Jul 23, 2018 - World

Manafort’s immunity list goes public

Manafort could face testimony against him from five witnesses. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Special counsel Bob Mueller’s request that five witnesses be granted immunity in exchange for testifying against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was granted today, per Talking Points Memo.

The details: The five witnesses — Donna Duggan, James Brennan, Conor O’Brien, Cindy Laporta, and Dennis Raico — all have been linked with Manafort’s finances, according to NBC News. Manafort is facing charges of financial crimes allegedly committed while working for pro-Russian factions in Ukraine before he worked for the Trump campaign.

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Felix Salmon
10 mins ago - World

China's extraterritorial threat

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

All multinational companies and executives need to worry about breaking U.S. law, no matter where they're based or doing business. Now, they need to worry about Chinese law, too.

Why it matters: The projection of U.S. norms and laws around the world has been an integral (and much resented) part of America's "soft power" since 1945. As China positions itself to replace the USA as global hegemon, expect it to become increasingly assertive along similar lines.

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Eileen Drage O'Reilly
41 mins ago - Health

Big Pharma launches $1B venture to incentivize new antibiotics

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

A group of large drug companies launched a $1 billion AMR Action Fund Thursday in collaboration with policymakers, philanthropists and development banks to push the development of two to four new antibiotics by 2030.

Why it matters: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing problem — possibly killing up to 20 million people annually by 2050 — but a severe lack of R&D market incentives has hampered efforts to develop a robust antibiotic pipeline to address the issue.

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Jonathan Swan
Updated 41 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Inside Geoffrey Berman's closed-door testimony

Berman arrives on Capitol Hill Thursday. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Geoffrey Berman, the former top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, was expected to say in closed-door testimony today that Attorney General Bill Barr repeatedly urged him to take another job, warned him that getting fired would not be good for his resume or job prospects and steered him toward a high-level Justice Department post in DC.

Driving the news: Axios has obtained a copy of Berman's opening statement for his closed-door hearing before the House Judiciary Committee.

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