Axios PM

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March 03, 2022

Mike Allen

Good Thursday afternoon: Today's PM — edited by Kate Nocera — is 369 words, a 1.5-minute read.

🎧 Launching this weekend ... In a new podcast series, "How it Happened: Putin's Invasion," Axios World editor Dave Lawler tells how the conflict played out in slow motion over eight years then suddenly escalated. Subscribe here.

🇺🇦 Debuting today: Axios explainers on Ukraine.

1 big thing: Biden to sign landmark #MeToo bill

Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson joins Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at a press conference today following the passage of the Ending Forced Arbitration Act. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Biden today will sign landmark workplace legislation that forbids companies from forcing sexual harassment and assault claims into arbitration, Axios' Emily Peck reports.

Why it matters: The law, the Ending Forced Arbitration Act, is the first major piece of legislation to come out of the upheaval of the #MeToo era.

Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) told Axios it was "the most significant piece of labor legislation passed in this century."
It's a huge win for former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson, credited with bringing together diverse supporters, including Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).

Workers will no longer be forced to take claims of sexual harassment or assault to private arbitration.

But employers can still force workers to take all kinds of other complaints to private dispute resolution — including pay inequality and civil rights claims over race.

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2. 📷 Photo of the day: Refugees expected

Photo: Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images

Spotted today at the Frankfurt (Oder) rail station.

Why it matters: Trains from Poland with war refugees are expected at the station.

🧠 Context: 1 million people have fled Ukraine in seven days, UN high commissioner for refugees Filippo Grandi said today.

3. Catch up quick

The 190-foot Amore Vero (True Love), linked to a close ally of Vladimir Putin, was seized today in a French Riviera port. Photo: Nicholas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images

France seized a mega yacht belonging to a Russian oligarch, CNN reports.
The Sackler family reached a deal to pay as much as $6 billion to end litigation against the OxyContin maker. Go deeper.
Ukrainian and Russian delegations agreed to organize humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee, but made no other progress.
Russian businesses in the U.S. are facing threats and vandalism, Axios' Erin Doherty reports.

4. 1 smile to go: Go-kart dreams

Six-year-old Marifer Fontes is a racer in Mexico’s national Go-Karting Championship, which started its season last weekend.

She was named best rookie in the "baby" category of Fórmula Karts.
"It’s what excites me, makes me happy, and it's fun," she tells Noticias Telemundo and Axios Latino author Marina E. Franco.

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