Subject: ?Axios AM: Mike's Top 10 — Hell month — More people survive cancer — Dynasty rising — The wedding artist
From: "Mike Allen" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2017 09:13:10 -0400 (EDT)

Presented by Bank of America:

Hell Month — More people survive cancer — Dynasty rising=— The wedding artist

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Presented By Bank of America

Axios AM

By Mike Allen = ·Apr 02, 2017

Good Sunday morning. It's Opening Day for si= Major League Baseball clubs: The first pitch of the season is Yankees @ T=mpa Bay Rays, 1:10 p.m.

1 big thing: Hell Month

AP's Evan Vucci

On Capitol Hill, the last week of April is already bein= called Hell Week. That's when Congress returns from Easter break, with ju=t days to prevent a government shutdown on April 29 — Day 100 of t=e Trump presidency.

This Friday, Trump is expected =o get his first big congressional victory — the confirmation of Ju=ge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court (although it looks it'll follow an ug=y confrontation with Democrats that triggers the "nuclear option" to aband=n the 60-vote threshold for confirmation).

The celebration w=ll be short-lived. A shutdown is a very real possibility, Republi=an sources tell me — mainly because Republicans remain as fracture= as they were when they tanked health reform:

The Hous= Freedom Caucus wants to use the coming budget fight to shrin= government by defunding Obamacare and Planned Parenthood.

Sen. John McCain told David Axelrod on the=first TV version of his CNN podcast, "The Axe Files," that he'll do whatev=r it takes to increase military spending — even if that m=ans a shutdown.

Dems have no interes= in helping Trump and Republicans, so they'll fight on all fronts. A senio= Democratic aide emails that the party realizes its leverage: "[A] shutdow=... would completely be viewed by the public as a function of Republican d=sfunction."

To avoid a shutdown, Republicans will probably have no choice but to seduce Ds. Ste=e Elmendorf, a top Democratic lobbyist, told me it's very possibl= to construct a government-funding bill that'll get Democratic votes (no d=funding of Planned Parenthood, no money for a wall, a reasonable position =n defense/non-defense spending).

"The only way you get to a =hutdown is incompetence, which this group is certainly capable of=" Elmendorf said.

And back to Russia ... On ABC's "=his Week," Nikki Haley, Trump's ambassador to the U.N., tells Martha Radda=z: "[C]ertainly I think Russia was involved in the election. There's no question about that."

2. Column of the day

A liberal columnist goes to deep-red Oklahoma and finds=discontent with Trump policies but deep and perhaps unshakable lo=alty ...

"In Trump Country, Shock at Trump Budget C=ts," by Nick Kristof in Tulsa:

Some of the loyalty seemed to be grounded in resentment a= Democrats for mocking Trump voters as dumb bigots, some from a belief tha= budgets are complicated, and some from a sense that it's too early to aba=don their man.

L=ng-term threat: "They did say that if jobs didn't reappear, they =ould turn against him."

3. Next on the Trump agenda

A bearish view of the fight ahead in "Crucial lessons from the last tax reform," by=Jeff Birnbaum (president of BGR Public Relations, and co-author with Alan =urray of "Showdown at Gucci Gulch," about the 1986 tax reform), o= the WashPost Sunday Opinion page:

"Tax reform
"Tax ref=rm was launched in 1985 with a scene that's almost unimaginable t=day: a televised speech by Reagan, a Republican, followed by a Democratic =esponse by Dan Rostenkowski, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Comm=ttee, endorsing the president's initiative."

"The fate of =ax reform will rest on policymakers' ability to find acceptable revenue ra=sers. ... Some GOP leaders today appear to believe that their pla=s don't need to be tested in that way."

A=other reason the border-adjustment tax is in trouble ... N.Y. Times lead story, "Divide in G.O.P. Now Threatens Trump Tax Plan,= by Nick Confessore and Alan Rappeport: "Koch has circulated studies indic=ting that the tax would increase the price of gasoline."<=p>

A message from Bank of America

Why responsible growth is making a difference in co=munities

At Bank of America, our Responsible Growth strategy is helping us improv= our customers’ financial lives. We’re creating a positive=and lasting impact by focusing on our business, our employees and our comm=nities. Read more.

4. More people survive cancer

This dispatch by Axios' Alison Snyder

Survival rates for cancer patients in the U.S. continue =o improve, according to a new report from top government agencies. Pancreatic= liver, brain, lung and other cancers still have low rates of survival but=prostate, melanoma and breast cancers topped 90%.

The =indings: The researchers reported a continued decline in overall =ancer death rates due to screening, prevention -- including less cigarette=smoking -- and new treatments.

Issue ahead: Survi=ors can face a host of long-term physical and psychological health issues =elated to the disease. So a new focus is needed on quality of life.

5. Dynasties: "New wave of Kennedys cresting"

Chris Kennedy, 53, Chicago businessman and Dem candidate for Illinois go=ernor / AP's Charles Rex Arbogast

"Ready or not, another Kennedy moment is near," declare= the lead story of the Boston Sunday Globe ... "Three family members seem =oised to step up on the national stage — with Trump as their foil,= by Annie Linskey in Chicago:

Chris Kennedy =E2�� the eighth of Robert and Ethel Kennedy's 11 children, a Democrat =unning for governor in his adopted Illinois next year — is in "the=vanguard of a Kennedy family comeback in American politics."

"His cousin Ted Kennedy Jr., son of the late Massachusetts sena=or, is mulling his own 2018 gubernatorial run in Connecticut, where he's a=member of the state Senate."

"Then there's Joe Kennedy III= the third-term Massachusetts congressman, grabbing the national =potlight to help defeat Trump's health care plan — prompting big q=estions about his next move."

6. "Buying a home harder than ever this spring"

"With tight inventory and rising prices and mortgage ra=es, this season will be the toughest for buyers in a decade," the Wall Str=et Journal's U.S. housing reporter, Laura Kusisto, r=ports:

"Economists expect strong price gr=wth and soft sales this year because there isn't enough supply to meet dem=nd. Freddie Mac predicts home sales will decline slightly this year to 5.9=million from 6 million from last year."

"[T]h=re is a growing mismatch between an abundance of high-price inven=ory on the market and increasing demand for starter homes."

"Economists had predicted the inventory crunch would ease this y=ar ... Instead, inventory has gotten tighter as demand has increased rapid=y and the pickup in construction has lagged behind.

"Selle=s ... have become hesitant to put their homes on the market becau=e rising prices and mortgage rates have made it more expensive to trade up="

"It isn't just hot spots like Seattle and Denve= that are seeing scarce supplies of homes for sale but also sleepier local=s like Minneapolis, Cleveland, Nashville, Tenn., Tampa, Fla., and Louisvil=e, Ky.These markets typically are enjoying strong job growth with young fi=st-time buyers out looking for homes."

7. Futurecast: Consumer-ready self-driving cars

San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News front page

Spending balloons, and competition heats up, in ... =Google's Waymo, Tesla and Uber are battling to set the industry standard f=r consumer-ready autonomous vehicles," by the San Jose Mercury News' Maris= Kendall:

Research spending balloons: "[S]elf=driving cars are on the brink of transforming transportation. The Bay Area=industry creating the technology for autonomous vehicles has morphed from = collaborative space of free-flowing ideas into a high-speed road race whe=e the winners will seize a market expected to reach $77 billion by 2035."<=li>
"[T]he major automakers, such as GM, Ford, Fiat Ch=ysler and Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler, are staking out their claims to th= industry by investing in and partnering with the key tech players."
<=i>"Uber is betting its future on autonomous vehicles that=can someday replace human drivers in its ride-hailing network. Tesla has e=pressed interest in creating its own ride-hailing network."

8. The talk of tech

TechCrunch

"Snapchat wins April Fools' with its jab at Instagram," by TechCrunch's Greg Kumparak:

Snapchat ripped [Facebook'= Instagram] off in return ... They've turned Instagram's interface into a =napchat filter for the day and just swapped out "Instagram" for "Snapchat"=up at the top. It's a filter, rather than a lens, so it's something you ap=ly after taking a photo.

(Bonus points for the little burn implying that the world's col=ective "mom" is one of the only people looking at your photos there.)=/p>

9. Ballpark boom

The sun sets over Oriole Park at Camden Yards as Baltimore's Francisco P=na scores on an Adam Jones double against the San Diego Padres on June 21,=2016 / AP's Patrick Semansky

"The Camden Effect: At 25, ballpark's legacy is large i= MLB," by AP's Noah Trister<=a>:

"Oriole Park at Camden Yards [opened April=6,1992] became the model for a period of groundbreaking transformation in =he way baseball venues were built. Over two-thirds of all major league tea=s now play in facilities that opened in 1992 or later."

"C=mden Yards was a departure from the trend of multipurpose venues =hat seemed largely indistinguishable from each other. The B&O Warehous= beyond right field made Oriole Park instantly recognizable — like=Wrigley Field's ivy or Fenway Park's Green Monster — and although =he ballpark's simplicity was part of its appeal, it included some innovati=ns that improved the spectator experience."

"From 1992-201=, a total of 21 new parks opened. When there were no additions to=that list from 2013-16, it was the first time since Camden Yards opened th=t even two consecutive seasons had passed without a new ballpark."

10. 1 fun thing: The wedding artist

Oil on canvas at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, by Ben Keys, W=dOnCanvas.com

Not an April Fool's .=. From the N.Y. Times wedding pages, "They Capture Your Wedding o= Site and on Canvas: Couples are hiring painters and sketch artists to cap=ure a moment of their wedding day," by Alix Strauss:

Ben Keys, a wedding artist who owns Wed on Canvas, ... caps his wedding gigs at 40 a =ear, and he said he turned down over 100 requests. Inquiries from event pl=nners, anxious brides, even mothers-in-law regarding his availability doub=ed in 2016 from 2015. ...

Prices can range from $3,500 to $5,000, plus transportation a=d accommodation expenses for two nights. Each painting can take more than =0 hours to complete and is delivered eight to 10 weeks after the wedding.<=em>

P.S. Candace Bushnell objects to "[c]alling t=e wedding notices in The New York Times 'the women's sports pages<=strong>' ... [I]t's a hell of a lot more like the mergers and acqu=sitions page."

A message from Bank of America

Starting at home to create responsible growth

At Bank of America, our company can’t succeed unless our employe=s are successful at work and at home. Whether it’s 16 weeks paid f=mily leave, emergency childcare, or a $15 minimum wage, we’re prou= to help 200,000 employees create their own success. Read more.

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