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Venture capital is still a boys' club
26 mins ago - Economy & BusinessDHS chief: U.S. pacing for more border encounters than in the last 20 years
2 hours ago - Politics & PolicyU.S. solar had a record year in 2020
2 hours ago - Energy & EnvironmentAAPI women more than twice as likely to report hate incidents as men, report finds
2 hours ago - Politics & PolicyRNC plans aggressive counterprogramming to Biden campaign to sell COVID relief
2 hours ago - Economy & BusinessToday’s top stories
Scoop: Facebook explores paid deals for new publishing platform
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Facebook will soon begin testing partnerships with a small group of independent writers for its new publishing platform, sources tell Axios.
Driving the news: The platform, which includes tools for journalists to build actual websites, in addition to newsletters, will be tested with a small group of writers, some of whom Facebook plans to pay to help get the tools off the ground.
Why coronavirus patients aren't getting a promising treatment
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Only a minority of patients are receiving some of the most promising coronavirus treatments.
Why it matters: COVID-19 is almost certainly going to be part of our lives for a long time, even with high vaccination rates. Antibody treatments could make it much less deadly — but only if patients get them.
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Joe Biden's 2021 campaign
President Biden, Vice President Harris, Senate Majority Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi on Friday, after a Rose Garden celebration of the American Rescue Plan. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
All the muscles of the Democratic Party are engaged in selling President Biden's COVID-19 relief bill just days after it was signed, with Democrats treating the $1.9 trillion package like a candidate.
Why it matters: The efforts underscore how closely Biden himself — and the broader Democratic machine — have tied the popularity of his first major piece of legislation to the success and ultimate survival of his presidency.
Fears rise as kids spend even more time on digital media
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Media and tech giants are swarming the kids entertainment space, hoping to capitalize on the dramatic increase in screen time during the past year.
Why it matters: As streaming and digital gaming become more popular, new concerns are rising about kids' privacy and susceptibility to tactics designed to keep them hooked on screens.
Venture capital is still a boys' club
Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios
The percentage of female decision-makers at U.S. venture capital firms continues to climb, albeit slowly, according to a new Axios analysis.
By the numbers: 243 of 1,716 decision-makers are women, or nearly 14.2%. Past marks were 12.4% (2020), 9.7% (2019), 8.9% (2018), 7% (2017), and 5.7% (2016).
EU regulator: Currently "no indication" AstraZeneca vaccine causes blood clots
Photo: Gustavo Valiente/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The head of the European Medicines Agency said at a briefing Tuesday that while a full review is ongoing, there is currently "no indication" that the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is responsible for the small number of blood clots reported in patients in Europe.
Driving the news: EMA executive director Emer Cooke said she is "firmly convinced" that the benefits of the AstraZeneca shot "far outweigh" the risks, and expressed concern that the suspension of vaccinations by dozens of European countries could increase vaccine skepticism.
DHS chief: U.S. pacing for more border encounters than in the last 20 years
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images
The U.S. is on-pace to encounter more people at the U.S.-Mexico border "than we have in the last 20 years," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wrote in a lengthy statement on Tuesday.
The big picture: The scale of the arrivals represents a budding crisis for President Biden. Mayorkas acknowledged that the arrival of the migrants, including unaccompanied children, at the Southwest border is "difficult," but added that the administration is "making progress and we are executing on our plan."
The Nasdaq is bouncing back
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Tech stocks led the way as U.S. equity indexes finished higher on Monday — the Dow and S&P closed at record highs and the Nasdaq rose 1%, having now reversed half of its correction from mid-February.
Why it matters: Bullish momentum again powered the market higher, as traders continue to put rising COVID-19 cases in Europe, spiking U.S. Treasury yields and a moribund labor market out of mind.
Crist "strongly considering" another run for Florida governor
Rep. Charlie Crist (left) and Heavy's Food Truck owner Kendrick Scott (right) in front of the Heavy's truck. Photo: Selene San Felice/Axios
Rep. Charlie Crist's hat sits teetering at the edge of the 2022 ring.
The state of play: The St. Petersburg Democrat told Axios he is "seriously considering running for governor" while on a tour of local businesses on Monday.
John Deere eyes 5G for its factories
A tractor in a John Deere factory. Photo courtesy of John Deere
John Deere is planning on introducing 5G technology into its factories, including in Iowa.
Why it matters: 5G is expected to streamline operations, ranging from automated parts delivery to even how employees move in the assembly line.
China's on a mission to dominate space internet
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
China is ramping up plans for government-sponsored satellites to beam internet from space, taking on U.S. rivals like SpaceX and Amazon in the race to own the next frontier of connectivity.
Why it matters: There's growing concern that China is trying to enter the space internet market with the same strategy it used on earth with Huawei and 5G — use a state-backed company to undercut competitors and spread global influence.
The U.S.-Russia collaboration in space is fraying
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Russia, the U.S.' long-standing partner in space, is turning to China for its lunar ambitions.
Why it matters: The U.S. and Russia have been uneasy partners in orbit for decades, but as the two grow farther apart in space, their rift could reshape the geopolitical landscape above Earth — and on it — for years to come.
North Korea's Kim Yo-jong warns U.S. against "causing a stink"
Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2019. Photor: Jorge Silva/Pool via Bloomberg
Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, on Monday warned the Biden administration to "refrain from causing a stink," according to the state-run KCNA news agency.
Why it matters: The North Korean regime's first comments about the Biden administration come as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visit South Korea and Japan this week.
Catholic order commits to making $100 million in slavery reparations
Descendant leaders, Jesuits and Georgetown University representative at the ancestors' graves, Immaculate Heart of Mary Cemetery in Louisiana. Photo: Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States
Jesuit priests pledged Monday to raise $100 million for the descendants of people enslaved by the Catholic order as part of a new racial reconciliation initiative in the U.S., the New York Times first reported.
Why it matters: It's one of the biggest moves by an institution to atone for slavery, and "the largest effort by the Roman Catholic Church to make amends for the buying, selling and enslavement of Black people," church officials and historians told the NYT.
Biden opposes reopening controversial child migrant shelter
Kamala Harris and other presidential candidates outside a child detention center in Homestead, Florida, in June 2019. Photo: Rhona Wise/AFP via Getty Images
President Biden opposes reopening a controversial child migrant shelter in Florida that's been run by a for-profit company, telling the federal agency overwhelmed with caring for migrant minors to find other options, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.
Why it matters: The president's personal intervention underscores the growing humanitarian crisis at the border, the facility's scandal-plagued past and Biden's own sensitivities around child detention practices.
Democrats see China as a test for Republicans
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Democrats think they have a test for whether they can work with Republicans on anything: it has to do with China.
What we're hearing: The White House is quietly supporting Sen. Chuck Schumer's forthcoming legislation to curb China's global influence to prove Democrats can still work with Republicans despite the GOP voting unanimously against the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
Scoop: White House rolls back COVID-19 testing for staffers
White House press secretary Jen Psaki and Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the National Economic Council, adjust their masks in the West Wing. Photo: Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Biden administration issued new internal guidance Monday saying it would reduce daily coronavirus testing for White House staff to once a week, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Now that a majority of officials working on the 18-acre complex have been vaccinated, the administration is relaxing some of its coronavirus restrictions — a step closer to normalcy.