Axios PM

July 05, 2024
Good afternoon, and happy Friday! Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 628 words, a 2.5-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.
1 big thing: Biden's huge interview

President Biden's interview today with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos is supposed to be the first big step toward climbing out of the hole Biden dug for himself during the debate.
- Biden vowed this afternoon at a rally in Madison, Wisconsin: "I'm staying in the race. ... I am running and going to win again."
- But the interview (airing 8 p.m. ET) might not move the needle all that much, top Democrats tell Axios.
🎤 One House Democrat told Axios' Andrew Solender the interview will likely change "zero" minds in Congress: "The deciding factor is that the public ... now believes he is not capable. And for that reason alone, he needs to step down."
- "I think the ship has sailed," said another House Democrat.
💡 Reality check: The debate was widely viewed. The reaction was overwhelming. And it's had a long time to sink in before Biden's team put together the upcoming events designed to change public perceptions about his age.
- A brief interview — no matter how many times ABC plans to replay it — can only go so far.

👀 "There were 40 million people that watched the debate, so it'll take more than a rally and an interview to prove that he can make the case that Trump is unfit to be president," Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) told Axios.
- "Nobody thinks that having a decent interview is the end of the problem," said another House Democrat. "He would need to suddenly materialize as the Biden of 20 years ago, and that's not going to happen."
How to watch ... Go deeper.
2. ⛈️ Beryl likely to hit Texas this weekend


Forecasts for Hurricane Beryl put Texas in the crosshairs of a storm that has defied the odds for days, Axios extreme-weather expert Andrew Freedman reports.
- Coastal Texas residents from Brownsville to the Houston area need to prepare for the potential arrival of tropical storm-force winds and storm surge flooding as early as Sunday morning.
- And while the storm is currently losing steam, there's reason to believe it could reintensify, as it has done before.
🌀 Go deeper: Axios' new hurricane tracker will provide real-time updates on the path, intensity and forecasts for every hurricane this year — which is expected to be an especially active hurricane season.
3. 📉 Labor market losing steam
The labor market is showing signs of weakness, Axios Macro co-authors Courtenay Brown and Neil Irwin write.
- Employers are easing hiring, and the share of jobless Americans is rising.
📊 By the numbers: There were 206,000 jobs added to U.S. payrolls last month, according to today's jobs report — a decent gain. But downward revisions to prior months' data show a more rapid slowdown than previously thought.
🏦 Why it matters: The Fed might not be able to continue its inflation fight without risking further weakness in a labor market that is the bedrock of the economy.
- Today's jobs numbers in isolation probably aren't enough to trip alarm bells, but paired with softer readings on inflation and consumer spending, a September interest rate cut now looks more likely than not.
4. 💾 End of an era

Japan — one of the most technologically advanced countries on Earth — is finally saying goodbye to the floppy disk, the N.Y Times reports.
- A slew of rules and regulations have long required various Japanese businesses to keep records on floppy disks.
- The country's digital minister began a campaign to erase those rules two years ago, long after the floppy disk had left the mainstream. The last rule was finally eliminated just last week.
⌨️ Reality check: Since floppy disks were mandatory for so long, some sectors — including at least one bank — are still using them.
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