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White House press secretary Jen Psaki, wearing
a Max Scherzer jersey, threw out the first pitch at Nats Park yesterday
— across home plate and into the mitt of Nationals relief pitcher Kyle
Finnegan. (WTOP)  | 1 big thing: Rural Dems run from party
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
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A growing swath of House Democratic candidates says
the party needs to radically improve its heartland appeal to have any
hope of keeping power in Washington, Axios' Alexi McCammond writes in the debut of "Swing Country," her reported series on the 2022 midterms. - Why it matters:
With control of the House and Senate on the bubble, many ambitious
Democrats — from the South to the Midwest to the Rockies — are running
against their own national party's image.
What's happening: After
four years of listening to President Trump, many rural voters are
reflexively distrustful of progressive solutions to everything from the
pandemic to infrastructure. - In a 3-min. ad for his Senate campaign, Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio never says he's a Democrat.
What we're hearing:
Democratic strategists are advising candidates in states like these to
refrain from "fancy" language, and to focus on populist economic
policies. - Several consultants insisted that Democratic policies —
on labor rights, broadband, climate and infrastructure — are popular in
rural areas. It's the messaging that's causing heartburn.
Keep reading.
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2. "Pandemic of the unvaccinated"
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 | Data: Our World in Data. Chart: Will Chase/Axios Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations
and deaths are back on the rise in the U.S. as the highly transmissible
Delta variant spreads across the country, Axios' Sam Baker writes. - This is happening almost exclusively to people who aren’t vaccinated, and it’s worse in places where overall vaccination rates are low.
The U.S. is now averaging
about 26,000 new cases per day — up 70% from the previous week, the CDC
says. Hospitalizations are up 36%, and deaths are up 26%, to an average
of 211 per day. - Two-thirds of eligible Americans have gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and about 57% are fully vaccinated.
- Over 97% of the people currently hospitalized for severe COVID-19 infections were unvaccinated, according to the CDC.
A handful of states with low vaccination rates — Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri and Nevada — are driving a plurality of new cases. - One in five new infections comes from Florida alone, per the CDC.
The good news: The vaccines work, even against the Delta variant.
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3. You're being scanned as you shop
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
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Retailers' use of face-recognition tech, which can scan or store facial images of shoppers and workers, has accelerated during the pandemic, Axios' Kim Hart writes in her "Tech Agenda" column. - Why it matters: Retailers
were looking for ways to track foot traffic with fewer employees, and
offer contactless payments. Now, of course, they're keeping this new
power.
Where it stands: Stores including
Walmart, Kroger, Home Depot and Target have said they won't use facial
recognition technologies, according to a list by an advocacy group, Fight for the Future. - But
Albertsons, Macy's and Apple Stores do use the tech, per the list.
Their privacy policies say they use it for security and to prevent
fraud.
- Portland, Ore., last year became the first U.S. city to ban facial recognition by retail stores, hotels and restaurants.
How it works:
Facial recognition tools are primarily used by retailers for security
reasons — chiefly, to prevent shoplifting — and they usually don't link
images to personally identifiable information, says Brenda Leong of the
Future of Privacy Foundation. She said there are plenty of other ways
stores would like to use the technology, including: - Identifying loyalty club members the minute they enter a store to send them push alerts and text messages about deals.
- Knowing exactly how long a customer is in the store to help tailor their experience in future visits.
- Using biometric systems for employees to clock in and out, and track workers' whereabouts and monitor productivity.
Keep reading.
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A message from Amazon
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See what making $15+/hr means to Amazon employees
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Before working at Amazon, Leonardo was making $9 an hour at a car wash. Now he makes more than $15 an hour and is able to help his family.
What this means: Amazon employees have seen the difference that making at least $15 an hour can have.
Get more details.
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4. Pics du jour: Athletes' village
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Photos: Toru Hanai/Getty Images (3), Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters (Japan)
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At the Olympic athletes' village in Tokyo, teams decorate their balconies on the waterfront high-rise ahead of Friday's opening ceremony.
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5. New fears of climate blind spot
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
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The rapid succession of precedent-shattering extreme
weather events in North America and Europe has some scientists saying
climate extremes are worsening faster than expected, Axios' Andrew
Freedman reports. - Why it matters: Extreme
weather is the deadliest, most expensive and most immediate
manifestation of climate change. Any miscalculations could make
communities more vulnerable.
Axios spoke
to nine leading scientists involved in extreme event research. The
Pacific Northwest heat wave is being viewed with more suspicion than the
European floods as a possible indicator of something new and more
dangerous. - Andrew Dessler, a climate
scientist at Texas A&M, said he's no longer sure if climate models
are accurately capturing how global warming is playing out.
- "Perhaps we've just been very unlucky, but I think this is an open scientific question," he said.
Keep reading.
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6.  ️ Nick Kristof tests waters for Oregon governor
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| Nick Kristoff returns to his Oregon hometown in the documentary "Tightrope." N.Y. Times columnist Nick Kristof,
known for on-the-ground reporting about humanity around the world,
tells two Oregon newspapers that he's considering entering the
Democratic primary for governor next year. - Kristof, 62, whose Twitter bio calls himself "Oregon farmboy turned NY Times columnist," told Willamette Week:
"I have friends trying to convince me that here in Oregon, we need new
leadership from outside the broken political system. ... I'm honestly
interested in what my fellow Oregonians have to say about that."
The seat will be open: Gov. Kate Brown (D) is term-limited. - "All I know for
sure is that we need someone with leadership and vision so that folks
from all over the state can come together to get us back on track," the
columnist added in his statement, later shared with The (Portland) Oregonian.
For at least two years, Kristof
has been visiting his family farm in Yamhill, Ore., "removing the
cherry orchard to make way for cider apples," Willamette Week reports. - In 2020, he and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, wrote "Tightrope," a book about strains in working-class America, including Yamhill.
- A February column (subscription), datelined Yamhill, told the moving story of a childhood pal — who became homeless and didn't make it.
- An April column (subscription) was headlined: "Lessons for America From a Weird Portland."
Video: Kristof returns to his rural hometown. ... Read "The Kids on the Number 6 School Bus" (Click "Read an excerpt.")
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7.  Some used cars worth more than new
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 | Data: Cox Automotive. Chart: Axios Visuals Normally the ultimate depreciating asset, cars
are defying economic gravity: Some vehicles are now worth more than the
original sticker price, The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription): - "[C]ertain popular preowned models, such
as the Kia Telluride and Toyota Tundra, are regularly selling for
thousands of dollars more than the list prices of the brand-new versions
as auto retailers run historically low on preowned vehicle inventory."
Prices are even rising above 100,000 miles: "Car-shopping
website Edmunds.com found that the average selling price for a used car
with between 100,000 and 110,000 miles on it was $16,489 in June, the
highest ever recorded and up from $12,626 a year ago," per The Journal.
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8. 1 fun thing: Psaki's strike
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| Photo: Brad Mills/USA Today Sports via Getty Images Watch the video.
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A message from Amazon
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Watch what happened when Amazon raised their starting wage to $15/hr
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Amazon saw the need to do more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour.
In 2018, they established a $15/hour starting wage, and they’ve seen the positive impact it’s had on their employees and their families first-hand. Learn more about the company’s benefits. |
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