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5 mins ago - Economy & BusinessAt least 50 killed after train derails in Taiwan
16 mins ago - WorldFreshman lawmaker donates Gaetz campaign contributions to victims of abuse
18 mins ago - Politics & PolicyPolice confirm one officer, suspect are dead following vehicle attack at Capitol
27 mins ago - Politics & PolicyWaymo chief steps down
57 mins ago - Economy & BusinessTop homicide lieutenant: Chauvin's use of force was "totally unnecessary"
3 hours ago - Politics & PolicyToday’s top stories
Police confirm one officer, suspect are dead following vehicle attack at Capitol
Police officers gather near a car that crashed into a barrier on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, April 2, 2021. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
One Capitol Police officer died from injuries sustained Friday after someone rammed a vehicle into two officers at the North Barricade vehicle access point of the U.S. Capitol, according to acting USCP chief Yogananda Pittman.
The state of play: Pittman said the suspect, identified as a man, exited his vehicle after ramming his car into the barricade and lunged at officers while brandishing a knife. The officers fired at the suspect, who has been pronounced dead.
Congress "horrified" by vehicle attack at Capitol
Police investigating the scene where a driver drove into a security barrier near the U.S. Capitol on April 2. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Members of Congress said they were "horrified" by Friday's car ramming attack at the U.S. Capitol that left two people dead, including one Capitol Police officer and the suspect, and one office injured.
Why it matters: Some security fencing was removed a week ago after months of heightened security following the Jan 6. attack at the Capitol. National Guard remains at the U.S. Capitol but in smaller numbers. Members of the Guard were seen on Friday deploying toward the Capitol barrier following the incident.
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What democratization of finance sounds like on Clubhouse
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Audio chat app Clubhouse has enabled solo investors to build their own digital trading floors.
Why it matters: The live, audio-only aspect of Clubhouse gives retail investors a way to mind meld with more decorum than other platforms, and a way to pick up on insights hard to find elsewhere.
Biden revokes Trump's sanctions on International Criminal Court
Biden and Trump during a 2020 presidentila debate. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty
President Biden on Friday revoked the sanctions imposed by his predecessor on officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Secretary of State Tony Blinken said in a statement.
Why it matters: Biden had promised to lift the sanctions during the campaign, but had delayed doing so at the request of Israel, which was attempting to block an ICC investigation into the situation in the West Bank and Gaza.
Behind the scenes: Blinken notified his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi of the decision during a call earlier on Friday, sources familiar with the call say.
- Israeli officials say Biden stalled for as long as he could, but once the ICC prosecutor decided last month to open the investigation there was no value to keeping the sanctions.
- The Trump administration had imposed the sanctions to object to the looming Israel-Palestine probe and another investigation into the war in Afghanistan, which could implicate U.S. troops and the CIA
What they're saying: Blinken said the decision reflected the Biden administration’s assessment that the measures adopted by the Trump administration were inappropriate and ineffective.
- “We continue to disagree strongly with the ICC's actions relating to the Afghanistan and Palestinian situations. We maintain our longstanding objection to the Court’s efforts to assert jurisdiction over personnel of non-States Parties such as the United States and Israel," he said in the statement.
- Blinken added that the Biden administration believes that its concerns about these cases will be better addressed through engagement with the ICC, rather than sanctions.
Ex-Homeland Security Sec. Janet Napolitano on the border surge
The number of unaccompanied minors in government custody has swelled to more than 18,000 — a challenge further complicated by COVID-related precautions requiring that shelters operate below capacity to allow for distancing.
Axios Re:Cap speaks with Janet Napolitano, DHS secretary under Obama and former Arizona governor, to discuss the Biden administration’s response.
MLB to move All-Star Game out of Atlanta over Georgia voting restrictions
General view of the Major League Baseball logo. Photo: Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred announced Friday that the 2021 All-Star Game will be moved out of Atlanta due to Georgia's law curbing voting access, which will disproportionately affect people of color.
What he's saying: "Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box," Manfred said in a statement.
Top homicide lieutenant: Chauvin's use of force was "totally unnecessary"
A Minneapolis homicide lieutenant with over 40 years of experience said Friday that Derek Chauvin's use of force on George Floyd was "totally unnecessary," testifying that "if your knee is on a person's neck, that can kill him."
Why it matters: Though his role is in investigation and not on patrol — something the defense emphasized — media commentators called it the most compelling testimony yet from law enforcement who have taken the stand at former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial.
Ousted Democrats start PAC to defend moderates in 2022
Then-U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM) speaks at the podium standing with members of the Problem Solvers Caucus in 2020. PHOTO: Cheriss May/Getty Images
Centrist congressional Democrats who were defeated in the 2020 election have banded together to create a political action committee to defend U.S. House moderates in the 2022 midterms.
Why it matters: A first-term president’s party historically has lost seats in Congress in the midterm elections, and the GOP just needs to flip a handful of seats in 2022 to regain control. Ousted centrist Democrats believe that they were defeated in 2020 by Republican challengers who distorted their records, and the unseated lawmakers need to defend their former colleagues.
Biden: Infrastructure compromise is "inevitable," but "inaction is not an option"
President Biden addressed Republican opposition to his $2 trillion infrastructure plan on Friday, saying in a speech from the White House: "Compromise is inevitable. Changes to my plan are certain. But inaction is not an option."
Why it matters: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has vowed to fight against Biden's American Jobs Plan "every step of the way," telling reporters this week that the bill "is not going to get support from our side."
Updated CDC guidance says vaccinated people are free to travel
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Fully vaccinated people can travel domestically and internationally without having to show a negative COVID-19 test or quarantining, but are still recommended to wear a mask and follow public health precautions, according to updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Why it matters: It's a major incentive for Americans to get vaccinated that will also provide a boost to the U.S. travel industry, which has been financially hammered by the pandemic over the past year.
Biden holds first call with Ukraine's Zelensky as Russia tensions escalate
Photo: Sergii Kharchenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images
President Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday for the first time since taking office, as U.S. and NATO officials warn of a Russian military buildup near eastern Ukraine that could ignite the long-simmering conflict, according to the White House.
Why it matters: It took more than two months for Biden to speak directly with the president of Ukraine, a key frontline partner in eastern Europe that has been pleading for more help from the West in its fight against Russian aggression.
Deal-making smashed records in Q1
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Global M&A and private equity broke all-time records in the first quarter of 2021, according to new data from Refinitiv.
Why it matters: If my morning deal-making newsletters have seemed unusually long, it hasn't been your imagination.
U.S. and Iran to hold nuclear talks in Vienna, but in separate rooms
The U.S. and Iranian delegations during 2015 talks in Vienna, including Zarif (Right side, at center) and Malley (Left side, at front). Photo: Siamek Ebrahimi/Anadolu Agency/Getty
The U.S. and Iran are expected to hold indirect “proximity talks” in Vienna next Tuesday to try and break the deadlock over a potential return to the 2015 nuclear deal, Western diplomats tell me.
Why it matters: At the moment, next week’s talks are not expected to include U.S. and Iranian diplomats sitting in the same room, but it's a small step forward when it comes to U.S.-Iran engagement.
Top aides fill in more blanks on Biden's climate push
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Top White House climate aides have shared a little more of their thinking about its massive climate spending proposal.
Why it matters: The White House is facing intense political pushback on the plan's size, so their success or failure at justifying its costs could matter in Congress and the ballot box.
U.S. economy added 916,000 jobs in March, crushing expectations
President Biden at his first Cabinet meeting yesterday. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
The U.S. economy added a whopping 916,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate fell to 6% from 6.2%, the government said on Friday.
Why it matters: The blowout job gains show how vaccines and the economic reopening are juicing the battered labor market. Economists had been expecting an increase of 675,000.
Investors are betting the S&P 500 reaching 4,000 is just the beginning
The S&P 500 closed over 4,000 on Thursday for the first time, having nearly doubled its coronavirus pandemic low of 2,192 in just over a year.
Why it matters: "Round numbers can be big psychological barriers for markets, so breaking 4,000 could provide a confidence boost to stocks in the short term," Lule Demmissie, president of Ally Invest, says in a note.
Exclusive: McCain interviewed in new Ken Burns film on Hemingway
John McCain, just before his death in 2018, did an interview for Ken Burns’ upcoming PBS film about Ernest Hemingway, in which the senator talks about "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and his hero, Robert Jordan.
The big picture: "Hemingway" — a three-part, six-hour documentary film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick — examines the visionary work and turbulent life of Ernest Hemingway, one of America's iconic writers.
Boycott threats loom over Qatar World Cup and Beijing Olympics
The German national team. Photo: Tobias Schwarz/Pool/Getty Images
The hosts of both of the two biggest global sporting events on the 2022 calendar are facing boycott threats, but they're handling the scrutiny much differently.
Driving the news: When European qualifying for the 2022 World Cup kicked off last week, players from three countries seized the opportunity to protest the human rights conditions in host nation Qatar.
Why cable hates Biden's $100B internet plan
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
President Joe Biden has a $100 billion plan to ensure all Americans have high-speed internet, but some of the key companies that provide those connections are already balking.
Why it matters: Democrats on the Hill will have to overcome industry lobbying and Republican opposition to make this part of Biden's multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure program a reality.
The Suez Canal is clear, but shipping is still broken
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
International shipping and supply chains are in rough shape, even without a container ship lodged in the Suez Canal.
Why it matters: The pandemic threw a wrench into the gears of a global network that was already struggling with oversized ships and unbalanced product flows. Given how long it takes for the system to recover from any kind of shock, the echoes of the Ever Given disruption are likely to reverberate for months.
As cases rise, some experts want a new vaccine strategy
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
As coronavirus cases rise across the country, some experts are again calling to delay the second doses of vaccines — and to target vaccines to the hardest-hit areas.
Why it matters: America's vaccination strategy should adapt to a changing pandemic, these experts argue.
Inside Republicans' battle plan on infrastructure
Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Republicans' criticism of President Biden's infrastructure package isn't just about its cost, but also the definition of "infrastructure."
The big picture: Top Republicans aides tell Axios they learned their lesson after failing to successfully define Biden's coronavirus relief package. This time around, they'll try to convince voters the infrastructure legislation is more of a wishlist for progressives than a "roads-and-bridges" measure.
Exclusive: Fresh data reveal how Trump made inroads with Latinos
A new analysis of U.S. voters suggests — counterintuitively — that the coronavirus pandemic may have helped drive former President Donald Trump's surprising increase in support from Latinos last November.
The big picture: By shifting Trump's rhetoric from immigration to fears around the economic impact of shutdowns, the virus gave conservative and low-information Latino voters a permission structure to back Trump even if they shunned him in 2016, according to preliminary findings by research firm Equis that were reviewed by Axios.
Coronavirus dashboard
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
- Health: CDC: Suicides decreased in 2020 — Americans are worried about variants — The race between COVID vaccines and emerging variants.
- Vaccines: Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine 91.3% effective through 6 months — Ruined J&J doses may only be a "blip."
- Economy: S&P 500 hits 4,000, defying pandemic — The staying power of the stay-at-home economy — The vaccine rollout is a boon for the pharmacy business.
- Sports: Mets-Nationals Opening Day game postponed.
- Axios-Ipsos poll: The misinformed are less likely to get vaccinated.
- Coronavirus variant tracker: Where different strains are spreading