines: It’s a thorny issue for liberal democracies to formulate policies to counter the Chinese government’s use of trade ties and economic dependencies to push its security and political objectives.

• Liberal political and economic systems are designed to give businesses the freedom to make their own commercial decisions, often making it difficult to regulate the behavior of firms.
• Many industries are heavily dependent on China for resources, manufacturing, or markets, and don’t want to be caught between rival superpowers.

Go deeper:

• Read the bill
• Global capitalism abets China’s repression

Source: https://www.axios.com/china-economic-coercion-democrats-legislation-49461c1d-a64a-4783-b6d6-6e281394a24d.html
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White House vows to treat climate change as “systemic” financial risk

A new White House report released Friday morning says climate change poses “systemic risks” to the U.S. financial system, and presents a “roadmap” to building a “climate-resilient” economy.

Why it matters: Top aides emphasized that framing to promote wide-ranging moves that will weave climate risk into many agencies’ new policies and regulations.

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Driving the news: The roadmap describes a series of existing and upcoming efforts, including …

• White House plans to consider the effects of climate change in long term budget forecasts.
• Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to weave climate risks into federally insured or guaranteed mortgages.
• Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to revise building standards in flood zones.
• Labor Department plans to ensure retirement fund managers can weigh climate change in investment decisions, reversing Trump-era policies.

The big picture: The report asserts that “U.S. financial markets and institutions face systemic risks from climate change.” Senior officials called the conclusion significant.

• “That term, systemic risk, carries a lot of weight,” Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director at the National Economic Council, told reporters Thursday night.
• “Its inclusion in this roadmap reflects our belief that because many financial models and investment portfolios still rely on out of date assumptions of climatic stability, climate change is already creating severe disruptions to our economic and financial system,” he said.

What we’re watching: The report is among multiple analyses and strategy documents called for under a May executive order on climate-related financial risk.

• A separate strategy later this year is expected to focus more heavily on federal oversight of how banks and other financial institutions address the topic.
• The May order tasks the Treasury Department, as head of the multi-agency Financial Stability Oversight Council, with crafting analysis on improving risk disclosures and stitching climate-related financial risks into regulation and supervision.

Source: https://www.axios.com/white-house-climate-change-systemic-risk-finance-caeac699-4f8d-460f-8d0f-d5ab691db1db.html
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U.S. sees record high of 96,000 drug overdose deaths in 12 month period

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded over 96,000 deaths from drug overdoses in a twelve-month period ending in March 2021, according to provisional data released Wednesday.

Why it matters: It’s a nearly 30% jump over the preceding 12 months and coincides with one of the deadliest periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, when stay-at-home orders radically changed daily life for most Americans.

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• In July, the CDC reported that drug overdoses had hit a high in 2020, in large part due to the increased prevalence of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

Of note: The data presented is provisional as many cases require “lengthy investigation” to confirm a cause of death, per the CDC.

By the numbers: The reported number of overdoses in the 12-month period ending in March 2021 was 96,779. The predicted number of cases for the same period is 99,106 deaths.

• It’s a 29.6% increase in reported deaths from March 2020.
• All but 3 states saw increases in overdose deaths with Vermont experiencing the largest – 85.1% – jump.

What they’re saying: “It is important to remember that behind these devastating numbers are families, friends, and community members who are grieving the loss of loved ones,” Regina LaBelle, acting director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, told CNN.

Watch: A conversation on COVID-19 and America’s opioid crisis

Go deeper: Fentanyl is the deadliest drug in the U.S.

• Explore Axios’ complete coverage of the opioid crisis

Source: https://www.axios.com/cdc-record-drug-overdose-deaths-march-2021-7a7d2ca6-aee0-49c8-a5b2-f60bd1fca2f7.html
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Noah Garfinkel

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Taiwan’s president vows to bolster defenses and never “bow to pressure” from China’s government

President Tsai Ing-wen said Sunday that Taiwan would never “bow to pressure” from China’s government and pledged to strengthen the self-governing island’s defenses to protect its “democratic way of life,” per the BBC.

Why it matters: Tsai’s declaration on Taiwan’s National Day came one day after China’s President Xi Jinping vowed to achieve “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan.

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Driving the news: Xi said Saturday that the biggest barrier to potential reunification with China was the “Taiwan independence” force, adding “those who forget their heritage, betray their motherland and seek to split the country will come to no good,” CNN notes.

• Xi said he sought peaceful reunification under a “one country, two systems” policy, an offer that Taiwan’s presidential office staunchly opposes, Reuters reports.

What they’re saying: Tsai noted in her speech the record 145 fighter Chinese military planes that entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone last week, according to the BBC.

• She said her government would “continue to bolster our national defense and demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves in order to ensure that nobody can force Taiwan to take the path China has laid out for us,” per Al Jazeera.
• “This is because the path that China has laid out offers neither a free and democratic way of life for Taiwan, nor sovereignty for our 23 million people,” Tsai added.

Of note: Tsai, who was reelected by a landslide last year after pledging to stand up for Taiwan’s democracy, reiterated her offer for peace talks with Chinese government leaders, which has so far been rejected.

Background: Taiwan and mainland China have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

• China’s government views the democratically run island as a breakaway province.

Between the lines: The Wall Street Journal reported last week that U.S. forces have been secretly training military forces in Taiwan for more than a year amid increasing concerns over Chinese aggression.

Go deeper: Biden says he and China’s Xi have agreed to abide by Taiwan “agreement”

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with comment from Tsai and further context.

Source: https://www.axios.com/china-xi-jinping-vows-reunification-taiwan-0653d21c-831b-4b46-ae47-7b1c29408765.html
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The pandemic is causing labor, product and service shortages

Whatever it is you might want or need — at work, at play or at home — you’re going to have to wait.

Why it matters: There is simply no escaping the complex web of labor, product and service shortages unleashed by the pandemic, and this era of disruption is nowhere close to ending.

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The big picture: The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson put it well: “This is the Everything Shortage.”

Jobs are going unfilled: Storefronts and restaurant windows across the country are still full of “help wanted” signs, often for multiple positions.

• And workers across almost every industry are still feeling the effects of spending more than a year at home, often with kids also stuck at home, as Zoom and Slack obliterated what was left of a line between work and life.

Getting away is not much easier, though. You can forget about a quick, affordable weekend to unplug, unless you want to plan it a year in advance.

• One Axios editor’s recent efforts to find a decent Airbnb within a few hours’ drive of Washington, D.C. yielded only a $3,000 per night mansion or a nicer-than-average tent that may or may not have had access to a bathroom.
• A shortage of rental cars has also made longer trips unaffordable. As individual car owners try to fill the void by renting out their personal vehicles, it can now cost the same amount to rent a Ford Fiesta from a rental agency as it does to rent a Maserati from a guy who owns a Maserati.

Everyday necessities are facing their own daunting supply-chain issues.

• COVID outbreaks have swept through factories all across Southeast Asia, slowing down production of clothes, shoes, electronics and furniture.
• And by the time those goods reach the U.S., it can take weeks for ships to be unloaded at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports before waiting — again — for truck drivers to move deliveries to warehouses, sorting centers and final destinations.

Home improvement projects might theoretically be a nice alternative to a vacation, but they’ll be even more stressful than usual right now.

• Would-be customers are running into shortages of large appliances as well as long waits for repairs. In the market for a new mattress? Some of the nicer ones are backordered until spring of 2022 — and the ones that are available now are significantly marked up.
• Earlier in the pandemic, skyrocketing lumber prices and surging demand made it hard for all but the wealthiest and most patient Americans to fix up the home that was now their office or the backyard that became their only safe place to socialize.

What’s next: These same supply-chain issues will wreak even more havoc at the holidays. Travel is still likely to be significantly disrupted, and analysts are also anticipating a shortage of both children’s toys and Thanksgiving turkeys.

Source: https://www.axios.com/shortages-delays-clothing-furtinutre-everything-c52da05c-314c-4a3a-895d-b518a862135c.html
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Study: Over 142,000 children had caregivers die during COVID pandemic

More than 142,000 children in the U.S. under the age of 18 had a primary caregiver die during the coronavirus pandemic, a new study shows.

By the numbers: The study, published by the medical journal Pediatrics, found that children of color accounted for 65% of those who had lost a primary caregiver during the pandemic.

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• Around 1 in 500 children had experienced “COVID-19-associated orphanhood or death of a grandparent caregiver.”

Details: The study estimates that more than 120,000 children lost a primary caregiver, referring to a parent or grandparent that provided housing, basic needs and care.

• Over 22,000 children lost a secondary caregiver, referring to grandparents who provided housing but not most basic needs.

Between the lines: There is no federal data available for how many children went into foster care during the pandemic. It is estimated that the pandemic caused a 15% increase in orphaned children, AP reports.

The big picture: A study published in July by the journal The Lancet found that more than 1.5 million children around the world lost a caregiver during the first 14 months of the pandemic.

What they’re saying: “Children facing orphanhood as a result of COVID is a hidden, global pandemic that has sadly not spared the United States,” Susan Hillis, a researcher for the CDC and lead study author, said in a statement.

• “All of us — especially our children — will feel the serious immediate and long-term impact of this problem for generations to come,” Hillis added.
• “Addressing the loss that these children have experienced — and continue to experience — must be one of our top priorities, and it must be woven into all aspects of our emergency response, both now and in the post-pandemic future.”
• “[W]e must address the many underlying inequities and health disparities that put people of color at greater risk of getting COVID-19 and dying from COVID-19, which puts children of color at a greater risk of losing a parent or caregiver and related adverse effects on their development,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Source: https://www.axios.com/children-caregivers-die-coronavirus-pandemic-93345d53-d283-49ff-9ec5-db8a4f0d7ead.html
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How South Dakota became a global tax haven on par with the Cayman Islands

South Dakota has become the world’s foremost tax haven — right up there with the Cayman Islands, and ahead of old-fashioned locations like Switzerland. That’s one of the clear messages from the Pandora Papers leak of confidential financial information about the world’s richest individuals.

Why it matters: The hundreds of billions of dollars sequestered in South Dakota trusts generate no taxes and are effectively off limits to anybody who might have a legitimate claim on them.

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How it works: A South Dakota trust is “the most potent force-field money can buy,” in the words of the Guardian’s Oliver Bullough.

• Like most tax havens, South Dakota has no income tax, no inheritance tax and no capital gains tax. But the state has gone even further than that. South Dakota allows for extreme secrecy when law enforcement comes knocking, and protects assets from being claimed by creditors, ex-spouses, or pretty much anybody else.
• By setting up a trust, the “settlor” — think some billionaire wanting to keep his assets secure — gives those assets to a trustee in South Dakota to look after. The trustee then invests the assets for a “beneficiary” who is often a direct relative of the settlor. Neither the settlor nor the beneficiary ever needs to set foot in South Dakota, or even be able to find it on a map.
• All three parties — the settlor, the trustee, and the beneficiary — can legally claim that the money isn’t theirs. The settlor and the beneficiary can say they don’t have the money, it’s all in a trust run by someone else. The trustee can say that she is just looking after the money and doesn’t own it.

How it happened: South Dakota started carving out its position as the most laissez-faire state for financial services in 1981, when it abolished upper limits for credit-card interest rates. (That’s why the credit card in your wallet was almost certainly issued in South Dakota.)

• In 1983, South Dakota became the first state to allow perpetual trusts — money that can remain untouchable for centuries, with no one ever paying inheritance tax on it.
• Since then, South Dakota has continued to pass laws making its trusts more attractive to the world’s ultra-wealthy. It allowed trusts where the settlor and beneficiary can be the same person. It has also sealed all court documents setting up trusts, making it impossible to know — in the absence of Pandora Papers style leaks — who might have one.
• The Republican-controlled South Dakota legislature regularly rubber-stamps whatever bills are placed in front of it by the financial services industry. “Nobody understands any of them,” said Gene Abdallah, Republican chair of South Dakota’s Senate Judiciary Committee in 2007 — although it’s broadly understood that the laws help to support hundreds of financial-services jobs in Sioux Falls, as well as the lawmakers’ free-market bona fides.

Context: Since 2010, almost every country in the world has signed onto the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), whereby governments inform each other about assets held by foreigners. The United States is the only major country not to sign on to the CRS, making it much more attractive as a tax haven than places like the Bahamas or Panama.

• Who’s in: Ecuadoran President Guillermo Lasso, Chinese real-estate billionaire billionaire Sun Hongbin, and dozens of other high-profile tax optimizers — both foreigners and Americans —are sheltering their assets in South Dakota.

By the numbers: A decade ago, South Dakotan trust companies held $57 billion in assets. The current figure is about $360 billion — with similar trusts in other states bringing the total for the U.S. close to $1 trillion.

• The United States — not only South Dakota but also rival tax-haven states like Nevada and Delaware — now ranks second only to the Cayman Islands for financial secrecy.

The bottom line: “South Dakota offers the best privacy and asset protection laws in the country, and possibly in the world,” tax expert Harvey Bezozi told the Guardian.

Source: https://www.axios.com/south-dakota-global-tax-haven-5120d206-20ab-4cc1-ba91-d1d59fe22487.html
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What we lose when spaceflight goes private

Listen to the new season of Axios’ How it Happened: The Next Astronauts here.

The new era of private spaceflight — heralded by the all-civilian Inspiration4 crew — is at risk of lacking the transparency of missions led by NASA and other space agencies.

Why it matters: Companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are trying to woo more customers in the coming years to help bring about their vision for humanity in space. Bringing in new customers hinges on those people having a clear picture of the risks of space travel.

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Catch up quick: The Inspiration4 crew returned to Earth on Sept. 18 after launching to orbit three days earlier.

• Sian Proctor, Chris Sembroski, Jared Isaacman and Hayley Arceneaux told Axios they all had incredible, even life-changing, experiences flying and training with SpaceX.
• “Every day has been the best day of my life, and it’s only getting better,” Proctor told Axios just ahead of launch.
• The crew represents a shift in who is able to access space, expanding the definition of “astronaut” to more kinds of people than NASA has historically included.

Yes, but: The public didn’t have much access to the crew and their experiences while they were in orbit.

• Much of this was logistical, according to Isaacman. Because of its purely commercial nature, Inspiration4 couldn’t use the full network of technology used for government missions.
• “We had no ground station coverage,” Isaacman told me after landing. “This was not a government mission.”

Background: Historically, access to information about space and human spaceflight has been governed by NASA and other space agencies that are largely committed to communicating with the public.

• The act that established NASA in 1958 required the agency to “provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of information concerning its activities and the results thereof,” and that openness has remained through today.
• NASA also brings that openness to missions it flies through contracts with SpaceX. The company does air livestreams of NASA crews in orbit during flights to the International Space Station.

The big picture: Private companies like SpaceX are increasingly being tasked with building our future in space.

• SpaceX hopes to one day build a city on Mars. Jeff Bezos dreams of creating large space stations in orbit. And NASA is hoping to use partnerships with private companies like these to fly astronauts to various destinations in space.
• Inspiration4 has shown that these private companies can create a future where more people from a variety of backgrounds can go to space.
• But these companies don’t necessarily have the same commitment to transparency as NASA does, and that could create a situation where important information isn’t shared readily.

Virgin Galactic’s flight with its founder Richard Branson in July, for example, violated rules set out by the Federal Aviation Administration around where its spaceplane could fly.

• That error didn’t come out until a New Yorker story revealed the mishap. The live webcast of the launch — featuring flashy guest stars — never suggested anything was amiss.
• SpaceX also has a history of flouting FAA regulations in order to launch its own test rockets in Texas.

What to watch… whether future private missions with SpaceX will find ways to communicate with the public while in orbit as the company continues to launch private missions to space.

The bottom line: A future in space supported by private companies may not be as transparent for members of the public as the previous era in space driven by governments.

Source: https://www.axios.com/private-spaceflight-limitations-spacex-inspiration4-74ff6c1c-51c7-4d34-b836-b61d6fdabd02.html
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What’s behind the rising energy prices

Energy prices are climbing around the world amid a perfect storm of extreme weather, rising power demand, and supply constraints. It’s roiling markets overseas, with China and India facing electricity crises while a dozen power companies in the U.K. have gone belly-up.

Driving the news: Oil prices jumped again Monday after OPEC decided not to boost production beyond the modest increase that it had previously outlined.

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• Prices for both oil and natural gas have roughly doubled over the last year, and gasoline at U.S. pumps is up by about 50% on average.

Why it matters: Commodities like oil and gas operate in global markets, so the U.S. isn’t immune to the effects of rising prices.

• Just look at the Consumer Price Index, one major gauge of inflation — its latest reading in September showed energy costs up 25% compared to a year ago.

The big picture: Higher energy costs impact our economic recovery. Every dollar that goes to electric and heating bills is a dollar that isn’t spent on holiday shopping or going out to eat.

• And prices may go up further this winter. Bank of America analysts estimate Brent crude oil could hit $100 per barrel — a price not seen since 2014.

What happened: The current price trajectory is the result of supply moderating while demand heads skyward, Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust, tells Axios.

• On the demand side, the reopening of the global economy over the last year sent energy needs up around the world, he says.
• High demand led to natural gas shortages in Europe and China. That prompted some power companies to swap gas for oil — pushing up prices of both.

The supply side is more complicated.

• For one, oil production dropped off at the start of the pandemic when demand cratered for everything from airplane fuel to gasoline. U.S. independent producers are far more cautious about cranking the spigot open every time prices inch up, thanks to a recent wave of bankruptcies and investors demanding more focus on returns.
• OPEC isn’t raising supply significantly, in a bid to keep prices at profitable levels.
• And production has been more constrained because the world’s largest economies have made transitioning to more renewable power a top priority, says Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Hermes.

The impact: “All of those different moving pieces took U.S. energy production down by about 2 million barrels a day over the course of the last year, at a time when demand has surged based on the global reopening trade,” Orlando adds.

• Be smart: The climate-related pullback in production is driven by investors in energy companies, as well as public sentiment, as much as it is by governments.

Our thought bubble, via Felix Salmon: The effect of oil companies refusing to raise output in response to higher demand is functionally identical to the effect of a carbon tax. The longer fossil fuels remain pricey, the more attractive the development of renewable alternatives will be.

Source: https://www.axios.com/energy-prices-rising-crisis-fd8ce2f0-53d6-43b9-8ff8-93107e109722.html
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Massive California oil spill may close beaches for months

One of the largest oil spills in recent California history has contaminated a swath of popular beaches south of Long Beach, including Huntington Beach.

Driving the news: The spill of as many as 126,000 gallons of crude oil, which is thought to have emanated from a leaking pipeline about 4.5 miles off the coast of Huntington Beach, was detected Saturday.

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The latest: Oil began washing up on beaches by early Sunday, and closures may expand and last for months.

• As of Sunday evening, 3,150 gallons of oil have been recovered from the spill area, the Coast Guard said.
• The pipeline from which it leaked has been shut off, Martyn Willsher, CEO of Houston-based Amplify Energy Corp., which owns the pipeline, told the AP.
• The leaking pipeline connects to oil production and drilling platforms, the AP reports, both of which are in federal waters.
• The full scope of wildlife impacts is not yet fully known.

The big picture: A host of extreme weather events amplified by climate change have battered California in recent months, from record heat to some of the largest wildfires in state history.

• For some residents, the spill is just another reminder of how California is ground zero for climate change.
• Wildfire photographer Stuart Palley captured this in an Instagram post: “The forests of my childhood have burned, and now the beaches from youth are covered in oil.”

Go deeper: Major oil spill reaches California beaches, killing wildlife

Source: https://www.axios.com/california-oil-spill-close-beaches-months-amplify-2ea63a7d-7f9b-4e38-ae7d-38c436bb55d9.html
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States rev up redrawing congressional maps

A number of states have proposed or finalized new congressional district maps in the past week. The recurrent theme: protecting incumbents rather than expanding majorities.

Why it matters: The flurry of activity is just the start of the high-stakes process that has the potential to affect congressional power for a decade. The biggest states are still to come — as well as deadlines, lawsuits and the potential for lots of court-drawn midterm maps.

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• “The narrative that is emerging is of incumbents protecting themselves, not necessarily trying to maximize their party’s fortunes,” Nate Persily, a redistricting expert at Stanford Law School, told Axios. “But there’s still a lot of territory that remains.”
• Republicans are currently expected to net one to two seats through redistricting, according to the Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman, but, “we’re also on track for far fewer competitive seats.”

The details: Six states only have one district, so they don’t have to go through redistricting. Three states have already completed new maps for the next decade, including in Oregon — where Democrats have the advantage to win the state’s newly gained seat. The other two are Maine and Nebraska.

• Texas’s proposed map would likely net two Republican seats. It does not include a Hispanic-majority district, which experts say will likely result in a lawsuit.
• Colorado’s final proposed map includes one new competitive seat, giving Republicans a shot at equal House representation with Democrats in a state that voted for Joe Biden by 13 points in 2020.
• The Ohio state legislature missed an initial redistricting deadline, allowing Republicans more time to gerrymander. But GOP legislators would have to prove to the state Supreme Court their map doesn’t favor one party — or risk a court-drawn one that could cost them seats.
• Michigan has an independent commission in charge of drawing maps with partisan fairness. It’s not an easily-defined metric. The state’s geography favors Republicans, but “the question is whether the commission consciously uses partisanship to try to draw more Democratic seats and achieve parity,” Wasserman told Axios.

By the numbers: Princeton University and RepresentUs have launched an in-depth grading system for proposed and enacted maps — scoring them on partisan fairness, competitiveness and geographic features.

• So far, they’ve given an overall “A” to Colorado, “B” to Ohio, “C” to Georgia and “F” to Texas maps.
• Their analysis shows states drawing large numbers of uncompetitive districts, with 60-70% of voters favoring the party in charge of redistricting, Joe Kabourek, RepresentUs senior campaign director, and Adam Podowitz-Thomas, the Princeton Gerrymandering Project’s senior legal strategist, told Axios.
• At the same time, states have generally been able to avoid failing the groups’ tests for suspicious geographic manipulation like county-splitting. New technology has made it easier to create districts meeting certain requirements that still benefit a given party.

What we’re watching: A major, unanswered question is whether Democrats try to hold on to their majority through gerrymandering in New York and Illinois.

• The Illinois map is expected to give Democrats two extra seats, Wasserman said, and the New York map could be key to the Democrats holding onto control of the House itself.
• What Republicans do in big states North Carolina and Florida is where they control the process— and whether they propose more aggressive maps in Georgia than they initially did.

Source: https://www.axios.com/redistricting-gerrymandering-midterm-congress-56c493ba-ac11-493f-bc8f-361e1688ad34.html
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