Axios

Leading U.S. battery researchers say a proposed 75% cut in federal funding could set back U.S. hopes to dominate the future of batteries and electric cars, and lead to a raid of U.S. talent by China and others in the technological race.

The mood is somber this week at an annual conference in Washington, DC, where hundreds of battery researchers from universities and U.S. federal labs are presenting their latest findings, and justifying millions of dollars in U.S. government funding toward the creation of super-batteries for electric cars and the grid.

In interviews, researchers said Congress will probably largely ignore President Donald Trump's proposal, and restore much of the 2018 funding. But, given the intensity of competition for industries expected to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars in future sales, they said the best ideas could be wooed away by China, Japan, South Korea or others.

Apple has made a political ad entirely out of iPhone photos. The company just ran a TV commercial in the NBA Finals showing a series of Live Photos of various nature shots along with the late Carl Sagan reading parts of his famous Pale Blue Dot speech from 1994.

Here's the text of the ad:

The earth is a very small stage In our obscurity in a vast cosmic arena. In all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.The earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else at least in the near future, to where our species can migrate. Like it or not, for the moment, the earth is where we make our stand. It underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the only home we've ever known.

Part of ongoing effort: Apple has been touting its environmental efforts, including a push to get its suppliers to shift to renewable energy. Cook has blasted President Trump's move to exit Paris and had lobbied the president to stick with the environmental accord.

Not just Apple: The NBA Finals saw plenty of tech ads, though the others were far more traditional spots, including Google touting Google Home and Samsung pitching the payment feature on its Gear smartwatch.

The German Ambassador said "If America abdicates its leadership role, there will be a vacuum and other countries might step in. It might be Russia, it might be China," while speaking with Mike Allen Wednesday morning at an Axios News Shapers event.

German Ambassador Peter Wittig:

• What Merkel said on the Paris deal: "Europe must take its fate into its own hands…We should not always think that we can rely on others."
• On Germany's upcoming election: "We are less polarized than other countries in Europe…We have new right wing anti-immigration party and that has bothered us for a while. The rise of right-wing populism has peaked."

Jordanian Ambassador Dina Kawar:

• On Trump's foreign trip in the Middle East: "Many Arabs were happy to see that was the first trip he did."
• On intel sharing with the U.S. and terrorism: "We've managed to become one of the countries with the most [information]…we're sharing a lot of information."
• "Jordanians open their homes" to refugees: "We managed to take around 1.4 million which is around 20% of our population increase…That's like asking the population of Canada to move into the United States...It has been a burden on our economy [but] we could not close the borders…Jordanians open their homes…It's not controversial."

Singaporean Ambassador Ashok Mirpuri:

• On meeting Trump: "It was interesting to have a chat with him. He was familiar with the world, he spoke about Singapore, he was familiar with Singapore."
• The importance of getting out of D.C.: "I have traveled to 42 states in the United States…I always find it's good to get outside of Washington, D.C. People are very generous with their time, that gives a good idea of what is happening in the United States."