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2 hours ago - Politics & PolicyFirst photos
2 hours ago - Politics & PolicyFirst person: A 9/11 memory
2 hours ago - WorldAfghans left behind by U.S. airlift include embassy contractors and visa applicants
3 hours ago - WorldU.S. Navy identifies 5 sailors who died in helicopter crash off San Diego coast
5 hours ago - Politics & PolicyFormer South Africa President Jacob Zuma set for early prison release on medical parole
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6 hours ago - Politics & PolicyKinzinger says McCarthy's threat to telecom companies amid Jan. 6 probe "really bad politics"
7 hours ago - Politics & PolicyToday’s top stories
New PR ploy
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
The head of a prominent centrist advocacy group quietly seeded a news outlet that provides a steady stream of positive coverage for her organization and its board members' lobbying clients, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The fragmentation of digital media means virtually anyone can be a publisher. When public affairs intersects with political coverage, it can blur the lines between news and advocacy.
First photos
President Biden and Vice President Harris discuss notes from a meeting in March about COVID-19. Official White House Photo: Adam Schultz
President Biden and Vice President Harris have their own "Pete Souzas," and they're also working to create a visual archive of the new administration.
Why it matters: Photographers Adam Schultz, Lawrence Jackson and their colleagues have a number of social media sites that give a look at the president and vice president when the news media isn't present.
1 🎧 thing
First person: A 9/11 memory
Anthony Shadid reports from Najaf, Iraq, in December 2003. Photo: Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks changed the trajectory of many lives, from the people who died to the heroes who responded, to everyone who watched — including one journalist for whom it marked a career-defining moment.
Why it matters: As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches this Saturday, Axios politics editor Glen Johnson recalls the conversation he had that crisp Tuesday morning with his then-colleague, reporter Anthony Shadid.
Afghans left behind by U.S. airlift include embassy contractors and visa applicants
A small group of Afghans camp out in the corner of a parking area near the makeshift camps at Shahr-e-Naw Park in Kabul on Aug. 14. Photo: Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times
The Afghans left behind by the U.S. airlift in the wake of the Taliban's takeover of the country include longtime U.S. Embassy contractors, Special Immigrant Visas applicants, and members of the Afghan military, among others.
Driving the news: In one of the largest airlifts in history, the U.S. evacuated 120,000 people from Afghanistan prior to their withdrawal. But at least 100 Americans and thousands of Afghan allies were left behind.
How the yellow whistle became a symbol against anti-Asian hate
The Yellow Whistle. Photo: Courtesy of The Yellow Whistle campaign
In the centuries since Asians first arrived in the United States, the color yellow has dogged their steps. It's been weaponized as a derogatory slur and exploited to villainize Asians as the Yellow Peril. In the last few decades, however, Asian Americans have sought to reclaim the term "yellow."
Driving the news: One such campaign is "The Yellow Whistle," a self-protection program launched this year by Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang, owners of Kampgrounds of America (KOA), and four others in the wake of pandemic-fueled anti-Asian hate.
Study shows Black offenders more likely to get federal life sentences
Protesters call for criminal justice reform outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images
Black Americans are more likely to get federal life sentences than whites or Latinos, a new study has found.
Why it matters: The analysis, published recently in Criminology, further illustrates the racial disparities of federal sentencing at a time when advocates are pushing for sentencing reforms for nonviolent offenders.
What the Taliban victory means for Afghanistan's neighbors
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's political leader. Photo: Li Ran/Xinhua via Getty Images
The Taliban’s total victory has major implications for Afghanistan's neighbors and the broader region, with countries vying for influence while preparing for potential instability, refugee flows and the threat of a terrorist safe haven.
The big picture: It’s largely a strategic victory for Pakistan, which has assisted the Taliban and harbored its leaders, and a defeat for India, which invested heavily in an Afghan state that has now collapsed.
Coast Guard responds to oil spill in Gulf after Hurricane Ida
Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The U.S. Coast Guard said divers were being deployed Sunday to search for the source of a growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida, per Reuters.
What's happening: The Coast Guard is investigating the spill, which is believed to stem from an underwater source at an offshore drilling lease, some two miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana — a key oil industry hub and staging area, reports AP, which notes the cleanup operation has begun.
Final U.S. Tokyo Games gold won by men's wheelchair basketball team
Team USA celebrate after defeating Team Japan during the men's wheelchair basketball gold medal game at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in Ariake Arena on Sunday. Photo: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
The U.S. men's wheelchair basketball team beat Japan 64-60 to win gold at the Paralympics Sunday — Team USA's final Tokyo Games medal.
Of note: The American women's team won a bronze medal on Saturday.
New Zealand to criminalize terror attack planning after mall stabbing
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during a Saturday press conference in Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand. Photo: Mark Mitchell — Pool/Getty Images
New Zealand officials tried "for years" to deport the terrorist who stabbed shoppers in an Auckland supermarket Friday before being fatally shot by police who were surveilling him, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.
Driving the news: Ardern vowed Saturday to tighten NZ's security laws by the month's end following the attack by the "ISIS-inspired" Ahamed Aathil Mohamed Samsudeen, 32 — who was fighting to stay in NZ as a refugee when he injured seven shoppers, three critically.
Joint Chiefs chair says civil war in Afghanistan "likely"
Gen Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaking at a news conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on Sept. 1. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Civil war will "likely" erupt in Afghanistan and this could lead to al-Qaeda's resurgence, U.S. Gen. Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Fox News on Saturday.
Driving the news: He said it's too early to say whether the U.S. was safer now American troops have left Afghanistan, but it's "very likely" there'd be a renewal of terrorism in the region "within 12, 24, 36 months, and we're going to monitor that."