Axios AM

April 12, 2025
π³ Hello, Saturday! Smart Brevityβ’ count: 1,362 words ... 5 mins. Thanks to Erica Pandey for orchestrating. Edited by Andrew Childers.
Breaking: The Trump administration has exempted smartphones, computers, chips and other electronics from its "reciprocal tariffs," which could keep prices from spiking and help companies like Apple, Bloomberg reports.
1 big thing: Big Law's billion


America's most prestigious law firms have agreed to provide almost $1 billion worth of legal work to President Trump β and that total will likely grow, Axios' Sam Baker reports.
- Trump announced deals with 5 firms yesterday. He's now gotten the giants of Big Law to pledge a combined $940 million in pro bono legal work for conservative causes.
π Catch up quick: Trump began this process by signing executive orders targeting firms that had employed or represented his critics.
- The first firm to cut a deal β Paul Weiss β argued that $40 million in pro bono work was a small price to pay compared to the money, clients and even top talent it could have lost if it chose to fight.
- As more firms have capitulated, Trump has been able to extract significantly bigger concessions using significantly less leverage, even from firms with which he had no personal grievance.
π Four of yesterday's agreements came from firms that were placed under investigation for their internal diversity policies β a less severe threat than Trump's early tactic of revoking lawyers' security clearances.
- They each agreed to provide $125 million worth of work on issues that both Trump and the firms support.
The other side: Three of the prestigious law firms targeted by Trump have opted to fight his threats in court rather than make a deal.
2. π΅ Dollar slumps
The last ten days have thrown into doubt the role of the United States at the core of the global economic and financial system, Axios chief financial correspondent Neil Irwin writes.
- People will write books about April 2025 the way they have about July 1944, August 1971 or September 2008.
πΌοΈ The big picture: After generations in which the U.S. dollar and its government securities have been the world's bedrock safe haven assets, global investors woke up this week to the possibility that they are not particularly safe, and not at all a haven.
- It's the curious way bond and currency markets have interacted that gives the most alarm about the trajectory of global confidence in the U.S.-centric financial order β which has prevailed since the end of World War II.
π¨ Zoom in: In a week that risky assets sold off, so did U.S. Treasury bonds and the U.S. dollar.
- This is not normal. In past episodes of extreme tumult, like September 2008 and the early days of the pandemic in 2020, the dollar rallied as global investors sought safety.
The dollar index β the dollar's value versus six other major currencies β is down 9.3% since mid-January.
3. πͺ§ Missing demonstrators
Nearly five years after fueling the largest protest movement in American history, Black activism stands at a generational, emotional and strategic crossroads, Axios' Russell Contreras reports.
- Why it matters: Many of the Black Americans who flooded the streets in 2020 have stepped back from the renewed anti-Trump protests β torn between the urgency of the moment and the spiritual toll of relentless, often fruitless, resistance.
β‘ The stakes are huge: President Trump's second-term agenda is openly hostile to DEI, police reform, and the civil rights protections that have underpinned racial progress for the last half-century.
- But prominent Black activists tell Axios that rest does not equal retreat, and that the movement is evolving β in leadership, tone and tactics β for the long fight ahead.
Driving the news: Photos from last weekend's "Hands Off!" demonstrations β where millions protested DOGE cuts, immigration raids and mass federal layoffs β show a striking shift from 2020.
- Most participants were older and white, as seen at rallies across the country and confirmed to Axios β a stark contrast to the multiracial, Black-led protests launched in the wake of George Floyd's murder.
- Campus protests over Trump's immigration crackdown have drawn primarily white, Latino, and Asian American students, with Black participants largely absent from the frontlines.
4. π« Scrapping boarding passes
Boarding passes and flight check-in could soon be obsolete:
- The International Civil Aviation Organization β the UN body that crafts airline policy and that the FAA takes cues from β is considering the biggest shake-up to air travel in 50 years, The Times of London reports.
Zoom in: Under the new rules, passengers will be issued a "journey pass" when they book a flight, which will be continually updated with changes and replace the boarding pass.
- Passengers also be able to upload their passports to their phones and skip manual check-in. Airlines will just be notified when they've arrived at the airport via facial recognition scanners.
These changes could come in two to three years, The Times notes.
5. High-stakes Iran nuclear talks begin

Indirect nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran started on Saturday in Muscat, Oman, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said.
- Why it matters: President Trump has repeatedly said Iran needs to rapidly reach a deal that makes sure it can't obtain a nuclear weapon or face the prospect of military strikes, which could lead to war, Axios' Barak Ravid reports.
U.S. and Iranian officials are using similar language to describe their primary objective for Saturday's talks: determining whether the other side is serious or just stringing them along.
- A U.S. official told Axios Trump is prepared to make compromises to get a deal.
6. βοΈ Trump plan cuts legal help for migrant kids
Tens of thousands of unaccompanied children who are in the U.S. illegally stand to lose legal help for their immigration hearings β and face being deported β because of a little-known Trump budget cut, Axios' Brittany Gibson reports.
- Why it matters: The $367 million cut takes aim at the legal defense fund designed to help children and teens who've fled violence, lost their parents, or are victims of trafficking.
The stakes: Without lawyers it's extremely difficult for such youths β about 26,000 of them now get this legal aid β to show in court why they should be allowed to stay in the U.S.
- Those who can't prove their need for asylum are likely to be deported.
Zoom in: Unaccompanied minors in asylum cases often have escaped violence such as forced labor, sexual assault or death threats, said Mickey Donovan, director of legal services at a group called Immigrant Defenders.
- The legal fund helps children such as a 7-year-old boy who crossed the border recently with a smuggler who tried to make it seem like they were family.
7. π€ Trump's next interview

President Trump will be interviewed next week by Rachel Campos-Duffy for the Spanish-language "Fox Noticias" program, Axios' Stef Kight scoops.
- Why it matters: It will be the first interview Trump has given since he announcedβ and then paused β sweeping global tariffs.
Zoom in: Trump will discuss the latest tariff announcements, his border and immigration policies and news of the day, according to a Fox News representative.
- The interview comes as legal challenges mount over the administration's wrongful deportation of a Maryland man to El Salvador.
- Trump focused part of his 2024 campaign on wooing voters of color who typically lean Democratic. Election results and exit polls indicated he gained significant ground with Latino voters, in particular.
πΊ The interview will air in two parts β first on Tuesday and then on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET online and on FOX Deportes. Parts of the interview also will be shown on Fox News.
8. π 1 for the road: Pink Moon

Tonight's full moon, the first of the spring, has many names, including the Pink Moon, Sprouting Grass Moon, Egg Moon, Fish Moon, the Pesach or Passover Moon.
- Why it matters: The moon is tied to the timing of Easter and Passover, which begins tonight, Axios' Kelly Tyko writes.
The full moon reaches peak illumination at 8:22 p.m. ET tonight, according to Almanac.com.
- But don't expect to see a pink orb in the sky. The name Pink Moon comes from the early spring bloom of a wildflower known as "moss pink," which is native to eastern North America.
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